The Sun.
London, England, 1833-07-23 00:00:00

REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE TO

TIGATE CORRUPT PRACTICES IN TO 1;
TIONS OF WARWICK BOROUGH.—Dated /

19,33.

into Theth
eSeplicoccteediproceedings
Committeeat thearp o
lasti nt etl
election tom
for
Warwick—to consider and report on the best tilncle_f
venting bribery, treating, and Other corrupt practiee'o'
future elections of Members to serve in Parliament, d
said Borough of Warwick ;" and to whom the petit'°,"bd
Ist, William Collins sod John. Enoch (presented
February) ; 2d, George Cattell Greenway and Ilenriefl'
bins (presented 20th of February) ; 3d, Inhabitant' ei
mington I'riors, against the union of that town V'Ali
tii:ertnbeorro?

rough of Warwick-(presented 25th June); 4th, peter roi,
Luard, 31. D., and others (presented 26th of June);y

habitants of Leamington Spa, for extending the WO"
the borough of Warwick to the town of Learning
gelded 16th July) ; and the minutes of evidence take'',
the Warwick Borough Election Committee of the prey

sion, were severally referred—have, pursuant to the (lw
the House, heard Counsel on behalf of the petition
. _ AM'

Francis Luard, M.D., and others, and have also considele:ll
other mentioned petitions and matters to them jeroa.
agree to the following report : it
That the gross bribery which, by the report of
mittee of the 13th day of May, prevailed at the last Cletd
the borough of Warwick, on the part of the agent:4,
Hon. Sir Charles John Greville, remains uncontrAdict.
agents and parties implicated in such bribery not bas°;
duccd any witnesses or evidence before this Select Co°o
to disprove the same.

That gross bribery, at the last election for the said hnr,
has been proved to have been committed by WilHata p
William Trepess, jun., Joseph Trcpess, William Henry{
William Ayres, George Buckley, Samuel DingleY, y
Thomas Cook, and the town clerk, James Tibbits—alle
of the said borough. That the money distributed DI
persons in such gross bribery appears to have been paid to
by the said James Tibbits, and that such money was Or
to the said James Tibbits by Alexander Brown, tile
steward of the Right Hon. Henry Richard Greville,
Warwick, from the private funds of the said Earl of War
,
standing in the name of the said Alexander Brown/ •
Warwick Bank of Messrs. Greenway and Greaves.
. .

That witnesses and evidence were tendered to and tC
by your Committee in support of the further allegatiorti
petition of William Collins and John Enoch.

That the allegation of treating against the agents of th;
Sir Charles John Greville has been fully substantiated,
this Committee, and that such treating was general 3
tensive.

That it appears to your Committee that there were n'tv
and serious riots previous to and at the said last electiol!,
that there was great injury to the persons of the Bur,i,
and destruction of their property; that the aid of the tot
was called in to support the civil power; that such ridire
disturbances originated in the introduction into the lffld
by the agents of the said Sir Charles John Greville 0,
bodies of strangers and non-resident agricultural lal'
many of them in the employ of tenants of the Earl d
"v
wick, and of hired fighting men from neighbouring ti,
and that such persons were maintained and paid by
Thomas Cook and others, and the money provided by 011
James Tibbits, the town clerk.

That several members of the corporation of the both
viz., Kelynge Greenway, an Alderman and senior Magi fsf
Alderman Smyth; Joseph Ward, Alderman; and
Tibbits, town-clerk, were active partisans and members 1,
committee of Sir Charles Greville, and that the said ge:i
Greenway, Alderman Henry Smyth, Alderman Joseph I,d
and James Tibbits, were cognizant of the introduction
strangers and fighting men, and of the violation of the PC e?
the borough and insecurity of the property of the bur`
and that they appear to your Committee culpably to barn,
glected their duty as municipal officers of this borough b
preventing the same.
That it appears that the Right Hon. Henry Richascie,
ville, Earl of Warwick, a Peer of the realm, Lord Lieut,r,
of the county of Warwick, and Recorder of the Boro
violation of the resolutions and standing orders of the 11.,
did unconstitutionally apply, by his agent and steward,
ander Brown, 3,0001. and upwards towards the clecti
penditure and promotion of the political interest of the
date, Sir Charles John Greville, in the transfer of eueh
of money to John Tibbits, town-clerk of the said brio io
who appropriated the same to various corrupt and
tires at the last election—the office of Town-clerk being iA
appointment of the Recorder.

