STERT, Arthur (d.1755), of Membland, nr. Modbury, Devon.

Stert, whose family had been settled in the vicinity of Plympton, near Plymouth, since the early sixteenth century, purchasing Membland from the Champernownes in 1723,Western Antiquary, x. 97; Trans. Devon Assoc. lxviii. 355. sat as a government supporter for Plymouth, where he had a ‘precarious’ interest of his own with the corporation.3 Mar. 1722, Sunderland (Blenheim) mss. Appointed under the treaty of Seville a commissioner for settling the claims of merchants against Spain, he was responsible for assessing the compensation payable to them under the convention of 1739, on which he was examined by the House of Commons. Commenting on his performance, a government supporter wrote:

They say he is an able man, but he has not the gift of utterance; he did not answer the questions put to him with readiness or clearness, but yet, I think, did give answers which might satisfy those who were not resolved not to be satisfied.Coxe, Walpole, iii. 515-16; HMC 14th Rep. IX, 244.

He was recommended by Walpole after his fall to Pelham, who procured him a secret service pension and employed him in west country elections.Walpole, Mems. Geo. II, i. 167; Add. 33038, ff. 352, 415; Stert to Pelham, 16 Dec. 1753, Newcastle (Clumber) mss. He died 2 Feb. 1755.