Sir Samuel St. Swithin Burden Whalley (15 July 1799''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975'' – 3 February 1883) was a British

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

politician. Born into a

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

family "of great antiquity", he was the son of Samuel Whalley of Weddington Hall,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, and was educated at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

, gaining his bachelor's degree in 1822 and master's in 1825. In 1827 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

, at which date he was living in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Member of parliament for Marylebone

By the 1830s Whalley was living in the

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

area of the parish of

St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it merge ...

, a rapidly developing suburb of London. In

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plan ...

Whalley sought to be nominated as a candidate for the newly enfranchised constituency of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London. There was opposition to his candidacy as he was virtually unknown in the area. Questions were also raised about the manner in which he had obtained his knighthood, which was felt to have been in exchange for supporting the election of the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

, Sir Nicholas Tindal as MP for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Although he failed to be selected on this occasion, a by-election occurred in the following year when one of the sitting

members of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

resigned. He was successfully nominated, and he described himself as ''"not backed by either church or aristocracy but... the representative of industry"''. He promised to be a ''"pure and independent"'' member, and set out his political views: he was in favour of ''"a rigid system of economy in all branches of the state"'' and ''"a revision of the system of

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

, and the appropriation of the surplus revenues of the church to the education of the people"''. He also advocated the abolition of slavery, reduction of taxation, destruction of monopolies, 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 ...

, and a three-year parliamentary term. The by-election was held on 20 March 1833, and Whalley secured a convincing win over his

opponent. He characterised his election as the ''"proud aristocracy of the country conquered by the will of the people"''. He was re-elected at the next general election in 1835. He was a strong supporter of the reforming Municipal Corporations Bill, attacking the attempts of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

to weaken the legislation. In

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ...

he was again returned as member for Marylebone. However, a petition was lodged against his election. In February 1838 an

election court In United Kingdom election law, election court is a special court convened to hear a petition against the result of a local government or parliamentary election. The court is created to hear the individual case, and ceases to exist when it has m ...

declared his election null and void, as he had not been qualified to be a candidate due to an "insufficient estate". Whalley did not contest another election.

Marriages and death

Whalley was twice married. In 1830 he married Amelia Webb who died in 1835. His second marriage was to the Hon. Harriet Rose Trench, of

Moate Moate (; ) is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. The name ''An Móta'' is derived from the term motte-and-bailey, as the Normans built an example of this type of fortification here. The earthwork is still visible behind the buildings on the m ...

and Woodlawn,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ireland in 1853. In his later years, he lived in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France, where he died 3 February 1883.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whalley, Samuel 1799 births 1883 deaths UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor