Constituency : South Ayrshire 1885-6, 1892-5, Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire 1899-1918
Eugene dislodged the Tories in South Ayrshire which they put down to the large mining vote in the constituency.
Eugene was the son of a previous MP for Ipswich. He was a giant of a man described by one of the Speakers as "the largest and tallest man in the House," He had a large appetite though he was fond of football, rowing and fishing. He was educated at Rugby and Oxford and became a barrister though he switched to becoming a solicitor in 1876 though he eventually returned to the Bar. From 1878 he was Assistant Examiner to the Incorporated Law Society in Common Law.
Eugene was a supporter of Home Rule for Scotland and headed a delegation to Asquith asking for a Bill on the subject in 1912. He was generally a Radical. He was in favour of women's suffrage.
In 1886 Eugene lost out to a Liberal Unionist by 5 votes. He regained it by 197 votes in 1892 and lost it again by 550 votes in 1895.
Eugene returned at a by-election in 1899 when John Balfour resigned to become a judge. He won Clackmannanshire by 516 votes. He held the seat with increasing ease until being returned unopposed in December 1910. He then became Chairman of the Scottish Liberal members until 1918.
In the summer of 1914 Eugene was one of a number of holidaymakers caught out by the outbreak of war while taking the waters at Marienbad in Austria-Hungary and detained as an enemy alien. He was allowed to travel to Switzerland a few weeks later. In 1915 Eugene was appointed chairman of a Committee on Food Production in Scotland
Eugene stood down in 1918 when the seat went to Labour.
He died in 1927 aged 81.
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