John Frederick Lees

John Frederick Lees (born Oldham 1809, died Cheltenham 1867)[1] sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Member of Parliament for Oldham 1835-1837.

Biography

The grandson of a cotton manufacturer,[2] he was a local mill-owner,[3] mine-owner,[4] and landowner: the Lord of the manor[5] and an Oxford graduate,[6] but dismissed as "a gentleman... qualified neither by age nor ability to fulfill the duties of a member of the imperial parliament" by the Manchester Times:[7] Hansard reports him to have made no speeches in Parliament.[8]

Politics

Thanks to internal squabbles (principally over the desired relationship between the state and the Anglican church) amongst the Radicals of Oldham,[9] he was elected as a 'Liberal Conservative' at a by-election caused by the death of William Cobbett, narrowly defeating John Morgan Cobbett (Cobbett's son) after another Radical candidate (Feargus O'Connor) withdrew on the first morning of the poll.[10] Lees attributed his victory to the absence of the organised 'intimidation system' he claimed had been practiced in the previous contested election (that of 1832).[11] By the general election of 1837 the Radicals had regrouped, and Lees came bottom of the poll:[12] this he attributed to the return of intimidation and 'exclusive dealing'.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Deaths". Blackburn Standard. 25 September 1867. p. 3.
  2. ↑ The Admission Register of the Manchester School with some Notices of the more Distinguished Scholars. Manchester University Press. 1874. pp. 150–. GGKEY:LJ44YNJ692P. - entry for Edward Lees
  3. ↑ "Oldham - Cotton Mill Burnt". Manchester Times. 5 December 1840. p. 3.
  4. ↑ "Oldham, September 23, 1836: Explosion of Fire-damp - Shocking Accident". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 24 September 1836. p. 3.
  5. ↑ "News of the Neighbouring Towns - Oldham- Turnpike Roads". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 7 June 1851. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Marriages". Preston Chronicle. 24 December 1831. p. 3.
  7. ↑ "Representation of Oldham". Manchester Times. 4 July 1835. p. 3.
  8. ↑ "People: Mr John Lees".
  9. ↑ the divisions between Oldham Radicals are explored at length in Bickerstaffe, Derek (1964). "Politic and party organisation in Oldham" (PDF). Durham E-Theses Online. Durham University. Retrieved 25 February 2016.; pages 31-59 cover the period 1832-7
  10. ↑ The Spectator. F.C. Westley. 1835. p. 651.
  11. ↑ "Oldham Operative Conservative Association". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 7 January 1837. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "Local Intelligence - Oldham". Manchester Times. 29 July 1837. p. 3.
  13. ↑ "Oldham Conservative Festival". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 6 January 1838. p. 3.

External links

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