This day in.....

[finsobruce]

1721

Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister. Or rather the first person to be recognized as such by history. Or.... (insert your historical take here)

[finsobruce]

1900

On this day in 1900 the Hereford Journal reported the results of the local elections.

It noted that in Presteigne only two candidates were nominated for three seats, so "it is stated that Mr R A Pugh who polled the highest number of votes three years ago, will take third place".

Whether he wanted to or not, presumably.

[The Bishop]

Apr 4, 2019 7:42:44 GMT finsobruce said:

1721

Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister. Or rather the first person to be recognized as such by history. Or.... (insert your historical take here)

I don't suppose there are any plans to mark the 300th anniversary of this?

[Deleted]

Apr 7, 2019 9:50:27 GMT The Bishop said:

Apr 4, 2019 7:42:44 GMT finsobruce said:

1721

Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister. Or rather the first person to be recognized as such by history. Or.... (insert your historical take here)

I don't suppose there are any plans to mark the 300th anniversary of this?

There will be a general distribution of brown envelopes.

[finsobruce]

1932

The Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin review reported that during a recent by-election in Aberdeen, one of the candidates had expressed a desire to tax people's memories.

[Forfarshire Conservative]

Apr 8, 2019 13:32:08 GMT finsobruce said:

1932

The Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin review reported that during a recent by-election in Aberdeen, one of the candidates had expressed a desire to tax people's memories.

Wow, something more petty than the pasty tax. 

[finsobruce]

1899

At the count for the district council eletions in Dunleer, Co Louth it was discovered that the presiding officer had stamped all the 183 ballot papers with the voter's register number thus making them all identfiable.

Or rather all but one ballot paper. This was marked for Mr Maguire and Mr Larchy. The Returning officer (having taken legal advice) ruled it valid and declared Maguire and Larchy elected, beating the other candidate Mr Ward by one vote to nil.

[finsobruce]

1861

The House of Commons debated the second reading of the Borough Franchise bill. An amendment was proposed by Edward Baines, Liberal MP for Leeds that the proposed rate at which householders were enfranchised should be lowered from £10 to £6. It was stated that the then current number of Borough voters stood at 442,210 and that a £6 franchise would raise this to 653,479, an increase of 48 per cent. He also noted that 27 per cent of £10 franchise holders failed to register to vote.

It was opposed by the Tory MP Stephen Cave (Shoreham) who said that like the government they wanted a change to the electorate which was "just,moderate and safe". It was also opposed by Adam Black Liberal MP for Edinburgh who said that merely lowering the franchise was not reform. Black was at that point the publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

"The bill was thus lost amidst the boisterous cheers of the Conservative Party".

[carlton43]

Apr 12, 2019 9:31:48 GMT finsobruce said:

1861

The House of Commons debated the second reading of the Borough Franchise bill. An amendment was proposed by Edward Baines, Liberal MP for Leeds that the proposed rate at which householders were enfranchised should be lowered from £10 to £6. It was stated that the then current number of Borough voters stood at 442,210 and that a £6 franchise would raise this to 653,479, an increase of 48 per cent. He also noted that 27 per cent of £10 franchise holders failed to register to vote.

It was opposed by the Tory MP Stephen Cave (Shoreham) who said that like the government they wanted a change to the electorate which was "just,moderate and safe". It was also opposed by Adam Black Liberal MP for Edinburgh who said that merely lowering the franchise was not reform. Black was at that point the publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

"The bill was thus lost amidst the boisterous cheers of the Conservative Party".

These are excellent and I look forward to each one.

[finsobruce]

1930

In Hartlepool there was a by-election in the North East ward of West Hartlepool Town Council caused by the resignation of Mr Stanley Newton. One of the candidates, Mr Will Potter addressed two meetings, one at the Exchange School and the other at Brougham school in support of his candidacy. He said that some people said politics should not enter municipal elections but noted that "the present government's bill had already taken off the local rates some 350 people who had had their benefits restored and the costs would have to be met nationally. Unemployment should be a national burden and distressed areas like this should not be made to bear the very heavy burden themselves".

After addressing the electrification of two hundred cottage houses "which would make the municipal elecricity works even more profitable than they were today" and the possible beneficial effects for the local area of £5,000,000 worth of orders from Russia mentioned in the previous day's Daily Mail, Potter expressed the hope that the percentage of people who would vote would be considerably increased from the "only just over fifty per cent" of voters who had turned out in November.

[Crimson King]

Apr 8, 2019 14:00:37 GMT Forfarshire Conservative said:

Apr 8, 2019 13:32:08 GMT finsobruce said:

1932

The Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin review reported that during a recent by-election in Aberdeen, one of the candidates had expressed a desire to tax people's memories.

Wow, something more petty than the pasty tax. 

possibly a misunderstanding of a proposal to tax madeleines

[finsobruce]

1957

It was announced that Cllr G W Hardy would be seeking re-election to the Alfreton ward of Alfreton UDC at the age of 78. He was the longest serving member of the authority, having first been elected in 1921.

