The House of Lords and Parliamentary Patronage in Great Britain, 1802–1832

¹ Black book (London, 1820), p. 389.

² Cartwright, John, Letter to Mr. Lambton (London, 1820), p. 20.

³ Jennings, Louis J., ed., Correspondence and diaries ofthe late Right Honourable John Wilson Croker, 1809 to 1830 (London, 1885), I, 369.

⁴ ‘The present cabinet in relation to the times’, XXIX (1831), 147.

⁵ Buckingham to Plunket, 16 May 1818, Plunket papers, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, PC 920.

⁶ Horner, Leonard, ed., Memoirs and correspondence of Francis Horner, M.P. (Boston, 1853), I, 381.

⁷ Carpenter, William, Peerage for the people (London, 1841), p. 524.

⁸ Smith, H. Stooks, Parliaments of England (London, 1850), III, 100; Key to both houses of parliament (London, 1832), p. 307.

⁹ Carpenter, William, People's book (London, 1831), p. 244.

¹⁰ Key to parliament, pp. 397–9, 403–4.

¹¹ Golby, John, ‘A great electioneer and his motives: the fourth duke of Newcastle’, Historical Journal, VIII (1965), 207.

¹² Appendix to the first report of commissioners on the municipal corporations of England and Wales, Part IV, Parl. Papers, XXVI (1835), V, 2205.

¹³ For Norfolk, see Carpenter, , People's book, p. 130. He recovered his Arundel interest during Queen Victoria's reign. Dod, Charles R., Electoral facts, ed. by Hanham, H. J. (Brighton, 1972), p. 8. For Newcastle, see Key to parliament, p. 297; Golby, , ‘A great electioneer’, pp. 208–9.

¹⁴ Jennings, , ed., Correspondence of Croker, I, 165.

¹⁵ Report on municipal corporations, Part 1, Parl. Papers, XXIII (1835), II, 446.

¹⁶ Ibid. II, 141.

¹⁷ Ibid. part III, IV, 1959; Carpenter, , People's book, p. 124.

¹⁸ Gash, Norman, Politics in the age of Peel (London, 1953), p. 438.

¹⁹ Key to parliament, p. 317.

²⁰ Moore, D. C., Politics of deference (New York, 1976), pp. 45–6, 50.

²¹ See, for example, Cartwright, 's register of patronage in a Letter to Mr. Lambton, pp. 25–30, where he lists, correctly, the second marquess of Buckingham and Lord Carrington as influencing the return of two Bucks M.P.s. Yet, rather inconsistently, he omits a reference to Spencer's return of Althorp for Northants.

²² Chandos expected the duke of Buckingham to pay for his uncontested elections for the county – which at the general election of 1826 amounted to £2,500. Buckingham's private diary, 20 May 1827, Stowe—Grenville papers, Huntington Library, San Marino, California, ST 98. The Fortescue interest in Devon was always an on-again, off-again one and cost the first earl a considerable amount: over £10,000 at the successful general election of 1818 and almost £6,000 at the unsuccessful one in 1820, when Ebrington resigned the poll at the end of the third day. Devon county election bill of 1818, 1262 M/15; Robert Ballment to Ebrington, 2 April 1820, 1262 M/19: Fortescue papers, Devon Record Office, Exeter.

²³ Wade, John, Extraordinary black book (London, 1831), p. 244.

²⁴ SirNamier, Lewis and Brooke, John, History of parliament: the House of Commons,1754–1790 (London, 1964), I, 470–1, 497. In the 1850s the eighth duke of Argyll still dominated the county. Dod, , Electoral facts, p. 6.

²⁵ Namier, and Brooke, , House of Commons, III, 159.

²⁶ Ferguson, W., ‘Dingwall Burgh politics and the parliamentary franchise in the eighteenth century’, Scottish Historial Review, XXXVIII (10 1959), 108.

