927 George Hastings

Constituency : Worcestershire  East  1880-92 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

George  took  the  second  East  Worcestershire  seat  from  the  Tories.

George  was  the  son  of  Charles  Hastings, founder  of  the  British  Medical  Association. He  was  educated  at  Bromsgrove  School  and  Cambridge.He  became  a  barrister  in  1850  and  became  interested  in  law  reform. He  looked  to  Brougham  as  his  patron. He  was  General  Secretary  then  Chairman  of  the  National  Association  for  Promotion  of  Social  Science. He  first  stood  for  Parliament  at  a  by-election  at  Beverley  way  back  in  1854. He  failed  to  get  the  Liberal  nomination  there  in  1857. He  stood  for  West  Worcestershire  in  1874.

George  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886. He  was  unopposed  at  the  election  that  year.

In  1892  George  was  expelled  from  the  Commons  following  conviction  for  misappropriating  funds  as  a  trustee  for  willed  property. He  received  a  five  year  sentence.

He  died  in  1917  aged  92.

926 Aeneas McIntyre

Constituency : Worcester  1880-85

Aeneas  reversed  the  by-election  gain  of  1878

Aeneas  was  the  son  of  a  Scottish  barrister . He  became  an  English  barrister. He  was  a  Freemason.

Aeneas's maiden  speech  was  in  favour of  the  Employers  Liability  Bill.

When  Worcester  was  reduced  to  one  member  in  1885  Aeneas  switched  to  Hackney  North  but  was  unsuccessful.

In  1889  Aeneas  was  appointed  a  County  Court  judge  but  died  a  few  months  later  aged  67.

925 Henry Fowler

Constituency  : Wolverhampton  1880-85; Wolverhampton  East  1885-1908

Henry  took  over  from  Thomas  Weguelin  at  Wolverhampton.

Henry  was  the  son  of  a  Methodist  minister  from  Sunderland. He  was  educated  at  schools  in  Sunderland  and  Southwark  and  became  a  solicitor. He  became  active  in  local  politics  and  was  Mayor  of  Wolverhampton  in  1862. He  became  chair  of  Wolverhampton  School  Board  in  1870.

Henry's  able  maiden  speech  on  the  Irish  Land  Act  marked  him  down  as  a  useful  addition  to  the  Liberal  ranks. Henry  was  made  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department  in  1884.

Henry  was  Financial  Secretary  to  the  Treasury  in  1886. He  resisted  a  further  inquiry  into  income  tax  on  administrative  grounds.

In  1892  Henry  was  unopposed.  Gladstone  appointed  him  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board  making  him  both  the  first  Methodist  and  first  solicitor  to achieve  Cabinet  rank. He  made  conditions  in  workhouses  less harsh   He  became  Secretary  of  State  for  India  in  1894  under  Rosebery. He  was  hard  working  and  capable.

During  the  Liberals'  period  in  opposition  he  was  identified  as  belonging  to  the  Liberal  Imperialist  wing. He  was  vice-president  of  the  Liberal  League. He  was  seen  as  a  genuine  contender  for  the  leadership  of  the party.

Henry  was  President  of  the  Law  Society  in  1901-02.

Henry  was  appointed  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  by  Campbell-Bannerman  in  1905. Asquith  raised  him  to  the  peerage  as  Viscount  Wolverhampton   and  made  him  Lord  President  of  the  Council in  1908.

In  January  1910  Henry's  daughter  wrote  of  him  addressing  a  public  meeting  in  Wolverhampton , "He  spoke  for  over  an  hour, though  he  mostly  read  his  speech,  but  it  was  an  infinitely  pathetic  sight  to  see  the  veteran  statesman , facing  for  the  last  time, the  men  of  his  old  constituency. His  voice  had  lost  much  of  its  old  force  , but  none  of  its  old  clearness"

Henry  supported  the  enfranchisement  of  single  women. He  argued  that  political  economy  rules  didn't  apply  to  land  because  it  was  fixed. He  was  described  by  Sydney  Webb  as  "the  greatest  enemy  of  municipal  enterprise"

He  stepped  down  through  ill  health  in   June  1910  and  died  aged  80  the  following  year

924 Gilbert Leigh

Constituency : Warwickshire  South  1880-84

Gilbert  captured  one  of  the  Warwickshire  South  seats  from  the  Tories.

