Somebody has taken the trouble to send us the Scots
Times, a paper which we are not in the habit of receiving, for the purpose of directing our attention to an abusive communication, entitled " The Spectator's impartiality shown up." The thing is beneath notice, except as a specimen of the malice of unhappy partisanship, which we see very busy in certain quarters, and to which we shall have leisure to pay a more particular attention by and by. The writer, assuming that we bad set up undue pretensions to the merit of accuracy for our Election- tables, sneers at some errors which be fancies it was left for him to discover. Now, besides other caveats in the course of our workman- ship, we placed this general notice in a conspicuous part of the paper which contained the completed Election-lists- " Not% ithstanding great pains have been taken to be right, some errors will .1 course be discovered it) the tables. by those minutely familiar with particular puts—oar cue arts universal. and from its patine more liable to individual mistakes. It is warmly h., in biinging together suet, a mass of names and figures, 10 attain accuracy except after rrvit,d revisions: but we shall be careful to make any corrections that may lie necessary."
The person employed or volunteering to assail the Spectator in the Scots Times, assumes, in the plenitude of his pert ignorance, that the lists of one party are indisputably correct, without giving a single rea- son why, against the reasons assigned by us for placing certain Doubt- ful Members on the Tory side; and then charges the Spectator with inaccuracy and partiality. As a specimen of his fitness for the office of censor—he only deals with twenty names altogether, yet, in attempt- ing to correct us, commits two palpable blunders himself. He com- plains that Lord SHELBURNE'S name is not in the list, not knowing that Lord KERRY is the same person, and is in the list ; and he actually tells us that Mr. ROBERT FERGUSON is not Member for Haddington- shire, but for Kircudbright ! The word " Kircudbright" is altered with a pen, by the somebody who sent us the paper, to" Kirkaldy." if the editor of the Scots Times Las no shame for such a " show- ing up," we have none as the subjects of it.
We have received other communications, written in a different spirit, and of very different value. For all such we are thankful ; and have either adopted the corrections they suggest, or have stated why we did not. It is satisfactory to know, that though not immaculate, the lists we published last week were substantially correct ; and subse- quent retouchings have altered the results but very slightly indeed. The strength of parties is sufficiently ascertained for a general view. Controversy as to the political principles of individual Members is pretty well exhausted. It now remains to test the slippery and the untried, only by their votes in the new Parliament.
Previous page
