Instrument of Resignation
The appointment to a Crown Office is necessary because British MPs are not permitted to simply resign their seats from the House of Commons. This legal anomaly dates back to the 17th century when many MPs were often elected against their will. On 2 March 1624, a resolution was passed by the House of Commons making it illegal for an MP to quit or wilfully give up their seat. However under the Act of Settlement in 1701, any Member of Parliament accepting an office of profit under the Crown must give up his or her seat. This is the basis for the legal practice.
The Chiltern Hundreds were first officially used as a procedural device on 25 January 1751, to allow the MP John Pitt from the constituency in Wareham to resign. Between 1756 and 1799, eleven MPs also left parliament by accepting the Stewardship of the Manor of Old Shoreham. The Steward of the Manor of Hempholme was another alternative choice from 1845 to 1865.
On 20 March 1844, Sir George Henry Rose MP resigned his seat for Christchurch by becoming the steward of the Manor of Northstead in Yorkshire. However the official book recording appointments to the various Stewardships indicates that Patrick Chalmers, MP for Montrose Burghs, was appointed to Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 6 April 1842. But the writ of election was changed to record Chalmers had accepted the office of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Nowadays resigning MPs alternate between the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead.
Read more about this topic: Chiltern Hundreds
Famous quotes containing the words instrument and/or resignation:
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—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)