38 



Westbury under the Plain. 



Its obtaining 1 that privilege is accounted for in the same way as in 

 the case of Calne, Wootton Basset, Chippenham, and others. They 

 were all Crown property, and the Crown took good care to strengthen 

 its own position by bestowing* the privilege on places under its 

 immediate control. The members for Westbury have been from the 

 first, upon the whole, taken from among Wiltshire families in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, and in one of these instances Westbury 

 borough is distinguished as having been the first in which bribery was 

 detected. The offender was Mr. Thomas Long, of the Semington 

 branch of that family, but owner of a manor within the parish of 

 Westbury,who, in 1571 (14Eliz.),was refused admittance to theHouse 

 on the ground of having paid to the mayor four pounds to obtain the 

 seat. 1 Among strangers wholly unconnected with the place who 

 have been returned as members, Westbury may boast of two very 

 eminent public men, Sir William Blackstone, the famous author of 

 that standard work, the Commentaries on the Laws of England; the 

 other, the late Sir Robert Peel. There was also another M.P. for 

 Westbury who deserves notice, Capt. Matthew Mitchell, R.N., who 

 died in 1747. He had been a companion of Commodore (afterwards 

 Lord) Anson in his voyage round the world in 1741, as commandant 

 of The Gloucester. This unfortunate ship, having been driven by 

 bad weather far from the rest, narrowly escaped destruction, was 

 lost for a considerable time, and when recovered was found with 

 most of her crew dead, and the captain nearly so, from starvation. 

 The story is given in Anson's voyage. 



1 W. Prynne mentions this as the first precedent lie could find for the Com- 

 mons beginning to seclude one another upon pretence of undue elections and 

 returns. The case is thus described by Oldfield : — "14 Eliz. May 9, 1571. 

 Thomas Longe [Prynne prints Lucy, by mistake] gent, who was returned for 

 this borough, and who was deemed not of sufficient capacity to serve in Parliament 

 confessed that he had given Anthony Garlande, Mayor of Westbury, and one 

 Watts of the same town, the sum of four pounds for that place and room of 

 burgessship : And it was ordered by the House that the said Garlande and Watts 

 should immediately repay the said Thomas Longe the said four pounds, and also 

 that a fine of £20 be, by this House assessed upon the Corporation of the said 

 town to the Queen's Majesty's use for the said lewd and slanderous attempt." 

 [Oldfield's Parliamentary History, vol. v., p. 141.] 



