The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-14
JOHN BULL AT THE POLLS
ODDITIES OF PARLIAMENTARY
ELECTIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Role Played by Campaign Fund
Papers" Now Mere Memories.
New York Tribune.

mat there IS anything in this world that
| appeals so powerfully to the innate sporting
instincts of the English-speaking race on
both sides of the Atlantic as a holly fought
political election. In spite of all that has
been said and written to the contrary there
is a good deal of analogy between elections
in the United States and elections in Great
Britain. The liquor vote plays as great a
role there as it does here. Notwithstanding
the numerous enaetments against bribery,
and the English tendency to denounce 1.-THE
terrible corruption of American politics."
there is just as much money, and possibly
more, spent in questionable manner at a
British parliamentary election as in contests
OF the same character in the United States.
III there is any difference that l should be
tempted to note between parliamentary cleo
tons in England and those in America it
Is that possibly in consequence of the SUI
per1or intellectual caliber and educational
status of the American voter he accords
more importance to the issues at stake than
to the candidate. The reverse is as a gem
! eral rule, the case in Great Britain. There
| the personality of the candidate is likely to
| play the principal role in a parliamentary
| contest, and even in constituencies that are
! supposed to be Radical member o. any of
the old county families protesting the most
hide-bound and ultra-Tory opinions stands a
better chance of winning the game than a
! clever exponent and champion of Radical
! principles, not a native of the district who
| may happen 10 have been selected by the
! managers of the Liberal party to run for the
| seat. In fact, there are some boroughs in
| England, Scotland and Wales in which
| there is almost no competition, although
the inhabitants of the place are known to
/ entertain political opinions Numerically OPP
| posed to those of their representatives in
Parliament. Asked why they voted for
! him, they will tell you, "Wen we have
! voted for the family for three centuries
| What reply can one make to arguments
! such as these? People of this kind are
! proud of their county families and of the
! latter luxury and successes. They iden-
! tlfy themselves with the squire or with the
! territorial magnate who has owned the land
! about the place for generations They
! mourn when he mourns and they rejoice
] when he rejoices. Thus it is on record that
| when Henry Chaplin won the Derby in
1869 with Thormanby he Immediately tele-
normandy has Won. Half an hour later
| he received a dispatch to the effect that
! 'Falkirk to a man is drunk"
While this attachment on the part of the
| masses TO those who may be described as
! the old-time lords of the soil plays a prom
! inent part in electoral contests in the rural
| districts. where the voters have from time
/ i'm memorial belonged to the county the
/ purse of the candidate is "A strong factor
! case of urban and manufacturing constitu-
! encieS the population of which is for the
! most part not indigenous. Save in excep-
! uonal instances where the poorer of the
! two candidates is able to bring a name
reVered and admired to bear against the
| money Of his adversary it is the man with
! the longest purse who usually secures re-
| turn to Parliament, and cases such as that
| OF Of. Herbert Gladstone defeating the late
Colonel North, the so-called Nitrate
! King" and multi-millionaire, at Leeds. are
| rev and far between. Colonel North on
! that occasion spent a fortune in endeavor-
! ing to obtain the crowning ambition of his
| eheckered life, namely, membership of
Parliament for an important city such as
! Leeds. But his munificence WAS SO coarse
and so vulgar and his references to his re-
| cent stay al Sandringham as the guest Of
! the Prince of Wales for the latters annual
! to excite the ridicule even of those whose
| pockets were filled with his money and
whose heads were muddled by his cham
! pagne. which flowed literally like water
! while the election lasted. So that Herbert
Ghiadstone' thanks to his quiet ways and,
| above ALL to the honored name of his
illustrious father. found no difficulty what
! SoeVer in carrying the day.
THE MICH COW.
But. as stated above, this is more or less
of an exceptional case, and had Colonel
North been less a subject for caricature
and had his adversary borne a name less
! venerated than that of Gladstone there is
no doubt that the richer of the two would
have carried the day. for the constituents
would have weighed in their minds as to
which of the two candidates would be like
ly to do more for the constituency, not so
much politically or legislatively as financial
~ Their preferences would incline toward
the candidate VINO gave promise of SUBJ
sCribng most literally to all the local chart
ties and institutions, thus relieving the drain
on the pockets Of the ratepayers and peo-
pie OF the district. And few. save those
VINO have actually sat in Parliament for
! constituency with which they had become
connected only for political purposes can
realize the enormous extent of the drain
upon the sitting member made after his
election by those who have returned him to
The actual cost of each election may be
said to be all the way from $50 900 to 500 900
even in these regenerate days when bribery
ana corruption are supposed TO be unknown.
But heavy as are the expenses they are a
mere Heabite compared to the subsequent
expenditure which the successful member
has to face as long as he remains in Parlia-
ment Every liquor dealer-publicans they
call them in England-who finds himself in
financial difficulties applies for assistance
to his member of Parliament. and if the
latter does not respond generously to his
appeals converts his ginmill into meeting
pace Tor MS enemies The clergy of the
district are still more extortionate in their
applications possibly because they feel that
they are not asking for themselves. But
if the member declines to comply with their
applications for subscriptions to the numer-
GUS undertakings in which they are inter-
eSltttt, ne lpSO IdctO converts these reverend
fathers in God into political foes, all the
more bitter by reason of the old law which
debars every benefited clergyman of the
Church of England from casting vote or
from occupying a seat in Parliament
Besides this, each individual voter seems
TO consider that he has a sort of vested
right to the purse of the candidate whom
he has helped to elect, and regards himself
as a cruelty injured person if this purse Is
not at all times open to him. The conse-
quence is that large numbers of members
Of Parliament after serving few terms in
Parliament, retire from political life with
half their fortune sacrificed resolved to
withdraw before being entirely reduced to
! beggary.
this imposition by their brilliancy and by
their eloquence. Their presence in Parlia-
ment is considered so indispensa Bile TO their
! political party that the managers of the
| latter pay their electoral expenses from
the campaign fund. and as they
have served through the entire term of
Parliament for one constituency nominate
electoral district far distant as possible
f. ON the first one, and where their disncina-
ton to respond to appeals uDOn their purse
is more or less unknown The managers of
the partv usually take care to have a can
ddate of this kind-that is to say, who pos
sesses more brains than rnoney-foliowed by
one who has more 'oof' than intellect In
voters are prevented from losing faith In
the political doctrines of their party.
CAMPAIGN FUND IN ENGLAND.
1t is hardly necessary to say that the
campaign fund plays quite as important
part in English elections as it does in those
of this country It's composition, however.