348 PABLIAMENTABY ELECTION IN TRUEO, 1832. 



electors would have the right to vote, it was sagely thought to be 

 impossible to complete the task in less than two days. By 12 

 o'clock on the first day it was seen that Sir R. H. Vivian was safe, 

 and that the contest between Messrs. Tooke and Vivian would be 

 very severe ; it was also seen that if the electors would but come 

 and vote, the whole business might have been concluded in one 

 day; but, being actuated perhaps by weighty considerations of 

 state, though probably by more personal and less worthy motives, a 

 certain number of them preferred to wait and to see what events 

 might be developed before the close of the poll. 



At 4 o'clock the books were sealed, and given to the Mayor, 

 who repaired to the hustings in the High Cross accompanied by 

 the candidates, and found an eager throng of two thousand persons 

 awaiting their arrival. The Mayor did not make any announcement 

 respecting the state of the poll, but in those days of open voting, 

 it was easy to see how matters stood, and it appeared from the 

 check books that Sir R. H. Vivian had 264 votes, Mr. Tooke 187, 

 and Mr. Vivian 181, from which it would seem that 316 had 

 already voted, leaving 76 still to vote. All three candidates 

 addressed the crowd ; Sir R. H. Vivian was received with general 

 cheering, and spoke in comparative quiet ; but the others could not 

 make themselves heard in the confusion which their appearance 

 created. 



Friday night was a busy time for the friends of the rival 

 candidates. Every elector in the town who had not yet voted was 

 waited on by members of one or other party ; every means of 

 persuasion that could be devised was urged to induce them to vote ; 

 and Mr. Tooke' s supporters went so far as to organize a watch to 

 prevent any of the opposite party from secretly visiting any of the 

 incorruptible electors who had promised to vote for Mr. Tooke. 

 Some very curious scenes were witnessed, and some questionable 

 agreements made during that exciting night. 



Next morning polling commenced at 8 o'clock, and continued 

 languidly until 4 p.m. At about 4.30 the Mayor appeared upon 

 the hustings and fronted a crowd about twice as large as that of the 

 previous day. In the waning light of that mid-winter afternoon, 

 he held up the sealed poll books before the spectators, then broke 

 the seals, and proceeded to make up the numbers, which amid a 



