Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History

Book

Open Original Text

es,
 and I call on your God, if he is your God, to strike me dead in this
 Market Place.' (Loud cries of 'Shame, shame.') That was Mr Bradlaugh,
 the man to whom Mr Mill sends his £10 to support his candidature. Can
 you conceive anything more wretched? Do you think if a man of that
 kind were to come into this town (A voice: 'Turn him out') you would
 not turn him out?--you would kick him out!"

[Footnote 119: The latter part of this myth, at least, seems to
have gained credence, for in July of this year (1894) Mr Courtney
is reported to have said at Chelsea that "Mr Bradlaugh had to try
constituency after constituency because he could not get a majority in
any particular place."]

As will be seen when I come to deal fully with this subject, Mr Capper
was not absolutely the first to have the doubtful honour of reviving
this ancient "watch" story, and applying it to Mr Bradlaugh, and it is
hardly necessary to say of so honourable a man as Mr Gilpin that, when
my father saw him on the matter, he indignantly denied that he had ever
said anything of the kind.

The _Primitive Methodist_[120] jubilantly remarked that "Iconoclast
has been made to wince lately by the reproduction of his published
opinions--very inconvenient to him at this time." My father's comment
on this was that, "as a matter of fact, Mr Bradlaugh's published
opinions are about the only things which have not been reproduced. His
opponents prefer quoting the opinions of others, or else drawing on
their imaginations."

[Footnote 120: See article on "Electioneering Rowdies," October
1868, in which, with innate delicacy, it speaks of Mr Bradlaugh as
"impudent."]

The _Saturday Review_ delighted in an attack on Mr Bradlaugh not merely
for its own sake, but even more as a means of injuring Mr Mill. I have
not heard that John Stuart Mill ever expressed the least regret for
his donation, but had he done so there would have been small cause for
wonder, for he had to pay a heavy penalty for his generosity. It was
used against him everywhere, and his own defeat at Westminster was by
many persons attributed to the outcry raised about his subscription
towards my father's election expenses. Even the mighty _Times_ was not
too mighty to add its voice, saying that the countenance Mr Mill had
given "Iconoclast" had given great offence to the middle classes. The
use of the name "Iconoclast" was quite gratuitous, for Mr Mill did not
send his cheque to assist in the work of "Iconoclast," the Atheist
lecturer; he sent it for the use of Charles Bradlaugh, the Radical
politician.

It will be a matter of interest to those connected with the movement
against compulsory vaccination to know that during the course of this
election contest Mr Bradlaugh attended a meeting in the Town Hall
called by the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League, and that, while
expressing "no opinion as to the theory of vaccination," in view of the
many objections urged against the practice, he promised to support
a demand for a Royal Commission for full investigation of the facts.
The growth of opinion is so gradual that, although indeed there was a
Select Committee in 1871, it was twenty years before the Commission was
actually appointed, and then, as every one will remember, Mr Bradlaugh
was himself nominated to sit upon it.

On the tenth of November, a week before the polling day, my mother, my
grandfather (Mr A. Hooper), and we three children went to Northampton
to attend a special tea-party given in the Corn Exchange, and I have
a most vivid recollection of the enthusiasm then displayed. The time
of our expected arrival having become known, hundreds of people, with
bands and banners, came to meet us quite of their own accord, and when
we returned to take the train back to London it seemed to my childish
imagination as though the whole town must have turned out, for the
streets were thronged from end to end with men and women cheering,
singing the new song, "Bradlaugh for Northampton,"[121] laughing and
crying in a veritable intoxication of excitement, until the moisture
stood in my father's own eyes.

[Footnote 121: This song was written by a young shoemaker named James
Wilson, and was set to music by another poor but gifted man, John
Lowry. Poor Wilson died early, but his song became a sort of war-cry in
Northampton, and will live long in the hearts of his fellow-townsmen.]

On the Monday after, ten thousand people were gathered in the market
square to witness the nomination of the six candidates. The hustings,
or, as I find it was sometimes called, the "booby hutch," was unusually
large. It was built seventy feet long, in order to allow ten feet to
each candidate and his supporters, and ten feet for the Mayor and
the Corporation officials. The Mayor, Mr J. M. Vernon, opened the
proceedings with a speech, and he was followed by the proposer and
seconder of each candidate. Mr Bradlaugh was proposed by Mr Councillor
Gurney, and seconded by Mr Dunkley. When these twelve speeches had come
to an end, it fell to the candidates to address the electors. In the
course of his speech Mr Gilpin alluded to the complaints that had been
made against him for standing by Lord Henley. "Now," said he, "I want
to do justice to a gentleman who stands on this platform. Mr Bradlaugh
never made that complaint. He could honour the 'chivalry,' as he was
pleased to call it, because he knew I could not have a selfish motive
to serve in doing as I did." The Mayor, in calling upon Mr Bradlaugh
to address the eagerly waiting crowd, said: "Let me say that I have had
the opportunity of witnessing the conduct of Mr Bradlaugh in presenting
himself to this constituency. He has acted in the most gentlemanly way
towards me, and I hope he can say in return that I have acted in the
same manner towards him."

When all the speaking was over, and every one had had his "say," the
Mayor took a show of hands for the various candidates, and declared the
result to be in favour of Mr Gilpin and Mr Bradlaugh, a statement which
was received with the utmost enthusiasm.

And yet my father was beaten: crowds did not always mean voters; and
so, in spite of grand meetings, in spite of popular enthusiasm, he
was beaten. His partial canvass resulted in promises of 1600 votes,
whereas only 1086 were recorded for him, so that at the last moment
500 at least failed to give their votes as they had promised. In his
_Autobiography_[122] he himself says: "I was beaten; but this is
scarcely wonderful. I had all the journals in England except three
against me. Every idle or virulent tale which folly could distort or
calumny invent was used against me."

[Footnote 122: Page 28.]

The poll took place on Tuesday the 17th of November, and was officially
declared by the Mayor from the hustings in the market square on
Wednesday at eleven o'clock.

The figures were:--

C. Gilpin 2632
Lord Henley 2105
C. G. Merewether 1625
W. E. Lendrick 1378
C. Bradlaugh 1086
Dr F. R. Lees 485[123]

[Footnote 123: These were the figures giv

Previous Next