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Elections were exciting times and Hertford Borough election of 1832 was no exception. The following extract from the account by James Smith paint a vivid picture of the hustings.

The candidates on the Whig side were handsome Tom Duncombe, the pet of the green-room of Covent-garden and Drury Lane, and an equal favourite in the foyer of what was then His Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket. Probably a more engaging gentleman never left his name on the books of Stultz or Hoby; and at this distance of time it is pleasant to recall the charm of his manner, the winsome accents of his voice, the brightness of his smile, and the good-humoured self-possession he exhibited as he faced the crowd of upturned heads, half of whom greeted him with a hoarse roar of applause, while the other half howled and hooted like so many infuriated demons. His colleague was a podgy little distiller named Currie, one of the nouveaux riches, I believe, whose bustling self-importance and plutocratic pomposity were in striking contrast with the perfect ease and savoir faire of the elegant man about town who stood by his side. Opposed to them was Lord Ingestre, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury, a slight young man, with a pleasant air, and a certain consciousness of strength derived from the fact that he was the protégé of Hatfield-house which exercised no small influence in Hertford. With him was associated Lord Mahon, the historian, whose slight figure and refined and intellectual face seemed strangely out of place looking down upon the rough, tumultous crowd below. Except by those upon the hustings, not much could be heard of the speeches of the proposers and seconders, or of the candidates themselves. What with the cheers of their partisans and the groans of their opponents the uproar was deafening. Fragments of a probably imaginary biography of each of the speakers were interjected, and questions were asked concerning the private lives of the candidates, which evinced either an intimate knowledge of their domestic history, or the possession of a lively imagination by the querists. When Duncombe spoke, there was a vehement waving of handkerchiefs and of blue and buff favours from a host of fair admirers in the windows opposite, and when either of the young noblemen essayed to address the crowd there were similar manifestations of feeling from the ladies seated in houses devoted to the blue and pink cause. On the extreme edge of the surging mass the rival bands were stationed, and these did their level best to drown the oratory of their political opponents by blare of trumpets and beat of drum.

From the book A Quaint Old Fashioned Place.