In Morecambe there was a last minute nomination in Heysham South ward. Mr Tom Hill, a retired banker, announced he would stand as an "Anti Illuminationist" candidate. He had previously been to court for refusing to pay that portion of his rates bill allocated to the town's illuminations. His opponent, and the sitting (Tory) member Cllr W Milner, was chair of the Illuminations committee.

In Rugby the "Rugby Advertiser" gave biographies of all the candidates.Joseph Stretton the Labour candidate, was unopposed in North East ward. It was noted that his wife was the "Local Fuel Overseer" for the town.

In the same week the local Conservative Association in Rugby chose a Northampton councillor Mr John Poole as their prospective parliamentary candidate. In the 1955 election he had stood against Labour's Maurice Edelman in Coventry North. The report stated that "Mr Poole has a special knowledge of Communism".

[finsobruce]

1800

The funeral took place at Brampton of Rowland Nicholson, a retired shoemaker and freeman of Carlisle. It was noted that Nicholson had voted at fifteen elections and was "much attached to J.C.Curwen Esq, Sir F F Vane and the blue interest there".

As specified in his will he had a blue coffin, with four bearers all having blue ribbons in their hats.

[finsobruce]

1919

The case of the Penzance Billposting Company vs Capt Thomas Francis Trecoye Michell came to the County Court.

The company were suing Michell for £18 8s 6d for the costs of producing and distributing his election material in the St Ives constituency in the General Election of 1918. Michell had stood as an Independent Unionist in the seat against the sitting Liberal MP Clifford Cory who had been given the Coaltion coupon. The ballot paper was completed by Labour's Albert Dunn who had previously been Liberal MP for Camborne (1906-18) and who also stood in the seat in 1923.

The plaintiff's barrister Mr J Vivian Thomas stated that Michell disputed that all the work had been done and that there should be deductions to the tune of £7 9s 6d ; "It seems to be a practise in all the cases for Capt Michell to fix what other people should charge him". Mr Leonard Williams for the company stated that election work was charged at a higher rate as it was always urgent and they had employed a discharged soldier for ten days as well as their usual staff. The Agent for Cory stated that the invoice seemed to him to be a reasonable one and he had been charged more in other areas.

In his defence Michell called Edward Jasper, the Town Crier of Penzance who said that although the bill seemed a fair one he did not think it possible for the company to have used 1,440 Double Crown bills on their hoardings, which he had measured at Michell's request. Under cross examination he admitted that he had been forced out of business by the forerunner of the Penzance Bill Posting Company and had engaged in fly posting, which he had never had any complaints about. He had permission to stick bills on Blacksmiths shops (oh! is it that long ago. Ed.)

His Honour Judge Gent found for the plaintiffs as the defendent had no proof that the work had not been done, at which Michell said he would appeal. Judge Gent pointed out that as the amount was under £20 there was no automatic right of appeal, and as no point of law was involved he would refuse permission to appeal. Capt Michell could go to the Divisional court and tell them he had refused leave to appeal.

Capt Michell: "Thank You".

[neilm]

These are excellent. Thank you.

[finsobruce]

1742

There was a by-election in Peterborough! Uncontested, as "Armistead Parker was unanimously elected....in the room of Earl Fitzwilliams".

The Right Honourable Marquis of Tweeddale, having been elected one of the sixteen peers of Scotland, in the room of the Earl of Hoptoun, took his seat in the House of Peers".

[finsobruce]

1965

Arthur Saunders-Singer was standing as the Conservative candidate for the Katesgrove ward of Reading Borough. "The People" newspaper pointed out that Mr Saunders-Singer had been a "Socialist" councillor up to two years previously and a Liberal from eighteen months ago.

Interviewed by the paper at his scientific instruments shop in London Road Mr Saunders-Singer said: "I have been groping towards the light. Conservatives are nice people. Well Mannered. Intelligent. And they make such good committee chairmen"

[finsobruce]

1932

Polling took place in a by election for the Portobello ward of Edinburgh with the following result:

Mr James Edward (Moderate): 2362
Dr Stanley Robertson (Scots Nat): 661

Ten spoiled ballot papers, 20% turnout.

[finsobruce]

1873

The voting for the Cortes in the Spanish Republic resulted in the election of 360 Federal Republicans, 20 member of the "old Zorilla party" (moderate liberals) and 10 Conservatives.

Reynold's Newspaper also noted that a Carlist conspiracy had been discovered in Madrid and three arrests made. At Ingolunds three priests had also been arrested on suspicion of being Carlists, and it was added that Carlists had been appearing at various places in groups of twenty "demanding an amnesty".

[finsobruce]

1909

A delegation of about forty councillors from Manchester and Salford were entertained in Dussledorf by the Burgomeister Herr Marx. Marx declared that the visit was the most recent in a series of endeavours designed to "destroy misunderstandings which had clouded relations between the two great nations" and that the motto for the future would be "Honest Competition in Honest Friendship". Wonder how that turned out...

At lunch he proposed the health of King Edward VII.