1399 Samuel Moss

Constituency  : East   Denbighshire   1897-1906

Samuel  took  over  at  East  Denbighshire  following  the  death  of  the  veteran  Gerorge  Osborne  Morgan.

Samuel  came  from  Rossett  and  was  educated  at  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. In  1886  he  published  The  English  Land  Laws. He  was  Assistant  Boundary  Commissioner  for  Wales  in  1887. He  was  the  second  chairman  of  Denbighshire  County Council.

In  1901  Samuel  defended  some  quarrymen  charged  with  intimidation  at  the  Bethesda  Quarry.

Samuel  resigned  his  seat  shortly  after  the  1906  election, at  which  he  was  unopposed,   to  become  a  county  court  judge.

He  died  in  1918  aged  59.

1398 Frederick Maddison

Constituency :  Sheffield  Brightside  1897-1900, Burnley  1906-10

Frederick  took  over  at  Sheffield  Brightside  on  the  death  of  Anthony  Mundella. He  was  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate. The  ILP  strongly  criticised  him, implicitly  supporting  his  Tory  opponent.

Frederick  was  from  Lincolnshire  where  he  became  a  compositor. He  joined  the  Typographical  Association  and  was  President  of  the  T.U.C.  by  1886. In  1997  he  won  a  seat  on  Hull  Corporation. He  joined  the  Board  of  Trade  as  a  journalist  in  the  Labour  Department. He  stood  in  Hull  Central  in  1892 and  1895. He  was  a  Unitarian.

Frederick's  maiden  speech  was  on  the  need  for  cheap  trains  for  workmen. He  supported  the  eight  hour  day  and  payment  of  MPs. He  was  in  favour  of  compulsory  purchase  for  housing  and  in  1900  said  in  a  debate  on  the  Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  Amendment  Bill, "We  shall  have  to  assert  the  sound  economic  and  sacred  principle  that  land  does  not  exist  for  private  convenience  and  profit, and  that  wherever  that  private  convenience  or  profit  runs  athwart  the  very  necessities  of  the  people  in  the  matter  of  housing,  the  landlords  will  have  to  sell  their  land  at  a  fair  price".

Frederick  was  a  member  of  the  International  Arbitration  League  and  was  its  secretary  from  1908  to  1910. Under  his  leadership  it  became  less  radical.

Although  Frederick   had  pursued  a  cautious  line  on  the  Boer  War,  he   was   still   perceived  as  pro-Boer  and  narrowly  defeated  in  1900.

Frederick  returned  to  Parliament  for  Burnley  in  1906  but  lost  in  January  1910. He  made  numerous  unsuccessful  attempts  to  return  after  that  -  Darlington  ( Dec  1910 ), Holderness  ( 1918 ), South  Dorset  ( 1922  )  and  Reading  ( 1923 ) .

He  died  in  1937  aged  80.

1397 Thomas Hedderwick

Constituency  : Wick  Burghs  1896-1900

Thomas  captured  Wick Burghs  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Sir  John  Pender  stepped  down  ( and  indeed  died  just  weeks  later ).

Thomas  was  the  son  of  Glasgow  newspaper  proprietor  James  Hedderwick. He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow   and  became  a  barrister. He  contested  South  Lanarkshire  in  1892. He  ran  Pender  close  in  1895.

Thomas  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  debates  across  many  issues. He  supported  an  Imperial  Federation  rather  than  the  empire in  its  current  form.

 In  1900  Thomas  was  narrowly  defeated  by  the  Liberal  Unionist  Arthur  Bignold. He  lodged  a  petition  against  the  result  but  then  withdrew  it. He  contested  Newbury  in  January  1910.

Thomas  became  a  London  magstrate.

He  died  in  1918  aged  67.
 

1396 Duncan Pirie

Constituency : Aberdeen  North  1896-1918

Duncan   took  over  at  Aberdeen  North  after  William  Hunter  stepped  down  through  ill-health.He  beat  an  ILP  candidate  standing  because  Duncan's  family  firm  had  bad  relations  with  the  trades  unions.

Duncan  was  educated  at  Trinity  College, Glenalmond  and  Clifton  College. He  joined  the  army  and  was  aide-de-camp  to  General  Graham  in  Egypt  and  the  Governor  of  Ceylon. He  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  West  Renfrewshire  in  1895.

Duncan  organised  the  relief  of  wounded  soldiers  during  the  Greco-Turkish  War  of  1897. He  served  in  the  Boer  War  and  then  again  in  World  War  One  as  a  lieutenant-colonel and  then  major  at  Salonica. He  made  many  contributions  on  army  matters.

In  1900  Duncan  was  foolishly  attacked  by  the  Unionists  as  pro-Boer  despite  the  fact  he  was  currently  fighting  them  and  he  was  returned  with  an  increased  majority  over  a  Liberal  Unionist  opponent. In  1906  and  January  1910  he  faced  socialist  candidates  as  well  but  was  comfortably  returned.

