Star.
London, England, 1830-12-23 00:00:00

PURITY OT KLECTIOW-AUCZNI ♦. WOOLLOTON.

This ease came on Monday for final decision. The object of the pro-
ceedings, it will be recollected, was to enforce the payment of fol. which
the plaintiff alleged was due to him for having canvassed the Borough
of Southwark on behalf of Lord John Russell, previous to the late elec-
tion. The defendant acted as chairman to the committee engaged in
conducting the canvass on the part of the noble candidate.
The plaintiff stated, in support of his claim. that in September last
he saw the defendant at the Equestrian Coffee-house, and was told by
him that they (the Dissenters) were mat anxious to secure the return of
Lord John Russell, and in accepting the offer of the plaintiff's services
as a canvasser, he said he would undertake to allow him 10s. a day,
and more, if their cause turned out successfully. In consequence of
this promise, he canvassed the borough for ten days.
A Mr. Holland proved that this arrangement was entered into by the
defendant.

Mr. Woolloton in contesting the claim, stated that he had consi-
dered the plaintiff was a voluntary canvasser, and that, like himself,
he was actuated by a love for liberal opinions and freedom of election.
Besides, those who had been regularly engaged, were paid every two or
three days.
After some further argument, the Commissioners ordered the parties
to withdraw, and having consulted for some time, the plaintiff was or-
dered to be sworn, when he re.stated his evidence.
The Commissioners expressed themselves satisfied with the evidence,
and gave an unanimous decision in favour of the plaintiff.
51r. Woolloton said this wu a hard case, as the above decision
might bring 500 similar claims upon him.
The Commissioners said, such an assumption was wrong, as every
case would be decided upon its own merits.

A few days after the return of Sir Francis Burdett for
the county of Middlesex, ho received a bill from an attorney
for services rendered during the election, which contained
one very extraordinary item. The man of law had not been
employed by the Hon. Baronet's Committee, but had volun-
teered his services ; and among the various charges of which
his bill was composed there was so much for going from
Brentford to Acton, from A cton to Brentford, and to and
from other places, to bring up voters, concluding as follows :
—" To an extraordinary quantity of mental anxiety on your
account during ten days, 5001 !" It is, perhaps, needless to
add that the Baronet himself taxed the bill, and that the
" mental anxiety" was stank out of the account.
LOSS OF THE SHIP ROBERT FULTON.—The schooner
Alert, of London, James Chesser, master, of 68 tons burden,
arrived in our halhour last evening from Faye], having on
board 79 persons, who had been passengers in the American
ship Robert Fulton, bound from New York to Liverpool,
which was run down at sea by a vessel, name unknown. The
injury which the former received was so great that it was with
difficulty they could keep her afloat, and in doing so they
were obliged to remain at the pumps without intermission for
several days and nights, until they fortunately succeeded in
making the harbour of Fayal, one of the Western Islands,
which was the nearest land at the time of the accident, and
which they scarcely had entered when the vessel went down,
and the passengers had to wade to shore, some of them up to
their necks in the water. They were sent home in the Alert,
by the British consul, and are, as may be supposed, in a dis-
tressed state.— Cork Advertiser.

THE LATE DR. COVENTRY, PROFESSOR OF AORI.
CULTURE IN THE UNIVERSITY Or EDINEUROII.
Ou Friday forenoon, he was seized with a severe paralytic
attack, which instantly deprived him of the total use of his
left side, and rendered him nearly speechless. He conti-
nued sensible for about an hour and a half after the attack,
but after this gradually sunk into a stupor ; and notwith-
standing the skill and exertions of his medical attendants,
expired at half past six o'clock in the evening.
NEWCASTLE REFORM MEETING.—The gentlemen who
signed the requisition to the Mayor of this town for calling
a public meeting in favour of parliamentary reform, met this
day (Monday, Dec. 20,) at the Turk's Head, to consider of
the resolution; which had been prepared by the committee.
James Losh, Esq. was in the chair. A letter was read
from Sir M.W. Ridley, in reference to the proposed public
meeting, in which the honourable baronet expressed his
satisfaction that the principles of reform which he had
long advocated appeared likely to be soon acted upon.—
A letter was rend from J. Hodgson, Esq. the other
member for Newcastle, who expressed his intention to be
present at the public reform meeting. Six resolutions, prepar-
ed by the committee, were then submitted for the approval of
the requisitionists. The first stated that the representation
of the people in Parliament was defective and unjust, many
places with few inhabitants sending members to Parliament,
while others which were wealthy and populous seat none.
The subsequent resolutions set forth the distress and suffering
which the inadequate representation of the people produced,
and besought the legislature to extend the elective fran-
chise, to do away the present inconvenient and expensive
mode of conducting elections, and especially to consider if
it would not be advisable to adopt the system of election by
ballot. Charles Attwood, Esq. thought the language of
the resolutions might at a former period have been strong
enough, but now it was not sufficiently descriptive of the
state of privation and misery to which the common people
of England had been reduced by the corrupt representation
in the Commons' House, or rather by the aristocracy put-
ting their nominees into that House who bad no sympathy
for the rights and feelings of the people. He proposed an
amendment, therefore, which was read, and in general terms
expressed a persuasion that if the wretchedness to which
the community bad been brought by the want of a proper
representation were not removed forthwith, consequences
might take place which could not be contemplated without
&may. W. H. Ord, Esq. spoke in favour of the original
resolutions, which he considered quite u strong as Mr.
Attwood's, with the advantage of being more specific. He
was himself favourable to election by ballot, but would
wish that no division should take place among reformers,
and therefore thought the resolutions which had been sub-
mitted to the committee should be adopted, as they entered
into some detail, without pledging the parties to one plan of
reform to the exclusion of others. Mr. J. Fife, and several
other gentlemen spoke, some in favour of the committee's
resolutions, and seine in favour of Mr. Attwuod's. The
amendment was then put and rejected, and the original Tim.
lotions were, after much discussion, carried by a considerable
majority.