²⁷ This list is contained in Cartwright, 's Abridgment of ‘The English constitution produced and Illustrated’ (London, 1824).

²⁸ Jennings, , ed., Correspondence of Croker, I, 368–71.

²⁹ Throughout the period, the various Black and Red books put out by radicals to attack, among other victims, sinecure-holders, are interesting though not always soundly organized and collated. They include: McCallum, P. F., Le livre rouge or a new and extraordinary red book (London, 1810); The extraordinary red book (London, 1816); Black book (London, 1820); The new parliament: an appendix to the black book (London, 1826); Wade, Extraordinary black book. Likewise, there are several similarly inspired tracts such as: Biographical list of the House of Commons, elected in October, 1812 (London, 1813); Lewis, W. G., Peep at the Commons (London, 1820); Peep at the peers (London, 1820); Links of the lower house (London, 1821).

³⁰ Electoral facts, ed. by Hanham, and Who's who of British members of parliament, ed. by Michael Stenton (Harvester Press, 1976).

³¹ XXXV (1793), appendix pp. 94–7.

³² Oldfield, T. H. B., Representative history of Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1816), VI, 285–95.

³³ Cartwright, , Letter to Mr. Lambton, pp. 25–30. If the Irish peers and M.P.s are included the numbers become 97 peers and 200 commoners.

³⁴ C1 (Feb. 1831), 1, 172–3.

³⁵ Porritt, E., Unreformed House of Commons (London, 1903), 1, 309.

³⁶ Tuberville, A. S., House of Lords in the age of reform, 1784–1837 (London, 1958), p.247.

³⁷ Ibid.

³⁸ Cobbett, William, ed., Parliamentary history of England: from the earliest period to the year 1803, XXXIII (1797–1799), 128–9.

³⁹ Porritt, , Unreformed House of Commons, 1, 309.

⁴⁰ Golby, , ‘A great electioneer’, p. 211.

⁴¹ Buckingham to East, 3 May 1828, Box 145; Tindal to Ledbrooke, 17 Nov. 1828, Box 228; Ledbrooke to Chandos, 4 March 1829, Box 225; Stowe–Grenville papers. The whiggish Nugent was given so much money for electoral expenses that the toryish Buckingham accused him of ‘picking my pocket of the Key’, and then leaving Aylesbury borough in the possession of Buckingham's enemies when he resigned in 1832. Buckingham to Thomas Grenville, 14 Nov. 1832, Grenville papers, Buckinghamshire Record Office, Aylesbury, M.F. 632:2. Both the second Earl Fitzwilliam and the third earl of Hardwicke paid election expenses for their close relations. Catalogue of the Fitzwilliam Manuscripts, Fitzwilliam papers, City Library, Sheffield, F 48d; Hardwicke to C. Yorke, 8 March 1810, Hardwicke papers, British Library, Add. MSS 35394.

⁴² Morland to Buckingham, 14 May 1813, Stowe–Grenville papers, Box 284.

⁴³ Plunket, however, refused the offer. Bedford to Plunket, 19 Nov. 1809, Plunket papers, PC 921. For Macaulay, see Clive, John, Macaulay: the shaping of the historian (New York, 1974), pp. 139–40.

⁴⁴ Lady Bulkeley to T. F. Lewis, 12 Dec. 1824, Harpton Court papers, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, C/377.

⁴⁵ McQuiston, J. R., ‘The Lonsdale connection and its defender, William, Viscount Lowther, 1818–1830’, Northern History XI (1976 for 1975), 170–1, 175.

⁴⁶ Golby, , ‘A great electioneer’, p. 205. Historians have indeed sometimes wondered whether the M.P. who purchased his seat felt obligated politically to the seller. Owen, J. B., ‘Political patronage in eighteenth century England’, in Triumph of culture: eighteenth century perspectives, ed. by Fritz, Paul and Williams, David (Toronto, 1972), p. 380.

