Voters 'wallowed in filthy abomination'
One of the most corrupt elections ever held was at Horsham in 1847.
In his publication A Parliamentary History of Horsham, William Albery wrote: "The law confers on voters the honour of sending a representative to Parliament. And how did they discharge that duty? By selling themselves to the highest bidder. By wallowing in the most loathsome vices; by drunkenness and every low and filthy abomination till the whole country rang with the excesses perpetrated by Horsham voters."
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Hide AdThe candidates in the Horsham election, Fitzgerald and young Jervis, had deep pockets.
Young Jervis's father, Sir John, was Attorney General; very useful for bribing voters with the offer of lucrative public office.
Mr Fitzgerald had purchased an estate at Holbrook with a view to becoming MP for Horsham. His generosity to local causes was well known.
For full feature see West Sussex Gazette January 14