Ashburton by-election, 1904
Encyclopedia
The Ashburton by-election, 1904 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England
on 7 January 1904 to elect a new Member of Parliament
(MP) for the British House of Commons constituency of Ashburton
in Devon
.
MP Charles Seale-Hayne
, who had held the seat since the 1885 general election
.
KC
, a 57 year old barrister
who practiced at the Chancery Bar
. Eve had connections with Devon. He owned land in the county at Yarner Wood near Bovey Tracey
and farmed it professionally, taking a particular interest in the breeding of South Devon cattle. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace
for the county in 1903 and his wife came from Torquay
. He identified himself as a Radical
and a supporter of Free Trade
.
candidate was General Sir Richard Harrison, a recently retired professional soldier, educated at Harrow School
. Sir Richard was aged 66 years, had a home in Brixham
and owned a farm in Hampshire
.
and to warn that this would lead to taxes on food. Harrison supported the government line, arguing that this was the only effective way to deal with the unfair competition to which British industry and trade were being subjected by foreign countries and that it would maintain a strong home manufacturing base to guarantee full employment. Harrison received a letter of support from Joseph Chamberlain
arguing that agriculture was one of the industries which had suffered most from unrestricted imports and contending that tariff reform proposals would not add a penny to the cost of living while helping farmers and allotment holders. It was reported that the arguments concerning cheap food found most resonance among the town-dwellers of the constituency and the agricultural labourers, a traditional source of strength for the Liberal Party in the area. The attempts of the Tariff Reform League
to hold a public meeting in Newton Abbott during the election campaign proved a bit of a disaster. The meeting was first disrupted by about a hundred Radicals singing political songs, causing the speakers to delay but then a fight broke out in the hall and the meeting had to be abandoned for fear of violence to the speakers. Once the speakers had withdrawn the fighting got worse and a lot of damage was done. However The Times
reported that Newton Abbott had a reputation for rowdyism at times of political excitement and the incident was unlikely to affect the outcome of the election but it did note that the future meeting of the Tariff Reform League had been postponed.
provided Eve with a campaigning issue to appeal to his traditional supporters. The Act handed over responsibility for education from local School Boards to borough or county education authorities. The Act also brought voluntary schools
under some control of the government, giving them funding. The nonconformist
and dissenting religionists, who were by and large Liberal supporters, resented this funding of Anglican and Roman Catholic church schools from the general rates
. ‘No Rome on the Rates’ was the rallying cry. Eve raised this subject early in the election campaign, at his adoption meeting, realising its resonance for committed Liberals and their traditional constituency of nonconformist church and chapel-goers. The Liberals also hoped to pick up votes from Conservative nonconformists. Harrison took a neutral line on the 1902 Act. He said it had been controversial but was now law and should be given a complete and fair trial, while being monitored for discrimination against particular religious groups.
and he favoured the introduction of a comprehensive scheme to improve the strength, efficiency and organisation of all Britain’s military – particularly the navy. These measures were the subject of Royal Commissions
established in 1902. The Esher
and Norfolk Committees eventually bore fruit in certain reforms brought in by the Conservative Hugh Arnold-Foster in 1904-05 but ironically major reform had to wait until the new Liberal government of December 1905 and the implementation of the Haldane Reforms
.
. The Times commented that the government clearly needed to do more in agricultural constituencies to persuade voters of the value of protectionism. The fact was that the Conservative government re-elected in 1900 and which first came to office in 1895
was by now appearing stale and weary to the electorate. The government would in the year following the by-election give up the ghost and allow the creation of a Liberal administration in December 1905, an administration which would go on in the general election of January-February 1906
to secure a landslide mandate
from the electorate. In the sixty by-elections between 1895 and 1905 the Liberal poll went up, overall, by 30% and the Unionist poll went down by 7%. That trend had gathered momentum since 1902, the year of the Education Act and the imposition of a tax on corn – the two major campaign issues of the Ashburton by-election.
Eve retained his seat at the 1906 general election
with a majority of 1,289. He resigned the seat in 1907 to become a judge
in the Chancery Division.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 7 January 1904 to elect a new Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the British House of Commons constituency of Ashburton
Ashburton (UK Parliament constituency)
Ashburton was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament at Westminster, for one Parliament in 1298 and regularly from 1640 until it was abolished for the 1868 general election. It was one of three Devon borough constituencies newly enfranchised in the Long...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death on 22 November 1903 of the sitting Liberal PartyLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP Charles Seale-Hayne
Charles Seale-Hayne
Charles Hayne Seale-Hayne PC was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Paymaster-General between 1892 and 1895 in the Liberal administrations of William Ewart Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery....
, who had held the seat since the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
.
Liberals
The Liberals adopted Harry Trelawney EveHarry Trelawney Eve
Rt. Hon Sir Harry Trelawney Eve was an English barrister, judge and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:...
KC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, a 57 year old barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
who practiced at the Chancery Bar
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
. Eve had connections with Devon. He owned land in the county at Yarner Wood near Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey is a small town in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". The locals just call the town "Bovey" ....
and farmed it professionally, taking a particular interest in the breeding of South Devon cattle. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for the county in 1903 and his wife came from Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. He identified himself as a Radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
and a supporter of Free Trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
.
