1369 Joseph Compton-Rickett

Constituency; Scarborough  1895-1906, Osgoldcross  1906 - 18, Pontefract  1918-9

Joseph  took Scarborough  from  the  Tories.

Joseph  was  born  in  London  and  educated  in  Bath. He  was  a  wealthy  coal  merchant. He  was  also  a  Congregationalist  lay  preacher. In  1893  he  published  a   eugenics-based  science  fiction  novel  The  Quickening  of  Caliban.

In  1902  Joseph  retired  from  various  directorships  in  order  to  get  more  involved  in  politics.

In  1906  Joseph  switched  seats  to  Osgoldcross  after  the  Independent  Liberal  Sir  John  Austin  stepped  down.  In  1907  he  was  knighted.

In  1910  John  supported  changing  the  wording  of  the  sovereign's  Accession  Declaration  to  make  it  less  offensive  to  Catholics.

In  1916  Joseph  joined  Lloyd  George's  administration  as  Paymaster-General. In  1917  he  became  a  Charity  Commissioner.

In  1918  Osgoldcross  was  swallowed  up  by  Pontefract. As  a   Coalition  Liberal  he  had  an  easy  win  against  Labour  and  continued  in  his  position.

He  died  in  1919  aged  72.

1368 John Brigg

Constituency : Keighley  1895-1911

John  took  over  from  Isaac  Holden  at  Keighley.

John  was  from  the  town. He  was  Chairman  of  a  worsted  spinning  company  and  had  interests  in  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool  Canal  Company  and  banking. He  was  an  alderman  on  Yorkshire  County  Council  and  a  local  philanthropist.

John's  maiden  speech  called  for  more  funds  for  agricultural  education.

John  was  passionate  about  education. He  was  a  governor  of  three  grammar  schools  and  Yorkshire  College. He  helped  to  found  Yorkshire  Trade  School.

John  was  knighted  in  1909.

He  died  in  1911  aged  77.

1367 Sir James Woodhouse

Constituency : Huddersfield  1895-1906

James  recovered  Huddersfield  from  the  Tories  after  a  by-election  defeat  in  1893.

James  was  knighted  in  the  same  year  as  he  was  elected.

James  stood  down  in  1906   shortly  after  his  re-election  but  remained  a  public  servant. He  was  a  Railway  and  Canal Traffic  Commissioner  from  1906  until  his  death and  chaired  the  Losses  Under  Defence  of  the Realm  Commission  from  1915.

James  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Terrington  in  1918.

He  died  in  1921  aged  68.

1366 James Wanklyn

Constituency : Bradford  Central 1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist )

James  took  Bradford  Central  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  unseating  George  Shaw-Lefevre.

In  1898  James  publicly  criticised  Salisbury  over  the  granting  of  an  honour  to  a  man  named  Ripley.

James  stayed  loyal  to  Chamberlain  and  criticised  Churchill  over  his  defection. Lord  James  wrote  to  Churchill  urging  him  to  "smash  the  wretched  idiot  to  pieces. ." James  had  attacked  him  in  a  warning  to  Hartington  that  "disappointed  lawyers  are  not  safe friends  for  dukes  in  difficulty".

James  stood  down  in  1906.

He  died  in  1919  aged  59.

1365 John Bigham

Constituency : Liverpool  Exchange  1895-7  ( Liberal  Unionist ) 

John  took   highly  marginal   Liverpool  Exchange  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Ralph  Neville  had  stood  down.

John  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant  in  the  city. He  was  educated  at  the  Liverpool Institute  High  School  for  Boys  and  the  University  of  London. He  became  a  successful barrister  practising  commercial  law  in  the  city. In  1885  he  contested  East  Toxteth  as  a Liberal. He  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  in  1892  contested  Liverpool  Exchange  against Ralph  Neville, losing  by  66  votes.

John's  only  real  contribution  in  the  Commons  was  a  long  speech  in  1897 refuting  the  idea  that  Ireland  was  hard  done  by  in  the  financial  arrangements  of  the  Union.

In  1897  John  became  a  judge  an  had  to  give  up  his  seat. He  was  knighted. He  presided  over  the  railway  and  canal  commission  of  1904, worked  in  the  bankruptcy  courts  and  reviewed  court  martials  in  the  Boer  War.  He  became  president  of  the  Probate, Divorce  and  Admiralty  Division  in  1909  but  didn't  like  it  and  retired  the  following  year.  He  was  created  Baron  Mersey.

In  1912  Lord  Chancellor  Loreburn  appointed  John to  head  the  inquiry  into  the  sinking  of  the  Titanic. Some  writers  have  accused  him  of  being  too  soft  on  the  ship  owners  but  the  general  consensus  is  that  the  findings  were  evenhanded. He  headed  further  inquiries  into  the  sinkings  of  the  Empress  of  Ireland  and  the  Lusitania.

John  was  upgraded  to  a  viscount  in  1916.

John  was  deaf  in  his  later  years  but  he  returned  to  the  bench  in  the  1920s  to  clear  a  backlog  of  divorce  cases.

He  died  in  1929  aged  89.

1364 Charles Scott

Constituency  :  Leigh  1895-1906

Charles  took  over  from  Caleb  Wright  at  Leigh.

