St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-11
British Campaign Methods Of
Today and Of Past
Times.
Some Pict uresque Incidents
Cited From the History
of Parliament.
Campaign Literature in Eng:
land Always Conspicuous
for Personality.
Election Agents Not Over Nice
Regarding Means for Win
ming Votes.

Another general election in Great
Britain, occurring, too. during ma
tional campaign in the United States,
suggests many comparisons and con-
trastS between the popular political
methods of the two countries. Despite
the notion that John Bull is conserva-
tive, dignified and steady-going and
that Jonathan is advanced" fiippant
and giddy, it will be found that British
elections are characterized by no more
decorum than those In America. In
deed, the history of parliamentary con-
tests, both bye and general, is so
marved with disorder, trickery and We
nality as well to rebuke the hackneyed
sheer at yankee politics."
1t is long story, that Of English par
liamentary elections. AS early as 1884,
says the Philadelphia Times, repre-
sentative parliament of two knights
from every shire was summoned; the
parliament of Merton" met two years
later; the Mad Parliament" came to-
gether in 1858, and in 1865 the Commons
first met under writ as & confirmed
representation" Borough representa-
ton began in 1894. and in 1908 parlia-
ment became legislative power. whose
assent was necessary to the enactment
of laws.
In these days the corrupt practices
act prevents much use of money in Brit
iSh elections, save for legitimate pur-
poses. But years ago prOfligacy ran
riot, and the cost OF carrying an election
was measured only by the depth of the
candidates purse. The corrupt use of
money in electoral contests began as
long ago as 1911, when one Thomas
Long was elected to the house of COM
mons by the borough of Westbury,
Willis. and afterward confessed that he
had paid the mayor ga for the honor.
He was thereupOn expelled from the
house, but the mayor was compelled to
return the "a to him and fine of ego
was assessed upon the borough. From
this very incident, it is said, arose the
familiar saying, money makes the
mayor co."
Thenceforward there was not much
actual venality until the days of the
Stuarts, when bribery and other forms
of corruption. both in the constituencies
and in the house, became the rule. I'M
der Charles [. such practices were COM
mon, though they were not carried to
an eXtravagant degree. Under the COM
monWealth they were continued in a
rather stingy fashion. In 1868, for eX-
ample, John Harrington was elected at
Path to succeed his father, and he only
spent "a In food, drink and tobacco
With the accession of the Merry Mon
arch, corruption greatly increased. The
king himself levied blackmail upon nu-
merOuS communities, threatening to
take away their charters, and often act
ually dong so, unless they would re-
turn members Subservient to his will.
That brilliant blackguard, the Earl Of
Rochester. thus described the house of
that time and the kings manner of deal
ing with it:
parliament of knave and sots-
Members by name you mustn't mention
He keeps i'll pay and buys their votes,
Here with place, there with pension.
James Ii. went further still in the
degradation of the ballot. bribing the
corporations to elect his creatures by
restoration of their charters. Thus, in
1856, as Evelyn relates, Lord Bath car
ried down into Cornwall at one time no
less than fifteen charters, so that some
called him the prince elector. Ten
years later law against bribery and
treating was enacted. in hope of
checking the rising tide of venalty.
But in vain. Each new parliament was
chosen more corruptly than its prede-
cessor. and there sprang up race of
cOrruptionists, great political leaders
who devoted their chiefeSt and best at
tention to Financial electioneering,"
and spent fortunes in the work. Such
were the Walpoles. Pelhams, MARI
borougbs, Whartons and Graftons.
One of the first, and perhaps the
greatest of these was Thomas, marquis
of Wharton. who has been called the
patriarch of the fine art of electioneer-
ing. His policy was ito forward the
designs of an 0ligarch by the attrac-
finnc nf - Ia
nently successful in this policy. and
also in the half-dozen duels which it
brought upon him. Nearly thirty men,
berS were elected through his efforts. at
Il cost to his own pocket of fully 9S0.000.
much larger sum in those days than
is now tile 100000 it nOminalIy repre-
sentS. But if he was the founder of the
system. WalpOle carried it to completion.
He was the author OF the principle that
'.every man has his price," and he organ
lied vote market just as openly as any
meat market that was ever conducted.
Single votes were SO much apiece. At
wholesale they were so much the'dozen
or the hundred. Constituencies, taken
en- bloc. had prices fixed upon them. A
poet of those times thus pictured an cleo
ton scene, which might be witnessed in
any constituency of the Kingdom:
Here's minion sent down to corporate
town,
In hopes to be newly elected;
By his prodigal show you may easily know
To the Court he is truly affected.
lie has a knave by the hand, who has power
to command
All the votes i'll the corporation:
Shoves sum in his pocket, the d. cries,
Take ii,
TITS all for the good of the nation
The general election of 1902, which
continued Addington in power as Pitts
successor, was marked with extreme
trickery and venaiity. Writing of the
struggle i'll Kent, Rev, Samuel Denne
said: What shall we say of gentle
man, turned of thirty, who shall sell his
paternal estate. some say for 91S,000,
avowedly for the purpose of Squander-
ing the purchase money in county
contest, though not six years before the
two winning candidates had paid ESQ., 900
for the honor Of being humble servants
to the men of Kent? Mr.. Honeywood ac-
knowledges that the last struggle cost
him 9lS,000. The amount of Sir E.
knatchbullS expenses cannot be as
certained, because it now appears that
there are long bills in arrears in divers
Francis Geary left his estate in Poles
den, in Surrey, in the hands of trustees
it would have been fortunate circum-
stance for his son. AS am told. the
three candidates have appeared in carl
cature at the west end of the town, one
of the baronetS being exhibited III
pOorhouse, the other i'll madhouse and
the squire in his coffin: but whether
the portraits bear any resemblance to
the originals my informant was not APP
priSed. So prevailing is ministerial IN
ft,ot
dates named in it really Join, votes are
thrown away upon third man" The
actual cost of the contest there in 1902
was fully e35.0D0.
Another curious contest in that cleo
ton occurred in MiddeseX. where the
candidates were Mr.. Mainwaring. Mr.
Byng and Sir Francis Burdett. Accord
ing TO The Picture of Parliament"
little work published at that time, on
the first day Mr.. Byng was at the head
of the poll with 1903 votes, whilst Mr..