Jabez Balfour
Encyclopedia
Jabez Spencer Balfour was a businessman, British Liberal Party
politician and fraudster.
.
He was Member of Parliament
for Tamworth
from 1880 to 1885, and for Burnley
from 1889 to 1893. Balfour was also interested in local politics in his home town of Croydon
, Surrey
where he regularly topped the poll for the school board. When Croydon got borough status in 1883 he was selected as charter mayor and re-elected for a second term. In 1885 he stood as Liberal candidate in Croydon at the general election but lost to the Conservatives. He also stood unsuccessfully for the Liberals at Walworth in 1886.
Together with City financiers Leopold Salomons
and Sir John Pender
, Balfour founded the investment underwriting firm the Trustees, Executors and Securities Insurance Corporation, Limited in December 1887.
In 1892, he was at the centre of a scandal when the Liberator Building Society
, which he set up and controlled, failed, leaving thousands of investors penniless. Instead of advancing money to home buyers, the Society had advanced money to property companies to buy properties owned by him, at a high price. After the swindle was discovered, Balfour fled the country. He was arrested in Argentina
by Inspector Frank Froest
of Scotland Yard in 1895; with extradition proceedings held up by legal wrangling, Froest simply bundled Balfour into a train and then a boat sailing for England. Balfour was tried at the Old Bailey
and sentenced to 14 years penal servitude, most of which was served in harsh conditions in Portland
prison.
When he was released from prison in 1906, his memoirs were serialised by Lord Northcliffe
's Weekly Despatch newspaper. He died in 1916, on a train from London
to Wales
, heading for a job as a mining consultant.
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician and fraudster.
Life
He was the son of James Balfour and Clara Lucas BalfourClara Lucas Balfour
Clara Lucas Balfour was an English temperance campaigner, lecturer and author.-Early life:Balfour was born in the New Forest, Hampshire, on 21 December 1808. Her parents' name was Lucas; her mother Sarah left Hampshire and took up residence in London with Clara in 1818...
.
He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Tamworth
Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Tamworth is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
from 1880 to 1885, and for Burnley
Burnley (UK Parliament constituency)
Burnley is a borough constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire, which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1889 to 1893. Balfour was also interested in local politics in his home town of Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
where he regularly topped the poll for the school board. When Croydon got borough status in 1883 he was selected as charter mayor and re-elected for a second term. In 1885 he stood as Liberal candidate in Croydon at the general election but lost to the Conservatives. He also stood unsuccessfully for the Liberals at Walworth in 1886.
Together with City financiers Leopold Salomons
Leopold Salomons
Leopold Salomons was a city financier and company director active in the City of London in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Salomons was born into a British Jewish family, but it has been suggested that he later converted to Christianity...
and Sir John Pender
John Pender
Sir John Pender , British Submarine communications cable pioneer, was born in the Vale of Leven, Scotland, and after attending school in Glasgow became a successful merchant in textile fabrics in that city and in Manchester; where he had a warehouse in Peter street near The Great Northern Warehouse...
, Balfour founded the investment underwriting firm the Trustees, Executors and Securities Insurance Corporation, Limited in December 1887.
In 1892, he was at the centre of a scandal when the Liberator Building Society
Building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially mortgage lending. These institutions are found in the United Kingdom and several other countries.The term "building society"...
, which he set up and controlled, failed, leaving thousands of investors penniless. Instead of advancing money to home buyers, the Society had advanced money to property companies to buy properties owned by him, at a high price. After the swindle was discovered, Balfour fled the country. He was arrested in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
by Inspector Frank Froest
Frank Froest
Superintendent Frank Castle Froest was a British detective and crime writer.Froest was described by a journalist as being "...short, thick-set, full-faced, Mr.Froest in uniform looked more like a Prussian field-marshal than anything else...
of Scotland Yard in 1895; with extradition proceedings held up by legal wrangling, Froest simply bundled Balfour into a train and then a boat sailing for England. Balfour was tried at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
and sentenced to 14 years penal servitude, most of which was served in harsh conditions in Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
prison.
When he was released from prison in 1906, his memoirs were serialised by Lord Northcliffe
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe rose from childhood poverty to become a powerful British newspaper and publishing magnate, famed for buying stolid, unprofitable newspapers and transforming them to make them lively and entertaining for the mass market.His company...
's Weekly Despatch newspaper. He died in 1916, on a train from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, heading for a job as a mining consultant.