St Albans by-election, 1904
Encyclopedia
The St Albans by-election of 1904 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England in February 1904 for the House of Commons. It elected a new Member of Parliament
(MP) for the constituency
of St Albans
, a county division of Hertfordshire
.
It was the first contested parliamentary election in St Albans since 1892. The two-way contest was dominated by the contemporary debate between free trade
and tariff reform, and fought with the assistance of the major national organisations on both sides of that divide. It also reflected the wider national divide between high church
Conservatism and nonconformist Liberalism. After a campaign marred by several incidents of unrest, the Liberal Party
candidate narrowly won the seat the seat from the Conservatives
, who had held the seat since its creation in 1885.
, who had held the seat since 1892
.
He had been returned unopposed in 1895
and 1900
, but was disqualified in February 1904.
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He and his brother Alban
(an MP for the City of London
) were partners in the firm Antony Gibbs and Sons, which had organised the sale to the Admiralty
of two pre-dreadnought battleships built in England for the Chilean Navy
, in order to avoid them being sold to a rival power when Chile did not complete the purchase.
He told his constituents that if the ships had passed into the hands of a rival nation, such as Russia (which had made a cash offer for them), the balance of power would have been significantly altered, and that Britain would have fallen behind in naval power relative to their rivals. The two warships, Triumph
and Swiftsure
, were purchased by the Royal Navy
on 12 March 1903, and served through the First World War
.
However, by managing the sale to the Admiralty the brothers disqualified themselves from the House of Commons, under provisions of the House of Commons (Disqualification) Act 1782 (22 Geo. III, c. 45) 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.
However, since the Gibbs brothers were already disqualified, he did not need to take the usual step of disqualifying himself by taking the Chiltern Hundreds, and in letters of 1 February 1904 he and his brother both informed the Speaker of the contract. Vicary Gibbs noted that "I am advised that by so doing I have, under an Act of George III
, vacated my seat in Parliament".
His letter was read to the Commons on 2 February, and the writ
was moved the following day.
The polling date was set as 12 February.
prospective candidate John Bamford Slack
were campaigning in the constituency before his disqualification was formalised.
The Times
newspaper reported on 20 January that the by-election was unlikely to be contested by the Liberals,
but at a meeting on 24 January the St Albans Liberals adopted Slack as their candidate.
Slack was a 46-year-old solicitor, and a prominent Wesleyan Methodist
.
Born in Ripley, Derbyshire
, he was educated at the University of London
and had qualified as a solicitor in Derbyshire in 1880, where he was elected as a Liberal member of the first Derbyshire County Council. He had practised in London since 1889, becoming by 1904 a partner in the firm of Monro, Slack and Atkinson of Queen Victoria Street
. He was a Liberal Party activist in the boroughs of Holborn
and St Pancras
. A noted temperance
campaigner, he become a member of the Wesleyan Church's annual conference, President of the Local Preacher's Association, and an active member of the West London Mission
.
The Conservatives selected 50-year-old Gibbs to defend the seat which he had just vacated. The Eton
-educated Gibbs was a City of London
businessman, son of Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham
, and a wealthy landowner.
The dominant issue in the campaign was the debate between free trade
and protectionism
. The Conservatives and their Liberal Unionist
allies were split on the issue of "tariff reform", a form of selective protectionism promoted by Joseph Chamberlain
as Imperial Preference
. Gibbs had told supporters in January that if re-elected he would support Chamberlain's proposals
By contrast, Slack had proclaimed himself from the outset as a supporter of free trade. At the meeting in St Albans on 23 January when he was selected, he described Chamberlain's policy as "retrograde, mischievous, and ruinous for the country and the empire", pledging himself to oppose protective tariffs, no matter what they were called. He said that the two big issues facing an incoming Liberal government were land and drink.
, who established an office in St Albans in late January, and organised a series of meetings.
He also received the support of the Church Association
, an evangelical
group who had submitted a list of questions to both candidates regarding ritualism. They were satisfied with Slack's replies on all points, and unhapppy with those from Gibbs, so they threw their weight behind the Liberals, claiming that they could mobilise 600 votes.
Incensed by Gibbs's vote against the Church Discipline Bill in 1899, and buoyed by their success in other recent by-elections, they prepared for an "active crusade".
