Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

The leaders of the Whig party were very much alarmed. A most exciting canvass was prosecuted with the greatest vigor. Luckily for us the coalition was composed very largely of young men, among them plenty of able and vigorous debaters, full of youth, energy, and strength, such as Burlingame, Banks, Rantoul, and others, who afterwards made themselves famous.

The election came off with very curious results. So far as Lowell was concerned the hope for our success gave courage to the operatives in the mills, for we promised them protection from any unlawful acts against themselves. In consequence nine out of ten of the Lowell candidates for representative, Coalitionists and ten-hour men, were elected by a respectable majority, the tenth man being an Irish gentleman who failed to receive some native American votes. These candidates were elected against the most vigorous opposition, not only of the managers in Lowell, but of the whole Whig party of the State; for upon us, as it afterwards turned out, the politics of the State hinged. The governor and lieutenant-governor were not elected. Less than one third of the senators were elected, but those elected were substantially all of Coalitionist persuasion. There were vacancies for representatives in a large number of towns, and a considerable number had voted not to send any, as a means of avoiding another election to fill the vacancy on the fourth Monday of November. Upon a careful examination of the returns and of the probable number of representatives who would be elected on that day, it was quite apparent that the nine ten-hour representatives from Lowell would give the coalition a majority of the legislature and the State government to the Democracy, because, by their vote in joint legislative convention, the vacancies in the Senate would be filled by Coalitionists, and that would establish such a majority in convention with the House that the governor would be elected, and he would have the appointment of all the principal State officers. Therefore the pressure upon the towns which had failed to elect representatives became very heavy, but in most of those the Coalitionists were able to return blow for blow.

Something must be done to change the result in Lowell. What should it be? A ward clerk had made a return to the Lowell board of aldermen stating that the whole number of votes in that ward was eight thousand. It was, in fact, eight hundred, but he multiplied