The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-09-04
Eleotions are the qler.saos iof lib,

Where there is no liberty, there Is
no election; and the more liberty
& I4ssh.isTT5asis, sh the more interest is felt ht
the polls and in the issue of the ball
lot. Much anxiety is now naturally
felt about the coming election. This
proves that the issue thereof lis d
vital one, and that the people are in
earnest. about their liberties.
|" We owe more than we generally
know to antiquity. When we see On
aristocrat shaking hands at street
corners with the poor man whom he
despised and perhaps employed in
the most venal Office only a few weeks
ago, we immediately. conclude, that
said great man is seeking votes or
Office. Hence, it is apparent that
the ballot is. the great leyeler-the
grand bon'l of liberty and republi-
canism.
Cicero himself was master in the
field of electioneering. History tells
us that he had his aomencldtoT, who
nsea to accompany that great politi-
oian, in order to whisper in" his ear
the names of the voters as he met
them in the streets. Cicero defended
Murena against the charge of onabit,ts.
and that immortal harangue could
be, even at this day. addressed to
one of ,opr. election. committees, with
profit. Nay, we borrow many of our
electioneering terms from the Ro-
mans. For instance, the word "can-
didate" is derived from the latin
word "cd,,didataspl-c clad in a6hite-
because such was the color of can
didate's toga. 4ai-. .q!.nem
In the Parliamentary History of
England, (vol. 1, p. 1885, we read:
''It appears, from the journals of the
10th of May, that one Thomas Long,
gent, was returned from the bor-
ough of Westbury, in the County of
Wits, who, being found to be a very
simple man and not fit to serve in
that place, was questioned how he
came to be elected. The poor man
Immediately confessed to the House
that he gave to Anthony Garland,
Mayor of the said town of Westbury,
and one Watts, of the, same. e4 for
his place in Parliament. Upon
which, an order was made, that the
said Garland and Watts should re-
pay unto the said Thomas Long the
e4 they had Of him. Also, that q
fine of EGO be assessed, for the
Queens use, on the said corporation
and inhabitants of Westbury, for
their scandalous attempt
So, even in the remote days of
Queen Elizabeth, poor Long was
adjudged incompetent to sit in the
House, because he was "a simple
man." If the same rule were to be
applied to our House, wonder how
many would be left to form quo
rum?
In the curious "Nug@ Antigue, :"
compiled from the Harrington pa
pers, we find that the modern Ameri-
can custom of "liquoring" to gain
candidates has pretty ancient pre-
cedent. John Harrington, of Bath,
is therein represented as having
dined with the Mayor of that town
and four citizens, and having spent
wish. in wine. He gives US his bill,
to wit: Laid ont in victuals at the
George Inn, xjs. 4d.; laid out in
drinking, Wis. lid; laid out in to-
bacco and drinking vessels, ills. 4d.
January My father, gave me e4
to bear out my expenses at Bathe.
(sic. J"
Tie lately deceased Samuel Lover,
in his Handy. Andy" and Dickens,
in his "Pickwick Papers," have given
us instances of the ruSes resorted
to by electioneering parties. The
election at Eatanswill, as described
by the latter, cannot have possibly
escaped the memory of our readers.
Although kissing the babies" has
not yet come into our system of cleo
tioneering, sundry other cognate
means are employed. That will do
so, no doubt, Gin due course, as it has
been, for long time, a potent engine
in transatlantic elections.
The Whartons, of Essex, were
hereditary heroes of the polls. In
olden times, they used to carry the
day 0i et a,'mais. In later times, they
had to change tactics, as power.
money and duels could not attain
their object. So, in the year 17O5,
we find one of them thus represented
by his biographer to have acted:
"Entering n shoe-maker's shop, my
Lord asked, 'IVhere Dick ,caS?' The
good woman said, 'her husband acas
gone t,co or three miles off, aciM some
shoes, Jm his LordShip need not fea,.