Constituency : South Glamorgan 1885-95
Arthur was the first MP for South Glamorgan. He won by 594 votes.
Arthur was a doctor's son from Bridgend. He was a Unitarian.. He started out apprenticed to his father but then moved to the law and became a barrister, He cultivated an image of the bluff country squire. He was on the executive committee of the Liberation Society and supported Welsh disestablishment. In 1869 he published The Appropriation of the Railways by the State , the first of a number of works on legal and economic issues. In 1878 he became secretary to the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines. He stood for and nearly won Birkenhead, a safe Tory seat in 1880. He had a large role in establishing the National Liberal Club.
In 1886 Arthur proposed a fund to help working class candidates meet electoral expenses. He defeated the Liberal Unionist candidate by 1.320 votes that year.
Arthur was angered by Alfred Thomas's National Institutions (Wales ) bill as he had not been consulted on it.
Arthur supported proportional representation and the abolition of hereditary peerages.
In 1892 Arthur's majority was reduced by a determined Conservative campaign.
Arthur was defeated in 1895 by 825 votes.
He died in 1911 aged 81. His son Elliott was also a Liberal MP.
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