Duncan  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  home  rule  for  Sotland.

Duncan  opposed  female  suffrage  and  refused  to  commit  himself  to  a  minimum  wage  for  farm  workers  which  harmed  his  chances  with  the  new  electorate.

Duncan  received  the  coupon  in  1918  but  was   unwilling  to  endorse  Lloyd  George's  government. He  was  narrowly  defeated  by  the  Labour  candidate.

He  died  in  1931  aged  72.

1395 Herbert Jessel

Constituency :St  Pancras  South  1896-1906 ( Liberal  Unionist ) , 1910-18  ( Conservative )

Herbert  succeeded  his  deceased  father-in-law  Sir  Julian  Goldsmid  at  St  Pancras. He  won  the  by-election  with  an  increased  majority.

Herbert  was  the  son  of  the  former  Liberal  MP  and   Master  of  the  Rolls,  Sir  George  Jessel. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford  and  joined  the  army  where  he  became  a  lieutenant  . He served  on  the  City  of  Westminster  Council  from  1889  to  1948.  He  was  Lord  Mayor  in  1903. He  was  Jewish.

Many  of  Herbert's  contributions  were  on  military  matters.

Herbert  was  defeated  in  1906  but  regained  the  seat  as  a  Conservative  in  January  1910. He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1917.

In  1907  Herbert  chaired  a  conference  under  the  auspices  of   the  London  Municipal  Society  to  try  and  co-ordinate  anti-socialist  groups  declaring  "We  must  join  together  in  counteracting  what, if  neglected, will ... involve  the  destruction  of  this  great  empire ".  A  committee  was  set  up  to  monitor  Socialism's  progress.

Herbert  was  commandant  of  the  Romsey  Remount  Depot  for  most  of  World  War  One.

Herbert  did  not  stand  in  1918  when  his  constituency  was  abolished  but  stood  as  the Conservative  candidate  in  the  Westminster  St  Georges  by-election  of  1921. He  was  beaten  by  the  Anti-Waste  League  candidate.

In  1924  Herbert  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Jessel.

Herbert  was  a  keen  cyclist.

He  died  in  1950  aged  84.

1394 William Lecky

Constituency  : Dublin  University  1895-1903 ( Liberal  Unionist )

The   1895-1900  Parliament  was  an  extremely  difficult  one  for  the  Liberals. Rosebery  proved  to  have  little  appetite  for  being  Leader  of  the  Opposition  and   took  the  opportunity  to  resign  less  than  a  year  later  over  the  Armenian  massacres  which  occasioned  Gladstone's  last  contribution  to  public  life. Harcourt  took  over  but  the  party  seemed  hopelessly  split  between  an  imperialist  wing  still  looking  to  Rosebery  for  leadership  and  pacifist  Radicals  who  wanted  a  focus  on  domestic  social  reform  rather  than  imperial  adventures. After  bungling  a  parliamentary  debate  on  the  Jameson  Raid, Harcourt  too  quit  in  1898,  the  year  Gladstone  finally  passed  away. The  left-leaning  Campbell-Bannerman  took  over  but  it  was  patently  clear  he  did  not  have  the  full  support  of  his  party  and  the  Boer  War  only  exposed  these  divisions to  public  glare.

As  for  the  Liberal  Unionists , they  threw  in  their  lot  with  the  Conservatives  with  Devonshire  becoming  Lord  President  of  the  Council  and  Chamberlain,  Colonial  Secretary.  Salisbury  allowed  them  more  influence  than  their  parliamentary  position  really  warranted.  This  partly   led  to  the  Boer  War  which  provided  a  platform  for  the  Unionist  coalition  to  go  to  the  country  in  1900.

William  succeeded  an  Irish  Unionist  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  peerage. He  was  the  only  Liberal  of  any  sort  to  represent  the  constituency.

William  was  born  near  Dublin , of  gentry  stock. He  was  educated  at  Cheltenham  College and  Trinity  College, Dublin. He  studied  divinity  with  a  view  to  becoming  a  priest. Instead  he  became  a  writer  with  works  on  morals, historiography , philosophy  and  eighteenth  century  history.  His  private  income  allowed  him  to  spend  long  periods  abroad  in  continental  libraries. His  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  the  Spirit  of  Rationalism  in  1865  was  very  popular  and  made  him  an  important  figure  in  literary  society.  He  was  a  moderate  Liberal  who  was  opposed  to  Home  Rule. In  1892  he  declined  the  Chair  of  Modern  History  at  Oxford.

William's  maiden  speech  argued  for  clemency  towards  a  group  of  Fenian  prisoners. He  supported  ameliorative  measures  in  Ireland.

In  1896  William  published  Democracy  and  Liberty  which  was  attacked  for  its  pessimistic  conclusions. A  new  edition  in  1899  was  also  criticised  for  its  denigration  of  the  recently  deceased  Gladstone.

