HC Deb 16 June 1880 vol 253 cc113-4

To the Rt. Honble.

The Speaker of the House of Commons.

We, the Honorable George Denman, and Sir Henry Lopes, knight, two of the Judges of the High Court of Justice, and Judges for the time being assigned for the trial of Election Petitions in England, do hereby, in pursuance of The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, certify that upon the 31st day of May and several days following, we duly held a Court in the Borough of Gravesend for the trial of, and did try, the Election Petition for the said Borough between Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott, knight, Petitioner; and Thomas Bevan, Respondent; and, in further pursuance of the said Act, We determined that the said Thomas Bevan was not duly returned nor elected, and that the said Election was void.

And we now certify such our determination to you according to the Statute.

And whereas charges were made of corrupt practices having been committed at the said Election, We, in further pursuance of the said Act, report as follows:—

  1. 1. That no corrupt practice was proved to have been committed by or with the knowledge or consent of any Candidate at such Election.
  2. 2. That the following persons were proved at the said trial to have been guilty of corrupt practices within the meaning of The Corrupt Practices Act, 1854. And that the nature of the corrupt practices proved, and the names of the persons against whom they were proved, are as follows:—

Robert Williams, Of bribing.
Henry Howard,
William Badman,
James Weeks,
Patrick Dooley, Of being bribed.
Thomas Allen,
Edward Best,
Alfred Woodford,
William Sheen, Of corrupt treating.
William Charles Mid-dleton,

3. That we have no reason to believe that corrupt practices extensively prevailed at the Election to which the said Petition relates.

4. We further report that the said Petition contained a claim to the seat and also of a scrutiny. This portion of the Petition was subsequently abandoned.

The Respondent set up a recriminatory case which was also abandoned.

We have no grounds for making any further Special Report.

Dated this 15th day of June, 1880.

GEOROE DENMAN.

HENRY LOPES.