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January 1908 Irish representative peer election
← November 1905 21 January 1908 November 1908 →
134 ballots issued
 
Nominee Lord Curzon Lord Ashtown Lord Farnham
 vote Winner 2 votes behind 4 votes behind
Irish representative peer before election

Lord Kilmaine

 Elected Irish representative peer

Lord Curzon

The January 1908 Irish representative peer election was held to fill a vacancy among the 28 Irish representative peers at that time elected to the British House of Lords. It was necessitated by the death of Francis Browne, 4th Baron Kilmaine, and resulted in the election of Lord Curzon, the former viceroy of India. Curzon narrowly defeated Frederick Trench, 3rd Baron Ashtown and Arthur Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham in the voting. Curzon's election was questioned, but the House of Lords seated him.

Curzon, despite a minimal connection with Ireland, contested the election as a means of returning to parliament after being denied a United Kingdom peerage by the prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. The fact that Curzon was not Irish (he was an Englishman who had been given an Irish peerage before going to India), sparked opposition to him, and his late entry into the race worked against him. As he had never asked the House of Lords to affirm his right to vote in Irish representative peer elections, something required in order to vote in them, some argued that this made him ineligible to be elected.

Curzon headed the poll with two votes more than Ashtown, who had two votes more than Farnham, but the official return noted that Curzon was not among those eligible to vote, and that Farnham had gained the most votes among those so eligible. When the House of Lords convened, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Loreburn, ruled that the requirement did not apply to candidates, and declared Curzon the winner.

Ashtown and Farnham tied in the next election, in November 1908. Ashtown won the election when his name was drawn from a glass before the House of Lords, the procedure mandated by the Acts of Union 1800, but Farnham was chosen to fill the next vacancy.


Background

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Further information: Peerage of Ireland

Pursuant to the Acts of Union 1800, by which Great Britain and Ireland merged into one kingdom, 28 members of the Irish peerage who were not also peers of the United Kingdom were to be elected to the House of Lords for life as Irish representative peers, elected by the entire Irish peerage, including those lords who held a United Kingdom title.[1] An elected peer could not resign, nor would promotion to a peerage of the United Kingdom end his tenure as representative peer; only death or disqualification to sit in parliament would vacate the seat.[2] Sir Colman O'Loghlen stated in the House of Commons in 1870 that there were about 186 Irish peers, of which 106 held only an Irish title.[3]

The law provided that upon receiving the death certificate for an Irish representative peer (signed by two Lords Temporal of the House of Lords), the Lord Chancellor would instruct the Lord Chancellor of Ireland to have the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper conduct an election. Each of the eligible voters would receive a ballot in duplicate with a space for the name of the peer whom the voter desired to elect. The ballot was to be signed and sealed and returned to the Crown Office in Dublin.[2] Before filling out the ballot, however, the voter had to appear before a judge of England or Ireland, a justice of the peace for any Irish borough or county, or, if abroad, an ambassador or secretary of an embassy, and take the oath of allegiance. This made it inconvenient for Irish peers to vote, and some did not.[4]

Elections for Irish representative peers lapsed with the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Although the existing Irish representative peers retained their seats for life, there was no longer a Lord Chancellor of Ireland or a Hanaper to conduct elections. Still, the Lord Chancellor in London continued to receive documents asserting the right to vote in elections for Irish representative peer, and, following the death of the last surviving Irish representative peer, Lord Kilmorey, who died in 1961, Irish peers petitioned the House of Lords for a declaration that they still had the right to elect 28 representatives. This was denied, with one member of the Committee for Privileges declaring that the right had ended when the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom, while another stated that the end of the offices of Lord Chancellor for Ireland and Hanaper meant no election could take place. The provisions regarding Irish representative peers were removed from the statute book by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1971.[5]


Candidates and campaign

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On 9 November 1907, Francis Browne, 4th Baron Kilmaine, an Irish representative peer since 1890, threw himself off a fourth-storey balcony at his Paris hotel. Lord Kilmaine, who had been suffering from illness, was killed immediately.[6] Writs were subsequently issued in the election for a successor as representative peer,[7] returnable 20 January 1908.[8] The press named Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (who had actually been elected an Irish representative peer in 1905) and John Bingham, 5th Baron Clanmorris as possible successors.[9][10] A total of 134 ballots were sent to eligible peers.[11]

In the newspapers of 30 December, it was announced that Lord Curzon, the former viceroy of India, would seek the office, and had sent letters to the Irish peers asking for their votes.[12] Curzon had accepted an Irish peerage before going to India, contemplating a return to the House of Commons after completing his term as viceroy, since Irish peers who were not members of the House of Lords could stand for the House of Commons for constituencies in Great Britain, though they could not stand for Irish ones. On his return to Britain, he found that his health would not permit him to seek a return to the Commons, and that King Edward VII considered it undesirable that a recent viceroy fight for a parliamentary seat.[13] The prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, refused him a British peerage that would permit him, like other former viceroys, to sit in the House of Lords. Lord Lansdowne suggested Curzon seek to become an Irish representative peer in place of Lord Kilmaine, and two prominent Irish noblemen, the Duke of Abercorn and the Marquess of Londonderry, were willing to back Curzon for the position in spite of the fact that Curzon had never been to Ireland.[14]

In his letter to the voters, Curzon tried to answer concerns that he was unfamiliar with Irish issues such as land tenure, and asked that the voters look with favour on the only way he could see to re-enter public life.[15] Curzon's candidacy was regarded by Unionists in Dublin with considerable satisfaction;[16] his backers told the Irish peers his presence would boost the Unionist forces in the House of Lords.[17] Despite this support, Curzon was opposed for the seat, as a non-Irishman who had no real interest in Irish affairs.[18] Some peers had already cast their ballots when he entered the race, and others objected because he was the heir to a British title, and when he inherited that title, he would not vacate his place as Irish representative peer.[19] They therefore saw no reason to diminish the Irish representation in Westminster during Curzon's lifetime to accommodate an Englishman.[20]

Within a week of the announcement, the press stated that Curzon would be opposed by Frederick Trench, 3rd Baron Ashtown, Arthur Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham and Yvo Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci.[21] Lord de Vesci, though, quickly dropped out of the race and expressed his support for Curzon.[22] Ashford, a Unionist, had been born in 1868, and succeeded to the title in 1880 upon his grandfather's death. He had a contentious relationship with his Irish tenantry, including the explosion of a crude bomb near his home in Waterford in 1904, that he blamed on supporters of the boycott against him, but that he was accused (and acquitted) of planting.[23]

Farnham had been born in 1879, had served in the 19th Hussars and had succeeded to his title in 1900.[24]

The Earl of Darnley (who was an Irish representative peer), the Earl of Norbury, Lord Rathdonnell and Viscount Chetwynd all stated their support for Curzon. The Earl of Cavan favoured Curzon's candidacy but had already voted by the time he heard of it. Viscount Hawarden also had voted, but considered Curzon's candidacy hard on peers who had been waiting years for the honour. Viscount Dillon wrote to three candidates, including Curzon, that since his "happy release from that country", he had ceased to vote for Irish representative peer.[25] Viscount Herberton also hoped to see Curzon elected, but "for myself, I have long since ceased to vote for the Irish Representative Peerage, as I am unable to take the thing seriously".[25]

Once it was plain that Curzon would be opposed, Lansdowne suggested he withdraw, stating "it would be ridiculous to run you against an obscure Irishman".[26] Curzon, though, insisted on standing, feeling he had spent long enough in the political wilderness.[26] One issue in the campaign was whether Curzon was eligible for election; although he had been an Irish peer for nine years, he had never voted in Irish representative peer elections, nor asked the House of Lords to establish his right to vote. Those questioning his eligibility cited Article VIII of the Act of Union, which stated, "the temporal peers of Ireland shall in the manner hereafter provided choose another peer out of their own number to supply the place so vacant", for the proposition that the elected person must be one of the peers who had claimed his right to vote in such elections.[27] The Kerry News reported that the former prime minister, Lord Palmerston, an Irish peer who had sat in the House of Commons, had never attempted to establish his right to vote in the elections for fear that his political adversaries would force him to the House of Lords.[11]

The M. P. for Liverpool Scotland, T. P. O'Connor, wrote that the election was of no concern to the people of Ireland, since the Irish representative peers represented only themselves, and few if any were Irish nationalists, which 80 percent of Irish constituencies were represented by.[28] Freeman's Journal of Dublin pointed pointed out that on the death of Curzon's 77-year-old father, he would enter the House of Lords anyway, "Practically, the decision of the Irish peers does not matter a pin's point to Ireland. The number of them who exhibit Irish patriotism of any kind or degree are an insignificant minority. Very many of them have as little connection with Ireland as Lord Curzon himself."[29]

Election

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Given that he had been told by a number of peers that they had already voted or pledged their ballots before his entry into the race, Curzan expected to lose.[30] But he headed the poll, receiving two more votes than Ashtown, who received two more votes than Farnham.[26] The announcement of the election result, printed in The Dublin Gazette on 21 January 1908, stated that Curzon had received the greatest number of votes, but his name did not appear on the roll of peers eligible to vote. The return stated that Ashtown had received the second most votes, and his name did appear on the roll. This left the matter of Curzon's eligibility for the House of Lords to decide.[31]

