He was the son of Edward Wells from Wallingford, where his family had lived since the early 18th century. He became a banker and brewer, and an alderman of the town.[3] His brother Thomas Frederick Wells (1837–1907) was also an alderman of the town, and served 4 times as its mayor.[4] The tall chimneys of their family business, the Wallingford Brewery, dominated the town's skyline.[5]
Wells was elected at a by-election in March 1872 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallingford, filling the vacancy caused the death of the Conservative MP Stanley Vickers.[6] The election took place in public, and the returning officer reminded voters that with a secret ballot about to be introduced, this was likely to be their last public election.[7] A Mr Moffat had been canvassing, with the intention of contesting the seat for the Liberal Party, but had withdrawn and left the town.[8] Wells was therefore the only candidate, so he was returned without a vote.[7] In his acceptance speech he opposed secular education, supported a reduction in income tax, and denounced the Ballot Bill as "positively un-English".[7]
Wells lodged a petition, alleging bribery and treating by his opponent and his agents.[11] The petition was upheld, and the election was declared void.[12] A by-election was held in July 1880, where Wells did not stand. The seat was won by another Liberal candidate, Pandeli Ralli.[13] That result was also the subject of a petition (though not by Wells), when it was found that voters had been bribed. However, it was not proven that the bribery had been done by an agent of Mr Ralli, so the election result was upheld.[14][15]
edward, wells, other, people, named, edward, wells, edward, wells, disambiguation, edward, wells, 1821, february, 1910, english, businessman, conservative, party, politician, from, wallingford, which, then, berkshire, house, commons, united, kingdom, from, 187. For other people named Edward Wells see Edward Wells disambiguation Edward Wells 1821 9 February 1910 1 2 was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician from Wallingford which was then in Berkshire He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1872 to 1880 Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Political career 3 References 4 External linksEarly life and family editHe was the son of Edward Wells from Wallingford where his family had lived since the early 18th century He became a banker and brewer and an alderman of the town 3 His brother Thomas Frederick Wells 1837 1907 was also an alderman of the town and served 4 times as its mayor 4 The tall chimneys of their family business the Wallingford Brewery dominated the town s skyline 5 He married a niece of Sir Matthew Wood a former Lord Mayor of London 3 Political career editWells was elected at a by election in March 1872 as the Member of Parliament MP for Wallingford filling the vacancy caused the death of the Conservative MP Stanley Vickers 6 The election took place in public and the returning officer reminded voters that with a secret ballot about to be introduced this was likely to be their last public election 7 A Mr Moffat had been canvassing with the intention of contesting the seat for the Liberal Party but had withdrawn and left the town 8 Wells was therefore the only candidate so he was returned without a vote 7 In his acceptance speech he opposed secular education supported a reduction in income tax and denounced the Ballot Bill as positively un English 7 He was re elected in 1874 9 but at the general election in 1880 he was defeated by the Liberal candidate Walter Wren by a margin of 581 votes to 542 10 Wells lodged a petition alleging bribery and treating by his opponent and his agents 11 The petition was upheld and the election was declared void 12 A by election was held in July 1880 where Wells did not stand The seat was won by another Liberal candidate Pandeli Ralli 13 That result was also the subject of a petition though not by Wells when it was found that voters had been bribed However it was not proven that the bribery had been done by an agent of Mr Ralli so the election result was upheld 14 15 In 1909 Wells was re elected as a churchwarden of St Mary s Church in Wallingford for his 67th year in the post This was claimed to be a record for the United Kingdom 16 References edit Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with W part 1 Deaths The Times No 39193 11 February 1910 p 1 Retrieved 12 June 2014 a b The New MPs The Times No 27322 12 March 1872 p 7 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Obituary The Times No 38421 26 August 1907 p 8 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Introduction to Wallingford s History PDF Wallingford Wallingford Partnership Ltd Retrieved 12 June 2014 No 23839 The London Gazette 12 March 1872 p 1403 a b c Election Intelligence The Times No 27321 11 March 1872 p 6 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Election Intelligence The Times No 27314 2 March 1872 p 11 Retrieved 12 June 2014 No 24062 The London Gazette 3 February 1874 p 490 Complete list of the results of the General Election The Times No 29868 29 April 1880 pp 15 16 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Election Petitions The Times No 29912 19 June 1880 p 12 Retrieved 12 June 2014 House Of Commons Thursday June 24 The Times No 29917 25 June 1880 p 6 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Election Intelligenc The Times No 29922 1 July 1880 p 12 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Wallingford Election Petition The Times No 30020 23 October 1880 p 10 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Wallingford The Times No 30022 26 October 1880 p 11 Retrieved 12 June 2014 Ecclesiastical Intelligence The Times No 38938 20 April 1909 p 9 Retrieved 12 June 2014 External links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by Edward Wells Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byStanley Vickers Member of Parliament for Wallingford1872 1880 Succeeded byWalter Wren Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edward Wells MP amp oldid 1029621104, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
