§ A Petition of John Allen, of the city of Bath, and of Samuel Colleton Graves, of Hembury Fort, in the county of Devon, esquires, was delivered in and read; setting forth,
§ "That at the last election of two citizens to represent the city of Bath in this 149 present parliament, the petitioners; the right hon. John Thynne esq. commonly called lord John Thynne, and Charles Palmer, esq. were candidates; and that the notice of the said election was not in pursuance to the sheriff's precept, and that Joseph Phillott, the then mayor and returning officer, acted with gross partiality, and refused to admit the petitioners as candidates, though duly qualified by law to be so, and legally proposed at the said election; and that the said Joseph Phillott, the returning officer, with 21 others, self-appointed, claiming to be freemen, were exclusively proceeding to elect two members of parliament in the Guildhall, the doors of which were closed on the freemen and citizens of the said city, at the hour appointed for the election to commence, being also guarded by above 30 ruffians called bludgeon-men, who were protected in all their gross outrages and violence on the freemen and citizens of the said city, contrary to the freedom of election, the express law of the land, and the privileges of the House, and so continued till the Guildhall was thrown open with some violence from without; and that the Durham Act was not read, though repeatedly required; and that on trivial pretences, and without any justifiable reason, a large military force was introduced into the said city, during the election, to disperse a portion of the freemen legally assembled, and to prevent the exercise of their elective franchise contrary to their rights and the privileges of the House; and that the said Joseph Phillott, as returning officer, refused to admit a majority of the freemen of the said city to vote for the petitioners, and admitted to vote at the said election only 22 persons, styling themselves the mayor, aldermen, common council and freemen of the city of Bath, most of whom have been illegally admitted to the freedom of the said city, and most of whom are also honorary freemen not qualified to vote, thereby giving to 22 self-appointed individuals the exclusive right of choosing two representatives for a city containing a population of 35,000 persons, and excluding the whole body of the freemen who have legally and constitutionally obtained the right of freedom in the said city, and who have voted in the election of members to represent the city of Bath in parliament from time immemorial, till they were illegally deprived of the same by the admission of a new order of persons styling 150 themselves freemen, who purchase the same at 250l. each, and which sum is never accounted for to the legal freemen, though they are entitled to partake of the receipts of the estates belonging to the freemen of the said city, and that the right of electing two members to represent the city of Bath has been usurped by 30 individuals, many of whom do not ever reside in the said city, and others hold sinecure places and pensions to a great amount in the court of Exchequer, Lottery Office, Stamp Office, and other situations under government, and that the said Joseph Phillott, as mayor and returning officer, refused to admit a majority of legal votes who desired to vote for the petitioners, and received others who had not been duly admitted to their freedom to vote for the sitting members, whereby a colourable majority was obtained for lord John Thynne and Charles Palmer esq., who were not duly qualified to represent the said city as the law directs; and praying such relief as to the House shall appear meet."
§ Ordered to be taken into consideration upon the 11th of February next.