Both candidates were joined by notable supporters. On 3 February, Frederick Halsey
addressed a meeting at St Albans in support of Gibbs, who deplored the destruction of local industries by "unfair foreign competition".
The next day, Lewis Vernon Harcourt
addressed a large Liberal demonstration in St Albans, telling the crowd that the Tariff Commission was a caucus of manufacturers and traders trying to corner supplies and swell their profits.
The divisions's licensed victuallers met in St Albans on 3 February under the auspices of the Hertfordshire Brewer's association. After considering responses from the two candidates to questions about compensation when licenses were withdrawn, they unanimously decided to support Gibbs. The Times reported that the division's 273 license-holders were likely to vote accordingly.
Meanwhile the Liberals secured the support of the Postal and Telegraph Clerks, the Workmen's National Housing Council, and the Amalgamated Society of Lithographic printers. Slack's campaign kept up a schedule of six or seven public meetings each night, with queues of carriages and motor cars leaving St Albans every night to carry speakers to other parts of the division.
By Monday 8th, tariff reformers were reporting growing support among the artisans of St Albans. The town's principal industries were boot-making, printing, straw hats and bonnet-making, and silk, and the latter two had both been hit by foreign competition. The protectionists argued that the trade could be restored by tariffs. The Liberals responded with literature asserting that protection would increase the cost of living for working people, but sought their gains elsewhere. The agricultural labourers had traditionally voted Liberal, and were considered unlikely to change, while the heavily unionised
personnel of the Great Northern Railway
at Hatfield
were expected to support Slack. The Liberals hoped to increase their support amongst the division's many nonconformists
.
Conservatives had been removed from the Liberal demonstration earlier in the week, and had retaliated by packing two Liberal meetings in St Albans on Thursday 4th. They heckled the speakers, and in one case closed Slack's meeting with a vote of support for Gibbs.
Tensions continued when David Lloyd George
addressed a meeting at St Albans drill hall on Saturday. His condemnations of the Conservative government were interrupted, and the hecklers expelled. Outside the hall, a crowd of those excluded from the meeting banged the doors, threw stones onto the roof, and when Slack arrived halfway through the meeting he was pelted with eggs. The meeting's chairman publicly appealed to Gibbs to restrain his supporters, but to no avail. When Lloyd George left the meeting, he required a police escort to pass through the crowd, and despite the protection of stewards and bodyguards his carriage was lifted off the ground by protesters. He escaped serious injury, but left with his face and clothing splattered with eggs, and to avoid another mob which had gathered at the railway station, his train left early. The police were unable to restrain the crowds, and Slack also required bodyguards when he left the meeting. He insisted that the egg-throwers were not local people, but "blackguards hired by a certain corrupt organisation to come down here to corrupt St Albans".
Gibbs and his agent both wrote to Slack and his agent expressing regret for the disturbance, and promising to assist in keeping order at further Liberal meetings. The Liberal agent, Mr W. Bernthal, wrote to the local representatives of the Tariff Reform League, excusing them from any blame for the disorder.
On Tuesday 9 February, the St Albans City Corporation discussed the disorder. Liberal councillors condemned the "disgraceful scenes", and called for prosecution of the ringleaders. However, the Chief Constable
advised against issuing a summons
before polling day.
The final days of the campaign were more peaceful. On Wednesday 10 February, Gibbs spent most of the day with farmers at the weekly market in St Albans, while Slack toured some of the city's major businesses and addressed workers on the Midland Railway
. In the evening, the Conservatives held a meeting of 3,000 people at the drill hall, where the principal speaker was Sir Robert Hermon-Hodge
, the MP for Henley
. Slack received letters of support from John Morley
MP and from the Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
.
On Thursday, the final day of campaigning, both parties insisted that their canvassing returns showed them winning by a narrow margin.
Gibbs visited polling stations at several towns near St Albans, and in the afternoon returned to the city to address the workers at Dangerfield's colour printing works. However, Gibbs had not replied to an enquiry from the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
(TUC) as to whether he would support the Trade Disputes Bill introduced to the Commons by James Mellor Paulton
on 5 February. Slack had confirmed his support for the measure, so the TUC asked electors to vote for Slack.
