ELECTION JOTTINGS – MR IMPEY AND THE VILLAGERS
The Tories of South Worcestershire declare they are confident of success, but the dodges they are resorting to throw doubt upon the sincerity of this anticipation. It is well known that Mr Impey has gained great popularity in the villages, where his important services as a pioneer of the allotment movement are cordially acknowledged. The Tories are aware that they will suffer severely from this circumstance, and their cue is to deny its existence. Like children at play, they have said to one another, “Let us pretend that Impey is nowhere in the villages,” and they are pretending as hard as they can in the hope of deceiving somebody. Part of the game is to assert that Unionist meetings in the county have been a great success while Liberal meetings are ill-attended and lack enthusiasm. They have even represented Badsey as a promising Tory centre, but after this week’s experience they will hardly have the nerve to repeat the slander. Mr Impey visited this thriving village on Monday and was met by crowds of supporters, who took the horse out of his gig and drew him to the place of meeting amid the cheering of the inhabitants who had turned out on masse to witness the procession. A splendid meeting followed, with a most cordial vote of confidence, Let each village, whose loyalty to Mr Gladstone, Mr Impey and the Liberal cause is impugned by the Tory scribes, do the same as Badsey has done if it has the opportunity; but it can most effectually vindicate its political character by using every legitimate effort to give Mr Impey a thumping majority.