PLUMPERS AND HIRELINGS, EXETER, 1841.

Mr. Edward Divett was a Radical Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1832 until his death in 1864.  

The description below, from The Western Times of  June 1841, is of one of a great many meetings, often in poblic houses, that took place in the lead up to the Election of that year:

"On Tuesday evening, at eight o' clock, another large meeting took place at the Black Dog Inn, North Street, which was addressed by Mr. Divett, and Mr. Wilkinson, at great length.

"The meeting was disturbed by the presence of some of the drunken hirelings of the tories, who, having swilled of beer to repletion, came there for the purpose of indulging their swinish propensities with a few groans and grunts.

"Mr. Wilkinson happily told them to groan away, for theirs was a 'groaning cause.'  The insulting behaviour of these fellows was met with perfect good humour,  and their object being thus defeated, they soon after slunk away. 

"The meeting then proceeded with perfect harmony, and terminated amidst the enthusiastic cheering of the whole assemblage."

This was the same election in which Mr Jorrocks (R.S. Surtees,  Hillingdon Hall) was elected to Parliament.  In Exeter the run-up to the voting seems to have been carried on with the same vigour and with similar machinations to those that were practiced in Hillingdon.

The Liberals/Radicals looked for support to the many teetotalers and to those citizens who did not swill beer to repletion,  hence, perhaps the emphasis here on the swinish propensites of the tory hirelings who  disturbed the meeting at the Black Dog Inn.

At The Victory in St Sidwell's, it was reported in this same newspaper article, "a number of plumpers for Mr. Divett assembled."  Now there's a nice word for you!  A plumper was a voter who, in multiple elections - which this was -  gave his vote to only one candidate, thus increasing the chance of his election.