AS VOTERS voters face the prospect of electing 60 members of the Welsh Parliament on May 6, they are almost certainly likely to adopt a well mannered approach, with some not even bothering to vote at all.

Modern day elections can often be dull and relatively uneventful occasions, despite the occasional intervention of a clash of ideologies between differing political viewpoints which may inject some vigour into an otherwise lack lustre affair.

The extremes to which boisterous supporters went that coloured elections in bygone days and which brought the authorities to the forefront in controlling over exuberant voters are unlikely to be repeated by today's more sober minded electorate.

The Great Reform Act of 1832 added about one quarter of a million voters to electoral lists giving many more people a direct voice in helping to frame legislation which could materially benefit their situation.

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Succeeding years gave everyone the right to vote and this year's election granting 16 year olds voting rights for the first time adds further speculation on the outcome.

In the 1800s some disgruntled voters conveniently ignoring a democratic choice and enlivened by too much to drink, became an unruly mob and in one instance local magistrates were forced to step in to quell a riot.

At the Prince of Wales Hotel in Pontypool in the 1841 general election a rebellious band of voters described as "a beer stained mob" threatened the landlord, who was a loyal Conservative supporter.

Confronted by an angry crowd the landlord armed himself with a shotgun to deter a violent and hostile crowd.

In a bid to quell the disturbance local magistrate Mr T W Kennard read the Riot Act by the light of a candle. Under the Act promulgated in 1715 it was an offence punishable by death for a crowd of 12 or more people to remain for more than one hour after the proclamation had been issued.

This order allowed the military to disperse the crowd by force if necessary. Despite this legal ruling other unruly mobs persisted in venting their fury on local pubs.

Disturbances broke out at various places in Monmouthshire and rioting was particularly severe in Blaenavon after the declaration of the poll in the General Election in which the two Conservative candidates Charles Octavius Morgan, an anti-Catholic with 3,761 votes, and Poulett Henry Somerset, with 3,525 defeated the Liberal Henry Morgan Clifford who polled 2,338 votes.

Embarking on a forlorn quest to turn the tide of history another unruly group marched to the Red Lion pub and carried out a sustained attack on the premises rolling beer casks into the street followed by bottles of wine and spirits. An energetic and high spirited band of hooligans then hauled a piano on to the street and forced it on to a bonfire.

The result dismayed voters in the valley towns who had voted overwhelmingly for the Liberal candidate.

There is no doubt that excessive drinking led to the riot despite the power of local magistrates to close ale houses if circumstances would lead to a serious breach of the peace. But they faced a dilemma: the charge of not being effective enough nor acting speedily resulted from the justice living some distance away and by the time he reached the scene it was too late.

Local police forces were totally inadequate to deal with the scale of unrest and the support of the military was wholly justified.

Seething with discontent the misguided warriors continued to vent their anger in defiance of the law and disturbances at General Elections continued to be a regular feature exacerbated by a shortage of police officers.

By 1857 resources were unable to cope with escalating events which was hardly surprising given that the Monmouthshire force had a compliment of only 37 constables and six sergeants to cover the entire county.

Magistrates, who were the responsible body for law and order, again came to the rescue in Monmouth when they smuggled a candidate from another attacking group and saved him from a dangerous situation.

Historian Clifford Tucker recording the incident in the Monmouthshire Local History Journal says: "At the General Election in 1892 Baron Profumo (grandfather of John Profumo of the Christine Keeler scandal) stood as a Liberal candidate for the new constituency of South Monmouthshire and attempted to unseat the Hon. Frederick Courtney Morgan, a Tory member since 1874.

"After Baron Profumo's public meeting in Monmouth he was jostled by a hostile crowd and pepper was thrown in his face. Supporters who came to his aid included Mr J E Bowen, a Liberal stalwart, whose son Mr Howard Bowen had been a long serving mayor of Monmouth, and they escorted Baron Profumo safely to Troy Station."

An administrative blunder back in the1715 General Election in Monmouth almost led to the elected MP William Bray being disqualified precipitating a likely disturbance. The chairman of Quarter Sessions Thomas Stephens was the Returning Officer but the declaration had been signed by the mayor of Newport (part of the constituency) earning a rebuke from Parliament. The House of Commons reluctantly conceded that the "member was in by right though the proceedings were wrong" and insisted that correct procedures must be followed in future.

Disturbances were not confined to the county. In Newport on polling day in February 1874 when Mr Thomas Cordes, the owner of Dos Nail Works, was elected Conservative MP for the united boroughs of Newport, Monmouth and Usk, disorder broke out despite the presence of 30 police officers.

At the time Newport had more than 120 ale houses and beer retailers and the unruly crowd had certainly taken full advantage of the opportunities available. Reports said a wilful gang became so violent that troops were called in to support local police who found it difficult to control a mob "who were certainly not merely the supporters of the defeated Liberal candidate. There was much drunkenness theft and and violence."

Perhaps it is just as well that such violent turbulence in local politics is now confined to history.

In the meantime maybe we should recall the astute observation of Groucho Marx who declared: "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."