TO THE EDITOR OF TILE SPECTATOR.

7, upper Gloucester Street, October 27th, 1830. Sra—The public should feel greatly indebted to you for having given to them so accurate an anatomy of the Commons louse. Individually beg to thank you, as you have now imparted the information to the many" which was only before "possessed by the few," and which will lead the people to understand thoroughly the constitution of that body, whose reform is become so essential to the preservation of order, the security of property, and the stability of the throne. I am only surprised you should not, in a compilation of this extreme difficulty, have been more incorrect. I will attempt to supply some of your shortcomings, and I hope other persons will be led to do the same, so that shortly you may be enabled to give to yoursubscribers and the public an amended and perfect description. It appears to me, that in the divisions of the various interests, you should have given Catholics and Dissenters, as showing how these bodies are represented in point of numbers and wealth. It strikes me also that under the head of" Open Boroughs," (you should have added "Cities") you ought to have distinguished between those whose representation is pure and whose representatives are put to no expense, and those on the contrary where the elective franchise is regularly disposed of through agents, at a fixed price, and sold to the highest bidder, without regard to political principle ; and again, those where great expense is incurred by treating, and the transport of non-resident voters. I shall attempt to supply a part of this supposed deficiency; and I begin with the division of

CATHOLICS.

ENGLAND.

Constable, Sir T. A Hedou By himself Blount, E .. Steyrii rig Duke of Norfolk Howard, H. P. ....... .... Carlisle Expenditure Surrey, . .Horsham ... Duke of Norfolk Jerningliam, Hon. H.......Pontefract ............His purse

IRELAND.

Burke, Sir John Galway County Marquis of cianricarde Browne, Hon. W Kerry .Earl Kenmore French, Arthur Roscommon . Killeen, Lord .. .. ... ..... Meath Mahon, O'Gorman dare..... O'Connell, Daniel Waterford County O'Connor, Don ...... ..... Roscommon O'Farrell ... . Kildare Wyse, Thomas, jun. Tipperary Callaghan Daniel ......... Cork City Leader, N. P Kilkenny City

DISSENTERS.

Carter, J. B....... ..... ...Portsmouth.. .... Corporation Evans, W . Leicester . ... ...... . Expenditure Gurney, R. H. . .. Norwich ......... ... Expenditure Marshall, W..... . Leominster..." ...... Purchase Sykes, D........ ..... ..... Beverley Ditto Strutt, E... .... ..... .... . Derby . .... Public opinion . Warburton, H. ...... .....Bridport ....... Corporation expenses Wood, John .. .... Preston...............Public opinion Wilkes, J . Boston ...............Expenditure Philippe, J.. Steyning .... .. ... ...Duke of Norfolk 1 The omissions and errors are, as I believe-

IgNOLISH COVETING.

Astley, Sit I. D.......Wiltahire .. ...... Combination of Tory Magistrate..

•••

Lowther, Lord 1 Westmoreland.. —Earl of Lonsdale, their Father

Lowther. Hon. H. C j Hon• H. H B• • • • Worcestershire ..Ettri of Beauchamp, his Brother Ligon , Morgan, Sir Charles .. Monmouthshire .. Himself, from his property and arrange- ments made with Duke of Beaufort Strathaven, Lord Huntingdonshire . Himself, supported by the Aristocracy

WALES. (ERRORS.)

Wood, Thos. Col. ... . Brecknockshire... Himself, in opposition to Sir C. Morgan

scorca COUNTIES. (OMISSIONS.)

frincle Selkirkshire ..... The interest of the Duke of Buecleugh Scott, II. F. . Roxburghshire ...Ditto—to the disgust of the county (Eartorts.) Clerk, Sir George F.dinburghsbire The Treastvy—through Lord Melville Douglas, Hou. C Lanarkshire .• —Duke of 'dam' iton or Lord Douglas ; contested by these two Houses Johnstone, I. I. H. Dumfriesshire ....Himself, supported by the D. of Sue- cletigh and Mar. of Queensberry Montgomery, Sir J Peehleshire Himself, sup. by the D. of Buecleugh

SCOTCH BOROUGHS.

Baillie, Lieut. Col..... Fortrose • Magistracy. Highest bidder. East India Patronage Balfour, James.... ...Crall, Anstruther _Magistracy. Highest bidder. 2 Boroughs Campbell, Archibald.. Glasgow .. Magistracy. 2 Boroughs and 2, one the property of Mr. C. contested by Mr. Finlay : Carnegie, Sir James... Aberdeen ., Magistracy and Mr. Farquhar Johnstone, James.. . I nverkei thi ng Magistracy. Highest bidder Monteith, Henry Selkirk & Peebles-Magistracy. Highest bidder

In giving the representation of Dysart, &c. to the Earl of Rosslyn, you somewhat err. The borough of Dysart is directly under his in. fluence, and this Parliament being the returning borough of the dis- trict, he has been enabled to cause his son to be returned,—not much to his credit, and highly insulting to the honest electors of Kinghorn and Burntisland, and the greater part of the good people of Kirkcaldy, who would gladly have returned their old member Sir Ronald Ferguson, and who at the next election will assert their independence. The whole of the Scotch representation is one tissue of corruption, and must be changed. In Ireland, you are in error as to Colonel Thomas Barnard being returned for the King's County by the Marquis of Waterford ; nor is Lord Killeen returned for the county of Meath by his father, EarlFingal, but from public opinion. O'Conner Don is returned on the same ground for Roscommon.