Charles  was  born  in  Bath, the  son  of  a  newspaper  owner. He  was  educated  at  Clapham  Grammar  School  and  Oxford.  He  went  to  Edinburgh  in  1870  to  work  on  The  Scotsman   but  the  following  year  became  London  editor  of  The  Manchester  Guardian  which  was  owned  by  his  cousin  John  Taylor. He  became  full  editor  the  following  year.  He  at  first  followed  a  moderate  Whig  line  but  after  the  Liberal  Unionist  split  in  1886  he  backed  Gladstone  and  the  Newcastle  Programme.  He  fought  Manchester  North  East  in  1886, 1891  and  1892. He  was  a  Unitarian.  He  was  also    president  of  the  Manchester  Liberal  Federation.

While  in  Parliament  Charles  harassed  the  government  over  its  imperial  policies  and  was  also  fiercely  critical  of  the  1902  Education  Act.  He  was  keenly  interested  in  higher  education  and  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Owens  College  from  1890  to  1898. He  also  supported  Lords  reform.

Having  only  a  small  majority  to  start  with , Charles  just  scraped  home  in  1900  after  the paper  took  a  stand  against  the  Boer  War. Both  his  home  and  offices  needed  police  protection.

Charles's  parliamentary  career  was  cut  short  by  Taylor's  death  in  1905. Taylor's  will  expressed  a  desire  that  Charles  should  be  able  to  buy  the  paper  but  it  was  not  drafted  tightly  enough  to  prevent  the  other  trustees  fleecing  him. He  had  to  take  out  large  loans   to  buy  the  paper  and  decided  he  must  let  go  of  his  seat  in  order  to  make  it  a  success.

As  editor  and  owner  of  the  paper  Charles  was  probably  the  most  influential  Liberal  outside Parliament.  He  was  somewhat  disturbed  by  the  virulence  of  Lloyd  George's  Mansion  House speech. He  was  sympathetic  to  female  suffrage  but  deplored  the  suffragettes'  militant  tactics. He  had  a  regular  correspondence  with  the  Pankhursts , repeatedly  trying  to  get  them  to  calm down..He backed  the  government's  social  reform   measures.  When  war  broke  out  he  initially supported  the  Cabinet  rebels  like  Burns  and  Morley  but  he  declined  to  join  the  Union  of Democratic  Control  writing "I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the  war  ought  not  to  have taken  place  and  that  we  ought  not  to  have  become  parties  to  it , but  once  in  it  the  whole future  of  our  nation  is  at  stake  and  we  have  no  choice  but  do  the  utmost  we  can  to  secure success."  He  did  not  criticise  the  government  over  the  executions  of  the  Irish  rebel  leaders; "it  is  a  fate  which  they  invoked  and  of  which  they  would  probably  not  complain".

 Charles's   decision  to  endorse  Lloyd  George  in  1916  still  puzzles  historians. He  had  opposed  conscription  in  1916  and  he  backed  Henderson's  ideas  for  a  negotiated  settlement  in  1917.He  was  opposed  to  imposing  punitive  sanctions  on  Germany  at  Versailles  and  criticised  Llloyd  George's  handling  of  the  negotiations.   In  an  essay  to  mark  the paper's  centenary  in  1921  he  made  the  famous  assertion, "comment  is  free, but  facts  are sacred".  He  worked  for  Liberal  reunion  after  1922.  In  1926  he  condemned  the  General  Strike.  In  1929  he  purchased  the  Manchester Evening  News.

Charles  rode  into  work  on  his  bike in  all  weathers   when  well  past  80  and  blind  in  one  eye.

Charles  finally  retired  as  editor  in  1929  after  57  years  ,  a  world  record. He  remained  as Governing  Director  of  the  company  and  was  in  the  office  most  evenings.

Charles  was  generally  known  as  C.P. Scott, his  middle  name  being  Prestwich.

He  died  on  New  Year's  Day  1932  aged  85.

1363 Frederick Cawley

Constituency : Prestwich  1895-1918

Frederick  took  Prestwich  from  the  Tories.

Frederick  was  born  in  Cheshire. He  was  educated  at  a  local  school  and  Wesley  College, Sheffield. He  became  a  wealthy  cotton  finisher  helped  by  the  death  of  Queen  Victoria  since  he  held  the  patent  for  a  pure  black  dye.

Frederick  opposed  Indian  import  duties  which  he  felt  were  damaging  the  cotton  trade.

Frederick  was  created  a  baronet  in  1906.

In  1915  Frederick  headed  the  Liberal  War  Committee. When  Lloyd  George  took  over  he  joined  the  Cabinet  as  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster. He  was  appointed  to  the  Dardanelles  Commission   looking  into  the  Gallipoli  campaign  in  which  his  son  Harold  had  been  killed.

At  the  beginning  of  1918  Frederick  was  elevated  to  the  peerage   and  was  briefly  succeeded by  his  son  Oswald. Later  that  year  Oswald  became  the  third  of  his  four  sons  to  be  killed  in the  War. He  endowed  a  ward  at  Ancoats  Hospital  to  their  memory.

He  died  in  1937  aged  86.

1362 George Kemp

Constituency : Heywood  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist  up  to  1904 );  Manchester  North  West  1910-12

George  unseated  Thomas  Snape  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  at  Heywood.