He  died  in  1903  aged  65. Ten  years  later  his  widow  endowed  the  Lecky  Chair  of  History  at  Trinity  College.


 

1393 Charles Harrison

 

Constituency  : Plymouth  1895-7

Charles  took  one  of  the  Plymouth  seats  for  the  Liberals  at  the  second  attempt.

Charles  was  the  son  of  a  stockbroker. He  was  educated  at  King's  College  School  and  University. He  became  a  solicitor  in  his  uncle's  law  firm  and  then  built  a  large  practice  in  his  own  right  with  a  railway  company  and  life  insurance  firm  as  clients. He  was  part  of  the  first  clutch  of  Progressive  councillors  in  London. Charles  wanted  to  municipalise  the  London  Docks  and  create  a  unitary  authority. He  was  vice  chairman  of  the  Council  from  1892  to  1895.

Charles  was  a  Radical, supporting  improved  housing  for  workers. Charles  made  a  number  of  parliamentary  contributions  on  the  rating  of  agricultural  land.

Charles  came  down  with  a  throat  inflammation  at  the  funeral  of  Frank  Lockwood  and  died  the  following  day  ( Christmas  Eve  )  in  1897.  He  was  62.

That  ends  our  look  at  the  1895  intake. We  now  look  at  the  by-election  victors  of  the  1895-1900  Parliament.

1392 Alfred Hopkinson

Constituency : Cricklade  1895-1898  ( Liberal  Unionist ), Combined  English  Universities 1926-9 ( Conservative )

Alfred  took  Cricklade  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  by  99  votes  after  the  incumbent  John  Husband  stood  down.

Alfred  was  the  son  of  a  mechanical  engineer. He   was  educated  at  a  Manchester  private  school  and  Oxford . He  became  a  barrister  and  Professor  of  Law  at  Owens  College .He  stood  for  the  Liberals  in  Manchester  East  in  1885. He  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  stood  for  them  in  Manchester  South  West  in  1892. He  was  a  devout  Christian.

Alfred's  maiden  speech  in  1896  supported  the  Working  Men's  Dwellings  Bill  which  aimed  at  helping  working  class  people  purchase  houses.

Alfred  stood  down  in  1898  to  take  up  the  post  of  Principal  of  Owens  College. In  1901  he  became  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  Victoria  University  ( precursor  of  Manchester  and  Liverpool Universities )  and  then  of  Victoria  University  of  Manchester  from  1903  to  1913. He  was  knighted  in  1910.  He  was  sent  to  report  on  the  University  of  Bombay  in  1913 .In  December  1914  he  was  appointed  to  the  Committee  on  Alleged  German  Outrages  which  looked  at  the  Germans'  activities  in  Belgium. In  1920  he  chaired  a  committee  on  adoption.

Alfred  published  a  book  on  post-war  reconstruction  in  1918  and  a  memoir  Penultima  in  1930.

In  1926    Alfred  returned  to  Parliament  in  a  by-election, representing  the  Combined  English  Universities  as  a  Conservative. He  supported  the  League  of  Nations .  His  final  speech  in  1929  laid  down  his  views  on  education. He  stood  down  at  the  general  election.

He  died  in  1939  aged  88. His  son  Austin  was  an  MP  in  three  separate  spells  between  1929  and  1945.

1391 Arthur Strauss

Constituency  : Camborne  1895-1900  ( Liberal  Unionist  )  Paddington  North  1910-18  ( Conservative )  

Arthur  took  Camborne  for  the  Liberal  Unionists , unseating  Charles  Conybeare  at  the  second  attempt.

Arthur  was  born  in  Germany, the  son  of  a  Jewish  merchant. He  was  educated  at  a  German  university  then  moved  to  London , becoming  a  naturalised  citizen  in  1884. He  ran  a  successful  metals  business  with  his  brother.

In  1900  Arthur  was  defeated  by  William  Caine  and  also  lost  the  by-election  when  Caine  died  in  1903 , being  defeated  by  the  veteran  Wilfrid  Lawson.

In  1906  Arthur  accepted  an  invitation  to  become   the   Conservative  candidate  for  Paddington North. Because  his  Liberal  opponent  Leo  Money  had  an  Italian  background  a  local  committee of  objectors  to  foreign  candidates  was  formed  and  put  forward  an  Independent  Unionist candidate  , handing  the  seat  to  Money.  In  January  1910,  the  League  of  Patriotic  Electors  of  North  Paddington  were  prevailed  upon  not  to  field  a  candidate  and  Arthur  was  able  to  win  the  seat. He  held  it  against  a  different  opponent  in  December  1910.

In  1914  Arthur  was  called  on  to  resign  his  seat  as  "a  native  of  Germany". He  refused  but  was  repudiated  by  the  Conservative  party.

