1430 Archibald Maconochie

Constituency  : East  Aberdeenshire   1900-06  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Archibald   scored  another  surprise  triumph  when  he  unseated  Thomas  Buchanan   by  70 votes   in  a  seat  that  had  been  solidly  Liberal  since  its  formation  in  1868.

Archibald  was  proprietor  of  the  food  manufacturing  business  Maconochie  Brothers  dealing  primarily  in  jam  and  pickles.

Archibald  had  a  spat  with  Keir  Hardie  in  the  House  when  the  latter  named  his  firm  in  impeaching  the  quality  of  rations  sent  to  the  army  in  South  Africa.

Archibald  was  defeated  in  1906 . He  stood  for  Glasgow  Partick  in  the  two  elections  of  1910  without  success.

In  1911  Archibald  spoke  at  a  meeting  of  the  Anti-Suffrage  Society.

Archibald's  firm  was  one  of  the  main  suppliers  of  soldiers'  rations  during  the  First  World  War.

In  1919,  Archibald  and  another  manufacturer  Tom  Aveling  decided  to  consolidate  agricultural  engineering  businesses  into  one  large  combine  to  compete  with  the  U.S. He  became  chairman  of  Agricultural  and  General  Engineers  Limited  and  received  a  5 %  entrepreneurial  commission  on  the  value  of  firms  joining  the  combine.

The  following  year  Archibald  stepped  down  for  health  reasons   and  eventually  sold  all  his  shares.

He  died  in  1926  aged  70.

1429 Alexander Black

Constituency :  Banffshire  1900-06

Alexander  took  over  from  Sir  William  Wedderburn  at  Banffshire.

Alexander  was  a  lawyer.

Alexander  was  very  concerned  with  the  peace  settlement  after  the  Boer  War  and  made  frequent  interventions  on  the  subject.

In  December  1906  Alexander  was  one  of  22  fatalities  in  a  railway  collision  at  Elliot  junction  near  Arbroath.  He  was  47.

1428 Frederick Leveson-Gower

Constituency  :  Sutherland  1900-06  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Frederick  took  Sutherland  from  John  MacLeod  in  a  remarkable  result  that  reversed  the  usual  proportions   in  the  rocksolid  Liberal  seat.

Frederick  was  a  cousin  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland, a  previous  holder  of  the  seat.

In  1902  Frederick  spoke  against  having  an  immediate  inquiry  into  a  contractual  scandal  regarding  the  supply  of  re-mounts  in  the  Boer  War.  Otherwise  his  contributions  were  on  local  matters.

Frederick  was  easily  defeated  in  1906.

He  died  in  1959  aged  84.

1427 Leicester Harmsworth

Constituency  : Caithness  1900-18, Caithness  and  Sutherland  1918-22

Leicester took  over  from  Gavin  Clark  at  Caithness. Clark  stood  as  an  Independent  Liberal  and  nearly  handed  the  seat  to  the  Conservatives, Leicester  coming  in  with  a  majority  of  just  28.

Leicester  was  the  son  of  a  barrister  and  brother  of  the  future  press  baron  Lord  Northcliffe.  He  was  educated  at  Marylebone  Grammar  School. He  became  a  director  of  Amalgamated  Press, his  brother's  publishing  company.

Leicester  started  out  as  one  of  the  most  aggressive  spokesmen  for  the  Liberal  Imperialist  wing  of  the  Party. In  1901  he  purchased  the  Leeds  Mercury  from  the  Baines  family.

Leicester  did  not  speak  in  Parliament  after  1911.

Leicester  was  created  a  baronet  in  1918.

Leicester  was  a  Coalition  Liberal  in  1918  but  in  1922  he  defended  his  seat  as  an  Asquith  supporter. He  was  defeated  by  Archibald   Sinclair  for  the  Lloyd  George  Liberals.

He  died  in  1937  aged  66.

1426 Cathcart Wason

Constituency  : Orkney  and  Shetland  1900-21   ( Liberal  Unionist  to 1902, Independent  Liberal to  1906 )

The  1900  General  Election  was  the  first  so-called  "khaki  election", the  Unionist  government  seeking  to  capitalise  on  their   apparently   successful  prosecution  of  the  Boer  War  and  the  consequently  divided  state  of  the  Liberal  party.  They  more  or  less  got  what  they  wanted  with  a  largely  "as  you  were"  result. The  Liberals  made  a  small  net  advance  of  six  seats  , making  a  noticeable  recovery  in  the  south  west. The  Liberal  Unionists  had  a  net  loss  of  four  seats  despite  making  3  gains  in  Scotland. Again,  the  Conservatives  could  have  governed  without  them. There  were  2  seats  for  Labour  although  Richard  Bell  ran  in  tandem  with  a  Liberal  in  Derby  and  Keir  Hardie  was  endorsed  by  one  of  the  incumbent  Liberals  in  preference  to  his  erstwhile colleague.

Cathcart's  victory  was  one  of  the  Liberal  Unionist  gains  in  Scotland . He  unseated  Leonard  Lyell  by  40  votes.

Cathcart  was  the  brother  of  Eugene  Wason, the   Liberal  MP  for  Clackmanannshire  and  Kinross.  He  was  educated  at   Rugby  School. He  was  both  a  barrister  and  a  farmer.  In  1868  he  emigrated  to  Canterbury, New  Zealand  and  bought  a  large  estate  there  which  he  named  Corwar.  He  built  a  model  village  called  Barrhill  at  its  centre. He  had  three  separate  terms  as  an  MP  in  New  Zealand. Barrhill  was  constructed  on  the  expectation  that  a  railway  would  be  built  nearby. When  it  wasn't, Cathcart  saw  the  project  as  unviable. He  sold  up  in  1900  and  returned  to  Scotland.

