Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.372.30
Object Name
Print
Title
MIDDLESEX ELECTION 1804. A LONG, A STRONG PULL, AND A PULL-ALL-TOGETHER
Place
Middlesex; London & England & UK
People
Burdett, Sir Francis.
Events
reform & election
Date
1804
Creator(s)
Cruikshank, GeorgeHumphrey, H.
Description
Middlesex Election, 1804. "a Long-Pull, a Strong-Pull and a Pull-All-together".
7 August 1804, James Gillray.
Sir Francis Burdett was a radical reformer. He stood against Pitt's government as an independent candidate and was imprisoned on more than one occasion for his political views. He first stood for the seat of Middlesex in 1802, his opponnet was William Mainwaring. Burdett won but allegations of corruption on both sides led to a Parliamentary select committee demanding a re-election in 1804. This time Burdett stood against Mainwaring's son G.B. Mainwaring. At one stage Burdett was thought to have won by one vote, but this was later disallowed. Mainwaring won but petitions and counter-petitions kept the battle alive for another eighteen months. By1807 Burdett had stood in the seat of Westminster, which he won and held for 30 years.
This print may be based on Burdett's return to the hustings in Brentford in 1802. Contemporary accounts described a procession led by 20 butchers and supporters carrying banners, flags and streamers. The crowd removed the horses from the carriage at Kew Bridge and drew it to the hustings themselves. The banner flying above Burdett's head shows William Pitt the Younger as Governor Aris. He is whipping Britannia. The text on the banner reads "Governor Aris in all his glory". This refers to Burdett's claims that Aris mistreated prisoners at Cold Bath Fields prison. Burdett's apponent Mainwairing was a friend of Governor Aris. This implies the complicity of Pitt and Mainwaring in Aris's actions.
The butchers dressed in red and white striped shirts and aprons and carrying cleavers are led by Tyrwhitt Jones, MP for Denbigh (1796-1802)
The carriage or 'barouche' is decorated with three panels:
A bird and olive branch representing peace and a scroll with the inscription 'Egalité'.
A hand holding a flaming torch - the torch of liberty.
A frothing tankard representing plenty.
'a long pull' - slang term for a generous serving of alcohol esp. beer.
Sir Francis Burdett is pulled in his carriage by Charles James Fox and other Opposition leaders wearing working class clothes. These are:
# Colonel William Bosville
# Charles Grey
# Lord Carlisle
# Lord Spencer
# Duke of Bedford dressed as a farm worker
# Duke of Northumberland
# Earl of Derby
# Lansdowne
# Charles James Fox dressed as a chimney sweep
# Duke of Norfolk dressed as a butcher
Charles James Fox
(b. 24 January 1749, d.13 September 1806).
Fox was opposed to King George III and William Pitt's government. He supported the Prince Regent (later George IV). He was a Reformist politician but only acheived two important reforms: steering a resolution to abolish slavery through parliament and the 1792 Libel Act.
The thin man on the hustings is Burdett's opponent Mainwaring.
The crowd are mostly on Burdett's side and they wear the buff and blue of Whig supporters. They attack a tavern which bears the sign "Mainwaring - King and Country".
The three 'gentlemen outriders' are:
Richard Sheridan who holds a banner depicting William Pitt whipping Britannia.
Tierney carries a key saying 'no Bastille'.
Thomas Erskine holds a banner and cap of liberty. The banner says "The good-old-cause", which was a 17th century Republican slogan.
John Horne Tooke, (b. 25 June 1736, d. 18 March 1812).
The coach driver is John Horne Tooke, speeches stream from his pockets. He wears the blue and buff rosette of a Whig opposition supporter.
Tooke founded the Constitutional Society which supported parliamentary reform and self-government for the American colonies. His support for the American colonists led to his imprisonment for seditious libel. At the time of the French Revolution the British government attempted to suppress radicals and he was arrested in 1794 for treason (he was later acquitted).
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