In an eve-of-poll telegram, Slack was told by H. H. Asquith
that his victory would be a "triumph for the cause of free trade and progress".
Polling took place on Friday 12 February. The weather was fine in the morning, but the afternoon brought heavy rain and gales. Roads were flooded in many places, and many of the motor cars which had been engaged to bring voters to polling stations were unable to make the journey.
The downpour was thought by both sides to have considerably weakened the Liberal chances of success, because although a high turnout was expected, the rain made it impossible for many working class voters to travel to the poll.
The result was announced from the balcony of the town hall in St Albans
on Saturday 13th, by the High Sheriff
.
Despite the bad weather, Slack had won a narrow victory,
with a majority of 132 votes (1.4% of the total). Out of the division's 11,518 registered electors, 9,423 (81.5%) had cast valid votes, with a further 41 spoilt ballot
s.
The announcement was greeted by cheering from the crowd, and speeches from the candidates, in which they thanked their supporters and the Sheriff. Gibbs said that although he had worked as hard as he could, his health had been poor. Slack also thanked his opponents for their courtesy during the campaign, and after a meeting at the St Albans Liberal Club he went to Clarence Park recreation ground to kick off for the St Albans Football Club at a match.
by Hildred Carlile
. In a landslide victory for Liberals, the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists made a net loss of 211 seats,
and St Albans was one of their few gains. Slack was knighted
in 1906, and remained a prominent Liberal until his death in London in February 1909, aged 51. He remains the only Liberal MP elected for St Albans since the county constituency was created in 1885.
Gibbs contested Bradford Central
in 1906, but never returned to Parliament. He remained prominent in Tariff Reform issues, served on the boards of many companies, and co-authored the 1911 edition of The Complete Peerage
. He became a notable horticulturalist in his garden at Elstree
, and in January 1932 he died at his London home, aged 78.
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 February 1904 for the House of Commons. It elected 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 constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of St Albans
St Albans (UK Parliament constituency)
St Albans is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1885, it is a county constituency in Hertfordshire, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.From 1554 to 1852 there was a...
, a county division of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
It was the first contested parliamentary election in St Albans since 1892. The two-way contest was dominated by the contemporary debate between 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...
and tariff reform, and fought with the assistance of the major national organisations on both sides of that divide. It also reflected the wider national divide between high church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
Conservatism and nonconformist Liberalism. After a campaign marred by several incidents of unrest, 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...
candidate narrowly won the seat the seat from the Conservatives
Conservative 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...
, who had held the seat since its creation in 1885.
Vacancy
The vacancy was caused by the disqualification from the Commons of the sitting Conservative MP Vicary GibbsVicary Gibbs (MP)
The Hon. Vicary Gibbs was a British barrister, merchant and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1892 to 1904.- Early life and family :Gibbs came from an old Devon family....
, who had held the seat since 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
.
He had been returned unopposed 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...
and 1900
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**...
, but was disqualified in February 1904.
Alban Gibbs, 2nd Baron Aldenham
Alban George Henry Gibbs, MA, FSA, MP, 2nd Baron Aldenham was a British Conservative Party politician and peer, the son of Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham....
(an MP for the City of London
City of London (UK Parliament constituency)
The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...
) were partners in the firm Antony Gibbs and Sons, which had organised the sale to the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
of two pre-dreadnought battleships built in England for the Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
, in order to avoid them being sold to a rival power when Chile did not complete the purchase.
He told his constituents that if the ships had passed into the hands of a rival nation, such as Russia (which had made a cash offer for them), the balance of power would have been significantly altered, and that Britain would have fallen behind in naval power relative to their rivals. The two warships, Triumph
HMS Triumph (1903)
HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
and Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1903)
HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class of British predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick...
, were purchased by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
on 12 March 1903, and served through the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
However, by managing the sale to the Admiralty the brothers disqualified themselves from the House of Commons, under provisions of the House of Commons (Disqualification) Act 1782 (22 Geo. III, c. 45) which debarred MPs from accepting contracts from the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Vicary Gibbs told his constituents on 18 January that he would resign from the Commons
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
by taking the Chiltern Hundreds
Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham is a sinecure appointment which is used as a device allowing a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament to resign his or her seat...
, and then present himself for re-election.
However, since the Gibbs brothers were already disqualified, he did not need to take the usual step of disqualifying himself by taking the Chiltern Hundreds, and in letters of 1 February 1904 he and his brother both informed the Speaker of the contract. Vicary Gibbs noted that "I am advised that by so doing I have, under an Act of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, vacated my seat in Parliament".
His letter was read to the Commons on 2 February, and the writ
Writ of election
A writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons...
was moved the following day.
The polling date was set as 12 February.
Candidates
Both Gibbs and the 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...
prospective candidate John Bamford Slack
John Bamford Slack
Sir John Bamford Slack was a British politician, member of the Liberal Party and Methodist lay preacher.He was elected to the House of Commons for the division of St Albans 27th Parliament at a by-election on 12 February 1904, replacing Vicary Gibbs.In 1905, he introduced a bill for women's...
were campaigning in the constituency before his disqualification was formalised.
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...
newspaper reported on 20 January that the by-election was unlikely to be contested by the Liberals,
but at a meeting on 24 January the St Albans Liberals adopted Slack as their candidate.
Slack was a 46-year-old solicitor, and a prominent Wesleyan Methodist
Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements...
.
Born in Ripley, Derbyshire
Ripley, Derbyshire
Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot....
, he was educated at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and had qualified as a solicitor in Derbyshire in 1880, where he was elected as a Liberal member of the first Derbyshire County Council. He had practised in London since 1889, becoming by 1904 a partner in the firm of Monro, Slack and Atkinson of Queen Victoria Street
Queen Victoria Street, London
Queen Victoria Street, named after the British monarch from 1837 to 1901 is a long street in the City of London which runs east by north from its junction with New Bridge Street in Castle Baynard Ward, along a section that divides those of Queenhithe and Bread Street , then lastly through the...
. He was a Liberal Party activist in the boroughs of Holborn
Metropolitan Borough of Holborn
The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead to form the London Borough of Camden....
and St Pancras
Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
The Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden...
. A noted temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
campaigner, he become a member of the Wesleyan Church's annual conference, President of the Local Preacher's Association, and an active member of the West London Mission
West London Methodist Mission
The West London Methodist Mission was established in 1887 under the leadership of Hugh Price Hughes, a leading voice in Methodism and in Non-Conformity, and has a long track record as a Methodist ministry and as a spiritual home for "good works". Its early days are very much associated with its...
.
The Conservatives selected 50-year-old Gibbs to defend the seat which he had just vacated. The Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
-educated Gibbs was a City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
businessman, son of Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham
Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham
Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham MA BA FGS FSA was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician.Aldenham the son of George Henry Gibbs,...
, and a wealthy landowner.
The campaign
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...
and protectionism
Protectionism
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...
. The Conservatives and their 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...
allies were split on the issue of "tariff reform", a form of selective protectionism promoted by 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....
as 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...
. Gibbs had told supporters in January that if re-elected he would support Chamberlain's proposals
By contrast, Slack had proclaimed himself from the outset as a supporter of free trade. At the meeting in St Albans on 23 January when he was selected, he described Chamberlain's policy as "retrograde, mischievous, and ruinous for the country and the empire", pledging himself to oppose protective tariffs, no matter what they were called. He said that the two big issues facing an incoming Liberal government were land and drink.
Supporters
Slack was assisted in his campaign by the Free Trade UnionFree Trade Union
The Free Trade Union, later known as the Free Trade League, was a British trade organization extant between July 1903 and the 1970s. It was founded in response to the campaign for empire preference which had been launched by Board of Trade chairman Joseph Chamberlain in May 1903...
, who established an office in St Albans in late January, and organised a series of meetings.
He also received the support of the Church Association
Church Association
The Church Association was an English evangelical Anglican organisation, founded in 1865.It was particularly active in opposition to Anglo-Catholicism, Ritualism and the Oxford Movement.Founded in 1865 by Richard P...
, an evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
group who had submitted a list of questions to both candidates regarding ritualism. They were satisfied with Slack's replies on all points, and unhapppy with those from Gibbs, so they threw their weight behind the Liberals, claiming that they could mobilise 600 votes.
