George Evans, 1st Baron CarberyPC (Ire) (c. 1680 – 28 August 1749) was anAnglo-Irish politician and peer. A member of aCounty Limerick family of Whigs, he entered theIrish House of Commons and was created a peer in 1715 as a reward for his father's support of the Hanoverian succession, after his father declined the offer. At the same time, he was returned to theBritish House of Commons forWestbury. He contested control of the borough with the Tories led by theEarl of Abingdon until 1727, when he stood down.
Evans was the son ofGeorge Evans, of Bulgaden Hall,County Limerick and his wife (m. 1679) Mary (née Eyre). Lord Carbery married Anne, daughter of William Stafford, in 1703. She later inheritedLaxton Hall from her brother. They had five children:[1]
After the death ofCharles Oliver, one of the members forCounty Limerick in theIrish House of Commons, Evans was elected to succeed him in 1707. He sat as aWhig for the county until 1714. On 12 November 1714, he was appointed governor and constable ofLimerick Castle. Evans's father had earlier been a strong supporter ofWilliam andMary but declinedKing George I's offer of a peerage. However, the peerage was accepted by his son, who on 15 March 1714/15 was raised to thePeerage of Ireland asBaron Carbery, of Carbery in the County of Cork, with remainder to the male issue of his father.[citation needed]
With the sponsorship ofLord Cowper and other Whigs, Evans andCharles Allanson stood atWestbury at the1715 election to challenge the Tory interest ofLord Abingdon.[2]
The election was held on 25 January 1714/15, and a double return was made: the Tory candidates, Lord Abingdon's nephewWilloughby Bertie andFrancis Annesley were returned by the mayor of Abingdon, while the constable returned Evans and Allanson. As the former pair had polled 29 and 28 votes, respectively, to the 19 and 18 of Evans and Allanson, the House of Commons declared the Tories elected on 28 March 1714/1715.[citation needed]
Lord Carbery, as Evans now was, and Allanson lodged anelection petition with the House,[3] arguing that many of the Tory voters were not entitled to the franchise, and there were allegations of bribery on both sides. The committee ultimately declared that Bertie and Annesley had not been duly elected and that Carbery and Allanson had been;[4] the Whig-dominated House[5] concurred with the findings of the committee, and resolved that the more narrow interpretation of the Westbury franchise was the correct one.[4] On 18 November 1715, Carbery was admitted to theIrish Privy Council.
Carbery voted in favour of Whig projects such as theSeptennial Act 1716 and the unsuccessfulPeerage Bill in December 1719, but was not present for the vote on theReligious Worship Act 1718 in January 1718/19, which repealed theOccasional Conformity Act 1711 andSchism Act 1714.[2]
In the1722 election, Carbery and Thomas Bennett stood againstJames Bertie (brother of Lord Abingdon) and Annesley; the Tory candidates were returned by the mayor. Carbery and Bennett again petitioned against the result, alleging undue practices and that they had received a majority of the votes.[6] Although the results of the election were in their favour,[2] they were unable to produce the original copy of the poll, and their petition was dismissed on 25 February 1723/4.[6] Bertie had also been returned forMiddlesex and chose to sit for that constituency; in the ensuing by-election at Westbury in 1724, Carbery defeated Edward Conway and returned to Parliament. He did not stand at the1727 election.[3]
Carbery's appointment as governor and constable of Limerick Castle was renewed in 1740. He died on 28 August 1749[2] and was succeeded by his sonGeorge. Lady Carbery died in 1757.
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCounty Limerick 1707–1714 With:Sir Thomas Southwell 1707–1713 George King 1713–1714 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWestbury 1715–1722 With:Charles Allanson | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWestbury 1724–1727 With:Francis Annesley | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Baron Carbery 1715–1749 | Succeeded by |