[HERTFORD ELECTIONS]

The Case of Sir Thomas Clarke, and John Boteler Esquire, and of the Inhabitants of the Town of Hertford, Petitioners; against Charles Caesar, and Richard Goulston, Esquires, Sitting Members [caption title].

London: 1715. 3pp. plus printed docket title on verso of second leaf. Disbound. Folio. Early folds and early stab holes in left margin. Small portion of left margin excised, with no loss to text. Light foxing.

A rare and interesting document relating to the ongoing controversy between Sir Thomas Clarke, Charles Caesar, and others in their elections to Parliament during the early 18th century. Charles Caesar (1673-1741), a Jacobite and Tory from a prominent Hertford family, first entered the House of Commons in 1701 as a member for the borough of Hertford. Subsequent elections for the same seat resulted in petitions to the House of Commons from opponents over conflicting views on whether non-resident freemen could cast valid votes. After serving with Sir Thomas Clarke in 1707-08, Caesar lost to Clarke in 1708, regained his seat from Clarke in 1710, and, after being re-elected in the important 1715 election that swept the Whigs into power, lost his seat by petition amidst charges of bribery and fraud. Caesar won his seat back from Clarke in 1722, whereupon a year later his election was again overturned and Clarke took his place. In 1727, Caesar ran instead to stand for the county of Hertfordshire, a position he won and held for the remainder of his life. An early example of lobbying literature, which first began proliferating in the lobby of the House of Commons at the time of the accession of King George I and the British general election of 1715. ESTC records only three copies, two at Oxford and one at Harvard.

Item #21195

Price: $625.00