From The Kentish Garland, Volume 1: The County in General edited by Julia H. L. De Vaynes, with additional notes [etc.] by Joseph Woodfall Ebsworth (Hertford: Stephen Austin & Sons, 1881), page 328ff:

Kentish Election Group.

We do not consider our opening volume on The County in General could claim to be fairly representative of our Kentish ballad literature, without the insertion of a few flowers or weeds of the poetical (?) crop which plentifully sprang up and flourished during the Kentish elections of by-gone years; when an election was an election indeed, the Ballot undreamed of: while banners, brilliant colours, brimming bumpers, and broken heads, were grand and recognized institutions. We cannot pass over (though they belong to a later period than the majority of our political songs,) the eccentric writings which graced the candidature of one of the most extraordinary beings who ever sought the favour of any constituency—John Tom, of Truro, alias Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta, heir of Powderham Castle, and the Hales estate. Arriving at Canterbury in the beginning of September, 1832, he issued addresses to the electors of the old cathedral city, dated sometimes from his hostelry the "Rose," and at others from Powderham Castle. The opening one on Dec. 5th ought to have at once disposed of any doubt regarding the mental state of its author, and from one to five shillings was offered for copies. Its successors rivalled it in absurdity, but they were nearly outdone by the contents of his weekly paper The Lion, which terminated, after eight numbers, on May 4th, 1833. The fourth number, for April 6th, contained an amusing and mythical account of its author's adventures, in which his style and titles are thus declared:—"Sir William Courtenay, the only male child of the last Lord Courtenay, of Powderham Castle, Devon, heir to the Hales's blood and other lands, King of Jerusalem, Prince of Arabia, King of the Gypsies, Defender of his King and Country, etc." At the City Nomination, on Dec. 10th, 1832, Sir William Courtenay, in presenting himself to the body of citizens assembled in the Hall, did it in the most extraordinary manner, bounding over the heads of those who were before him, and alighting on the table in a theatrical attitude, perfectly à la Kean; his costume adding to the effect of the scene, being composed of crimson velvet and gold, with a mantle and cap to correspond, silk stockings of the same colour, and Turkish slippers, and though considerably handsome, also considerably disfigured by a super-abundance of moustache, etc.*

When the poll was closed on Dec. 12, Sir William had received 375 votes, the numbers for his opponents being—Hon. R. Watson, 834, and Lord Fordwich, 802. The author of the amusing pamphlet, The Eccentric and Singular Productions of Sir W. Courtenay, K. M., etc. (from page 6 of which the above extract is taken), remarks in his introduction (page 4):

"If it be asked how it happened that a stranger, and a stranger with so many evident marks of lunacy about him, could for a moment be thought of, or could find a proposer and seconder on the day of nomination, we must leave the question unanswered. We believe, however, we are not far from the truth, when we add, that there was more of joke than of earnest, more of whim than of serious intention in the business, from first to last. It was laughed at by all parties in the beginning, and while going on; and had the hoax turned out successful, we should like to know who could have refrained from laughing, and that, too, most immoderately."

Sir William was convicted of perjury, on July 25th, 1833, at Maidstone, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment, to be followed by seven years' transportation, but his insanity being certified by the surgeon of Maidstone Gaol, he was removed to Barming Heath, where it would have been better had he spent the remainder of his days, so that the county might have been spared the spectacle of disgraceful ignorance and superstition displayed in "the Courtenay riots," terminating in the Blean Wood tragedy of May 31st, 1838. This madman assured his followers that he had come to earth in a cloud, and would be removed from them in the same manner; that neither bullets nor weapons could injure him or them, if they had faith in him as their Saviour; and that if leader or followers appeared to be slain and their bodies were kept three days, being washed every night with water, on the third day they would return to life! We were assured by the niece of one of his dupes, that (in one case, at least,) the experiment was tried in full faith of success! From the pieces which appeared in "Sir William's" organ, The Lion, and their Election predecessors, we reproduce the following: The Song, and A New Song, are given on page 12 of the collection of Bills, Letters, etc., given in The Eccentric and Singular Productions of Sir W. Courtenay.

[I have put the songs in separate messages following this one.--JD]

We gladly take our leave of "Sir William" and his friends; returning to other and saner subjects. In our Election Group we have no desire to rake together the smouldering ashes of party feuds and prejudices, but only strive to preserve a few noteworthy "squibs," allowing each side to have its say: a fair field and no favour.

* W. Harrison Ainsworth, in Rookwood (Book III. Chapter V.), gives a capital ten stanza ballad on "Sir William," entitled, The Knight of Malta: A Canterbury Tale. ("Come list to me, and you shall have, without a hem or haw, sirs.") The "Knight" thus describes his appearance in verses 2-4:—

To execute my purpose, in the first place, you must know, sirs,
My locks I let hang down my neck—my beard and whiskers grow, sirs:
A purple cloak I next clapped on, a sword tagged to my side, sirs,
And mounted on a charger black, I to the town did ride, sirs.

With my coal-black beard, and purple cloak,
jack-boots, and broad-brimmed castor,
Hey-ho! for the Knight of Malta!

Two pages were there by my side, upon two little ponies,
Decked out in scarlet uniform as spruce as macaronies;
Caparison'd my charger was, as grandly as his master,
And o'er my long and curly locks I wore a broad-brimmed castor.

With my coal-black beard, &c.

The people all flocked forth, amazed, to see a man so hairy,
Oh! such a sight had ne'er before been seen in Canterbury!
My flowing robe, my flowing beard, my horse with flowing mane, sirs!
They stared—the days of Chivalry, they thought, were come again, sirs!

With my coal-black beard, &c.

The 9th stanza succinctly describes the circumstances which caused his conviction for perjury:

At the trial of some smugglers next, one thing I rather queer did,
And the justices upon the bench I literally bearded;
For I swore that I some casks did see, though proved as clear as day, sirs,
That I happened at the time to be some fifty miles away, sirs.

With my coal-black beard, &c.

Mr. Ainsworth in a note to his ballad gives an excellent account of this madman, extracted from "An Essay on his Character, and Reflections on his Trial, published at the theatre of his exploits;" Charles Mackay has an article on the subject in his work on Popular Delusions, and it forms the theme of a very full and most interesting paper in the First Series of Mr. E. Walford's Traditions of Great Families.