John Baynes Garforth (1727? – 15 October 1808), born John Baynes, was an English attorney and man of business for James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. As one of "

Lord Lonsdale's ninepins Lord Lonsdale's ninepins, Sir James's ninepins, or Lowther's ninepins, was a derogatory label applied to certain Members of Parliament during the Georgian era who owed their Parliamentary seats to the patronage of James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdal ...

", he sat as a Member of Parliament for two of Lonsdale's pocket boroughs from 1780 through 1802. Baynes was baptized on 24 January 1727. He was the second son of Ralph Baynes of Mewith Head,

Bentham Bentham may refer to: * Bentham, Gloucestershire in Badgeworth * Bentham, North Yorkshire * Bentham (surname) * Bentham (''One Piece''), a character in Eiichiro Oda's manga ''One Piece'' * Bentham Grammar School, in North Yorkshire * Bentham Ho ...

, and his second wife Elizabeth Garforth. In 1744, he succeeded his maternal uncle Edward in the Garforth estates and adopted his surname. Trained to the law, he qualified as an

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

in 1750 and practiced in London. Before 1755, he had married a Miss Shrimpley there, by whom he had one son and two daughters. He acted as the attorney for Robert Mackreth, and was involved in his transactions with James Fox-Lane, which terminated in a lawsuit won by the latter. However, he is principally known for his role as steward, agent, and attorney for

Sir James Lowther James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (5 August 173624 May 1802) was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 27 years from 1757 to 1784, when he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Earl of Lonsdale. ...

(created Earl of Lonsdale in 1784). Lowther was believed to be the richest commoner in England by the time he reached his majority in 1757, and employed his fortune, influence and energy on an obsessive attempt to dominate the Parliamentary representation of northwestern England. At the height of his influence, he returned nine members to Parliament, "

", whom he expected to vote and act completely in obedience to his directions. Lowther obtained the appointment of Baynes Garforth as clerk of the peace for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

in 1768, although the routine work of this office was delegated to the

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

attorney Joseph Hodgson. By the

1780 British general election The 1780 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was he ...

, Lowther had obtained control of nine seats by buying control of the

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

, and put Baynes Garforth in at Cockermouth, a Cumberland pocket borough of Lonsdale's, as one of the "ninepins". During his tenure as an MP, he lived at No. 39, Brook Street. At the

1784 British general election The 1784 British general election resulted in William Pitt the Younger securing an overall majority of about 120 in the House of Commons of Great Britain, having previously had to survive in a House which was dominated by his opponents. Backgroun ...

, he was switched to Haslemere. Lowther's members rarely showed independence (or kept their seats if they did), and Baynes Garforth was not exceptional in this regard. Following Lowther, he was in opposition to the Fox-North Coalition, and then supported Pitt (who sat in one of Lowther's seats from 1781 to 1784) until 1788, when Lowther, now Earl of Lonsdale, broke with Pitt over the Regency Bill. He is not known to have spoken in the House of Commons. At the

1790 British general election The 1790 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Political situation ...

, Baynes Garforth was put in for Cockermouth again. By this time Lonsdale had been reconciled with Pitt and Baynes Garforth continued to act as part of Lonsdale's voting bloc. He was to be rewarded with the post of collector of customs for Carlisle, but as this was incompatible with his sitting in Parliament, it was given in trust to a Mr. Fearon instead. Baynes Garforth sued Fearon to collect the revenues he felt were due him, resulting in a ruling by the Court of Common Pleas that the holding of offices in trust was illegal. Lonsdale died shortly before the

1802 United Kingdom general election The 1802 United Kingdom general election was the election to the House of Commons of the second Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The first Parliament had been composed ...

, and his successor, William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, replaced Baynes Garforth at Cockermouth with his own attorney, James Graham. Baynes Garforth did not sit in Parliament again, and died on 15 October 1808.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baynes Garforth, John 1727 births 1808 deaths Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1796–1800 UK MPs 1801–1802 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies