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trembling , when he sat down : the excitement of a triumph—the massive head , notwithstanding—overcame him , and he had scarcely the self-possession to acknowledge the eager praises which were offered by the Minister and others , in his neighbourhood . Evidently he had reasons for being as quiet as Gibbon was ,. in the House ; and , in this case , too , no doubt , we must think enough will have been done for fame and for our pleasure , if the History is finished . " A Steangee . " Saturday Morning .
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THE LIVERPOOL ELECTION COMMITTEE . The Liverpool Election Committee was looked forward to with great interest by the Parliamentary reformers , because its investigations were expected to produce a conviction in the Parliamentary and public mind that there must be a wholesale disfranchisement of ' * freemen" as freemen , and by the " Liberal" party generally , because it was anticipated that the Carlton Club would be detected at Liverpool as distinctly as at Derby , Chatham , or Norwich , and that Mr . Forbes Mackenzie would be coupled with Mr . Stafford among the victims of the system referred to by Mr . Coppock , on Thursday , as the system of " preserving
-appearances . " So far , the over-wrought expectations have not been very completely fulfilled . The incidents evolved are of a very commonplace character , and there is nothing dramatic in the various positions in which the sitting members are represented by counsel and witnesses . But the petitioners nevertheless win ; they prove bribery , and bribery of a kind and on a plan to separate Liverpool from all the other corrupt constituencies . Messrs . Turner and Mackenzie will , no doubt , be unseated ; but something more will be gained if the case is looked into for the purpose of obtaining a general " moral . "
The last contest and election for Liverpool took place under peculiar circumstances . The two members who sat for Liverpool in the previous Parliament were Mr . Cardwell and Sir Thomas Birch—the one a Conservative , and the other a Whig : a Melbourne Whig , he called himself . They appear , up to a certain point , to have been popular with the constituency , and the governing classes in the town—that is , on Changewould seem to have been satisfied with the compromise which gave to the two parties—Whigs and Conservatives—a member a-piece . But Mr . Cardwell and Sir
Thomas Birch voted wrong " religious" votes ; Mr . Cardwell , with the other Peelites , voted against the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill , and Sir Thomas Birch went " wrong" about Maynooth . Everything , then , went against them , and Sir Thomas found himself in such sudden bad odour—with the Tory party for his ecclesiastical votes , and with the Liberals because he had voted with Lord John Russell in all Lord John ' s mistakes about reform—that he shrank from facing the town , and resigned his pretensions . Mr . Cardwell was not in so bad a position ; the Liberals , not
expecting much , had been surprised at his liberality , and accepted him as their candidate ; and lie was pretty sure of a large contingent of the moderate Conservative party . With him was run , specially by the Liberals , a local Whig . The Tories repudiated both ; they took up n local Tory , and ran , with him , Lord ' p erby ' s Whip—Forbes Mackenzie . Here then was the Liberal party opposing the Tory party with a Conservative ; for , on each side , the local men only counted us dummies . But the peculiarity did not end there The elections in other places wero on tbo
question of Free-trade—of Parliamentary Reform—of the State Church—and so on . But in Liverpool tho election was on a religious point , and on that one point only —Ought Maynooth College to be endowed ? Mr . Cardwell said , " It is endowed ; and I won t vote for its dincudowineut . " Mr . Mackenzie said , " 1 « im : a Protestant ; this is a Protestant community ; and 111 vote for the disondowment of Maynootb , bmiuso 1 won t endow Popery . " Mr . Mackenzie talked for a Governinent-os did many of his colleagues—the Protestant pastors told tho » hoop that Lord Derby would bring >«' a measure to repudiate the act ho aided Sir Robert Peel in accomplishing ; and tho sheep flocked to the his heart
poll ; and Mr . Mackenzie laid liis hand on , siMwiliwl tho proudest moment of his . lift ; , and telegraphed hurrahs to tho anxious Premier , and tho trembling triumvirate at the Uarlton . It waa an election ,, f a man who cried " No Popory ; " and the ( jovcra . nont organs talked triumphantly about the verdict of tho Urst expert , port in tho world upon the Question of " recent commercial policy . Tho result was that Lord Derby brought in no Anti-Maynooth bill- and that Mr . Mackenzie did not oven vote tho other day , for Mr . Spooner ' n " coup" on ilio Miscel laneous Estimates , in withholding Protestant putty from th » Pnpi . sti « . « l »«»«» " * ' Maynooth windows . In the result was a lesson for the simple religious people of Liverpool and othor places ; that tho election of u
member of Parliament is a matter of business , greatly affecting the secular arrangements of every tax-payer ; and that the " religious" opinions of a delegate on worldly affairs are not of primary importance . But there is another lesson to be learned . The evidence taken by . the Committee discloses the enormous deception practised upon these deluded and pious householders . This election , on a religious question , was carried by the most unsparing resort to the most undisguised immoral machinery .
