Coventry Election 1832
Edward Ellice, known by contemporaries as "The Bear" was a merchant and politician, director of the Hudson Bay Company and a prime mover in both the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832 and the formation of the Reform Club. He also owned large estates in the West Indies.
The Club's website states that- With the passing of the Great Reform Bill in 1832 and the general election of December 1834, many reformers felt the need for - an Association or Club (call it what you will) in London to counter the machinations of the Tory Carlton Club.This suggestion of Lord Durham was taken up by Sir William Molesworth who announced in February 1835 that "As another means of attacking the Tories, a Liberal Club is to be formed, of which the more liberal Whigs, Radicals, etc., will be members. It will be like the Athenaeum, a good dining club. The great object is to get the Reformers of the country to join it, so that it may be a place of meeting for them when they come to town."
With this object in mind, Molesworth and six other Radicals met secretly at a hotel in New Palace Yard, Westminster, on 2nd February 1836. They settled on the name Reform Club and appointed a provisional committee, taking the best of the Radicals and no Whigs, and issued circulars announcing their decisions. This fait accompli infuriated the Whigs. Angry exchanges ensued. Finally, a compromise was hammered out and a new provisional committee drawn up consisting of both Whigs and Radicals. This committee met for the first time at the house of Edward Ellice, a leader of the Whigs, in Carlton House Terrace, on 8th February 1836.
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