George  was  born  in  Rochdale. His  father  was  a  wool  merchant. He  was  educated  at  Shrewsbury  and Cambridge. He  went  into  business  as  a  flannel  manufacturer. He  playe  cricket  for  Lancashire.

George  became  parliamentary  private  secretary  to  the  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty  until  1900  when  he  resigned  to  fight  in  the  Boer  War  as  a  captain   in  the  Imperial  Yeomanry. He  was  mentioned  in  despatches  and  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel.

In  1904  George  became  another  of  Lancashire's  Unionist  MPs  to  cross  the  floor  over  Tariff  Reform.

In  1906  George  stood  down  for  Edward  Holden  at  Heywood.

George  was  knighted  in  1909.

George  re-entered  Parliament  in  January  1910. Despite  that  election  being  fought  on  the  Peoples'  Budget  George  disliked  the  Chancellor's  financial  policies and  his  support  for  Welsh  disestablishment. In  1911  he  introduced  a  Conciliation  Bill  to  extend  the  vote  to  some  female  householders.

 When  Home  Rule  came  round  again  in  1912  George  made  a  long  speech  against  the  Bill  and  then  decided  to  retire  saying  he  "loathed  politics".

In  1913  George  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Rochdale.

George  served  in  the  First  World  War  and  was  a  Brigadier-General  at  Gallipoli.

He  died  in  1945  aged  78.

1361 Richard Cavendish

Constituency : North  Lonsdale  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist  up  to  1904 )

Richard  took  North  Lonsdale  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  , replacing  William  Smith  who  had  declined  to  stand  again.

Richard  was  the  son  of  Hartington's  younger  brother  Edward  and  younger  brother  of  his  heir  , the  Derbyshire  MP , Victor  Cavendish. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge. He  was  a  Freemason.

Richard  was  unopposed  in  1900. He  was  private  secretary  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India.

In  1904  Richard  joined  the  Liberals  because  Balfour's  administration  would  not  take  a  clear  stand  against  Tariff  Reform.

Richard  wasn't  able  to  hold  his  seat  in  1906. He  didn't  stand  again.

In  1908  Asquith  appointed  Richard  to  chair  the  Royal  Commission  on  Systems  of  Election. This  reported  in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  two  member  constituencies  which  was  largely  implemented  and  the  alternative  vote  which  wasn't.

Richard  was  on  the  putative  list  of  peers  if  the  Lords  rejected  the  Parliament  Act.

Despite  being  in  his  forties,  Richard  fought  in   World  War  One. He  was  wounded   and  mentioned  in  dispatches

Richard  was  President  of  the  Royal  Lancashire  Agricultural  Society. He  was  also  a  keen golfer. He  lived  at  Holker  Hall  which  is  still  inhabited  by  his  descendants.

He  died  in  1946  aged  74.

1360 George Harwood

Constituency :  Bolton  1895-1912

George  took  the  second  seat  at  Bolton  which  had  been  solidly  Tory  since  1885.

George  was  the  son  of  a  cotton  manufacturer  who  had  been  Mayor  of  both  Bolton  and Salford.. He  was  educated  locally  and  then  at  Owens  College. He  went  into  the  family business  but  in  his  spare  time  studied  the  classics  and  political  economy. He  was  a   committed  Anglican  despite  his  father  being  a  Unitarian  and  co-founded  the  Church  Reform Union. He  was  an  ordained  deacon  and  preached  across  Lancashire. Anticipating  a  general decline  in  the  cotton  business,  he  became  a  barrister  in  1890  and  moved  to  London.

George  was  an  idiosyncratic  Liberal  who  often  ruffled  party  feathers. He  criticised  "the  almost  idolatrous  regard"  for  Gladstone  who  he  regarded  as  a  "second  rate  man".

George  was  interested  in  licensing  and  the  reform  of  working  conditions. He  supported  a  bill to  introduce  early  closing  of  textile  factories  on  a  Saturday. During  the  Boer  War  he  helped found  the  Telescope  Fund  to  support  the  war  effort.  In  1903  he  condemned  motor  cars "palpitating , throbbing  and  turning  the  whole  of  the  thoroughfare  into  chaos  and confusion.This  is  unjust... the  many  ought  not  to  be  thrust  on  one  side  for  the  few. "  He  was a  critic  of  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance.  In  1906  he  told  a  Liberal  conference  on  land  reform we  were  "a  nation  of  helots, and  stood  in  a  position  of  slavery".   In  1912  he  introduced  a Bill  to  better  regulate  the  formation  of  cotton  spinning  companies.

In  1900  George  and   his  Conservative  opponent  shared  the  representation  on  an  unopposed basis.

George  was  Treasurer  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Consumption. He published  a  number  of  books  on  theology  and  politics.

George  was  a  local  philanthropist  who  presented  a  market  cross  and  a  park  to  the  town.

He  died  in  1912  aged  67.  

1359 Jonathan Samuel

Constituency : Stockton  1895-1900, 1910-17

Jonathan  bucked  the  trend  by  recapturing  Stockton  from  the  Tories. He  had  been  invited  by  both  the  Liberal  Association  and  the  local  Labour  organisation  to  contest  the  seat.

