§ A Petition of Charles Lowcock, William Wray, and William Nundy, 189 free burgesses, voters, and electors of the borough of Great Grimsby, in the county of Lincoln, who were voters and voted at the last election for members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough of Great Grimsby, on behalf of themselves and others, free burgesses and voters of the said borough of Great Grimsby, was read; setting forth,
"That, at the last election for the borough of Great Grimsby, on the 6th of October 1812, John Henry Loft, esq., Ebenezer John Collett, esq., Sir Robert Heron, bart., and John Peter Grant, esq., were candidates; and that the said petitioners, who have thereunto signed their names, were then and now are free burgesses and voters of the said borough, and voted at the said last election; and that, on the 5th of October last, being the day preceding the election, William Wardale, esq., the mayor of the said borough, and returning officer, held a full court of mayor, aldermen, common councilman, and burgesses of the said borough, at which said court the said W. Wardale did partially and corruptly, wilfully, unlawfully, and of his own authority, admit certain persons to the freedom of the said borough who were not entitled thereto, and did neglect and refuse to submit to the consideration and judgment of the said court, the claimed right of such persons to be admitted to their freedom, which by the constitution and usage of the said borough he ought to have done; that the said W. Wardale did also partially and corruptly, wilfully, unlawfully, and of his own authority, refuse to admit certain other persons who were entitled and claimed at the said full court to be admitted freemen of the said borough, to their freedom therein, some of whom had been declared, decided, and established by a Committee of the House to have such claims, rights, and titles, and did also neglect and refuse to submit to the aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses of the said borough, in the said full court assembled, the rights and claims of such persons to be admitted to their freedom of the said borough, and which, by the constitution and usage of the said borough, be ought to have done; that the said W. Wardale did wilfully, partially, corruptly, illegally, and of his own authority, in direct violation of the laws of the realm, the constitution and usage of the said borough, and also in wilful opposition to the decisions of Committees of the House, and which 190 decisions had been established by Orders and Resolutions of the House, persist in discharging the said full court of mayor, aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses on the evening of the said 5th of October, although he then knew that many persons who had rights and claims to be admitted to their freedoms of and in the said borough were then waiting and remaining in the said borough for that purpose, who had spoken to him the said W. Wardale thereupon, and to whom he had given his promise that the said full court should be adjourned until the next morning, as was usually and heretofore the case, and on which day, being Tuesday, it ought to have been held: but he, finding that the whole, or nearly so, of the persons then within the borough, who were likely to vote for the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant, whose cause and interest he had most publicly and glaringly espoused, had gained their admissions, he, by the most determined, wilful, and flagrant injustice, discharged the court, not only without putting it to the consideration and judgment of the aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses, but in direct and positive opposition to the almost unanimous claim of them all, upon a motion put by one alderman, a burgess, and seconded by another alderman, a burgess, to have it adjourned to the next morning, as by law and the custom and usage of the said borough he ought to have done, but he actually did order the discharge, and did discharge the said court accordingly without any adjournment; and that, on the next day, the 6th of October last, being the day of election, great numbers of persons having undoubted rights and claims to be admitted to their freedoms of the said borough, did make application to and demand of the said W. Wardale, in court, to hold a full court, that they might be legally admitted, and did demand and claim to be so admitted to their freedom of the said borough, without which they were incapable of using their elective franchises and birth-rights at the said election for members to serve in this present parliament, and which said demands and applications for the said full court and admissions to the freedom of the said borough were supported by great numbers of the aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses, to prevent such wilful, determined, and flagrant acts of injustice; but the said W. Wardale, did most wilfully, wantonly, vexatiously, cor- 191 ruptly, partially, illegally, and of his own authority, refuse to hold such full court for the admission of the said persons to their freedoms of the said borough, and did refuse to put their claims for their admissions to their freedoms of the said borough to the aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses then and there assembled, but did most wantonly, vexatiously, and corruptly refuse to grant them their said freedoms of the said borough, and did proceed to the election without attending to those persons who unimpeachably claimed their freedoms by the unquestionable rights of birth, marriage, and servitude, which claims and demands were many times repeated in the course of the said 6th of October by the said parties, and by burgesses on their behalf, which said claims and demands the said W. Wardale constantly resisted and refused, as also to put their said claims and demands to the judgment of the said aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses so assembled for their decision, which, according to the usage and customs of the said borough of Great Grimsby, he ought to have done; and, for the neglect of so submitting the said claims to the said aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses so assembled, the said W. Wardale could not use the plea of ignorance, having been a go woman on the bench, and taking an active part and opposition to John Simpson the mayor and returning officer of the said borough in July 1802, when the said John Simpson took upon himself to decide like claims and rights without submitting them to the judgment and decision of the aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses then and there assembled, for which the House, to mark its indignation, and to be a warning and example to other mayors and returning officers of the said borough of Great Grimsby, did commit the said John Simpson, the then said mayor and returning officer, to his majesty's gaol of Newgate: That the said W. Wardale, at and during the said last election, did act most partially and corruptly in the execution of his said office of returning officer, and did at the poll reject the votes of many persons having right and rights to vote at the said election, and who tendered their votes for the said J. H. Loft and the said E. J. Collett esquires, and which votes he, as such returning officer at the said election, ought to have received and admitted on the poll; and the only reasons that they 192 were not so received and placed on the said poll, were his own acts of injustice, partiality, and corruption, in not holding the full court for their admissions to their freedoms of the said borough, and some of which persons had been decided to have legal rights by a decision of a Committee of the House on a former Petition being tried: That the said W. Wardale, the said mayor and returning officer, did, at the said last election, receive and admit on the said poll, for the said sir R. Heron, bart., and J. P. Grant, the votes of divers paupers, felon-convicts, non-resident or foreign freemen, and others who had no right to vote at the said election, and which votes he, the said W. Wardale, as such returning officer, ought to have rejected: That persons having rights to vote at the said last election, and who went for the purpose of tendering their votes for the said J. H. Loft, and E. J. Collett, were prevented going into the hall by armed persons, stationed at the door by the said W. Wardale, the said returning officer, and never could tender their votes; and that the said sir R. Heron, bart., and J. P. Grant were, and each of them, by himself, his agents, managers, and others, on their and his behalf, before, at, and during the said election, and before and during the poll taken at the said election, guilty of the most open and notorious bribery and corruption of the electors of the said borough, to give their votes for them and each of them the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant, and to refuse and forbear to give their votes for the said J. EL Loft and E. J. Collett, in order that they the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant might be returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough: That the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant, and each of them, by himself his agents and managers, and by other persons on his and their behalf, at and during the said election, and previous to the same, did, by gifts, loans and rewards, and by threats, promises, agreements and securities for gifts, loans and rewards, corrupt and procure, and attempt to corrupt and procure, divers persons, being electors of the said borough, to give their votes at the said election for them the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant, and each of them, that they the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant might be elected and returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough; that they and each of them also did, by gifts, loans and rewards, 193 and by threats, promises and agreements, and securities for gifts, loans and rewards, corrupt and procure, and attempt to corrupt and procure, divers persons being electors of the said borough to refuse and forbear to give their votes at the said election for the said J. H. Loft and E. J. Collett, that the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant might be elected and returned for the said borough: That the said sir R. Heron, bart., and J. P. Grant, and each of them, by himself, his agents, managers, friends, and other persons on his and their behalf, were guilty of the most open and public bribery and corruption, in giving sums of money, and promises and securities for sums of money to the corporation, and to and for the use and benefit of the corporation and corporators, such corporators being voters, and having had votes in the said last election for the said borough, and that they were also guilty of bribery and corruption in giving sums of money to and for the use and benefit of the said borough previous to, at, and during the said last election of members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough, in order that they the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant might be elected and returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough: That the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant did, after the dissolution of the last parliament, and after the issuing of the writ for the election of this present parliament, and at and during the said last election, by themselves and their agents, managers and friends, and by others on their behalf, and at their charge, and each of them, by himself, his agents, friends, and managers, and by others on his behalf, and at his charge, give, present, and allow to divers persons having voices in the said election, and to and for their use and benefit, money, meat, drink, entertainment, and provision, and make presents, gifts, rewards, and entertainments, and promises, agreements, obligations, and engagements, to give and allow money, meat, drink, provisions, presents, rewards, and entertainments to and for divers persons having voices in the said last election, and to and for the use, advantage, emolument, benefit, profit, and preferment of such persons, in order that they the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant might be elected and returned, and for their being elected and returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough, contrary to the common laws and customs of parliament, in 194 violation and defiance of the standing order and orders of the House, and of the laws and statutes of this kingdom, particularly an Act of the 7th and 8th of king William 3, intituled, An Act for preventing charge and expence in the elections of members to serve in parliament, an Act of the 2d of king George the 2d, intitled, An Act for the more effectual preventing bribery and corruption in the elections of members to serve in parliament; an Act of the 49lh year of his present Majesty, intitled, An Act for better securing the independence and purity of parliament, by preventing the procuring or obtaining of seats in parliament by corrupt practices; and that the said sir R. Heron end J. P. Grant did each of them declare to those persons having voices in the said election, and which statements were made previous thereto, that they had the interest of two peers of parliament, by which means they acquired an undue influence over many of the voters who would otherwise have voted for the said J. H. Loft and E. J. Collett; and that by this unconstitutional mode, in violation of the orders of the House, and by other undue influence and means which were used, many votes were lost to the said J. H. Loft and E. J. Collett, for the purpose of the said sir R. Heron and the said J. P. Grant being elected and returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough: that by the above-stated and other unlawful means the said sir R. Heron and J. P. Grant obtained a colourable majority over the said J. H. Loft and E. J Collett of votes upon the poll of the said last election, and were returned members to serve in this present parliament for the said borough of Grimsby, to the very great injury of the petitioners, and many other of the legal electors of the said borough, in manifest violation of their privileges and rights, and in open defiance of the law" and freedom of election: that the petitioners humbly conceive that the said J. H. Loft and the said E. J. Collett had the greatest number of legal and uncorrupted votes at the said last election; and praying, that the House will be pleased to take their most peculiarly hard case under their most serious consideration, and that they will grant them such relief as to the House may seem meet."
§ Ordered to be taken into consideration on the 16th of February.