Benjamin Hicklin JP (11 November 1816 – 16 March 1909) was an English licensed carrier, farmer, solicitor and Borough Magistrate, who served as Mayor of Wolverhampton in 1859 and 1860.

Hicklin case

The case centred on a Wolverhampton resident, metal broker Henry Scott, a Protestant activist, who was reselling anti-catholic pamphlets obtained from London. The pamphlet ''The Confessional Unmasked: Shewing the Depravity of the Romanish Priesthood, the Iniquity of the Confessional, and the Questions Put to Females in Confession'' put out by the Protestant Electoral Union which contained sections which appeared to contravene the recently enacted

Obscene Publications Act 1857 The Obscene Publications Act 1857 ( 20 & 21 Vict. c. 83), also known as Lord Campbell's Act or Campbell's Act, was a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland dealing with obscenity. For the first time, it made the sa ...

. The borough Watch Committee directed a police officer to bring a complaint before two justices of the borough, Hicklin being one of the justices. They issued a warrant for seizure and destruction of the pamphlets and 252 pamphlets were seized. On 26 May 1867 Scott appealed the order at the borough quarter sessions. The recorder overturned the order of the justices and directed that the pamphlets be returned to Scott, subject to the opinion of the Court of the Queen's Bench. On 29 April the Court decided, "We have considered this matter, and we are of opinion that the judgment of the learned recorder must be reversed, and the decision of the magistrates affirmed."

Hicklin test

The

Hicklin test The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case ''R. v Hicklin'' (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of ob ...

is a

legal test In law, a test is a commonly applied method of evaluation used to resolve matters of jurisprudence. In the context of a trial, a hearing, discovery, or other kinds of legal proceedings, the resolution of certain questions of fact or law may hinge ...

for

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...

established by the English case ''Regina v. Hicklin''. At issue was the

statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

interpretation of the word "obscene" in the

, which authorized the destruction of obscene books. The court held that all material tending "to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences" was obscene, regardless of its artistic or literary merit. American courts adopted the Hicklin Test in applying the 1873

Comstock Act The Comstock Act of 1873 is a series of current provisions in federal law that generally criminalize the involvement of the United States Postal Service, its officers, or a common carrier in conveying obscene matter, crime-inciting matter, or ce ...

, but it later did not survive scrutiny in the US under the First Amendment.

Politics

Hicklin served as Mayor of Wolverhampton 1859/60

Family

Hicklin was born in Wolverhampton on 11 November 1816, the son of wharfinger Benjamin Hickin and Elizabeth ''née'' Barney. Hicklin became articled for five years to attorney at law, Joseph Foster of Wolverhampton, on 26 May 1832. In 1844 he was living at Graiseley House, and owned a part share of houses and land with his elder brother, James. Hicklin married Mary Hatfield of

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is north of Lichfield, southeast of Stafford, northeast of ...

, Staffordshire on 22 August 1848. They lived at Wightwick, Staffordshire, then ''The Holmes'', Fordhouses,

Bushbury Bushbury is a suburban village and ward in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards. Bushbury ...

, Staffordshire. After Hicklin retired they settled in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, Sussex, EnglandEngland Census, Sussex, Worthing. The National Archives, 1901 where he died in 1909, aged 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicklin, Benjamin 1816 births 1909 deaths Mayors of Wolverhampton People from Wolverhampton English solicitors People of the Victorian era