The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-09 00:00:00

ELECTIONEERING TACTICS.

The work of discrediting the existing electoral body, and
the Parliament returned by it, but above all the inquiries
instituted by that Parliament into the immaculateness of
the gentlemen, who claim a right to sit in it as the re-
presentatives of the people, goes on as bravely as
Chartism itself could desire. Every day adds to our
experience of the working of the system, and increases
our contempt for the mockery of justice, which it pre-
sents. Both parties are now combining to stop an ex-
posure which they see to be dangerous. The effort will
only deepen the impression, which publicity had pre-
viously produced.
Everybody knew from the very first meeting of the
present Parliament, or rather frOm the last day of the
general election last year, that, whatever might have
happened in the way of corruption elsewhere, there
were two or three places so pre-eminent, so specially,
and peculiarly distinguished by the wholesale way, in
which every conceivable variety of malpractices had
been carried on, that their detection and disfranchise-
ment were regarded as inevitable.
Nottingham and Harwich stood at the head of this
list. At Nottinghagn Sir John Hobhouse and Sir George
Larpent had beaten Mr. Walter at his own weapons, and
driven him from a field where he fancied his triumph
certain, if there were such a thing as gratitude in the
electoral world. But past favours, though barely six
weeks old, go for nothing at Nottingham. Pay to-day
and trust to-morrow, is the word ; and as it is not in
everybody's power to pay 15,0001. twice over in three
months, Mr. Walter gave way, like a prudent man,
trusting to a petition fur his slice of the loaf upon more
reasonable terms.

Harwich, on the other hand, has been a standing joke
at the Carlton against Sir Denis Le Marchant, the new
Whig Baronet, and whipper-in. His happy security—
his unexpected defeat—the novelty of buying a man's
whole Committee over his head, and handing these wor-
shipful gentlemen over, Chairman included, to their
rightful owner, Mr. Attwood, like a lot of bullocks at
Barnet, or Smithfield, as soon as the purchase-money
was paid—had something about it peculiarly tickling to
the fancy of those who think that there is no such thing
as political morality, in the world, and that every man
has his price, if you can but come up to it, and know
how to hit the proper time.
The only awkward thing about these illustrations of
" the legitimate influence of property" is the exposure,
which at Harwich was inevitable, unless a mortified oppo-
nent could be appeased. The Tories kept the second
seat, therefore, to the last hour of the last day that it was
possible to hold it, and then threw a Beresford overboard
to let Sir Denis in.

Of course, nothing of this appears upon the journals
of the House. On the contrary, the farce is kept up to
the last with infinite spirit. The Election Committees
are appointed. Mr. Cockburn, who appears for Mr.
Walter, in the Nottingham case, disavows all imputa-
tions upon the conduct of the sitting Members, and
states his belief that, from the very loose character of the
two, or three hundred witnesses, whom he must have
brought up, he shall best consult the interests of his
client, by stopping the proceedings in limine—and the
Report of the Committee consequently is, " that the
Right Hon. Sir John Cam Hobhouse, and Sir George
Gerard de Hochepied Larpent were duly elected to serve
as burgesses in this present Parliament, for the town of
Nottingham ;" while, in the Harwich case, Sir Denis Le
Marchant, in prupria persona, communicated to the
Speaker, " that it is not his intention to proceed with his
petition," in consequence of which unlooked-for determi-
nation, the order referring it to the General Committee
of Elections is discharged.
At Reading, acting upon a similar principle, Mr.
Russell and Lord Chelsea, the two Conservative candi-
dates, were pronounced to be irrevocably seated by their
Chairman, Mr. Hogg, to the great astonishment of all
who knew the extent to which bribery and treating had
contributed to influence the rejection of Mr. Mills ;
while Captain Plumridge was, to all appearance, as
quietly confirmed in the representation of Penryn,
without the slightest elucidation of the motives which
had induced certain parties to protest against his return.
And yet, by some singular fatality, it will happen
that, one by one, all these decisions will be reversed.
Sir George Gerard de Hochepied Larpent will be com-
pelled, ♦ery shortly, by ill-health, to accept the Chiltern
Hundreds ; and such will be the revival of Mr. Walter's
popularity at Nottingham that no Liberal will venture
to contest it with him. Sir Denis Le Marchant will
find Harwich tumbling into his arms, when abandoned
by Mr. Beresford, the fickle object of its venal choice.
Lord Chelsea, recommended by his physicians to try
the air of the Continent, will make an opening at Read-
ing for Mr. Mills, whose character is already so highly
appreciated there, that fifty of . his Conservative oppo-
nents profess their fixed determination not to counte-
nance any resistance to his return, And though we
cannot find that any similar change has occurred at
Penryn, we should like to bet five to one, in hundreds,
that Captain Plumridge's successor will be a staunch
supporter of Sir Robert Peel.
We leave our readers to put these things together,
should we happen to prove true prophets as to the result.
If they do not furnish an argument for a change of sys-
tem, we know not what can. It is fortunate, however,
for the ends of justice, that the plan was not adopted
sooner. We have the records of Ipswich, Sudbury,
Marlow, and Southampton, before us, and we mayjudge,
by what has been discovered, of what has been sup-
pressed. If the pairing off principle had been resorted
to sooner, much valuable knowledge would have been
lost to the world. Luckily, the rogues have quarrelled,
and the old proverb is likely to come true.
We trust that a complete exposure of the system, as it
now works, will take place in the Ballot debate, and that
men will not be deterred by any, false delicacy from
speaking out. So long as each candidate for political
honours can see with his own eyes that he gets actual
value at the polling booth for the money, which he pays,
it is folly to imagine that corruption can be checked.
There will be rich men to offer bribes, and poor men to
take-them ; while, as the natural fruit of this unprincipled
traffic, a perverted code of morality will grow up, in all
matters connected with elections, amongst men honoura-
ble, and right-minded enough in other things. There
can be no greater curse for a country than this. It has
gone too far in England already not to make it a very
grave question where, and how, the plague can be
s ay e d.--.Week/y Chronicle.

ONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.
au UN.—The English market has been in a very feverish
e, both Friday and Saturday, and prices were again a
ade lower. This circumstance forms no cause for
surprise, when the rapid state at which Consuls ad-
vanced, and the present quotations be considered. It is
almost unprecedented to see a Three per Cent. Stock at
very nearly par, and can only be accounted for from the
absence of any outlet for the investment of spare capital,
and the depression of trade. It is satisfactory to be
able to state, that a decidedly improved demand has
arisen within the last few days for many articles
in the produce markets, and that the rates fur
money are rising, which may be considered as a
sure indication that commerce is rallying. It is also
g-atifying to observe the total absence of speculation in
these bonds, which, not long since, were such great fa-
vOurites with the public, and by which so much money
has been lost ; with all this vast accumulation of capital,
which so long remained without employment. The
quotations for these papers have been gradually sinking,
and they are now apparently rapidly going into oblivion.
The mission of Mr. J. A. Palmer to America is viewed
with some suspicion, lest it may be the prelude to an at-
tempt to reinduce purchases of American Securities;
monied men of all denominations are decidedly averse
to any operation of the kind, the losses sustained by
the United States Bank, and several of the individual
States of the Union, being too recent to render further
reliance on that country, whether federal or separate,
impossible.

Consols closed at 921 92i for money, and 92192 i for
the account. Bank Stock 167 168 ; India Stock 247 249,
and Exchequer Bills 36 39 premium.
Foreign Securities remained as on yesterday. Bel-
gian, 101/ 102 i ex dividend ; . Dutch Two-and-a-Half
per Cents. 53 53+ ; the Five per Cents. 101- ; Danish,
80i 8i ; and Brazilian, 67_68.

Railroad Shares were dull, partaking in the depression
of the highest market. London and Birmingham, 180
182 ; Birmingham and Gloucester, 52 54 ; Great West-
ern, 93 94 ; the Half Shares, 641 64a ; South Western,
63 64 ; Gosport, 63 64 ; North Midland, 64 66 ; the
New Shares, 311 321 ; South Eastern and Dover, 30 301:
Eastern Counties, 91 9i ; Blackwall, 12 ; the New
Shares, 10 ; and Brighton, 364 36* per share.
The Bonds were quoted—Colombian, 26 26/ ; Mexi-
can, 33 33i ; Portuguese Five per Cents., 37 371 ; the
Three per Cents., 22 22 ; Spanish Five per Cents., 231
231 ; the Three per Cents., 23 231.

DARING ROBBERY.—About eight o'clock Thursday
evening a man, shabbily dressed, made his appearance at the
front kitchen window of the house of Mr. Edward Simpson,
in West-square Lambeth, for the purpose, as it seemed, of so-
liciting charity. The man's wretched appearance inducing the
servant to go to the pantry for the purpose of supplying him
with some tood, he took advantage of her absence by abstract-
ing a quantity of plate that had been left on the dresser with
the dinner service, and contrived to get clear off with his booty.