That Alexander Brown, steward of the Earl of Watt
subsequent to the election of IS3I, caused numerous Pr.
(many of them nonresident in the borough and deperld3
the Earl of Warwick) to be fictitiously rated to the poor "0
two parishes of the said borough, and chiefly in respect i
perty of the said Earl, for the sole purpose of creating ftti
lent votes; and that fictitious receipts for rent appeared toll
been prepared by Alexander Brown in support of theru•.
a considerable number of such colourably rated person°,i
erased from the Register of Electors by the revising bard
but that many were retained, and voted at the last .e 1
for the said Sir Charles John Greville; and that AltiLfai
Henry Smyth and James Tibbits, the town Clerk, aid
vet
abetted Alexander Brown in supporting such fictitious
but that the Hon. Sir Charles John Greville does not 31ii:
to your Committee to have personally participated in the'
corrupt and illegal practices.
That your Committee have been impeded in their in-
by the absence of Alexander Brown, the steward of the
of Warwick, and that it was proved to their satisfactini
due diligence had been used to procure the attendance °se
said Alex. Brown, and it is their opinion that such abs
was wilful, and for the purpose of impeding their inquitlp
That witnesses and evidence of recrimination against $t
Bolton King, Esquire, sitting Member for the borough of
wick, and John Tomes, Esq., Candidate at the late kle‘ol
were produced by the petitioners, George Cattell Ore
and Henry Robbins, but that it does not appear to yea
tnittee that the said Edward Bolton King, or John Tun!op
their agents, were guilty of bribery; and the prevail fri
and character of the witnesses prevented your Committee
attaching any credit to their testimony.
That though the Committee, with reference to theS.,
mentioned parties, obtained no evidence of treating t°o
extent after the teste of the writ, yet it appears to have
vailed prior to that period.

That the Counsel appearing on the petition signed o
Francis Luarel, M.D.," and others, referred to your
mittee, has not produced evidence to dispute any facts PI
before the Committee, and your Committee consider it di
the privileges of the House to report, that the terms °I
petition are highly disrespectful to the House and to
Committee.

That to prevent the recurrence of the above corrupt
i
illegal practices, and to secure the purity and freedom °C
tion in the borough of Warwick, your Committee recorou.,
;
an enlargement of- the boundary and an increase of the
tuency by the addition of the adjoining parish of Lean*

Priors.
That a petition numerously and respectably signed,
habitants of Leamington Priors, has been referred t°
Committee, against the union of that town with the boghe

of Warwick, in which the petitioners state, that u;tr
in the exercise of the county franchise, such union °lie
be of no advantage to them ; and that another Pet' 0
also respectably and numerously signed, has beery ti
ferred to your Committee in favour of such union i,ro
that it appears to your Committee, on inspecting the
register of voters for the Southern Division of the count,)
Warwick, that not more than seventy-six electors wot 11611;
change their county franchise by the annexation of the 1,010
of Leamington Priors to the borough of Warwick ; C°to
derable number of persons entitled to county votes in 04,i`oi
of Leamington property appearing on the register to be
resident; other county voters, not occupying the propelt?,4
which they are registered, and others professing
county qualifications.
That the parish of Leamington Priors immediately staitii
the eastern boundary of the borough of Warwick, andigt
the rapid increase of the population is shown by a ccuriPs'r
of the population returns of 1801, 1811, 1&21, and 1831."'
1801, 315; 1811, 543; 1821, 2,183; 1831, (3,2 W.
_,Ol

That there are about SOO householders rated to the 0";
of 10/. per annum in the parish of Leamington Priors, and
the town of Leamington Priors will probably in a RV; I
join the Borough of Warwick. . ,

Your Committee cannot conclude their Report without
ing the attention of the House to the profligate and Ws',
expenditure in treating at the public.houses, by all Preili
concerned in tllbe election, before the teste of the writ'de
demoralizing the voters and other inhabitants of the Ban"
and they beg to recommend to the House, that the 109
tire to treating before the testing of the writs be revised-
Resolutions respecting Warwick Borough, passed by "'-
Committee, previous to Report.—Dated July 22, 1803
Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee— 11
1. That the evidence of bribery having existed at died
election for the borough of Warwick, proved to the fl,
Committee, remains uncontradicted.
0. That gross treating existed in the borough of N. aruriCY
the last election.
3. That intimidation also existed to a great extent in
borough of Warwick, at the last election. or
4. That several members of the corporation of the _1.1'14
of Warwick were cognizant of the introduction of strtder
before the election, and are implicated in the corrupt pry
existing at the election.
C

5, That it has been proved to the satisfaction of thin
mittee, that many of the other parties implicated were
of the Earl of 'Warwick.
01'6 G. That fictitious qualifications were obtained by par,
both interests, by colourably rating and registering voter'

PUTNEY POLITESSE.--A ferryman E 3
ney on Sunday last, on seeing a lady's shawl bangil tll/
the side of a pleasurs boat, out of politeness baled oe
extswain to inform him of it. " Boat a boy, 'l,l
mister, there's a lady's shawl dragging in the teet
over the starboard side of the boat !" The $ll. I°,
coxswain looked first at the ferryman, and the ffi)
every pl ice but the right, for the starboard side'eo4:
Waterman repeated his information with more eehe—oler,;
and no better success. He then' gave it up al I) t,",
and expressed his regret to isiti fare. " It's a Pitlntoree
that a boat is obligated to Vat sieh a big"
hindividual."