The East-Sussex Election.
It is not often, in a General Election that a contest for the county has been deemed of so much local importance as that of the borough, but the fact of there having been in 1857 no opposition for the borough, and a severe contest for the county, and a severe contest for the county, the latter became, as a matter of course, by far the most exciting. There were four candidates in the field - namely, Mr. Dodson and Col. Cavendish as Liberals; and Lord Pevensey and Mr. Fuller as Conservatives. The nomination took place at Lewes on Saturday April 4th, and the election on the following Tuesday. At the several polling places throughout the district, great interest was evinced at an early hour, and which became more intense as the day wore on. At Hastings, all sorts of vehicles were employed in conveying voters to the polling booth, where jibes and jokes were not lacking to give it a little (of) the semblance of the election days of yore. It was remarkable that out of the eight polling districts of the county, not one, except Hastings, resulted in a record of votes proportionate to the grand total. Mr. Dodson was proposed by R. W. Blencowe, Esq. and seconded by Gen. Davies, whilst E. Hussey, Esq. proposed and W. D. Lucas-Shadwell, Esq. seconded Viscount Pevensey. The result of the election was the return of Mr. John George Dodson and Viscount Pevensey - one Liberal and one Conservative, as against Col. Cavendish (Liberal) and Mr. A. E. Fuller (Conservative). The number of votes polled were-
| Dodson | Pevensey | Cavendish | Fuller | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,524 | 2,447 | 2,286 | 2,216 |
| Hastings Poll | 198 | 193 | 182 | 164 |
The preliminary meetings and speeches at Hastings are noticed in the next Chapter - LVIII
A New Gun
On Monday, June 22nd, upwards of 50 belonging to the Preventive service proceeded to the 40 Martello Tower (the second one west of St. Leonard), for the purpose of landing a new gun, brought by one of the Revenue cutters. The gun weighed two tons and three hundredweights, and was intended to replace one of similar calibre, which having been used for several years as a practice gun, was considered to be too much worn. The new piece of ordnance was lifted into a strong, flat bottomed boat, and towed to the beach by two of the cutter's boats, where, on its arrival, planks were laid down for running it over the shingle. On endeavouring, however, to lift the monster, from the boat to the carriage, the tackling gave way, and it was found impossible to accomplish the undertaking until the tide had sufficiently receded to admit of a readjustment of the machinery. This was eventually done, and "Bonnie Black Bess" was consigned -
