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November 8, 1851. .__ THE NORTHERN STAR....
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MONIES RECEIVED FOB TBS Wkek Esdixo Thur...
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Tbe litsBs. BiDEi.Br. —On Tuesday an inq...
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the case of Perry v. Peel and others, tr...
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THE DEPORTATION OF IRISH PAUPERS. At the...
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BRIBERY AT ST. ALBAN'S. The Commission i...
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'//////////// ^^^v/j-^///////^ 'IHE "TIM...
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THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. Bovlisg Ward, B...
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. This act alone town. He stands ch he ^...
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Thb late member for KoierMg&jM^tepfe-IS ...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Last Trick 01? It. Bonaparte. The Me...
tS & cir own petty cliques , their exploded d ' tions th e"" ancient party war cries to thlioT ' They did not comprehend theidea fa free and self-sustaining nation working t its own destiny uy its own industry , ra-ShVenca , and moral energy . Accustomed as rtev had been to the centralising and bureau-Jic system of the ancien regime , a relaxaf of Us rigour appeared to them syaonyous with the wildest confusion , uproar , and ^ n aitfby It was not posssible , in their opif ? that the people could walk alone , and iLr trembled , with the most dreadful apprehensions , at their getting loose from the fcureancrafi c apron strings by which , in all !! aSt times , they had been fettered . Instead
of quietly aiding to develops the Itepubhc , and accustom the masses to the exercise of politic al and social priveleges , [ they commenced , from the very moment they were placed in power , to curb , restrain , and mutilate these privileges and franchises . The people naturally chafed and grew impatient at finding , un expectedly , these restrictions placed upon them , and impediments placed in their way vrbere they had looked for help . Bad blood grew up between them and their representatives , hut the latter , having possession of the organised military force , were , of course , the strongest ; and they caused the streets of Paris to run with the blood of many of its best sons , because , under a Republic , they desired to be Republicans .
The people discovered , however , a great and important fact They learned that , with Universal Suffrage they had the power of chang ing th © constitution of the Assembly itself , and of thus regaining possession , constitutionally aud surely , without the shedding of a single drop of blood , of that power which they unwisely parted with to enemies of the Republic . This knowledge wis acted upon . Deputies were returned from all parts of the country whenever a vacancy took place , who were known to be honest Republicans ; and at the Paris election of 1850 the Republican
party showed its strength by returning the socalled Socialist candidates by an immense majority over all their rivals . What was flie consequence % The majority decided upon perverting the powers entrusted to them while yet they remained a majority , and to deprive the industrial classes of the very franchises by which they had been returned as representees under the Constitution . M . Thieus made the return of MM . Plotte and Sue a reason for revising tbe electoral law ; which vas neither so logical or so just as if he and all the former functionaries under monarchy
tad been declared to be for ever ineligible to hold any office under the Republic , because they w ere known not to hold Republican opinions . The excuse , whether good tor bad , served its purpose , however . A tyrant and traitorous majority passed a law by the mere brute force of overwhelming numbers , which , in fact , disinherited and disfranchised the entire of the working classes , and handed over their electoral rights and influence into the bands of the middle and wealthy classes , and
with these of course the actual Government of the country . Since that time France has been a Government of repression—of coercion—of terrorism . Force aud the arbitrary will or caprice of an unconstitutional administration has ten the sole ruler under a nominal Republic . The freedom of speech , of assembly , of printing , and of writing , have been systematically violated and trampled upon . Paris—France —has been as free as Vienna , and Austria : Hungary , or Naples .
The time approached for the redress of this great wrong . The people who had been thus iinaraously robbed of their franchises , had , in the majority of cases , decided npon refraining from taking any part in elections until the disfranchising measure was repealed . At the same time they declared their intention of averting their ri g hts at the nest General Election in 1852 , and , if need be , with arms
ia their bands . There can be no hesitation in the mind of any one acquainted with the history of France for the last fifty years , as to tie issue of such a struggle . The people who have so repeatedly broken the bonds of tyrant monarchs , and- sent them trooping in search of shelter and refuge , are powerful enough to snap the puny fetters woven by such diminutive aud merely clever political conjurorsasM . Thieus & Co .
But just as a fair contest was about to he waged , M . Bonapabte steps in in the character of peace-maker . In his message , he assures the Reactionary and really disorderly party , that he will continue the system of repression which he and they have so long jointly pursued ; while on the other , he holds out to the people the promise of a restoration of Universal Suffrage , clogged with some
conditions by which , in the jargon of these jugglers with p opular rights , it is to be separated from all that was * impure ' iu its former operation . In p lain Euglish , restrictions are to be imposed on the Suffrage , which , in the hands of the authorities , may be made to disfranchise large numbers of the working classes still , whenever it may suit ihe purpose of those in power .
There is no mistaking the object of this shilly-shally policy . Louis 2 ? apoleox has but one object in view : his re-election as Pbesi-I'Exiby hook or by crook . Even in the message ; he gives hints , broad enough , to the Assembly , that if they will compromise the matter with him and make the Suffrage micersal for the President , they may retain it in a restricted form for the members of the Assembly . It is from no love of liberty the proposal is made . If it should be agreed to
aad it does enfranchise the people once Kore , they have nothing to thank M . BoJfATAaTEfor . His policy is that of the policeman , Dot the statesman . Coercion and repression , nit development and freedom , are the mottoes of his government ; and if he should succeed in the artful dodge he is now trying , the peo ple of France will be as far as ever from enjoying that freedom which honest jrepublican institutions , fairly administered , would give them .
