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Assess the significance of the 1868 general election to thepolitical history of Victorian and Edwardian Wales.

The parliamentary history of Wales between 1790 and 1868 wascharacterised by a high degree of incumbency in parliamentary seats. Thisincumbency was not specific to individuals, rather, it was carried on throughgenerations and in many instances, parliamentary seats were passed down throughfamilies almost as if they were hereditary titles. In Flintshire, the countyconstituency was dominated from 1554 to 1861 by thirteen generations of theMostyns of Mostyn. Elsewhere, wealthy landowning families predominated asparliamentary representatives and as Jenkins points out, by the late eighteenthcentury, if there was a change, it was 'perhaps a movement towards greateroligarchy, even tighter domination by a few wealthy houses, who were oftenaristocrats.' (1992, p325) He lists the examples of Lords Cawdor and Dynevor,Lords Kensington and Milford, the Owens of Orielton, and the Marquesses of Butewho between them presided over Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Cardiff. InDenbighshire, three Sir Watkin Williams-Wynns sat as MPs from 1796 to 1885.(Jenkins 1992, pp325-326)

Despite the 1832 Reform Act, it was still common practice inWales that the majority of seats at a general election would go uncontested andthe notion persisted that electoral competition in itself was essentiallyunhealthy. In 1847, 1857 and 1865 only five of the 32 seats were contested, in1859 four seats out of 32 were contested (p326). In fact, not until 1868 didthe situation emerge whereby a majority of the parliamentary seats for Waleswere actually contested at election.

How and why did things change after 1868? The most obviousanswer to this is the introduction of the 1867 Reform Act which changed thevoting landscape- most simply by adding an extra 250% of eligible voters to thevoting pool. Previously, around 5% of the population were eligible to vote. TheReform Act of 1867 pushed this up to almost 9 % of the population. In figures,this equated to just over 61, 000 electors in 1865 compared 126,000 electors in1868 (Matthews 1999, p454). The results of the 1868 election changed thepolitical landscape in Wales and 'saw a decisive thrust away from thetraditional pattern of political authority' (Morgan 1981, p11). Many of theprevious MPs from powerful families lost their seats and 23 Liberals wereelected compared to a mere 10 Conservatives. According to Morgan, 'moststriking of all was the return of three non-conformists including the famousradical pacifist Henry Richard, 'the apostle of peace' in the highly democratictwo-member constituency of Merthyr Tydfil at the expense of Henry Austen Bruce,Gladstone's Home Secretary' (1981, p12).

While it is agreed that the 1868 was significant, Matthewshas argued that much of the transformation was merely a reflection of thechanging electorate. 'The politics of Wales like those of England , were beingtransformed into the mass politics of numbers, and even without the influenceof a Henry Richard or a David Davies, change was inevitable.' He continues,'the heroic version of 1868 is tempered by the realisation that some of theresults simply reflected the changed composition of individual electorates,particularly in borough seats' (1999, p454). Morgan echoes this view somewhatby qualifying his analysis of the 1868 election saying, 'the transformation in1868 was only a partial one' (p12). He backs up this statement with a number ofobservations. Firstly, 24 of the 33 Welsh MPs elected in 1868 were stilllandowners. Secondly, according to Morgan, most of the Liberal members returnedwere 'undeniably Whiggish'. Thirdly, the bulk of the Welsh electorate, quiteapart from the Welsh people, remained unrepresented and finally, evidence fromthe 1868-1874 session for parliament shows that if a transformation did occur,its effects did not reach the statute books. The first motion on behalf of thedisestablishment of the Church of Wales 'failed ignominiously' (1981, p12).

Jenkins is not quite so dismissive of the 1868 election andargues that from 1868, Welsh MPs were much more truly representative of thevoters. He postulates that they now had to be responsive to the needs of thecommunities they served. (1992, p330). According to Jenkins, three issues nowcame into clear focus which had received mass support in the preceding threedecades: radical Liberalism; nonconformist causes and 'a recognition ofdistinctive Welsh interests that was patriotic if not strictly nationalistic'(p330).

While these issues came into focus after 1868, they werecertainly not unheard of before then. Morgan alludes to symptoms long beforethe Reform Act of 1867 which indicated that 'the Welsh speaking nonconformistmajority of the nation were pressing for a more appropriate and lessanachronistic political order' (1981, p11).

Before 1868, it was generally Conservative landowners whowere representing a growing Liberal population. Evictions caused people'spolitical sentiments to be stirred and in Evidence to theWelsh LandCommission 1894, Tom Ellis referred to the 'thrill of horror' whichevictions caused, in particular those evictions which were a result of thetenants having cast a Liberal vote. Morgan states, 'the martyrology and thedemonology of the Welsh radical tradition, without which no left-wing crusadecan survive, were being created.' He quotes a Cardiganshire Liberal whodeclared in 1894, 'there is a spirit of vassalage amongst the tillers of thesoil' in referring to the evictions thirty years previous (p11). Even LloydGeorge was not shy of using the memory as late as 1910, 'it awoke the spirit ofthe mountains, the genius of the freedom that fought the might of theNormansThe political power of landlordism was shattered as effectively as thatof the Druids' (cited 1981, p11)

The influence of religion on politics in the mid-nineteenthcentury in Britain (and elsewhere in Europe) was significant. According toCragoe, 'religious principle was the chief determinant of voting behaviour, andpolitics was perceived to be an activity of significance mainly becausereligious issues were so prominent' (1995, p140). Cragoe argues that in thecase of Wales, nonconformity was a vital element in the political identitywhich emerged after 1868.

