| SEPARATE PLATES. |
|---|
| PAGE |
| [The Rights of Women; or, a View of the Hustings with Female Suffrage. 1835] | Frontispiece |
| [Ready Money, the Prevailing Candidate; or, the Humours of an Election] | 84 |
| [The Humours of a Country Election. 1734] | 90 |
| [To the Independent Electors of Westminster. Vernon andEdwin. 1741] | 97 |
| [Meeting of the Association of Independent Electors of Westminster: the Spy detected. March, 1747] | 109 |
| [The Humours of the Westminster Election; or, the Scald Miserable Independent Electors in the Suds. 1747] | 113 |
| [Great Britain’s Union; or, the Litchfield Races. 1747] | 114 |
| [Britannia Disturbed by French Vagrants. Lord Trentham for Westminster. 1749] | 121 |
| [All the World in a Hurry; or, the Road from London toOxford. 1754] | 134 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754] | 145 |
| [“Wilkes and Liberty” Riots. The Scotch Victory. Murder of Allen by a Grenadier. Massacre of St. George’s Fields. 1768] | 174 |
| [The Hustings at Brentford, Middlesex Election, 1768. Serjeant Glynn and Sir W. Beauchamp Proctor] | 178 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754Sequel to the Battle of Temple Bar—Presentation of the LoyalAddress at St. James’s Palace. 1769] | 201 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754 Master Billy’s Procession to Grocers’ Hall—ParliamentaryElections—Pitt presented with the Freedom of the City. 1784] | 264 |
| [The Apostate Jack Robinson, the Political Rat-catcher. 1784] | 265 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754The Rival Candidates—Great Westminster Election. 1784] | 266 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754The Hanoverian Horse and the British Lion. March, 1784] | 268 |
| [The Wit’s Last Stake; or, the Cobbling Voter and Abject Canvassers] | 275 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754Lords of the Bedchamber] | 276 |
| [The Westminster Watchman] | 277 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754The Case is altered] | 281 |
| [The Procession to the Hustings after a Successful Canvass] | 282 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—the Polling Booth. 1754The Westminster Deserter Drummed out of the Regiment. Defeatof Sir Cecil Wray. Hustings, Covent Garden, WestminsterElection. 1784] | 284 |
| [Liberty and Fame introducing Female Patriotism (Duchess ofDevonshire) to Britannia. 1784] | 285 |
| [Defeat of the High and Mighty Balissimo Corbettino and hisfamed Cecilian Forces, on the Plains of St. Martin, onThursday, the 3rd day of February, 1785, by the Championof the People and his Chosen Band] | 287 |
| [Proof of the Refined Feelings of an Amiable Character, lately a Candidate for a certain Ancient City] | 293 |
| [Pacific Entrance of Earl Wolf (Lord Lonsdale) into Blackhaven. 1792] | 296 |
| [Meeting of Patriotic Citizens at Copenhagen House, 1795.Speakers: Thelwall, Gale Jones, Hodson, and John Binns] | 298 |
| [The Dissolution; or, the Alchymist producing an Ætherial Representation.William Pitt dissolving the House of Commons.1796] | 300 |
| [Two Pair of Portraits. Presented to all the Unbiased Electorsof Great Britain. 1798] | 305 |
| [Middlesex Election, 1804. A Long Pull—a Strong Pull—and aPull All Together] | 312 |
| [Posting to the Election; or, a Scene on the Road to Brentford.1806] | 315 |
| [The Law’s Delay. Reading the Riot Act. 1820] | 334 |
| [Coriolanus Addressing the Plebs. 1820] | 338 |
| [Election Squibs and Crackers for 1830] | 346 |
| [His Honour the Beadle (William IV.) driving the Wagabonds outof the Parish. Nov. 28, 1830] | 354 |
| [Leap-Frog down Constitution Hill. April 13, 1831] | 356 |
| [Hoo-loo-choo, alias John Bull, and the Doctors. May 2, 1831] | 357 |
| [Leap-Frog on a Level; or, Going Headlong to the Devil. May6, 1831] | 358 |
| [John Gilpin. May 13, 1831] | 366 |
| [“The Handwriting on the Wall.” May 26, 1831] | 367 |
| [Varnishing—a Sign (of “The Times”). June 1, 1831] | 370 |
| [The Rival Mount-o’-Bankes; or, the Dorsetshire Juggler. May25, 1831] | 371 |