Thenalf and half policy of the President , however politic it may seem to him and to the secret advisers of the Elysee will not succeed . We do not say that the law of May will not be repealed . We hope and believe it will , notwithstanding the rejection of the first motion of the new ministry that the question should be "pushed forward asoneoi urgency . £ ut what we say is , that tlie double game M .
¦ UoSAPARlE is playing is one that -will neither gain him friends nor disarm his foes . He has , as yet , made not a step towards that permanent prolongation of his power , as head of the French nation , which is the constant and cherished object of all his actions . In order to have any . chance of that , he must cease to coquette " aiththeenemiesof the constitution , and throw himself frankly upon the sympathy and the confidence of the people .
November 8, 1851. .__ The Northern Star....
November 8 , 1851 . . __ THE NORTHERN STAR . 5
Monies Received Fob Tbs Wkek Esdixo Thur...
MONIES RECEIVED FOB TBS Wkek Esdixo Thursday , ffOVEMBEK Gin , 1851 . THE HOBeTty FU !? D . BECQVED BV TV . WOES , -v ™ _ £ s . d . Sceffieia , per G . Cavill 110 0 NATIONAL CHARTER FUND . Received by Jons Asxott . -G . 0 ., Southampton lsinree Friends , Oxford , per w . DruettisTd—S . Fisli Fresno Is—Brighton , per G . J . HoIjoalse 13 s—per Mr . Riser 8 .-Total ^ 1 48 7 ( 1 . . v •""•*""
Tbe Litsbs. Bidei.Br. —On Tuesday An Inq...
Tbe litsBs . BiDEi . Br . —On Tuesday an inquest * as held on the body of Dr . Badeley , at the Saracen s flead , Chelmsford . From tke evidence of use medical gentleman examined , it was clearly Remonstrated that the cause of death wasapoplexy , "at being produced by the morphia or opium Jhich . was taken fay the deceased . The Jury returned a vejtfict of accidental death .
Ad00507
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OP UNITED TRADES . T . S . Buncombe , Esq ., M . P ., President . " PUT JUSTITIA . " /'_ If it were possible for the working classes , by com . bining among themselves , to raise , or keep up the general rate of wages , it need hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . " 6 nuBT Wili .
Ad00508
The great question involved in the "W olverhampton Conspiracy Case will have passed through its most important , if not final , stage , before another number of this journal reaches the hands of our members . Notice has been received that the defendants in both indictments are to be called up for judgment on tbe 13 th inst ., when it is to be hoped that the vexed question raised by the Stafford verdicts , and the Judge ' s interpretation of the Combination Laws , will receive that grave and im * partial consideration , which a question , affecting the rights and interests of many thousands of the most industrious and useful of the British population , is so eminently entitled to . It is impossible to overrate the magnitude and importance of the question at issue .
Ad00509
COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH—Tbvrsw . THE "WOI . VBBHAMPTON * CONSPIRACY CASE . —PERRY V . PEEL AND OTHERS . Tbij important case was brought before the Court . , Mr . "Whatelky stated that he was instructed to move for a new trial or an arrest of judgment in
The Case Of Perry V. Peel And Others, Tr...
the case of Perry v . Peel and others , tried before Judge Erie , at the late Stafford Assizes . The defendants were noticed to appear and receive judgment on the I 8 th of the month , and it might perhaps suit the convenience oi the Court if the motion was deferred until that day . Judge Pattison : Any motion , either for arrest of judgment , or for a new trial , & c , could be made on that day , if it suited the convenience of tbe jespective parties . Mr . Keating and Mr , Parry , on behalf of thtir clients , made a similar application with an equally successful result . Messrs . Roberts , Stuart , and CMnnery , solicitor ? , were in attendance , also the defendants in the case . The motion was a mere formal one , it being the legal rule that all motions for new trials , & c , must be made during the first / our days of the term * :
The Deportation Of Irish Paupers. At The...
THE DEPORTATION OF IRISH PAUPERS . At the Thames Police-court last week , a young Irishman named Shaw , attended before Mr . Yardley , to complain of tbe forcible detention of his mother , with a family of two young children , in a building at Wapping , against her will , at the instigation of the parish officers of St . Martin ' s-inthe-Fields , who had obtained an order from the county magistrates for her removal as a pauper to Ireland .
On Monday the subject was renewed at the Thames Police-court , on the application of Mr . Dennis Gallagher , of 46 , Poland-street , who , after corroborating all that the young man Shaw had stated , as to his own ability and willingness to contribute to the support of his mother and as to the fact of tho father having sent £ 2 from New York to assist iu defraying the expenses ot his wife ' s passage to America , drew a painful picture of the sufferings of the pror Irish , who , having no settlement in this country , were sent off to a wretehed loft in Yfapping , and shipped thence in large numbers for Ireland . Tbe horrible description of the Wapping loft , given by Mr . Gallagher , induced Mr . Tardloy to send one of the officers of the court to the place in question . His report stated that he found the building a kind of
loft , and no doubt very cold . There were ten or twelve beds in it . The floor was not very clean , bu £ the iron bedsteads and the bed clothes appeared to be in tolerable order . The superintendent said that all the bed-clothing was washed once a month ; but in consequence of the quantity of trampers and others , who come from all parts of the country into Middlesex to be passed to Ireland , it was quite impossible to avoid the presence of vermin occasional , though every precaution was taken to keep the place as clean as possible . Mr . Yardley thought it a disgraceful thing that paupres should bo sent from England into Ireland in a state of disease and filth , Ue believed the complaint made by Mr . Gallagher was too well founded , and he thought it high time that those who had the administration of the poor laws should see that such a state of things was remedied .