He characterises Wales as a nation of nonconformists.Indeed, The Religious Census of 1851 showed that 80% of Churchattendees, on census Sunday at least, were nonconformists. In addition, thosewho were not formally part of that movement could not fail but to be affectedby 'the moral aura emanating from the chapels'. Cragoe argues that theinstitutional life of the chapel was an intense experience and asserts that thebrand of religion preached there, 'fostered the intense and emotional characterof Welsh dissent' (pp146-147). Morgan reiterates this view with the assertionthat the chapels 'dictated a quality of life to whole societynonconformity wasresponsible for almost every significant and worthwhile aspect of social andcultural activity in late nineteenth century Wales' (1981, p13). Cragoe adds,'it was not only a social and cultural influence. Nonconformity also formed thebasis of the distinctively Welsh political identity which emerged in theyears after 1868' (1995, p146).

Not only did the nonconformists help shape Welsh identity,they helped with the organisation of the election itself and therefore couldnot have failed to exert an influence even more concrete than a 'moral aura'(although that influence in itself should not be underestimated). Nonconformistministers helped with the preparation of the registers and assisted in theselection and endorsement of Liberal candidates. They allowed their places ofworship to be used for political gatherings and were 'active and valuable'Liberal canvassers (Cragoe, 1995, p153). The extent of this assistance andwhether its exact nature could be described as 'Conscience or Coercion' hasbeen debated by Cragoe and Matthews in a series of articles in 1995 and 2000.Cragoe cites examples of congregations being threatened with 'anything fromexcommunication to eternal damnation' (p154) should they vote the 'wrong' way.The following translation of a notice appeared in many Conservative newspapersin Wales as propaganda against the nonconformists:

'Be it known to the electorsthat a 'Book of Remembrance isbeing prepared to record the name of every Dissenter who shall vote for a Tory;and that persons will be appointed in every neighbourhood to escort every oneof such over the stiles and through the gates from chapel to church' (quotedin Cragoe, 1995, p154).

Matthews has disputed this version of events arguing thatwhere reports of 'coercion' occurred with regard to voting, they must be viewed'in the context of bitter public exchanges, which included alleged threats madeby Conservatives' (2000, p202). He argues the evidence of coercion is 'at bestanecdotal' and that not enough evidence exists to suggest that coercionoccurred in a systematic pattern (p201).

The election of 1868 is also generally associated with thebirth of, or at least a revival of nationalism in Wales. In parliamentaryterms, Welsh MPs were able to form their own political caucus modelled on thatof the Irish parliamentary party (whilst nowhere near as powerful.) Yet, by theend of the nineteenth century the Welsh Liberals could have as many as 30 votesat their disposal, a considerable force for obstruction and manipulation if thevote was close or if the ruling party's majority was narrow.

The leader and many might say, hero of this newfoundpatriotism was Henry Richards, the so-called 'apostle of peace'. Richardsappealed to the tenant farmers along the lines of nationalism and employedpowerful rhetoric against the ruling classes. He was critical of the wayelections had been run previous to 1868 and in a speech reported in TheAberdare Times, he summarised the state of electoral politics:

'is it not true for the mostpart, the way in which your elections have been managed hitherto has been this:that a few great families, a handful of landowners and squires, and stewards,met together, and decided who were to be your candidates, and then they becamepossessed with the insane notion- for I cannot regard it but as a kind ofinsanity- that the votes of their tenants belonged as much to them as the rentsof their farms. The farmers were then marched up or driven like herds of cattleto the hustings, and were there obliged to vote exactly according to the wishesof the masters. The consequences werethe nation of Wales has never been representedin the House of Commonsno one man has ever stood up to defend his calumniatedcountrymen.'

Richards called for Welsh representatives who wouldunderstand [the] 'nation's soul, its character, its conscience.' By the late1880s his calls had been answered somewhat and by this point Wales was'politically a fortress for the Liberal party' (Jenkins1992, p330).

The 1868 election in Wales was hugely significant in that ittransformed electoral politics and lent the election process some semblance ofcredibility by the fact of having a majority of seats contested. This was aprocess which had been building up for decades. The role of landowners, thechurch- both established and nonconformist, as well as the passion and fervourof nationalism all combined to make the 1868 general election one whichtransformed the political and social landscape of nineteenth century Wales. Theeffects of this continued to reverberate well into the twentieth century.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

'Mr Richard at the Temperance Hall', article from the AberdaleTimes 14 November, 1868.

Evidence to the Welsh Land Commission Vol 1,Parliamentary Papers 1894

Secondary Sources

Cragoe, M. (2000) 'Conscience or Coercion? ClericalInfluence of the General Election of 1868 in Wales: Reply', Past andPresent, 169

Cragoe M. (1998) 'The Anatomy of an Eviction Campaign: TheGeneral Election of 1868 in Wales and its Aftermath' in Rural History,Vol 9, No 2.

Cragoe, M. (1995) 'Conscience or Coercion? Clerical Influenceof the General Election of 1868 in Wales', Past and Present, 149

Jenkins, P. (1992) A History of Modern Wales 1536-1990 London,New York:Longman

Matthews, I. (2000) 'Conscience or Coercion? ClericalInfluence of the General Election of 1868 in Wales: Reply ', Past andPresent, 169

Matthews I. (1999) 'Disturbing the Peace of the County: TheCarmarthenshire General Election of 1868' in Welsh Historical Review,Vol 6, No 3.

Morgan, K.O. (1981) Rebirth of the Nation: Wales1880-1980 Oxford: Oxford University Press

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