Frendsbury

A Strood Tails

In this article, Derek Barnard brings to our attention an interesting article first published in 1929 by Henry Smetham

I (Derek Barnard) take no credit for the following story, the words are those, published in 1929, of Henry Smetham famous for his ‘ History of Strood ‘.

A NOTABLE ROCHESTER ELECTION.

Rochester is indeed an ancient city which until 1885 returned two members to Parliament. An election occurred in 1835. It was three years after the Reform Bill, but the election was still carried on by open voting. There were three candidates for the two seats, viz. Sir Ralph Bernal, Thomas Twisden Hodges, and Lord Charles Wellesley, the youngest son of the Duke of Wellington.

A small deputation of three, the heads of the local Conservative party, went up to London to interview the great Duke. They invited his son to become their candidate and assured the Duke they could secure his election. “What will the election cost, gentlemen?” asked the Duke. “Five thousand pounds,” was the reply. “Are you sure you can get him elected?” They replied that they “were absolutely sure of it.” “Well gentlemen,” said the Duke, “I will agree on one condition. If my son is elected, I will pay the five thousand pounds; but if he is not elected, you’ll have to provide the money.” This was hardly what the three gentlemen had reckoned upon but felt confident enough to agree.

These were the days when Freeholders and the Freemen of the city made up the electorate. The latter were a more or less scattered body, many living at a considerable distance. The polling lasted for six days, which, however came toward their end. Thus the last day, the last hour, the last minute drew to its close. The voting was exactly equal.

Well within the writers memory there stood an old inn which, singularly under the circumstances, bore the sign of ‘The Duke’s Head.’ The west wing of the Rochester Guildhall now occupies the site on which this inn stood. The name of the host was Mr Janes. For some inscrutable reason Mr Janes had not found himself able to traverse the dozen steps or so which lay between his front door and the hustings. Yet he was an old acknowledged Conservative, professedly and by past votes. Indeed, rooms in his house were at this very election hired by the Conservative Party as one of their Committee Rooms, the windows ablaze with the Conservative colours. With a few minutes to the closing of the poll the voting stood thus:

Sir Ralph Bernal (an Old Whig Member)                   502

Thomas Twisden Hodges (an Old Whig Member)     442

Lord Charles Wellesley (Conservative)                      442

When the last minute arrived, so did Mr Janes. His physical strength returned, he mounted the platform and recorded his vote-- for the other side, and Lord Charles was defeated

The gnashing of teeth, which overtook the three worthy gentlemen whose £5000 thus vanished upon the vote, may be better imagined than described. Their grief and chagrin were in no way lessened when they learned the opposition had paid Mr Janes £500 for his vote. There were after ‘enquiries’ as to ‘corruption’ but as the mass of votes on either side had been obtained on a sort of sliding scale on the like virtuous principle, nothing, of course, came of these enquiries.

But fate has a disconcerting way of taking her own path, and did so with Mr Janes. Those who he had sold hated him ferociously, those who had ‘bought’ him openly despised him. That legion of noble souls, a much greater host, whose cash rewards were so pitifully small compared with the magnificence of Mr Janes £500, hated him, as such virtuous persons would do, even more bitterly than did the others. Business failed him and he had to leave “The Duke’s Head” in almost abject penury, and there were none to pity him.

In this particular election Mr Charles Larkin, whose crumbling monument stands on the East spur of Gads Hill, Higham, played a very prominent part. He was on the side that paid the £500, and doubtless rejoiced greatly, as in fact he did at the local dinner held to celebrate the victory, where much musical praise was offered to this moral achievement.

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