1819 June 11

Defence of | | Ballot against Review

2

Broughams Speech

2 June 1818

{Now for something that M r Brougham will not deny that he understands something to the force of which M r Brougham will not be insensible.} Loud, and I dare say not more loud than just were his complaints of the undue influence exercised to his prejudice on the occasion of the Westmoreland Election: Electors who if free would have voted for him, forced by terrorism to vote in favour of his competitors the Lowthers. Call the number of those forced votes 1000. Now suppose all force removed and the voters idiot what would have been the consequences. The Lowther would have For Lowther 500: For Brougham 500: thus given to Brougham by idiot votes, 500. For no reason can be assigned why the Lowthers should have got more than half /a majority out of the 1000/ more than why Brougham should. If then the idea of an idiot’s voting in an election is ridiculous, the idea of his success in any contest for the representative of Westmoreland is ridiculous. Under the system of ballot He would carry the Westmoreland Election of the present forced Lowtherites a thousand idiots could be brought up to vote, and he can not carry the Election under the /the existing system – the/ system of terrorism and open suffrage.