NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Tint Elections are going on very much in the way we had antici- pated. The Tories have gained the advantage in those places
where Corporation influence and long-practised corruption have debauched the voters; and have been thoroughly beaten in the Metropolitan districts, and the new and extensive constituencies.
In the city of London, where the cry of reaction had been loudly
trumpeted upon the faith of the address to the King and the requisition to Mr. WARD, four Reformers have been triumphantly returned. The Tories endeavour to lessen the value of this victory by pretending that their adversaries were better or- ganized, not more numerous. But even before the passing of the Reform Act, Liberal principles predominated in the City, and the superiority of the Reformers has been only more firmly established by that measure. The slanderous asser- tion, too, that men of property shunned a junction with the Anti- Tory party, was completely disproved by the rank in life not only of the Liberal candidates, but of those who came forward to no- minate them on the Inistires. All were among the most wealthy and intelligent of the merchants and bankers of London. In whatever way we look at the result of the City election, the dis- comfiture of the Tories is as complete as could be desired; and the pleasure of victory is in no small degree enhanced by the re- collection of the supercilious and arrogant bearing of the van- quished, and their organs of the press, before the time of trial.
Not only in the City, but in Westminster, Marylebone, South- wark, Lambeth, Finsbury, the Tower Hamlets, and Greenwich,
Reform is triumphant. There is every reason to expect the re- turn of Mr. HUME and Mr. BYNG for Middlesex; and then we shall be able to point to the return of twenty Members to repre- sent the myriads of this vast Metropolis, all pledged to procure the overthrow of Tories and Toryism by every lawful means.
On the other hand, in places notorious for corruption—where the old voters swarm, and corporations still flourish in iniquity— at Norwich, Bristol, Evesham, Maidstone, Stafford, Hull, and Lei- cester; and in rotten boroughs, such as Buckingham, Wilton, Wal- lingford, Marlborough, and Woodstoek; the Tories have kept or gained the ascendancy. This was to be expected : the increase to the Tory minority, in a very few instances indeed, will be found to arise from the acquisition of Members re:urned by the free, unbought votes of large and independent bodies of electors. The additional moral force which the Reformers obtain, from the knowledge that against every Tory Member they can bring forward the Repre- sentative of a larger and more enlightened constituency, must be sensibly felt even by those who affect to disregard this view of the subject, and to consider the vote of the Member for Woodstock of as much weight as that of the Representative of Manchester or the Tower Hamlets.
It is also gratifying to observe in how many instances the Trimmers have been made to give way to men of decided poli- tics. Sir WILLIAM HORNE has been defeated in Marylebone, Sergeant SPANKIE and Mr. HOBHOUSE in Finsbury, Mr. HAND- LEY in Newark, Mr. HORSLEY PALMER in Ashburton, Mr. LLOYD WILLIAMS in Banbury, Mr. Iloncsors in Newcastle, Mr. DisaAm.1 in High Wycombe, and Colonel DAVIS in Worcester. These are not the times when men can safely Steer a middle course in politics. The present contest is as different as possible from the struggles of factious parties for pay and office. The electors see through the flimsy veil of affected impartiality—be- tween Reformers and the Duke's Ministry ; and as their own
Opinions on subjects, about which the Trimmers pretend to be uncertain, are decided and clear enough, they rightly choose or reject at once the men who try to play fast and loose with them. Formerly the House of Commons was looked upon as a school of politics—that is, of sham debating and open in- trigue—for sucking aristocrats. The men of business who in- truded within its precincts were few and far between. But now,
the affectation at least of industry and attention to the affairs of 43 his constituents, is necessary to a Member of Parliament. We predict that the next House of Commons will contain a greater number of useful and sedulous Representatives of the People than any preceding one. Its tone will be more masculine and popular; its measures will be aimed more directly at the overthrow of "venerable" abuses.
We stated our belief last week, that the Tory gain would not reach a hundred Members. At the time we write, more than a third of the whole number have been returned, and the net Tory gain does not exceed thirty. But it must be remembered, that the elections are over in most of the smaller and more corrupt bo- roughs, and that it was always supposed that the Tories would recruit their numerical strength from such quarters more than from any others. On the calculation, however, that they continuo to gain in the same proportion, they will only muster 240 in a full House, against 418; in other words, there will be a majority of 178 against Ministers.* • This was the state of the calculation last night. A number of additional returns have been received this morning ; making the whole number of Members elected, as will appear from a table in a subsequent column, 264. The propor- tional gain of the Tories is slightly diminished ; and now we should, on the above data, estimate their probable numbers in the next Parliatnent at 235.