Jonathan  was  a   self- made  businessman .He  started  out  as  a  rolling  mill  operative  in  Ebbw  Vale  Iron  Works.at  10  years  old. Two  years  later  the  family  moved  to  Stockton-on-Tees  where  he  found similar  work. He  worked  in  Sheffield  and  Middlesbrough   and  helped  organise  the  Iron  and  Steel  Workers  Association. Later  in  life  he  became  a  successful  grocer  and  was  active  in  local  politics.  He  was  Mayor  of  Stockton  in  1894-5. He  was  a staunch  Nonconformist  and  supported  direct  popular  control  over  all  schools  receiving  public  money  despite  the  presence  of  a  large  Catholic  vote  in  his  constituency.

Jonathan  spoke  against  the  Working  Men's  Dwelling  s  Bill  in  1896  as  he  was  opposed  to  municipalities  becoming  trading  concerns..

Jonathan  was  defeated  by  the  Tories   in  1900  and  did  not  stand  when  they  retained  the  seat  in  1900.  He  was  Mayor  of  Stockton  again  in  1902. He  won  it  back  in  January  1910 and  held  it  until  his  death.

He  died  of  a  stroke  in  1917  aged  63.

1358 Wentworth Beaumont

Constituency  : Hexham  1895- 1907

Wentworth  took  over  from  Miles  McInnes  at  Hexham.

Wentworth  was  the  son  of  the  former  MP  for  Northumberland  and  Tyneside  of  the  same  name. He  was  the  grandson  of  the  Marquess  of  Clanricarde  and  great-grandson  of  George  Canning. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge.

Wentworth  spoke  in  favour  of  securing  the  trade  unions'  legal  position  on  picketing  in  1902.

Wentworth  was  appointed  Vice-Chamberlain  of  the  Household  in  1905. In  1906  his  father  was  created  Baron  Allendale  and  a  year  later  Wentwoth  succeeded  to  his  title. Shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  Captain  of  the  Yeoman  of  the  Guard. In  1911  he  was  upgraded  to  a  Viscount  and  was  appointed  a  Lord-in-Waiting. He  held  the  post  until  1916.

He  died  in  1923  aged  63.

1357 Reginald McKenna

Constituency  :  North  Monmouthshire  1895-1918

Reginald  took  over  from  Thomas  Price  at  North  Monmouthshire.

Reginald  was  born  in  London. He  was   privately  educated in  France  and  Germany  before  going  to  Cambridge  where  he  made  his  mark  as  a  rower. After  graduating  with  a  mathematics  degree  he  became  a  barrister.  Reginald  was  at  first  a  Radical  acolyte  of  Dilke .

In  1897  proposed  that  Lloyd  George  become  leader  of  the  Welsh  Liberal  Party. After  the  Boer  War , Reginald   moved  over  to   the  Liberal  Imperialist  wing  of  the  party  and  became  a  supporter  of  Rosebery.   Nevertheless  he  was  invited  to  be  part  of  Campbell-Bannerman's  administration  in  1905  as Financial  Secretary  to  the  Treasury.  He  was  efficient  and  methodical  but  lacking  in  charisma  and  fussy.  He  had  determination  but  not  much  vision  and  disliked  the  rough  and  tumble  of  party  politics . He  supplied  the  estimates  for  the  Dreadnought  building  programme  in  December  1906.

 Just   after  that ,  he  moved  to   President  of  the  Board  of   Education  when  Augustine  Birrell  went  over  to  Ireland in  1907. He  introduced  free  places  in  secondary  schools  and  increased  local  authorities'  responsibilities  for  childrens'  health.

After  a  year  in  that  post  he  joined  the  Cabinet  as  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty. He  had  many  arguments  with  the  Chancellor,  Lloyd  George, who  was  looking  for  defence  cuts.  Reginald  carried  the  day  in  favour  of  building  more  dreadnoughts  at  the  expense  of  permanently  souring  his  relations  with  Lloyd  George  and  Churchill.  In  1911 . when  he  was  recovering  from  a  bout  of  appendicitis,  he  was  persuaded  to  swap  jobs  with  Churchill  and  became  Home  Secretary. A  dispute  with  Haldane  in  the  wake  of  the  Agadir  Crisis  was  a  contributory  factor. He  wrote  of  his  "infinite  disgust"  at  the  move.

As  Home  Secretary  he  steered  the  Welsh  Disestablishment  Bill, the  Coal  Mines  Bill  giving miners  a  minimum  wage  and  the  so-called  "Cat  and  Mouse"  Act  to  thwart  hunger-striking suffragettes.  He  was  much  criticised  over  the  latter  and  was  himself  accosted  by  a  suffragette  in  1912. He  opposed  Churchill's  plans  for  a  Mediterranean  fleet  and  backed  Lloyd   George's  innocence  over  the  Marconi  shares  in  1913.

Reginald  supported  the  decision  to  go  to  war  in  1914  but  did  no  think  the  B.E.F  should  be sent. Reginald  was  in  charge  of  state  security  and  the  interment  of  enemy  aliens.

