Manchester, 18 November 1868 

Dear Moor, 

What do you say about the elections in the factory districts? The 
proletariat has once again made an awful fool of itself. Manchester 
and Salford return 3 Tories” against 2 Liberals,‘ including the 
MILK-AND-WATER Bazley, Bolton, Preston, Blackburn, etc., almost all 
Tories. In Ashton it looks as if Milner Gibson has gone To THE WALL. 
Ernest Jones NowHere, despite the cneerinc. Everywhere the 
proletariat are the rac, rac anp Bosal of the official parties, and if any 
party has gained strength from the new voters, it is the Tories. The 
small towns, the HALF ROTTEN Boroughs ~” are the salvation of bourgeois 
Liberalism, and roles will be reversed: the Tories will favour more 
members for the big towns and the Liberals will favour unequal 
representation. 

Here the electors have increased from 24,000 to not quite 
48,000, and the Tories have increased their vorers from 6,000 to 
14-15,000. The Liberals have let slip a lot, and M. Henry did a lot 
of harm, but it cannot be denied that the increase in working-class 
vores has brought the Tories more than their simple percentage, 
and has improved their relative position. On the whole this is a 
good thing. As things look now, Gladstone should have a narrow 
majority and will be compelled to change the Reform Bill to stop 
the rolling stone; with a large majority, he would have Jet things 
take their course, as usual. 

But it remains an appalling display of weakness by the English 
proletariat. The parson has shown unexpected power, and also the 

a Borkheim - > Birley, Cawley, Chorley - ¢ Bazley, J. Bright 

cringing before resrecrasitity. Not a single working-class candidate 
had a GHost oF A CHANCE, but milord Tom Noppy or any parvenu snob 
could have the workers’ votes with pleasure. 

The howls of the Liberal bourgeois would amuse me very much 
were it not for this accompanying experience. To cheer myself up 
properly, yesterday I made Borchardt’s son-in-law, who had 
dutifully drudged for the Liberals, as drunk as a lord. 

Your 
F. E.