The Tory and Protestant gentlemen who carried the seat for Mr . Mackenzie , the " true Protestant , " as his banners described him , were gentlemen who had vast numbers of poor men in their employ ; and it would appear that they conspired to bully and intimidate into Protestantism these ballotless wretches , who were getting more wages , and more for the wages—and they knew it—from Free-trade , with which they insisted on identifying Mr . Cardwell , for much the same reason as the other classes identified him with the Pope . These Protestant gentlemen , in addition , subscribed large sums to buy those whom they had no chance of 150 bribed
bullying : and day by day , one by one , voters are in course of being brought up to disgorge the truth before the Committee . Where one thief is detected , ten escape : if 150 confess to bribery , what a constituency ! There are in . Liverpool 1600 freemen ; and according to the counsel who opened the case , these freemen , as their numbers would certainly allow them , decide every election . The freemen , as a rule , possess no other qualification—they are the poorest and the most impressionable in the town ; so that the anti-democratic organs who boasted last time , and have always boasted of the verdicts of
Liverpool ( notorious for Tory representatives ) , may now know what the voice of Liverpool is worth—viz ., always what the richest party choose to give in the competition for the freemen . Only 295 freemen voted for the Liberals' candidates ; some 1100 or 1200 voted for the " true Protestant ; " and , from what the witnesses who have been examined testify , "" the fair inference is , that every freeman who voted for Mackenzie got 5 s . " for the loss of his day ' s work . " There were other and more insinuating methods of corruption . Sixty-one public houses were kept open , and true Proof
testants got drunk in thousands on the days nomination and election . Colourmen were in great request ; any voter who would wear " the red" employed in that way . Cabmen were numerously employed , but it would appear that many of them were bad drivers ; and the Liberals sneeringly said , that all the cab-drivers in Liverpool enjoyed the privilege of tho franchise , until evening , when there were so many collisions from general drunkenness that it was doubtful which were the professional and which the amateur charioteers . All these scenes , so indicative of " true Protestant" enthusiasm , went on under the eyes
of the " true Protestant" gentlemen taking part m Mr . Mackenzie ' s election ; and they must have hud some doubts of the religious sincerity of the managers , who did not scruple to reach their holy end by Cleans so equivocal . To affect to believe that tho candidates themselves were not directly responsible is—not being on a Parliamentary committee—beyond our power ; and after reading that portion of tho opening allegation which charges Mr . Turner ( the local Tory candidate ) with offering a situation to one voter for his vote , wo declino to suppose that they showed even the common prudence of not appearing to know what waa going forward .
But there is still a further lesson , not applicable merely to true Protestant communities , but to largo towns generally , to be gathered from the _ Liverpool election exjxwuro . Here we sou how candidates are chosen , how elections are lniumged , and how compromises are proposed ; and clearly the towns tljcni-BclveH— -the body of the community—havo nothing to do with the arrangement . It is completely an affair of cliques . Tho first witness culled is a Mr . Ruthbone , a Whig , who appears , proprio motu , to liavo offered a compromise to the Tory side , viz . that if they'd give up one of their memWs , and let a Whig in , tho petition should bo " managed . " Of course ho now but
states that bin party repudiated the proposition ; there is ibis suspicious circumHUnee , that tho negotiation broke down . Ho speaks confidently of « hiv party , " and on inquiry , it appears that ho is the mm of nn old gentleman who has always been influential in Liverpool elections' — : i merchant . In flirt , " his party" consists of tho petitioner . * , about a dozen gentlemen , among whom lie and bis fathdr count as two . Further inquiry still enables us to ascertain thai , thorn is no " Liberal" organization in Liverpool , and that , consequently , he and his party aro self-elected . Further inquiry , "gain : it appears thai- one of tho petitioners ' counsel is the son-in-law of thin old gentleman , who is always busy at elections ; and inevitably the impression
produced is—the petition is not from the town of Liverpool , but from a small family party there ; and , of course , the succeeding impression , that the " Liberal" candidates at the election were the chosen , not of the town , but of this clique . And here is the particular moral we would ad duce from this story of the Liverpool election—that these great towns , because they have no democratic confederation , are in the hands of the old gentlemen , who are always busy , and who are i nvariably found to be Whigs , rather inclined to moderate Conservatism , like Mr .. Cardwell . Our inclination , after reading this Liverpool committee evidence , would therefore be to get rid of the freemen , and of old gentlemen , " always influential . "
