The 1891 Lewisham by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held on 26 August 1891 for the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

. The by-election was triggered by the elevation to the peerage of the serving Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), Viscount Lewisham on the death of his father.

Candidates

The Unionist candidate was John Penn. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate was George Septimus Warmington. Penn, who was treasurer of th
Royal Kent Dispensary
and president of the Lee, Lewisham and Blackheath Horticultural Society, was head of his family's marine engineering firm in nearby Greenwich and as such was a major local employer. In his election address, he stated that he was a loyal supporter of

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

's government and praised their policies in Ireland, which he said had brought a reduction in rural crime and poverty, and declared himself in favour of restrictions on immigration and for improvements to the Thames. He was supported by the

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

party. Warmington, a solicitor, was a resident of the area for over 20 years, a vestryman and Poor Law guardian and deacon of the Burnt Ash Congregational Church.

Issues in the campaign

The major questions that arose in the course of the campaign were

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

, free education, and labour questions. Mr V Clayton of the Liberal Unionists, spoke widely in the constituency against what he saw as the 'specious literature' from the Home Rule side. His talks were accompanied by

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that uses pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lens (optics), lenses, and a light source. ...

slides showing 'the houghing of cattle and the pouring of pitch upon the heads of unhappy constables'. Penn had to contend with allegations from the Liberals that he paid his workers inadequate wages. One issue that arose in the course of the campaign was that of temperance, and proposals to close public houses on Sundays. Penn told a deputation of temperance supporters that he could not support them. The deputation issued an appeal to temperance voters to vote for Warmington; his nomination was later officially seconded by the Temperance party. Penn later told a deputation from the Blackheath Licensed Victuallers and Beerseller's Protection Society that he was in favour of compensation being given to any publican who was forced to close on Sundays. The Society, believed to influence about a thousand votes, pledged him their support. Two unknown factors in the by-election were the number of new voters on the register - around 2,400 since the last general election - and the number of voters who were expected to be away on holiday at the time, estimated at around 500 to 1,000, a circumstance which was thought likely to favour the Liberals. Special trains were laid on to ferry working class voters to the constituency on the day.

Polling

On polling day, one feature which attracted attention was the arrival of a number of fire engines from

Merryweather & Sons Merryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam Fire apparatus, fire engines and steam tram engines. The founder was Moses Merryweather (1791–1872) of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses (1839–187 ...

, sent to ferry Conservative voters to the polls. The Conservatives also had a St Bernard dog carrying a motto, "Vote for Penn, and don't you forget it." The Liberals paraded "Mr Balfour's maiden", a battering-ram of the type used in evictions in Ireland under the authority of the Chief Secretary of Ireland,

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

. The result, announced just after midnight, was a win for the Conservative candidate, with a slightly reduced majority from the preceding general election five years earlier.''The Times'', 27 August 1891.

Candidates

Issues in the campaign

Polling

Votes

References

See also