The Express.
London, England, 1849-10-27 00:00:00

in
on the influence of his relatives, the Foie s: but,
1811, Mr. Henry Winnington was obliged to retire.
and a tcry eclair., favoured by Lord Ward, obtained
possession of the seat.
Bewdky, as the nearest to Whitley Court, was the
borough best adapted for a trial by the new infinities.
It was necessary, however, to go shoat the matter
delicate:y. The Winningtons, if not exactly popular,
were much respected. They had taken no pains
to secure the affections of the public, but on
the other hand they had done no not cal-
' calated to lower them in the general esteem.
It is difficult and sometimes dangerous for a
neighbour to make an attack upon a family of
th:s sirt. Accordingly no open war was declared—no
attempt was made to array family against family, or
estate against estate. An utter stranger to the place,
one Mr. Monteith, of Glasgow, was brought down.
No one knew how he came. He dated his address
from "Whitley Court: but in no other way did he
declare a connexion with its lord. The election which
ensued was a trial of strength, fur it was the first
which had ever occurred in Bewdley. As timesavers
preliminsry to it drew towards a conclusion, it became
evident that the numbers would be much closer on
the poll than bad been previously expected. It was
even said by his committee that Mr. Monteith might
win ; and it is certain that he or his friends had such
sanguine hopes that they resorted to those bus expe-
dients which are put in prectice when there does
appear a hope of amain, and which are only needed
amongst smolt and nearly Equally divided constitute-
elem, and when the result of the poll may be ex-
pected to tarn almost alien a single vote.
Our experience of borough coneituencies has shown
us long ego, the bid effects which are produced even
on the purest electorates by the proximity of a
borough nctorioarly corrupt. It is quite possible to
group all the different boroughs of England, and to
show precisely a here "one ...Abby sheep has tainted
the whole flock." Ipswich, Harwich, Sudbury, Col-
chester, and Meldon all display the same electioneer-
ing characteristics. Nottingham and Newark are
worked in the same way. Lewes has tainted Har-
wich, and even, to some extent, the large constituency
of Brighton. Beverley has hada bad influence on Hull
sad Sea-borough. The taint of Pontefract has been felt
at Burr aborough and Wakefield. Stafford and New-
eastle-under-Lyne go hand in heed in corruption. All
the Berkshire boroughs,—Reading, Abingdon, Wal-
lingford, and Windsor, present muohthe same general
characteristics. Tewkesbury rescalities have, we doubt
not, contributed to poison Cheltenham. In the sum::
way Ludlow and Leominster may be classed together.
And we have little doubt that very much of the cor-
ruption which has cursed Bewdley and Stourport,
altos 1841, is attributable to the pernicious hand-
work of Mr. Richard Godson in the adjacent wicked
town of liirbkrminster.
However this may be it is certain that at this elu-
tion of 1841 first arose that system of debauchery and
bribery which has since exurcierd so pernicious an
influerce in Bewdley, and which has even threatened
its political extinction. Sir Thomas Winnington was
successful; bat it was only after a severe struggle—
the numbers being: for Winnington, 173; Monteith,
188: majority, 5. Nominally, 56 voters remained
unpolled ; but from this number must be deducted
the usual proportion for deaths, double registration,
and removals. To both parties the election was very
costly ; the expenses on the tory side are confidently
rad to have been borne by Lord Ward.
We must defer until another day the tale of the
scandalous election of 1847.