ted gangs of hired orators who held forth every night
at the corners of the principal streets, and on the open spaces from
portable platforms, and from motor cars and lorries. The Tories said
that the Liberal Party in the House of Commons was composed principally
of scoundrels and fools, the Liberals said that the Tory Party were
fools and scoundrels. A host of richly dressed canvassers descended
upon Windley in carriages and motor cars, and begged for votes from the
poverty-stricken working men who lived there.

One evening a Liberal demonstration was held at the Cross Roads on
Windley Hill. Notwithstanding the cold weather, there was a great
crowd of shabbily dressed people, many of whom had not had a really
good meal for months. It was a clear night. The moon was at the full,
and the scene was further illuminated by the fitful glare of several
torches, stuck on the end of twelve-foot poles. The platform was a
large lorry, and there were several speakers, including Adam Sweater
himself and a real live Liberal Peer--Lord Ammenegg. This individual
had made a considerable fortune in the grocery and provision line, and
had been elevated to the Peerage by the last Liberal Government on
account of his services to the Party, and in consideration of other
considerations.

Both Sweater and Ammenegg were to speak at two other meetings that
night and were not expected at Windley until about eight-thirty, so to
keep the ball rolling till they arrived, several other gentlemen,
including Rushton--who presided--and Didlum, and one of the five pounds
a week orators, addressed the meeting. Mingled with the crowd were
about twenty rough-looking men--strangers to the town--who wore huge
green rosettes and loudly applauded the speakers. They also
distributed Sweater literature and cards with lists of the different
meetings that were to be held during the election. These men were
bullies hired by Sweater's agent. They came from the neighbourhood of
Seven Dials in London and were paid ten shillings a day. One of their
duties was to incite the crowd to bash anyone who disturbed the
meetings or tried to put awkward questions to the speakers.

The hired orator was a tall, slight man with dark hair, beard and
moustache, he might have been called well-looking if it had not been
for a ugly scar upon his forehead, which gave him a rather sinister
appearance. He was an effective speaker; the audience punctuated his
speech with chee