515 Sir Thomas Buxton

Constituency : King's  Lynn  1865-8

Sir  Thomas  replaced  John  Gurney  at  King's  Lynn.

Thomas  was  a  Quaker  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. Both  his  father  and  grandfather  had  been  MPs, the  latter  a  leading  anti-slavery  campaigner.

Thomas  spoke  against  any  proposal  to  cut  down  the  navy's  vigilance  for  slave  traders.

Thomas  was  defeated  in  1868  and  failed  in  numerous  attempts  to  get  back : Westminster  (1874), North  Norfolk  ( 1876  and  1879 ) , West  Essex ( 1880 ) .

In  1895  Thomas  was  appointed  Governor  of  South  Australia  where  he  had  to  deal  with  the hostility  of  the  premier  Charles  Kingston  who  resented  not  being  consulted  about  the  appointment. His  allowance  was  reduced  and  customs  duty  charged  on  all  his  possessions  including  his  wife's invalid  carriage. He  bore  this  with  a  good  grace  and  made  a  good  impression  for  his  geniality  and conscientious  discharge  of  his  duties. He  remained  in  post  until  1899  when  he  returned  to  England due  to  his  wife's  health.

He  died  in  1915  aged  78. His  son  Noel  became  a  Liberal  and  later  Labour  MP.