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since the trade commenced . The instalments of gold , which continue to arrive in England , and also in New York , materially contribute to support prices , by a species of ihcesSfcrit drafti-suppl y * and there is every prospect tltftt this cause bf commercial activity will continue . Ill this respect our own country olfers a remarkable contrast to the
present state of France . The commercial men of that country are at present unctwgbihg a maiiift not unlike our railway mania , the object being with them , railways and joint-stock enterprises in general . Government has helped to stimulate this by its own projects of employment . But already some of the undertakings are bankrupt , and an unsound paroxysm of enterprise is likely to come to an end so soon as to embarrass the new
Empire very seriously in its treasury . The intelligence from India is mystifying . After much delay General Godwin has advanced up the Rangoon , and has captured Prome in due form ; but there he stops . It is related of George the Fourth , that he could prolong the swallowing of a glass of wine to an extraordinary length of enjoyment . General Godwin seems to be protracting his conquest with the same epicurean fond delay . Annexation is already anticipated , but the veteran is making the most of the preliminary war .
The Duchess of Sutherland and certain ladies collected round her by friendship , or by the pleasure of joining a party in Stafford House , came forward to speak as " the women of England , " and to preach to " the women of America" in the sense of Mrs . Beechcr Stowe ' s book . The step is taken at the instigation of Lord Shaftesbury , but is generally regarded as a mistake . The ladies will probably go home . In the feminine world , the most notable event is a loss—Ada Byron has followed Miss Berry , and the only child of the poet is gone .
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THE PARLIAMENT OF THE WEEK . THE BRIBERY CHARGES AGAINST MAJOR BERESPORD . The long loolced-for statement respecting the Derby election , and the alleged share or ' Major Beresford in that disgraceful transaction , was made on Monday night . Th # case was in the hands of Sir Alexander Cockburn , who stated it with great fulness and distinctness , in calling upon the House to take the petition from Derby into consideration . The petitioners alleged that at the late election for Derby , systematic bribery was resorted to for the purpose of procuring the return of one of the candidates ; and they further allege that the Rig ht Honourable William IJoresford , a Major in the army , a Privy Councillor , the Secretary at War , now si member of this Jlouse , was a party to that bribery , and himself procured the agent by whom that bribery was carried into effect ; and they prayed the House to institute a full and searching . inquiry into the matter of this petition ; and they were the more earnest in that prayer because the right honourable gentleman accused was a member of her Majesty ' s ( joverninent . If these , parlies bad been guilty of a foul conspiracy to injure the character of the right honourable gentleman , and if they wished to support it by falsehood and conspiracy , us it had been alleged , an inquiry would establish the fact . These charges and counter charges rendered nn inquiry necessary , and compelled him to state what he bad been informed were ; the fuels of the case .
The former members for Derby wen ; opposed in July lust , by Mr . llorsfiill , who wuh connected with the borough by marriage only ; his wife being a relative of a family iiamed Cox , who had considerable influence in the borough , one being a . solicitor , iinothcr a wine merchant ., and another the bend of a Lradworlcs . Derby was a stronghold of Mm Liberal party ; bul . it . was rumoured the Conservatives intended t , o carry it by the line off gold in July . And it reached I be curs of M r . Moss , the chairman of the . Liberal candidates , Hint bribery machinery wan in motion during the election . Mow this came about , forum a long story . _ _ mimed FlewkiT
