The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-11-06 00:00:00

MUNICIPAL ELECTION

,ln whichever of the wards an) enquiry is made, the re-
solt,establishes the fact that at the late election the whig-
radieal party have practised every species of intimidation,
bribery, and fraud. In two of the wards, unfortunatly,
they have been too successful. Scotland Ward, upon which
we built our strongest hopes, is for the present represented
by a radical, through the most disgraceful trick ever prac-
tisal at any election, or by any party ; and in St. Anne's
Ward, we doubt not that a thorough investigation, such as
must take place, will prove that similar means have been
employed. In Everton Ward, bribery and undue influence
were openly made use of by the Brown party. In St.
Paul's, and Vauxhall also, treating and. bribery were the
principal weapons of the reformers. In Pitt-street—in the
ward which has hitherto been the chosen instrument by
which that pious patriot, William Rathbone, has been re-
turned to the Council—the doings will be best understood
and estimated by a careful perusal of our report of the in-
vestigation, at the Town Hall ; and in Lime-street, the
temporary triumph of Mr. Blackburn was secured by what,
we presume, we must term " a mistake " on the part of the
Poll Clerk.—A mistake which might have been cleared up
by an examination OF ABOUT THREE MINUTES previous
to leaving the polling booth.

A detail of all the facts which have come to our know-
ledge. would require more space than we have now at our
disposal. Some of them, we have no doubt, will come be-
fore the public in good time, through the medium of our
law courts. A few incidents, however, are of too ludicrous
a character, and exemplify the peculiar purity of %lig-ra-
dical practice too strongly, to be passed over. First, then,
we beg to lay before our readers the history of

A Jew Watch which WENT!
In Everton Ward, an excavator of foundations, whose vote
last year was personated by the radicals, was induced by a
pawn-broker of -- street, to accept of two
sovereigns and a silver watch for his vote in favour of the
whip candidate. The money was duly pocketed, and the
watch was ticking in the voter's fob, as he proceeded, arm
in arm with his purchaser towards the polling booth. Mr.
Hodgson's committee-room was, however, en route; and to
the dismay of the pawnbroker, into that room the Biped and
the watch WENT, where the latter was exhibited and great-
ly admired, amidst the laughter and cheers of the assem-
bled crowd; the vote was shortly after recorded for the
conservative candidate, leaving the disappointed Israelite in
possession of an UNREDEEMED PLEDGE of very question-
able value, and the voter plus two sovereigns and a watch,
which, contrary to all expectation, GOES VERY WELL.
In Scotland Ward, the process of " bottling " was bu-
sily carried on by the radical party, even so early as SUN-
DAY ; and several of the voters, we understand, are in a

state of doubt as to the exact locality of their sleeping
apartments on that night and the following. The mode in
which a man of the name of Hugh Roberts was managed
is amply detailed in our report of the examination before
the Town Clerk. Some other cases, however, of individu-
als who, unlike the one in question, were not permitted to
visit the polling booth, will, in due time be brought before
the public ; and we have no hesitation in predicting, that
the result of an application to the Queen's Bench, which
we have authority for saying will be immediately made,
will place Mr. Gladstone in the position of member for that
ward. Not a few of Mr. Thornhill's converts, we may add,
are looking anxiously for the fulfilment of the various pro-
mises which they incautiously accepted in lieu of hard cash ;
and we fear they MAY look.
In St. Paul's Ward, a voter for Mr. Hollinshead was
taken into Castle-street, by one of the radical canvassers,
and TREATED with a new watch, value £7. On proceed-
ing to the polling booth, however, a friend kindly handed
him a voting paper, and the vote was duly recorded for Mr.
Hollingshead, to the loudly expressed dissatisfaction of the
purchasers of the Watch.