768 James Sharman-Crawford

Constituency : Down  1874-8

James's  victory  was  another  gain  from  the  Tories  in  the  first  contested  election  since  1859. His  victory  was  largely  down  to  the  support  of  tenant-right  organisations.

James  was  the  son  of  William  Sharman-Crawford  an  MP  for  Dundalk  and  Rochdale, The  Sharman-Crawfords  were  a  prominent  landed  family.

 James   spent  most  of  his  short  parliamentary  career  trying  to  establish  Ulster's  tenant right  customs  in  law,  a  cause  that  had  been  taken  up  by  his  father..

He  died  in  1878  aged  66. The  Tories  reclaimed  the  seat  in  the  by-election  after  the  Liberals  were  less  assiduous  in  cultivating  the  Catholic  vote.