Incensed by Gibbs's vote against the Church Discipline Bill in 1899, and buoyed by their success in other recent by-elections, they prepared for an "active crusade".
Both candidates were joined by notable supporters. On 3 February, Frederick Halsey
Frederick Halsey
Sir Thomas Frederick Halsey, 1st Baronet PC was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1906....
addressed a meeting at St Albans in support of Gibbs, who deplored the destruction of local industries by "unfair foreign competition".
The next day, Lewis Vernon Harcourt
Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt
Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt PC was a British Liberal Party politician who held the Cabinet office of Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915...
addressed a large Liberal demonstration in St Albans, telling the crowd that the Tariff Commission was a caucus of manufacturers and traders trying to corner supplies and swell their profits.
The divisions's licensed victuallers met in St Albans on 3 February under the auspices of the Hertfordshire Brewer's association. After considering responses from the two candidates to questions about compensation when licenses were withdrawn, they unanimously decided to support Gibbs. The Times reported that the division's 273 license-holders were likely to vote accordingly.
Meanwhile the Liberals secured the support of the Postal and Telegraph Clerks, the Workmen's National Housing Council, and the Amalgamated Society of Lithographic printers. Slack's campaign kept up a schedule of six or seven public meetings each night, with queues of carriages and motor cars leaving St Albans every night to carry speakers to other parts of the division.
By Monday 8th, tariff reformers were reporting growing support among the artisans of St Albans. The town's principal industries were boot-making, printing, straw hats and bonnet-making, and silk, and the latter two had both been hit by foreign competition. The protectionists argued that the trade could be restored by tariffs. The Liberals responded with literature asserting that protection would increase the cost of living for working people, but sought their gains elsewhere. The agricultural labourers had traditionally voted Liberal, and were considered unlikely to change, while the heavily unionised
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
personnel of the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
at Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
were expected to support Slack. The Liberals hoped to increase their support amongst the division's many nonconformists
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:...
.
Tensions and disorder
On Saturday 6 February, The Times reported that a "spirit of active antagonism" was developing between the two campaigns.Conservatives had been removed from the Liberal demonstration earlier in the week, and had retaliated by packing two Liberal meetings in St Albans on Thursday 4th. They heckled the speakers, and in one case closed Slack's meeting with a vote of support for Gibbs.
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
addressed a meeting at St Albans drill hall on Saturday. His condemnations of the Conservative government were interrupted, and the hecklers expelled. Outside the hall, a crowd of those excluded from the meeting banged the doors, threw stones onto the roof, and when Slack arrived halfway through the meeting he was pelted with eggs. The meeting's chairman publicly appealed to Gibbs to restrain his supporters, but to no avail. When Lloyd George left the meeting, he required a police escort to pass through the crowd, and despite the protection of stewards and bodyguards his carriage was lifted off the ground by protesters. He escaped serious injury, but left with his face and clothing splattered with eggs, and to avoid another mob which had gathered at the railway station, his train left early. The police were unable to restrain the crowds, and Slack also required bodyguards when he left the meeting. He insisted that the egg-throwers were not local people, but "blackguards hired by a certain corrupt organisation to come down here to corrupt St Albans".
Gibbs and his agent both wrote to Slack and his agent expressing regret for the disturbance, and promising to assist in keeping order at further Liberal meetings. The Liberal agent, Mr W. Bernthal, wrote to the local representatives of the Tariff Reform League, excusing them from any blame for the disorder.
On Tuesday 9 February, the St Albans City Corporation discussed the disorder. Liberal councillors condemned the "disgraceful scenes", and called for prosecution of the ringleaders. However, the Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
advised against issuing a summons
Summons
Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...
before polling day.
Nominations
The two candidates were nominated at the town hall in St Albans on Tuesday 9 February. Gibbs received 33 nominations, signed by railway workers, straw hat makers, farmers, and others. Slack's 20 nominators included the Church Association, trade unions, and other organised bodies.The final days of the campaign were more peaceful. On Wednesday 10 February, Gibbs spent most of the day with farmers at the weekly market in St Albans, while Slack toured some of the city's major businesses and addressed workers on the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
. In the evening, the Conservatives held a meeting of 3,000 people at the drill hall, where the principal speaker was Sir Robert Hermon-Hodge
Robert Hermon-Hodge, 1st Baron Wyfold
Robert Trotter Hermon-Hodge, 1st Baron Wyfold was a British Conservative politician.Born as Robert Trotter Hodge, he was the son of G W Hodge of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at Clifton College and Worcester College, Oxford...
