the lords of the manor and the confirmatory licence
of the Dean of Wolverhampton.

At that time the Duke of Cleveland was impropriator, but the tithes had
been leased by his Grace to Messrs. James Whitehouse and Charles Quinton.

As the day of battle approached public feeling ran so high that on the
eve of the poll, which took place on August 5th and 6th, 1834, the
Returning Officer deemed it prudent to issue the following Appeal to the
Inhabitants:--

It is represented to me, from numerous quarters, that the excitement
of the approaching Nomination of a Minister to your Chapel renders it
imprudent to take the Poll at the time and place appointed.

Gentlemen,--I cannot but hope and believe that such fears are
unnecessary; and, relying upon your good sense, I have determined not
to make any alteration in the present arrangements.

I have no interest in your choice; it is my duty only to act with
impartiality between all parties.

For that purpose I shall be at your Church at Ten O'clock To-morrow
Morning, but unless every person entitled to vote has free and
Unmolested Access to the Poll, I shall, of course, be under the
NECESSITY of adjourning it.

I address myself to the friends of Each Candidate Alike, and
entreating you to allow the proceedings of the day to take place with
that moderation which their object and the sacred place in which we
shall meet so particularly require.

I am, Gentlemen,
Your faithful, humble Servant,

FRANCIS HOLYOAKE.

Tettenhall, August 4, 1834.

Needless to say, all this rowdyism and disgraceful violence were sternly
reprobated by Mr. Fisher, whose rabid opponents must have come to realise
that their cause was a lost one when they waylaid the polling clerk and
tore his poll-book to shreds.

As to the Magistrates and the Constables, the custodians of the peace
discreetly pursued a policy of the most masterly inactivity. Perhaps
they felt that the resources of their command were totally inadequate to
cope with an uprising of the dimensions and intensity which presented
themselves to their consideration; or, maybe, they philosophically
recognised that these stirring tumults were the inevitable concomitants
of a parochial struggle of so momentous a character. Anyway, their
attitude appears to have been justified when everything settled down
quietl