⁴⁷ Clive, , Macaulay, pp. 139–40.

⁴⁸ Huch, Ronald K., The radical Lord Radnor (Minneapolis, 1977), p. 7.

⁴⁹ Memo of a conversation between the duke of Buckingham and Sir E. B. Sugden, 22 April 1831, Fremantle (Cottesloe) papers, Buckinghamshire Record Office, Aylesbury, p. 39.

⁵⁰ Buckingham to W. Fremantle, 16 Sept. 1822, 18 Feb. 1823, Fremantle (Cottesloe) papers, p. 56.

⁵¹ Villiers to Stafford, 16 May 1805, Sutherland papers, Staffordshire Record Office, Stafford, D 868/11/18.

⁵² Oldfield, , Representative history, V, 152.

⁵³ Jennings, , ed., Correspondence of Croker, 1, 167; Key to parliament, p. 841.

⁵⁴ Staunton, George Thomas, Memoirs (London, 1856), p. 116.

⁵⁵ For Newcastle, H. G. Knight in 1815 and Sir William Clinton in 1829. Bean, William W., Parliamentary representation of the six northern counties of England (Hull, 1890), p. 733; Machin, G. I. T., The Catholic question in English politics, 1820 to 1830 (Oxford, 1964), p. 151; Golby, , ‘A great electioneer’, p. 212n. For Aylesbury, , Brudenell, J. T. and Bruce, Lord in 1829, Machin, Catholic question, p. 151.

⁵⁶ Carpenter, , People's book, p. 355.

⁵⁷ Ibid. pp. 241–2.

⁵⁸ Machin, , Catholic question, pp. 150–1.

⁵⁹ Oldfield, , Representative history, IV, 446; Smith, , Parliaments of England, III, 162; Dictionary of national biography under ‘Graham, Thomas’.

⁶⁰ Gash, , Politics in the age of Peel, p. 226.

⁶¹ Key to parliament, p. 292.

⁶² Brock, Michael, The Great Reform Act (London, 1973), p. 181.

⁶³ For Buckingham, see Sack, James J., ‘Decline of the Grenvillite faction under the first duke of Buckingham and Chandos, 1817–1829’, Journal of British Studies, XV, 1 (1975), 126–8. For Newcastle and Aylesbury, see footnote 55 above. For Stafford, see Horner to Grey, 27 Oct. 1815 (copy), Horner papers, London School of Economics, VI. J. T. Ward, although he emphasizes the importance of family attachments in the attitudes of West Riding landowners towards the corn laws, makes it clear that peers and their heirs were sometimes in fundamental disagreement, for example the thirteenth duke of Norfolk and Lord Arundel and the third marquess of Londonderry and Castlereagh, Lord: ‘West Riding landowners and the Corn Laws’, English History Review, LXXXI, 319 (1966), 262, 268.

⁶⁴ Porritt, , Unreformed House of Commons, 1, 323.

