George Hudson Bentinck introduced a bill to build a railway network in Ireland. The cost of the proposal was £16 million which George Hudson, no doubt sensing an opportunity, supported. The government did not support the bill which was ultimately defeated. In the run up to the 1852 general election Hudson – who by this time was in severe financial difficulty – spoke on several issues including a repeal of a timber tax and on a corrupt practices bill. He was re-elected by 54 votes in the election but with his railway career in decline and drinking heavily he presented rather a
George Gipps (MP for Canterbury) George Gipps (MP for Canterbury) George Gipps (c. 1728-13 February 1800) was an English apothecary, hop merchant, banker and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1780 and 1796. Gipps was the son of John Gipps, a staymaker of Ashford, and his wife Sarah Flint. He began as an apothecary at Canterbury but later became a hop merchant. Gipps was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury in 1780 and held the seat to 1796. By 1790 he had given up the hop trade to become a banker in the firm Gipps, Simmons and Gipps