1904 City of London by-election

UK parliamentary by-election December 2020 July 2013 The 1904 City of London by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 9 February 1904 for the UK House of Commons constituency of City of London. The by-election was triggered by the disqualification of the sitting Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Alban Gibbs. The 57-year-old Gibbs was re-elected unopposed. Vacancy Gibbs had been an MP for the City of London since the 1892 general election, when he was elected to succeed his father Hucks Gibbs.Craig F. W. S. F. W. S. Craig British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 1974 2nd 1989 Parliamentary Research Services Chichester 0-900178-27-2 11 Alban Gibbs and his brother Vicary (MP for St Albans) were partners in the family business Antony Gibbs & Sons.House of Commons NEW WRITS(HC Deb 02 February 1904 vol 129 cc73-5) https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1904/feb/02/new-writs#column_74 2 February 1904 74 75 This firm had organised the sale to the Admiralty of the two Swiftsure-class battleships, Triumph 1903 2 and Swiftsure, which had been constructed in England for the Chilean Navy. Financial difficulties prevented Chile from completing the purchase, and they were bought for the Royal Navy to prevent them from being purchased by Russia, which had made a cash offer for them.Scheina Robert L Latin America: A Naval History 1810–1987 1987 Naval Institute Press Annapolis 0-87021-295-8 349 Vicary Gibbs told his constituents that if the ships had passed into the hands of a rival nation, the balance of power would have been significantly altered, and that Britain would have fallen behind in naval power relative to its rivals.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/880/865/138055625w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS67694131&dyn=16!nxt_50_0_CS67694131 Election Intelligence 19 January 1904 The Times 4, col C 13 February 2011 London However, in organising the sale, the two brothers had disqualified themselves from sitting in the House of Commons, under the terms of the House of Commons (Disqualification) Act 1782 (22 Geo. 3. c. 45)http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/879/865/138055625w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS117632580&dyn=24!xrn_60_0_CS117632580&hst_1 House Of Commons., Wednesday, Feb. 3. 4 February 1904 The Times 7, col A 13 February 2011 London which debarred MPs from accepting contracts from the Crown. Vicary Gibbs told his constituents on 18 January that he would resign from the Commons by taking the Chiltern Hundreds, and then present himself for re-election. On 26 January Alban Gibbs told the City of London Conservative Association that his seat would become vacant on the first day of the new session of Parliament, but he was unsure whether this would happen through taking the Chiltern Hundreds, or by some other means.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/880/865/138055625w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS168226362&dyn=20!nxt_54_0_CS168226362 Election Intelligence 26 January 1904 The Times 10, col D 13 February 2011 London The Association's chairman, Sir John Puleston, moved a vote of thanks to Gibbs for rendering such a "patriotic service" to the country. Writ When Parliament reassembled, neither of the Gibbs brothers applied for the Chiltern Hundreds. Instead they both wrote to the Speaker on 1 February to inform him of the contract. Their letters were read to the Commons on 2 February, and the writs were moved the following day. The writ for the City of London was opposed by the South Donegal MP J. G. Swift MacNeill, who moved an amendment to establish a Select committee to investigate whether the two MPs were actually disqualified. This, he said, was the procedure followed in relation to Baron Rothschild in 1845, and of Sir Sydney Waterlow in 1869; in each case the Speaker had suspended the Motion for the Writ until the question had been considered by the committee.House of Commons CITY OF LONDON (WRIT) HC Deb 02 February 1904 vol 129 cc75-7 https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1904/feb/02/city-of-london-writ 2 February 1904 75 77 The Speaker disputed MacNeill's assessment, but when MacNeill sustained his objection, the writ was adjourned for debate on the following day. MacNeill similarly objected to the writ for St Albans, and debate on it was also adjourned.House of Commons https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1904/feb/02/county-of-hertford-mid-or-st-albans COUNTY OF HERTFORD (MID OR ST. ALBANS DIVISION) (WRIT) 2 February 1904 77 Debate resumed on 3 February, when MacNeill submitted that the Gibbs brothers were brokers, and should not necessarily be deemed to be contractors. He believed that it was for the House itself to decide whether the brothers were contractors within the meaning of the Act. This view was opposed by the Home Secretary, Aretas Akers-Douglas, who argued that there was a crucial distinction. Akers-Douglas pointed out that in the previous cases the members concerned had opposed disqualification and wanted to defend the right to retain their seats, whereas