The General Election of 1710

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the forces at work in the General Election of 1710, the electioneering methods in which these forces found expression, and the results of those methods. The most useful sources have been contemporary correspondence of all kinds, particularly Harley's correspondence in the Portland Papers, published by the Historical Manuscripts Commission; the reports of election petitions in the Journals of the House of Commons, and contemporary pamphlets and newspapers. The number of political pamphlets and periodicals published at the time of the election was very large, and an attempt has been made to analyse this literature, to assess its influence and to deduce from it the issues upon which the election was fought. This is followed by a study of the use made by the Tories of the Sacheverell trial, both in the press and in other ways; of the influence of the clergy upon the elections, and the part played by the dissenters. The influence exerted in the form of patronage by the nobility, those methods the landed gentry and the Court is examined, but lack of positive evidence has made any satisfactory estimate of the amount of patronage impossible. There is, however, plenty of evidence of the methods of canvassing employed in 1710, and it is possible to compare the relative popularity of undue influence, riots, treating and bribery as means of securing votes. There is a separate chapter on the Scottish elections. A final chapter discusses the social status and political colour of the members returned, and attempts an estimate of the size of the Tory majority. The conclusions in this chapter are based upon the short biographies of all the members returned - both at the General Election and at by elections - which constitute the Appendix.