Cathcart  did  not  stay  in  the  Liberal  Unionists  for  long. In  1902  he  quit  the  party  and  re-fought  his  seat  as  an  Independent  Liberal. He  was  successful  against  both  Liberal  and  Liberal  Unionist  candidates. By  1906  he  was in  the  main  Liberal  fold.

Cathcart  had  easy  wins  in  1906  and  January  1910. He  was  unopposed  in  December  1910  and  in  1918  when  he  stood  as  a  Coalition  Liberal.

Cathcart  was  an  enormous  man  who  stood  at  6' 6.

Cathcart  was  known  for  knitting  socks  during  debates  in  the  Commons. He  expressed  concern  about  motor  car  fatalities  in  1902. In  1903   he  protested  at  the  privileged  few  having  "the  right  to  drive  the  public  off  the  roads. Harmless  men, women  and  children, dogs  and  cattle, have  all  got  to  fly  for  their  lives  at  the  bidding  of  these  slaughtering, stinking  engines  of  iniquity". He  admitted  there  wasn't  a single  car  in  his  constituency.

Cathcart  was  also  anti-immigration. In  1903  he  posed  the  question,"What  is  the  use  of  spending  thousands  of  pounds  building  beautiful  workman's  dwellings  if  the  places  of  our  own  workpeople, the  backbone  of  our  country, are  to  be  taken  over  by  the  refuse  and  scum  of  other  nations".

He  died  in  1921  aged  72.

1425 George Whiteley

Constituency  : Stockport  1893-1900  ( Conservative ) 1900,  Pudsey ( 1900-08 )

Shortly  before  the  dissolution  the  Conservative  MP  George  Whiteley  crossed  the  floor  and  became  a  Liberal.

George  was  the  son  of  a  cotton  magnate  from  Blackburn. He  was  a  partner  in  the  family  firm  and  had  brewing  interests. He  was  elected  for  Stockport  as  a  Conservative  in  a  by-election  in  1893.

After  his  defection,  George  switched  seats  to  Pudsey  and  was  elected  in  1900.  He  was  appointed  Chief Whip  in  1905  when  the  Liberals  came  to  power.

In  1908  George  had  a  spat  with  the  Tory  MP  for  York  George  Faber  who  accused  him  of  profitting  from  a  brewery  flotation.

George  suffered  from  insomnia  and  this  prompted  his  resignation  in  1908. He  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Marchamley.

George  was  a  good  platform  speaker  with  a  sharp  sense  of  humour.

He  died  following  surgery  in  1925  aged  70.

That  concludes  our  look  at  the  by-election  victors  ( and  defector )  of  the  1895-1900  Parliament. W  now  move  onto  the  1900  election.

1424 William Peel

Constituency  :  Manchester  South  1900-06 ( Liberal  Unionist ),  Taunton  1909-12  ( Conservative )

William  took  over  at  Manchester  South  when  John  Campbell  became  Duke  of  Argyll.

William  was  the  son  of  the  former  Speaker  Arthur ( now  Viscount ) Peel  and  grandson  of  the  former  Prime  Minister. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. In  1897  he  was  the  Daily  Telegraph's  Special  Correspondent  during  the  Greco-Turkish  War. Earlier  in  the  year  William  was  appointed  to  the  Royal  Commission on  the  Port  of  London. He  also  joined  London  County  Council as  part  of  the  Municipal  Reform  grouping. He  became  chairman  of  James  Williamson  and  Company  when  his  father-in-law  died  and  a  director  of  Barclays  and  the  Great  Northern  Railway.

In  1900  William  was  re-elected. In  1906  he  switched   to  Harrow  but  was  narrowly  defeated.

William  was  elected  leader  of  the  Municipal  Reform  Party  in  1908  and  held  the  post  till  1910.

In  1909  William  stood  as  a  Conservative  candidate  in  Taunton  at  a  by-election  and  was  returned.

In  1912   William  inherited  the  viscountcy.

William  became  chairman  of  London  County  Council  in  1914. He  stood  down  two  years  later.

When  war  broke  out,  William  moved  to  France  with  his  regiment,  the  Bedfordshire  Yeomanry  but  returned  due  to  ill  health  in  1915.

In  1918  William  became  Joint  Parliamentary  Secretary  at  the  Department  of  National  Service.  A  year  later  he  became  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  War. In  1921  he  was  promoted  to  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  and  Minister  for  Transport.

In  1922  William  joined  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State  for  India  and  held  the  post  after  the  fall  of  Lloyd  George.

William  was  appointed  First  Commissioner  of  Works  in  1924.  He  briefly  returned  to  the  Indian  Office  before  the  1929  election.  He  was  elevated  to  Earl  Peel  in  the  Dissolution  Honours.  He  became  Lord  Privy  Seal  for  two  months  in  1931. He  was  Chairman  of  the  Wheat  Commission  in  1932  and  the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Poor  Law  in  1934. In  1936  he  chaired  the  Peel  Commission  recommending  the  separation  of  Palestine  into  Jewish  and  Arab  states.

He  died  in  1937  after  a  long  illness  aged  70.

1423 Thomas Bramsdon

Constituency  : Portsmouth  1900, 1906-10, Portsmouth  Central 1918-22, 1923-4

Thomas  took  over  at  Portsmouth  after  the  resignation  of  Walter  Clough. He  won  by  579  votes.

Thomas   was  the  son  of  a  retail  brewer  in  the  town. He  was  educated  at  Esplanade  House  School  and  became  a  solicitor. He  later  became  Coroner  for  Portsmouth  and  President  of  the  Coroner's  Society  for  England  and  Wales. He  was  a  Governor  of  hospitals  and  schools  in  the  town  and  chairman  of  the Portsmouth  School  Board  for  six  years.

Thomas  was   unseated  in  1900  coming  fourth  in  a  very  tight  contest.

Thomas  topped  the  poll  in  1906.

Thomas  was  knighted  in  1909.

Thomas  was  defeated  in  January  1910  when  he  came  third. He  did  not  stand  in  the  December  election.

During  the  war  Thomas  was  vice-chair  of  Portsmouth  District  Recruiting  Committee  and  National  Service  Commissioner  for  Portsmouth  and  East  Hampshire  in  1917.

Thomas  won  the  new  seat  of  Portsmouth  Central  in  1918  as  an  independent  Liberal  defeating  a  Coalition  Conservative.

Thomas  introduced  a  Proportional  Representation  Bill  in  1921.

 Thomas  was  defeated  in  1922  when  a  National  Liberal  candidate  split  the  vote. He  won  the  seat  back  in  1923.

Thomas  stood  down  in  1924.

Thomas  made  many  contributions  on  naval  matters.

He  died  in  1935  aged  78.

1422 Sir Michael Foster

Constituency  :  London  University  1900-06  ( Liberal  Unionist  )

Sir  Michael  took  over  from  Sir  John  Lubbock, who  was  elevated  to  the  peerage,  at  London  University.

Sir  Michael  was  a  surgeon's  son  from  Huntingdonshire. He  was  educated  at  Huntingdon Grammar  School  and  University  College,  London. He  graduated  in  medicine  and  returned  to Huntingdon  to  practice  but  after  eight  years  he  returned  to  UCL  to  teach  practical physiology. He  became  a  professor  in  1869  then  a  year  later  switched  to  Cambridge  where  he  became the  first  Chair  of  Physiology. He  wrote  the  standard  Textbook  of  Physiology  in  1876.  He  was  also  a  keen  botanist  who  collected  and  bred  irises. He  was  knighted  in  1899.

Sir  Michael  was  uncomfortable  in  Parliament  as  his  views  were  closer  to  Liberalism  than  Unionism. He  disliked  the  religious  provisions  in  the  1902  Education  Act.

Sir  Michael  was  defeated  in  1906.

He  died  in  1907  aged  70.

1421 Alfred Emmott

Constituency  : Oldham  1899-1911

Alfred  was  the  more  popular  locally  of  the  two  Liberal  victors  at  Oldham  in  1899  and  topped  the  poll  in  every  election  he  contested  there.

Alfred  was  the  son  of  a  cotton  spinning  merchant  from  Oldham.  He  was  educated  at  Grove  House,  Tottenham  and  the  University  of  London. He  was  elected  to  the  local  council  in  1881  and  was  mayor  in  1891-92. Alfred  was  an  Anglican  but  his  Quaker  roots  gave  him  nonconformist  sympathies.

Alfred    was  Deputy  Speaker  between  1906  and  1911.

Alfred  supported  the  leftward  drift  of  the  Liberals  ,"  so  far  as  we  have  gone  in  the  direction  of  Socialism, so-called, whether  it  be  in  regard  to  free  and  compulsory  education ,  whether  it  be  in  regard  to  old  age  pensions, or  in  respect  of  any  other  reform,  we  have  diminished  , but  rather  added  to  the  liberty  of  the  individual".

In  October  1911  Alfred  was  appointed  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies    and  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Emmott  the  following  month.  He  held  the  post  until  1914  when  he  joined  the  Cabinet  as  First  Commissioner  of  Works  between  1914  and  1915.

Alfred  was  Director  of  the  War  Trade  Department  between  1915  and  1919. He  chaired  the  Royal  Commission  on  Decimal  Coinage  between  1918  and  1920. He  was  President  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society  between  1922  and  1924.

He  died  suddenly  from  angina  pectoris  in  1926  aged  67. He  had  been  due  to  speak  at  a  Liberal  Party  rally  that  day.

1420 Walter Runciman

Constituency  :  Oldham  1899-1900, Dewsbury  1902-18, Swansea  West  1924-9, St  Ives  1929-37  ( from  1932  National  Liberal )

In  1899  there  was  a  double  by-election  at  Oldham  caused  by  the  death  of  one  Tory  and  resignation  of  the  other  at  the  same  time. The  Liberals  won  both  seats. Walter  came  in  second,  ahead  of  Winston  Churchill  for  the  Conservatives.

Walter  was  the  son  of  the  shipping  magnate  of  the  same  name  ( later  an  MP   himself ).  He  was  educated  at  Cambridge. He  contested  the  Gravesend  by-election  in  1898.

In  1900  Churchill  got  ahead  of  Walter  in  the  poll  and  unseated  him.

In  1902  Walter  got  elected  in  a  by-election  in  the  safe  seat  of  Dewsbury.  A  moderate  Liberal, Walter  was  appointed  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Local  Government  Board  by  Campbell-Bannerman. In  1907  he  was  promoted  to  Financial  Secretary  to  the  Treasury.  Asquith  brought  him  into  the  Cabinet  as  President  of  the  Board  of  Education.  In  1911  he  switched to  the  Board  of  Agriculture.

Walter  had  pacifist  inclinations  and  favoured  an  understanding  with  Germany. He  opposed  Churchill's  high  naval  estimates. Nevertheless  he  did  not  resign  on  the  outbreak  of  war  and  when  John  Burns  did  , it  was  Walter  who  succeeded  him  as  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade. He  helped  direct  industry  towards  the  war  effort  and  kept  his  place  in  Asquith's  coalition  Cabinet  in  1915.  Walter  threatened  to  resign  over  conscription  but  did  not  carry  out  his  threat.

