644 Edward Gourley

Constituency : Sunderland 1868-1900

Edward  recovered  the  second  Sunderland  seat - lost  in  1865- for  the  Liberals. This  was  despite  a  run  of  maritime  losses  which  led  Samuel  Plimsoll  to  criticise  him  for  the  human  cost. : "I  heard  his  name  wherever  I  went  as  that  of  a  ship-owner  who  was  notorious  for  the  practice  of  overloading, and  for  a  reckless  disregard  of  human  life".  He  defeated  T C  Thompson , a  Whig  who  didn't  satisfy  the  more  advanced  local  Liberals.

Edward  was  the  son  of  a  shipowner. He  was  apprenticed  as  a  coalfitter  for  a  big  firm  and worked  in  Germany  and  Holland. In  1848  he  set  up  his  own  business  as  a  ship-chandler. He expanded  into  coal  exports  and  timber  imports. He  soon  had  a  fleet  for  the  Indian  trade. He did  well  out  of  supplying  the  troops  in  the  Crimean  War. He  invested  in  steamships  over  sail. He  was  active  in  local  politics  as  a  councillor  from  1857. He  was  mayor  in  1864  and  1865.

Edward  was  a  persistent  questioner  in  Parliament , usually  on  shipping  matters. He  was particularly  keen  that  ships  of  the  mercantile  marine  should  be  manned  by  British  sailors   who  could  be  depended  on  if  needed  for  military  operations. He  secured  an  inquiry  into  the   working  of  benefit  building  societies.

Edward  was  not  a  great  orator.  He  was  described by  one  source  as  " a  thin  spare  man  with  a  weak, little. piping  voice." He  was  unmarried  but  thought  to  have  a  secret  mistress  in  London.

In  1872  he  Edward  opposed  extending  the  franchise  to  seafarers   but  was  forced  by  constituency  pressures  to  do  a  u-turn  and  support  it.In  1873  Edward  founded  The  Sunderland  Echo  with  Samuel  Storey.

Edward  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Home  Rule, a  convert  before  Gladstone.

Edward  was  a  Congregationalist  and  a  strong  supporter  of  temperance. He  was  also  a  high ranking  officer  in  the  Volunteers. He  was  a  keen  yachtsman.

Edward  was  knighted  in  1895.

Edward  retired  in  1900  after  an  argument  with  the  local  party  over  how  many  candidates  to put  up. Edward  had  been  hoping  to  avoid  a  contest  by  a  tacit  agreement  with  the  local Tories. He  died  two  years  later  aged  76  after  a  long  battle  with  illness.