In  1918  Arthur  fought  the  seat  as  an  "Independent  Labour"  candidate  and  came  sixth  with  less  than  a  thousand  votes. He  subsequently  joined  the  Labour  candidate.

Arthur  played  chess  for  the  Commons  against  the US  Congress  team.

He  died  in  1920  aged  73. His  son  George  became  a  long serving  Labour  MP.

1390 Edwin Durning-Lawrence

Constituency  : Truro  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Edwin  took  over  from  John  Williams  as  the  Liberal  Unionists  held  on  to Truro.

Edwin  was  the  son  of  a  construction  magnate  and  a  London  politician. Both  his  brothers  had been  Liberal  MPs. He  was  educated  at  London  University  and  became  a  barrister. He  was  a prominent  Unitarian  and,  along  with  his  brother  James,  half-funded  the  building  of  the  Essex St  Chapel.

Edwin  was  created  a  baronet  in  1898.

Edwin  supported  tariff  reform  and  said  many  of  the  great  trades  were  already  protected  by  patents.

Edwin  was  a  prolific  author  with  works  on  history, religion  and  physics.

Edwin  was  defeated  in  1906  and  failed  to  regain  the  seat  in  January  1910.

Following  that  second  defeat,   Edwin  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  writing  to  promote  the  idea that  Francis  Bacon  wrote  the  Shakespeare  plays  in  particularly  trenchant  fashion. He  published four  books  on  the  subject.

He  died  in  1914   aged  77. His  archive  was  later  donated  to  London  University.

1389 Frederick Horniman

Constituency : Penryn  and  Falmouth  1895-1906

Frederick  took  Penryn  and  Falmouth  from  the  Tories  by  49  votes.

Frederick  was  the  son  of  John  Horniman  who  founded  the  great  tea  company. He  was  a  Quaker  who  was  educated  in  one  of  their  schools. He  was  a member  of  London  County  Council. He  founded  the  Horniman  Museum  which  he  later donated  to  the  public.

Lord  Kimberley  dined  with  him  in  1897  and  was  then  very  rude  about  him  in  his  diary : "Horniman  is  a  ridiculous  looking  little  man  with  a  bald  head  and  a  bottle  nose..(he) can't  put  two  words  together  on  his  legs  or  we  might  have  been there  till  breakfast  time."

Frederick  made  little  contribution  to  Parliament. In  1900  his  majority  reduced  to  just  20.

Frederick  was  a noted  art  collector  and  patron. He  travelled  to  India,  Japan, China,  the  U.S.  and  Egypt  to  furnish  his  collections. He  helped  fund  Howard  Carter's  excavation  of  the  Deir-el-Bahri  temple.

Frederick  stood  down  in  1906  and  died  just  weeks  later  aged  70. His  son  Emslie  was  later  an  MP.  His  daughter  Annie  was  involved  in  founding  the  Abbey  Theatre  in  Dublin.

1388 Sir Cameron Gull

Constituency  : Barnstaple  1895-1900

Cameron  took  Barnstaple  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  unseating  Alfred  Billson.

Cameron  was  the  son  of  William  Gull, Queen  Victoria's  personal  physician  and, notoriously , a Ripper  suspect. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  inherited  his  father's  baronetcy   and   property  in  1890. He  became  a  barrister  and  an  expert  on  partnership  law. In  1891  he  joined  the  London  School  Board. He  stood  for  Moray  and  Nairn  in  1892.

In  Parliament  Sir  Cameron  supported  reform  of  the  Poor  Law  and  the  Boer  War.

Sir  Cameron  was  defeated  in  1900.

He  died  in  1922  aged  62.

 

1387 Sir John Simeon

Constituency  : Southampton  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Sir  John  took  second  place  at  Southampton  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  unseating  Francis  Evans . Ramsay  McDonald  came  in  fifth  for  the  I.L.P.  with  a  derisory  vote  but  enough  to  cost  Evans  the  seat.

Sir John  had  been  a  baronet  since  1870.  His  father  had  been  MP  for  the  Isle  of  Wight .He was  an  ensign  in  the  Rifle  Brigade. In  1880  he  became  John  Bright's  private  secretary  and followed  him  into  the  Liberal  Unionists.

Sir  John  was  a  large  landowner  and  had  a  station, Watchingwell, constructed  for  his  own convenience.

Sir  John  stood  down  in  1906.

He  died  in  1909  aged  59.

1386 Lord Alwyne Compton

Constituency : Biggleswade  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist ), Brentford 1910-11  ( Conservative )

Lord  Alwyne  unseated  George  Russell  in  a  close  contest.

Lord  Alwyne  was  a  son  of  the  Marquess  of  Northampton. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  then  joined  the  army. In 1882  he  became  adide-de-camp  to  the  Viceroy  of  India. He  became  a  lieutenant  and  fought  in  the  Sudan  campaign  in  1884. He  resigned  from  the  army  in  1886.