Walter  had   previously  enjoyed  good  relations  with  Lloyd  George  and  had  helped  to  extricate  him  from  the  Marconi  Scandal. However  he  resigned  along  with  Asquith  in  1916  and  became  an  implacable  enemy  of  the  Welshman.

In  1918   Walter  came  third  behind  a  Coalition  Conservative  and  a  Labour  candidate  in  Dewsbury.

Walter  spent  the  next  six  years  out  of  Parliament  , failing  to  win  the  Edinburgh  North  by-election  in  1920. In  1924  he  won  Swansea  West against  the  trend. In  1929  he  switched  to  the  seat  of  St  Ives,  conveniently  vacated  by  his  wife  Hilda  after  a  by-election  win  the  year  before.

In  the  1931  crisis  Walter  initially  sided  with  Herbert   Samuel  in  resistance  to  protectionism.  When  the  National  Government  was  returned  to  power  he  resumed  his  old  post  at  the  Board  of  Trade  as  a  counterweight  to  Neville  Chamberlain  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  When  a  year  later,  Samuel  and  his  followers  quit  the  government   over  tariffs , Walter  decided  to  stay  on.  From  this  point , he  effectively  became  a  National  Liberal  although   he  remained  President  of  the  National  Liberal  Federation  until  1934. He  presided  over  the  introduction  of  tariffs  on  a  number  of  goods  which  led  to  him  becoming  regarded  as  an  arch-traitor  in  Liberal  circles.

Walter  concluded  the  Roca-Runciman  Treaty  with  Argentina  over  beef  imports.

In  1937  Walter  left  the  government  when  Neville  Chamberlain  only  offered  him  the  sinecure  post  of  Lord  Privy  Seal. He  was  created  Viscount  Runciman  , sitting  in  the  Lords   with  a  higher  title  than  that  held  by  his  living   father, a  highly  unusual  situation. His  father  died  a  few  months  later  so  Walter  inherited  the  inferior  barony  as  well.

In  1938  Walter  was   appointed  to  head  a  diplomatic  mission  to  Czechoslovakia  to  try  and  settle  the  Sudeten  question. The  German  party  there  were  under  Hitler's  control  and  ordered  not  to  agree  to  any  mediation  so  the  mission  was  a  failure. Despite  this ,Walter's  report  was  unduly  favourable  to  their  cause  and  helped  lead  to  the  Munich  Agreement  , after  which  Chamberlain  brought  him  back  into  the  government  as  Lord  President  of  the  Council. He  resigned  on  the  outbreak  of  World  War  Two.

He  died  in  1949  aged  78.

1419 Sir Edward Sassoon

Constituency  :  Hythe  1899-1912  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Edward  took  over  from  a  Tory  who  resigned  at  Hythe.

Edward  was  the  son  of  an  Anglo-Indian  businessman  and  baronet.  He  was  born  in  Bombay. He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  London.  In  1887  he  married  into  the  Rothschild  family. He  succeeded  to  the  baronetcy  in  1896. He  was  active  in  Jewish  community  affairs, a  vice-president  of  Jews'  College  London  and  the  Anglo-Jewish  Association.

In  1910  Sir  Edward  introduced  a  Bill  to  make  the  installation  of  wireless  telegraphy  on  passenger  ships  compulsory. The  family  had  invested  heavily  in  communications  technology  and  Edward  became  an  acknowledged  authority  on  the  subject.

He  died  in  1912  aged  55 . His  son  Philip  took  over  in  the  seat.

1418 George McCrae

Constituency  : Edinburgh  East  1899 -1909, Stirling  and  Falkirk  Burghs  1923-4

George  took  over  from  the  deceased  Robert  Wallace. He  easily  beat  his  Liberal  Unionist  challenger.

George  was  born  in  Aberdeen, the  illegitimate  son  of  a  housemaid. He  was  raised  by  her brother  and  educated  at  Lancasterian  School, Edinburgh. After  starting  work  as  a  hatter's apprentice,  he  became  a  successful  businessman  in  textiles  although  he  worked  hard  to conceal  his  illegitimacy. He  became  a  member  of  Edinburgh  Town  Council  in  1889. He  was chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  from  1891 to  1899. He  was  an  elder  of  the  Church  of Scotland.

George  was  knighted  in  1908.

In  1909  George  resigned  his  seat  to  become  Vice-President  of  the  Scottish  Local  Government Board.

In  November  1914, George, in  advance  of  conscription, raised  the  16th  Battalion  the  Royal Scots  including  13  members  of  the  Heart  of  Midlothian  FC  Squad.  Initially  George commanded  the  battalion  on  the  Western  front  but  he  was  removed  to  a  reserve  unit following  poor  performance  at  the  Somme. He  was  also  suffering  from  typhus  .He  ended  the war  as  a  colonel  with  a  D.S.O.  medal.

George  wanted  to  return  to  Parliament  to  support  Lloyd  George  and  was  seen  as  a  likely chief  whip  to  replace  Neil  Primrose. Edinburgh  South  fell  vacant  in  1917  but  the  local Liberals  chose  an  Asquith  loyalist  instead. Nor  was  Lloyd  George  able  to  find  a  seat  for George  in  the  1918  election.

Instead  George  became  Chairman  of  the  Scottish  Board  of  Health  from  1918  to  1922.

In  1922   George  fought  Edinburgh  Central  as  a  National  Liberal  but  was  unable  to  prevent the  sitting  Labour  MP  substantially  increasing  his  majority.

George  switched  to  Stirling  and  Falkirk  Burghs  in  1923  and  narrowly  defeated  the  sitting  Labour  MP.  The  result  was  reversed  in  1924.

