Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-09-16
Electioneering in England.

The last London Quarterly Review, among
other good things, has an interesting article on
"Electioneerng, as practised in England from
time immemorial Many of the anecdotes relat-
ed by the writer are illustrative and amusing
The parliamentary History" states, for instance
that in 1871, during the reign of Elizabeth, zone
Thos. Long, gent, was returned for the borough
of Westbury in the county of Wits, who, being
found to be very simple man and not mt to
serve in that place, was questioned how ne came
to be elected The poor man Immediately con-
fessed to the House that he gave to Anthony
Garland, mayor of the said town of Westbury,
and one Watts of the same, ca tor his place IN
parliament"
This, say some writers, is the first case OF
bribery on record But the aaiuete with which
we are told that poor Long was found to be a
very simple man. and questioned accordingly,
is delightful. If our simple men were so handled
now by the House, there would be not few
who would be puzzled to give any rational ac-
count of the motives which had actuated their
constituents in sending them there.
The greatest electioneerer that England ever
saw is said to have been the Marquis of Wharf,
ton, the friend and patron of Joseph Addison
In the general election of 1905, alone, he spent
$4,000, and yet neither his money nor his en-
ergy would have carried him on so triumphant
ly, if he had not had born genius for canvass
ing. The following incident is told by gentle
man, the friend of rival candidate, who wit
messed it. While cauvassing the borough OF
Wicomb, Lord Wharton entered shoemakers
shop and asked ''where Dick was9"
The good woman said, 'her husband was gone
two or three miles off with some shoes, but his
lordship need not fear him-she would keep him
tight" II know that" says my lord, shut |
want to see Dick and drink glass with him"
The wife was very sorry Dick was out of the
way "Well,n says his lordship, show does all
thy children9 Molly is a brave girl, warrant,
by this time" "Yes, thank We, my lord, says
the woman: and his lordship continued, us not
Jenny breeched yet9"
At this stage, the gentleman slipped away to
inform his friends that opposition to Wharton
was hopeless. Nothing could stand against a
great peer who had such a knowledge of the
ages of Molly and Jenny.
The same sort of affectionate familiarity con-
tinued generation after generation to be one OF
the arts of canvassing, and we have vivid
sketch of the of-repeated scene in letter of the
poet Cowper, describing visit of Mr.. Gren-
vile, in 1884. The shy recluse was seated in
his quiet home with his friends, Mrs. Unwin
and Lady Austen, when the house was beset by
a crowd following the candidate, who all rushed
in by the back.door.
"Mr. Grenville," says Cowper, advancing to-
wards me, shook me By the hand with degree
of cordiality that was extremely seducing.. AS
soon as he and as many more as could lind chars
were seated he began to open the intent OF his
visit. | told him had no vote, for which ne
readily gave Inc credit. / assured him had no
influence, which he was not equally inclined to
believe, and the less no doubt, because MIR. Ash
burner, the draper, addressing himself to me at
this moment, informed me that | had great
deal. Surprising that could not be possessed
of such treasure without knowing it, VEN
ture3 to confirm my first assertion by saying that,
if | had any, was utterly at loss to imagine
where it could be, or wherein it consisted. Thus
ended the conference. Mr.. Granville squeezed
me by the hand again, kissed the ladies, and
withdrew. He kissed likewise the maid in the
kitchen, and seemed, upon the whole, most
loving, kissing, kind-hearted gentleman. tie Is
very young, genteel, and handsome"
Nothing can show more forcibly the exception
which electioneering afforded to all ordinary
customs than his humorous scene. And who
would suppose that such manners were popular
and won votes by the score?
1.-THE Art of Lying in Elections" is illustrated
by the writer in the Quarterly by several anec-
dotes. On one occasion Lord Woodstock carried
the election at southampton against Fred. Ill
ney, Esq, by starting the report that the latter
who paid his "reckoning" in louis-d'ors French
coin, was French pensioner. In the late cleo
ton, admirable service was done in a Scotch
contest by a bold statement that candidate had
once danced on Sunday.
The practice Of buying votes has been resort
ed to in England to an almost incredible extent,
and it is remarkable to find men of the highest
character guilty of it. When Wherefore first
entered Parliament it cost him from $4,000 to
$4,000. In 1907 he fought and won perhaps
the costliest contest ever fought in England, the
entire cost to all parties, being near $500, 1000!
'sThe price of votes" wrote Southey, "vares
according to the number. In some places it is
as low as forty shillings in others, at Leicester
for instance, it is thirty pounds" Thirty
pounds" said the apothecary OF the place, on his
examination, sis the price of an Leicester voter"
When he was asked how he came to know the
sum so accurately, he replied that he attended
the families of the voters professionally, and his
bills were paid at election times with the money
But money and the other appliances mention
ed were not the only means used to influence
voters Female banishments were called into
reouisition, and on one occasion, the Duchess of
Devonshire, famous canvasser, immortalized
herself in election annals by bribing butcher
with q kiss. The sternest reformers, says the
Quarterly, may regret the discontinuance OF this
mode of treating the electors.
The Quarterly says great improvement has
taken place in the character of electioneering in
the few years past. "We cannot say, indeed"
it continues, ''that bribery is abolished-tar from
it-with Bribery Committee blue-books on our
shelves, and some sixty petitions against returns
now before the new Parliament. But our cor
ruption though possibly means') is certainly
less gross and glaring than once prevailed; and,
under the influence of purified public opinion
and strict legislation, is, we trust, gradually
wearing away"
Useful and Beautiful
Is that elegant pen-knife kindly handed to us
by Mr.. Kennedy, at whose new Hardware es-
Establishment there are "few more of the same