Database of Poems
[The click of type hath more of might]
1867-8: Representation of the People Acts
Author: Anon
Publication: Paisley Herald and Renfrewshire Advertiser
Published: 20 October 1866
Place of publication: Paisley, Scotland
Publication type: Newspaper/Periodical
No full copy of this poem is available.
Archive/Library: Paisley Central Library
This short poem decorated the lithographers' press that formed part of the Grand Reform Demonstration in October 1866. It evokes Burns in the final final lines ('Shall brothers be for a' that'). The role of trade societies is crucial to understanding the mobilisation of support for all the franchise acts. Here the lithographers make claims for the power of publication to 'batter' castle walls to dust.