The Express.
London, England, 1848-12-14 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 1848.

is., effeeMatedeg whit "Friss& I have done thee nowroeg,"
himseifis the gutter' and the pea teapot kick-
WA* dews the OWL Nambersof voters Were so annoyed
to Wes Tay Mad they bagged to be taken to MIN pages of
tholior mai orolOolloa law mange. The town became ft
bad at but Wall Wage Wm atorintely no lardy is It. TIM
whip bullies wsEt from Eutaw, the arise had
divas poen of ten from London. Both poetise
had • " mob'! cords from Brighton. Ifs
moan was it dhemerebrat abduction was
Reward, than the taws we. Saud In a state
siege. Paid parties of "the mob," headed by a
bully," were sent eat by alght and by der, W
glued the roads and watch the town. Mr. Pitney lOW
the towa'wes pat la a complete state of siege: every awes
road wee obliged to be watched; and this watching besemal
a most expensive item." The liberal agent says, !the Mew
was ie • state of Mgt. Every voter was besieged. I bed!
always a ample of footmen after me watching when I went,
lend carrying reports every half hoar se to the program of
mate." At length the tories discovered that the whip
=i-Maes at Brighton was at a play Mown as '
La. They determined to kayo the eaten. •
Imams grab of bellies was sent over at night to storm the
Reerfandflit the voters back. They surrounded the Flo-
MM. seCiirith bludgeons In their hands tried to faro* is
name. The police wen obliged to be WWII Is; and at
ass Rau it was thought that it would be seam, y to read
the Riot Mt, and perlaspitto adl out the military. LOW
essisly the pollee pemiW!, and • lot of the UMW mere
tiaras Into custody.
W. must not omit to mead the mistimes at this elm Is
LIMN of two nay important usistles, known napeetinly es
the " Bundle of 6de4" and the "Coostitutional Priming
Club." The "Bundle of Sticks" exists to this hour; the
"Constitutional Pruners," also! have been cut off like one
of their decayed branches. The " Bundle of Sticks" is an
old whip moiety, originated is the palmy days when the Inds-
psedence of Lewis, from aristocratic dosaination.was the point
at hese: the" Constitutional Pruning knife Club" was origi-
nated, when Mr. Fitzroy cam into the town, and took its
title from • figurative observatioa of his upon the basting.,
that " the difference between a whip and a conservative wan,
that the former would cat dews the British ask with an axe '
whilst the latter would earefally lop off its decayed breaths;
with a prude; Mile." the" Bundle of Sticks" avowedly
met togetner for politial purposes, drinking and smoking at
their own upense if they pleased, and at any one'. elee's if
they could. The " Pruitag-knife Club" had, however, •
more beneficent object. It celled itself a " benefit society."
Of coarse Mr. Tidd Pratt had not certified nor
enrolled it ; but that did not matter. Its lint rale was that
every member should vote for • " Constitutional Primer,"
• conservative ; its second that each member should
tserf -2.• :slit 24.
sa 3d.lr ea' km:Slith to
en wtha fund, bean d
could° ig
eat rig
cane • member died his wife was to have 51. for his funeral ;
and in eau a member's wile died he was to have 71. for hers,
Wog 61. for the cieremosy, and 21. to get jolly on the use-
Cillll2 00011.1011. At the end of every year there was to be
dinner and • distribution of the profits. TM society consisted
of IGO subscribiag members, bet it is needless to say that
these alone could not supping' it. it would not have
got on at all, but for the "honorary subscribers,"
consisting of the conservative representatives and the it ailing
members of the party in the borough, to the number of 80,
who subscribed their guineas (and u much more es they
pleased) towards the laudable °Nide of the society. The
" Bundle el 8 irks," and the ' Constitution I Prunere," were
not only excellent electionering agencies. but they were
admirably contrived arrangements for circulating money
Recording to the strictest rules of parliamentary propriety.
The " messengers" of the different committees were
taken for the voters belonging to thin societies,
anti there were no less than 7U or HO persons thus
employed on each side. Besides these there were various
other clubs in Lewes, emulating the importance of the
" Bundle of Sticks," though scarcely attaioine it Altoge-
ther Mr. Fitzroy rays he knew in 1841 of ten such clubs ex-
isting in the town ; and with a loos) lace he odded the count-
Mtary remark " It they get into debt 1 am expected to sub-
scribe to get them oat of it."
At this memorable contest perhaps one of the moot sin-
gular measures ever taken at an election was adopted by the
tones. Lewes is a great market town. The homers muster
there in large numbers of a market-day, and they have now
got • corn market rivalling that of Mark-lace in splendour,
if no: iu extent. The farmers attending L •wea market
met one day, and dubbed themselves • society,
under the imposing title of the " East Sussex Branch Aso-
, dation far the Protection of Agriculture." On the 224 of
June, 1841, this branch association met at the White Mart
lan ; and, not one among them bang an ei ctor (or Lewes, '
they abseutely lied the cool insolence to issue an address
" To the trade of Lewis," calling upon them to support the
Hon. Henry Fitzroy and Visomie Cantalupe, inasmuch on
they, the fanners, should feel themselves bound to support
those who support the friends of agricultural protection.
Eighty-six farmers signed this document! Such an iutolera-
Ile piece of insolence, perhaps, was never heard of.
Thu result was precisely contrary to that which the ton
party anticipated. The "Trade of Lewes" is rather
t. warm " than otherwise. A quiet application of the
screw from the landed gentry round about, they might have
stood with • little thechiug ; but en application of that instru-
ment from a body of tenant farmers, the:nada-I the beet-
screwed amen is England, was intolerable. The " Trade of
Lewis" revolted. Fitzroy and Cantalupe might have won
but fur this. As it was, their opponents were returned, the
numb! re toting for Mr. Huturd, 411; Elphinstone, 409 ;
Fitzroy, 407 ; Cantalupe. 31$.
" On petition," says Mr. Dodd, " this poll we. correctel."
It was an odd affair that, and we shall tell all about it so-
other day.