Benjamin Hicklin

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Alderman Benjamin Hicklin, JP
Born
Benjamin Hicklin

(1816-11-11)11 November 1816
Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England
Died16 March 1909(1909-03-16) (aged 92)
Worthing, Sussex, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationSolicitor, licensed carrier, farmer
Known forMayor 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.

Justice of the peace judicial officer, of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace

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.

Contents

Hicklin case

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]

Obscene Publications Act 1857

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.

Court of Kings Bench (England)

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.

Hicklin test

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.

Politics

Hicklin served as Mayor of Wolverhampton 1859/60

Family

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 town in Staffordshire, England

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 human settlement in United Kingdom

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.

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Obscene Publications Act 1959

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.

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Offlow

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".

References

  1. ↑ Regina v. Hicklin#Decision  – via Wikisource.
  2. ↑ Robert H. E. Bremmer (1 January 1971). Children and youth in America: a documentary history. 1866 - 1932. Harvard University Press. p. 231. ISBN   978-0-674-11612-2 . Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Craig R. Ducat (29 February 2008). Constitutional Interpretation: Rights of the individual. Cengage Learning. p. 540. ISBN   978-0-495-50324-8 . Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  4. ↑ ""England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," Benjn. Hicklin, 1816". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  5. ↑ ""England, Marriages, 1538–1973 ," Benjamin Hicklin, 1808". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  6. ↑ England Census, Staffordshire, Tettenhall. The National Archives, 1851
  7. ↑ England Census, Staffordshire, Bushbury. The National Archives, 1861
  8. ↑ England Census, Staffordshire, Bushbury. The National Archives, 1871
  9. ↑ England Census, Sussex, Worthing. The National Archives, 1901
Political offices
Preceded by
John Hartley		 Mayor of Wolverhampton
1859–1860		Succeeded by
Charles Clarke
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