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THE FUTURE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA . ( From a Correspondent . ) The Bill for the future government of India was laid on the table of the House last night , by Sir Charles Wood , the President of the Board of Control , in a speech which in many parts was much like a brief for the India House converted into a bad pamphlet . I have no wish , however , to undervalue some of the sentiments expressed by the rio-ht honourable gentleman , which your readers will easily recognise in the full reports of the speech . Possibly the mere sentiments were bis own , while the evident absence of any tolerable grasp of the subject may be attributed , to his short official connexion with Indian affairsa connexion which present arrangements must render short in the case of most who hold the office . The principal features of the new plan are as follows :
1 . The East India Directors to bo reduced from 24 ( or practically 30 ) , the present number , to 18 . 2 . Of the 18 Directors , 12 to be elected as at present , and 6 to be nominated by the Crown out of officers , civil or military , who have served the Crown or the Company 10 years in India . 3 . Admission to the Civil and Military Colleges of the East India Company to be dependent on competition and on conformity to an elevated standard of previous education : direct cadetships to be still in the patronage of the East India Directors , subject to passing an examination , of which the terms shall bo approved by the Board ot Control . ., „ 4 . A statement of Indian finances to be laid annually before Parliament .
, _ _ 5 . A Deputy-Governor to be appointed for Bengal , so as to leave the Governor-General free for the affairs of all G . The Legal Code arranged by Mr . Macaulay , in 1833 , and ever since under the consideration of the successive Law Commissioners , to be completed by a Commission , to sit forthwith in England . 7 . The Legislative Council to bo augmented by a member from each presidency , and by two of tho Queen s Judges , so aB , with the present members , to consist of 12 8 The members of Council in India to be still nominated by the Court of Directors , but subject to the approval of tho Crown . X .
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June 4 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER , 545
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NOTICES TO COTtUBSFONBENTa . P who wrtfos from Birmingham , is informed that tho statement ho refers to lms ( ho best of all authorities in such a muttor —personal acquaintance . Yj J The review lie sent us wns not excluded because considered " unworthy of our columns , " but in accordance with an absolute rule . If we allowed correspondents U > furnish us with volunteer orit . iei . sin . s , ivi' . should never be eertnin that we wero not lending our columns to private influences . We have received several letters this week intended for our Open Council ; but we are forced to omit them for two reasons ; first , because Home of them are ill-timed ; and secondly , bevauso many lire not authenticated by the name and address of tho writer . Once for all wo beg to repent distinctly tho notico already given , that on no occasion can wo insert letters where the real name and iiddi-ens of the writer i . s not . yiven .
" The Value of Kvidi-neo , " and several other articles unavoidably omitted this week .
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Rkcoonition ov Mkuit . — To acknowledge every spocies of merit is the privilege of a liberal minded man . —From Goalha ' s Opinions . I > Hii ) K . — I ' rido is disgusting , if it manifest itself in contempt of others , even of the lowliest . A careless , frivolous fellow , may deal in ridicule and contempt . Without respecting himself " , how can he respect others ? Hut a man who is conscious of his own worth , has no right to undervalue his fellow-men . — From ( Joe . the ' * Opinions .
TliK Hiddkn LiKK .---Among the workings of tho bidden life within us which we may experience hut cannot explain , are there uny more remarkable than those mysterious moral influences constantly exercised , either for attraction or repulsion , by one human heing over another ? In the . simplest , as in the most important affairs of life , how startling , how irresistible is their power ! How often we feel and know , either pleaHuruhly or painfully , that another ih looking on us , before we have ascertained the fiict with our own eyes ! How often we prophesy truly to ourselves tho approach of friend or enemy just before either have really appeared ! How strangely and abruptly we become convinced , at a first introduction , that we shall Kccretly love this person and loathe that , l > cforo experience him guided us with a single fact in relation to their charucterri . —Coi / MNS ' s Basil .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 4, 1853, page 545, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1989/page/17/
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