Reginald  tried  to  dissuade  Asquith  from  forming  a  Coalition  government  in  1915. He  succeeded  Lloyd  George  as  Chancellor  when  the  Welshman  moved  over  to  Minister  of  Munitions. He  had  to  raise  income taxes  to  fund  the  war  effort  and  in  September  introduced  a  33%  levy  on  luxury  imports  which  became  known  as  the  "McKenna  Duties". It  was  seen  as  a  major  breach  of  the  sacred  Liberal  doctrine  of  Free  Trade.  Reginald  opposed  the  conscription  of  married  men  in  May  1916  claiming  it  would  deplete  vital  industries.

In  December  1916  Reginald  tried  to  persuade  Asquith  to  sack  Lloyd  George  rather  than  resign  and  went  into  exile  with  him.

In  1918  Reginald's  constituency  was  split  in  two. He  went  with  the  more  working  class  seat  of  Pontypool  but  came  third  behind  Labour  and  a  couponed  Conservative   with  28%  of  the  vote.

Following  his  defeat  Reginald  was  invited  to  become  a  non-executive  director  of  the  Midland  Bank  by  its  Chairman,   the  former  Liberal  MP  Sir  Edward  Holden. He  died  less than  a  year  later  and  Reginald  succeeded  him. He  led  the  calls  for  economy  during  Lloyd  George's  premiership.

With  the  Conservatives  short  of  economic  expertise  both  Bonar  Law  and  Baldwin  tried  to  persuade  him  to  join  their  governments  as  Chancellor  once  more. Reginald  was   interested  in  the  second  offer  but  it  was  thwarted  by  the  refusal  of  the  City  of  London's  Tory  MPs  to make  way  for  him   and  he  stayed  at  the  Bank. He  opposed  the  return  to  the  gold  standard.

Throughout  the  thirties  there  were  calls  for  Reginald  to  return  to  government  for  his  financial  expertise  but  it  never  happened.    

Reginald  was  a  Teetotaller.  He  enjoyed  golf  and  bridge.

He  died  in  1943  aged  80.

1356 Matthew Vaughan-Davies

Constituency  : Cardiganshire  1895-1921

Matthew  took  over  at  Cardiganshire  on  the  retirement  of  William  Rowlands. He  won  by  over  a  thousand  votes.

Matthew  was  born  in  the  county  and  educated  at  Harrow.  He  was  a  substantial  landowner. He  was  the  Conservative  candidate  in  1885  and  was  a  Tory  stalwart  until  he  married  Mary Jenkins,  a  staunch  advocate  of  female  suffrage,  in  1889.  He  was  elected  to  Cardiganshire County  Council  as  a  Liberal  in  1892. When  Rowlands  made  noises  about  retiring, Matthew made  noises  about  succeeding  him. He  faced  opposition  from  some  local  Librals  who  doubted his  commitment  to  the  cause  and  looked  askance  at  his  poor  relations  with  his  tenants. However  he  triumphed  at  a  selection  conference; according  to   Kenneth  Morgan  , because  he represented  rural  interests  rather  than  the  Aberystwyth  middle  classes. The  Cambrian  News  , based  in  the  town  described  his  selection  as  "a  more  complete  defeat  of  Liberalism  than  if Mr  Harford , the  Conservative  candidate  , had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  poll".

Matthew  was  unopposed  in  December  1910. His  local  Liberal  association  was  however  in decline  partly  because  of  continued  bad  blood  with  the  town  faction.

Matthew  was  returned  unopposed  as  a  Lloyd  George  supporter  in   1918. After  that  election   he  was  the  oldest  member  in  the  House.

Matthew  made   some  contribution  to  debates  on  Welsh  land  issues  but  otherwise  rarely  spoke in  the   House. It  was  perhaps  just  as  well  as  he  was  known  for  using  rather   ungentlemanly  language.  Nevertheless  he  was  regarded  by  the  whips  as  a  loyal  and  conscientious  member  who  would  leave  his  sickbed  for  important  divisions.

In  1921  Matthew  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Ystwyth. He  had  long  been  hankering  for  a  peerage  and  Lloyd  George  finally  gave  him  one  in  order  to  get  his  private  secretary, Ernest  Evans  into  Parliament.

Matthew  had  a  reputation  as  a  philanderer.

Matthew  founded  the  Royal  Welsh  Agricultural  Show.

He  died  in  1935  aged  94.

1355 William Jones

Constituency  : Arfon  1895-1915

William  took  over   at  Arfon  on  the  retirement  of  William  Rathbone.

William  was  the  son  of  a  peasant  farmer. He  was  educated  at  Bangor  Normal  College  and  Oxford.  He  became  a  schoolteacher  and  private  tutor  at  Oxford. He  was  known  as  a  fine  orator.

William  generally  sided  with  the  workers   in  the   Penrhyn  quarry  dispute   although  by  1903  there  was  talk  among  the  Quarrymen's  Union  of  financing  a  Labour  candidate.

William  was  unopposed  in  1900  and  December  1910  and  had  easy  victories  in  1906  and  January  1910.

William  supported  female  suffrage. He  agitated  for  a National  Museum  and  Library  for  Wales.

In  1911  William  was  made  a  whip.

William's  last  parliamentary  contribution  was  a  long  speech  in  favour  of  Welsh  disestablishment.

He  died  unexpectedly   in  1915  aged  55.

