This broadside likely dates to 1832 due to referencing events from that year. The broadside regards William Gordon (1784-1858), who was a Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire between 1820 and 1854. In the 1832 election, Gordon stood against the Whig candidate Sir Michael Bruce, and won by a margin of 181 votes.

The broadside ridicules the Journal for attempting to convey Gordon as a 'reformer' in order to make him appeal to the masses. The broadside says that, if the paper was being honest, they would convey Gordon as the same Tory as he ever was.

The Reform Bill of 1832 was a major step towards democratising Britain, giving voting rights to far more people and changing constituency boundaries. The separate Scottish Reform Act was seismic, enlarging the electorate from 5,000 to 65,000.

Debates as to the nature of the reform were ongoing through 1831-1832. The Herald, a rival paper to the Journal and printer of this broadside, was reformist. The broadside cites several instances of Gordon's Tory and non-reformist tendencies.

Interestingly the broadside points out that Gordon's Tory tendency meant he also voted against 'the removal of Jewish disabilities', amongst other issues.

Other broadsides referring to Gordon can be found here.

Document Type

Broadside

Document Reference

HD05_04

Keyword

Politics

Collection

Aberdeen Local Studies

Magnifier?

Yes

Public Access

Yes