"To be, or not to be?"

494

"To be, or not to be?"

This broadside dates to 23rd March 1857. Professing to be written by a 'townsman', it ridicules a 'Clique'. The broadside criticises the clique as a group of gentry attempting to engineer Aberdeen's politics. The broadside satirises the events leading up to British general election in late March 1857. The election was fought by William Henry Sykes and John Farley Leith. Both were members of the Whig party.

The broadside notes that Aberdeen's newspaper the Herald criticises a so-called 'clique'. Indeed, an article published in the Aberdeen Herald on 21st March titled 'The Adverse Cries' criticises a clique for spreading falsehoods in their attempts to prevent Leith from getting elected.

The broadside notes that an unidentified individual from Brucklay upset the clique's politicking. This likely refers to William Dingwall Fordyce (1836-1875). In response, the clique arranged for another unidentified individual, this time from Elmhill, to engage the help of Sykes. 'Elmhill' likely refers to an individual belonging to Elmhill House. Elmhill House became a psychiatric hospital in 1862.

The broadside criticises the Herald for supporting Leith, whom the broadside calls 'a Muff'. It also lambasts them for fake Protestant piety regarding the claim that Leith would repeal the Maynooth Grant (a cash grant from the British to a Catholic seminary in Ireland). The broadside instead calls for Sykes to win the election. Sykes won that election by 186 votes, and stood unopposed at the following three elections until his death on 16th June 1872.

Broadside

HD04_22

Political satire

Aberdeen Local Studies

Yes

Yes

Yes