A survey of the parliamentary elections of 1625-8

Abstract

The purpose of the thesis was to study the parliamentary elections of 1625, 1626 and 1628. Contemporary accounts of these elections were derived from the State Papers, ambassadorial reports, parliamentary diaries, news-letters and family correspondence. Further information was obtained by tracing the relationship between an M.P. and his constituency. Borough and county elections were discussed with particular reference to the survival of the payment of wages, the use of instructions by constituencies to its members, and. the practices of election patrons. However, the most illuminating approach was through a study of the extent of government intervention in each of the elections. Court pressure was most pronounced in boroughs within its jurisdiction, that is, the Cinque Ports, the Duchies of Lancaster and. Cornwall, and a detailed analysis has been made of the elections in these areas. The relationship between the misgovernment of the early years of Charles I's reign and the parliamentary elections of the period has been discussed. Approximately 113 'courtiers' were returned in 1625. A 'courtier' has been defined as either a Privy Councillor, office-holder or legal official, or someone who was prepared to support the government in the hope of future gain.95 'courtiers' were elected the following year, and approximately the same number in 1628, in spite of the increased opposition to the government. A list of 'courtiers' returned to each parliament, with the offices they held, is provided in the appendices. The government had little need to have recourse to the nomination of particular candidates. The normal mechanism of election resulted in the return of a considerable number of 'courtiers', without the direct intervention of the court. The number of contested elections discovered varies in number from 20 in 1625, to 14 in 1626 and 20 in 1628. They were primarily struggles between local gentry anxious to obtain a seat in the House of Commons, and rarely reflect opposition to the government.