From this newspaper 150 years ago, (July 1 1865)

The letters column was full of accusations about the conduct of the election in the North Riding, which returned two MPs. The sitting MPs, the Honourable William Duncombe (Conservative) and Sir Frederick Milbank (Liberal) were both standing again, along with William Morritt (Conservative) whom Sir Frederick had unseated in 1862.

Two correspondents who signed themselves “A Pair of Liberal Nut Grinders” alleged that the Tory candidates were printing the names of supporters who did not in fact support them, while Augustus Sussex Milbank – who was probably Sir Frederick’s sister – said she listened to the two Tories making speeches from a window in the King’s Head Hotel in Masham to the crowd down below. She said: “It rarely ever fell to the lot of an intelligent crowd to listen to two speeches that were conspicuous for being both rambling in style and incoherent in matter.”

But from Askrigg, there came word that Mr Milbank’s agent, John Lamb of Barnard Castle, was sending a terrifying letter to his tenants. Mr Lamb’s letter said: "I have just heard to my great astonishment that you are going to vote for Duncombe and Morritt. I, being your landlord, request and insist upon your giving your vote to Mr Milbank at all events. No split."

The paper carried a report of a rally in Thirsk, where the Tories addressed the crowd from an upstairs window in the Fleece Hotel.

Mr Duncombe went first and “received a partial hearing”. “When he retired, Mr Morritt came forward from the same window, but was received very unfavourably. He persevered for about 20 minutes, but finding it of no use, put down the window, and addressed the reporter and the committee (inside the room), but finding that a riot was likely to take place outside, the window was sent up again, and Mr Morritt for about half an hour answered questions put to him.”

His answers obviously didn’t go down too well: the North Riding elected Mr Duncombe and Sir Frederick once more.

100 years ago

(July 3, 1915)

Annie Russell, of Paddy's Row, Eldon Lane, appeared before Bishop Auckland magistrates charged with the attempted murder of her infant son by placing him on the railway near Shildon Tunnel.

After a row with her husband, Mrs Russell, who was described as “mad drunk” was seen by several witnesses "to go to the railway and place the child on one of the rails, aferwards leaving it and going in the direction of Shildon”. Inspector Headen rescued the child and caught up with the mother, who became so violent that the policeman could not contain her on his own.

At Shildon police station, she said she wished the officer had "let the engine run over the little -----" (if only the sub-editors hadn’t deleted her expletive – it would be fascinating to know what Anglo-Saxon word she used).

Her defence solicitor, Mr Brown-Humes, “said prisoner had been married 17 years and had had 11 children. The eldest son was on active service; two daughters were deaf mutes, and another son was in an industrial school. The child in question was her favourite, being one of twins, and the other had died. He asked the bench to take a lenient view of the case, promising that the husband would look after the woman and keep her away from drink.”

The magistrates remanded her in custody, to be sentenced at a later date.

50 years ago

(July 3, 1965)

The column entitled “Topical Notes for Women by Helen Guthrie” contained some invaluable advice about spuds.

Ms Guthrie wrote: “Potatoes are vegetables that don't take kindly to preservatives of any kind and when the fresh British garden ones finally do appear on the scene, they are worth taking a bit of time and trouble over.

“Never buy too many at a time, certainly not more than four days’ supply, and try to select them with a coating of moist soil.”

Ms Guthrie was writing in the pre-supermarket days, long before the concept of pre-washed potatoes.

She continued: “Handle them with care because oddly enough they do bruise, just like apples, and if exposed to light for too long, change colour.

“If you must scrape them the night before cooking, put a dash of milk into the water in which they are standing, to cloud it and they won't discolour too much.

“Small ones lend themselves to slow oven cooking. Put as many as required on a large sheet of foil, add a dab or two of butter, sprig of mint and salt, fold the foil into a parcel and bake in a moderate oven for 35 to 40 minutes – a useful method for ovens with a time switch.”

Chris Lloyd