| [Mazeppa—“Again he urges on his Wild Career.” Aug. 7, 1832] | 372 |
| [Three Great Pillars of Government; or, a Walk from WhiteConduit House to St. Stephen’s. July 23, 1834] | 376 |
| [Inconveniences that might have arisen from the Ballot] | 378 |
| SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS. |
|---|
| [Candidates addressing their Constituents] | Title page |
| [Walpole Chaired. 1701] | 79 |
| [The Prevailing Candidate; or, the Election carried by Bribery and the D——l] | 82 |
| [Kentish Election. 1734] | 86 |
| [The Devil on Two Sticks. 1741] | 92 |
| [Westminster—The Two-shilling Butcher. 1747] | 111 |
| [The Election at Oxford—Canvassing for Votes. 1754] | 144 |
| [The Oxfordshire Election—Chairing the Members. 1754] | 147 |
| [George Bubb Dodington (Lord Melcombe Regis) and the Earl ofWinchilsea. 1753] | 149 |
| [Burning a Prime Minister in Effigy. 1756] | 155 |
| [John Wilkes, a Patriot] | 159 |
| [A Bear-leader. Hogarth, Churchill, and Wilkes] | 160 |
| [A Safe Place. Wilkes in the Tower, 1763] | 162 |
| [The New Coalition—The Reconciliation of “The Two Kings ofBrentford.” 1784] | 254 |
| [A Mob-Reformer. 1780] | 256 |
| [The Coalition Wedding—The Fox (C. J. Fox) and the Badger(Lord North) Quarter their Arms on John Bull] | 263 |
| [Britannia Aroused, or the Coalition Monsters destroyed] | 264 |
| [Honest Sam House, the Patriotic Publican, Canvasser for Fox] | 266 |
| [Major Cartwright, the Drum-major of Sedition] | 267 |
| [The Devonshire, or most approved Manner of securing Votes. 1784] | 270 |
| [Every Man has his Hobby Horse—Fox and the Duchess of Devonshire] | 282 |
| [For the Benefit of the Champion—a Catch. Defeat of the Ministerial Candidate, Sir Cecil Wray, Westminster Election. 1784] | 283 |
| [Election Troops bringing their Accounts to the Pay-table, Westminster. 1788] | 290 |
| [An Independent Elector] | 291 |
| [At Hackney Meeting—Fox, Byng, and Mainwaring] | 299 |
| [The Hustings—Covent Garden. 1796] | 301 |
| [The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder] | 302 |
| [Loyal Medal. 1797] | 305 |
| [The Worn-out Patriot, or the Last Dying Speech of the Westminster Representative, on the Anniversary Meeting, held at the Shakespeare Tavern, October 10, 1800] | 308 |
| [Political Amusements for Young Gentlemen, or the Brentford Shuttlecock between Old Sarum and the Temple of St. Stephen’s. 1801] | 310 |
| [The Old Brentford Shuttlecock—John Horne Tooke returned for Old Sarum. 1801] | 310 |
| [Britannia flogged by Pitt—The Governor in all his Glory. 1804] | 313 |
| [The Highflying Candidate, Little Paull Goose, mounting froma Blanket—Vide Humours of Westminster Election. 1806] | 315 |
| [Coalition Candidates—Sheridan and Sir Samuel Hood. 1806] | 316 |
| [A Radical Drummer. 1806. W. Cobbett] | 317 |
| [View of the Hustings in Covent Garden—Westminster Election.1806] | 318 |
| [Patriots deciding a Point of Honour; the Duel at Wimbledon,between Sir Francis Burdett and James Paull. WestminsterElection. 1807] | 320 |
| [The Poll of the Westminster Election, 1807. Election Candidates;or, the Republican Goose at the Top of the Poll. Onthe Poll: Burdett, Cochrane, Elliott, Sheridan, Paull;below are Temple, Grey, Granville, Petty, etc.] | 321 |
| [The Head of the Poll; or, the Wimbledon Showman and his Puppet. 1807. Tooke and Burdett] | 322 |
| [The Chelmsford Petition: Patriots addressing the Essex Calves] | 323 |
| [The Freedom of Election; or, Hunt-ing for Popularity, andPlumpers for Maxwell. 1818] | 332 |
| [Hunt, a Radical Reformer] | 334 |
| [The Gheber worshipping the Rising Sun. July 6, 1830] | 345 |
| [William Cobbett—“Peter Porcupine”] | 348 |
| [Sindbad the Sailor and the Old Man of the Sea. June 8, 1883] | 375 |
| [Design for the King’s Arms, to be placed over the Speaker’s Chair. Feb. 17, 1835] | 377 |
A HISTORY OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN THE OLD DAYS.
CHAPTER I.
CONCERNING EARLY PARLIAMENTS AND ELECTIONS OF KNIGHTS AND BURGESSES.
