Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-05-25
POCKET BoROUsas IN ENGLAND.
In Pitts Day seats Ia Parliament Cost
From $4,000 to $4,000

In Pitts Day seats In Parliament Cost
From $4,000 to $4,000
When William Pitt first entered par
lament it was as member for seat
controlled absolutely by Sir James
Lowther. He writes to his mother:
"Appeby is the place am to repre-
sent, and the election will be made
(prubably IN a week or ten days. with
out my having any trouble, or even
visiting my constituents" Naturally,
says the Century, the proprietors of
seats soon learned to traffic In them.
Men bought them and kept them for
sale at election times, sure Of q market.
Chesterfield offered borough jobber,"
as he called him, S12, 500 for seat for
his son, but learned that the prices had
gone up TO SIS, 900 at least, and that
some seats sold for S25, 600. Old Sarum
is famous. 1t was reduced to one house,
and for long time TO seven voters,
who elected two members. The con-
Stituency Of HelSton, where the fran
chiSe was originally in a corporation,
at length dwsndled 10 one elector, who
alone, in 1890, named two representa-
tives. A little earlier, on petition for
another constituency, it was proved
that 2O3 voters out Of 2l0 had been
bribed.
Major Cartwright, In his efforts to
introduce universal suffrage, gave sta
tistics for 1920 that show that ninety
seven lords practically owned 200 seats
in the houSe of commons; $50 wealthy
commoners for 1O2 vile sinks Of cOrrup-
hpvnttyhc | hrnuU ht IL, tho
house 1877 members" Ministerial pat
ronage furnished 90 more, so that 353
members of the house were "corruptly
or tyrannically imposed on the commons
in gross violation of the law and TO
the palpable su0version Of the const
tuition"
Such evils could not, OF course, en-
dure. There must either be- reform or
complete loss of freedom. The first
great step was taken In 1892, when the
great reform bill disfranchised fifty
six OF the worst of the rotten boroughs,
returning altogether III members,
lesSened the representation OF thirty
more, and gave votes to new constituent
cies either by splitting old ones or by
creating new ones that, like Manchester,
had grown up with no representative
AZ all. This stopped the sale of boroughS,
but IL did not stop the venal voting.
In 1854 q corrupt practices act was
passed that served 10 make bribery
more dangerous, but which was still
regularly evaded. In 1865 a most i'm
portant act provided that contested
elections should be settled by a court,
and not by the house, as had been Gus
tomary heretofore, since IL has been
found that the majority in the house
would strengthen its power rather than
do Justice. The chief step against
bribery, perhaps, was taken in 1872 by
the passage of the secret ballot act,
which, in general, is not materially
different from our new sO-called Aus
traliao ballot acts.
These acts, however, were not suffi-
Gent, though they were good and nee
esSary as parts OF system. According
TO Sir Henry James, in late article in
the Forum, corrupt practices, certain
~ bribery and treating, remained 10
full force" In 1874. 1t was found that,
though the ballot was secret, where
bribery had been resorted 10 the votes
very generally followed the 6ribe." In
the election OF 1850, when the law had
been in effect eight years, and poiifi-
clans had learned 10 evade it success
fully, "it became evident" on taial of
petitions, that corrupt practices had
in no way diminished" In that year
IL was proved by one election agent
that be had bribed 1,SS3 voters out Of
the 1874 tina: voted for his candidate,
and like cases were not rare. Indirect
forms Of bribery were common. One
campaign pole was bought for
SIPS; il took thirty men three
DAYS at high wages to erect t.;
two reliefs OF watches of six men each
stood sentry by 1t at SO each, etc. In
1874, says prominent conservative OF
London, 8 man took the trouble to dis
guise himself as chimney sweep, to
provide himself with supply of
oranges, each of which Pntained a
sovereign, and to crawl up the chimney
in an appointed room. The bribed
voters were instructed 70 enter the
room, and an orange was dropped to
each from the chimney. At Birming-
4 n the practice of givinf voter a
& iss OF beer with sovefiHh in the bot
MI d became so common that it was
4 down as the "Birminghafn trick"