On Wednesday , at the ordinary petty sessions , held in St . Martin ' s Vestry-room , a formal application was made for tbe rescinding of the order of removal . From the evidence of the witnesses who supported the application , it appeared that the pauper ' s husband had occupied a house in St . James ' smarket for three years previously to his leaving England for America . His rent was about £ 26 a year , which he paid in instalments of 10 s . weekly , and he was upon tho list of ratepayers . He had left his family about three months since , and gone to America . But two days after his wife's application to tbe parish for relief , a letter was received from him , bearing the Sew York post-mark , and enclosing £ 2 for the use of his family .
James bhaw , son of the pauper , a journeyman tailor , expressed his willingness to do all in his power to assist hia mother and her family . He was at present in work , but his wages were very uncertain . Sometimes he earned 25 s . per week , sometimes 10 s ., and sometimes less than that . On cross-examination , the witness admitted that he was generally out of work five months out of twelve . The pauper , Mary Ann Shaw , on being called in , said she objected to being sent to Ireland , on the ground of having no friends in that country , and of her long residence in London . Her application to the parish was for out-door relief ; and she knew nothing about coming into tho workhouse until she received a message to the effect that the relieving officer wanted to see her and her children . She came with them to the workhouse , and had been made a prisoner ever since ,
Mr . Henry Kingston , the relieving officer , deposed to having told the pauper , on her making a second application for relief , that if she continued to apply , she would certainly be sent to Ireland . Her reply was " They will never pass me after having been in this country fifteen years . " Having ascertained that the pauper had no legal Settlement in England , and her application for relief being continued , witness took her before the jus tice , who , after attentively considering the case , gave an order for her removal . The pauper denied having received any warning that she would he sent to Ireland until the day the order for removal was made .
The principal grounds upon which the rescinding of the order was prayed were—first , the cruelty of sending the pauper to Ireland , where she had no friends ; secondly , it was urged that she had gained a settlement jn Westminster ; and thirdly , that the pauper ' s son was in circumstances to support her . M . Griffiths , on behalf of tho parish authorities , said that with regard to the question of settlement , it was quite clear from tbe evidence of the witnesses that noise had been gained iu St . James ' sinarkefc , inasmuch as the hiring was weekly , and not , as required by the act , yearly . The capability of the son to support his mother and her family
would at once be estimated from his own admission that hia average wages , when in work , did not exceed 10 s . weekly , and that he was out of work five months in the year . As to the cruelty of the proceeding , Upon Which SO much had been said , he was authorised to state that the board of guardians , having had their attention called to certain allega . tions made before the magistrates at the Thames Police-court , had felt it their duty to visit the depot at Wapping . They had done so at an early hour that morning , without any notice of their visit , and he believed the chairman of the deputation would describe all that they had seen to be perfectly satisfactory .
The members of guardians , who had visited the establishment at Wapping , hero stated that they bad made a very close examination of the place , and had interrogated the inmates and servants . They found the quantity and quality of the food perfectly satisfactory , and the only complaint made by the pauper was , that she slept with her children on mattresses , which had vermin upon them . This was uncorroborated , and from tbe examination made by tbe committee , appeared to be untrue . After consulting together for a few moments , the Chairman said that the case had been very fully considered a fortnight ago , when the pauper refused to be sworn , aud conducted herself very improperly . The bench saw nothing to induce them to ch . mge their opinion , and the order must be carried into execution . The woman with her children will accordingly be sent to Ireland .
Bribery At St. Alban's. The Commission I...
BRIBERY AT ST . ALBAN'S . The Commission issued by the Crown for inquiring into the existence of corrupt election practices in St . Alban ' s opened its sittings , in the Courthouse of that borough , ou Monday week . The Commissioners are 31 r . F . Yf . Slade , Q . C ., Mr . W . Forsyth , and Mr . T . Phinn ; and Mr . Fitzgerald is theirsecretary . At the opening of business , Mr . Slade stated that it was intended to hold open court , so long as the proceedings were not reported with that detail which would injure parties giving testimony , and so long as opinion was suspended by the press during the pendency of the incompleted inquiry . The statute ives unlimited
under which the Commission acts g power to bring all the evidence before , theni which they think necessary ; and for the furtherance of this end , also gives the Commission power to grant a certificate to each witness deserving it , which shall exempt him from every penal or civil consequence of the disclosures he may make . Owing to an imperfect understanding of the intention of the Commission as to the publication of its transactions , the reporters of the London press retired from the Court-house on the Brst day of me inquiry ; but on Tuesday , finding that they wer uot precluded from giving the substance of _ tn proceedings , they regularly entered on their duties . Among the witnesses examined on the first day was Mr . Jacob Bell , the sitting Member . Mr . Bel desired to enter parliament iu order to pass a Dm for the Pharmaceutical Societyof which he is a
, leading member , The famed Mr . Coppock was the instrument of his direction towards St . Albau s . The price of the borough was very exp licitly mentioned to him ; and his doubts , as to whether a large Sum would be needed for legal expenses , were allayed by Mr . Coppock ' s assurances that the money would be required for " agenciesandvariousfcbings . ifr . Brace , a respectable London solicitor , went down to St . Alban ' a to make inquiries : but returned with a very unfavourable opinion of tho P * " ties he came in contact with , and advised hiselient to have nothing to do with St . Alban's . But Mr . Bell conferred with Mr . Coppock , and then resolved to go on ; Mr . Brace handed him over to another attorney ; and himself only meddled occasionally to keep his client " out of mischief . " Summoned by Mr . Coppock , there appeared in London Mr . Edwards thoaotorioua w ;' , 33 wkPywa 8 impri 30 Bfid
Bribery At St. Alban's. The Commission I...