He  died  in  1928  aged  68.

1417 Arthur Dewar

Constituency : Edinburgh  South  1899-1900, 1906-10

Arthur  captured  Edinburgh  South  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  following  the  death  of  Robert  Cox.

Arthur  was  the  son  of  a  successful  whiskey  distiller. He  was  educated  at  Perth  Academy  and Edinburgh  University. He  became  a  Scottish  barrister  and  was  Advocate-Depute  for  the  Glasgow  circuit  from  1892  to  1895.

Arthur was  defeated  in  1900  but  recaptured  the  seat  in  1906.

Arthur  served  as  Solicitor- General  for  Scotland  from  1909  to  1910.

Arthur  resigned  his  seat  in  April  1910  to  become  a  Senator  of  the  College  of  Justice  as  Lord  Dewar.

He  died  in  1917  aged  57.

1416 Sir William Anson

Constituency  : Oxford  University  1899-1912 ( Liberal  Unionist ), 1912-4  ( Conservative )

William  took  over  from  a  veteran  Tory  as  one  of  the  members  for  Oxford  University. He  was  unopposed.

William  was  the  son  and  heir  of  a  baronet. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister  but  went  into  academia  rather  than  practice. He  succeeded  his  father  in  1873. In  1881  he  became  Warden  of  All  Souls  College. In  1891  he  became  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University. He  was  constitutional  tutor  to  the  future  Edward  VIII.

William's  main  interest  was  unsurprisingly  education  and  he  became  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Education  in  1902.

William  produced  a  couple  of  standard  works  on  Contract  and  Constitutional  Law.

He  died  in  1914  aged  70.

1415 Owen Edwards

Constituency : Merionethshire  1899-1900

Owen  took  over  at  Merionethshire  after  the  death  of  Thomas  Ellis.

Owen  came  from  a  Welsh-speaking  area  near  Bala. He  was  educated  there,  University College  of  Wales, Aberystwyth  and  Oxford  where  he  won  all  the  major  prizes  for  history. He associated  with  other  Welsh  students  and  became  a  fervent  cultural  nationalist. He  became  a history   tutor  at  Oxford. In  1891  he  started  editing  the  magazine  Cymru  and  started  a  children's  version  a  year  later.

Parliamentary  life  was  not  as  Owen  expected  and  he  declined  to  stand  again  in  1900.  He  never  spoke  in  the  Commons.

In  1901  Owen  started  an  English  version  of  Cymru  called,  not  surprisingly,  Wales.

Owen  wrote  a  number  of  books  on  Welsh  history. He  published  his  autobiography  Clych  Agdof   in  1906.

In  1907  Owen  left  Oxford  to  become  Chief  Inspector  of  Schools  in  Wales. He  tried  to  ensure  the  teaching  of  the  Welsh  language  in  schools  and  locked  horns  with  the  Central  Welsh  Board  over  intermediate  schools  which  he  saw  as  an  unpalatable  anglicising  influence.

Owen  was  knighted  in  1916.

He  died  in  1920  aged  61.

1414 William Gurdon

Constituency  : North  Norfolk  1899-1910

William  took  over  at  North  Norfolk  after  the  resignation  of  Herbert  Cozens-Hardy.

William  was  the  son  of  the  former  MP  for  West  Norfolk, John  Gurdon. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge.William  joined  the  civil  service  as  a  Treasury  clerk  in  1863. He  was  private  secretary  to  Gladstone  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  from  1865  to  1866  and  as  Prime  Minister  from  1868  to  1874.  He  went  to  the  Transvaal  on  a  number  of  occasions. He  stood  unsuccessfully  at  South  West  Norfolk  ( 1885 ),  Rotherhithe  ( 1866 )  and  Colchester  ( 1888 ).

William's  last  parliamentary  contribution  was  opposing  the  Daylight  Saving  Bill  in  1909.

William  stood  down  in  January  1910.

He  died  in  1911  aged  70.

1413 Charles Trevelyan

Constituency  : Elland  1899-1918, Newcastle  Central  1922-31  ( Labour )

Charles   took  over  at  Elland  after  the  retirement  of  Thomas  Wayman.

Charles  was  the  son  and  heir  of  the  baronet  Sir  George  Trevelyan  , former  Scottish  Secretary  under  Gladstone  and  Rosebery. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. Charles  campaigned  for  John  Morley  in  Newcastle  who  in  turn  found  him  a  post  as  private  secretary  to  Lord  Houghton, the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland. He  joined  the  Fabian  Society  in  1895  and  his  views  took  a  socialistic  bent  influenced  by  Shaw. He  stood  for  Lambeth  North  in  1895  and  was  narrowly  defeated. In  1896  he  declared  "I  have  the  greatest  sympathy  with  the  growth  of  the  socialist  party.I  think  they  understand  the  evils  that  surround  us  and  hammer  them  into  peoples'  minds  better  than  we  Liberals. I  want  to  see  the  Liberal  party  throw  its  heart  and  soul  fearlessly  into  reform".

Charles  was  a  dissident  Radical  intellectual  but  when  Asquith  became  Prime  Minister  in  1908  he  appointed  him  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Education.  He  used  his  position  to  argue  for  completely  secular  education  which  angered  religious  collegues. He  himself  was  an  atheist. He  was  a  keen  Home  Ruler  and  reported  in  1914  that  his  working  class  constituents  were  furious  over  government  attempts  to  placate  the  Unionists,

Charles  resigned  his  post  when  Britain  went  to  war  in  1914. He  explained  his  decision  in  terms  of  the  damage  and  disruption  to  commerce  which  would  result  from  going  to  war. "We  shall  suffer  a  steady  impoverishment  as  the  character  of  our  work  exchanges".