When  the  Boer  War  broke  out  Lord  Alwyne  rejoined  the  army  as  a  captain. He  won  the  DSO  in  South  Africa  and  was  promoted  to  major  in  1901  In  1901  he  criticised  the  War  Office  for  not  maintaining  adequate  supplies  in  the  misguided  belief   that   the  war  would  be  short.  He  was  unopposed  in  1900.

Lord  Alwyne  was  heavily  defeated  in  1906. In  January  1910  he  stood  for  Brentford  as  a  Conservative  and  was  returned.

Lord  Alwyne  resigned  his  seat  in  March of  the   following  year.

He  died   nine  months  later,   aged  56.

1385 Horace Farquhar

Constituency  : Marylebone  West  1895-1898  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Horace  won  Marylebone  West  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  the  Liberals  substantially  reduced  the  Conservative  majority  in  1892. Horace  was  the  only  Liberal  of  any  sort  to  hold  the  seat.

Horace  was  the  fifth  son  of  a  baronet. His  family  were  not  particularly  wealthy  so  he  started  out  as  a  junior  civil  servant. He  rose  to  become  a  manager  for  the  firm, Forbes, Forbes  & Co  who  were  involved  in  the  Indian  trade. He  left  them  to  become  a  shareholder and  partner  in  the  private  bank  of  Sir  Samuel  Scott. He  also  became  a  director  in  the  British  South  Africa  Company  despite  a  huge  conflict  of  interest  as  a  shareholder  in  the  Exploration  Company  looking  for  mining  rights  in  lands  controlled  by  the  BASC. He  had  to  resign  after  the  Jameson  Raid. He  oversaw  the  merger  of  Scott's  with  Parr's  whose  board  he  joined. He  married  the  widow  of  one  of  the  Scott  family  which  brought  him  a  fortune. In  1889  he  was  elected  to  the  London  County  Council   as  a  "Moderate"  ( i.e.  one of  the  Unionist  parties ). In  1892  he  was created a  baronet  in  his  own  right. He  became  president  of  the  London  Municipal  Society  in  1894.

Horace  was  a  major  contributor  to  party  funds  and  argued  his  way  to  being  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Farquhar  in  1898. His  stepson  won  the  by-election  unopposed  as  a  Conservative.      

Horace  had  been  a  long  time  friend  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  so  he  was  immediately  appointed  Master  of  the  Household  when  he  became  Edward  VII. He  became  a  lord  in  waiting in  1907  , retaining  the  post  when  George  V  came  to  the  throne. He  was  made  Lord  Steward  of  the  Household  in  1915. In  1917  he  was upgraded  to  a  viscount.

Horace  was  appointed   treasurer  of  the  Conservative  and  Unionist  party  on  its  creation  in  1912 . He  was  sacked  by  Bonar  Law  after  handing  over  money  to  Lloyd  George  which  he  said  had  been  donated  to  the  coalition  rather  than  the  party.  Coincidentally  he  was  upgraded  to  an  earl  in  1922.

He  died  in  1923  aged  79. He  was  found  to  be  bankrupt  on  his  death.

1384 Henry Stanley

Constituency  :  Lambeth   North  1895-1900  ( Liberal  Unionists )

Henry  took  Lambeth  North  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  at  the  second  attempt. The  incumbent, Francis  Coldwells  had  stood  down.

Henry  was  not  related  to  the  Stanleys  of  Bosworth  infamy.  He  was  originally  John   Rowlands  from  Denbigh  and  was  illegitimate. He  had  a  hard  time  in  the  workhouse  and  emigrated  to  the  US  at  18  in  1859.  He  changed  his  name  apparently  in  honour  of  a  rich  benefactor  although  some  biographers  doubt  he  ever  met  the  man/  He  served  in  both  the  Confederate  and  Union  armies  during  the  Civil  War. After  the  war  he  became  a  journalist  for  the  New  York  Herald  from  whom  he  received  the  famous   commission  to  find  the  missing  explorer  David  Livingstone. He  accomplished  this  within  two  years  ,producing  his  immortal  line  in  Ujiji, Tanzania. After  accompanying  Livingstone's  explorations  for  a  time  he  returned  to  the  US. The  paper  sent  him  on  another  African  expedition  in  1874  to  establish  the  precise  geography  of  central  Africa. Despite  a  high  human  cost, he  achieved  his  aims  and  became  a  household  name  as  an  explorer.  He  coined  the  term  "Dark  Continent"  for  Africa. He  received  further  commissions  from  Leopold  II  in  the  Congo  and  he  led  the  expedition  to  relieve  Emin  Pasha  the  governor  of  south  Sudan  in  1886. The  expedition  got  a  bad  press  and  was  accused  of  spreading  sleeping  sickness  to  new  parts  of  Africa. One  member  of  his  expedition  bought  an  eleven  year  old  girl  then  sold  her  to  cannibals  to  document  how  they  prepared  her. Henry  later  returned  to  the  UK  and  got  married.

