LEEDS .ELECTION—NECESSITY FOR THE BALLOT.
THE Conservatives, kind souls! are resolved that the electors of 1, England shall obtain the Ballot. All the efforts of the Whigs to prevent it will be unavailing. It will be strange, indeed, if we do not soon hear thin protesting that nothing was ever further from -their thoughts than that the Reform Act should be a final measure. Secret voting will soon be deemed indispensable for the preservation of Ministers and their friends in power. Our readers are aware of what is now going on in Leeds. Not only are the Tory purses and beer.barrels bleeding freely to insure the return of Sir JOHN BECKETT, but intimidation of tradesmen is practised to a great extent. One customer after another is sent to the unfortunate Whig or Radical shopkeeper to demand his vote for the Tory knight: and the ettiew ratio of a notice to quit is resorted to when other arguments are found unavailing. These efforts are admitted, by the Whig party, to have been successful in many instances; and consequently, Mr. Beuses, who thought that he had a triumphant majority quite secure, will he se a hard struggle for his seat, if indeed he is not thrown out, after all the confident anticipations of his Ministerial friends. Under these circumstances, seeing one pledged supporter following another into the enemy's camp, we do not wonder that Mr. BAINES has become a convert to the Ballet, \Odell he has been strongly opposed to for many years. A 1S:le persoaal experience oi the ill consequences of open voting, outweighs a folio of written arguments on its merits.
The Tories are the most ellieient promoters of Reform. It is impossible to withstand the evidence whieli the bribery, debauchery, and intimidation of the Leeds electors furnish of the necessity of providing some additional protection to the dependent voter. Unless the use of the ballot is established, there can be little doubt that the Tories will return the M tatters for many of our principal towns. They succeeded at Bristol, Liverpool, and Norwich, by the same means which hold out to them a fair prospect of return ing Sir Jon st Bne KETT fin. LetShould this be the result of the pending contest, it will furnish an additional proof that the Reform icet is insufficient litr its purpose,—that it does not enable the People of England to return the men of' their free choice to Parliament. The folly of those declarations hid' were at one time so frequent, that the Reform Bill hoot he regarded as a "final measure,is now apparent CYCII to the deliz.enses of those who made them.
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