The Sun. — 1853-11-05 (London, England)

RICE SD.  against the " sitting Member." The counsel may know perfectly well that it has rained 51. notes in a borough which, in its normal condition, was usually free from any such refreshing visitation. Voters in their evening walks have had little packets containing precisely two sovereigns slipped into their hands, and they have continued their walks, and ultimately voted on the right side. Liabilities have not been enforced, arrears of taxes have been paid up by some benevolent genius, and nobody wondered at such a result, for was it not election time ? Everybody is fully aware of the existence of bribery; but, of course, there must be some difficulty in proving that which the guilty parties are at most pains to conceal. But some way or other murder will out. The air which floats over rotten boroughs and rotten corporations is pregnant with revelation. In the case of Parliamentary elections there are two points chiefly worthy of wonder—first, that every member is not unseated ; and, secondly, that any member is ever unseated. In other words, corruption is general—the difficulty of proving it enormous. So, with the London Corporation in the present instance, it is astounding that the very stones in the Poultry and King-street do not rise up in witness against, them ; on the other hand, so completely have they had all the sources of evidence under their own control, that it is still more marvellous that Aldermen and angels are not taken as synonymous expression.s. But we bare no kind of • doubt thit before the inquiry by the Commission is concluded, by hook or by crook every point of their management and corruption will be brought to light, and that not through channels to which one might naturally have looked, but in unforeseen ways. In the case at present before us, who would ever have supposed that a zealous Common Councilman, in the plenitude of his civic energy, should have jumped up in his place and made the requisite admissions, when there was some little difficulty in bringing the case home to the principals ? Mr. Wood tells us that the practice is to order . 300 copies of the newspaper containing the longest report of the proceedings of the civic court. The purchase is made under the authority of a report from the Consolidated Committee, which had been received by the Court, and acted upon by the instrumentality of the Hallkeeper. The Town-elerk, on Thursday last, declined furnishing our reporter with a copy of this document. We are bound to say that the refusal was made with all circumstances of courtesy ; but still the document was kept back. Here it is—at least, the most important part of it—as handed in by Mr. Acland yesterday to the City Corporation Commission :  " We, whose names are hereunto subscribed of your Consolidated Committee, to whom, on the 22d day of May, 1846, it was referred to confer with her Majesty's Government and others upon such of the matters specially referred to the several committees, as we may deem expedient, and to report thereon from time to time, do certify that, pending the progress of the negotiations had on the references to us with various departments of the Government, and also in the proceedings in Parliament during the last two sessions, it has appeared to your committee that the motive and objects of the Corporation have frequently been much misunderstood, to the great hindrance of your committee and the embarrassment of the concerns intrusted to them, impeding materially the arrangements they were proposing with the Government and the Crown ; and that these inconveniences have in a great degree arisen from the imperfect publication of the reports of the proceedings of the Corporation, by which means want of confidence was engendered and misconception encouraged. That the proceedings of most other corporate bodies, of public meetings and public transactions, are more fully reported and published than those of this Corporation." We believe we are not in error when we assume the document from which the above extract is taken to be identical with the one which was refused on Thursday by the Town-clerk on the application of our reporter.