At election times some of the drollest questions are put to the candidates in the "heckling" that takes place after the speech, where the audience is allowed to interrogate the aspirant for parliamentary honours. The following occurred in my own experience. A Socialist candidate was stumping a wide outlying division in North-East Lancashire, and in the course of a stirring address in the village school-room he expatiated on the heavy cost with which, as he a.s.serted, the country was saddled in the up-keeping of royalty.
Amongst other items of expenditure he enumerated the number of horses that had to be maintained for the royal use, and made a calculation of the huge quant.i.ty of oats, beans, hay and other fodder which the animals consumed every week throughout the year, with the heavy cost which these entailed, and he concluded by pathetically pointing out how many working men"s families might be maintained in comfort with the money.
Questions being invited, an old farmer, who had been intently listening to the harangue, rose and said:
"Maister Chairman, aw have been very much interested wi" the speech o"
th" candidate, and mooar especially wi" that part on"t where he towd us abeaut th" royal horses, an" th" greyt quant.i.ty ov oats, beans and hay ut they aiten every week, an" th" heavy taxes we han to pay for th" uphowd o" thoose. But there"s one thing, maister Chairman, ut he has missed out o" his speech, an" aw wish to put a question: Aw wud like if th" candidate wod now tell us heaw much they gettin every week for th" horse mook!"
Whether the question was put ironically or in sober earnest it is difficult to say, for the questioner maintained the gravity of a judge even in the midst of the roar of laughter that ensued. Probably he was quite in earnest, and considered that the "tale" was not complete until credit had been given on the other side of the account for the residual product.
During the Home-Secretaryship of the Right Hon. Sir Richard (now Lord) Cross, the mode of executing criminals was widely discussed in the newspapers, and created some considerable difference of opinion. At one of his election meetings in South-West Lancashire, a person in the audience asked leave to say a word, and convulsed the meeting by putting this question: "Aw want to know," he said, "an" aw could like to have a straight answer: is the honourable candidate in favour of a six-foot drop?"
A Member, representing one of the Lancashire divisions, who had for some reason or other made himself unpopular with his const.i.tuents, was seeking a renewal of their confidence at the general election. He was giving an account of his stewardship at a crowded meeting, pointing out how he had devoted his time to the interests of the division; how he had attended to his Parliamentary duties during the long session, _sitting up_ night after night recording his votes, when he was interrupted in his harangue by "A voice from the gallery":
"We"ll _ma"_ thae _sit up_, devil, before we ha" done wi" thae!"
Another M.P., dilating on the services he had rendered to "the Borough which he had the honour to represent," asked, with a flourish of his arms towards the a.s.sembled electors and non-electors, "Now, what do you think your Member has recently been doing in London?"
"Aye! there"s no telling!" was the response of an honest dame, suspiciously shaking her head as she sat near to the platform listening to the orator.
Barristers, as becomes their calling, are usually sharp-witted and often sharp-tongued. At the recent general election the candidates in the Eccles (Lancashire) division were Mr O. Leigh Clare, Q.C., Conservative, and Mr J. Pease Fry, Liberal. Mr Clare had finished addressing one of his meetings when an elector rose and put the following conundrum: "Mr Fry at his meeting last night stated that Mr Chamberlain was the cause of the Boer War, and Dr Quayle, one of his supporters, declared that the war might have been averted by a little careful diplomacy; will the Conservative candidate give us his opinion on the statements of these two gentlemen?"
"Yes," was Mr Leigh Clare"s reply, "I shall be only too happy. In my opinion Dr Quayle should be left to Fry, and Mr Fry should be left to Quayle!" Judging by the manner in which the sally was received by the meeting, the answer was eminently satisfactory.
The Lancashire dialect occasionally finds its way into the British Houses of Parliament to point a moral or adorn a tale. Recently Mr Duckworth, M.P. for Middleton, told with effect the anecdote about Sam Brooks, and his advice to his brother John, on the latter being asked to stand as a City Councillor.[8]
[8] _Post_, page 94.
Lord Derby ("the Rupert of debate"), many years before, related the following story in the House, greatly to the amus.e.m.e.nt of their lordships. In the neighbourhood of Rochdale a big, hulking collier had an extremely diminutive wife, who, it was currently reported, was in the habit of thrashing her husband.
"John," said his master to him one day, "they really say that your wife beats you. Is it true?"
"Ay, aw believe it is," drawled John, with provoking coolness.
"Ay! you believe it is!" responded the master; "what do you mean, you lout? A great thumping fellow like you, as strong as an elephant, to let a little woman like your wife thrash you?"
"Whaw," was the patient answer, "it ple-ases hur, maister, an" it does me no hurt!"
Lancashire humour, though hilarious, is largely unconscious. The unconsciousness resting with the originator and the hilarity with the auditory. In this respect it is allied to Irish more than to Scotch humour, the former having a rollicking and blundering quality, the latter being more subdued, pawky, and intentional. The following were not intended as humorous sallies, and, indeed, they are only humorous from the point of view of the intelligent observer or listener; that is to say, the jest"s prosperity lay in the ear of him who heard it, not in the tongue of him that made it.
