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226 Old Memories of East-Bourne. [Chap. XVIII.
have spread to East Sussex, as the following figures will show :—
1837, August.—Genebal Election.
Darby. G. (Torv)......2256
Crtvendi«h Hon. C. 0. (Whig) .. 1793
Fuller, A. E. (Torv)......1749
Cuneis, H. B (Whig) .. .. 1619
I have before me a copy of the Poll Book of the 1837 Election. There were only 8 polling places in East Sussex, and 4821 electors—less for the whole county division than the number now registered for the single parish of East-Bourne.
The 8 polling places were: Lewes, Brighton, Cuckfield, East Grinstead, Mayfield, Battle, Hastings, and Rye. East-Bourne voters had to vote at Lewes, conveyed there at the expense of the Candidates, as was usual under the old system of Parliamentary Elections.
The number of East-Bourne voters was 81, of whom no fewer than 65 voted, as was natural, for Cavendish, 38 for Curteis, 16 for Darby, and 2 for Fuller. With the exception of the 2 split votes, which Mr. Fuller shared with Mr. Darby, it is evident that the few Conservative voters all deemed it politic to give their second votes to the Cavendish candidate. The two uncompromising Tories were John Row, who I remember as living in the house opposite the Anchor Hotel, in recent years occupied by a grocer named Gosling; and Col. J. H. Willard, Colonel of the Sussex Militia, then the owner of The Lawn, Old Town, long the residence of the late Mr. J. Ellis. The East-Bourne register of 1837 contains a number of names which still survive in the persons of sons and grandsons, or other near relatives. Amongst these may be mentioned the names of Baker, Brodie, Cavendish, Dumbrell, Ford, Gilbert, Graham, Gorringe, Hoad, Head, Hart, Hurst, Luck, Maynard, Morris, Newman, Prodger, Reed, Stretton, Towner, Vine and Waymark.
The General Election of 1841 was in many respects a prototype of that of 1910. Just as Mr. Asquith had muddled away his majority and broken up his party, and shown an utter incapacity to govern, so did |
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