Rochester by-election, 1903
Encyclopedia
The Rochester by-election, 1903 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England in September 1903 for the House of Commons constituency of Rochester
in Kent
.
The main issue in the campaign was tariff reform, over which the Liberal Unionist
minister Joseph Chamberlain
had recently resigned from the cabinet in order to campaign for Imperial Preference
. The Liberals also focused on the conduct of the Second Boer War
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), known by his courtesy title as Viscount Cranborne
, succeeded to the peerage on 22 August 1903. He had been MP for Darwen
from 1885 to 1892, and then for Rochester since winning the seat at a by-election in 1893.
Cranborne had been returned unopposed at the 1900 general election
, so the borough had not seen a contested parliamentary election since 1895
.
allies) chose Charles Tuff
, the owner of a a large firm of contractors. He had been mayor of Rochester from 1900 to 1902.
The Liberal Party
selected as its candidate Sir Harry Johnston
, an African explorer and colonial administrator
.
The writ
for the by-election was received on 15 September by the mayor, who fixed 18 September as the closing day for nominations, and Wednesday 23 September as polling day. No independent
or minor party candidates were nominated, so the election was a two-way contest between Tuff and Johnston.
newspaper to have a "near-perfect" organisation in Rochester.
In the first full week of the campaign, the Unionists decided not to hold a large public meeting, but rather to hold five smaller meetings in different parts of the borough. Speakers were to include Sir William Hart Dyke MP and Horatio Davies
MP.
The Liberals held the biggest meeting, at the Corn Exchange, but otherwise the meetings organised by the Unionists were better attended. A major theme in the campaign was the question of free trade
; Edmund Robertson
MP spoke at a Liberal meeting to say that the issue was simply one of taxing food: would the tariffs on food be renewed? Johnston sent a "personal note" to Unionist supporters condemning the Unionist government's handling of the Boer War
, and accusing them of deliberately throwing away the lives of British soldiers. He called on any Unionists who saw themselves as patriots to abstain rather than elect a supporter of such a government. Extensive canvassing took place on saturday 19 September, after which both parties reported that the outcome would likely depend on the Labour vote.
Both the Tariff Reform League
and the Free Trade Association distributed large numbers of leaflets and cartoons, and the Licensed Victuallers Association was actively organising in support of the Unionists.
The costs incurred by the two candidates were reported in The Times
in November 1903: Tuff's campaign had spent £559 18s 5d, and Johnston's campaign had spent £636 4s. 4d.
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 in September 1903 for the House of Commons constituency of Rochester
Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochester was a parliamentary constituency in Kent. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
The main issue in the campaign was tariff reform, over which the Liberal Unionist
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
minister 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....
had recently resigned from the cabinet in order to campaign for Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...
. The Liberals also focused on the conduct of the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Vacancy
The vacancy was caused when the borough's 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...
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), known by his courtesy title as Viscount Cranborne
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury
James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, CB, PC , known as Viscount Cranborne from 1868 to 1903, was a British statesman.-Background and education:...
, succeeded to the peerage on 22 August 1903. He had been MP for Darwen
Darwen (UK Parliament constituency)
Darwen was a county constituency in Lancashire, centred on the town of Darwen. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
from 1885 to 1892, and then for Rochester since winning the seat at a by-election in 1893.
Cranborne had been returned unopposed at the 1900 general election
United 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**...
, so the borough had not seen a contested parliamentary election since 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...
.
Candidates
The two major parties chose their candidates on 2 September. The Unionists (the Conservatives and their Liberal UnionistLiberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
allies) chose Charles Tuff
Charles Tuff
Charles Tuff was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician from the town of Rochester in Kent. He sat in the House of Commons from 1903 to 1906....
, the owner of a a large firm of contractors. He had been mayor of Rochester from 1900 to 1902.
The Liberal Party
Liberal 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...
selected as its candidate Sir Harry Johnston
Harry Johnston
Sir Henry "Harry" Hamilton Johnston, GCMG, KCB , was a British explorer, botanist, linguist and colonial administrator, one of the key players in the "Scramble for Africa" that occurred at the end of the 19th century....
, an African explorer and colonial administrator
Administrator of the Government
An Administrator in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a Governor or a Governor-General...
.
The writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
for the by-election was received on 15 September by the mayor, who fixed 18 September as the closing day for nominations, and Wednesday 23 September as polling day. No independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
or minor party candidates were nominated, so the election was a two-way contest between Tuff and Johnston.
The campaign
The Liberals were disappointed that the election was called so soon after the vacancy occurred, because they believed that a longer campaign would help their prospects. Both candidates had issued the election address by 9 September, along with a lot of supporting literature. The two parties hoped to canvass all the borough's electors, but acknowledged that the shortness of the campaign made this target unlikely. The Unionists were reported by The TimesThe 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...
newspaper to have a "near-perfect" organisation in Rochester.
In the first full week of the campaign, the Unionists decided not to hold a large public meeting, but rather to hold five smaller meetings in different parts of the borough. Speakers were to include Sir William Hart Dyke MP and Horatio Davies
Horatio Davies
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Horatio David Davies KCMG was a London businessman, politician, magistrate and a driving force behind the establishment of Pimms as an international brandname.-Early life:...
MP.
The Liberals held the biggest meeting, at the Corn Exchange, but otherwise the meetings organised by the Unionists were better attended. A major theme in the campaign was the question 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...
; Edmund Robertson
Edmund Robertson, 1st Baron Lochee
Edmund Robertson, 1st Baron Lochee PC, QC, LLD, DL , was a Scottish barrister, academic and Liberal politician.-Background and education:Robertson was the son of Edmund Robertson, of Kinnaird, Inchture, Perthshire...
MP spoke at a Liberal meeting to say that the issue was simply one of taxing food: would the tariffs on food be renewed? Johnston sent a "personal note" to Unionist supporters condemning the Unionist government's handling of the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, and accusing them of deliberately throwing away the lives of British soldiers. He called on any Unionists who saw themselves as patriots to abstain rather than elect a supporter of such a government. Extensive canvassing took place on saturday 19 September, after which both parties reported that the outcome would likely depend on the Labour vote.
Both 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...
and the Free Trade Association distributed large numbers of leaflets and cartoons, and the Licensed Victuallers Association was actively organising in support of the Unionists.
The costs incurred by the two candidates were reported in 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...
in November 1903: Tuff's campaign had spent £559 18s 5d, and Johnston's campaign had spent £636 4s. 4d.