During the recent great strike of the Lancashire colliers, coal was scarce and dear, and those who had anything of a stock in their backyards had to keep an eye on it to prevent its being depleted by hands other than their own. One, more fortunate than his neighbours, had reason to suspect that somebody was helping himself to what wasn"t his own--for the reserve of the precious fuel was evidently being tampered with. Accordingly, one night he determined to sit up in the back-kitchen and find out, if possible, whether his suspicions were justified. Shortly he heard a rustling in the coalbunk in the yard, and putting his head half out of the window, which he had left partly open, called out to the depredator:
"You"re pykin" "em out, aw see!"
"Nay, thou"rt a liar, owd mon," was the ready response, "Aw"m ta"en "em as they come."
The thievish neighbour resented the imputation that he was "picking and choosing" instead of "playing fairation" by taking the small and the cobs together. Clearly he was not lost to _all_ sense of honour.
It would hardly have been fair to be picking and choosing under the circ.u.mstances. Beggars, much less thieves, have no right to be choosers.
"Owd Sam," a well-known Bury character, was tired of being domiciled in the Workhouse and thought he would try and get a living outside if he could. Pa.s.sing by the "Derby" he saw Mr Handley, the landlord, standing on the front steps. Seeing Owd Sam coming hobbling up the street:
"h.e.l.lo!" said Handley, "You"re out o" th" Workhouse again, Sam, I see!"
"Ay, maister Handley, aw am for sure, aw"m tiert o" yon shop, an"
aw"ve been round to co" on some o" mi friends, and they"ve promised to buy me a donkey; but aw"m short of a cart; and, maister Handley, if yo" lend me as much as wod buy me a cart, aw"d pay yo back again as soon as ever aw could; aw want to begin sellin" sond and rubbin"
stones, an" things o" that mak, just to mak" a bit ov a livin", fur aw"m gradely tiert o" yon shop."
"Well, well, Sam, but what security can you give me if I lend you the money?"
"Aw just thowt yo"d ax mi that," responded Sam, "an aw"ve been thinkin" abeawt it, an" aw"ll tell yo what aw"ll do, maister Handley, if yo"ll lend mi th" bit o" bra.s.s, _thae shall ha" thi name painted up o" th" cart_."
To fully realise the ludicrous nature of Owd Sam"s proposal, it should be noted that Mr Handley was a smart, dapper, well-dressed personage, a man of substance withal, who knew his importance as the landlord of the "Derby," the chief hotel in the town.
A tramp between Bolton and Bury accosted an old stonebreaker by the road side, and asked him how far it was to the latter place.
"There"s a milestone down theer, thae con look for thi" sel"," was the reply.
"But aw connot read," pleaded the interrogator.
"Well, then, that milestone "ll just suit thee, owd lad. It has nought on it. Th" reading "s gettin" o" wesht off. Go look for thi" sel". If thae connot read, that milestone "ll just suit thee."
A would-be "feighter again th" Boers" enlisted in one of the Lancashire regiments, but, before final acceptance, was sent up to undergo medical examination for fitness. Being rejected by the doctor on account of the bad state of his teeth, he expressed his disgust and astonishment by remarking: "Aw thowt as aw"d ha" to shoot th" Boers!
aw didn"t know as aw"d ha" to worry "em!"
Socialistic ideas have not taken very deep root among the ma.s.ses in Lancashire. Such ideas, indeed, were more prevalently discussed ten years ago than they are to-day. Admirable as the propagandism is in many respects, and desirable in every sense as is the amelioration of the lot of working people, there is a tendency to drifting away from the saner precepts of its earnest advocates towards the levelling notions that engage the minds of the more ignorant and unthinking of its disciples. One of these had read, or been told, that if all the wealth of England were divided equally amongst the people, the interest on each person"s share would yield an income of thirty shillings a week for life. Our Lancashire Socialist friend, expatiating upon the theme to some of his working-men comrades, began to speculate how he would occupy his spare time when in the enviable position of having thirty shillings per week without working. One thing he would do; he would save something out of his allowance and make a trip by train to London at least once a year to feast his eyes on the sights of the Metropolis. One of the listeners, however, demurred to the views expressed, suggesting that the train would have to be drawn by an engine, that this would require a driver and a stoker; a guard also would be necessary to manage the train, with others to attend to his comfort on arrival at his destination. These would be as little inclined to work, possibly, as himself. This view of the matter had not struck our leveller, but it was now brought home to him. So, after ruminating for a moment, and scratching his head to a.s.sist at the solution of the difficulty, he responded: "Well, it seems that _some_ devils would ha" to work, but _aw_ wouldn"t!" That chap had evidently made up his mind.
The genuine Lancashire native is noted for his aptness in conveying the idea he wishes to express. Referring to a mild and open winter one of them remarked, speaking to a friend, "I"m a good deal older than thee, Jim, and I"ve known now and then for a Summer to miss, but I"ve never known a Winter to miss afore." Another, winding up a wrangle with a relative who possessed more of this world"s goods than himself and a.s.sumed airs in consequence, said, "We are akin, yo" cannot scrat that out!"[9]
[9] Licet superbus ambules pecunia, Fortuna non mutat genus.