⁶⁵ The following are found in Hansard, Thomas Curson, ed., Parliamentary debates. (1) Gower's amendment to the fifth resolution on the Regency, XVIII (1 12 1811), 598–601; Lansdowne, 's amendment on the first resolution on the Regency, XVIII (4 12 1811), 747–8; Lansdowne, 's amendment on the household, XVIII (25 12 1811), 1027–9. (2) Wellesley, 's motion on Roman Catholics, XXIV (1 07 1812), 868–71; Grattan, 's motion for a committee on Roman Catholic claims, XXIV (2 03 1813), 1074–8; on the Catholic relief bill, XXVI (24 May 1813), 361–5. (3) Grattan, 's motion on the Roman Catholic question, XXXIV (21 05 1816), 676–8; Grattan, 's motion on the Roman Catholics, XXXVI (9 05 1817), 438–42; Donoughmore, 's motion on the Roman Catholics, XXXVI (16 05 1817), 678–80. (4) Plunket's motion for a committee on Roman Catholic claims, 2nd ser. IV (28 Feb. 1821), 1030–4; on the Roman Catholic disability removal bill, 2nd ser. V (17 April 1821), 356–9. (5) Burdett, 's motion for a committee on Roman Catholic claims, 2nd ser. XII (28 02 1825), 840–4; 3rd reading of Roman Catholic relief bill, 2nd ser. XIII (10 May 1825), 558–62; 2nd reading of Roman Catholic relief bill, 2nd ser. XIII (17 May 1825), 766–8. (6) Russell, 's motion for repeal of test and corporation acts, 2nd ser. XVIII (26 02 1828), 781–4; repeal of test and corporation acts in Lords, 2nd ser. XIX (23 April 1828), 236–7. (7) Burdett, 's motion on Roman Catholic relief, 2nd ser. XIX (12 05 1828), 675–80; motion, on Roman, Catholic relief bill in Lords, 2nd ser. XIX (10 06 1828), 1294–7. (8) 2nd reading of Catholic bill in Commons, 2nd ser. XX (6 Mar. 1829), 892–6; 3rd reading of Catholic bill in Commons, 2nd ser. XX (30 Mar. 1829), 1633–8; 2nd reading of Catholic bill in Lords, 2nd ser. XXI (4 Apr. 1829), 394–7; 3rd reading of Catholic bill in Lords, 2nd ser. XXI (10 Apr. (1829), 694–7. (9) 2nd reading of reform bill, 3rd ser. III (22 Mar. 1831), 805–16; Gascoyne, 's motion for preserving the present number of English M.P.S, 3rd ser. III (19 04 1831), 1689–1700; 2nd reading of reform bill in Lords, 3rd ser. IX (7 Oct. 1831), 907–18. (10) 2nd reading of reform bill in Commons, 3rd ser. VII (6 July 1831), 465–76; 3rd reading of reform bill in Commons, 3rd ser. VIII (21 Sept. 1831), 339–44; 2nd reading of reform bill in Lords, 3rd ser. IX (7 Oct. 1831), 907–18.

⁶⁶ Hansard, , ed., Parliamentary debates'.2nd reading of bill of pains and penalties, 2nd ser. III (6 11 1820), 1698–1700; 3rd reading of bill of pains and penalties, 2nd ser. III (10 Nov. 1820), 1744–6.

⁶⁷ Ibid. Tavistock's motion on the conduct of ministers with regard to the proceedings against the queen, 2nd ser. IV (6 Feb. 1821), 507–11.

⁶⁸ For purposes of comparison with Table 4, 27 cliental M.P.s were in seeming conflict with their patronal peers on this issue. Yet only 6 M.P.s may have been removed from their constituency for this vote – a far lower percentage (222) than normal for the period.

⁶⁹ Hansard, , ed., Parliamentary debates: Tavistock's motion on the conduct of ministers with regard to the proceedings against the queen, 2nd ser. IV (6 02 1821), 363.

⁷⁰ Ibid. 418.

⁷¹ Ibid. 2nd reading of reform bill in Commons, 3rd ser. IX (17 Dec. 1831), 547 56; 3rd reading of reform bill in Commons, 3rd ser. XI (22 March 1832), 780 5; 2nd reading of reform bill in Lords, 3rd ser. in (13 April 1832), 453–60; Lyndhurst's motion to postpone the disenfranchising clauses, 3rd ser. xn (7 May 1832), 723–8.

⁷² Harvey, A. D., Britain in the early nineteenth century (London, 1978), p. 4.

⁷³ Obviously, issue 10 on Table 3 – the votes on the Reform Bill during the summer and autumn of 1831 would not qualify for inclusion on this table because the subsequent general election took place under the reformed franchise.

⁷⁴ See Owen, , ‘Political patronage’, pp. 374–9; Norton, Philip, Dissension in the House of Commons (London, 1975), pp. 609–13.