A History of Parliamentary Elections and Electioneering 30

A History of Parliamentary Elections and Electioneering 30

A flight of satirical ballads appeared upon these events. The best of

these compositions, which were remarkable for point and spirit, was

entitled:--

 

 

“PEG TRIM TRAM IN THE SUDS; OR, NO FRENCH STROLLERS.

 

“I sing you a song of a right noble Lord,

Whose name must, for ever, stand FOOL on Record;

Who, losing a _Seat_, by accepting a Place,

SUBSCRIB’D to _French Strollers_, so fell in disgrace.

 

“This right noble Lord, when elected before,

To preserve us, in our _ev’ry Privilege_ swore;

How well he maintain’d them will quickly appear,

Deduc’d from right Reason, unaided by Sneer.

 

“Got snug in the House, he exerted his zeal,

Not for his Constituents, or the Common-Weal;

But to serve his own ends, and aid _Gentleman_ HARRY,[43]

Lest his Glorious Views, for our Good, should miscarry.

 

“Have you heard a pert _Parrot_ cry ‘_Quaker-a-quer;

A cup of Good Sack; Pretty Poll; Saucy Cur_’?

You’ve then heard this Lord to great HARRY reply,

And echo, _Yes, No,--No, Yes_;” anything cry.

 

“Have you seen a young _Puppy_ leap over a stick,

Fetch, carry, yelp, fawn, and learn every fond Trick?

Then you’ve seen this sleek Lordling on HARRY attend,

And, aw’d by his nod, most obsequiously bend.

 

“To reward such bright parts and so ductile a mind

The Dispenser of PLACES was strongly inclin’d;

When deeply reflecting what he could afford,

He fix’d him (slap dash!) at the Admiralty Board.

 

“This little Lord, conscious that he had no right

To a _Post_ which requir’d, not to Fiddle, but Fight;

Resolved that for once he’d assume martial airs,

And in the _Haymarket_ protect the FRENCH PLAYERS.

 

“He flew, he appear’d, and he heard a strange roar;

The like had ne’er tickl’d his soft ears before;

Then to set an example to future _Protectors_,

He drew forth his TILTER--_and at his_ ELECTORS.

 

“Shock’d at this rough treatment, in print they demand,

Why, ’gainst his best Friends, he thus lifted his hand;

His answer was full of mean _Equivocation_,

Which made them the jest and contempt of the Nation.”

 

[Illustration: BRITANNIA DISTURBED BY FRENCH VAGRANTS. LORD TRENTHAM

FOR WESTMINSTER. 1749.

 

[_Page 121._]

 

The caricaturists endorsed this view. In “Britannia Disturbed, or an

Invasion by French Vagrants, addressed to the worthy Electors of the

City of Westminster,” 1749, Lord Trentham is trying to force these

importations on Britannia, who is nursing “Lunn” (Rich), and “Fribble;”

these she declares “are my only Theatrical children, I will cherish

no Foreign vagrants.” “Peg” Trentham, with drawn sword, is asserting

that he will perforce cram these “entertaining dear creatures” down

the throat of the nation; the strollers are like marionettes, and wear

wooden shoes, as a hint of French neediness. Earl Gower is anxious

for his rash scion’s future prospects: “My long-headed son will smart

for this scheme.” “Push on, my Lord,” is the encouragement of “a

subscriber.” “Bludgeon-men, at two shillings a day,” engaged for the

election, are making a demonstration of force, and shouting for their

employer’s glorification.

 

This Westminster election is said to have been one of the most

expensive contests that the Government had as yet experienced. The

following epigram describes a supposed conversation between Lord

Trentham and his father:--

 

“Quoth L--d G--r [_Lord Gower_] to his son, ‘Boy, thy frolic and place

Full deep will be paid for by us and his g----e [_grace_]:

Ten thousand twice over advanced!’--‘_Veritable,

Mon pere_,’ cry’d the youth; ‘but the D--e [_Duke_] you know’s able:

Nor blame my _French frolics_; since all men are certain,

You’re doing behind, what I did ‘fore the curtain.’”

 

At the conclusion of the polling there appeared a majority for Lord

Trentham, but his opponents demanded a scrutiny; and this scrutiny

proved so laborious and difficult, or the parties interested in

opposing the Court threw so many obstacles in the way, that it led to a

quarrel with the House of Commons, which lasted some months, and gave a

double celebrity to the Westminster Election of 1749.

 

The most was made of Lord Trentham’s Gallic proclivities, which were

held up to ridicule in ingenious satires. The following handbill is an

example of the squibs circulated by his opponents during the election:--

 

 

“AUX ELECTEURS TRÈS DIGNES DE WESTMINSTER.

 

“MESSIEURS--

 

“Vos suffrages et Interêts sont desirés pour le Très Hon. mi

Lord Trentham,

 

 

“UN VERITABLE ANGLOIS.

 

“N.B.--L’on prie ses Amis de ses rendre à l’Hôtel François dans

le Marché au Foin.

 

 

“TO MY LORD TRENTHAM.

 

“The King of France (my most glorious Monarch) being touched

with a lively sense of the obligations he owes your Lordship,

for the powerful protection you have given to his subjects

in England, honours you with his thanks, and commands me to

assure you, that your Lordship shall be the _Chief Manager_ of

his _Playhouse_ in England, as soon as your Lordship and your

Friends have brought those insolent rascals, the English, under

his dominion, being satisfied the measures your Lordship and

Friends now pursue cannot fail of your desired success.

 

“I have the honour to be

 

“Your Lordship’s most obliged humble Servant,

 

“MIREPOIX.

[French ambassador to the Court of

St. James’s, 1749-1751.]

 

“N.B.--Translated from the Original French.”

 

Great favour was shown to docile voters, while the refractory were

subject to crying injustices. The following handbill, circulated at the

time, exposes the meannesses to which a Duke of Bedford could descend

in the interests of his candidate:--

 

 

“TO THE WORTHY ELECTORS OF WESTMINSTER.

 

“A true Copy of a Letter sent to an inhabitant of Covent

Garden, who thought himself at liberty (though a Tenant to the

Duke of Bedford) to vote according to his _own conscience_;

which having done, he received the following:--‘I hereby give

you Notice, that you are to quit the house you rent of his

Grace the Duke of Bedford, situate in Bedford Street, in the

parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden, at Lady-Day next, or to pay

his Grace _Seventy-two pounds_ a year for the same from that

time.

 

“‘RT. BUTCHER, Steward to His Grace.

 

“‘_Nov. 29, 1749._

 

“‘_To_ MR. MATTHEW CREYGHTON.’

 

“NOTE.--I acknowledge to have received the above letter by the

hands of Mr. Becuda, one of his Grace’s stewards, and accept

the notice therein. The rent I at present pay is _thirty-six

pounds_ per annum. I voted for and to my utmost have served Sir

George Vandeput. Who would not?

 

“⁂ _No_ rent due to his Grace.

 

“MATTHEW CREYGHTON,

 

“An insulted Elector of Westminster.

 

“N.B.--The House to Let.”

 

The general election of 1747 furnished Hogarth with a suggestion

which employed his attention anterior to his more ambitious election

series. The House of Commons dissolved on the 18th of June, and the

artist, taking time by the forelock, had his engraving “A Country

Inn-yard at the Time of Election” ready for publication while the

contests were occupying the public. As the print in question informs

us, the cry of a “Babe of grace,” heard at the City election of 1701,

was repeated in 1747. The subject of the stage-coach and inn-yard

is generally familiar. It contains the figures of the fat woman of

abnormal proportions being assisted into the coach by the efforts of

her meagre husband; while the equally obese landlady, seen at the bar