In Derby there resided an attorney , who , after ' the election of 18 L 7 , bad almost , niiiglebaii ( l (! i | uii . seiit . ed Messrs . . SI rutt and (* ower , on petition . The cost , of Mum was upwards of ( i ()( )/ ., and that , sum the Tory party bad never repaid him . So when Mie lime for another election recurred , Flewkcr declined to act for Mr . liorsfull , though greatl y importuned to do no . At length , a Mr . I ( . ad ford took him in band , told him that money would be employed " to do 1 he trick ; " that a ntrungor was already ut . the ' County Tavern , and beggod him to go and nee Mint all wuh right . Flewkor went , and Haw Morgan " Mr . T . Morgan , of Chester" but hn found that Mr . Morgan cmiio from HhrewHbury , not Cluster ; and that ho hud in hiu poHHennioii a let . tTor addrcMsod to Mr . Frail of Hhrovyrifcury , tlio baud-writing of wliicJU Flowkor know quitu
well , and he exclairtl&l , " < JhY * ni » k &e writing of Major Beresford . I kno-vf the -writing perfectly well ; and seo here is W . B ., Catitbn Club . " After this , Flewker saw Kadford , and told him . all was right ; that Morgan was the right sort of tnan ; and that he Was to have 1001 . for tfie job . Tie fcext service Mr . Flewieir was asked to perform was td go to Nottingham and secuf e the services of otte Hibberfc , \ vlio had a gang of men under him there . Flewker went and secured Hibberfc ; but when there he told a Mr . Cox what was brewing at Derby } and Mr . Cox gbfc an introduction to Mr . Moss , the Liberal chairman , And set out for Defby , whither Fiewker had returned . Flewker again saw Radford , and had another interview with Morgan . As there was some fear that the County Tavern would be watched by a house opposite , Radford was shown that Morgan ' s room had two doors and two staircases—one back and one front . While Flewker was
there , the money was brought by a man whom he had seen at Cox ' s , the wine merchant ; and Will or " Spring Rice" brought the lists of voters considered likely to take a bribe . The next day , the polling day , Flewker was again with Morgan ; when Morgan told him to go to Radford and tell him to send some more " horsenails . " Radford was in bed when he took the message , but a servant brought down word that the horsenails should be sent ; and afterwards Radford told Flewker that the horsenails had been sent . Matters were now ripe . Flewker told everything to Cox of Nottingham—no relation to the Derb y Coxes—Cox told Mr . Moss ; Mr . MoSs sent a police serjeant and three men to the County Tavern ; by aid of the pass , they entered Morgan ' s room , and arrested him , his gold , and his voting-lists ; and a letter was found on him , addressed to Mr . Frail , of Shrewsbury , written 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 . Send his card to Cox , Brothers , and Co ., lead works , as coming from Chester . That will be enough . Yours , W . B . —Monday . " Morgan made no secret of the business he had been engaged in . Derby , he said , was a poor place ; voters were shabby fellows ; two voters in Shrewsbury would cost
twice as much as twenty of them . So it was clear that the business of Morgan at Derby was bribery . JSTow came the question—how far is Major Beresford to be considered accessory to this bribery P It had been sworn that the hand-writing was his , and he had never denied it ; the envelope bore the impress of the seal of the Cariton Club . Morgan , on whose person it was found , had minutely complied with the directions it contained . He had started for Derby within an hour after its arrival at Shrewsbury ; he had gone to the County Tavern ; he had sent his card to Cox Brothers and Co . This letter
could not have been written then without concert among the " parties . And why was a safe man sent to Derbywere there no safe men in the town P The fact is , that in bribery cases strangers , because less easily detected , are always called in . Then there was the false address . That could not have been given for any legitimate purpose . Taking all these circumstances , he would put a case : — " Take the case of a man who was apprehended jlagrante delicto in the perpetration of a crime ; and that that man was found to bo in possession of a letter directing him to the very place whero the crime was committed , directing him what ho was to do when he got there , and putting
