Edward Wells (1821 – 9 February 1910) was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician from Wallingford, which was then in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He sat in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom 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 me ...

from 1872 to 1880.

Early life and family

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. His brother Thomas Frederick Wells (1837–1907) was also an alderman of the town, and served 4 times as its mayor. The tall chimneys of their family business, the Wallingford Brewery, dominated the town's skyline. He married a niece of Sir Matthew Wood, a former Lord Mayor of London.

Political career

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. The election took place in public, and the returning officer reminded voters that with a

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

about to be introduced, this was likely to be their last public election. A Mr Moffat had been canvassing, with the intention of contesting the seat for the Liberal Party, but had withdrawn and left the town. Wells was therefore the only candidate, so he was returned without a vote. In his acceptance speech he opposed secular education, supported a reduction in income tax, and denounced the Ballot Bill as "positively un-English". He was re-elected in

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

, but at the general election in 1880 he was defeated by the Liberal candidate Walter Wren, by a margin of 581 votes to 542. Wells lodged a petition, alleging bribery and treating by his opponent and his agents. The petition was upheld, and the election was declared void. A by-election was held in July 1880, where Wells did not stand. The seat was won by another Liberal candidate,

Pandeli Ralli Pandeli Toumazis Ralli JP DL (22 May 1845 – 22 August 1928) was a Greek-British politician. Ralli was born in Marseille, the son of Toumazis "Thomas" Stephanou Ralli of Ralli Brothers and his wife, Marie, daughter of Pandeli Argenti. The ...

. 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. 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Edward 1821 births 1910 deaths People from Wallingford, Oxfordshire English bankers English brewers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 19th-century English businesspeople