Gilbert  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Baron  Leigh  and  a  grandson  of  the  Marquess  of   Westminster.  He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge.

Gilbert  died  in  an  accident  while  shooting  bears  in  the  Rockies  in  1884. His  body  was  found  at  the  bottom  of  a  canyon  after  a   week's  search  after  he  had  ridden  off  alone.  He  was  33.

923 Jabez Balfour

Constituency : Tamworth  1880-5, Burnley  1889-93

Jabez  took  over  from  Robert  Peel  at  Tamworth.  He  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  Liberals'  more  notorious  MPs.

Jabez  was  the  son  of  a  Commons  official. His  mother  was  a  temperance  campaigner  from  a  staunch  Congregationalist  background. He  was  educated  in  France  and  Germany. In  1870  he  and  a  group  of  associates  took  over  the  Liberator  Building  Society  which  aimed  to  help  Nonconformists  of  modest  means  acquire  their  home . It  became  the  largest  building  society  in  the  country . Jabez  held  14  directorships  and  was  a  noted  philanthropist. His  companies  built  some  impressive  buildings  in  London  such  as  Whitehall  Court. He  lived  lavishly as  a  country  squire  in  Oxfordshire. In  1876  he  bought  a  couple  of  coal  mines.

However  it  was  all  based  on  accounting  fraud. His  companies  largely  traded  with each  other, transferring  over-valued  assets  as  different  accounting  dates  demanded.  Money  that  was  supposed  to  go  to  allowing  people  to  buy  homes  went  to  property  companies  for  rental. Incompetent  auditors  such  as  Jabez's  tailor  rubber  stamped  his  accounts.

In  1883  Jabez  became  mayor  of  Croydon  and  stood  for  the  borough  in  1885. He  was  unsuccessful  there  in  1885   largely  because  he  opposed  a  new  railway  for  the  town,  having  shares  in  the  existing  one. He  lost  in  Walworth  in  1886. He  deserted  Croydon  for  its  "ungrateful  treatment"  of  him  in  1887. He  was  defeated  at  a  by-election  at  Doncaster  in  1888  but  was  elected  unopposed  at  Burnley  the  following  year. He  was re-elected  with  a  huge  majority  in  1892. He  also  became  president  of  Burnley  FC.

As  a  Liberal  Jabez  supported  disestablishment  of  the  church, female  suffrage  , Home  Rule  and  an  end  to  hereditary  peerages. He  was  a  convincing  orator  on  public  platforms. However  he  made  little  contribution  in  Parliament.

Jabez  trusted  that  rising  property  values  would  cover  his  unjustified  withdrawals  but  a  slump  in  1890  undid  his  empire. In  1892  Jabez's  dodgy  dealings  were  identified  and  he  fled  to  Argentina. With   no  extradition  treaty  in  place  Jabez  was  physically  apprehended  by  an  intrepid  officer  from  Scotland  Yard  and  brought  back  for  trial.  A  friend  of  Jabez's  was  actually  killed  in  the  process. In  1895 he  was  sentenced  to  14  years  in  prison. Thousands  of  small  investors  were  left  penniless  by  the  collapse  and  some  committed  suicide.

Jabez's  memoirs  were  serialised  in  the  Weekly  Despatch  when  he  was  released  from  prison  in  1906.

Jabez  was  a short  rotund  man.

In  1915  aged  71  Jabez  went  off  to  work  in  a  tin  mine   in  India  but  the  manager  thought  he  was  unfit  to  work. The  following  year  he  died  of  a  heart  attack  on  a  train  taking  him  to  another  mining  job  in  Wales.

922 Henry Broadhurst

Constituency : Stoke-on-Trent  1880-85, Birmingham  Bordesley  1885-6, Nottingham  West  1886-92, Leicester  1894-1906

Henry  was  the  other  victor  at  Stoke  and  sat  as  a  Lib-Lab  MP.

Henry  was  the  son  of  a  stonemason  and  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps,  working  on  the  clock  tower  of  the  Palace  of  Westminster  in  the  1860s. He  was  involved  in  the  Reform  League  in  the  1860s, In  1872  he  was  elected  to  chair  a  Mason's  Committee  during  an  industrial  dispute. He  was  a  success  and  began  working  for  the  Stonemasons  Union  full  time. He  was  their  delegate  to  the  Trades  Union  Congress.In  1873  he  became  secretary  of  the  Labour  Representation  League. Unlike  Burt  and  McDonald, Henry  was  unsuccessful  in  1874  being  defeated  at  High  Wycombe. In  1875  he  became  Secretary  of  the  T.U.C.'s  parliamentary  committee. He  told  the  TUC  that  year  that  the  labour  movement  should  look  to  keep  women  at  home. He  was  a  staunch  Methodist. He  agitated  for  the  right  to  peaceful  picketing  which  was  secured  by  the  Conspiracy  and  Protection  of  Property  Act  of  1875.

Henry  described  the  Lib-Lab  arrangement  as  "a  system  by  which  you  cordially  co-operate  with  your  friends , while  reserving  to  yourself, should  the  need  arise, your  own  independence  of  action".

Once  in  Parliament  Henry  worked  for   workmens'  compensation , allowing  working  men  to  become  magistrates  and  the  inclusion  of  "fair  wage"  clauses  in  government  contracts. In  1884  he  sat  on  the  Royal  Commission  for  working  class  housing.  He  refused  to  appear  at  Court  functions  until  he  had  saved  up  enough  money  to  buy  court  dress.

Henry  was  a  leading  advocate  of  leasehold  reform  and  in  1886  introduced  a  bill  empowering  all  leaseholders to  purchase  the  freehold  title  to  their  land  subject  to  charges  and  conditions.


In  1886  Henry  became  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department, the  first  working  class  person  to  hold  government  office. He  had  to  resign  his  post  at  the  TUC. Gladstone  had  earmarked  him  for  a  post  at  the  Board  of  Trade  but  Mundella  objected  that  his  background   would  make  him  unacceptable  to  manufacturers.   He  remained  loyal  to  Gladstone  over  Home  Rule  so  had  to  leave  Birmingham  and  challenge  in  Nottingham  West  where  he  evicted  Charles  Seely  in  a  tight  contest.

Now  he  was  an  opposition  MP  Henry  resumed  his  post  with  the  TUC  but  came  under  fire  from  left  wingers  such  as  Keir  Hardie  for  not  doing  enough  for  the  cause.  When  Henry  opposed  the  eight  hour  day  Hardie  accused  him  of  being  more  Liberal  than  Labour . In  1889   Hardie  accused  him  of  holding  shares  in  a  company  which  treated  its  workers  badly.

Beatrice  Webb  met  him  in  1889  and  described  him  as  "A  commonplace  person, hard  working  no  doubt  , but  a  middle  class  philistine  to  the  backbone, appealing  to  the  practical  shrewdness  and  the  high  flown  but  mediocre  sentiments  of  the  comfortably  off  working  man.

.In  1890  Henry  was  defeated  by  Hardie  on  the  eight  hour  day  question  and  resigned  citing  health  reasons. In  1892  he  sat  on  the  Royal  Commission  for  the  impoverished  elderly  but  lost  his  seat   to  Seely  at  the  election  that  year. The  loss  of  local  workers  support  over  the  eight  hour  day  question  was  thought  to  have  cost  him.

Henry  was   unsuccessful  at  the  Grimsby  by-election  in  1893  but  returned  at  one  for  Leicester  in  1894  where the  local  working  class  Liberals  had been  dissatisfied  with  their  previous  representatives.

Henry  retired  to  Norfolk  after  leaving  Parliament  and  became  an  alderman. He  died  in  1911  aged  71.

921 William Woodall

Constituency : Stoke-on-Trent  1880-85,  Hanley  1885-1900

William  was  one  of  two  Liberal  victors  at  Stoke  replacing  the  Tory  and  Independent*  incumbents.

William  was  born  in  Shrewsbury  and  educated  at  a  Congregational  School. He  started  work  as  a  gas  engineer  at  Liverpool  Gas  Company. He  later  managed  a  gas  works  in  the  Five  Towns. In  1862  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  china  manufacturer  and  became  a  partner  in  the  latter's  firm.  He  later  owned  the  Sneyd  Colliery  Company. He  was  chairman  of  the  Burslem  School  Board  from  1868  until  his  election. He  was  also  chairman  of  a  regional  deaf  and  dumb  charity. He  set  up  the  Wedgwood  Institute  ceramics  school.

William's  maiden  speech  was  in  support  of  Nonconformists'  burial  rights. William  served  on  the  Royal  Commission  for  Technical  Education  from  1881  to  1884.

From  1884  onwards  William  was  the  primary  parliamentary  spokesman  for  female  suffrage  and  presented  various  unsuccessful  motions. He  tried  to  get  it  included  in  the  1884  Reform  Act  but  Gladstone  opposed his  amendment  , fearing  it  would  imperil  the  bill.

William  declared  firmly  for  Home  Rule.

In  1886  William  was  briefly  Surveyor-General  of  the  Ordnance.

In  the  Gladstone/Rosebery  administration, William  served  as  Financial  Secretary  to  the  War  Office. In  1894  he  wrote  the  Select  Committee  on  Volunteer  Acts.

William  collected  art  and  Continental  pottery. In  1871  he  visited  Paris  and  wrote  the  book  Paris  After  Two  Sieges.

He  died  in  1901  aged  69.

* Edward  Kenealy , an  Irish-born  barrister  who  had  been  involved  in  the  Tichborne  case. His  conduct  in  court  had  been  highly  criticised   but  somehow  he  managed  to  use  that  to  pull  off  one  of  the  most  remarkable  by-election  triumphs  of  all  time  in  1875.

920 Henry Wiggin

Constituency : East  Staffordshire  1880-85; Birmingham  Handsworth  1885-92 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Henry  took  the  second  seat  at  East  Staffordshire  for  the  Liberals.

Henry  was  a  metals  manufacturer. He  owned  a  nickel  and  cobalt  refining  and  manufacturing  business. He  also  held  directorships  in  the  Midland  Railway, a  water  company  and  a  bank. He  built  a  number  of  houses  for  his  workers. He  was  a  former  Lord  Mayor  of  Birmingham.

Henry  tried  to  delay  the  Employers  Liability  Bell  in  1880  by  referring  it  to  a  Select  Committee. In  1884  he  opposed  the  Channel  Tunnel  which  he  had  previously  supported  due  to  the  cost  of  the  fortifications  the  military  advisers  claimed  were  necessary.

In  1885  Henry  switched seats  to  Birmingham  Handsworth  and  followed  Chamberlain  into  the  Liberal  Unionists.

Henry  was  created  a  baronet  in  1892.

He  died  in  1905  aged  81.

919 William Craig

Constituency : North  Staffordshire  1880-86

William  recaptured  one  of  the  North  Staffordshire  seats  from  the  Tories.

William  was  a  Scottish  mining  engineer  who  owned coal  and  ironstone  mines  in  the  area. In  the  1880s  he  bought  a  colliery  in  Chirk.

William's  maiden  speech  in  1880  on  the  Employers  Liability  Bill  was  a  long  one  calling  for  more  of  an  insurance  principle  in  the  legislation.  William  had  built  many  cottage  homes  for  his  workers   and  championed  the  idea  in  parliament. In  1883  he  spoke  in  favour  of  Sunday  closing  of  pubs  in  Durham  which  he  expected  to  result  in  improved  productivity  on  a  Monday.

William  later  converted  to  Catholicism.

He  died  in  1924  aged  96.

918 Charles McLaren

Constituency : Stafford  1880-86 ,  Bosworth 1892-1910

Charles  took  the  second  seat  at  Stafford  alongside  the  Lib-Lab  MP  Alexander  McDonald.

