"From Old English husting 'court'. This word originated in Old Norse 'husthing', a compound comprising hus 'house' + thing 'assembly'. It was originally a council convened by a king or an earl that acted as a judicial body. By the 18th century it was a court in the city of London that met irregularly in the Guildhall. It was in this building that members of Parliament came to be nominated by a speech given from a platform upon which the Lord Mayor and aldermen were seated. This practice ended with the Ballot Act of 1872. By that time, however, the platform itself was called the hustings and, from there, it went on to refer to the place of any political speech or the process of being nominated or elected to public office." - Dr. Goodword, alphaDictionary.com, 20 Aug 2008.
"From Old English husting 'court'. This word originated in Old Norse 'husthing', a compound comprising hus 'house' + thing 'assembly'. It was originally a council convened by a king or an earl that acted as a judicial body. By the 18th century it was a court in the city of London that met irregularly in the Guildhall. It was in this building that members of Parliament came to be nominated by a speech given from a platform upon which the Lord Mayor and aldermen were seated. This practice ended with the Ballot Act of 1872. By that time, however, the platform itself was called the hustings and, from there, it went on to refer to the place of any political speech or the process of being nominated or elected to public office."
- Dr. Goodword, alphaDictionary.com, 20 Aug 2008.
from Middlemarch