by the House of Comraong j a man for twenty-five ten vear " « rft £ ed with the St , Alban ' s constituency , , f Jmol ^ » agerof the bank there , afterwards IK . ^ the con" -oUer and manager of the woerai election s , and once the manager of a ContoSn f ,, r Umph ' ^ Edffarda made M « bargain tor money with Mr . Coppock . The money transactions were studiously oblique and complicated . The first advance was a packet of ! ! n ^ aove , ™ S ™> brought by "Jenkins , " Snfcin . n * unk , ) 7 ™* coming from an UtiKnowti tjjeasurv , but since connected with Mr . ^ PP r i . ' j Brace ' and Mr - Hil 's the partner of £ . L »! i ' * and » fterffai-ds four other packets of five nunared sovereigns each were conveyed from Mr .. 111113 through Mr . Brace , thrnuuh Mr Clnnnnck ,
and through Mr . Edwards ' s son to Mr . Edwards himself . Mr . Hills , the partner of Mr . Bell , frankly deposes that ho caunot now wholly explain the details of these advances , because be purposely complicated the entries of them with partnership matters in the partnership books , so that if » i . y '"^ " /• should ho made the source of the money shouM be concealed . The constituency seems to have been at the fingers-ends of Mr . Edwards , and to have been counted off by him in its leading features of Liberal , Conservative , arid purchaseable , with the most minute and fractional accuracy . Mr . Simpson , a local attorney , tried to get his hand into tho election scramble , and he even offered from his party to nay off Edwavris with fMft hard
cash ; but Edwards knew his supremacy , rejected that and other ofters , and boasted that he would PO } t « 0 for evei > y one ih . it any other person would poll . Ldwards ' s evidence before tho Commission was given on Wednesday and Thursday . The reader recollects , from our description of tho proceedings before tbe Committee of tho House of Commons , a iu m > ° d ° in which bri , ) eO' was managed in St . Alban s . At a small house in a lane , ever since significantly called by the inhabitants "Sovereign Alley , tho venal citizens came and went to the ring of the Dell-metal of tte fortunate candidate . After a general description of these matters , Mr . Edwards was asked the actual names of the citizens whom he thus bought and sold . He objected to mention those names . " Chief Commissioner Slade said—You must supply the names .
" Mr , Commissioner Forsyth—The reason-is , that the act of Parliament requires a list ; and it you cannot give a list , we must ask you seriatim whom you bribed first , whom you bribed second , whom you bribed third , and so on through ail the five hundred names , till we come to the end . —Witness : It is a painful thing to me , Sir ; and my fiist suggestion is , will you tell me , in the presence oi those who are here , n-hat will be the consequences if I withhold the names ? " The Chief Commissioner—that you will be imprisoned until you answer . — Witness . A very pleasant thing for me , certainly ! I hare been eighteen weeks in confinement already ; and I should readily be shut up eighteen weeks more if you would not press these questions upon me .
" The Chief Conimissi"ner ; You are bound to give the names . —Witness : Let us first go back to tho act of Parliament ; it says that I must answer all the questions put to me . ( Here the witness ' s feelings gave way , and he was for a moment affected even to tears . The Commissioners ordered a glass of water to be given to him ; and he soon recovered the remarkable nonchalance with which he had given his evidence up to this point . Owing to indisposition , he had been accommodated with a chair during his examination . ) He proceeded—lam prepared to answer tho question . It was either on the 29 th or the 30 ih November that the voters were first brought singly to mc in my room in the house in Chequers-street . I can't tell how many voters I saw that first night—I think it was between fort ? and fifty .
" The Chief Commissioner : Can you now give us the names ?—Witness : I can only give you them by going alphabetically through the register of voters , if you compel mo to do so . Names , I know , have been selected by partisans ; but it would be very cruel in me to gratify the caprice of some few . I will go through the whole , so as not to make fish ot ono and fowl of another . " The Chief Commissioner : It is not to gratify us , or to gratify anybody ; but the supreme power of the Legislature requires you to give tho names ; and fcbero is no n ] ternative but to do it . —Witness : I wish to do it , and I hope it will do good . " The Commissioners were then furnished with
copies of the borough register of electors , and proceeded to call over the whole of the names in regular alphabetical order ; asking the witness whether the voter in question had received anything for his vote , and how much . The witness made his answers from his recollection , by the aid of a copy of the poll-book . The Commissioners in this manner went over the whole of the register for St . Alban ' s parish , ; and the witness gave in about a hundred names of electors who had all received bribes of £ 5 or upwards . In about a dozen cases the amounts were as high as £ 8 ,- but then the parties in moat instances were stated by the witness to have been employed either as messengers ov spies , to entitle them to the excess above £ B ; and in some of these cases Edwards gave it as bis opinion that the men had actually been
underpaid , rather than over-paid , in consideration of the services they had rendered to him during the five weeks during wbich tbe canvassing lasted . In a few Instances the bribes had been received by the wives in the absence of the voters ; and sometimes the husband repudiated the bargain , and withheld bis vote from Mr . Bell , without , however , returning the money . Most of the head-money had teen paid by the witness himself to tho parties ; ind tho rest , ho had no doubt , had been paid by Mr . Blaeg . The witness explained that his security against the bribed voters breaking their promises after they had pocketed the money was to have nothing to do with them on any future occasion ; and if they should at a future election keep their word , or give an unsolicited vote , he generally recompensed them with £ 2 or £ 3 after the close of the poll .
; The whole amount of money spent by Edwards in bribing the electors by head-money , might have Amounted to about £ 1 , 700 ; and about £ 800 was spent for the hire of committee rooms , salaries of clerks , payments to tho band , refreshments , unlimited drink to the committee and their assistants , ' and the dinners at which Mr . Bell was present . Tho money which Edwards himself received was a "delicate point . " They would not believe him when he told them . Hut he had " another inducement " besides the money . He should" think that he appropriated about £ 50 to himself . It being recalled to his mind that he hail refused the offer made by Mr . Simpson of £ 300 , Edwards said , " if it had been £ 3 , 000 instead of £ 300 " he would have refused it . This answer provoked a searching question ; to which he replied— " I could easily explain it , but I
don't think yon will press that question , if . you think of the serious injury it will do me . It is nothing connected with the election , and it was only known to Mr . Bell lately through me . " After a consultation in whispers , the Commissioners asked whether Edwards ' s object was " to obtain a pecuniary advantage , or only to retain the influence he had in the borough . " IIo admitted that tho inducement was greater than _ money : " it was the interest of some one belonging to me "—" an interest founded upon words that fell . " Being further pressed , he said the " words fell from Mr . Coppock . "Mr . Commissioner Forsyth : Well , w © must ask , our duty compels us to ask , what the nature of the words that fell from Mr . Coppock was ? "Witness : They had no reference at all to the election : they only touched my own immediate personal
interest . " The Chief Commissioner : We must know what tbe words were . —Witness : 1 think it rather hard if I must give up all that I have vested my hopes upon . I have told you all that you have asked hitherto , wishing to conceal nothing ; but this point is a matter only touching my own private interest , and if you press me I shall lose it . ( Here the witness ' s voice faltered , and he shed tears . ) He added , * You do not wish to destroy me . ' " Mr . Commissioner Phinn : It is our duty to ask this question , although the necessity is very unpleasant to us . You have given your evidence in a very candid manner hitherto . — "Witness : 1 have already given you the one ; I told you the name of Mr . Coppock . So as it does not pass from my lips , I shall not suffer .
" Mr . Commissioner Phinn : Ia it a mere personal scruple on your part that makes you decline to answer . ?—Witness : I have desired to give you every information . " Mr . Commissioner Phinn : Toy say Mr . Coppock can give us the answer . We shall ask Mr . < 3 opp 6 ck tlie question ; but in case we do not get the answer from him , we shall reserve to ourselves the power of examining you again on the point . Therefore , in deference to your personal scruples , the Commision . ers will abstain from pressing you now . —Witness : Mr . Coppock is at home now , and no doubt he will -Attend . " Mr . Commissioner Forsyth : Well , we will not press you now , Edwards .-Witness : Thank you , Sir . "
Mr . Coppock was one of the witnesses called in court : though he had been regularly summoned , lie did not make his appearance . The inquiry was adjourned . At the sittings of the Commissioners on Tuesday Mr . Coppock was subjected to a long and very ontQrtaining examination . He described himself as Parliamentary agent , and continued : — " I hav « bern engaged in that way ever since Sir Robert Peel's celebrated « Register , register , register ' speech—ever since 1835 , in fact . Aboufc that time an association was formed of the leading Liberals of tbe day to look after electrons ; and when it was established , I , without aoy solicitation on my part , was applied to to become their secretary . It was called tbe Reform asEo- eiatioB * IU object was
Bribery At St. Alban's. The Commission I...
generally to attend iC * he registration for England and Wales , and to assist the Liberal cause generally ; . As to that Associate I was led into communication with every borOtfgb , and every city , and every county in the kingdom ; and from that time to this , I hardly know how , in some way as connected with the Liberal party , 1 have been one of the first to know when a vacancy any where occurred . I have watched all the vacancies ; and I know something , more or less , of most places in England . I ban say that positively . I cannot go through a borough register as Mr . Edwards has done , and ticket off each voter , say * to such a one I gave ao much . ' But I could take a list of the English boroughs , beginning with Abingdon and ending with the last letter ; and if I were to put
opposite , as I could , ' the member paid so much for his sent , ' I should , perhaps , make as extraordinary a statement as that which you have had from Mr . Edwards . ( Cheers—apparently personal to Mr . Coppock for thus defending St . Albans at tbe expense of tho whole kingdom—came from ail parts of the court . ) I beg you to understand , Mr . Commissioners , that I did not state this to excite applause ' . I state this to -show what the system is ; and no man in the kingdom has a greater horror and detestation of that system than I have . '' He made out , that the reason . why IJell had succeeded against Garden was , that the former would go as far as £ 2 , 500 , the latter not spend more tban £ 1 , 500 . At another stage of his examination , he made a curious statement , concluding with au importan b avowal of oninion
. " Mr . Forsyth : Tell ub , with your experience , what you think would be tlie legitimate expenses of an election at St . Alban ' a-excluding bribery , of course , froai the consideration ?—Mr . Coppock : It I were looking at a borough like St . Alban's , I would look first to see what number of persons 1 would have to retain . And if I found a dozen gentlemen of tho legal profession wanting ten guineas a day , I would have to allow for them . ( Great laughter . ) And I don't see the difference between that and bribing a poor man—it ia worse .