bun into communication with persons who were supposed to have an interest in the crime being done , and further directing him to assume a disguise—would not those who committed the criminal for trial naturally put to themselves tho question whether the party who wrote the letter was not an accessory to tho crime P would it not bo their duty to say that such a document , unanswered and unexplained , would be cogent and weighty evidence to prove the complicity of the writer in guilt ? Mark ; ho said , if the letter was unanswered and unexplained . I leaven forbid ho should say that this caso did not admit of an nnawcr . All lie said was that this was a case which
demanded inquiry . " At this point he would leave the case , had not Major Beresford declared that the facts brought , to light were the result of a base conspiracy , supported by falsehood and perjury . It wan said tl ^ at the letter nigne . d " W . li ., " although genuine , was written respecting an election prior to 1 HiSii ; and if that were so , ho agreed that it would bo unfair and ungenerous to visit , it upon him now . Was this ho P He bad made inquiry , and found , from tho
evidence , that it could not have applied to any election prior tolHfiti . For ho had a correspondence in his possession , which had panned between Mr . Flewkor find Mr . Heresford , which conclusively proved that Mr . Horusfonl did not interfere ) in the election of I 847 ; and that , until 1818 , Mr . Frail was unknown at Shrewsbury . The letters related to tho petition got up by Flewker against tho return of Strutt and ( Jower . The first thought , it a good thing to unseat Mr . Klrutt for Derby , " ami proiniticd KM )/ , in aid of that uervico . The next two were written in
February , 1 H 48 , oik ; of which wore aH follown : — " Dkaic . Silt , - I have an agent who is skilled in all election inatterH [ laughter ] , and understands every manner of Hellenic with regard to potitioiiH | renewed laughter ] , lie will be in Derby next , Mom lay , and will bring an introduction from mo . You may truwt him niost Implicitly , and you will gel , Home very useful hints probably from iiiin respecting your petition . " YourH truly , " Wru-IAM UioitKHI'oltl ) . " 77 , I ' all-inull , Feb . W > . " The " agent , " here npoken of in " Mr . Krail , " afl we learn from tho next letter written on tho muno day . Ko that beyond a doubt . Mr . Frail was a total Htranger to Derby up to 1 H 1 H . Ifo now proponed to show th « relations that ai'OHU between Mr . Frail and tho leading ag < mtn and j > ar ~ timiuH of tho ( JonHcxvativcH in tho borough . Tho right lion , gontlcmou write * on tho ftrd of March : —
" Dear Sib , —1 hs ^ ii endeavoured to see Mr Col ^ i but I find he is lH the country hunting , probablv « ' Atherstohe , I , will Spent to him * henele ? £ ZZeT ™ to town . I hftre Been Mr . Frail , who gives me amS account of the case thftfc can be made out against the > ting members . I hate requested him to give you everv assistance in his power , and attend to anything that th Derby party desire to be done . I shall be happy to assisf you alsd when the committee sits . [ What this meant he ( Sir A . Cockburn ) - did not altogether know . ] The ereat matter to be looked to is to collect funds , and to keep the case ( Juiet till it is brought before the committee tt H * T , ' ii ° £ J , truiy ' "WILLIAM BEEE 8 FOED . " 77 , Pall-mall . "
Ihe next letter was from Mr . Frail himself ; and it was important , because it showed , having once obtained a footing , upon what terms of intimacy he became with the partisans at Derby . The letter was written from Carlisle [ great laughter , and cries of " hear , hear" ] . It appeared that there was an election then going on for the ancient city of Carlisle ; an election petition was presented against one of the members for that city , which was successful and there was an election to fill the vacant seat . Mr . Frail ' it appeared , was sent down , and if not by the direction at least with the concurrence of the right honourable gentleman , to lend his assistance in the election for Carlisle and from thence he wrote the following letter to Mr ' Flewker : — " Carlisle , Saturday .