Henry's  maiden  speech  opposed  Radical  calls  for  the  evacuation  of  Egypt.  He  also  opposed  intervention  in  favour  of  the  Armenians.

Henry  was  knighted  in  1899.

He  died  in  1904  aged  63.


 

1383 Harry Pollock

Constituency  : Spalding  1895 - 1900  ( Liberal  Unionist  )

Harry  unseated  Halley  Stewart  at  the  second  attempt  after  a  tight  contest.

Harry  was  from  an  aristocratic  family.

Harry  made  little  contribution  to  Parliament.

Harry  stood  down  in  1900 .

He  died  in  1901  aged  46.

1382 Charles Gold

Constituency : Saffron  Walden  1895-1900

Charles  took  over  from  Herbert  Gardner  at  Saffron  Walden.

Charles  was  from  Birmingham. He  was  a  landowner  and  also  a  director  of  his  brother-in-law's  firm,  W  &  A  Gilbey, a  wine  and  spirits  retail  company.

In  1899  Charles  announced  that  he  had  "ceased  to  support  the  Liberal  Party"  over  temperance  issues.

Charles  stood  down  in  1900  but  continued  to  finance  the  local  party. He  was  knighted  in  1906.

Charles  joined  the  Conservatives  in  1910  in  protest  at  Lloyd  George's  land  taxes.

He  died  in  1924  aged  87.

1381 Robert Purvis

Constituency : Peterborough  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Robert  took  Peterborough  from  Alpheus  Morton  at  the  third  attempt.

Robert  was  educated  at  Marlborough  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  barrister. He  contested  Abingdon  for  the  Liberals  in  1895  then  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  stood  for  them  at  Edinburgh  South  in  1886  where  he  lost  to  Hugh  Childers. He  first  contested  Peterborough  in  a  by-election  in  1889  then  reduced  Morton's  majority  to  158  in  1892.

Robert  retained  the  seat  in  1900.

Robert  stuck  with  Chamberlain  over  tariff  reform.

Robert  was  knighted  in  1905.

Robert  was  heavily  defeated  in  1906. He  contested  Peterborough  again  in  January  1910  , reducing  the  Liberal  majority  to  43.

In  1914  Robert  supported  allowing  tenant  farmers  to  become  owner-occupiers.

He  died  in  1920  aged  75.

1380 Frederick Wilson

Constituency : Mid  Norfolk  1895-1906

Frederick  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  Robert  Gurdon  just  months  after losing  to  him  in  a  by-election.

Frederick  was  a  local  man  educated  at  Wymondham  Grammar  School. He  was  both  a  farmer  and  a  newspaper  owner  having  founded  the  East  Anglian  Daily  Times  in  1874. He  had  previously  worked  on  the  Liverpool  Daily  Post  and  was  a  volunteer  defender  of  Chester  Castle  against  the  Fenians  in  1867. He  later  met  up  with  one  of  the  attackers, Michael  Davitt  in  the  Commons In  1894  he  became  President  of  the  Newspaper  Society  of  the  United  Kingdom.

In  1897  Frederick  rode  in  the  Parliamentary  steeplechase. He  also  played  chess  for  the  Commons  against  a  team  of  US  congressmen.

Frederick  was  a  founder  of  the  Norfolk  Small  Holdings  Association.

Frederick  stood  down  in  1906. He  became  President  of  the  Institute  of  Journalists  in  1907.

He  died  in  1924  aged  80.

1379 Charles Seely

Constituency  : Lincoln  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist  ) , Mansfield  1916-8

Charles  took  Lincoln  for  the  Liberal  Unionists.

Charles's  grandfather  of  the  same  name  had  held  the  seat  from  1861 to  1885. His  father  had  just  stepped  down  as  MP  for  Nottingham  West. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge.  He  stood  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  at  Mid  Derbyshire  in  1886  and  Rushcliffe  in  1892.

Charles's  maiden  speech  was  against  ratepayers  having  any  say  in  the  management  of  oluntary  schools

Charles's  support  for  Free  Trade  led  to  his  repudiation  by  the  local  Conservatives  and  Liberal  Unionists  so  he  stood  in  1906  as  a  Free  Trade  candidate  and  was  defeated. He  stood  again  in  January  1910  as  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  support  of  Free  Trade. He  came  third.

Charles  succeeded  to  his  father's  baronetcy  in  1915.

By  1916  Charles  had  joined  the  main  Liberal  party  and  returned  in  their  colours  at  a  by-election  in  Mansfield  that  year.

In  1917  Charles'  eldest  son  , also  called  Charles, was  killed  in  action  in  the  Middle  East.

