Sandwich (UK Parliament constituency)

History

Sandwich like most of the other Cinque Ports, was first enfranchised in the 14th century. As a Cinque Port it was technically of different status from a parliamentary borough, but the difference was in most respects purely a nominal one. (The writ for election was directed to the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, rather than the sheriff of the county, and its MPs were termed "barons" rather than "burgesses" as in boroughs.) Until 1832, the constituency consisted of the three parishes making up the town of Sandwich; it had once been a flourishing port but by the 19th century the harbour had silted up and there was only a limited maritime trade.

The right to vote was reserved to the freemen of the town, whether or not they were resident within the borough. In 1831 this amounted to 955 qualified voters, of whom only 320 lived in Sandwich. The freedom could be obtained by inheritance, by serving an apprenticeship, or by marrying the daughter or widow of a freeman; the corporation apparently did not, as in some boroughs, have the power to create unlimited numbers of honorary freemen so as to swamp the rights of the genuine freemen. At one period in the 17th century, the town corporation attempted to annex the right of voting to itself (as was the case in many other boroughs) on the grounds of "the avoidance of popular tumults common at elections", and in 1621 the Lord Warden ordered with the consent of the Privy Council that this should be so. However, the inhabitants of the town not only petitioned against the election result, but informed the Lord Warden that they intended to present a bill to Parliament to annul the result of that year's election and to restore their former privileges. In the event the petition against the election result was upheld and the election declared void, and the right of voting was in the freemen was confirmed by the Parliamentary Elections Act 1689 (2 Will. & Mar. c. 7) confirmed this.

For most of its existence, no single interest had a predominant influence in Sandwich so as to reduce it to a pocket borough, but the power of official patronage sometimes exerted some leverage. In Tudor times, the Lord Warden expected to be able to nominate one of the two MPs, but - unlike most of the other Cinque Ports - Sandwich consistently defied him, and made its own choice of both MPs throughout Queen Elizabeth's reign. In the 18th and 19th centuries, though, the influence of the navy (through the employment it provided) was sufficient that the Admiralty could be sure of choosing at least one MP at most elections. Nevertheless, Sandwich fell short of being a true "Admiralty borough", and generally elected members who would benefit the town. (They were, however, no less venal than in other boroughs: the committee investigating a disputed election in 1695 was told that the elected member had promised that if after election he were to gain paid office he would give half his salary to the corporation, that he would contribute £20 a year for the poor of the town and a treat to the corporation on the anniversary of his election.)

In 1831, the population of the constituency was 3,084, and the town contained 610 houses. This would not have been sufficient for the borough to retain both its MPs under the Great Reform Act, but the boundaries were extended so as to include the neighbouring towns of Deal and Walmer, which quadrupled the population. Even so, and despite the extension of the franchise, the revised constituency had only 916 qualified voters for the 1832 general election.

At a by-election in 1880, evidence of widespread bribery in Sandwich emerged. Its writ was suspended, and a Royal Commission appointed to investigate. It was found that out of an electorate of 2115, 1850 voted, of whom 900 admitted they had been bribed and 100 admitted they had bribed. As a result of its report, Sandwich was abolished as a constituency with effect from 25 June 1885, being incorporated into the Eastern Kent county division.

Members of Parliament

1366–1640

1640–1885

Notes

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

|reg. electors =

|reg. electors = 916

|reg. electors = 934

Troubridge was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

|reg. electors = 911

Rivett-Carnac resigned after being appointed Governor of Bombay, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Donkin's death caused a by-election.

|reg. electors = 952

|reg. electors = 952

|reg. electors = 943

Elections in the 1850s

Grenfell resigned in order to contest a by-election at Windsor, causing a by-election.

|reg. electors = 960

|reg. electors = 960

|reg. electors = 1,008

|reg. electors = 1,030

Knatchbull-Hugessen was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

|reg. electors = 1,030

Elections in the 1860s

|reg. electors = 1,054

Paget resigned, causing a by-election.

|reg. electors = 1,054

|reg. electors = 1,906

Elections in the 1870s

|reg. electors = 2,046

Elections in the 1880s

|reg. electors = 2,115

Hugessen resigned in advance of being elevated to the peerage, causing a by-election.

|reg. electors = 2,115

A Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery and the writ was suspended, with the by-election result being voided. The writ was never returned and the constituency was merged into East Kent on 25 June 1885, before that seat was then abolished for the 1885 general election.

References

Sources

1. Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) https://books.google.com/books?id=Gh2wKY2rkDUC&q=Return+of+Members+of+Parliament
2. D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
3. Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) https://web.archive.org/web/20150904125310/http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=p-000-00---0modhis06--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00001-001-1-1isoZz-8859Zz-1-0&a=d&cl=CL1
4. J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
5. T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
6. J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
7. Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)

References

1. Page 141, [[Lewis Namier]], ''[[The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III]]'' (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
2. (28 October 1880). "Election Commission At Sandwich". The Cornishman.
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust.
4. (13 August 2009). "The English Parliaments of Henry VII". OUP Oxford.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust.
6. "OWEN, Sir Edward William Campbell Rich (1771-1849), of Deal, Kent".
7. "Sandwich".
8. {{cite DNB. Arbuthnot. Alexander John
9. (1838). "The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc".
10. (2013). "Politics in the Age of Peel. A Study in the Technique of Parliamentary Representation, 1830-1850". Faber & Faber.
11. (1836). "The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836".
12. (1 February 1839). "Saunders's News-Letter".
13. (24 July 1847). "The General Election". Morning Post.
14. (3 August 1847). "Sandwich and Deal Election". Kentish Gazette.
15. (1967). "The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics, 1865–75". [[Palgrave Macmillan]].
16. (15 May 1841). "West Kent Guardian".
17. (29 May 1852). "West Kent Election". Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser.
18. (5 June 1852). "Election Intelligence". Cambridge Independent Press.
19. (31 March 1857). "South Eastern Gazette".
20. (28 March 1857). "Canterbury Journal, Kentish Times and Farmers' Gazette".
21. (12 April 1859). "The Coming Elections". South Eastern Gazette.
22. (12 May 1866). "Sandwich Election". Kentish Chronicle.
23. (17 November 1868). "The County Elections". Kentish Gazette.
24. (27 January 1874). "Sandwich and Deal". Western Daily Mercury.
25. (20 May 1880). "Election News". The Cornishman.
26. (1977). "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885". Macmillan Press.