joined Concordia and shunned Timpul. As reported in late 1857 by a disgruntled Bolintineanu, radical émigrés "are creating intrigue and division". Elsewhere, differences of opinion between the unionists were muted by agreements between voters. For instance, all 292 voters registered in Vlașca vowed to support the candidate deemed best during Unionist Committee primaries. In that context, very few Wallachians still rejected union, and those who did never formed a party of their own. As noted by historian A. D. Xenopol, they included Colonel Dimitrie Papazoglu, and also those boyars who feared competition from the more numerous Moldavians for the ranks and offices of the court. Opposition to the unionist project came from the outsiders Heliade and Rusu Locusteanu. They endorsed the union on principle, but objected to the Divans being convened by the Porte; overall, they also favored a crowned republic under a native ruler. Results The principles behind the suffrage were first put to the test in the Moldavian election of July, where conflicts opposed an anti-unionist Caimacams, Teodor Balș and Nicolae Vogoride, to the National Party. Vogoride's attempt to repress Moldavian unionism alienated Wallachian conservatives, who denounced him as a conspirator. As clampdown was signaled by the closure of Stéoa Dunărei, which reappeared from Brussels with Nicolae Ionescu as editor. The prolonged dispute culminated in attempted fraud by Vogoride and an election boycott by the unionists. This tactic invalidated the scrutiny there, and Moldavia had its own repeat election in September. Unbeknown to the Romanian unionists of both countries, in August 1857 Britain and France agreed not to recognize union, regardless of the election results. However, the unionists could still count on unofficial backing by their French contacts, who hinted that all one had to do to obtain the union was to get the mass of the people to vote for it. Russia also kept favorably neutral: Basily condemned Vogoride's act, privately expressing hopes that a politically diverse landscape would weaken Ottoman control of both countries. "Severe and sound" supervision by the Caimacam ensured that election in Wallachia was beyond reproach. Ghica also postponed the final date of voting from September 17 (New Style: September 29) to September 21 (October 3). The results came in as a landslide for the unionist camps: according to Stéoa Dunărei, a near-complete count revealed that "only 3 or 4 deputies were doubtfully unionist, but even they will likely follow the general mood";