Person    | Male  Died 1856

William Evans

Businessman and Sheriff of London and Middlesex, 1839-40.

The image of Evans has a small drawing at the bottom captioned: "Interior of the room in which Mr Sheriff Evans was confined".  This set us hunting and we found the answer at Bonhams, who had sold a silver tray with an inscription referring to the confinement of Evans. The story starts with Hansard publishing something deemed indecent.  We can do no better than repeat Bonhams' explanation, as follows:

The inscription reads: Anno Domini 1840 Presented together with two ice vases to William Evans Esquire at the expiration of his year of office as one of the Sheriffs of London & Joint Sheriff of Middlesex. In testimony of the high approbation of the Subscribers of the conduct of himself, and his honourable colleague John Wheelton, Esquire, In preferring to endure a painful and protracted imprisonment rather than submit to the undefined and arbitrary privileges assumed by the house of commons. Whereby they were required to violate their oath of office, and disobey the Queen's writ which they had sworn to observe and to perpetuate the high sense of respect and admiration entertained by the Subscribers. Of the firmness and dignity displayed by the Sheriffs during their imprisonment in vindication of the majesty of the laws and the just liberty of the subject.

The above inscription relates to an interesting episode in legal history which resulted in a change to the laws regarding Parliamentary Privilege. The affair began in 1836 when the official parliamentary reporter Hansard published, by order of the House of Commons, a report in which the book On Diseases of the Generative System was described as indecent. The publisher of this book, John Joseph Stockdale, subsequently sued for defamation. The plea from Hansard was that they acted under the order of the House of Commons, and were therefore protected by Parliamentary Privilege which grants protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of legislative duties. The court dismissed this, ruling that while that may be the case within parliament, it offered no protection for publishing publically. Damages were assessed at £600. By order of the court William Evans as Sheriff of London took possession of Hanard's stock in trade and goods and organised their sale, the proceeds of which were placed in the Sheriff's hands before transferral to Stockdale. Pressure was put on Evans to return the money to Hansard by the House of Commons in an attempt to overrule the decision of the court. On Evans' refusal, he was committed to the custody of the Sergeant at Arms, described as guilty of contempt and breach of the privileges of the House. He was imprisoned for 44 days. As a result of the case parliament passed the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 to establish privilege for publication under their authority.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Evans

Commemorated ati

Caron almshouses

At about the time that Evans gave the land for these almshouses he was confin...

Read More

Other Subjects

Henry Bidgood

Henry Bidgood

Businessman elected by Westminster St James Vestry to be a member of the Metropolitan Board of Works, 1856 - 1877.  Died at home in St John's Wood.  

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Alderman Charles Pearce Russell, C.V.O., J.P.

Alderman Charles Pearce Russell, C.V.O., J.P.

Chairman of Westminster's Housing Committee 1945-9. His entry on the Wiki/Fandom website informs us that he was a company director and local politician who was elected to Westminster City Council a...

Person, Commerce, Liveries & Guilds, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh

Communist revolutionary and founder of modern Vietnam. Left Vietnam in 1911 and worked on ships as a kitchen helper. In New York he was a baker at the Parker House Hotel. In 1913 he arrived in Lond...

Person, Nationalism, Politics & Administration, Vietnam

1 memorial
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Muslim reformer and scholar. Born Delhi, Died Aligarh.

Person, Politics & Administration, Religion, India, Pakistan

1 memorial
J. Eastty

J. Eastty

Member of the Commissioners of the 1890 Bermondsey Library. c.1894-5 a J. Eastty living in Bermondsey was elected to serve on the committee of the Baptist Fund, and in 1887 the British Bee Journal...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, Donald Smith

Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, Donald Smith

Born Scotland.   Emigrated to Canada in 1838 to work with the Hudson's Bay Company.  He worked his way up the company and entered politics, made his fortune and was knighted in 1886.  Died  28 Gros...

Person, Commerce, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, Canada

1 memorial
F. O. Admans
War dead, WW1
1 memorial
St Mary Moorfields

St Mary Moorfields

EC2, Blomfield Street

Site of St Mary Moorfields, Pro Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church 1852 - 1870. Corporation of London

1 subject commemorated