The subject of elections being so indissolubly bound up with that of parliamentary assemblages and dissolutions, it will not be out of place to glance at the progress of that institution. John was the first king recorded to summon his barons by writ; this was directed to the Bishop of Salisbury. In 1234 a representative parliament of two knights from every shire was convened to grant an aid; later on (1286) came the parliament of Merton; and in 1258 was inaugurated the assembly of knights and burgesses, designated the mad parliament. The first assembly of the Commons as “a confirmed representation” (Dugdale) was in 1265, when the earliest writ extant was issued; while, according to many historians, the first regular parliament met in 1294 (22 Edw. 1), when borough representation is said to have commenced. From a deliberative assembly, it became in 1308 a legislative power, without whose assent no law could be legally constituted; and in 1311, annual parliaments were ordered. The next progressive step was the election of a Speaker by the Commons; the first was Peter de la Mare, 1377. A parliament of one day (September 29, 1399), when Richard II. was deposed, is certainly an incident in the history of this institution; the Commons now began to assert its control over pecuniary grants. In 1404 was held at Coventry the “Parliamentum Indoctum” from which lawyers were excluded (and that must have offered a marked contrast to parliaments in our generation). In 1407 the Lords and Commons assembled to transact business in the Sovereign’s absence. Reforms were clearly then deemed expedient: in 1413 members were obliged to reside at the places they represented,—this enactment has occasioned expense and inconvenience in obeying “the letter,” but appears to have otherwise been easily defeated as regards “the spirit;”[1] in 1430 the Commons adopted the forty-shillings qualification for county members. A parliament was held at Coventry in 1459; this was called the Diabolicum. The statutes were first printed in 1483; in 1542 the privilege of exemption from arrest was secured to members; and in 1549 the eldest sons of Peers were admitted to sit in the Commons. With James I. commenced those collisions between the Crown and the representatives of the people which marked the Stuart rule. The Commons resisted those fine old blackmail robberies known during preceding reigns as “benevolences,” under which plea forced contributions were levied by the Crown, especially during Elizabeth’s reign. James I. pushed these abuses too far, in his greed for money.
The parliament of 1614 refused to grant supplies until grievances were redressed; James dismissed them, and imprisoned several members. This short session was known as the “Addled Parliament.” The “Long Parliament” assembled in 1640, and the House of Peers was abolished by it in 1649; and later on, a Peer sat in the Commons. This parliament, proving intractable, was dissolved by Cromwell in 1653. Under Charles II., with the restoration of monarchy, the Peers temporal resumed their functions, and in 1661 the Lords spiritual were allowed to resume their seats, and the Act for triennial parliaments was unwisely set aside by the Commons. The relations between the Crown and the Commons were again becoming strained in 1667, when an Act excluding Roman Catholics from sitting in either House was forced through the legislature. From this point the narrative of electioneering incidents may commence, the more appropriately since it was at this time there arose the institution of the familiar party distinctions of Whig and Tory.
The orders for the attendance of members and the Speaker were somewhat curious; for instance, among the orders in parliament regulating procedure, the following are noteworthy:—
Feb. 14, 1606.—The House to assemble at eight o’clock, and enter into the great business at nine.
May 13, 1614.—The House to meet at seven o’clock in the morning, and begin to read bills at ten.
Feb. 15, 1620.—The Speaker not to move his hat until the third congée.
Nov. 12, 1640.—Those who go out of the House in a confused manner before the Speaker to forfeit 10s.
May 1, 1641.—All the members that come after eight to pay 1s., and those that do not come the whole day to pay 5s.
April 19, 1642.—Those who do not come to prayers to pay 1s.
Feb. 14, 1643.—Such members as come after nine o’clock to pay 1s. to the poor.
March 21, 1647.—The Speaker to leave the chair at twelve o’clock.
May 31, 1659.—The Speaker to take the chair constantly every morning by eight o’clock.
April 8, 1670.—The back door in the Speaker’s chamber to be nailed up during the session.
March 23, 1693.—No member to take tobacco into the gallery, or to the table, sitting at committees.
Feb. 11, 1695.—No news-letter writer to presume to meddle with the debates, or disperse any in their papers.
Orders touching motions for leave into the country:—
Feb. 13, 1620.—No member shall go out of town without open motion and licence in the House.
March 28, 1664.—The penalty of £10 to be paid by every knight, and £5 by every citizen, etc., who shall make default in attending.
Nov. 6, 1666.—To be sent for in custody of the serjeant.
Dec. 18, 1666.—Such members of the House as depart into the country without leave, be sent for in custody of the serjeant-at-arms.
Feb. 13, 1667.—That every defaulter in attendance, whose excuse shall not be allowed this day, be fined the sum of £40, and sent for in custody, and committed to the Tower till the fine be paid.
That every member as shall desert the service of the House for the space of three days together (not having had leave granted him by the House, nor offering such sufficient excuse to the House as shall be allowed), shall have the like fine of £40 imposed on them, and shall be sent for in custody, and committed to the Tower; and that the fines be paid into the hands of the serjeant-at-arms, to be disposed of as the House shall direct.
April 6, 1668.—To pay a fine of £10.
A few words of explanation regarding technicalities will be found in place, since the qualifications of voters have a distinctive language of their own, used to indicate their various degrees of electoral privilege. The terms, “burgage tenures,” “scot and lot,” “pot-wallopers,” “splitting,” “faggot votes,” etc., occur constantly, and it may be desirable to indicate in advance the meanings attached to these enigmatical expressions.