 In  1918 Charles  stood  for  Broxtowe  but  was  heavily  defeated  by  Labour.

Charles's  last  intervention  in  1918  called  for  a  decoration  for  the  British  troops  who  fought  in  Gallipoli,

He  died  in  1926  aged  66. His  son  Hugh  later  became  an  MP.

1378 Daniel Goddard

Constituency : Ipswich  1895 - 1918

Daniel  took  one  of  the  Ipswich  seats  from  the  Tories.

Daniel  was  the  son  of  a  magistrate. He  was  privately  educated  and    became  a  civil  engineer. He  was   a  director  of  several  companies  including  the  Ipswich  Gas  Light  Company.. He  was  an  alderman  in  the  town  and  mayor  in  1891-2. He  unsuccessfully  contested  the  seat  in  1892. He  was  a  radical  Congregationalist.

Daniel  was  knighted  in  1907.

Daniel  stepped  down  in  1918.

Daniel  was  a  philanthropist  who  built  the  Social  Settlement  in  Ipswich.

He  died  in  1922  aged  72.

1377 George Doughty

Constituency : Grimsby  1895-1910, 1910-12  ( from  1898 Liberal  Unionist ) 1912-4 ( Conservative )

George   unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  Edward  Heneage  at  Grimsby  by  181  votes.

George  was  a  local  man  educated  at  a  Wesleyan  school  in  the  town. He  started  working  life as  a  joiner  but   became  a  ship  owner  and  merchant. He  built  an  ice  factory  in  the  town. He also  had  interests  in  whaling . He  was  heavily  involved  in  local  politics  and  was  twice mayor. He  was  a  Methodist  lay  preacher. He  owned  the  Grimsby  Evening  Telegraph.

In  1896  George  called  for  a  British  cruiser  off  the  coast  of  Iceland  to  protect  British   trawlers  from  being  harrassed  by  a  Danish  gunboat.

In  1898  George  himself  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  offered  himself  up  for  re-election  at  a  by-election. He  was  returned  with  a  majority  of  1,751  votes.

George  was  returned  unopposed  in  1900  and  withstood  the  Liberal  landslide  in  1906. However  he  was  unseated  in  January  1910. He  won  the  seat  back  in  December.

George  was  knighted  in  1904. In  1907  he  went  on  a  tour  of  India.

In  1909  George  claimed  in  Parliament  that  Germany  had  carried  out  a  secret   navel  exercise using  airships  over  the  North  Sea

He  died  in  1914  aged  60.

1376 Emerson Bainbridge

Constituency : Gainsborough  1895-1900

 Emerson  took  over  from  Joseph  Bennett  at  Gainsborough.

Emerson  was  born  in  Newcastle  to  a  well-to-do  grocer. He  was  educated  at  Durham  University. He  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a  mining  engineer  but  soon  became  a  manager  under  the  Duke  of  Norfolk. In  1874  he  formed  a  limited  company  in  which  he  had  the  controlling  interest. in  1889  he  obtained  a  lease  from  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  exploit  coalfields  in  Derbyshire  and  Nottinghamshire  and  formed  the  Bolsover  Colliery  Company  for  this  purpose. He  also  held  directorships  in  a  number  of  railway  companies. He  was  a  noted  philanthropist  , developing  the  New  Bolsover  model  village  , an  orphanage  in  Sheffield  and  the  Sheffield  YMCA. He  hoped  the  amenities  in  the  model  villages  would  put  an  end  to  drunkenness, gambling  and  bad  language.

Emerson  supported  the  development  of  light  railways  in  Lancashire. He  visited  Japan  in  1898. That  same  year  he  drove  the  fraudster  Ernest  Hooley  into  liquidation  with  a  demand  for  £80,000.

Emerson  was  defeated  in  1900. He  accused  his  opponent  of  slandering  him.

Emerson  was  a  fine  shot  and  owned  a  large  deer  forest  in  Scotland. In  1905  he  built  a  villa  in  France  but  rarely  used  it.

He  died  in  1911  aged  65.

1375 John Wilson

Constituency : Worcestershire  North  1895 -1918 ( Liberal  Unionist  to  1904 ) , Stourbridge  1918-22

John  took  Worcestershire  North  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Ben  Hingley  had  stood  down.

John  was  from  Tottenham. He  was  educated  there  and  in  Germany. He  was  a  chemical  manufacturer, a  partner  in  the  firm  Albright  and  Wilson. He  was  also  a  director  of  Bryant  and  May  and  the  Great  Western  Railway  Company. He  sat  on  Worcestershire  County  Council. He  was  a  Quaker.

John  did  not  start  contributing  to  parliamentary  debates  until  1915.

John  was  unopposed  in  1900.  He  moved  to  the  Liberals  during  the  Tariff  Reform  controversy.

