Anonymous Abuse – 1830s style: or Little Changes in Politics.

By John S Hartley

There has rightly been much criticism of certain social networks which have permitted anonymous personal abuse of their members.  Today it all happens quickly and openly.  In the 1830s abuse may not have been public in the same way, and its delivery took rather longer, but the scurrilous anonymous attack occurred then also.  This is a companion piece to my longer article, Eat, Drink and be Merry, to be found elsewhere on this website.

Two surviving anonymous letters were sent to the successful candidate in the 1831 Election at Stamford illustrate such abuse:  both were sent to Charles Tennyson, uncle of the poet.  Between 1735 and 1868 he was the only Stamford MP against the “Burghley interest”, represented below by Lord Thomas Cecil, brother of the second Marquess.  Tennyson was elected the second MP for Stamford in 1831.  He was initially mildly radical and a member of Grey’s 1831 administration.   The 1831 campaign had been, literally, a bruising campaign, at the very height of the clamour for reform of the electoral system throughout the country. Three days after this first letter was postmarked, the new Stamford Members of Parliament, Cecil and Tennyson, fought a duel on Wormwood Scrubs, the source of much later ridicule.  Cecil’s remarks relating to Tennyson’s election campaign had given offence, probably as intended.  Neither was injured, both were arrested but no prosecutions followed.

Anonymous letter to Charles Tennyson                       Lincolnshire Archives 2 T d’E, H/26/8 

Sir                                                                                   [Postmark – 15 June 1831]           

You are a low foul mouthed blackguard and like most of your party a bully and contemptible

coward. It is only to be regretted that Lord Cecil should have placed himself on an equal footing with a fellow who wants the manliness and courage to avow expressions that were heard distinctly by 30 persons including myself, and who would condescend to the meanness of a lie to escape the

punishment that awaited Him.  Had I been Lord Cecil I would have horsewhipped you on the spot, instead of treating you as a Gentleman; a character your coward heart has proved you to have no pretension to.  You may anonymously throw dirt at your noble antagonist through the daily press, but it will not answer; you are branded at my club in St. James Street as a dastardly1 poltroon and may throw your slime how or where you please.

                    A friend of Lord Cecil

                   A member of White’s

                  St James Street

                                                                                                C Tennyson Esqr.

                                                                                                Ordnance Office

                                                                                                Pall Mall

1 This word might equally well be read bastardly, thanks to an extra riser on the “d”.  It is hard to imagine this was a careless slip of the pen!

The second letter, also to Tennyson, written after the Reform Act became law on 7 June 1832, laments the fact that Tennyson has decided not to contest the next election for Stamford, preferring to seek the newly created seat of Lambeth.  Ironically, after the passing of the First Reform Act in 1832, Stamford became even more securely a pocket borough for the Marquess of Exeter and the Tory party; voters in St Martin’s now became electors for Stamford Borough. The new enfranchisements, apparently overwhelmingly in the Exeter interest since the family owned most of St Martin’s, seem to have been the chief cause for Tennyson’s withdrawal.  His fellow reformers, rejoicing in the emancipation of so many large towns in England seem scarcely to have noticed that Stamford had become even more firmly a Tory stronghold.  A brief biography of Tennyson may be found in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (available online with a library ticket number); a full report of the three elections at the start of the 1830s may be found in the 1820-32 volume of the History of Parliament.

In Stamford in the first half of the nineteenth century political colours were reversed from what we would expect today – “Blues” were the radicals, reformers and Whig/Liberal supporters, while the “Reds” (or often actually nearer orange!) were the Tory and subsequently Conservative supporters of the Exeter interest.

The punctuation, spelling and grammar of this letter, a far cry from the sophistication of the first, probably reflect accurately the social divisions of the voters in the town.  It goes without saying that Burghley House patronage, in various forms, both overt and covert, played a highly significant part in their seemingly unshakeable hegemony – until the arrival of the secret ballot in 1872.

Anonymous letter to Charles Tennyson  LAO     T d’E   H/36/27

                       Stamford July 2nd 1832

Sir

is this the Reform Bill Passing

It is with gratitude for my fellow Cuntrymen I now take up my Pen to write to you asking you Weather you have forgot the Words you mad use of on the Hustings     if you have I will remind you of them. Did you not say that if you ever forsook the Borough of Stamford might God forsake you and another thing I will remind you of     When you was at the George and Angel window you said that if you ever forsook Stamford you wished your Right Harm might drop from your Body and now has forsook it    

O What a Oath to take

       My Dear friend                                            Pray Write and give your

       at your end                                                 Resons for not Coming

       God will forsake you                                    for Our town is all of

       the Devil will take you                                  an upRoar

the People of Stamford is as Blue as ever it was we have Hopes that this may be a false Report becaus you Cannot Leive becaus of St Martins voting there is about 40 or 50 voters and we know of 19 Blues and 8 as will not vote at all.  Had you Have Come again Stamford would soon of been its Self and there is a great many fresh votes I know of 20 fresh ones.     Who would of thought you would of forsook Stamford Whilst you Had Breath in your Boddy  I once thougt we should Beet the marquis of Exeter but now we must give all up to the Red Party, but Stop let me think.    know we will not give up to them till thay make us and thay shall have work to mak us for thay shall kill me before I will give up to them your tital is Rit Honl is this Rt Hon no if this Report be true it is not but we Have Hopes yet but if it be true I will give my Hearty good wishes I wish you may Never get another place in Parlement  Can you forget the Thousands that Came to meet you when you first Came to Stamford  I never shall forget though you have forgot us but I must Conclud By saying that I shall Ever remain a true  BLUE

We will give all up now

but ah now we are forsaken

the Tears that have been Shed in Stamford is unacountable

To the Right Honerable Chas Tennyson

You Have Fought the Battle

Till you thought you have done

Get Beet and then you gone

                       John S Hartley

A printed version can be downloaded HERE