Charles  was  the  son  of  the  Edinburgh  MP  Duncan McLaren. He  was  educated  at  Heidelberg   Bonn  and  Edinburgh  University. He  began  working  life  as  a  journalist  then  took  up  law    and  became  a  barrister. He  became  the  son-in-law  of  the  wealthy  industrial  chemist  Henry  Pochin.

Charles  supported  Charles  Bradlaugh's  right  to  make  an  affirmation.  He  introduced  a  Compulsory  Purchase  of  Land  Compensation  Bill .

In  1902  Charles  was  made  a  baronet.

In  1904   Charles  introduced  a  motion  on  women's  disabilities. During  his  speech  he  pointed  out  that  working  men's  wages  had  risen  steadily  since  they  had  the  vote  while  women's  wages  had  not. In  1906  Charles  introduced  a  delegation  of  female  suffragists  to  Campbell-Bannerman.

In  1908  Charles  and  the  MP  for  Hartlepool  Christopher  Furness  were  in  frequent  contact  with  McKenna  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  pleading for  naval  contracts  to  be  placed  with  the  naval  yards  at  Jarrow.  They  were  both  directors  of  Palmers'  Shipbuilding  Company  and  Charles  said  "The  whole  town  of  40,000  inhabitants  is  dependent  on  our  ship-yard  and  would  be  ruined  if  we  had  to  close  our  gates".

 In  1909  he  made  a  long  speech  in  favour  of  Lloyd  George's   budget.

In  1911  Charles  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Aberconway.

Charles  inherited  his  father's  business  empire  in  1895  which  included  iron, coal, railways  and  shipbuilding.

Charles  lived  near  the  artist  Whistler  and  bought  many  of  his  works.

He  died  in  1934  aged  83.

917 Cecil Foljambe

Constituency : North  Nottinghamshire  1880-85, Mansfield  1885-92

Cecil  captured  one  of  the  North  Nottinghamshire  seats  from  the  Tories , coming  top  of  the  poll.

Cecil  was  a  great  nephew  of  the Tory  prime  minister  Lord  Liverpool  and  younger  brother  of  Francis  Foljambe  the  MP  for  East  Retford. He  was  a  Whig.


Cecil  supported  the  repeal  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act.

In  December  1889  he  was  wintering  in  Pau  in  southern  France  where  he  took  bird-watching  walks  with  the  young  Franklin  D  Roosevelt.

In  1893  Cecil  was  given  a  peerage  as  Baron  Hawkesbury. In  1894  he  became  a  whip  for  Rosebery.

In  1901  Cecil  served  on  the  Royal  Commission  for  Historical  Manuscripts.

In  1905  Campbell-Bannerman  made  him  Lord  Steward  of  the  Household  and  upgraded  his  peerage  to  Earl  of  Liverpool.

He  died  in  1907  aged  60  after  a  long  and  painful  illness.

916 John Wright

Constituency : Nottingham  1880

John  was  one  of  the  two  victorious  Liberals  in  Nottingham  alongside  Charles  Seely.

John  was  from  a modest  background  starting  work  as  a  salesman  for  a  Birmingham  button  manufacturer  in  1838. He  was  a  partner  in  the  firm  by  1850. He  was  a  Baptist  and  philanthropist  although  he  opposed  factory  legislation  as  interfering  with  freedom  of  contract. He  invited  Bright  to  stand  in  Birmingham  after  his  defeat  in  1857. While  President  of  the  Birmingham  Chamber  of  Commerce  John  came  up  with  the  idea  of  postal  orders  for  people  without  bank  accounts  and  the  scheme  was  implemented  as  he  had  planned. He  became  the  first  chairman  of  the  Birmingham  Liberal  Association. He  had  a  role  in  developing  Birmingham  General  Hospital, the  Art  School  and  Blue  Coats  School. He  was  the  first  treasurer  of  the  National  Liberal  Federation.

John  must  have  set  some  unenviable  record  by  dying  at  a  dinner  party  on  election  night. He  was  58.  His  funeral  saw  great  public  mourning  in  the  city.

915 John Brinton

Constituency : Kidderminster  1880-86

John   recaptured  Kidderminster  for  the  Liberals.