Conservatives
The ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate was General Sir Richard Harrison, a recently retired professional soldier, educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. Sir Richard was aged 66 years, had a home in Brixham
Brixham
Brixham is a small fishing town and civil parish in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of...
and owned a farm in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Trade
Eve, having from the outset adopted the traditional Liberal stance as a Free Trader, made the most of this position to attack government policy on tariff reformProtectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
and to warn that this would lead to taxes on food. Harrison supported the government line, arguing that this was the only effective way to deal with the unfair competition to which British industry and trade were being subjected by foreign countries and that it would maintain a strong home manufacturing base to guarantee full employment. Harrison received a letter of support from Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
arguing that agriculture was one of the industries which had suffered most from unrestricted imports and contending that tariff reform proposals would not add a penny to the cost of living while helping farmers and allotment holders. It was reported that the arguments concerning cheap food found most resonance among the town-dwellers of the constituency and the agricultural labourers, a traditional source of strength for the Liberal Party in the area. The attempts of the Tariff Reform League
Tariff Reform League
The Tariff Reform League was a pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against 'unfair' foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competition. It was well funded and included politicians, intellectuals and businessmen, and was popular with the...
to hold a public meeting in Newton Abbott during the election campaign proved a bit of a disaster. The meeting was first disrupted by about a hundred Radicals singing political songs, causing the speakers to delay but then a fight broke out in the hall and the meeting had to be abandoned for fear of violence to the speakers. Once the speakers had withdrawn the fighting got worse and a lot of damage was done. However The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that Newton Abbott had a reputation for rowdyism at times of political excitement and the incident was unlikely to affect the outcome of the election but it did note that the future meeting of the Tariff Reform League had been postponed.
Education
The Education Act of 1902Education Act 1902
The Education Act 1902 , also known as Balfour's Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power...
provided Eve with a campaigning issue to appeal to his traditional supporters. The Act handed over responsibility for education from local School Boards to borough or county education authorities. The Act also brought voluntary schools
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
under some control of the government, giving them funding. The nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
and dissenting religionists, who were by and large Liberal supporters, resented this funding of Anglican and Roman Catholic church schools from the general rates
Rates (tax)
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
. ‘No Rome on the Rates’ was the rallying cry. Eve raised this subject early in the election campaign, at his adoption meeting, realising its resonance for committed Liberals and their traditional constituency of nonconformist church and chapel-goers. The Liberals also hoped to pick up votes from Conservative nonconformists. Harrison took a neutral line on the 1902 Act. He said it had been controversial but was now law and should be given a complete and fair trial, while being monitored for discrimination against particular religious groups.
The Armed Forces
In the aftermath of the Boer Wars and given his own military background it was not surprising that Harrison felt comfortable dealing with issues around the armed forces. He supported the proposals being contemplated to reform the administration of the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
and he favoured the introduction of a comprehensive scheme to improve the strength, efficiency and organisation of all Britain’s military – particularly the navy. These measures were the subject of Royal Commissions
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
established in 1902. The Esher
Esher Report
The Esher Report of 1904, chaired by Lord Esher, recommended radical reform of the British Army, such as the creation of an Army Council, a General Staff and the abolition of the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces and the creation of a Chief of the General Staff, laid down the character of...
and Norfolk Committees eventually bore fruit in certain reforms brought in by the Conservative Hugh Arnold-Foster in 1904-05 but ironically major reform had to wait until the new Liberal government of December 1905 and the implementation of the Haldane Reforms
Haldane Reforms
The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane...
.
The result
Eve held Ashburton for the Liberals with a majority of 1,476. The size of the majority was larger than expected, doubling Seale-Hayne’s majority at the 1900 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. The Times commented that the government clearly needed to do more in agricultural constituencies to persuade voters of the value of protectionism. The fact was that the Conservative government re-elected in 1900 and which first came to office in 1895
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
was by now appearing stale and weary to the electorate. The government would in the year following the by-election give up the ghost and allow the creation of a Liberal administration in December 1905, an administration which would go on in the general election of January-February 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
to secure a landslide mandate
Mandate (politics)
In politics, a mandate is the authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative.The concept of a government having a legitimate mandate to govern via the fair winning of a democratic election is a central idea of democracy...
from the electorate. In the sixty by-elections between 1895 and 1905 the Liberal poll went up, overall, by 30% and the Unionist poll went down by 7%. That trend had gathered momentum since 1902, the year of the Education Act and the imposition of a tax on corn – the two major campaign issues of the Ashburton by-election.
Eve retained his seat at the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
with a majority of 1,289. He resigned the seat in 1907 to become a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
in the Chancery Division.
The votes
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...
- Ashburton by-election, 1908Ashburton by-election, 1908The Ashburton by-election, 1908 was a by-election held in England on 17 January 1908 to elect a new Member of Parliament for the British House of Commons constituency of Ashburton in Devon....