The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-11-18

AkH SVASNN'
extraordinary state Of things in the late
Parliamentary struggle before the country.
One witness testifying the manner of vo-
ting in Oxford said that he had upwards
of one hundred people under him-all
taken from his own district, and all paid
by the day, with the understanding that
if their party won, they were to have
ca tip at the finish" The same thing
was done all over the town by the Conser-
Aatives and on rather a smaller scale by
the Liberals. Add to this most prodl-
gal employment of cabs and on the Con-
servative side an open tap at all the pub
lie houses, and one can form some idea
of the value of the contest. To poll y
725 votes in Oxford the Conservatives
spent about $4,000, or nearly &3 per vote
The Liberals did the thing more cheap
ly and lost accordingly. OF the 5,4OOO
persons who voted on both sides, it would
seem to be no exaggerated calculation
that considerably over a third had been
bribed in one way or another.
But we must turn to places like Maccles'
field and the Sandwich boroughs, to get
glimpse of old-fashioned, unblushlng
corruption. In these towns voting is
frankly treated as a matter of business,
At Macclesfeld the Eelection funds are
drawn out of the bank in silver and half
soyereigns las being the most conven'
lent form" General prices" range from
g. Cd. to los. Out of G2,9OO disbursedb by
prominent manager on the Liberal
side he admits that only &l0O was spent
legally. One of the Conservatiy capt
aims of the wards TELLS us the part winch
was assigned to him on the polling day
" He took each voter that came to MN
into a pantry, which was rather
dark. and made the best bargain he could
with him. Then he took each having
paid them individually, to the polling
booth, and saw them inside. lfhe had
let them slip they would have gone to
the Liberal committee room to have got
more money there" The statistics OF
this election are the most remarkable
that have yet been published. Out OF
the 2,672 persons who voted for Mr. Ea-
ton, all but 2O9 had direct pecunlary
interest in his success, 1868 having been
bribed.., and 900 being paid canvassers
A. Macclesfeld. out of every six voters,
certainly four, and probably five, vote
simply as they are paid. But 1t is to the
Sandwich Commission that we are
indebted for our knowledge ofthe lowest
dephth of electoial corruption which has
vet been publicly explored. 1t is be-
lieved, or at all events asserted, that
eight hundred men there took money
from both sides. "Before the Reform
bill" we are told by one Of the witness
ses, "every freeman voting at Sandwich
got his 81 and his dinner on the day OF
election, and that idea has never been
entirely eradicated from their minds "
On the contrary, Notwithstanding the en-
larrement of the constituency the market
price of a vote has steadily ricen."
According to the London Saturday
| RfOlelU, q CdlulCldlG lO lldVlSi NV A'Nii
est he may be, cannot prevent the EN-,
ployment of corrupt means in his behalf
Sometimes it happens that sanguine
friend advances the money" When
everything is over, he lets the candidate
know that he has paid so much out Of
his own pocket, without descending to
particulars and the candidate asks no
Questions, but cannot bear that friend
should have paid anything and should
not be repaid.
There is no doubt cheating in the Uni
ted States at elections, but nothing
euualling the English system of buying
voters. The English guards, however
against the polling of fraudulent votes
and securing an honest count are bet
Ter than those of West American States
The voter may be moved by a pecuniary
inducement, but aside from this has all
the legal qualifications of voter.
One of the penalties in England for
corrupt practices at electioni, is the dis
franchisement of constituencies. Ok
ford is liable to lose its member, and a
list is printed of twelve members of Par
lament, five Conservatives and seven
Liberals, who have been unseated for
bribery. The investigation into such ca
ses is made by the judges, and of course
their decisions are without partizan bias,