1354 Charles Morley

Constituency  : Breconshire  1895-1906

Charles  took  over  from  William  Fuller-Maitland  at  Breconshire.

Charles  was  the  son  of  former  Bristol  MP  Samuel  Morley  and  brother  of  recent  Nottingham MP  Arnold  Morley. He  was  educated  at  Cambridge. He  was  a  partner  in  the  family  firm  of hosiery  manufacturers. He  stood  for  Somerset  East  in  1892  but  was  unable  to  unseat  the Liberal  Unionist  Henry  Hobhouse.

Charles  was  unopposed  in  1900.

Charles  denounced  the  1902  Education  Bill  on  the  grounds  that  it  "provides  that  the  money of  the  ratepayers  shall  be  applicable  to  the  support  of  schools  and  colleges  sectarian  in character  and  subject  to  no  popular  control".

Charles  stood  down  in  1906  due  to  ill  health. He  announced  the  decision  in  February  1903.

Charles  was  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Royal  College  of  Music.

He  died  in  1917  aged  69.

1353 Ellis Griffith

Constituency : Anglesey  1895-1918, Carmarthen  1923-4

Ellis  took  over  from  Thomas  Lewis  at  Anglesey.

Ellis  was  the  son  of  a  master  builder. He  was  born  in  Birmingham  and  educated  at   University  College, Aberystwyth  and  Cambridge  where  he  was  President  of  the  Union. He   became  a  barrister. He  contested  West  Toxteth  in  1892.

Ellis  was  a  radical  who  supported  female  suffrage.  Lloyd  George  rated  his  speech  on  the 1902  Education  Bill  "a dismal  failure". Despite  this,  he  was  noted  for  his  wit  and  ability  to create  soundbites. Clementine  Churchill  referred  to  his  "loud  trombone  voice". He  was  a  fluent  Welsh  speaker.

Ellis  was  unopposed  in  1900 , 1907  ( when  he  took  on  the  post  of  Recorder  of  Birkenhead ) and  December  1910.

In  1912  Ellis  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Welsh  Parliamentary  Party.

Ellis  was  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Office  from  1912  to  1915  and  played  a  big part  in  steering  the  Welsh  Disestablishment  Bill  through  the  Commons.

Ellis  was  strongly  touted  for  a  vacant  judgeship  in  1917  but  it  didn't  happen.

In  1918  Ellis  was  created  a  baronet. In  the  General  Election  that  year  he  received  the   coupon  as  a  Lloyd  George  supporter  but  was  narrowly  defeated  by   Labour.

By  1922  Ellis   had  moved  over  to  Asquith's  camp  and  contested  the  University  of   Wales   seat  for  them  but  was   defeated  by  Lloyd  George's  candidate  Thomas  Lewis  by  46  votes.

In 1923  Ellis  got  back  in  quite  easily  at  Carmarthen  but  resigned  his  seat  shortly  afterwards.

He  died  in  1926  aged  66.

1352 Charles Hemphill

Constituency  : North  Tyrone  1895 -1906

Amid  the  devastation  in  1895,  the  Liberals  managed to  regain  a  toehold  in  Ireland  when Charles  took  South  Tyrone from  the  Conservatives.

Charles  was  born  in  County  Tyrone. He  became  a  barrister.  He  was  originally  a  Conservative  and  contested  Cashel  for  them  in  1857 . He   was  Solicitor-General  for Ireland  from  1892  to  1895  despite  being  in  his  seventies  and  not  having  a  seat  in Parliament. He  became  infamous  in  1894  for  arguing  that  Dublin  Corporation  had  the  right  to  charge  a lavish  picnic  they  had  enjoyed  to  the  rates.

Charles  was  a  firm  Home  Ruler.

In  1906  Charles  was  created  Baron  Hemphill.

He  died  in  1908  aged  85.

1351 Robinson Souttar

Constituency : Dumfriesshire  1895-1900

Robinson  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  William  Maxwell  by  13  votes.

Robinson  was  a  distinguished  railway  engineer  from  Aberdeen  who  had  spent  much  of  his  career  in   India. He  stood  for  Oxford  in  1992.

Maxwell  re-took  the  seat  by  449  votes  in  1900.

Robinson  died  in  1912  aged  63.

1350 Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael

Constituency  : Midlothian  1895-1900

Sir  Thomas  succeeded  to  Midlothian  as  Gladstone  finally  left  the  Commons.

Thomas  was  the  son  of  a  baronet  and  church  minister  from  Edinburgh. He  was  born  an  Anglican  but  brought  up  a  Presbyterian. He  was  educated  at  a  church  school  at  Wixenford  and  Cambridge. He  suceeded  to  his  father's  baronetcy  in  1891. He  acted  as  private  secretary  to  George  Trevelyan  and  Lord  Dalhousie  when  they  were  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland  during  Gladstone's  brief  third  ministry. He  contested  Peebles  and  Selkirk  in  1892. He  was  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Scottish  Board  of  Lunacy  in  1894.

Thomas  was  a  close  friend  of  Edward  Grey  who  described  him  as  having  the  "acutest  brain  in  Europe". He  was  a  reserved  man  with  no  talent  for  public  speaking  and  not  really  suited  to  political  life.  

Thomas  stood  down  in  1900.

