On 16 March 1869, the result of the
1868 general election in the
borough of Blackburn was declared null and void, after an
election petition had been lodged. The two Conservatives who had been elected,
Joseph Feilden and Edward Hornby's father
William Henry Hornby, were unseated when Mr Justice Willes found that there had been widespread intimidation of voters. along with Joseph Feilden's son
Henry Master Feilden. Both candidates had appealed for support as a tribute to their fathers, ==Cricket==