The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-07-27 00:00:00

not soon be permitted to get back again.

THE ALLEGED BRIBERY AT DERBY.
IN another column will be found a report of the
hearing before the magistrates at Derby of the case
of the "mysterious" individual seized in a "dark
room" in that town, for the purpose, as is alleged,
of bribing voters to secure the election of Mr. T. B.
HonsFALL. From the first we were satisfied that
the whole affair was a ruse of the enemy, got up to
damage the Conservative candidate ; for no one
who knows the high character of that gentleman
could suppose him to be implicated in so discredit-
able a business. The nature of the evidence before
the magistrates would alone have satisfied us upon
this point, had there been nothing else to judge
from. It will be remembered that it was stated at
the time that some terrible revelation would be
made from a letter, which was found upon the
individual seized. The letter in question, it seems,
was addressed to Mr. JOHN FRAIL, clerk of the
course, Shrewsbury, and was as follows :

" A good and safe man, with judgment and quickness,
is wanted immediately at Derby. I suppose that you
cannot leave your own place; if not, send some one whom
you can trust in your place. Let him go to Derby on
receiving this, and find the County Tavern, in the centre
of the town, and send his card to Cox, Brothers, and
Company, lead works, as coming from Chester': that will
be enough.—Monday. W. B."
A man of the name of MORGAN, who, we learn,
is a journeyman bricklayer and a Radical, was the
" good and safe man" selected. How he proceeded
to act is described in the report' elsewhere given.
It was necessary, of course, to discover who W. B.
was ; and most singularly we find produced before
the bench Mr. J. KEOGH, who stated that he was
a relative of the present memter for Athlone, and
that at present he resided at 85, King William-
street, London Bridge. That witness swore to the
letter and its envelope being in the handwriting of
Major BERESFORD, and that he was acquainted
with it from his having been formerly secretary to
the Reading and Reigate Railway, of which Major
BERESFORD was chairman. It will strike the
rea 'er as singular, by what means Mr. KEOGH,
residing in King William-street, London, was
brought into contact with a letter at Derby bearing
the very ordinary initials W. B. The solicitor for
the prosecution indeed "called attention to the seal,
which, he stated, clearly bore the impress of the
Carlton Club, with the prince's feathers, &c. ;" but
the reporter adds that, "although the seal was
subjected to the scrutiny of a m«guifying glass, the
impression did not appear to warrant the conclusion."
The whole affair bears evident marks of being con-
cocted, and rather clumsily too. We understand
that the respectable firm to whom the letter refers,
and by whom it is insinuated that the money found
upon the man MORGAN was supplied, knew nothing
of him, and never furnished a shilling to any
individual for such a purpose. Of course we need
not repeat that Mr. THOMAS BERRY HORSFALL
is equally guiltless in the matter, if any guilt there
be other than that of the parties to the plot.