John  was  the  son  of  a  carpet  manufacturer. He  became  a  partner  in  the  family  firm  in  1848. He  had  a  large  house  in  the  town  and  filled  many  public  offices. He  became  chairman  of  the  Carpet  Manufacturer's  Association.  He  was  an  Anglican.

Because  he  was  holding  a  government  contract  at  the  time  John  had  to  stand  down  and  be  re-elected  but  there  was  no  opposition.

In  1886  John  spoke  in  favour  of  rating  reform  to  ensure  personal  property  was  taxed  as  well  as  real  property.

In  1887  John  presented  the  town  with  Brinton  Park  and  became  an  alderman  of  the  county  council  in  1890.

He  died  in  1914  aged  87.

914 Thomas Duckham

Constituency  : Herefordshire  1880-5, Leominster  1885-6

Thomas's  victory  made  it  two  out  of  three  seats  in  Herefordshire  for  the  Liberals.

Thomas  was  educated  at  schools  in  Bristol  and  Hereford. He  was  a  tenant  farmer  and  breeder of  Hereford  cattle. He  was  editor  of  the  Hereford  herd  book  and  involved  in  a  number  of  agricultural  associations.  He  was  also  involved  in  a  building  partnership  and  built  a  church  and  the  city  gaol  in  Hereford.

Thomas's  parliamentary  interventions  were  usually on  agricultural  matters.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Local  Taxation  Committee  which  argued  that  rates  were  hitting agriculture  harder  than  industry.

Thomas  won  Leominster  narrowly  in  1885  and  did  not  stand  in  1886.

Thomas  was  an  alderman  on  the  county  council  from  1888.

He  died  in  1902  aged  86.

913 Robert Reid

Constituency :  Hereford  1880-5, Dumfries  Burghs 1886-1905

Robert  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  at  Hereford. The  Tories  later  claimed  that  he  had  agreed  to  step  down  in  1883 as  part  of  the  agreement  that  led  to  them  withdrawing  their  petition. He  denied  it.

Robert  was  the  son  of  a  judge. He  was  educated  at  Cheltenham  and  Oxford.  He  became  a  barrister.

Robert  was  known  as  a  Radical.

In  1894  Robert  was  knighted  and  made  Solicitor-General  by  Rosebery. Later  in  the  year  he  was  promoted  to  Attorney-General.

Robert  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Campbell-Bannerman's  stance  on  the  Boer  War  and  so  when  the  latter  came  to  power  in  1905  he  elevated  Robert  to  the  peerage  as  Lord  Loreburn  in  order  to  become  his  Lord  Chancellor. He  was  a  plain, dutiful  man  who  sought  to  use  his  powers  of  patronage  fairly.

Robert  was  suspicious  of  the growing  Entente  with  France  and  was  part  of  a  Cabinet  revolt  against  the  prospect  of  military  intervention  in  Europe  in  1911. Shortly  afterwards  he  was  upgraded  to Earl  Loreburn.

Robert's  health  began  to  decline  and  he  resigned  as  Lord  Chancellor  in  1912. He  was  replaced  by  Haldane  whose  imperialism  he  had  often  crticised.

In  1913  Robert  supported  the  idea of  a  cross-party  conference  to  settle  the  Irish  question with  the  possibility  of  treating  Ulster  separately, something  he  had  opposed  in  Cabinet  two  years  earlier.

Robert  was  an  opponent  of  female  suffrage  and  tried  to  delete it  from  the  Representation  of  the  People Act  in  1918  when  it  came  to  the  Lords.

He  died  in  1923  aged  77.

912 Joseph Pulley

Constituency : Hereford 1880-6

Joseph  was  one  of  two  victorious  Liberals  at  Hereford. A The  result  was  disputed  but  an  election  petition  was  withdrawn  at  the  last  minute  after  an  apparent  agreement  between  the  local  parties  . Afterwards  they  could  not  agree  on  what   had  been  agreed  and  most  of  Joseph's  parliamentary  interventions  were  on  this  matter.