When parliament assembled on 29 January 1908, the King's Speech was first delivered by Edward VII in the House of Lords, after which several lords took the oath. Then, the writ and return stating that Lord Curzon had gained the greatest number of votes in the election, with Lord Ashtown second, was placed before the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Loreburn, then ruled that the Act of Union, though it required that the peers voting in an election for Irish representative peers to have claimed a right to vote, and had that claim upheld by the House of Lords, it did not require the same for the person elected. Accordingly, Lord Curzon could be elected. This was concurred in by the former chancellor, Lord Halsbury, after which Curzon took the oath.[32] Curzon had been standing on the steps of the throne; once he had taken the oath, he took a seat on the front bench of the Opposition (Conservative) side, to cheering from that side.[33] The following day, Curzon petitioned for the right to vote in elections for Irish representative peers, and that petition was granted.[34]

Aftermath

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The name of Lord Ashtown is drawn to win the November 1908 election

Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, an Irish representative peer, died in August 1908.[35] The press named Ashtown and Farnham as the likely candidates to replace him.[36] On 2 November 1908, Joseph Nugent Lentaigne, the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, certified that Ashtown and Farnham had received an equal number of votes.[37] This was the first time an election for Irish representative peer had resulted in a tie. Lentaigne traveled to London to place the election return before the House of Lords. Under a procedure set forth in the Act of Union, papers containing the names of each peer were placed in an ordinary goblet before the House of Lords on 4 November 1908. Lord Ashtown's name was drawn by the Clerk of the Parliaments, and he was declared elected.[37][38]

By the time of the November election, another Irish representative peer, Ponsonby Moore, 9th Earl of Drogheda had died,[38] and Farnham was elected in his place in December 1908.[39] Ashtown was deprived of his place in the House of Lords by his bankruptcy in 1915.[40] Curzon was granted a United Kingdom peerage in 1911. This did not affect his status as an Irish representative peer,[18] and he remained in the House of Lords until his death in 1925.[41] No Irish representative peers were elected after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, with those already elected allowed to continue in the House of Lords.[5] Farnham lived until 1957, and with his death, only three Irish representative peers remained;[42] the last died in 1961.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Anson, p. 221.
  2. ^ a b "An Election to the House of Lords". The Law Times: 90. 23 December 1907.
  3. ^ Herald, p. 284.
  4. ^ Anson, pp. 221–222.
  5. ^ a b c Gadd, R. P. (1984). "A Short Account of the Peerage of Ireland". The Heraldry Society. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Martyr to Sleeplessness". Hull Daily Mail. 11 November 1907. p. 6. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Things in General". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 27 December 1908. p. 16. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Want Curzon's Views". The Washington Post. 12 January 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "London Letter". Western Daily Press. 30 December 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Lord Darnley an Irish Earl". The New-York Tribune. 3 April 1905. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Election of Representative Peer". Kerry News. 1 January 1908. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Lord Curzon". The Daily Telegraph. 30 December 1907. p. 9. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Gilmour, pp. 4264–4268.
  14. ^ Gilmour, pp. 4561–4572.
  15. ^ Zetland, pp. 41–42.
  16. ^ "Dublin Day By Day". News Letter. Belfast. 31 December 1907. p. 11.
  17. ^ Gilmour, p. 4566.
  18. ^ a b Mosley, p. 131.
  19. ^ Gilmour, pp. 4573–4575.
  20. ^ Mosley, p. 150.
  21. ^ "London Letter". Western Daily Press. 4 January 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "The Vacant Peerage". Irish Independent. 2 January 1908. p. 6.
  23. ^ Maume, Patrick. "Trench, Frederick Oliver". Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  24. ^ "New Representative Peer". Irish Independent. 19 December 1908. p. 7.
  25. ^ a b "Views of Some Irish Peers". Irish Independent. 2 January 1908. p. 6.
  26. ^ a b c Rose, p. 372.
  27. ^ "Irish Peers' Election". The Manchester Guardian. 22 January 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "The Irish Peerage". News Letter. Belfast. 1 January 1908. p. 5.
  29. ^ "The Irish Peerage". Freeman's Journal. Dublin. 2 January 1908. p. 12.
  30. ^ Gilmour, pp. 4577–4578.
  31. ^ "Irish Peers' Election". The Manchester Guardian. 22 January 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ Parliamentary Debates, pp. 1–7.
  33. ^ "Lord Curzon Admitted". The Manchester Guardian. 30 January 1908. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Parliamentary Debates, p. 189.
  35. ^ "Death of the Earl of Rosse". The Daily Telegraph. 31 August 1908. p. 12. Retrieved 25 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "From Our London Correspondent". Western Morning Press. 2 September 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ a b Lords Journal, p. 381.
  38. ^ a b "London Letter". Western Morning Press. 5 November 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ "New Irish Representative Peer". The Birmingham Post. 19 December 1908. p. 12. Retrieved 25 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ "Election of an Irish Representative Peer". Belfast Newsletter. 11 December 1915. p. 4.
  41. ^ "Death of Lord Curzon". Western Morning Press. 21 March 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 23 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ "Lord Farnham". The Daily Telegraph. 6 February 1957. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

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