DISRAELI'S EARLY CAREER. 45 



''Mr. Disraeli made an angry speech after the poll 

 closed ; Grey was chaired." 



'' What a different constituency to ours," the writer 

 goes on to say, referring to Aylesbury. " Here every 

 man who boils his own pot has a vote. (This is the 

 meaning of a pot-waller.) At Wycombe the Corpora- 

 tion returns the members ; this, however, is the last 

 election under the old style ; the next will be on the 

 popular system of representation." 



The Reform Bill received the Royal Assent on June 

 7th, and on the following December 3rd, Parliament was 

 dissolved ; on the loth the election for High Wycombe 

 took place under the new franchise. The candidates 

 were the Hon. Robert Smith and Colonel Grey on the 

 side of the then Whig Government, and Mr. Disraeli 

 as their opponent in the Tory interest. He was pro- 

 posed by a leading Tory of the town, and seconded by 

 a Radical, as the extreme party were very bitter against 

 the Whigs, Dan O'Connell at that time calling them 

 "The base, bloody, and brutal Whigs." Disraeli had 

 the show of hands with Smith, and Grey demanded a poll. 



On December nth, the first day, at the close of the 

 poll, the numbers were — 



Smith 171 



Grey 136 



Disraeli ... ... ... ... 107 



1 2th. — The second day, at the final close of poll, it 

 was — 



Smith ... ... ... ... 179 



Grey ... ... ... ... 140 



Disraeli ... ... ... ... 1 19 



