Labouchere then went abroad, returning to England in January for a fortnight, during which time he gave a dinner at Windsor, held a public meeting, and identified himself as much as it was possible to do, in so short a time, with the local interests of the borough. In May, 1865, Mr. Flower retired from the candidature, because he felt that his agents, Grant and Dunn, had compromised him by corrupt practices. As these gentlemen had hired as many as twenty public houses for committee rooms, a number ludicrously out of proportion to the size of the constituency, he acted wisely in doing so. He informed Labouchere of his decision. Mr. Darvill also wrote, recommending Labouchere to return to England, and if he really intended to stand for Windsor, to take some steps for insuring his return by appointing agents, and taking the usual preliminary precautions. To continue the narrative in Mr. Labouchere's own words: "Sir Henry Hoare, a day or two after my return to England, called upon me to tell me that he had been in communication with Mr. Darvill, and that as Mr. Darvill {76} had told me he thought that, if two Liberal candidates acted firmly together, both might be returned, he came to propose to me to make common cause with him. The next day we called together on Mr. Durrant, a London solicitor, who had acted for Sir Henry Hoare, and we begged him to go down to Windsor, and after seeing the principal Liberals, to report to us the state of affairs. This he did. He told us Mr. Flower had engaged twenty committee rooms--a number which was clearly too great, and he recommended us to take on nine of them. We sent him down to Windsor again to arrange about the committee rooms and about taking on agents, and he, in conjunction with Mr. Last, retained the usual Liberal agents, who were the same as had been engaged by Mr. Flower. It was distinctly understood at the same time, that we only took on nine committee rooms. Mr. Flower, after, I believe, a long correspondence with Mr. Cleave, agreed to pay for the eleven committee rooms which he had engaged. Sir Henry Hoare and I were both returned as members for Windsor." It was an unfortunate action, however, on the part of the two Liberal candidates to make use of the same agents who had compromised Mr. Flower, and it cost them their seats. The election took place in November, 1865, and the result of the poll was as follows: Sir Henry Hoare 324 votes Mr. Labouchere 323 " Mr. Vansittart (Cons.) 291 " Col. Vyse (Cons.) 261 " On April 26, 1866, the chairman of a select committee,[2] appointed to try the merits of the petition against the return {77} of Sir Henry Hoare and Mr. Labouchere for the borough of New Windsor, on the grounds that it was obtained by means of bribery, treating, and undue influence, announced that the committee had arrived at the following determination: