The 1892 East Worcestershire by-election was a parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

constituency of East Worcestershire on 30 March 1892.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the expulsion from Parliament of the sitting

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

MP, George Hastings. Hastings had held the seat since

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

, first as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

but after

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

as a Liberal Unionist. In March 1892 he pleaded guilty at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

to an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

accusing him of misappropriating

trust money In Australia, trust money in the legal industry is the money a law practice holds on behalf of a client or other people in the course of, or in connection with, the provision of legal services. Trust money is required to be held by a law firm on a ...

in his charge. As a Trustee for property under the will of a Major John Brown, he had appropriated over £20,000 from the estate. This left the children of Major Brown a sum of around £7,000. In his summing up the

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, Mr Justice A L Smith, said that Hastings’ actions had left the four children of Major Brown “on the verge of want”. He then sentenced Hastings to a term of five years penal servitude. By a motion put to the House of Commons on 21 March 1892 by

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...

, in his role as Leader of the House it was agreed to expel Hastings from Parliament.

Candidates

As a Liberal Unionist seat, it was a matter of importance to the party that one of its men should be selected to fight the by-election in the Unionist interest. This was against the background of a number of Liberal Unionist disputes with the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

over candidate selection in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

area going back some years.

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

was keen to ensure a Liberal Unionist candidate to shore up his position vis-a-vis the Tories on his home patch, particularly as his family residence,

Highbury Hall Highbury Hall, now a Grade II* listed building, was commissioned as his Birmingham residence by Joseph Chamberlain in 1878, two years after he became member of parliament for Birmingham. It took its name from the Highbury area of London, where C ...

fell just within the northern boundary of the East Worcestershire seat. More importantly perhaps, his son

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...

had recently been approved as Unionist candidate for the seat. The Conservatives were however unwilling to concede the seat, at least without some attempt to impose conditions. The Chairman of the local Conservative Association,

Victor Milward Colonel Victor Milward (29 September 1840 – 31 May 1901) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected for the constituency of Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a ...

, tried to insist that Chamberlain must pledge to oppose any move towards

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. But this would not have played well with many former Liberal voters, coming from the

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

tradition, who now supported the Liberal Unionists. It was also pointed out that if the Tories were insisting on Liberal Unionists opposing disestablishment to gain their backing as candidates, pledges in favour of disestablishment might be asked of Conservatives by their Liberal Unionist allies in future disputed contests. In the end the Conservatives felt they could not force their opinions on Chamberlain and supported his candidacy. The Liberals had not opposed Hastings at the last election and evidently had no candidate in the field or poised to enter the fray. Chamberlain was nominated ten times from each district within the constituency, each nomination being signed by five Liberal Unionists and five Conservatives. There being no other nominations, Chamberlain was returned unopposed.F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918''; Macmillan Press, 1974 p421