66 THE ELECTORS' TRIED FRIEND." And his admiring poet to sing : BENJAMIN HAWES, THE ELECTORS' TRIED FRIEND. Tune—“ Derry Down.” Electors of Lambeth, all join in the throng, List to my sentiments, list to my song; You are called on, as Englishmen, faithful and true, To elect a fit Member to represent you. The man to return by our united voice, Derry Down. Then say do you think such a man you can find? Derry Down. To succour the poor he should have feelings warm ; Derry Down. A Foe he should be to that vile hungry race, Derry Down. A mind clear he should have to judge for himself, Derry Down. He should have in his heart an Englishman's pride, Derry Down. Then vote for BEN HAWES with voice, heart, and soul, Derry Down. 53 HERE'S A HEALTH TO BEN HAWES AND Rush! rush to the hustings for Hawes and Reform, Honest zeal in the cause every bosom must warm, Then to Kennington, Camberwell, Newington come, Remember! 'tis said the Electors of old, Who for that lost their franchise to you; Have oftentimes battered their voices for gold, "Here's a health to Ben Hawes, and God bless him." During this contest squibs were very prolific. The following was thrown at Dr. D'Oyly, the rector of Lambeth : AS S COACHMAN to any Tory who will give him a trial, a person who perfectly understands his business, having been used to drive over the cries and lamentations of the tithe-payers, and to turn the sharp corner of penury, without listening to the wailings of distress. He is a sharp, knowing cove, having got the whip-hand of more deserving Jarveys, by means of cunning, and a close subserviency to "the Powers that be." He understands the treatment of asses; and can be well recommended for his obstinacy. Address to Dr. Dawling, near the Bishop's Palace, Lambeth. Not even the wife of the Tory candidate escaped assault : NOTICE. Whereas my husband left his home in a very disconsolate state upon Christmas-eve, and promised to return in the course of the following day, since which time he has not been heard of; this is to caution the public against placing any reliance upon his promises, which he never performs. A person answering his description was seen coming out of the Treasury, Whitehall, on the same evening, closely wrapped us in a Conservative cloak, with a Secret-service-money clasp. I will not be answerable for any promises that he may make, nor for any pledges that he may give, because I cannot trust the man who would break the one and forfeit the other. Witness my hand, this 5th day of January, 1835.-AMELIA FAREBROTHER. RESULT OF THE SECOND ELECTION. 55 "Lucky Bob, at the Workhouse," was a target. "An elderly gentleman," evidently an engraver by trade, was announced as ready to do the “dirty work of an alderman.” Everything was dragged into the service: "steam packets to roguery and misrule; " trade lists; the Court Circular; "unredeemed pledges; "thimble rig;" "stomach complaints; ""reward" bills; conundrums; "hints; " play bills; and even the "state of the markets." Throughout the borough the newly-coined cry was raised-" Measures, not men "—the Whigs retorted, almost with contempt-" No confidence in a Tory administration." All day the Alderman was hopelessly behind, and at 4 o'clock the numbers were :— That Mr. D'Eyncourt should have polled 721 and Mr. Hawes 158 less than they did on the first occasion when no Tory opposed them, showed that the enthusiasm of the Lambeth electors had cooled. However, in the Metropolis the Government did not gain a single seat, while the United Kingdom returned a majority in favour of the Whigs, against which Sir Robert Peel struggled until April, 1835; then, having been in office four months, Lord John Russell's prediction, made on the eve of the General Election-" that it was impossible for Sir Robert Peel's Ministry to conduct the affairs of the Government ❞—was fully verified, as more than one adverse vote (the last by a majority of 27) drove him from power, and a new administration was formed by Lord Melbourne. As he had a majority in the House of Commons, no appeal to the country was necessary. When, on the 18th of April, Lord Melbourne stated to the Lords that he had been appointed First Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, and his colleagues had received their seals, the public were surprised and Lord Brougham chagrined at the announcement that the Great Seal would be placed in Commission. For a long time the Municipal Corporations in the United Kingdom had become nests of political and pecuniary corruption, and the inquiries instituted by a Royal Commission, in 1835, discovered the existence of a host of abuses. In 186 boroughs the governing bodies were found to be self-elected and irresponsible to any constituencies. They could do and they did do what they pleased. In the City of London Noncomformists were elected to offices they could not conscientiously nor even legally fill, simply to plunder them by means of heavy fines. £15,000 is said to have been thus wrung from Nonconformists when the Test and Corporation Acts were in full force; and even the Mansion House itself-the official residence of the Lord Mayor, and one of the seats of justice-was reared with a portion of the money thus iniquitously raised. Yet such eminent men as Lords Eldon and Lyndhurst were desirous of preventing any interference with the sacred privileges of those corporate bodies! Because evils had existed so long was a consideration with those learned lords, and they urged it as a reason why the functions of corporate bodies should not be disturbed; as if the degenerating tendency of humanity should be protected instead of checked! Public opinion, however, prevailed; and the only consolation left to the lamenting lords was, that the Corporation of the City of London had been allowed to remain unreformed. Thus the brightest intellects of men become clouded by constitutional weaknesses or by perverse habits of thought. CHAPTER V. THE VICTORIAN REIGN. THE THIRD ELECTION (1837.) EYOND the natural regret felt by many at the death of a Sovereign who, with all his faults, had qualities that made him more popular than any of the Hanoverian line, the severance of the connection between the kingdoms of England and Hanover that had subsisted since the accession of George the First caused no grief, for it had been a costly and troublesome one to this country. Indeed, when, on the 20th of June, 1837, William the Fourth died, the nation had real cause for rejoicing, as it was the inauguration of a reign that has proved to be the most spotless and the most beneficent since the time of Alfred. The reckless extravagance and the degrading domestic examples set by so many Sovereigns and Princes had marred the fame and lowered the standard of English morality. The dogma that a King can do no wrong was applied to other than political or constitutional acts, so that the immorality of royalty seemed to give a sanction to, as well as to excite an imitation of, malpractices on the part of the people. For more than forty years England has had the advantage of a Court where immorality has found no shelter, but where wisdom and goodness have received encouragement. The mild and virtuous sway of Queen Victoria has done more to reconcile F |