The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-05-10

u....rrea Yesterday TO a remarkable speech,
-, wade nv Earl GREY, in the British
49,. ~ Lords The new Ryovm B'H was
~. .u,,eet and. in the course Of his argument
...,n., A. the speaker paid his respects to men |
, NJ things in the United States. as afording
=, illustration Of the practical working OK
suffrage. The speech bears evidence
If very careful reading OF American rewspa'
cers, and deep conviction that the example
Of the United States ought to he warning
against the multiplication Of the number Oh
electors in England. The following par"
graph, it must be confessed, has n'o''
han poetry: o,..,
lie, me remind your Lordships 'has 'me ne, his
,.n ,son nronx n, the Revolutionary war WIZ E. W..
countr, to successful close, est ,,sh r they had
RAJ Sons t'anr checks AZ ainst the dangers OF
nm un haI anced democracs; a, NC msra iounded ON
su,a,.o ,ncipIes But almost every check tns s
rn,seS has beep swept sway. ana system MI, ~. n mo
anoi majority has been established both in thf
,WtaraI and the State u. vernments' MY Ioius.
oes n as ed whether they would abandon the sSs-
.c,n the, had established Tor the one that has 10
p,sced il. they would have answered unanI,,ous?,
I'VE Will NOT Try SO danserous an expettiimeh'n u,
Ru, II has taken place, neVertheiess. ahn nov Ds
= succession al changes. at hrst apparently neon
rstle IN the III selves hat all leading by Srau
uSi steady and certain PROGRESSION to snat result
VIII ch We now see. And how has that chanse
worked for the happiness and We'll peihs Oh ,iae
iInte,i states: In bringing thus part OF the SUP
iesi nader yoir attention. wish 10 say no,hsns
bicn can wound the feelings Of people for whom.
'rd,ytLualIy entertain the highest respect and
adnira.Iun-iut IT won be Iaise deiicacy IN me w.
a'c, tbat tiodreu na,ton. and which the best and
most emf tened OF III ir own cilZ ans are the hsa
TO ADMIT and dep!ore VIII endeavoI, 'neh, sn1.
" to polnt out to your IOrdshps what rs the state
OF things now existing IN the united STATES. hs oe
sorjtsd by witnesses Of the his hest autho n.y. ma
lat hn fret mia ~ =
fbat ne ATTEST and mast sH tghteped rutzen> q
,ds Tn,tsd States ore absolutely erct1dedtfom az
no r.sjr,e tnneftoas. jnt they hure mot erea the
smallest influence ORE the dctS 81 ths "ocoH,,
nlsat. Thy Perfectly helpless ana poiceffeSs.
The speaker goes on 10 comment on "the
manner in which the proceedings OF congress
and of the State Legislatures are carried on,
the coarseness and vulgarity. the scenes OF ac-
rual violence which occur, and the total ABB
sence OF all attempts to promote the welfare
of the nation by enlightened legislation" lie
also gives prominence to The tact, that 'he
people have very little to dowith the selection
of officials that small knots of self elected
agitators are the real electors for the great
town OF New York; and that "1he body OF
the inhabitants have rs little real choice as
the person who is asked by conjuror TO draw
a card from a pack who OF necessity draws
the card that the copjuror has determined be.
f1rehand." There is too much truth in this
not only of New York, but of the country al
large. The number of electors is SO large, and
the number of officers SO great, that people
who have anything else to do, have neither
time nor inclination to bestOw upon matters
in which they feel no immediate III terest, anC
thus they fall into the hands of selt-constI
tued committees, who select the candidates
and leave to the voters the privilege of ratify
ing their nomnations at the polls. 1t is The
universally of elections as much as electors
that does so UGH mischief.
Earl GREY quotes the following extract
from a letter of Mr.. BUCHANAN, February 90
1859. in which the President. having spoken
Of 1.-The disastrous influence which excessive
and lavish expenditure may exert on the char
acter of our free institutions goes on to say
"A strong tendency towards extravagance is the
great political evil of the present day. None,
from the national treasury is constantly demanded
10 enrich contractors, spec" la'ors and AGENTS. and
these projects are eilded with every alnremepi
which can he impaired to them by ingenuity ard
talent Gains which had been condemned by
former cisions. and had become rusty with age
have bee again revived, aud have been Pr id.
cipa and interest. Indeed. there seems to he a
seneral rush I" obtain money from the treasury ON
any and every pretence.
The allusion of the same letter to extraor-
TO- The swindling operations upon the trea-
sury by land and railroad spectators, the
growing disgust of the educated classes for
everything pertaining 10 the politics of the
dav, the degl adation of the tribunals of jus
tice through the process of an elective judi
ciary, the venal character of many State Le-
gis!atures, a'e all depicted in sombre colors.-
On the other hand, the noble Earl declares
that "whi!s the rich and upper classes are err
eluded from ony legitimate influence in the gor-
eminent Of the country, the Weei,imate influence
Of money is greater than ersr, and it is stated
that rich men hare btfls to far from the lar in
a majority Of the States Of the Union." Even
the New York quarantine riots have not es.
capped the attention Of the speaker, nor the po-
lice of the Empire City, of which he says: II
am afraid there can be no doubt of abuses in
the police of New York, that make life and
property unsafe in many parts Of that great
commercial metropolis"
The first impulse upon reading such a speech
is TO denounce its author for his aristocratic
intolerance, but candor compeis US to acknow-
ledge that he produces the documents to sus-
tain many OF his assertions, and that the po-
litical demagogues, Adventures and ruffians
who figure so prominently in American pub
tic affairs, have brought degree of shame
and scandal upon liberal principles, which
bids fair effectuaIly to check their progress in
Great Britain and all Europe AT any rate,
il is lawful TO learn from an enemy. And
there are some Of Earl q REY's opinions which
no American Will feel disposed to dispute
That part Of his speech in which he expiodes
the assertion Of the reform leaders, "that there
is no danger Of England coming to such a state
of things as America-that the reverence Of
Epglishmen for law and justice, and their de.
sire to see it fairly administered, are SO great
that they will never for a moment follow so
evil an example," will command universal
assent. In the first place, the reverence COR
law was formerly az great In the United States
as in England; secondly, the experiment of a
numerical majority is far less dangerous in
wide and lhinly populated territory than a
densely peopled country like Great Britain !;
thirdly, if the practical working Of universal
suffrage is injurious 10 the common welfare
in the United States, where the whole COM
munity has been educated TO its exercise from
their cradle, and where the average intelli-
gence of the electors is much higher than that
OF any other people, it would prove still more
ruinous in Great Britain, where the peasantry
are proverbially stupid and eredulous, and
many OF them vicious and degraded. Earl
GREY Is quite right in opposing a measure to
throw the pearls OF freedom before those who
are entirely incapable Of approaching them.
Richmond aud Lynchburx Railroad.
At last Powhatan Court mer,ino was
neia Including q nnmbsr Of the most inf1u.
ehuai and respectable citizens of that eountv
70 take INTO consideration the CONSTRUCTION ~
tne hicnmond and Lynchburg Railroaa
zen. " y. SCOTT presided, and J. M WIZ
LOCKE acted as Secretary. The sen,imsr, -.