Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 3.djvu/518

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NOTES AND QUERIES. 112 s. in. DEC., 1917.

the candidates were the before-mentioned John Weddall (Tory) and the Hon. Fitton Gerard (Whig), who was a stranger to the town.

From a letter from G. Went worth (secre- tary to the Chancellor of the Duchy) to Roger Kenyon, dated July 22, 1693 (p. 273 of the ' Kenyon MSS.,' Appendix Part IV. to the 14th Report of the Historical Manu- scripts Commission, 1894), we gather that both Gerard and Weddall w^ere then in the field, and that the Chancellor had been anxious to put forward the Hon. Philip Bertie as a candidate, and had employed Kenyon to push his interests, but that, in view of the support Gerard and Weddall were receiving, the Chancellor decided to abandon Bertie's proposed candidature. The writer concludes by saying :

" But considering how far Mr. Weddall got the start, and that his uncle Mr. Wilkinson, who lives within half a mile of Clitheroe, is con- stantly intent and daily solicitous for him, and on the other hand our potent Lord Lief tenant hath honoured our little town with his great presence, two or three days together, and hath planted one of his gentlemen some considerable time caresseinge the mobile, yea, more kind than were any of his predecessors, hath sent a Begi- ment of the Militia to exercise there four days to the honour of the towne and advantage of the Alehouses," &c.

A further letter from Wentworth to Kenyon, dated Aug. 28, 1693 (' Kenyon MSS.,' p. 275), is worth quoting. The writer, after stating he is sorry Kenyon has had so much trouble in Mr. Bertie's affairs, says :

" Your endeavours have made two Parliament men att Clitheroe, and it seemed to me probable you might have sette fair for a third, but it may be tempora nwtantur. There can be no room to question your friendship and justice to Mr. Bertie and mee, but I think there may be to yourself to spend your pretious tyme and money, for another, the 51. being only designed to beare thatweekes charge, to try whether there could have been room for the expence of 200L or 300L which I had order to employ for that purpose."

The High Sheriff of Lancashire came to litheroe with the writ on Nov. 24 or 25, 1693, and sent for John Lister, the In- Bailiff, and told him he understood Lister and Mainwaring were the two Bailiffs ; and he handed the writ to Mainwaring, not- withstanding Lister's protests that ' Main- waring was not a Bailiff, and Lister took no part in the subsequent proceedings on that day. Mainwaring, having got the writ, went with Gerard and a party of his friends to the Moot Hall, and, finding the door open for some workmen doing repairs there, took possession of the Hall, and Mainwaring was

sworn as Bailiff by some of his own party,, but not by any borough official. Main- waring with the High Sheriff then made- proclamation for the election to take place on Nov. 30.

On the day of election Mr. Gerard, Lord! Willoughby, and others not members of the corporation, came with Mainwaring to the Town Hall, and withoiit calling the Court of Election., on the allegation that there was too great a crowd in the Town Hall, Main- waring by his clerk, who was no officer of the town, adjourned the election to an open space called the Shambles, where he read the writ. Lister, the In-Bailiff, went to the Shambles, arid after the writ was read adjourned the electors to the Town Hall, where he and Wilkinson as Bailiffs took a poll, and recorded 45 votes for Weddall, and none for Gerard ; and Lister and, Wilkinson and certain electors executed ar* indenture of election for Weddall, sealed it with the Borough seal, and tendered it to the Sheriff, who refused to accept it. Mean- while Mainwaring remained at the Shambles,, and there took a poll, at which he received 1 45 votes for Gerard, one for Ambrose- Pudsay, and none for Weddall. Main- waring and certain electors then executed an indenture of election for Gerard, which was not sealed with the Borough seal (because the other side had possession of it,, and would not let Mainwaring have it for the purpose), and the Sheriff accepted this indenture, and returned Gerard as elected.

Petitions were lodged against Gerard's- return. He had a statement of his case printed, of which Mr. Abram had not seen a copy ; but Mr. Abram printed Weddall's^ answer to the case from a copy in the collec- tion of old broadsides presented by Halliwell- Phillipps to the Chetham Library, Man- chester, and I have a broadside containing Gerard's reply to Weddall' s answer. From these papers it appears that, in addition to the question who were the proper Bailiffs to conduct the election, and to the various^ other irregularities before referred to, Weddall alleged that bribes were given and offered to several voters to vote for Main- waring to be Out-Bailiff and Gerard to be member. It was also alleged there was rioting, as to which Weddall said that " if Ambrose Pudsay, Esq., and Thomas Lister, Esq., did appear armed, it was to suppress a notorious riot committed by Gerard'a friends, and at the request of the Bayliffs ^ and for refusing to find sureties for their good behaviour the rioters were committed to the constables by Wilkinson and Lister,.