February 16th, 1855. Mr. William Masefield’s candle manufactory, situate between High Street and King Street, was this night burnt down. Damages £650.
Died February 26th, 1855, at Hastings, John Benbow, Esq., M.P. for this town, aged 87 years. Mr. Benbow was a decided Tory in politics, and a churchman in religion; his school of thought was narrow and contracted, and he looked upon all reforms and progressions with alarm and distrust. He was well known to be the nominee of the young Lord Ward and his Trustees; he secured and maintained his seat as M.P. for Dudley entirely on the sufferance of the Castle power and influence; for the electors of Dudley would never have returned him had it not been for quarrelling with their own bread and living. The old gentleman never spoke in the House of Commons; he seldom favoured Dudley with his presence; he represented us (or rather never represented us at all) for about eleven years, and it was always keenly felt that he was of no use to this enterprising and increasing Borough.
Died March 2nd, 1855, Nicholas, the tyrannical and ambitious Emperor of all the Russias, aged 59 years. This wicked man caused the invasion of Turkey, and the war in the Crimea, by which so many of our brave countrymen fell in defence of the Turkish Empire, and the cause of humanity.
BOROUGH ELECTION.
The death of Mr. Benbow necessitated another Parliamentary Election in this borough, and as very little time was given (only eleven days) for the burgesses to look around for a new member, that short time was very adroitly occupied by the Castle wire-pullers in trimming and burnishing up the rather raw and unsettled political ideas of a perfect stranger to Dudley, in the person of Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Bart., of the Pynes, near Exeter. This gentleman, of great ability and good lineage and descent, was brought out from the Priory, for our acceptance, as a Liberal-Conservative, with the hope that a candidate untried (for Sir Stafford had not been in Parliament before), who had some tincture of Liberalism in his composition, might be made to suit all factions in the Borough, and save the tumult and annoyance of another contested election. This ruse would not go down with the Radical electors, for it was thought that it was high time the Himley incubus should be thrown down, once and for ever. To accomplish this intention, our old townsman, Mr. Samuel Cook, with Mr. Wm. Insull, and other Chartists, again prevailed upon Mr. James Baldwin, of Birmingham, to become their champion, upon not quite such an extravagant platform as he had appeared before us in 1852. Sir Stafford Northcote spoke both eloquently and reasonably at his various meetings, and it soon became evident that he would be the next member for Dudley. Mr. Baldwin, on the other hand, with all the bluster his friends could ventilate in his favour, had to fight a forlorn hope, for Dudley was not yet ripe for his politics; Chartism had lately received a most sensible check, and people were beginning to look with alarm at the uncertain end the Charter would lead them to. Besides all this, there was a strong belief that Sir Stafford was not the young politician to be put into “leading strings” by anyone, for he was an independent man, and had an inflexible will of his own, which subsequent events brought out into strong relief.
On March 9th, 1855, this Dudley Election had to be gone through, although Mr. Baldwin and his admirers had virtually “caved in.” Close of the poll:—
| Sir Stafford Northcote (Liberal Conservative) | 346 |
| Mr. James Baldwin (Radical) | 3 |
| —— | |
| Majority | 343 |
TO THE ELECTORS OF DUDLEY.
Gentlemen,
It is impossible for me to suppress a feeling of pride in regarding the position in which you have placed me. This feeling, however, gives place to one of gratitude to those who have so generously placed confidence in me, and to a sense of the high responsibility which your votes have imposed upon me.