Charles's  response  was  to  found  the  Union  of  Democratic  Control  with  Ramsay  McDonald  calling  for  greater  Parliamentary  scrutiny  of  foreign  policy , a  reasonable  point  to  make  but  when  it  opposed  conscription  and  wartime  censorship  it  became  known  as  a  pacifist  organisation  and  was  denounced  for  undermining  the  war  effort. Charles  himself  gave  lectures  calling  for  a  negotiated  peace  with  Germany  that  even  his  father  and  brother  criticised.

Like  all  its  members  Charles  paid  a  political  price for  his  UDC  membership. He  was  repudiated  by  the  local  Liberals  who  selected  a  different  candidate  for  the  1918  election .  Standing  as  an  "Independent  Labour" candidate , he  came  fourth  with   5.6%  of  the  vote.

Charles  joined  Labour    reluctantly   in  1919  believing  that  the  Liberals  were  finished  and   had  forfeited  working  class  support  for  good. He  was  one  of  those  former  Liberal  MPs  urging  support  for  Asquith's  opponent  in  the  1920  Paisley  by-election.

In  1922  Charles  won  Newcastle  Central  for  Labour  and  was  relatively  safe there  until  heavily  defeated  by  the  Conservative  candidate  in  1931.  He  was  President  of  the  Board  of  Education  in  both  the  Labour  governments  of  Ramsay  McDonald. His  efforts  concentrated  on  raising  the  school  leaving  age.

Charles  succeeded  his  father  in  1928.

Charles's  Education  Bill  of  1931  was  scuppered  in  the  Lords  after amendments  secured  by  the  Catholic  lobby. Charles  himself  blamed  MacDonald  who  "detests  me  because  I  am  always  quite  definite  and  won't  shirk  things  in  the  approved  style. He  will  let  me  down  if  he  possibly  can". He  resigned  from  the  government  , appalled  by  Snowden's  emphasis  on  economy, "The  very  root  of  our  faith  is  that  prosperity  comes  from  the  high  spending  power  of  the  people, and  that  public  expenditure  on  the  social  services  is  always  remunerative".

Charles  joined  the  Socialist  League  after  his  defeat  to  win  over  the  party  to  revolutionary  socialism. In  1933  he  had  a  resolution  passed  at  Conference  that  Labour  should  call  a  general  strike  on  the  threat  of  war.

In  1937  Charles  was  one  of  those  expelled  from  the  Labour  party  for  advocating  a  "popular  front "  against  the  National  Government. He  retired  from  politics  as  a  result.

Charles  was  a  friend  of  Beatrice  Webb  who  described  him  as  "  a  man  who  has  every  endowment - social  position, wealth, intelligence, an  independent  outlook, good  looks, good  manners". H.G. Wells  however  said  he  had  "little  sense  of  humour  or  irony  "  and  was  "self-satisfied  an  unendurably  boring".

Charles  was  a  keen  supporter  of  the  National  Trust  and  the  first  aristocrat  to  bequeath  his  home  to  them. This  effectively  disinherited  his  son  George. He  said  of  his  class , "I am  not  troubled  by  their  thinking  me  a  traitor. Indeed  I  hate  their  loyalties. I  am  much  more  concerned  that  the  masses  understand  what  I  am  doing".

Charles  fathered  an  illegitimate  child  with  his  mistress  Edith  Bulmer  at  72. In  one  of  his  last  letters  he  wrote "If  you  see  what  you  think  is  right  clearly  enough , there  is  really  no  difficulty. Most  peoples  minds  are  rather  mixed  and  foggy".

He  died  in  1958  aged  87.

1412 Charles Douglas

Constituency : North  West  Lanarkshire  1899-1906

Charles  took  over  from  John  Holburn  at  North  West  Lanarkshire. He  improved  on  Holburn's  majority  against  the  same  opponent.

Charles  was  born  in  Edinburgh, the  son  of  a  doctor. He  was  educated  at  Edinburgh  Academy, Edinburgh  University  and  the  University  of  Freiburg. He  became  a  lecturer  in  moral  philosophy  at  Edinburgh  University  and  was  the  author  of  a  study  of  Mill.

In  1900  Charles  bought  an  estate  with  a  number  of  farms  where  he  bred  Shetland  ponies.

Charles  was  an  imperialist  who  supported  the  Boer  War. He  gave  a  speech  at  the  unveiling  of  the  National  Wallace  Monument  in  1900.

Charles  was  defeated  in  1906  due  to  the  intervention  of  a  Scottish  Workers  candidate.

By  1910  Charles  had  become  disillusioned  by  the  Liberal  government. He  joined  the  Liberal Unionists  and  stood  unsuccessfully  at  South  Lanarkshire  in  December  1910.

Charles  was  chairman  of  the  Lanartkshire  Territorial  Force  Association  and  various  agricultural  bodies. In  1919  he  was  part  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Agriculture  in  Britain.

He  died  in  1924  aged  58.

1411 John Middlemore

Constituency  : Birmingham  North  1899-1912  ( Liberal  Unionist ), 1912-8  ( Conservative ) 

John  took  over  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  the  resignation  of  William  Kenrick.

John  was  the  son  of  a  leather  merchant. He  was  educated  at  Edgbaston  Proprietary  School  then  worked  in  the  family  business . He  later  obtained  a  degree  in  medicine  while  working  for  his  uncle  in  Boston, Mass.. In  1872  he  founded  the  Middlemore  Children's  Emigration  Home  to  arrange  for  destitute  children  to  start  new  lives  in  Canada  or  Australia.

John's  maiden  speech  called  for  the  school  leaving  age  to  be  raised. In  his  latter  years  in  Parliament,  John  seemed  primarily  concerned  with  naval  matters.

John  stood  down  in  1918  and  was  created  a  baronet  the  following  year.

He  died  in  1924  aged  80 . A  Charitable  Trust  in  his  name  still  gives  grants  out  to  organisations  working  with  disadvantaged  youths.

1410 Walter Rothschild

Constituency  : Aylesbury  1899-1910 ( Liberal Unionist )

Walter  took  over  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  at  Aylesbury  when  his  uncle  Ferdinand  died.

Walter  was  the  son  and  heir of  the  former  Aylesbury  MP  Baron  Rothschild. He  was  educated  privately  through  concerns  for  his  health then  at  Bonn  University  and  Cambridge. He  collected  animals  from  childhood , wanting  to  start  his  own  zoo. He  was  once  attacked  by  some  workmen  while  riding  and  attributed  that  to  anti-semitism. He  rather  reluctantly  went  into  the  banking  business  between  1889  and  1908. In  1892  he   opened  his  own  zooological  museum  at  Tring  and  eventually  amassed  the  largest  wildlife  collection  ever  by  a  private  individual. In  1894  he  drove  a  carriage  to  Buckingham  Palace  pulled  by  six  zebras  to  prove  they  could  be  tamed.

Walter  was   6'3  and  suffered  from  a  speech  impediment. As  a  result  he  was  quite  a   shy  man  and  made  few  contributions  in  the  House.

In  1902  Walter  inadvertently  introduced  the  edible  dormouse  to  the  English  countryside.

Walter  stayed  with  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1903  despite  his  support  for  Free  Trade.

Walter  retired  from  banking  in  1908  and  resigned  his  seat  in  January  1910.

In  1915  Walter  succeeded  to  his  father's  title.

Walter  was  the  recipient  of  the  letter  from  Arthur  Balfour  that  became  known  as  the  "Balfour  Declaration".

Walter  had  to  sell  a  large  part  of  his  bird  collection  in  the  1930s  to  pay  off  a  former  mistress.

He  died  in  1937  aged  69  leaving  his  collections  to  the  Natural  History  Museum, their  largest ever  bequest.

1409 Herbert Pease

Constituency  : Darlington  1898-1910, 1910-12 ( Liberal  Unionist ), 1912-23 ( Conservative )

Herbert  succeeded  his  deceased  father  Arthur  as  Liberal  Unionist  MP  for  Darlington.

Herbert  was  educated  at  Brighton  College  and  Cambridge. He  was  a  director  of  Pease  and  Partners.

Herbert  was  defeated  in  January  1910  but  won  the  seat  back  in  December  when  the  MP  Ignatius  Lincoln  stood  down at  the  last  minute.

Herbert  became  a  whip. He  was  Assistant  Postmaster-General  from  1915  to  1922.

Herbert's  son  was  killed  at  the  Somme.

Herbert  was  created  Baron  Daryington  in  1923.

Despite  the  family's  Quaker  roots , Herbert  was  either  chair  or  vice-chair  of  the  House  of  Laity  of  the  Church  Assembly  of  the  C  of  E.

He  died  in  1949  aged  82.

1408 Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland

Constituency : Colchester  1892-5  ( Conservative ), Southport  1898-99

Herbert   claimed  Southport  when  George  Curzon  became  Viceroy  of  India..

Herbert  was  a  colonel's  son. He  was  educated  at  Sandhurst  and  joined  the  army  where  he  rose  to  be  a  captain. He  was  interested  in  art  and  invited  to  a  private  showing  by  Whistler  in  1887. In  1892  he  was  elected  at  Colchester  as  a  Conservative. He  was  a  friend  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.

In  1895  Herbert  declared  after  the  Queen's  Speech   that  he  found  Rosebery's  programme  more  to  his  taste  then  Conservative  policy  and  resigned  his  seat  .  He  fought  Southport,  where  he  had  an  estate, as  a  Liberal  in  1895  but  was  defeated. He  was  created  a  baronet  later  that  year.

Herbert's  wife  Jeannie  Chamberlain  was  a  noted  political  hostess.

Herbert's  time  as  a  Liberal  MP  was  brief  as  he  died  of  laryngitis  the  following  year  at  the  age of  35.

1407 Arthur Soames

Constituency : South  Norfolk  1898-1918

Arthur  took  South  Norfolk  for  the  Liberals  after  the  resignation  of  the  ailing   Liberal   Unionist  Francis  Taylor. He  won  by  1,330  votes.

Arthur  was  from  Brighton  where  his  father  had  founded  Brighton  College. He  was  educated  there  and  at  Cambridge. He  became  an  architect  and  ran  his  own  practice  between  1882  and  his  election  to  Parliament. He  was  a  Radical  and  stood  for  Ipswich  in  1892  and  1895.

Arthur  wanted  the  scope  of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  to  be  extended  to  agricultural  workers.

In  his  last  speech  in  the  Commons  in  1915 , Arthur  backed  the  Office  of  Works's  scheme  for  the  Houses  of  Parliament  repair.

Both  of  Arthur's  sons  were  killed  in  the  First  World  War.

Arthur  decided  not  to  stand  again  in  1918.

He  died  in  1934  aged  81.

1406 Alexander Henderson

Constituency : West  Staffordshire  1898-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist  ),  St  George's  Hanover  Square  1913-6  ( Conservative  )

Alexander  retained  West   Staffordshire  for  the  Liberal  Unionists  following  the  death  of  Hamar  Bass.