Joseph  stood  in  1874  and  at  a  by-election  in  1878. He  was  a  respected  local  landowner  who  allowed  public  access  on  his  estates.

In  1886   Joseph  moved  the  second  reading  of  a  bill  to  make  it  easier  for  deserted  women  to  get  maintenance  from  their  partners. He  was  defeated  by  265  votes  at  the  election  that  year.

Joseph  was  created  a  baronet  in  1893 then  stood  again  at  Hereford  in  a  by-election  that  year  but  was  defeated  on  the  Home  Rule  issue ( according  to  The  Spectator )   by  44 votes .

He  died  in  1901  aged  78.

911 Daniel Ratcliff

Constituency :  Evesham   1880 

Daniel  recaptured  one  of  the  Evesham  seats  from  the  Tories.

Daniel  came  from  an  industrial  engineering  family . e  was  a  partner  in  a  firm  that  made  safes.

Daniel's  election  was  declared  void  in  1880 . He  never  returned  to  Parliament.

He  died  in  1923  aged  85.

910 Frederick Mappin

Constituency  : East  Retford  1880-85,  Hallamshire  1885 -1905

Frederick  made  it  a  double  triumph  for  the  Liberals  in  East  Retford.

Frederick  was the  son  of  a  cutlery  merchant. He  ran  the  family  business  after  his  father's  death. In  1851  he  left  the  firm  after  a  dispute  with  his  brother and  bought  himself  a  steelworks. He  served  on  Sheffield  Town  Council  in  the  1850s. He  was  a  director  of  the  Sheffield  Gas  and  Light  Company  and  the  Midland  Railway. He  was  mayor  of  Sheffield  in  1877  and  supported  the  creation  of  Sheffield  Central  Technical  School. He  began  life  as  a  Congregationalist  but  gradually gravitated  to  Anglicanism.

Many  of  Frederick's  parliamentary  interventions  e.g.  on  ordnance  and  railway  matters  could  be  described  as  self-interested. Frederick  generally  preferred  to  write  letters  rather  than  make  public  speeches.

Frederick  was  a  Whig, an  opponent  of  municipalisation  and  socialistic  policies. He  was  often  critical  of  trade  unions  but  obviously  managed  to  retain  the  support  of  a  mining  constituency. He  was  unopposed  in  1886  and  1892.

Frederick  became  a  baronet  in  1886.  He  was  a  keen  art  collector.

Frederick  became  the  first  Pro  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Sheffield.

He  died  in  1910  aged  89  having  recently  had  an  operation  to  his throat..  

909 Alfred Barnes

Constituency : East  Derbyshire  1880-85, Chesterfield 1885-92  ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Alfred's  victory  made  it  a  double triumph  for  the  Liberals  in  East  Derbyshire.

Alfred  was  educated  privately.  Alfred  bought  a  lease  on  part  of  the  largely  undisturbed  Derbyshire  coalfield  in  1846. His  business  was  successful  and  he  was  also  a  director  of  several  railway  companies.

Alfred  was  said  to  speak  with  a  slight  burr.

Alfred  became  president  of  the  Mining  Association  of  Great  Britain.  in  1881 The  Tories  were  expecting  Alfred  to  resign  his  seat   in  1883.
 
Alfred  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886. He  said  the  Reform  Club  could  throw  him  out  if  they  wanted.

In  1893  Alfred  became  president  of  the  Chesterfield  and  Midland  Counties  Institute  of  Engineers.

He  died  in  1901  aged  78.

908 John Cheetham

Constituency : North  Derbyshire  1880-85, Stalybridge  1905-10

John  made  it  a  double  Liberal  victory  in  North  Derbyshire.

John was  the  son  of  the  cotton  mill  owner  and  MP  for  South  Lancashire  of  the  same  name. John   had  been  in  charge  of  the  family  business  since  the  1870s. He  was  a  Congregationalist. He  was  a  director  of  the  District  Bank  and  the  Ashton  Gas  Company.

When  the  North  Derbyshire  seat  was  abolished   John  switched  to  the  new  High  Peak  seat  but  was  defeated  by  9  votes. He  contested  the  seat  again  in  1892  and  then  Bury  in  1895.