, the MP for Henley
Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
Henley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers south Oxfordshire, including Henley-on-Thames. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has long been a safe Conservative...
. Slack received letters of support from John Morley
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM, PC was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1883...
MP and from the Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
.
On Thursday, the final day of campaigning, both parties insisted that their canvassing returns showed them winning by a narrow margin.
Gibbs visited polling stations at several towns near St Albans, and in the afternoon returned to the city to address the workers at Dangerfield's colour printing works. However, Gibbs had not replied to an enquiry from the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
(TUC) as to whether he would support the Trade Disputes Bill introduced to the Commons by James Mellor Paulton
James Mellor Paulton
James Mellor Paulton was a journalist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1910.Paulton was the son of Abraham Walter Paulton of Bolton, and his wife Martha Mellor, daughter of James Mellor, of Liverpool. His father was the first editor of the Manchester Examiner...
on 5 February. Slack had confirmed his support for the measure, so the TUC asked electors to vote for Slack.
In an eve-of-poll telegram, Slack was told by H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
that his victory would be a "triumph for the cause of free trade and progress".
Result
The downpour was thought by both sides to have considerably weakened the Liberal chances of success, because although a high turnout was expected, the rain made it impossible for many working class voters to travel to the poll.
The result was announced from the balcony of the town hall in St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
on Saturday 13th, by the High Sheriff
High Sheriff of Hertfordshire
The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years...
.
Despite the bad weather, Slack had won a narrow victory,
with a majority of 132 votes (1.4% of the total). Out of the division's 11,518 registered electors, 9,423 (81.5%) had cast valid votes, with a further 41 spoilt ballot
Spoilt vote
'Bold text'In voting, a ballot is considered to be spoilt, spoiled, void, null, informal or stray if it is regarded by the election authorities to be invalid and thus not included in the tally during vote counting. This may be done accidentally or deliberately...
s.
The announcement was greeted by cheering from the crowd, and speeches from the candidates, in which they thanked their supporters and the Sheriff. Gibbs said that although he had worked as hard as he could, his health had been poor. Slack also thanked his opponents for their courtesy during the campaign, and after a meeting at the St Albans Liberal Club he went to Clarence Park recreation ground to kick off for the St Albans Football Club at a match.
Votes
Aftermath
Slack did support the Trade Disputes Bill at second reading, but held the seat for less than two years, until his defeat at the general election in January 1906United 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**...
by Hildred Carlile
Sir Hildred Carlile, 1st Baronet
Sir Hildred Carlile, 1st Baronet CBE was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician.- Early life :...
. In a landslide victory for Liberals, the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists made a net loss of 211 seats,
and St Albans was one of their few gains. Slack was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1906, and remained a prominent Liberal until his death in London in February 1909, aged 51. He remains the only Liberal MP elected for St Albans since the county constituency was created in 1885.
Gibbs contested Bradford Central
Bradford Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford Central was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1906, but never returned to Parliament. He remained prominent in Tariff Reform issues, served on the boards of many companies, and co-authored the 1911 edition of The Complete Peerage
The Complete Peerage
The Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage (full title: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revised by the Hon...
. He became a notable horticulturalist in his garden at Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
, and in January 1932 he died at his London home, aged 78.
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- St Albans constituencySt Albans (UK Parliament constituency)St Albans is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1885, it is a county constituency in Hertfordshire, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.From 1554 to 1852 there was a...
- St Albans by-election, 1919St Albans by-election, 1919The St Albans by-election of 1919 was a parliamentary by-election held in England in December 1919 for the House of Commons constituency of St Albans in Hertfordshire....
- St Albans by-election, 1943St Albans by-election, 1943The St Albans by-election of 1943 was a parliamentary by-election held in England in October 1943 for the House of Commons constituency of St Albans in Hertfordshire....