" Mr deak Sir , —I have only just received your letters this day . I am much engaged with the election ; it will be over on Tuesday , and I hope to be in London on Wednesday . I have written to London for you ; arrangements must be made for the lodgings of your witnesses &c . This shall be attended to without delay . If you can get Andrews and Alexander do , if not , Byles . " Messrs . Andrews and Alexander were two very distinguished members of the parliamentary bar . His friend , Mr . Sergeant Byles , was one of the most distinguished members of Westminster-hall ; but perhaps he was better known to honourable gentlemen opposite as the author of some profound lucubrations on political economy , generally known by the title of Fallacies of Free Trade ,
[ laughter , and Conservative cries of " hear , hear . " ] But the most significant part of the letter was yet to come . The letter was signed at the bottom , " Frail , " but immediately above that signature there was written , " Yours sincerely , Wm , Nixson , " and it was dated from the King's Arms Hotel , Carlisle , which showed , he thought , that Mr . Frail had gone under the name of Nixson at Carlisle , when he was attending to electioneering matters there ; and there was a postscript , " My best wishes to Mr . Hibbert as Thompson , not Johnson . '" It was evident from the P . S . that this gentleman also had been undergoing a change in his patronymic , and that Mr . Flewker had written the disguise Johnson instead of Thompson , which Mr . Frail takes this opportunity of correcting . The next letter was from the right honourable gentleman himself : —
" Dear Sir , —Mr . Frail has been out of town on very important busintess for four or five days , and that is the reason why you have not heard from him . I do not think that he has got your letter . I think he will be able to get to Derby on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning , but not before . I have sent to speak to a gentleman from Derby , and will give him any direction I can that may bo serviceable . I regret that i rail is out of town . " Yours truly , " W . Beeestoed . " Saturday , , ( 1848 . )"
Sir Alexander Cockburn then showed from these facts , that tho letter did not appl y to the election in 1848 , which took place after tho unseating of Strutt and Gowor . lor in 1848 , thero was nothing doing at Shrewsbury to keep Mr . Frail " in his own place ; " and , besides , the election of 1848 took place on Friday and Saturday , and trail actually appeared at Derby on the Thursday previous , and found nothing to do . But in 1852 thero was a contest at Shrewsbury as well as at Derby , and in tho same week ; Mr . Frail , therefore , was " too much occupied at home to loavo bis own place . " But how could tho letter hayo been forthcoming in 1852 , if it had applied to matters in abominauie
1848 , unions there had boon a great , vilo , and conspiracy ? Jlewns not there to defend Mr . 1 lowker , if Mr . Flewker had coriHpired , how many moromuHt liavo conspired with him to make a conspiracy—Frail , -Morgt " , Kadford , tho Coxes , Mr . Moss , and many more . » m Frail was faithful to his party —honourable members opposite could vouch for that—Morgan was as dovoteci y . Krail an Frail wan devoted to the Connervativo l " " - ^ , ^ there was a conspiracy , howcnuie a letter directed to in the hands of Morgan ? There was ono bttlo fact wniti proved that Flewker could not have given tho " J Morgan at Derby . On tho back of tho loiter wore son " iviorgan < n I'l'iuy . \ m hid wmh "' •¦• " . ij " tho o
words in pencil , - mid thoso words we . ro names ^ stations whero Morgan , in coining from ShnwHim ^^ Derby woidd have to change carriages ; they . '' ' ' ' ' i ( . ford , Liohlield , Burton-on-Tront , Derby . " ^ M «**™™ proceeded to accumulate proofs that tho letter was wi . ^ in IHoti . Morgan , on bin arrival , was lnstaiiUy'tt' ^ hand by the ( W-h , by Radford , arid all the «;«'"« " ^ h . " When Morgan was a ' rrcHted , ho was defended l > y i , w ^ eiLmvsfrom'ShrowHbury ; and when ho was 1 " " ' ' ' UliH bail were two innkeepers from the Hanio town . I ^ Htatcn . ent of fucks could they entertain a bchot t »¦ - ^ had been a conspiracy ? If there , had been , lot i . no < ^ be punished ; but if the law had been broken uy u h ^^ man high iiV position , it wan necosHary , wluisi , , ) ^ punishing poor voters , that that Infractio n should
overlooked . j () ;„ . Ho moved tho appointment of u Coinini ' ttw ! ' ( l quirts into Lho petition with reference t <> W > ° 1 iiitfn of Major Hereford at the election . \ A uiYtt On behalf of Major HwoHford , Sir Joii if ( , ttvutMa luwoiitecl to tho appointment ° \" ^' ainK " Mr . WORTIEY oxpreBHod Homo ft'Hr ioMt tl » o V ^ miirht bo mado a precedent , and socmed to um
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1150 THE LEADER . ' [ Saturday _ _ . If - Jft — •¦ - ¦ v- ^ ' i—KBft ^ Mi . *
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 4, 1852, page 1150, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1963/page/2/
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