The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-06-21 00:00:00

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, Wunrisents,
Jess lb.
(Sifting in Banco, before Lord CALPBELL.and Jasticu

\VictualAn, Eauc, and RILL)

THZ QUEZZ T. HEARD.

In this cue the Couri bad granted a rule calling upon
Henry Clement Heard, the proprietor of the Bridg-
water Tines and Somerset County CAroniele, to show
cause wh7 a criminal information should not be filed
against him for a libel published in that journal on the
4th of May last, imputing to the prosecutor, George
Reed, a gentleman of large fortune, residing at Burnham,
in the county of Somerset, that he had been guilty of
wholesale bribery at the recent election of members of
Parliament at Bridgwater. It appeared from Mr. Reed's
affidavit that the election took plum on the 30th of
April last. There were four candidates—C. J. K. Tynte
and A. W. Kinglake, Liberals; and H. Pad wick and H.
Westropp, Conservatives • and on the poll being taken
the two Liberal candidate; were returned. On the 4th
of May an article appeared in the defendant's news-
-uper, which contained, among other things, the follow-
paragraph At the last moment, and when terror
...ad dismay were evidently depicted upon the faces of the
Liberal party, it being as well-known to them as it was
to the Conservatives that Mews. Pattern* and Wes-
tropp had a clear decided majority of promised votes up
to the time of commencing the poll, a friend in need
came forward in the person of a gentleman well-known
for his love of electioneering and for his orchids, and
brought into the liberal camp the sinews of war. The
news soon spread. An office for the purchase of votes
was opened in the slaughter-house at the back of •
butcher's premise*, and we are told that • man of the
name of Jenkins, • Dissenter, a deacon of the Baptist
Chapel, formerly • butcher, and now a small farmer,
was installed cashier. A band of supernumeraries, Radi-
cal Scotehmen, Dissenters, and some, we are told, even
professing preachers of the Gospel, went about among
the rural electors and drove them into this slaughter-
house, where they were knocked down at the rate of
£25 per head to forfeit their promises to vote for Pad-
wick and Westropp, and were driven to the poll to vote
for Tynte and Kinglake." Mr. Reed in his affidavit
denied that he, either directly or indirectly, provided
any money for the Bridgwater election, or asked • single
voter for his vote, or in any way interfered with the
election, and said he was entirely ignorant of any office
being opened in the slaughter-house, as alleged in the
article, ko. He also said that as soon as he read the
article he was satisfied he was the party intended, be-
cause, having called on the defendant on Monday, the
2nd of May, he had with him • conversation, in the
course of which the defendant said, in answer to a ques-
tion about the Times, "No, I have not got the Times
newspaper. There was • panic here on Saturday, and
we all know that you brought the money here and woo
the election, and I wished you had been at the devil, or
in London, before you had been here."
Mr. Slade (with whom was Mr. Kingdon) now showed
cause against the rule, and said he tied never had the
pleasure of being on the winning side at an election,
and he could not quite enter into the feelings of those
who, having succeeded, wished to triumph over their

paper,
lug I"
sad