the Gibbs brothers wanted to vacate their seats and defend them in by-elections.House of Commons CITY OF LONDON WRIT https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1904/feb/03/city-of-london-writ 3 February 1904 94 98 He argued that the two men had acted in good faith, and that it would be wrong to leave the constituencies unrepresented while the question was decided. The amendment was put and defeated. The writs were then issued for both the City of London and St Albans by-elections.House of Commons https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1904/feb/03/county-of-hertford-mid-or-st-albans COUNTY OF HERTFORD (MID OR ST. ALBANS DIVISION) (WRIT) 3 February 1904 99 99 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043219/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1904/feb/03/county-of-hertford-mid-or-st-albans 4 March 2016 Nominations After notifying the Speaker of his disqualification, Gibbs published a brief address "to the electors of the City of London", which was published as an advertisement in The Times newspaper on 3 February.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/867/44/105393736w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS134540867 Classified Advertising 3 February 1904 The Times 8, col D 14 February 2011 London He told voters that having been obliged to vacate his seat, he intended to offer himself for re-election. Gibbs stated that his "views on political matters are so well known to you that it is unnecessary for me to dwell on them here", but he did venture a cautious comment on the then-current controversy between free trade and protectionism. He pledged his support for the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour on fiscal policy, but professed "the greatest sympathy for the Imperial Policy by which Mr Chamberlain proposes to bind the Empire together". By contrast, his brother Vicary was less equivocal, telling voters in St Albans that if re-elected he would support Chamberlain's proposalshttp://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/922/652/105397944w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS202174007 Election Intelligence 23 January 1904 The Times 12, col D 6 February 2011 London The nominations day was set as Tuesday 9 February, with polling to be on Saturday 13 February if the seat was contested.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/599/294/105301812w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS218820166 Election Intelligence. City of London. 6 February 1904 The Times 13, col E 14 February 2011 London However, The Times reported that there was "no probability of a contest", and when the returning officers received nominations at the Guildhall on 9 February Gibbs was indeed unopposed.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/599/294/105301812w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS118287946 Election Intelligence. City of London 10 February 1904 The Times 7, col D 14 February 2011 London His election was announced from the Guildhall at 1pm. His brother was not so lucky. Vicary Gibbs faced a strong campaign from his Liberal opponent at the St Albans by-election, and was narrowly defeated.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/987/860/138315448w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS118287951 Election Intelligence. Hertfordshire (St. Albans Division) 15 February 1904 The Times 7, col C 6 February 2011 London Aftermath Two years later, at the general election in January 1906, Gibbs was one of two Conservatives re-elected for the City of London with a large majority over their Liberal opponents. However, the outgoing Prime Minister Arthur Balfour had been defeated in his Manchester East.Craig, page 148 After consulting with leading Conservatives in the City of London, Gibbs wrote to Balfour on 24 January offering to resign his safe seat to allow Balfour to stand, and the following day Balfour sent a telegram accepting the offer.http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/912/268/105598440w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS167965242ti The General Election 26 January 1906 The Times 10 15 February 2011 London Gibbs resigned from the Commons on 14 February by the procedural device of appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead.http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-04731.pdf Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850 Department of Information Services House of Commons Library 14 January 2010 24 January 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110206041753/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-04731.pdf 6 February 2011 At the resulting by-election on 26 February, Balfour was returned with 78.9% of the votes. In September 1907, Gibbs succeeded his father as Baron Aldenham, and took his seat in the House of Lords. See also Lists of United Kingdom by-elections 1904 St Albans by-election References City of London,1904 City of London by-election City of London by-election Category:Elections in the City of London Category:Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in English constituencies City of London by-election