NOTTINGHAM WRIT. (Hansard, 3 May 1866)

§ MR. AYRTON
said, he rose to move that Mr. Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a New Writ for the electing of two Burgesses to serve in this present Parliament for the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, in the room of Sir Robert Juckes Clifton, baronet, and Samuel Morley, Esq., whose elections have been determined to be void.

MR. REMINGTON MILLS
thought that the House before it issued the Writ should not overlook one or two important passages in the Report of the Committee on the Nottingham Election Petition. The Committee reported that violent and tumultuous proceedings took place at the last election for Nottingham, and that on the day of polling especially, bands of men armed with sticks committed various outrages on persons and property, and created alarm which was not without its influence on the result of the election. The fact was that for a fortnight before the election the town was in the possession of the mob, 431 and so alarmed were the magistrates that the muniments of the town were taken from the office where they were kept, and sent into the country for security. On one occasion, when there was a meeting on behalf of Paget and Morley, the mob took possession of the hustings, smashed the windows of the hotel, and drove their supporters to another part of the building. And Mr. Mundella gave evidence that, although his own house was watched day by day by the county police, during their absence for half an hour, stones were thrown through the windows, and the inmates greatly alarmed. An election ought not only to be pure but also free, and that could not be the case where the voters were intimidated by a lawless mob. Some of the rioters were taken before the magistrates, but they were discharged the next day, and he thought that nothing could be more encouraging to a mob than such a mode of dealing with those who had been guilty of a serious riot. Many of the magistrates being owners of large mills, were afraid that if they took active measures against the rioters their property would be jeopardized. Something ought to be done to secure the peace of a large town with 80,000 inhabitants; and he thought that under these circumstances it was necessary that a stipendiary magistrate, who would not be likely to be influenced by local considerations, should be appointed. He should be sorry to interrupt the issue of a Writ, but he thought the House would not be doing justice to the inhabitants of Nottingham or to itself if it did not examine further into the matter.

§ SIR HARRY VERNEY
believed that nothing was so injurious to the reputation of that House as the omission to notice violent and lawless acts committed at the election of its Members. He therefore begged to move that the proceedings and evidence taken before the Nottingham Election Committee should be printed and laid on the table, in order that the House might consider what measures should be adopted before the writ was issued.

§ MR. SCLATER-BOOTH
said, that the late election at Nottingham was one of a very exceptional and peculiar character, and highly deserving the serious notice of that House. It was desirable that the writ for a new election should not be issued till hon. Members had had an opportunity of making up their minds as to the course which ought to be pursued under the special circumstances of the case; and they ought to have some intimation from the Government as to the steps which it thought it would be proper to take in the matter. If the Amendment were pressed to a division he should certainly give it his support.

CAPTAIN VIVIAN
said, that as a Member of the Nottingham Election Committee, he had been requested, in the unavoidable absence of the Chairman, to express its views in regard to the issue of the Writ. The Committee sat for some twenty-nine days, and a mass of evidence was adduced before them to prove that there was a great deal of disturbance in the town; but they were of opinion that that disturbance did not amount to riot in the strict acceptation of the term. It was a disturbance created by a mob, headed by a class of persons who had lately become familiar to them all under the name of "lambs," and among whom they had no evidence that there was one single elector in the interest of one particular party. Certainly, that mob attempted to prevent the electors from exercising their franchise, and instances were brought before the Committee in which two electors were prevented from voting. These, beyond a doubt, were circumstances connected with an election which ought to be highly reprobated by the House; but they were not sufficient in themselves to induce the Committee to report that they formed, in its opinion, a ground for the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the circumstances of the election. On the other hand, the election of one of the late sitting Members was declared void by the Committee on account of proceedings which the Committee thought extremely improper—namely, the employment of the inordinate number of 666 voters as paid canvassers, &c. That, the Committee thought, was simply a flimsy disguise for bribery. The House was aware that the employment of voters at an election was not a corrupt practice unless it was carried to an improper extent; and in that particular case the excuse was that, owing to 433 the disturbed state of the town, it was necessary to employ a great number of persons on the unpopular side, because of the conduct of the mob. But the Committee looked upon that as a colourable pretext, which was not justified by the actual circumstances, and therefore on these grounds Mr. Morley lost his seat. He was also requested to state, on behalf of the Committee, that it was unanimously of opinion that although these disturbances (which had not previously occurred since the days of Feargus O'Connor) ought to be strongly condemned, yet they did not justify the Committee in going the length of recommending the suspension of the Writ.

§ MR. AYRTON
said, he had no interest in the politics of Nottingham, neither did it matter to him whether that town had a Member or not; but he wished to remind the House that the Report of the Election Committee was presented on the 20th of April last, and, therefore, the House had had twelve days to think over the Report, which appeared to him to be quite sufficient time to enable any hon. Gentleman to form an opinion on the subject. As far as the question, then, before them was concerned, the Committee had found two important facts—namely, that no such case of general riot had been proved as would make the last election for Nottingham altogether null and void on that account, and that, in the opinion of the Committee, corrupt practices had not extensively prevailed at that election. When the Committee had reported to that effect, it was strange that a Motion should have been made by the hon. Baronet in an entirely opposite sense. The hon. Baronet had quite time enough to consider the Report of the Committee, and if he thought that the Writ should be suspended he should have moved that the proceedings of the Committee be printed. As he had not taken that course, he hoped the hon. Baronet would not persevere with his Amendment.

§ SIR HARRY VERNEY
thought that the statement which had been made by the hon. Gentleman (Captain Vivian) was enough of itself to make the House pause ere it issued the Writ.