The1869 Blackburn by-election was a parliamentaryby-election held in England in March 1869. It returned twomembers of parliament (MPs) to the UKHouse of Commons for theborough of Blackburn inLancashire.
It was a rare double-by-election, caused when the1868 general election of the borough's twoConservative MPs was nullified. Their sons won the by-election, but the result led to fighting in the town ofBlackburn and was denounced by theLiberal Party candidates as a "farce".
On 16 March 1869, the result of the1868 general election inborough of Blackburn was declared null and void, after anelection petition had been lodged.[1]The two Conservatives who had been elected,Joseph Feilden andWilliam Henry Hornby, were unseated when Mr Justice Willes found that there had been widespread intimidation of voters.[1] The candidates themselves were absolved of direct involvement in the intimidation, but their agents were held responsible for a document known as the "screw circular". The circular called on mill-owners, tradesmen, and other employers to secure the election of Conservatives at both the municipal and parliamentary elections, and led to the dismissal of many long-serving employees on the spurious grounds of trivial misconduct, long after the alleged misconduct had occurred.[1]
The nominations were made on 29 March 1869, before a gathering of 15,000 people in Blakey Moor,Blackburn.[2]
TheLiberal Party nominatedJohn Gerald Potter,[2] who had contested Blackburn in1865 and 1868,[3] andJohn Morley,[2] a barrister who had taken up journalism and become the editor of theFortnightly Review.[4]
Potter told meeting that if theworking classes of Blackburn were allowed to vote freely, he and Morley would both be returned, and that the longer he lived, the more he saw the need for voting to be conducted bysecret ballot. He favoured the abolition of the ratepaying qualification for elections, a national system of education, a reduction in taxation and the legalisation oftrade unions.[2] Morley said that the Tories had no policy, no spirit and no temper, and that he supported the policies of the present government.[2]
The Conservatives also nominated two candidates:Edward Hornby andHenry Master Feilden, both sons of the ousted Conservatives MPs. Both Hornby and Fielden appealed for support as a tribute to their fathers, with Hornby asserting that he had "no vain idea" that his own merits were enough to qualify him as an MP.[2]
There was no secret ballot until1872, so voting was conducted in public at thehustings, which were attended by a large number of police armed withcutlasses. Ashow of hands was taken and pronounced to be in favour of Fielden and Hornby,[2] but a vote was demanded on behalf of the Liberal candidates.[2]
Polling took place the following day, 30 March, in 25 locations.[5] Voting began at 8am, and there were no reports of any disturbances.[5]The Times newspaper reported that "only three persons" were arrested forpersonation, one of whom had been released when it was acknowledged that a mistake had been made.[5]
The results were announced by the Mayor at 6.30pm, when Fielden and Hornby were declared the winners[6]with a margin of over 700 votes.[5]
In their acceptance speeches, Fielden and Hornby both pronounced the result as being the true voice of Blackburn once the screw had been removed. Fielden said that he hoped that Potter would not dare challenge the result again, and then a fight broke out, which was speedily broken up the police.[5] There were reports that shots had been fired, butThe Times reported that the police had received no accounts of anyone wounded by gunfire.[5]
The Liberal candidates did not appear on the platform at the declaration, and issued a printed statement saying that they were unsurprised by the result. They asserted that the Conservative victory was the result of intimidation, and elections in Blackburn would remain "a farce" without asecret ballot.[5]
At about 7pm, stones were thrown at Conservative supporters in Penny Street. A policeman was shot in the arm, other shots were fired from windows, and there was serious fighting for a few minutes until 60 policemen came to guard the approaches to the street.[5]
Edward Hornby never stood for Parliament again, and held the seat until the1874 general election, when he retired from the House of Commons.[3]Henry Master Feilden was re-elected in 1874, but died in office in 1875,[7] triggering aby-election in October 1875.[3]
After three unsuccessful candidacies, J. G. Potter did not stand again.John Morley unsuccessfully contested theCity of Westminster at the1880 general election,[8] and was elected as MP forNewcastle-upon-Tyne at aby-election in February 1883.[9] He held a number of senior posts in theCabinet, and was ennobled in 1908 as Viscount Morley of Blackburn.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Edward Hornby | 4,738 | 27.5 | +0.7 | |
| Conservative | Henry Master Feilden | 4,697 | 27.3 | +0.9 | |
| Liberal | J. G. Potter | 3,964 | 23.0 | −1.0 | |
| Liberal | John Morley | 3,804 | 22.1 | −0.7 | |
| Majority | 733 | 4.3 | +1.9 | ||
| Turnout | 17,203 | ||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +0.9 | |||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +0.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Henry Hornby | 4,907 | 26.8 | −5.0 | |
| Conservative | Joseph Feilden | 4,826 | 26.4 | −1.9 | |
| Liberal | J. G. Potter | 4,399 | 24.0 | +6.6 | |
| Liberal | Montague Joseph Feilden | 4,164 | 22.8 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 427 | 2.4 | −3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 18,296 | ||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -5.8 | |||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -1.1 | |||