The Express.
London, England, 1849-09-19 00:00:00

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OUR REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM

DEVIZES.

D.vis:s, the enmity town of Wiltshire, is a place
; which Mies its appearance. A easual passer-through
• weld be likely to regard it u • town of meth =tent
and importance. Certainly its courts at law, its
*grebes, and its Mesketeplace, would bee a borough
el the stoma clam But when you hare 10011 these
yea have mesa ell that Devises has to show. It has
liver or no cuss street!, and notkiag in the shape of a
: ..barb. The wrist plase and the approaches to it
. Wm the taws of Devisee, sod whet pea harems
them you have seen the whale of it.
Except upon a mukselay, Devises is este of the
plisses in }inland. Not a Greater' is to be
mesa is its streets somedasse for tea skates together.
• Mikis(' is doing in the shops. at the bank the clerks
done over this newspapers eembrtaW, and yea may
ring the waiter's bell at the ism eseroons a doses
thus before you will find a living soul to answer it.
The Sleeping Beauty might have had her pokes at
Devisee, No drowsy is the place sad all its populadon.
But, cm a muket-day, the upset et Devises =deo.
goes a change. The streets are filled with maths at
sore—for this is $ pitched market, and every
thrum beings his load for male at saes, without
Mosses to hp
Famous wives aad daughters
Om
remarking the shops; Menses' labourers are
drkkieg la the redeye= l farmers' horses crowd the
sisMeethlfirgigsthe stable yids; whilst at half&
&woe AMIM %metes market colineries are making
ask fltit 1 6 agricul!uralletd, Via are betting their 1
by bargaining with the wen dealers outside.rift:ie tows at this time is a busy town : the other days
is the wok it is a brick and nectar desert.
Before the psesiog of the Be.ke Bill, Devisee was
what was called a" corporation borough.* The right
of voting was then vested is the mayor and a select
number of self-sleeted bargesess. In these corpora-
tion boroughs if the number of these burgeons was
eawidershie. the repreeentatien was generalllade-
point. Os the other band, if tho number was
Hilted, the bmeegh was either "ander mansgesear
or subject to an "Waimea' Devises was a good Mae-
trades of the weak( et this eyeless. The corpora' ion
owssisted of the mayor sad 36 hareems. The repre-
esatatives whom these gentlemen .were usually in-
alined to edict were ambers of meseatial families
kor near the towm We omeequently find, shoat
theorems the Wooed history of Devisee, that its
representatives were sonseetml with individuals who,
somehow or other, exercised a local influence.
The interest meat powerful for many years at
Devises was that of the family of Sutton, et New
Park. The lam sale represestative of that family
bad two daughters, co-ltsireems, me et whom marled
Mr. Addington (Viscount Sidmooth), sad the ether
Mr. Eitcoart, the late member for Oxford Uhivorsity,
whose grandfather was a woolstaplar, reading is
• Devises. Mr. Addington sit for the borough in
several suseessive parliaments, and when he coma to
do so the New Park int uses soured the Mara of
Mr. Esmond, the husband of the second sister.
Mr. &toot held the seat from 1805 to 1826.
The other member during the same period was Mr.
Joshes Smith, d Earlestoks Park, now the mat of
Sir John Cam Hohlsou.e. Mr. Smith represented
Devises from 1790 to 1819, when his property
into the hands of the then wealthy merchant,
Watson Taylor, who thenceforward and down to 1 1
at in parliament as one of the members for the
borough.
The influence of them two landed proprietors was
maintained, first, through the ages of • clever at-
t.:easy, who " mmaged • the ooeporatios, and secoadly,
by means of dinners and presents to the burgeons. De-
visee was, by no means, a dear seat in these days. A
little exercise of goverment patronage in favour of
the sons and sons-in-law of buqessm,—a few good
dinners at New Park or at Emiestoke —a basket of
OM. on the fad stifcber,—• kind letter, and a
friendly call when through the tone—these
civilities were exacted, tso long as they were
paid, there was little more required.
In 1832, however, when the franchise was thrown
open, these sorts of tributes went far main. The
ten pound householders of Devises, et whom about 300
were registered,loolud out for independenteandidates.
Mr. Wadham Locke, • solicitor and banker, very
much respected in the tome was one when they
