Description:Josiah Wedgwood tries to explain his absence when he should have been campaigning for votes to become MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1831:
"As I have lived among you for more than half a century, my character is known to you, of this however it does not become me to speak, but it is for you to judge how far that character justifies your invitation, and entitles me to your support."
Promises
Wedgwood and other like-minded politicians were promising that it would be all change at Westminster if they were elected:
OUT: Sparsely-populated 'rotten boroughs,' which had their own MPs to represent very few people.
IN: Fast-growing industrial towns like Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham would secure their first ever Members of Parliament, rather than having to share with Staffordshire as a whole.
Not convinced?
But electors were also concerned about a clause in the proposed Reform Act that might deprive future generations of the vote.
Wedgwood assures electors that he will address this issue if elected.
About this document
Burslem pottery manufacturer Enoch Wood collected this notice, which is now among the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.