I know Kiwis complain about our politicans a lot, but there was a time in this country where party whips would lock some MPs up before important votes, to prevent them becoming too drunk to even cast a vote. On at least one occasion these precautions were thwarted by the opposition lowering a bottle of whiskey down the chimney to the captive MP beneath - Edward Jerningham Wakefield. Even less of a credit to Parliament was his father Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who had, prior to his election, done time in prison for kidnapping a 15 year old girl from school in order to marry her. #nzpol #history #EdwardWakefield