Zbe Vrobintts.

The acceounts of the Municipal Elections which have reached us are exceedingly meagre, and often one-sided. Such as they are, however, they give marked results in some places.

In Leeds Corporation there were 31 Liberals and 33 Tories : of these 16 retired ; and the Liberals have elected 11 out of that number ; giving to their party in the Council a gross amount of 37, while the Tories have now 27. Possessing a majority of 4 Councillors, the Liberals count upon electing all the new Aldermen, 8 in number ; and then their force will be 38 to 26. In Leicester, 12 Liberals have been returned and 2 Tories : the Tories now have 5 out of 56 in the Council ; in 1835 they had 4 out of 6. The Liberals of Leicester count this a "glorious victory." Among the new Liberal Councillors is Mr. William Baines, the Church-rate martyr. At Derby, the Liberals have succeeded in every ward, and the Tories have but 6 out of 48. Bath has returned 9 Liberals and 5 Tories ; a gain of 3 to the Liberals. In Great Yarmouth all the Tory candidates retired in the midst of the election. Three Tories and one Liberal withdrew at Falmouth, and four Councillors were elected by the Liberals ; who thus secured a large majority in the Council. In Birmingham, Manchester, and some other places, the dis- puted charters were the plea with which the Conservatives excused their not coming forward. At Hull, Newcastle, and other boroughs of less importance, the Liberals returned a majority of the candidates, keeping their former strength. Now for the Tory " triumphs." At Bedford, 7 Conservatives are returned for 7 Whigs who went out by rotation ; "so completely de- stroyed is the Whig party in Bedford." Bury St. Edmund's returned 6 Conservatives in the room of 6 "influential Whig-Radicals," without opposition ; and the Conservatives possess their first majority in the Council. The Whigs are charged with spending 20,000/. in six years, and mortgaging the corporate property to the amount of 8,000/. or 9,000/. At Cambridge, 6 Tories and 4 Whigs retired ; and 9 Tories and 1 Liberal have been elected : the Tories have now a " work- ing majority," and reckon upon electing the Mayor and 5 Aldermen. Four Whig-Radicals, including the Mayor, went out at Harwich, and have been replaced by 4 Conservatives. Liverpool has elected 13 Tories and 3 Liberals ; and the Tories expect to appoint the Mayor and 8 new Aldermen. The result of the election at Shrewsbury is to place 31 Tories in the Council and 9 Liberals. At Wigan, ten Tories have taken the places of 7 of the same party and 3 Liberals who retired : there are now in the Council 33 Tories and 8 Liberals ; the latter are all Aldermen, and the Tory party calculate upon replacing 5 of them by Tories. Southampton returned 12 Conservatives, 1 of neutral politics, and no Liberals : it is not stated of what parties the retiring members were. Six Liberal Councillors of Devizes have been succeeded by 6 Conservatives, and the latter gain their first majority. At Walsall, 7 Liberals and 1 Conservative retired, and 3 Liberals and 5 Conservatives were elected ; enabling the latter to appoint the Mayor and Aldermen. At Warwick, the return of 4 Conservatives and 2 Liberals in place of 2 Conservatives and 4 Liberals, gives the Conservative party their first majority in the Council. The Tories record smaller gains in several other places.

The Revising Barristers for West Worcestershire have decided that a place called "the Far Forest" is not part of the new borough of Bewdley and Stourport ; and they have struck off twenty names of persons residing within that district. At the last election, Sir T. E. Winnington was returned by a majority of five. Among his supporters, were thirteen from the Far Forest, and none for his opponent ; and con- sequently Mr. Monteith ought to be the sitting Member. A petition is now before Parliament, and the Whig-Radical Member hopes to keep his seat on the ground that an Election Committee will not open the registry. This is not a case merely of opening the registry ; it is a question of boundary.—Times.

A public meeting was held at Stockport, on Friday last, to consider the distressed state of the borough. Mr. William Andrew, the Mayor, occupied the chair. The Court-room, in which it was held, was so crowded that persons who meant to take part in the proceedings could not obtain admission, and the people outside clamoured for an adjourn- ment to the open air ; but without success. The following resolution waa carried by a large majority- " That this meeting is of opinion, that the distress which now exists in this borough is more severe, and has been of much longer duration, than ever before known ; that every succeeding week adds to the number of its insolvent manufacturers and tradesmen, and to the destitution of its operative classes; and in order to convince our rulers of this great distress, a committee be now formed, for the purpose of correctly ascertaining the real condition of the various classes composing the population of this borough, so that a statistical account may be prepared of so authentic a character as to afford to the upholders of commercial restrictions and monopoly no pretext whatever for disputing the extent of our embarrassments and privations."

The next resolution was proposed by Mr. Henry Coppock, the Town- Clerk—

" That this meeting is of opinion that the whole of our commercial diffi- culties, and their concomitants—distress, crime, disease and premature

death—are occasioned by the Corn and Provision laws, and other unjust and pernicious monopolies ; and that there exists no reasonable ground of hope that relief can be afforded, or greater calamities averted, but by the abolition of those monstrous and wicked monopolies." In moving the second resolution, Mr. Coppock illustrated the extent and increase of the suffering, by a statement of the provisions given away in the borough to able-bodied paupers, who were not admitted into the workhouse—

The quantity of provisions given away to these in the week ending the 5th August last, was 1,590 pounds of bread. By way of contrast, to show the rapid increase, he would jump over the weekly items of increase, and come to the quantity given away since; and on the 21st of the present month he found that the quantity of bread given away was 4,513 pounds. ("Hear, hear!" and cries of " Shame ! ") Yes, shame, he said, for those that caused the ne- cessity for this relief; and not to those that gave the relief. The potatoes given away had increased at the same rate ; and he found that the quantity given on the 5th August was 350 pounds, while the iucrease on the 28th Oc- tober was to 2,700 pounds. Looking to the total quantity of provisions of all kinds given away on the 5th August, he found it stated at 2,343 pounds; while on the 21st of this month the quantity had increased to 8,061 pounds. This increase had not come upon the Union all at once, but had gradually and steadily advanced, so that there was reason to fear that it had not, by very far, reached its height.

He showed the increase in the number of paupers— He found the increase of paupers receiving out-relief, as shown by the quarterly abstract for those townships included in the borough, for the quarter ending September 25th, was—adult males 368, adult females 639, children 1,066; while the numbera for the quarter ending June were respectively 303, 535, and 765; showing an increase of 65 males, 104 females, and 301 children —total, 470; making on an average for the quarter an increase of 36 per week. In reference to the causes of the increase of pauperism, he found that the in- crease during the last quarter was chiefly confined to able-bodied paupers, or men driven to seek relief through want of employment. For the quarter end- ing in June, the number for the four townships included in the borough was 192; in September, the number was 361; being an increase of 169. The in- crease on the whole Union was 197; thus showing that the distress from want of employment was chiefly confined to the borough, the remaining 28 paupers belonging to no less than thirteen country township& The increase of disease— One of the medical officers of the Union, Mr. Blackshaw, whose district con- tains thirty thousand persons, stated that he could bear testimony to the utter destitution which at present pervades that district; many families being at pre- sent obliged from want of employment to subsist upon the beneficence of the Board of Guardians alone, which in some instances does not average more than from 6d. to Is. per head per week; and that within the last week he had wit- nessed the death of two individuals, John Frost and Sarah Parry, which events, after much inquiry, he had no hesitation in stating had been accelerated, if not directly produced, by a want of the common necessaries of life. Mr. Coppock read an extract from Mr. Blackshaw's report to the Board of Guardians—" It is a general rule, that as destitution and poverty prevail, disease increases in the same ratio. The number of my Union patients has been very considerable, particularly within the last three or four months. Their cases have generally been consumption, asthma, dropsies, skin-diseases, and affections of the stomach and bowels ; of which, in addition to other causes, the origin may be ascribed to a low state of vital energy, produced in a great measure by both a scarcity and a vitiated state of their god, and exposure to an impure atmosphere in their too often crowded, and damp, ill-ventilated dwellings. * • * I consider, that previous to the present commercial distress, the poor in my district were, upon the whole, tolerably comfortable, and that their weekly earnings were sufficient, with a proper regard to economy, to provide for their wants.' Mr. Coppock read the report of Mr. Rayner, another medical officer, who says—" As to the amount of disease prevailing in my district, I find that, during the last quarter, there has been an increase of one-fourth in the Union patients, and the present one is likely to be much heavier than the past. But it is not just at the present moment that its ravages will be greatest : it is when the poor have exhausted their little stock and disposed of every thing on which more can be raised, that disease will show itself by considerable increase in the num- ber of victims; when want of food and want of clothing shall have brought down the powers of life and rendered it susceptible to every noxious influence which the body in health would have been enabled to withstand." Mr. Rayner goes on to attribute the increase of disease generally to want.of food and cloth- ing. He states that many families have not an income of ls. per week per Lead, even where part of the family are employed. He mentions one family of seven children, besides parents, who have an income of only 6s. per week. Mr. Griffin, a reporter to the Northern Star, seconded by Mr. Mitchell, another Chartist, moved an amendment asserting the Master as the only remedy for all popular ills. The two Chartists attributed the distress to machinery. Mr. Cobden, the Member for the borough, delivered a long speech, to persuade the Chartists from their exclusive agitation. He began by deploring the state of the borough. "The town," he said, "appears more like one suffering from a siege or an earthquake, or from some other calamity which has operated to oppress or has uprooted the whole state of things, and put men to any shifts for the mere purpose of carrying on their existence." He went on to show the futility of condemning machinery, when no one thought of proposing its abolition. He pointed to the small minority of 39, among whom he was one, who voted for Mr. Sharman Crawford's resolution to extend the suffrage, as showing the hopelessness of obtaining any such measure immediately by constitutional means; while the idea of carrying the Charter by violence was given up throughout the country. Corn-law repeal was a more practicable object ; and even the extent of the dit- tress would compel a remedy- " It is the duty of Government to find a remedy. I say that no men have a right to hold the offices they do unless they are able and prepared to supply a remedy. AT, and they will be compelled to do it ; for, let me tell you, that whatever Afinistry may be in power, whether Whig or Tory, they .must bring you back to comfort and prosperity again, or I defy them to retain office for

