Election handbill

This election handbill was published by the Tory opponents of John Marshall in 1826, when he was standing for parliament as one of the Liberal candidates for the two Yorkshire seats. This was before the 1832 Reform Act gave Leeds its own member of parliament. It accuses Marshall of being a Unitarian (which is equated with atheism) and of investing money abroad (thus not being patriotic). Above all he is criticised for being a manufacturer and not a land-owner. John Marshall was the owner of a pioneering flax mill in Holbeck, Leeds. Despite the propoganda, Marshall was elected as a Liberal MP in 1826 and served until 1830.