Charles Caesar

Charles Caesar (21 November 1673 – 2 April 1741) of Benington, Hertfordshire was a British Member of Parliament, a lawyer, a Tory and a Jacobite. Early life Charles Caesar was the son of Sir Charles Caesar of Benington. He was educated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge and admitted at the Middle Temple in 1690. He succeeded his father to the Benington estate in 1694. Political career He entered Parliament in 1701 as member for Hertford. This was a borough where his family had considerable influence, but where there was an ongoing dispute over the franchise (the main bone of contention being whether non-resident freemen of the town were entitled to vote). Almost every election ended in a petition to the House of Commons against the result, and the usual outcome was that the cases were decided for partisan reasons rather than on the merits of the case. In 1708, Caesar was defeated at the general election by one Sir Thomas Clarke, and petitioned against the result, though he withdrew his petition before any decision had been reached.