" Mr . Forsyth : There ia a touch of satire in that , Mr . Coppock . Perhaps it is . But putting attomies out of the question , and speaking only of bona fide cost , what would be the expense ?—Mr . Coppock : Treating is abolished now « , so that cannot be calculated . It is difficult to say . I will tell you this . After Sir George Ward left St . Alban ' s , he went to Shffield . His election for S « , Alban ' s cost £ 2 , 400 . Ili 3 election for Sheffield cost him £ 100 . To such an extent was it carried in Sheffield , that the gentlemen who dined at the hotel with him paid each his own bill . This shows how difficult it would be to form an estimate .
" Mr . Forsyth : Bat generally at , St . Alban ' s ?—Mr . Coppock : The hustings would cost £ 50 and the clerks would cost £ 100 . A couple of hundred would leave £ 50 for tho manager , and that would be enough . That is for the legal expenses , what a candidate must pay . £ 200 is more than an election here ought to cost . You couldn ' t make out £ 200 ; but I beg to say that my opinion is that you will never prevent charges of this kind until you allow the ballot . The ballot is the only check you can ever have against bribery , You may have inquires like this , plenty of theni ; but you will never see any result , unless you meet the evil by the ballot . " Tho witness denied positively that he had held out any more specific reward to Edwards than do something for him ; and Edwards when recall ° could only swear toa promise to get onoof his so , a situation—which he took to mean a governmo " situation .
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' //////////// ^^^ v / j-^///////^ 'IHE "TIMES" AND ITS CORRESPONDENTS . Whatever may be thought of the desirableness , or otherwise , of maintaining a degree of secrecy in the conduct of the newspaper press , there can be no two opinions upon the additional importance of integrity on the part of those who are screened by the anonymous from personal subjection to the salutary influence of public opinion . We ff-el , therefore , that when a journal pursues such a course of malignant mendacity as the " Times" has done iu reference to Kossuth , and every one of the popular leaders in the late con : inential struggles , U would he a false delicacy—misprision of an offence against the republic of letters , and the commonwealth of virtue—to abstain from giving publicity to facts that may impair its prostituted influence , to compel an amendment of character .
The auihcr of the ' Revelations of Russia" has , therefore , in our judgment , rendered a good service to the cause of truth as well of Liberalism , in the exposure which he has made in a recently published pavaphWA , oi the chwaclM oi the parties by whom the " Times" is supplied with its information-, and of the process to which that information is sometimes subjected before it reaches the public eye . The following extract relates to tha geutlftuuu employed in Austria and Hungary during the last few years \—These correspondents were a Mr . R- , a person named Bird , a Mr . Paton , and a Mr . Charles Pridham , who was at "Viddin when the Hungarian refugees were there .
Mr . R . was , is , or states himself to be , or to have been , in the British service , and is described as lamentably addicted to creature comforts , a fact which may account for conduct so inconsiderate as to border on simplicity . Mr . R . ' , in his character of Englishmen —a character for which all classes of the Magyars have had at all times the strongest predilectionwas allowed to pass where he pleased . Before the conquest of Transylvania by Bern , Mr . R . had reached Clausenhurg , " where he was on terms of the greatest intimacy with tho Austrian officers , to whom , in the hearing of numerous witnesses , he openly communicated all he had hoard and acen iu the Hungarian camp . Bern having entered Transylvania , and defeated both Austrians and Russians , whom he drove over tbe frontier ,
entered Clausenburg , where Mr , R , was found most unconcernedly in company of his bottle , and apparently unconscious of the position in which he bad placed himself . As an officer or exofficer , there was no excuse for his ignoring that according to tho stern usages of war his life was forfeited , and that Washington hanged Major Andre under circumstances less unequivocal . Bern arrested , and but for his character of Englishman , and ignorant assurance , would undoubtedly have shot him . As it was , he sent him prisoner to Kossuth ; Kossuth met him on the road far from sober and exceedingly abusive . The Governor of Hungary addressed a few words to him , to the effect that he had disgraced the name of Englishman , and ordered him to bo set at liberty—not where he could reach the Austrians and make
further disclosures—but on the Turkish frontier , to which he was accordingly conducted , and then set at large . This " correspondent" wrote several letters to the Times ; one or two denying the victories by which Bern conquered Transylvania , and another full of wrath at the treatment a " British officer had experienced , " but without adding that consciously or unconsciously , drunk or sober , he had degraded the British name by acting as a spy . The Austrians or Russians ( General Bern in relating these particulars assured me ) , would have shot him within four-and-twenty hours / Mr . Bird , the principal of these English correspondents , has been many years domiciled in Tienna , where he gave lessons , and was u teacher and sort of upper servant in Prince Metternich ' s family , and dependent on its connexion for his bread .