John  provided  Stalybridge  with  its  public  library  which  opened  in  1901. He  built  a  new  sunday  school  opposite  it  four  years  later.

John  was  finally  elected  for  his  hometown  seat  in  a  by-election  in  1905  at  the  age  of  70. He  stood  down  in  January  1910.

John  regularly  travelled  in  the  Alps  and  Himalayas.

He  died  in  1916  aged  80.  He  left  his  home  Eastwood  House  and  his  art  collection  to  the  town.

907 William Wills

Constituency : Coventry  1880-85 , Bristol  East  1895-1900

William  made  it  a  double  triumph  for  the  Liberals  in  Coventry.

William  was  from  a  wealthy  Bristol  family  of  tobacco  importers. He  was  chairman  of  the  Bristol  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  a  member  of  the  city  council  from  1862  onwards.

William  spoke  in  support  of  the  Irish  Coercion  Bill  in  1881. He  unsuccessfully  pressed  Gladstone  for  remission  of  part  of  the  Tobacco  Duty. Unsurprisingly  he  called  for  tough  action  on  smugglers.

William  was  made  a  baronet  in  1893.

In  1904  William  presented  Bristol  Museum  and  Art  Gallery  to  the  city.

William  was  created  Baron   Winterstoke  in  1906.

He  died  in  1911  aged  82.

906 Sir Andrew Fairbairn

Constituency  : Eastern  West  Riding  1880, Otley  1885-6

Andrew  was  one  of   two  Liberal  victors  as  they  took  the  seat  of  Eastern  West  Riding  for  the  first  and  last  time.

Andrew  was  born  in  Scotland  and  educated  at  Geneva, Glasgow  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  barrister. He  was  also  chairman  of  an  engineering  firm.  He  later  moved  into  railways .He  was  mayor  of  Leeds  from  1866  to  1868. He  was  knighted  in  1868. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Leeds in  1868

When  the  seat  was  abolished  he  switched  to  Otley. He  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  was  defeated  by  a  Gladstonian  in  1886.

He  died  in  1901  aged  73.

905 Ralph Creyke

Constituency : City  of  York  1880-85

Ralph  made  it  a  double  Liberal  triumph  in  York.

Ralph  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge.

He  died  in  1908  aged  58.

904 Joseph Leeman

Constituency : York  1880-83

Joseph  succeeded  his  father  in  representing  York.

Joseph  was  a  solicitor. He  became  a  partner  in  the  family  business.

Joseph's  only  parliamentary  contributions  were  on  the  problems  caused  by  different  marriage  laws  in  England  and  France  and  river  flooding  in  East  Yorkshire. He  was  involved  in  a  wrestling  match  with  the  soldier  Lord  William  Beresford  on  Lendal  Bridge.

He  died  in  1883  aged  41.

903 Arthur Pease

Constituency : Whitby  1880-85,  Darlington  1895-8  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Arthur  succeeded  Gladstone's  son  William  at  Whitby.

Arthur  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Pease, the  Quaker  MP  and  railway  magnate. He  was  educated  at  a  Quaker  school. He  was  mayor  of  Darlington  in  1873  when  just  36. He  was  heavily  involved  in  the  family  business  - railways. ironworks , water, a  building  society. He  was  a  local  benefactor.

Arthur  supported  restricting  the  hours  of  sale  for  pubs  on  a  Sunday. He  became  president  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society. He  was  also  president  of  the  North  of  England  Temperance League.

Arthur  was  defeated  in  1885.

Arthur  became  a  Liberal  Unionist  and   contested  the  1892  election  against  his  relative  Theodore  Fry  and  narrowly  lost

Arthur  sat  on  the  Royal  Commission  on  opium  in  India  from  1893  to  1895.

Arthur  defeated  Fry  and  won  Darlington  in  1895.

Arthur  was  in  poor  health  in  his  last  years  and  spent  some  time  abroad.

He  was  taken  ill  while  helping  at  a  by-election  at  Launceston  in  1898   and  died  of  kidney  failure  aged  60.