He withdrew without further comment. I picked it up. It was headed, CONTESTED PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION AT PRESTON. NOTICE OF RULES AND PROCEDURES, and the authority at the bottom was that of Mayor Biggs. Below his name in small print it said that Oswald Mallender was charged with posting this bill on all public billboards, and in other prominent places such as large trees and wooden posts, and with handing copies in at the offices of attorneys and notaries. I went back to the top and read the whole document. The electoral process was to start at midday when, by tradition, the mayor would cast the first votes, which he did before his deputy returning officer, one of the two bailiffs. Having revealed which two out of the four candidates he favoured (that they would be the Tories would be a surprise to no one) he would then take his place on the returning bench and begin to record the votes of the other twenty-three members of the corporation – a leisurely business as the self-importance of the burgesses meant that each of them swore the full oath – something that less exalted voters were required to do only if challenged.