During the insurrection in Vienna , dreading that popular suspicion might call him to account for some of his antecedents , he was very prominently engaged , with a red feather iu his cap , assisting in the erection of a barricade near bis domicile . Oa the capture of the capital by Windischgratz , he found it necessary and profitable to make good this backsliding by redoubled zeal . A reference to his correspondence to the " Times , " will show that he denied or held back every striking feature in the war unfavourable to Austria , such as the retreat of Windischgratz from Kapolna , bis successive defeats by Kossuth ' s armies , the re-taking of Pesth , relief of Comorn aud approach to the Austrian frontier , until such time as detailed intelligence of these facts had reached Europe , by the circuitous route of Turkey ,
Amongst the Austrian correspondents , fsom whom its chief information was , and is derived * must be numbered a certain Pnzziuzz ' r , clerk ill the office of the secret Austrian police , who came oves to London and published , through Mr . Beutley , a book called ' A Voice from the Danube , ' to whose call the public seems to have been provokingly unwilling to respond —a certain Felsenthal connected with the Detective Criminal Police of Viemaa , and an Hungarian Jew named Lauterbach , who graduated ia the office of Br . Back , the actual minister , the violent demagogue of 1848 , who sold his party to becflane the thoroughgoing tool of the Imperial cabinet One of these persons began ia the " lanes a series of letters on Hungary , oi which the publication ceased as soon as the authorship was discovered ;
another , if the wrher remembers rightly , was subsequently attached to the Austrian legation . It is not uie & at to be assisted thaAihtae have act been other foreign informants , others in fact could be pointed out .. Even at present , tbs "Times " " earnestly hoping that before long some authentic history of . the political course of tb . « Hungarian insurrection will be published by those best acquainted with its true character , " doubtless gives expression to the wish in the confident assurance that it will be gratified . It is extraordinarily rtpresented at present in the capital of Trancis-Joseph , as well as now or recently at other absolutist courts ; aud here , whether reaping the fruits of its zealous service , or taking anew its directions , it i « likely to seek information through less stale channels flowing possibly in fr « aher streams from Ihe eame fount .
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. An d here it must be { jbs * . " - ™* tf ow mentioned have been spoken of ia dK ^ Jt Zv could say-and ifNecessary , is p ^ P ™ f ° « Vmuch more , not only upon cwttctmBk ; V . n & Vi * '' "''"• PW'fcncc - ia framed to y . ^' H ™ . and suppressed to justify , It h i ,. ™ - * now , it is because he thinks that , wftliotft fain * . fha P f ° ; j " dividuaIs > he has aaid eflough to aha * onH Juu ? W * °£ . ° UrCCS S 0 ObWOMlV StjSpiciOtts ' , and Withholding all that reached it iu ' a sense unfavourable to its views , the " Times " bas been not itself m error ; but seeking to deceive , witfr a ' perveraeness originating in some unworthy
motive'The Mr . Charles Pridham was a mem ^ r ofthg committee which was sitting in London while the Hungarian struggle was at its crisis , and was taken ' from the active advocacy of the cause to act as th * " Times" correspondent in the very scene of action . He believed naturally that he could be of essential service to tbe true and the right by describing , ia the columns of the leading journal of Europe what he had ascertained by personal observation . Ia this he seems to have been bitterly disappointed ; charges his employers with conscious lying by the suppression of the known truth ; and threatens them , having " lifted the visor" to beware ere they compel him to " tear off the maik . "
Having obtained letters of introduction from M . Pulzsky and other Hungarians to their friends in the camp and council of their native land , he proceeded first to Paris—where he was charged with other similar massives ; which afterwards caused him no small pain to save them from detection—and thence to Vienna . On applying to \ he Austrian government for a passport he found that his politics were suspected , and that his demand would be ' relusedi Cut he resolved on a personal application to Prince Schwarzenberg ; and here is an account of the interview , and the consequent resolve : —
I found the Trinoe busily engaged at his escritoire ; but he rose and received me with an easy , unaffected manner that quite won upon me , and we were soon engaged in an animated conversation . If you search Europe through you will scarcely find a man of nobler bearing , or a more majestic mien . To say that he is the first gentleman of the continent is only his due : for out of England such men are seldom or never to bo found . In fact , his aspect is essentially English , perhaps from his having so longdwelt among us . Ho is now far advanced in years , yet he is scarcely less energetic than ever ; and , judging from his remaining attractions , you cease to wonder at the love-conquests of his prime .
"Ah ! " ho apostrophised me . "Well , you belong to tho -. Now that is a journal I can't , for the life of me understand . Can you explain away its monthly gyrations ? Your "Daily News " and " Examiner" I can comprehend ; they are our declared foes ; but your journal mystifies us with its intelligence , only to stultify us with its leaders . Pray what is to be the term of its tergiversation ?' " And yet , Prince , " said I , "in a recent interview he did me the honour of granting me , Baron Werner held the directly opposite view . " " Indeed 1 what did he say ?" " lie said the journal had manifested great devotion to tho Imperial family . "
" Well , so it may have done . It is true they have been of service to us , and perhaps they will be again . Lately , indeed , and since wc have been victorious , they have discovered the justice of our cause . Well , now what do you want me to do for you ?" " I want you to give mo a passport for Hungary . " " Well , but there is a civil war . " " I knovi it , Prince , aud am prepared for every risk and contingency that may occur . "
• ' That 13 always the way with you English ^ Such daring , reckless beings ! I repeat , this is a civil war ; and your Italian correspondent , by bis passing aud repassing from camp to camp , greatly hampered our operations during the war with S \ v * dinia . Besides , I cannot answer for your life for even a day or an hour . You are ignorant of Magyar , and you say you speak German anything but fluently . Both parties are highly exasperated with each other . To both you will be an object of suspicion . " I now discovered , from his manner , and with as much certainty as if I had seen tho medium of information , that tho Princo had been duly apprised of my politic ;;! leaning ; and that , in point of fact , he viewed me in the light of a political enemy .