In  1908  Thomas  was  appointed  Governor  of  Victoria. He  was  there  for  three  years  before  switching  to  Madras. In  1912   he  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Carmichael. Also  in  that  year  he  switched to  Bengal  until  1917.

Thomas  was  a  beekeeper  and  founded  the  Scottish  Beekeepers  Association. He  was  also  a  Freemason. He  also  bred  Angus  cattle. He  had  Turner  and  Constable  watercolours  in  his  art  collection. He  died in  1926  aged  66.

1349 Robert Cox

Constituency : Edinburgh  South  1895-9 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Robert  won  Edinburgh  South  for  the  Liberal  Unionists, defeating  Herbert  Paul  by  97  votes  in  a  seat  they  had  not  previously  held.

Robert  was  educated  at  Loretto  School, St  Andrews  University  and  Edinburgh  University. He was  a  glu  and  gelatine  manufacturer. He  later  moved  into  motor  carriages. He  was  involved in local  politics  in  Edinburgh. He  contested  Kirkcaldy  Burghs  in  the  1982  by-election  , losing out to  James  Dalziel. He  did  not  stand  in  the  1892  election. He  was  lined  up  to  stand  for Edinburgh  East  but  switched  to  South  before  the  1895  election.

Robert  made  little  contribution  to  Parliament.

Robert  was  President  of  the  Scottish  Rights  of  Way  Association. He  was  also  interested  in phliosophy  and  astronomy.

Robert  died  in  Aix-les-Bains  in  1899  after  a  period  of  poor  health. He  was  54.

1348 John Wilson

Constituency :  Falkirk  Burghs  1895-1906 ( Liberal  Unionist  to  1903 )

John  re-captured  Falkirk  Burghs  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  by  unseating  Harry  Smith.

John  was   a  coal master's  son. He  was  educated  at  Airdrie  and  Glasgow  Academies  . He  was chairman  of  the  Wilsons  and  Clyde  Coal  Company.

John  left  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1903  in  protest  at  Tariff  Reform

In  1905  John  called  for  reduced  government  expenditure  to  allow  the  scrapping  of  the  export  duty  on  coal. In  the  summer  he  made  a  long  journey  through  India.

John  was  created  a  baronet  when  he  stood  down  in  1906  as  there  was  already  a  Liberal  candidate  in  place . The  Liberals  of  Wick  Burghs  wanted him  to  stand  there  but  he  declined.

John  was  keen  on  shooting  and  golf.

In  1910  Sir  John  gave  a  gift  of  £10,000  for  the  building  of  Airdrie  Town  Hall.

He  died  in  1918  aged  74.

1347 John Colville

Constituency : North  East  Lanarkshire  1895-1901

John  took  over  from  Donald  Crawford  at  North  East  Lanarkshire.

John  was  educated  at  Hamilton  and  Gartsherrie  Academies. He  was  head  of  the  family  firm  of  iron  and  steel  manufacturers. He  was  Provost  of  Motherwell  from  1888  until  his  election. He  was  President  of  Lanarkshire  Christian  Union.

He  died  in  1901 after  a  short  illness,  aged  49. His  son  became  a  Conservative  MP.

1346 John Holburn

Constituency  : North  West  Lanarkshire  1895-99

John  took  North  West  Lanarkshire  from  the  Tories  by  97  votes.

John  was  a  self-educated  tinplate  worker. He  was  a  former  president  of  the  Edinburgh  and  Leith  Trades  Council  and  a  member  of  Leith  Town  Council.

He  died  in  1899  aged  55.

1345 Alexander Ure

Constituency : Linlithgowshire  1895-1913

Alexander  reversed  the  Tories'  by-election  gain  of  1893. He  had  been  the  unsuccessful  Liberal  candidate  in  that  contest.

Alexander  the  son  of  a  flour  merchant. He  was  educated  at  Larchfield  Academy  and  the  University  of  Glasgow. He  became  a  barrister. He  also  lectured  in  constitutional  law  and  history  at  Glasgow  University. He  stood  for  West  Perthshire  in  1892 but  failed  to  unseat  Donald  Currie

In  1905  Campbell-Bannerman  made  Alexander  Solicitor-General  for  Scotland. Asquith  promoted  him  to  Lord  Advocate  in  1909. He  was  a  strong  supporter  of  the  People's  Budget.

In  1913  Alexander  resigned  his  seat  to  become  Lord  Justice  General  as   Lord  Strathclyde. In  1914  he  was  upgraded  to  Baron  Strathclyde. He  was  Lord  Justice  General  from  1913  to  1920  when  he  retired  due  to  ill  health.

Alexander  was  chairman  of  the  Scottish  War  Savings  Committee.

Alexander  was  a  follower  of  Henry  George  on  taxing  land  values.  In  1908  he  toured  the  UK  on  behalf  of  the  United  Committee  for  the  Taxation  of  Land  Values .He  was  physically  robust  and  an  excellent  public  speaker.

He  died  in  1928  aged  75.
  

1344 James White

Constituency  : Forfarshire  1895-7


As  discussed  a  few  posts  back  the  Liberals  had  lost  Forfarshire  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  a by-election  partly  as  a  result  of  a  selection  squabble. James, the  Liberal  who  lost  out  in  that , won  the  seat  back  at  the  general  election  by  441  votes.

