Alderman Benjamin Hicklin, JP | |
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Born | Benjamin Hicklin 11 November 1816 Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England |
Died | 16 March 1909 92) | (aged
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Solicitor, licensed carrier, farmer |
Known for | Mayor of Wolverhampton, Hicklin test |
Benjamin Hicklin JP (11 November 1816 – 16 March 1909), licensed carrier, farmer, solicitor and Borough Magistrate served as Mayor of Wolverhampton 1859/60.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
The case centred on a Wolverhampton resident, respectable metal broker Henry Scott, a Protestant activist, who was reselling anti-catholic pamphlets obtained from London. The pamphlet The Confessional Unmasked: Shewing the Depravity of the Romanish Priesthood, the Iniquity of the Confessional, and the Questions Put to Females in Confession contained sections which appeared to contravene the recently enacted Obscene Publications Act 1857. The borough Watch Committee directed a police officer to bring a complaint before two justices of the borough, Hicklin being one of the justices. They issued a warrant for seizure and destruction of the pamphlets and 252 pamphlets were seized. On 26 May 1867 Scott appealed against the order at the borough quarter sessions. The recorder overturned the order of the justices and directed that the pamphlets be returned to Scott, subject to the opinion of the Court of the Queen's Bench. On 29 April the Court decided, "We have considered this matter, and we are of opinion that the judgment of the learned recorder must be reversed, and the decision of the magistrates affirmed." [1]
The Obscene Publications Act 1857, also known as Lord Campbell's Act or Campbell's Act, was a major piece of legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland dealing with obscenity. For the first time, it made the sale of obscene material a statutory offence, giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material. The Act superseded a 1787 Royal Proclamation by George III titled Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice. The proclamation commanded the prosecution of those guilty of "excessive drinking, blasphemy, profane swearing and cursing, lewdness, profanation of the Lord's Day, and other dissolute, immoral, or disorderly practices". Prior to this Act, the "exposure for sale" of "obscene books and prints" had been made illegal by the Vagrancy Act 1824. but the publication of obscene material was a common law misdemeanour The effective prosecution of authors and publishers was difficult even in cases where the material was clearly intended as pornography.
The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis, initially following the monarch on his travels, the King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421.
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The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case Regina v. Hicklin. At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of obscene books. [2] The court held that all material tending "to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences" was obscene, regardless of its artistic or literary merit. [3]
The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case Regina v. Hicklin (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of obscene books. The court held that all material tending "to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences" was obscene, regardless of its artistic or literary merit.
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin obscaena (offstage) a cognate of the Ancient Greek root skene, because some potentially offensive content, such as murder or sex, was depicted offstage in classical drama. The word can be used to indicate a strong moral repugnance, in expressions such as "obscene profits" or "the obscenity of war". As a legal term, it usually refers to graphic depictions of people engaged in sexual and excretory activity.
Hicklin served as Mayor of Wolverhampton 1859/60
Hicklin was born in Wolverhampton on 11 November 1816, the son of wharfinger Benjamin Hickin and Elizabeth née Barney. [4] [5] Hicklin became articled for five years to attorney at law, Joseph Foster of Wolverhampton, on 26 May 1832. In 1844 he was living at Graiseley House, and owned a part share of houses and land with his elder brother, James.
Hicklin married Mary Hatfield of Rugeley, Staffordshire on 22 August 1848. They lived at Wightwick, Staffordshire, [6] then The Holmes, Fordhouses, Bushbury, Staffordshire. [7] [8] After Hicklin retired they settled in Worthing, Sussex, England [9] where he died in 1909, aged 92.
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent, and is situated between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter. At the 2001 census the town's population was 22,724,. increasing to 24,033 at the 2011 Census. Rugeley is twinned with Western Springs, Illinois and in July 1962 the towns made telephone history on national television when the chairman of Rugeley Urban District Council made the first telephone call via the new Telstar satellite to the Mayor of Western Springs.
Wightwick is a part of Tettenhall Wightwick ward in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is named after an ancient local family the "de Wightwicks". It is on the western fringe of Wolverhampton and borders the rural South Staffordshire area that includes neighbourhoods such as Perton.
Bushbury is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards.
Sir George Gilbert Scott, styled Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him.
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1868.
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales is a court in London and one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court. Part of the present building stands on the site of the medieval Newgate gaol, on a road named Old Bailey that follows the line of the City of London's fortified wall, which runs from Ludgate Hill to the junction of Newgate Street and Holborn Viaduct. The Old Bailey has been housed in several structures near this location since the sixteenth century, and its present building dates from 1902.
The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
The Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire. The Soke was also described as the Liberty of Peterborough, or Nassaburgh hundred, and comprised, besides Peterborough, about thirty parishes.
The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity in England and Wales. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene materials was governed by the common law case of R v Hicklin, which had no exceptions for artistic merit or the public good. During the 1950s, the Society of Authors formed a committee to recommend reform of the existing law, submitting a draft bill to the Home Office in February 1955. After several failed attempts to push a bill through Parliament, a committee finally succeeded in creating a viable bill, which was introduced to Parliament by Roy Jenkins and given the Royal Assent on 29 July 1959, coming into force on 29 August 1959 as the Obscene Publications Act 1959. With the committee consisting of both censors and reformers, the actual reform of the law was limited, with several extensions to police powers included in the final version.
Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It was known as Warwickshire Constabulary until 2001. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 823 regular officers as of September 2017. The resident population of the force area is 554,002.
Local justice areas are units in England and Wales established by the Courts Act 2003, replacing and directly based on the previous petty sessional divisions. They have been in existence since 2005.
West Surrey was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Surrey, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.
William Guyton the younger JP (1816–84) was the second Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand in 1843. A position he obtained on the death of George Hunter and held until the Borough was abolished by the British Government.
John Jones, and his brothers William Highfield Jones and Joseph Jones, were successful industrialists, benefactors and politicians. They all became aldermen and served as Mayor of Wolverhampton.
Solicitor Joseph Crowther Smith served as Mayor of Wolverhampton 1865/66
John Lloyd Gibbons was an engineering surveyor, justice of the peace, county councillor for Bilston and a Liberal Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South from 1898 to 1900.
Offlow is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England, located in the south-east of that county. It is named after a tumulus or mound in the parish of Swinfen and Packington, 2½ miles south of Lichfield. The hundred is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name "Offelav".
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Preceded by John Hartley | Mayor of Wolverhampton 1859–1860 | Succeeded by Charles Clarke |