Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-12-16
The English Elections.

\ correspondent Of the New York Times
gives very good account of the way they
vote in enlightened England, when the
suffrage is restricted to the better class Of
citizens.
On Friday evening, as | wrote in my
last, | had the privilege OF attending a
Conservative meeting in one of the rough
quarters of Bristol, and on Saturday after
noon, at 4:30 o'clock-which Is early can
die lighting this time of year in England,
| procured a ticket in exchange for my
card, and went to Colston Hall to a Libe-
raj Trades meeting, addressed by Mr. Nor
ley The hall Is central, magnificent in its
architecture, and will hold 5000 or 900
people. For full hour there rushed in
at one narrow entrance an excited, pushing,
struggling anything but comfortable crowd
of red Radicals. each with his red card of
Berkeley and Morley in his hat, and his
ticket in his hand.
An English crowd at the entrance Of
any place is always pushing, disorderly,
dangerous British liberty consists in as
sauting, crushing, at times killing your
neighboI-a free and eager competition. in
which the rights of the individual are
entirely lost sight of. Every Englshman
says it is shameful. He knows how much
better such things are managed elsewhere,
but he goes scrouging all the same
By waiting patiently | got in at private
door and the view OF this great hall, packed
as close as men could stand, and with an
enthusiasm equal to any amount of contin-
ued cheering, was worth seeing. Eloquenee
is so rare thing in this country that it is
not to be expected Good common sense
and sturdy pluck there is in abundance If
you have anywhere a really eloquent or
humorous speaker, he is probably Celt.
The best hits at this meeting were made by
an Irishman. Mr. Morley is cookbook
ing, kindly-seeming man, with good
voice and clear mode of speaking. The
new act against bribery is very strict.
" Treating and undue influence" are misde-
meanors, and you are not allowed to hire
cab or carriage to bring up the voters. Yet
every liquor-house was crammed with
customers. every cab was engaged on cleo
ton day, and all the carriages in town
were borrowed Men were paid to can
yass. serve on committees, to watch others
that were paid, to distribute documents, to
bring up voters, and to make themselves
generally useful with bludgeons, brickbats
and other means of political influence. OF
course the meeting, packed with tickets
carefully distributed, was all on one side,
as a political meeting should be. L asked
an Englishman how it would answer for
two candidates on opposite sides to stump a
district together, speaking at the same
meetings The idea struck him as ludi-
crous, Utopian impossibility. So the unan-
imous meeting yelled itself hoarse, and had
Sunday to rest in and prepare its lungs for
Monday.
Monday morning, at 8 o'clock, the rising
sun struggling with November fog. L
went past the Exchange, and found its
whole front occupied, about ten deep, with
Tory roughs, each with a blue card on his
cap, in high good humor at being first on
the ground, and ready to rush into the
! central court, where the nominations were
TO be made as soon as the great doors
were thrown open An impatient street
full of annoyed Radicals was behind
them; and the prospect of getting in or