On This Day in Wembury — 24 March 1880
Colonel John Sterling of Wembury Enters the Political Arena
On 24 March 1880, the Western Morning News printed an election address from Lieutenant-Colonel John Sterling of Wembury House, South Plymouth, announcing his intention to stand as a Liberal candidate for East Devon in the forthcoming general election. The statement, titled “Electors of East Devon,” was an impassioned appeal to voters during one of the most turbulent political contests of Victorian Britain.
Sterling’s address urged fellow Devonians to unite behind William Gladstone’s Liberal leadership, declaring that at “a crisis like the present in the history of the country,” all patriotic Englishmen should strive to forward “that line of our country’s politics which may seem to them to be the most just.”
He contrasted what he called the “peaceful and economical course” of the Liberal Government with the “wasteful and dangerous policy of the present Conservative Administration,” referring to Disraeli’s foreign wars and imperial adventures. Sterling praised reforms in education and local governance and argued for greater justice for farmers and labourers through improved agricultural holdings legislation.
“I have been called on to give the electors of East Devon an opportunity of recording their votes for a true Liberal candidate,” he wrote, signing his letter,
“I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, John Sterling, Lieut.-Colonel, Wembury House, South Plymouth, 19th March 1880.”
Though not a career politician, Colonel Sterling was well known locally as a landowner and community figure, active in parish affairs and remembered for his disciplined fairness. His candidacy symbolised the engagement of rural Devon’s landed gentry in the wider push for reform and civic representation.
Source: Western Morning News (Plymouth), Wednesday 24 March 1880 — “Electors of East Devon: Address from Lieut.-Colonel John Sterling, Wembury House, South Plymouth.”