The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-02-21 00:00:00

SUDDEN DEATHS.

Comiderable excitement was created in Banbury on
SAT:day by the announcement that Mr. Henry Ward,
ore of the borough magistrates, had died suddenly
while attending crevice in Christ Church, South
Banbury. Mr. Ward app,ared in Ws usual health
when he entered the church, but the service had not
preset lea far when be foil back in his seat. He wail
,arried to the vestry, and medical assistance was sent
r, but he died in a very short time. The sad event,
as may be supposed, caueed much consternation among
the congregation when it became known. Death
In
supposed to have result, d from disease of the heart,
and the deceased had lately been under medical treat-
ment. Mr. Ward was a staunch Conservative in
politics, was one of the leaders of that party in the
town, and woe mach reaptcted by the publicgenerally.
Hie brother, Mr, Ward, is a magistrate for the city of
Oxford.

in London, on Saturdity, De. Lankester held an in.
quest at the " King's Head" Tavern. Bloom,.
bury, on the bitty of Me. Frolui, aged 52, of
10, Snithampton-etreet, High Holborn, for many years
r in the War Othoe. Mn. Frond, the
widow. stated that the deceased was in polities a Con.
servative, and had been eery much excited since the
inteult of the Cabinet Council on the 23 d nit. On
Monday last he arrived home rather poorly. The fol-
lowing morning he remained in bed, reading Mr.
Thi-
speech In Buckinghamshire. Bebecame intensely
excited, expresied his delight at the success of the
Cealervatives, got op, and walked rotted the bed to

lumb;r

her. She put her arms around him, and begged him to ,
calm himself, when he slipped from her and fell dead THE GENERAL ELECTION,
on the floor. Dr. P. Travers Steams said that he made (From Wedeseday's Time)
a post mortars examination, which showed that the The elections are now complete, and the result is •
cat= of death was disease of the heart, accelersted by House of CUM/LOW of 653 members, including a
excitement. The jury returned the following verdict: double return for Athlone, in which 351 members
—Death from diseased heart, accelerated by excitement may be reckoned as Conservatives and 302, in-
during the election." chiding the Katie Rulers, as Liberal... The full
, of the House is wanting by eix members
as the six seats for the disfranchised b,rooghs—Bsver-
ley, Bridges ater, Skim and Cohn—have never yet
been redistributed. Out of the 653 members returned,
187 obtained their seAs unopposed, so that there
were 466 contested elections—that is to say not teats
inteeted, but members who had to fight for their seats,
against about 360 competitors who were unsuccessful.
The aggregate number of votes polled throughout the
United Kingdom was 2,485,183, of which the uneurnews-
ful candidates received 891,836, and the House of Com-
mons, therefore, se it stands at present, has been elected
by 1,593,347 votes. This showe an increase of about a
quarter of • million on the polling in 1868. An eau-
meration of the votes polled of course gives no idea
ef the number of electors who exercised the fran-
chise. It wbuld be impoesible to get at this, or the
numbers who actually voted on each side, without an
elaborate analyds of the polio, and a comparisen of
" plumpers." straight splits," "cross splits," and
other complications for which the materials at pre-
sent are not forthcoming. According to • Parlia-
mentary return published in February, 1873, the
number of registered electors is the United King-
dom was 2,645,564 2,157,295 in England and
\ Vales ; 262,758 in Scotland; and 225,511 in Ire-
land. The aggregate polls in England and Wales
were 2053511 ; in Scotland, 212,330; and in
Ireland, 219,342. So that, taking into account
the uncontested seats—viz., 147 in England, 24 in
Scotland, and 20 in Ireland --there must have been
huge numbers who abstained from voting in all the
three kingdoms. The 346 members who had to stand
a contest In England and Wales received 1,306,405
votes, of which 718 545 were given to 188 Conservative
members, and 587,530 to 158 Liberal members.
In Scotland there were 36 ountests, an in which 24
L'berals polled 102,160 voter, as against 30,218 polled
by 12 Conservatives • and in Ireland, where 83 seats
were fought, 83,970 'cotes were given to 50 Liberal
candidates, and 54,696 to 33 Conservatives.