"You want information , ho continued ; " you shall have it . Where is your hotel ? You shall have the " Wiener Zeitung" regularly transmitted to you . " "I am highly obliged , Prince , for your kind offer ; but , to spunk frankly , I fear the people of England will not believe the " Weiner Zeitung . " They require original information , andthat from the hands of one of their countrymen . " "I am sorry I cannot servo you . iStay ; wait here for a few days , and I may be enabled to give you a passport for Pesth . "
It was evident that his object was to play with me until the war should have been transferred , by the combined armies to the banks of the Theiss . I felt , therefore , that no time was to be lost ; and having procured Artusa ' s Map of Hungary , I hastened to tho money-changers in the Stephen's Plutz , to convert my Kapoleons d'or into Austrian paper . The reader will comprehend , in some degree , the bathos of Austrian credit at this moment , when I inform him that for those coins of the value of 15 s . lOd . English , I received , in Conventions Mnnz , eleven florins , thirty-six kreutzers , equal to £ 1 3 s . 2 id .
He got his passport vised for Trieste , and set off thither by railway . At Glotzburg , he dropped quietly off ; and made his way across the Styrian Mountains into Croatia After several narrow escapes , lie at last fell into the hands of an Austrian party whom he could neither mystify nor elude ; and after much brutal treatment , was sent back to Vienna , There , putting a hold face on the matter , he ventured to demand compensation for what he had endured ; and in the end , was ordered out of the Austrian dominions within twenty- 'our hours . Again he contrived to deviate from the prescribed route ; made his way to Corfu—where he found that Haynau had offered 5 , 000 florins for his captureand thence to Widden , where Kossuth and the other fugitives had just arrived .
He had frequent interviews with Kossuth and with the dying Bern . —Nonconformist .
The Municipal Elections. Bovlisg Ward, B...
THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS . Bovlisg Ward , Braotoeb . — -The polling in this Ward commenced on Saturday morning , at nine o ' clock , with great spirit , Messrs . Sharp and Moor taking tho ieada . At Halfpast ten o ' clock au objection was raised against Mr . Pickup , lie not being a burgess ; the poll w as closed , and , strange to say , the townclerk decided to open the poll again , referring the parties to the Queen ' s Bench for an interpretation of the law . This step compelled redoubled exertion on the Committee of Sharp and Moor , Pickup ' s party working with all the vigilance of Tories in despair ; and at tho
close of the poll the parties stood as follow ;—Sharp ( Radical ) , 363 Moor ( Chartist ) ... 314 Pickup ( Tory ) 277 In Little Ward the Tories again suffered a defeat . At tbe close , the numbers were as follow : — Mr . Glover ( Radical ) 434 Mr . Hudson ( . Chartist ) .. - . ... 374 Mr . Bottomly ( Tory ) 318 The greatest exertion was used to- place Mr , Bottoml y in the Council Chamber by the members of the difisient Orange Lodges , Bottomly being the ioander of Qrangeism in Little Hor ton ..
-Titbrtok—On Saturday l & st the liberal cause received a great and most signal triumph * iu the election of Mr . \ V . Bowclift ' e , being triumphantly elected a member of the Common Council of fee Borough of Tiverton . The number- of votes for each , candidate in the Westexe Ward were : — W . Tlowciiffe . ... ; .. ... ... 169 S . Besley ... ... ... 15 Q R . SllOW ... ¦ „ , 142 This is the second time he has been elected a member of the Council for this Ward . Mr . Kowcliffe proposed Mr . Havney in opposition to Lord Palmeraton . at the last General
Election , when the show , of hands was in favour of the former gentleman endears him to man y in this OUt from the class to whi identifies himself with the mg man , being eTer ready liberal principles against nent . -
. This Act Alone Town. He Stands Ch He ^...
. This act alone town . He stands ch he ^ kJrjg & Jan ^ fe ORUse ^ LpLW ^ to taWM & C 6 ** any aflM # |& , ' & K &&\& - ~ ' ¦• ¦ -=. —* . ¦ This act alone stown . He stands ' > - he # m §^ L Wfl ^ WpWfef $ to tM » d | 6 ^;) ^ » y-. a & S ^«^ % W § FIS ?*^ &^ - £ ^ ¦ - £ » " titfh tOVa ' is ^ i ** $% — * liUjl ' - ^^* ' -- - ¦ ' " C ? > muff ® £ *' ^
Thb Late Member For Koiermg&Jm^Tepfe-Is ...
Thb late member for KoierMg & jM ^ tepfe-IS about to emigrate with bis W $ ^| £$ W ' j ? v Ilia proposed to connect Birken ^ ea ^ Wi ' WTjjis \ POol by means of an iron tube , or •^ Me ^ ufiK / beneath the bed of the river . The work » tltaaftt » 4 to Wt £ 2 oO Wl \ rkenJ ^ ammhn ^ t y ) be , or ^ WiBelvaufiK . / : hewoxka tttaaftt » 4
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 8, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_08111851/page/5/
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