The first election under the Ballot has ended in the
election of Mr. Childers for Pontefract by a vote of 658 to 578,—a majority of 80. As the number of registered electors is 1,960, some 724 electors, or more than a third of the constituency, abstained from voting. For reasons given elsewhere, we think the result unsatis- factory ; but Mr. Childers in his speech returning thanks expressed himself perfectly contented, and it appears to be certain that the election was conducted with unusual order, with a diminished amount of drinking, and with no bribery or in- timidation. The electors understood the new method of voting fairly well, and the only defect in the legal arrangements appears to be this. The Returnin.4 Officer must count the votes himself, that is, must open as many papers as there are voters at the poll. This work occupied the Mayor of Pontefract nearly four hours, and in a large borough or county would take several days, thus diminishing grievously the dramatic completeness of the election. Parliament should next Session authorise the em- ployment of additional counters, who can easily be bound over to keep silence.