In  1918  John  managed  to  win  Stourbridge  against  both  a  Labour  and  National  Democratic  Party  ( Coalition  Labour )  candidate  who  had  the  "coupon". He  was  defeated  in  a  two-cornered  contest  by  the  Conservatives  in  1922.

He  died  in  1932  aged  73.

1374 James Yoxall

Constituency : Nottingham  West  1895-1918

James  took  Nottingham  West  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Charles  Seely  stood  down.

James  was  from  Redditch. He  was  educated  at  a  Wesleyan  school  there  and  Westminster Training  College.In  1878  he  became  a  teacher. He  was  President  of  the  National  Union  of Teachers  in  1891  and  General  Secretary  thereafter. He  served  on  the Royal  Commission  for Secondary  Education  in  1894-5. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Bassetlaw  in  1892.

Unsurprisingly, most  of  James's  parliamentary  contributions  were  on  educational  matters. In 1909  he  became  the  first  teacher  to  be  knighted  for  his  services  to  education.

James  supported  going  to  war  in  1914  using  sporting  analogies , "We  fight  for  honour. You  know  what  honour  is  among  schoolboys - straight  dealing, truth  speaking, and  "playing  the  game". Well  we  are  standing  up  for  honour  among  nations , while  Germany  is  playing  the  sneak  and  the  bully  in  the  big  European  school. Germany  must  be  taught  to  "play  cricket"".

James  was  editor  of  The  Schoolmaster  from  1909  and  a  member  of  the  Committee  for Modern  Language  Teaching  from  1816  to  1918.

James  wrote  a  number  of  children's  books  such  as  The  Doings  of  Dick  and  Dan.

James  retired  before  the  1918  General  Election. He  stood  down  as  General  Secretary  of  the N.U.T.  six  years  later.

He  died  in  1925  aged  68.

1373 Henry Fulford

Constituency : Lichfield  1895-6

Henry  took  Lichfield  from  the  Liberal  Unionists , unseating  Leonard Darwin  by  44  votes. His  election  was  voided  on  petition  but  the  Liberals  won  the  by-election with  another  candidate.

1372 Edward Parkes

Constituency  : Birmingham  Central  1895-1912  ( Liberal  Unionist ) 1912-8  ( Conservative )

Edward  held  on  to  Birmingham  Central  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  when  John  Bright  Jr  declined   to  stand  again.

Edward  was  a  prominent  ironmaster  in  Staffordshire.

In  1903  Edward  mused  that  the  country  lacked  "sufficient  pluck"  to  modernise  its  industries.

Edward  thought  that  Churchill's Trade  Boards Act  would  work  against  women.

Edward  stood  down  in  1918.

He  died in  1919  aged  70.

1371 William Wentworth-Fizwilliam aka Viscount Milton

Constituency : Wakefield  1895-1902  ( Liberal  Unionist )

William  took  over  from  the   Conservatives  at  Wakefield  having  not  been  old  enough  to  stand  in  1892. He  was  the  youngest  MP  elected  in  1895.

William  was  the  grandson  and  heir  of  Earl  Fitzwilliam  who  had  gone  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists. He  was  born  in  Canada   which  later  led  to  questions  about  his  parentage. He  had  been  Viscount  Milton  since  1877. He  joined  the  army  and  was  aide-de-camp  to  Lord  Lansdowne  when  viceroy  of  India  in  1893-4. He  became  a  captain  in  1896  and  saw  service  in  the  Boer  War . In  1902  he  was  involved  in  organising  the  military  parts  of  Edward  VII's  Coronation  Ceremony.

William's  few  parliamentary  contributions  were  on  India.

In  1902  William  became  Earl  Fitzwilliam  and  had  to  resign  his  seat. He  inherited  a  vast  estate  and  valuable  mineral  rights.

He  died  in  1943  aged  70.

1370 James Flannery

Constituency  : Shipley  1895-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist ), Maldon 1910-22  ( Conservative )

James  took  Shipley  from  the  Lib-Lab  MP  William  Byles  with  a  majority  of  just  78.

James  was  born  in  Liverpool  and  educated  at  the  Liverpool  College  of  Science  and  Victoria  University. He  started  working  as  a  naval  engineer  and  was  soon  in  a  successful  Marine  Engineering  partnership. He  was  also  director  of  a  bank.

James  was  a  frequent  questioner  in  the  House.

James  was  knighted  in  1899.

In  1900  James  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Railway  Clerks  Association  and  later  filled  the  same  role  for  the  Institute  of  Marine Engineers  and  the  Socirty  of  Consulting  Engineers.

James's  majority  slipped  to  just  61  in  1900.

James  was  created  a  baronet  in  1904.

James  did  not  stand  at  Shipley  in  1906  but  returned  to  Parliament  for  Maldon  in  January  1910  by  which  time  he  had  joined  the  Conservatives. He  stood  down  in  1922.

James  was  a  keen  cyclist.

He  died  in  1943  aged  91.