Hull Packet – Friday 12 March 1880
The “Railway Candidate”
Mr. J. Buckingham Pope, barrister-at-law, was expected to come forward as an independent candidate in the Conservative interest. It was reported that he had been persuaded to enter the contest by several supporters of the railway scheme and had already received considerable encouragement to begin an active campaign.
On the Wednesday before publication, Mr. Pope was in Hull and had issued an address to the electors. The address was unusually long and appeared in the form of an eleven-page pamphlet. In it, Mr. Pope declared himself a candidate in the Conservative interest and stated that he was prepared to give loyal support to the Government programme.
The majority of his address focused on the question of railway development in Hull. Mr. Pope argued that the North-Eastern Railway Company, by possessing a monopoly, had been able to use its railway as a means of restraining trade in Hull in order to encourage its own interests elsewhere. He advocated what he termed “railway emancipation” for the town.
It was noted that Mr. Pope was one of the proprietors of the Denaby Main Colliery near Mexborough and a strong supporter of the Hull and Barnsley Railway scheme.
Mr. Buckingham Pope
Mr. Pope, who was about thirty-eight years of age, was the second son of the late Mr. J. Buckingham Pope, founder of the well-known firm of Pope and Pearson, one of the largest exporters of coal from the Yorkshire coalfields.
He was standing for election among the Hull voters as a Conservative and was also recognised as a keen supporter of the Hull and Barnsley Railway scheme. Mr. Pope had been educated at Enfield and later at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1868 and was a member of the Middle Temple. He practised on the North-Eastern Circuit.
Mr. Pope had served as Chairman of the Denaby Main Colliery Company. His clubs were the New University and the Grafton, and his private residence was at St. James’s Place, S.W.