It seems entirely to have escaped your attention the extraordinary exchange made by the Earls of Lauderdale and Galloway with the Earl of Lonsdale. Their eldest sons' by the Union, cannot sit for Scotch counties or boroughs ; so my Lord Maitland sits for Appleby as my Lord Lonsdale's nominee ; Sir A. J. DzOrymple is returned for the boroughs of H addinglon; my Lord Garlies for Cochermouth, and J. H. Lowther for the boroughs of Wigtoun, &c. But the most curious exchange is an entire English arrangement made with Toryism. Whiggism, and Radi- calism—Mr. H. Brougham's brother, Mr. James Brougham, is returned by the Earl of Radnor for Downton ; and the Honourable P. Bouverie, brother of the Earl of Radnor, is returned by the Earl of Lonsdale for his borough of Cockermouth. This singular arrangement exhibits most completely the system of ,proprietary boroughs, and demonstrates how such a system works svell—for individual interests.

In examining the list of" Open Boroughs," I only find the following who return their members free of expense,— Westminster, Aylesbury and the Hundreds, Bridgewater, the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Nottingham ' Cricklade and the Hundreds. The City of London cannot be considered so pure, the Livery bringing too generally their votes to market, or controlled by undue influence. Westminster and the other towns were some years since as venal as any, but they have had the virtue to reform themselves. The expenses attendant on a Westminster election do not exceed 150/. and these principally for the hustings and printing. Aylesbury, not 301.—for Lord Nugent's return and Mr. Bickford's, only a dinner. Cricklade, only a dinner, given after the election. Bridgewater, very trifling; the members not being allowed to pay even the toll to enter the town. Southwark had nearly esta- blished its purity, but the electors at the last election allowed themselves to be seduced by guzzling, &c. ; it is to be hoped they will shortly re- deem their character by returning Mr. Calvert free of all expense. In some of the " Open Boroughs," the corruption is most glaring. At Evesham, the price is said to be regularly fixed—five pounds for a single vote, ten pounds for a plumper ; and so recognized and established is this purchase, that in one instance, it is said, immediately after the vote Was given, a slip of paper, naming the sum, was delivered at the hust- ings to the voter, who carried it to the candidate's banker, where it was immediately paid ; in another, the reward was paid by the agent of the party, appointed without his knowledge, whohired an uninhabited house, into which parties were introduced singly, that there might be no wit- nesses. There are about ninety non-resident voters living in and about London' forty at Birmingham, and about the same number dispersed through the West of England, who make a regular traffic of their votes. So great and so offensive is the corruption of this borough, that

the late member, in disgust, resisted all entreaties to become again its representative ; in his retiring address, he declared "he could not sub-

mit to lend himself to so vicious and abominable a system." This borough is only partially open : one member, Sir Charles Cockerell, is returned by the recommendation and through the influence of Lord Northwick, but who is still obliged to pay the voters ; the other member is he who pays the best, whatever may be his political creed. At Hull, a third man is always looked for, and a certain sum fixed for each vote. At the last election, candidates were frightened away,

from the known corruption of the electors ; and so, of necessity, two respectable persons were returned without cost. Beverley has its fixed price ; and so has Honiton; so has Bridport ; so has Leominster; so

has Stafford; so has Wallingford, where dwells a miller who receives the toll by calling at night. At Arundel, a good round sum is demanded for the redemption of Christian slaves in captivity. Sudbury is celebrated for its price of cabbages, canary birds, &c. Mr. Walrond was stated to have expended at the prior election no less a sum than 12,000/. Hert- ford, by two elections, has diminished Mr. Bulwer's purse some 10,0001. Leicester coat Mr. Otway Cave more than that sum ; and Mr. Evans is reported in his contest to have expended 20,0001.; and the Corporation largely to return Sir C. Hastings. Dover is very costly, and so is Re- cheater and Canterbury. One election at Canterbury cost my Lord Clifton some 70001.; and the late one will amount to somewhat near 5000/. to the popular candidate Lord Fordwich—as much to Mr. Wat- SOIL, also supported on the independent interest ; and the Ministerial candidate sent down by Mr. Peel, Captain Baring, spent profusely. Mr. Lushington, though Secretary of the Treasury, ruined himself at Can. terbury. Hythe and Sandwich dispose of themselves for mercantile and East India patronage.

Were I to proceed in this track, I should fill all the columns of your paper; but I may troulge you again.

I am, Sir, your humble servant,

LESLIE GROVE JONES.