Humours of an Election

At this time each constituency elected two MPs, and there was a property qualification for voters, so only a minority of the male population was enfranchised.

However, this traditional view has been questioned by recent historians who observed lively local political participation in this time.

The Tories are carrying an antisemitic caricature of a Jew, a reference to Jewish Naturalisation Act 1753 recently passed by the Whig government.

A Tory banner containing the words "Give us our Eleven days", a protest against the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, is on the tavern floor.

At the other end of the table the mayor is collapsing from over indulgence in oysters, while the election agent is knocked out by a brick thrown through the window by the Tory mob.

[2][a] In the foreground a maimed soldier sits on the floor whilst a patron pours gin into his head wound.

In a reference to the antisemitism of the crowd behind, a Jewish peddler is being employed by another agent who is offering jewels and ribbons to the wives of voters.

He is about to tumble down because one of his carriers has just been accidentally hit on the head by a flail carried by a Tory-supporting rural labourer who is attempting to fight off a Whig supporter (an old sailor with a bear).