selected ; the other, Mr. Montages Ore, tow=
resident in Wiltshire, was brought formed a body
of dissenters, who desired to have a mem who
would represent their views. On this occasion there
was a third candidate, Admiral Sir Philip C. H.
Durham. Sir Philip Durham chanced to be attend-
ing a sale of Mr. Watson Taylor's seat at Bark/stoke-
park, when he met with an old meesmate, one ap-
lain whose family were bummers and
influential in Devises. Captain Taylor induced Sir
Philip to offer himself to the oonstitesisey. He did
so on the first occasion without suers, the numbers
being, for Locke 216, Gore 166, Durham 94; bat on
• vacancy which occurred soon after, in consequence
at Mr. Gore's retirement, Sir Philip Durham came in
without opposition, being almost the first person un-
curetted with the district who ever had bees known
to obtain election for this town.
At the general election of 1835, the Hoo. D. P. Bon-
orb, a brother of Lied Radnor's, was brought for-
ward by some of those who had supported Mr. Gore.
Mr. Bouverie made an indifferent candidate, and was
beaten; the numbers being, foe Locke, 240; Durham,
164; Bouvet* 96.
, In the November following, Mr. Wadhan Loge
died. Although a while himself, it should be nut.
• timed that his family were, and still nook,
• brio in their politics. During the Was :en
kis membership, the Carlton was
always trying to get bold of C.
• whose opinions were as& meellsosi particularly
' decided. They made a great pub to induce him to
vote spinet his party on the Bpsakership,_ but Mr.
Locke was firm, and gave his vote for Mr. Aber-
aremby ; whereupon be was heartily abused by the
tory prose, and accused of being subservient to the
Marquis of Lanedowne—an acclamation which Mr.
Locke thought it right to publicly deny.
Upon Mr. Locke's death the influence which the
Reform Bill ought to have destroyed • ventured
to show itself in the borough of Derive. Mr.
•* T. B. Estanut (who has sines wood the sane
et Bethercia) proposed himself to the coaditleasy
. rivivias the old inflames' connected with the New
Park family. The Devises liberals} who foresaw
• great danger to the bough in this nominatim
' went to the Treeing Ike advios, and Captain Deans
Benda., who had repressatol Greenwich front 1832
to 1836, was seat down to do battle with the Bet-
elints. The battle was fkreght gallantly by the libe-
ral candidate, bat the lewd influences were too great
fre him. He was beaten by 12—the numbers being
e.. far Estuart, 167; Dundee, 146.
It had happened in the ease of Sir Philip Dlr-
.- bus that, after un on. defeat. he was
dim %Amin a seat for this , upon a vacancy
•'• whisks* afterwards mearred. a the Name way it
timid with Capt. Deans Dundee. Early in 1836,
die Phkp Durham was appointed to a command. He
▪ easignsi his seat for Devisee, sad Capt. Dundee me-
lee esedsibint. without any opposition. At this time, is
". fast, it weenie by my means the interest of the talks
is aim at both the seats. It was asesseary, before
~,. they did that, that the Estooart interest should be
Inaly established, and that, in little MOM than three
• • a-, donne could sot he effected.
-• ••• It was probably owing to mach the same cause
that, at the general election of 1837,Mr. listeourt and
Are ZtDandasweessisin returned without anyoppo-
ialnsither party propoing to " disturb the peace
• 4lr the town," by introducieg a second man. There
•••1 • • mere, however. at this time some indioatioes that
''l • things would ad remsia as they were though the
•.
• , cppeeition which was threatened rose tither item a
-tete thane political moo
fit Outeeolt la Devises a
ate.
HID,
"• • ned dee royal my, the gen *fa phyisian t a sew
••••tlemas et no very one Maass" bat with sa
lt.
13 • 'tLtO (tor * gab, very Moat, sad sot particularly
The mom whisk attended this geode-
ZaTieTeegonearing exertion, may be a loosen to
re •::-Atto sal ii} way dependent 011 LEN b.
• nifty us how candor we hok
-as • 6.0111111.• t eiffeese, sullicient or net, to with
.1 - Jerboa is may thanes to come in contest
laset.,llll,*at suns period or another of his Eng
11.1.01.•
It . Wrbd with apt. Dears Dallas, and had
• T‘, him saes real or eeppwsol .the
8" aiwisi to tionfzu into a wabstanlld
.151-" easegy sod. peresvessoss with which he
Aoke.
Arloomohmee• was worthy of a better cam
reel.
,dp .fttes their adses huge/old seek
-a ootetevi the bust Mislays 'hen P •
As le esieythiar Olt rawksaglula bail ow