Broadside entitled 'The Liberal's Catechism, Dropt at the Meeting of the Fourth District, by One of the Clique'

Commentary

This political broadside begins: 'Q. Are you a candidate for a seat in the Town Council? / A. Yes, I am. / Q. To what party do you belong? / A. I am a Liberal. / Q. Will you have the goodness to explain what you mean by that / term? / A. I mean true liberality, which consist in excluding from all power or influence every person whose political sentiments differs in the slightest / degree from my own.' There are no publication details included on this sheet.

Written in the question and answer style of a religious catechism, this political broadside is very similar to the interviews performed by today's journalists on prevaricating politicians. All the readers know about the interviewee is that he is a Liberal who is hoping to be elected to the Town Council. Although the identities of the protagonists remain anonymous, the questions themselves reveal much about what may have been important to the electorate during this era - especially the questions regarding religion. Although it appears to be a straightforward interview session, there are some points which hint at a satirical and slightly subversive tone on the writer's part.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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