Frederick William Horner (born 12 December 1854) was a British playwright, publisher and Conservative politician.[1]
Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, he was educated privately.[1] He was active in local politics as a member of the vestry or local authority for the central London parish of St Martin in the Fields, and he assumed the pen name of "Martyn Field".[2] Among his plays were The Late Lamented, The Bungalow and The Other Fellow.[1]
In 1896 Horner purchased the Whitehall Review, becoming its editor-proprietor.[3][2]
Horner's single term in parliament was mired in financial scandal: at the end of 1900 Horner formed Mayfair Printing & Publishing Limited, a company to which he assigned the copyright and goodwill of the Whitehall Review.[5] In 1902 and 1903 Henry Labouchère, Liberal MP for Northampton alleged that Horner had obtained cash or credit from a number of hotels on the Continent using company cheques which were not honoured by the bank.[6] In November 1905 Labouchère published further allegations in his periodical Truth. These detailed five more dishonoured company cheques cashed by Horner in Monaco, France and Switzerland, totalling in excess of 500 pounds.[6] Horner launched libel proceedings against the magazine without success.[7]
By the time of the general election called in January 1906, he had been disowned by the Conservative Party, who nominated another candidate for his Lambeth North seat. Horner defended his seat as an Independent Unionist, but secured only 108 votes, finishing last of the four candidates.[8]
Bankruptcy and imprisonmentedit
In February 1906 liquidators were appointed to Mayfair Printing & Publishing Limited. Horner claimed to have resigned as a director of the company some time before, but it became clear that he had made a number of financial transactions on behalf of the company for which no proper accounts had been made.[5] In July 1906 Horner failed to attend a bankruptcy hearing, his medical witness stating that he was "confined to his bed, suffering from complete mental prostration".[9] Despite repeated adjournments, by the end of the year he had been judged bankrupt.[10]
In February 1910 Horner was charged with unlawfully forging and uttering telegrams. The alleged offence had been committed during the election campaign in the previous month. Horner had sent a telegram to the editor of the Daily Mail, impersonating one of its regular correspondents. He claimed to have witnessed the Liberal leader, David Lloyd George, being assailed by an angry group of voters in Falmouth, Cornwall. He detailed how they accused Lloyd George of cowardice and how he had to be rescued from the scene by police. The Daily Mail duly printed the story, but later retracted it. Horner attempted to send another telegram repeating the allegations and stating that "foreigners" were trying to suppress the truth. On 11 March he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to six weeks imprisonment.[11]
Referencesedit
^ abcdDebrett's House of commons and the Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Sons. 1901. p. 74.
^"The General Election". The Times. 16 January 1906. p. 10.
^"King's Bench Division". The Times. 13 July 1906. p. 3.
^"Proceedings against F.W.Horner (a bankrupt) for possessions: instructions to Counsel and court". London Metropolitan Archives. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
frederick, william, horner, born, december, 1854, british, playwright, publisher, conservative, politician, born, newport, monmouthshire, educated, privately, active, local, politics, member, vestry, local, authority, central, london, parish, martin, fields, a. Frederick William Horner born 12 December 1854 was a British playwright publisher and Conservative politician 1 Born in Newport Monmouthshire he was educated privately 1 He was active in local politics as a member of the vestry or local authority for the central London parish of St Martin in the Fields and he assumed the pen name of Martyn Field 2 Among his plays were The Late Lamented The Bungalow and The Other Fellow 1 In 1896 Horner purchased the Whitehall Review becoming its editor proprietor 3 2 Contents 1 Member of Parliament 2 Bankruptcy and imprisonment 3 References 4 External linksMember of Parliament editHorner was a member of the executive and finance committees and of the council of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations and at the 1895 general election was an unsuccessful candidate for the constituency of Southwark West 4 1 At the next so called khaki election in 1900 held at the height of the Second Anglo Boer War he won the seat of Lambeth North a seat previously held by the Liberal Party Horner s single term in parliament was mired in financial scandal at the end of 1900 Horner formed Mayfair Printing amp Publishing Limited a company to which he assigned the copyright and goodwill of the Whitehall Review 5 In 1902 and 1903 Henry Labouchere Liberal MP for Northampton alleged that Horner had obtained cash or credit from a number of hotels on the Continent using company cheques which were not honoured by the bank 6 In November 1905 Labouchere published further allegations in his periodical Truth These detailed five more dishonoured company cheques cashed by Horner in Monaco France and Switzerland totalling in excess of 500 pounds 6 Horner launched libel proceedings against the magazine without success 7 By the time of the general election called in January 1906 he had been disowned by the Conservative Party who nominated another candidate for his Lambeth North seat Horner defended his seat as an Independent Unionist but secured only 108 votes finishing last of the four candidates 8 Bankruptcy and imprisonment editIn February 1906 liquidators were appointed to Mayfair Printing amp Publishing Limited Horner claimed to have resigned as a director of the company some time before but it became clear that he had made a number of financial transactions on behalf of the company for which no proper accounts had been made 5 In July 1906 Horner failed to attend a bankruptcy hearing his medical witness stating that he was confined to his bed suffering from complete mental prostration 9 Despite repeated adjournments by the end of the year he had been judged bankrupt 10 In February 1910 Horner was charged with unlawfully forging and uttering telegrams The alleged offence had been committed during the election campaign in the previous month Horner had sent a telegram to the editor of the Daily Mail impersonating one of its regular correspondents He claimed to have witnessed the Liberal leader David Lloyd George being assailed by an angry group of voters in Falmouth Cornwall He detailed how they accused Lloyd George of cowardice and how he had to be rescued from the scene by police The Daily Mail duly printed the story but later retracted it Horner attempted to send another telegram repeating the allegations and stating that foreigners were trying to suppress the truth On 11 March he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to six weeks imprisonment 11 References edit a b c d Debrett s House of commons and the Judicial Bench London Dean amp Sons 1901 p 74 a b Waller Philip J 2006 Writers readers and reputations literary life in Britain 1870 1918 Oxford University Press p 170 ISBN 9780198206774 The Publishers Circular and Booksellers Record of British and Foreign Literature 1896 p 23 London The Times 17 July 1895 p 6 a b Creditors And Contributories Meetings The Times 10 February 1906 p 4 a b M P S DISHONOURED CHEQUES New Zealand Herald 18 November 1905 p 2 Libel Action Against Truth New Zealand Herald 6 October 1905 p 5 The General Election The Times 16 January 1906 p 10 King s Bench Division The Times 13 July 1906 p 3 Proceedings against F W Horner a bankrupt for possessions instructions to Counsel and court London Metropolitan Archives a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help Central Criminal Court 12 March 1910 p 4 External links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by Mr Federick HornerParliament of the United KingdomPreceded bySir Henry Morton Stanley Member of Parliament for Lambeth North1900 1906 Succeeded byHoratio Myer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick William Horner amp oldid 1178253379, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