twelve months. Yes, fortunately for you, the Government of this country

requires money; and they cannot get it from the Duke of Buckingham's sera, They have been accustomed to obtain it from the hard earnings of the popu- lation of our manufacturing towns, and they must have it : there is nothing which a Government feels so powerfully as a falling-off in the Exchequer; and it is well for you that it is so, for if there is any known obstacle to your prosperity, if patriotism will not, necessity will compel them to remove it, and to restore you to a state of prosperity."

Mr. Cobden concluded with this recommendation-

" When you see a shop shut up, it ought to have written on the shutters, Shut up by the Corn-laws.' I believe, when you see a man going through your streets who is out of work, he ought to have a label on his back, Out of work through the Corn-laws' ; and when you see your fellow-men going to America in search of that livelihood which they are denied at home, do not call them emigrants '—say they are 'transported by the Corn-laws.'"

Mr. Campbell, a Chartist, recommended that the amendment should be withdrawn ; but the mover and seconder would not yield, and the

question was ultimately put to the vote ; when there was an immense majority for the original motion, which was then declared to be carried. A resolution was added, appointing a committee "to ascertain the

amount of distress in the borough, the cause of that distress, to propose

a remedy, and to report ,thereon to a future public meeting.' The meeting, after a vote of thanks to the Mayor, separated about midnight. On Tuesday last, at the request of the Magistrates, the Overseers met them, at the Court-house, for the purpose of considering the distressed

state of the town, and the present system of parish relief. The meet- ing was not, we believe, considered to be of public character, and there- fore we cannot give any details of what took place at it ; but we may state that the Magistrates present expressed a desire, that when distress was found to exist, the Overseers should extend more liberal relief than they have recently been in the habit of doing. They also desired the

Overseers to obtain as much information as possible as to the extent of the distress which prevails at present, and to communicate the results- of their inquiries to the Magistrates. We are glad to see that the Ma- gistrates are alive to the importance of these subjects, which we think, as the local authorities of the town, they are called ',upon to investi- gate.—Leeds Times, Oct. 30.

The Nottingham Review says that pauperism is increasing in the town to which it belongs. It gives a table of the relief given to the poor, with the average price of wheat in each week, for some months; from which it appears, that at the commencement of June, when the average price of wheat was 62s. 8d., there were 463 persons in the house ; the number gradually augmenting as the price of wheat ad- vanced, until, on the 23d October, 722 individuals were reported as being occupants of the workhouse, while the price of wheat stood at 64s., having lately been as high as 73s.

On the 28th, the annual form of asking for a church-rate was ob- served in a Vestry-meeting of the parish of St. Mary, Leicester. Be- fore proceeding to the main business, some conversation took place as to the appointment of a chairman. There appears to have been some intention to appoint Mr. Hudson, a Whig Alderman and the senior Churchwarden ; but before doing so, he was asked whether, if he were appointed, he would put any amendment that might be proposed He declined to give any pledge of that kind; and so the meeting appointed a Mr. Wykes. Mr. Hudson then moved that a rate of sixpence in the pound be granted. In doing so, he asserted that, "four or five years ago, it was said to the present Cli,urchwardens, Take office ; do not enforce a rate - and so long as your expenses are reasonable, we will contribute liberally.' That promise had not been kept." Several Dis- senters denied that they had ever joined in sanctioning any promise of thej kind. Mr. Hudson said, it was not the less a fact, that several respectable Dissenters had given the pledge which he had mentioned. Mr. Samuel Baines proposed as an amendment, "That orate of sixpence in the pound be not granted." A forest of hands were held up for the amendment, one was held up for the rate. Some one called out to the single supporter of the rate, "There's only one I You had better pay all the rate yourself, Mr. Gillespie." The meeting then separated. The church-rate poll closed at Brighton on Friday ; when there ap- peared—for the rate, 1,275 votes ; against it, 1,607. The result was announced by the Vicar, the Reverend H. M. Wagner, at a Vestry meeting in the afternoon. After the Vicar had retired, the Anti-rate party moved and carried a vote of censure upon him for his conduct in the matter.