Constituency : Inverness Burghs 1874-85 ; Inverness-shire 1885-92 (from 1886 Liberal Unionist )
Charles unseated the incumbent Liberal Aeneas Macintosh to take the seat.
Charles was a solicitor who worked in land and property. He was chairman of the Anglo-American Land Mortgage and Agency Co. He published a number of works on Scottish history and was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities of Scotland. He was a champion of the Gaelic language promoting its use in Highland schools..
Charles was the only MP who could speak Gaelic and became known as the Member for the Highlands. In 1881 he got Harcourt to incorporate a question on speaking Gaelic in the 1881 census. His efforts helped get the Crofters Commission set up in 1883 on which he then sat.
Charles was a keen book collector and helped set up Inverness Free Library in 1883.
In 1885 Charles switched the county seat as an Independent Liberal allied to the Crofters Party. He was unopposed in 1886 but joined the Liberal Unionists in Parliament. This was regarded as an act of treachery by the Highland Land League who helped Donald McGregor defeat him in 1892.
He died in 1901 aged 72.
No comments:
Post a Comment