Constituency : Sirlingshire 1910-18, Dumfriesshire 1922-4
William took over from Donald Smeaton at Stirlingshire.
William was born in New Zealand. He was a farmer's son . He trained to become a doctor. He first practised in New Zealand and then Ireland. He got involved in the Liberal party of New Zealand and was briefly a Member of the House of Representatives in 1908.
William was a Presbyterian and in 1912 suggested that Ulster should be tacked onto Scotland.
William stood for Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire in 1918 but without the coupon came third.
William got back in at Dumfriesshire in 1922 but was defeated in 1924 when Labour intervened with a candidate.
William was a keen advocate of eugenics and published Fertility of the Unfit which argued for enforced sterilisation in certain cases. In a debate in 1911 he declared "We are breeding from defective stock".
He died in 1936 aged 72.
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