James  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  jute  merchant  and  was  actually  born  in  New  York. The family  moved  back  home  during  the  American  Civil  War  and  purchased  a  baronial  castle near Dundee.  James  studied  engineering  at  Cassel  University  in  Germany  and  became  a  keen amateur  scientist. James  and  his  father  constructed  a  domestic  dynamo  in  1881. He  was  also a keen  photographer  and  a  collector  of  Japanese  art. He  also  supported  the  development  of  the theatre  organ .He  stood  for  St  Andrews  Burghs  in  1892.

In  November  1896  James  was  away  in  India  when  the  Dundee  Advertiser  printed  a  story that he  had  resigned  his  seat  following  a  court  case  brought  against  him  for  breach  of  promise. James  sent  the  Forfarshire  Liberal  Association  an  angry  letter  denying  any  intention  to  resign and  accusing  the   committee of  planting  the  story  but  he  resigned  anyway.

James  got  adopted  for  Wilton  in  Wiltshire  but  did  not  contest  it  when  a  by-election  arose during  the  Boer  War  because  the  Tory  candidate  had  been  wounded  fighting  in  South  Africa. He  contested  the  1900  General  Election  there  but  wasn't  successful.

In  1906  James  contested  Great  Yarmouth  but  was  unsuccessful. He  lodged  a  petition  against the  result  but  the  senior  judge, Grantham  ( a  former  Tory  MP )  dismissed  the  petition. This was  widely  condemned  as  partisan  and  discussed  in  a  Commons  debate  that  July.

James  had  a  keen  interest  in  sociology . Having  spent  time  at  Toynbee  Hall, he  became convinced  that  training  in  the  subject  would  help  politicians  and  public  servants  achieve   social  reform  more  effectively. He  provided  an  endowment  for  a  Department  of Sociology  at the  University  of  London.

James  was  also  a  philanthropist  who  maintained  a  farmhouse  to  provide  holidays  for disadvantaged  children, reduced  his  estate  workers'  hours  and  set  up  a  pension  scheme  for them.

He  died  in  1928  aged  70.

1343 Sir William Arrol

Constituency : South  Ayrshire  1895-1906 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Sir  William  unseated  Eugene  Wason  at  the  second  attempt.

William  was  a  spinner's  son  from  Renfrewshire. He  worked  in  a  cotton  mill  and  as  a  blacksmith  while  studying  engineering  at  night  school. In  1863  he  joined  a  company  of  bridge  builders  in  Glasgow  where  he  learned  enough  to  start  his  own  ironworks  in  1872. A  few  years  later  he  started  a  civil  engineering  business. William's  company  was  responsible  for  both  the  replacement  Tay  Bridge and  the  Forth  Bridge. He  then  went  on  to  design  Tower  Bridge  and  prominent  bridges  in  Egypt  and  Australia.William's  firm  also  built  the  gantry  in  Belfast  which  allowed  construction  of  the  Titanic. He  was  President  of  the  Institution  of  Engineers  and  Shipbuilders  in  Scotland  from  1895  to  1897. He  had  an  estate  near  Ayr.

William  rarely  spoke  in  parliament  but  he  did  oppose  the  Land  Values  Taxation ( Scotland )  Bill  in  1905  as  injurious  to  business  in  Glasgow.

William  supported  Chamberlain  on  Tariff  Reform  against  the  wishes  of  his  local  Liberal  Unionist  Association.

William  stood  down  in  1906.

He  died  in  1913  aged  74.

1342 Robert Wallace

Constituency  : Perthshire  Western  1895-1907

The  1895  election  was  a  disaster  for  the  Liberals  who  were  reduced  to  just  177  seats. Apart  from  taking  a  seat  in  Ireland  they  lost  seats  in  every  region  and  were  routed  in  London  and  the  South  East. The  Liberal  Unionists  recovered  to  71  seats  but  it  was  also  a  defeat  for  them  as  the  Conservatives  had  won  an  outright  majority.  Their  room  for  manoeuvre  had  gone  and  Devonshire  and  Chamberlain  had no  choice  but  to  accept  Salisbury's  offer  to  join  the  government. Though  it  took  nearly  20  years  to  achieve  a  formal  merger with  the  Conservatives, from  this  point  on  you  can't  really  regard  them  as  an  independent  party.

Robert  bucked  the  trend  by  taking  West  Perthshire  from  the  Tories.

Robert  was  the  son  of  an  Irish  minister. He  was  educated  at  Queen's  University, Dublin  . He  was  a  barrister. Ironically, Robert  had  contested  the  last  three  general  elections  without  success, at  Wandsworth  in  1885, Edinburgh  West  in  1886  and  Renfrewshire West  in  1892.

Robert's  maiden  speech  was  in  opposition  to  the  1896  Education  Bill  which  he saw  as  destroying  the  School  Board  system.

In  1907  Robert  resigned  his  seat  to  become  a  London  judge.  He  was  known  as  the  "Merciful  Judge"  for  his  views  on  rehabilitation  and  he  was  influential  in  the  setting  up  of  borstals  and  juvenile  courts. He  was  knighted  in  1916 .He  retired  in  1931.  

He  died  in  1939  aged  88.