The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-08 00:00:00

THE

debate, and the VILLIERS of the entire movement,
brought forward, according to expectation, his
annual motion for the Parliamentary adoption
of the Ballot, as the method of collecting the
votes of the people for their representatives.,
As the Noble Lord the Member for Marylebone, him-
self one of the most genuine patriots and one of the
most consistent reformers in the House of Commons,
very happilylasserted, the name of HENRY BERKE-
LEY has become a name dear to the people of
England, from his earnest and persevering advocacy
of this, " the darling measure" of the community.
Although it may come to pass that the triumph of
the great cause with which Mr. BERKELEY has be-
come inseparably associated may not occur until be
and the rest of this generation have passed

away yet, when the good day shall
come at last, and come it most inevit-
ably will, the share taken by that Honour-
able Gentleman in the advancement cf this glorious

scheme of reformatory innovation cannot by any pos-
sibility be forgotten. The Ballot may have its Sir
ROBERT on the Treasury benches, and its CoBDEN in
the monster meetings throughout the country, hut
the population will even then most a: suredly call to
mied the great and the good service done in their
behalf by the CHARLES VILLIERS of the measure,
the present Honourable Representative of the city of
Bristol. Year after year, has that Hon. Gentleman
forced this most important reform upon their unwil-
ling consideration ; session after session has he justi-
fied himself in so doing by speeches of remarkable
ability, great logical acumen, and replete with the
most unimpeachable and conclusive evidence in favour
of the Ballot. Admirable, however, as have been some
of his oratorical efforts upon this subject, not one
of his harangues in favour of the Ballot has sur-
passed the bold, lucid, and altogether unanswerable
speech delivered by him last evening. Unfortu-
nately the result of the, division was scarcely so
encouraging as might have been expected, from the
success obtained in 1848: on the introduction of
the same motion by the same Hon. Gentleman. Pos-
sibly bearing the temporary defeat then sustained by
them its recollection, the opponents of the proposed
measure were induced for the prevention of a similar
annoyance to be more punctual in their attendance ;
and hence probably it happened that the motion was
at once defeated by a majority of 55, the respective
numbers being, for the motion 121, against it
176. Yet even upon this calculation we are
surely justified in anticipating the speedy adoption of
the Ballot by the Legislature, if we only contrast the
division of last evening, in a House of 297, with the
divisions which, in the time of CHARLES YILLIER'S
annual motion for the abolition of the imposts on
corn, used to impart such confident hilarity to the then
predominant monopolists.
Estimating the correctness or inaccuracy of the
deductions of those who, like ourselves, are strenuous
advocates of the Ballot, simply from the proportionate
force of the arguments for and against that measure,
introduced in the debate of last evening, we are bold
to aver that according to that estimate alone the
advisability of the Legislative adoption of the
Ballot would be sufficiently proven. Nothing
could possibly be more contemptible in point cf
logic than the reasoning of the opponents of
the Ballot yesterday. One of these splen-
did logicians, the Honourable, Gallant, and
eccentric Representative of Lincoln said, that
be would most certainly oppose the acceptance
of the motion if it were only because it was asserted
that the Ballot worked well abroad—for this
reason (hear it, 0 Archbishop of DUBLIN ! hear it
O \VILLIAM W }JEWELL !) that he, Colonel SIBTHORP,
objected to all foreign innovations, and also to all
foreign competition ! Again Mr. HEALD opposed
it most resolutely, because, according to him, the
constituencies of England would be ashamed, and he
considered very naturally so, at hiding their votes
in the ballot-box. Yet, it rather strikes us that
there is something much more decidedly requiring
an emotion of shame in the system of balloting prac-
tised in the circles frequented by •the Hon. Member
for Stockport, than in the system of balloting
proposed to be introduced among those constituencies.
Let us just contrast the two systems for an instant,
and see which is most deserving pf a blush. Here is
an honest, hard-working, tradesman, who drops into
the ballot box his vote for his favourite candidate.
In doing this he injures no man, he assails no man,
he only protects himself from the vengeance of his
wealthy customers. Here, on the other hand, is the
member of a fashionable club, shaking hands one
minute with a man maybe he calls his
friend, and the next minute dropping a
black bean into the ballot-box of his club
against the admission there of this very same indivi-
dual. He thereby covertly gives his vote against an-
other, and by the system in vogue is empowered at
any moment to cast a blot upon the most innocent
reputation. Which of these two men has greater
cause fur shame ? Has the first any ? Has not the
second much ? We conceive that the comparison
admits of not a moment's argument.
Of all the speeches delivered in last night's discus-
sion against the Ballot, the most deserving of atten-
tion was the one delivered by the Right Honourable
the Secretary for, the Home Department. Never-
theless, even there the logic was merely sophistical,
a mere agglomeration of plausibilities, the force of
which was materially diminished by the recollection
that Sir GEORGE GREY had voted for the very
measure against which he was then arguing. With
these comments on the debate of last evening, we
would briefly but earnestly and most cordially asso-
ciate an expression of popular gratitude to the Hon.
Gentleman the Member for the City of Bristol.
Again we utter with all possible emphasis the pre-
diction that the Ballot will in the end be passed
through the Houses of the Legislature, and that
when that day arrives the people cf England will
bear in affectionate remembrance the patriotic exer-
tions of HENRY BERKELEY.

We trust that the circumstances of the melancholy
case investigated at Winchester, on Tuesday last,
will be attentively considered and long borne in mind
by those entrusted with the important duty of ad-
ministering relief to the destitute poor throughout
the kingdom. Through "a mistake," as asserted by
the Learned Counsel for the defence, an unfortunate
woman, far advanced in pregnacy, came to a
miserable and untimely end, and a relieving officer
was called upon to answer, in a court of justice,
for having, through his culpable negligence,
if not positive inhumanity, occasional the death
of a fellow-creature death, too, in its most linger-
ing and horrible form, from want of the commonest
necessaries of existence. Such cases are, happily, of
rare occurrence, and as the law is sufficiently strin-
gent to punish the parties implicated, and, more espe-
cially, as the prisoner had always been considered "a
very humane man to the poor," •we are willing to
believe with the jury, that the untoward event was
altogether the result of "a mistake." We do not,
therefore, now allude to the circumstances
for the purpose of inflicting pain upon a
man who has been honourably acquitted by
the unanimous verdict of twelve of his country-
men, and , who will not, in all human proba-
bility, again commit alike error. But it is important
that the painful lesson should not be lost sight of by
persons holding similar situations—that they should
learn the fatal consequences to others, and the personal
inconvenience to themselves, that may result from too
great an anxiety to detect impostors, ana a readiness
to act on mere suspicion and without, any distinct
or positive evidence to warrant a harsh and peremp-
tory refusal of relief.
It appeared that ELIZABETH Biccs, the party
whose melancholy death formed the subject of
inquiry, being in a state cf destitution and great ill-
nessAcalled on Friday, the 21st of December, upon
Mr.'t:oorna, one of the medical officers of the union.
She had previously been attended tor influenza, from
which she had recovered, although great debi!ity was
still remaining. On examination she appeared to be
very much exhausted, and stated " that she had but
little to eat for the four days preceding." The sur-
geon at once perceived that it was a case of urgent
necessity ; the "appearances %%ere such as must have
been observed by any person, as well as by a medical
man ; they could not have been counterfeited by an im-
postor. She was very pale; her countenance WAS
setanax, and she had a weak, thready, and compressible
pulse, the slightest touch stopped it. The hands were
cold, the tongue pale, and breath very offensive. She
complained of no pain, but said she thought it Was
more from want of food than anything else," Such