§ A Petition of Gerard Noel Noel esq. William John Tatam, of the borough of Stamford, and William Lowe Peake, of the said borough, butcher, was read; setting forth,
§ "That, at the last election for the said borough held on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th of October last, the petitioner Gerard Noel Noel, together with lord Henniker and Evan Foulkes, attorney at law, were candidates, and the petitioners W. J. Tatam, and W. L. Peake, had a right to vote at such election; and that the petitioner G. N. Noel was injured in his said election, and the other petitioners in then right of voting at the same, by reason that the said election was not held in the usual place in which, from time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary, the election of burgesses to represent the said borough in parliament have accustomed to be held, notwithstanding the place used for holding the election was objected to by the petitioner G. N. Noel, and by reason that the person who was appointed by Mr. Jeremiah Belgrave, the mayor of the said borough, and returning officer at the said election, on the 1st, 2d, and 3d days of the election, to be his assessor, viz. James Torkington esq. barrister at law, and which assessor or assistant was continued in the same employment by Mr. Henry Parker West, the succeeding mayor of the said borough, and returning officer for the said election, on the 4th and last day of the said election, was not appointed with the approbation of the petitioner G. N. Noel, and did manifestly discover partiality in favour of the said lord Henniker and Evan Foulkes, in his decisions on the votes taken; and by reason that James Tomlinson, who was the sworn clerk to take the poll at the said election, did notoriously alter one of the rates of the parish of Saint Mary, in the said borough, after the same had been signed by the magistrates, thereby to impose upon the returning officer, and to enable one Robert Miller to vote, and thereby to promote the 273 election of the said lord Henniker and I Evan Foulkes; and that the name of the right hon. lord Brownlow, the lord lieutenant of Lincoln, and a peer and member of the Lords House of parliament, was made use of to influence the votes of electors at this election, in favour of the said lord Henniker and Evan Foulkes; and that the petitioners W. J. Tatam and W. L. Peake, did severally tender their votes at the said election for the said G. N. Noel, (that is to say), both of them on the 2d day of the said poll, and were unjustly hindered from polling, and refused to be received on the poll, by the said J. Belgrave, and J. Torkington; and that other legal votes tendered for the said G. N. Noel were rejected, and other persons not legally entitled to vote, were admitted to vote; and that sundry voters were induced by threats, and other corrupt means, to vote against the petitioner G. N. Noel, who might otherwise have been at the head of the poll; and praying the House to take the premises into consideration."
§ Ordered to be taken into consideration on the 23d of February.