Alexander  was  born  in  Scotland, the  son  of  a  classics  professor  and  started  his  career  in  the  City  of  London  as  an  accountant  with  Deloitte's  before  becoming  a  stockbroker. He  specialised  in  financing  railways. He  was  chairman  of  the  Great  Central  Railway  from  1899  to  1922  and  then  deputy  chair  of  successor  company the  LNER  from  1923  to  1934. Actual  engines  were  named  after  Alexander  and  his  wife . He  was  a  major  shareholder  in  the  Manchester  Ship  Canal. He  was  involved  in  port  development  and  telecommunications  in  a  number  of  countries.

Alexander  was  created  a  baronet  in  1902. He  supported  Chamberlain  on  tariff  reform  and  acquired  control  of  The  Standard  to  promote  the  cause.

Alexander  was  defeated  in  1906. He  returned  as  a  Conservative  in  1913  the  year  after  the  Liberal  Unionists  were  subsumed  in  the  Tory  party.

In  1916  Alexander  was  created  Baron  Faringdon. He  was  vice-chairman  of  the  Shipping  Control  Committee  during  the  war.

Alexander  had  a  large  estate  in  Berkshire  and  made  improvements  to  pedigree  stock.

He  died  in  1934  aged  83. Investment  companies  were  set  up  to  administer  his  estate  after  his  death.  

1405 William Steadman

, 

  Constituency : Stepney 1898-1900, Finsbury Central  1906-10

William  took  Stepney  on  the  death  of  the  Tory  incumbent  as  a  Liberal - Labour  candidate .He  won  by  20 votes.

William  was  born  in Poplar  and  started  work  as  a  barge  builder  in  his  teens.He  joined  the  River  Thames  Barge  Builders  Union  and  was  its  general  secretary  from  1879  to  1908.He  was  elected  to  the  LCC  as  a  Progressive  in  1891. He  was  also a  member  of  the  Fabian  Society. He  stood  unsuccessfully  at  Mid  Kent  in  1892  and  Hammersmith  in  1895.

In  1899  William  was  elected  to  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  T.U.C. He  was  also  a member  of  the  International  Arbitration  League.

William  was  decisively  defeated  in  1900. He  became  President  of  the  Committee  in  1902.  He  chaired  the  first  conference  of  the  Labour  Representation  Committee  but  quit  when  asked  to  resign  from  the  Liberal  Party. In  1904  he  became  Parliamentary  Secretary  of  the  T|U.C.

In  1906  William  returned  to  Parliament  for  Finsbury  Central.

William  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  House  on  labour  issues, taking  up  cases  from  well outside  his  constituencies.

In  1911  William  gave  notice  that  he  intended  to  retire  from  his  T.U.C. post  but  he  died before  that  came into  effect. He  was  60.

1404 John Gibbons

Constituency : Wolverhampton  South 1898-1900  ( Liberal  Unionist )

John's  election  marked  the  end  of  an  era  as  he  succeeded  Britain's  longest-serving MP  ever, Charles  Villiers  who  had  died  aged  96. He  was  the  last  MP  to  have  served  under  William  IV. Villiers  had  been  unopposed  since  the  seat's  creation  in  1885  despite  his  switch  to  the  Liberal  Unionists. John  won  by  111  votes.

John  was  the  son  of  a  manufacturing  chemist  from  Wolverhampton. He  was  an  engineering  surveyor  who  had  a  country  estate  in  Staffordshire. He  sat  on  Staffordshire  County Council.

John  made  little  impression  in  Parliaent  and  did  not  contest  the  seat  in  1900.

He  died  in  1919  aged  82.

1403 Sigismund Mendl

Constituency : Plymouth  1898-1900

Sigismund  won  the  by-election at  Plymouth  following  the  death  of  Charles  Harrison.

Sigismund  was  the  son  of  a  successful  grain  merchant . He  was  Jewish ( although  the  Chief  Rabbi  urged  his  Jewish  constituents  to  vote  against  him ).. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. He  contested  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  1892  and  came  fourth  at  Plymouth in  1895 . He  was  a  Freemason.

Sigismund  came  third  in  1900. He  abandoned  politics  for  a  career  in  City  finance.  He  had  two  terms  as  President  of  the  London  Corn  Trade  Association. He  became  the  first  chairman  of  Decca  Records. He  was  knighted  in  1918.

He  died  in  1945  aged  79.

1402 Charles McArthur

Constituency : Liverpool  Exchange 1897-1906  ( Liberal  Unionist ), Liverpool  Kirkdale  1907-10  ( Conservative )

Charles  took  over   for  the  Liberal  Unionists   at  Liverpool  Exchange  when  John  Bigham  became  a  judge. He  won  by  a  meagre  54  votes.

Charles  was  born  in  Port   Glasgow  but  brought  up  in  Bristol  where  he  was  educated  at  the  grammar  school. He  became  an  average  adjuster  in  the  maritime  insurance  business. He  was  chairman  of  the  Association  of  Average  Adjusters  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  President  of  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of  Commerce  from  1892  to  1896.  He  served  on  a  number  of  maritime  insurance  committees  and  wrote  books  on  the  subject.

Charles  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  House  on  maritime  matters.

In  1900  Charles  was  returned  with  an  increased  majority.

Charles  was  committed  to  free  trade  but  his  staunch  opposition  to  Home  Rule  kept  him  in  the  Liberal  Unionists  when  the  tariff  reform  controversy  broke. He  was  defeated  in  1906.

Shortly  afterwards  Charles  joined  the  Conservatives  and  in  1907  he  was  returned  for  the   safer  seat  of  Kirkdale  defeating  a  Labour  candidate. He  declared  it  a  great  victory for  "the Protestants  of  Kirkdale"  over  socialists  and  Irish  nationalists.

In  1908  Charles  presented  a  petition  for  the  release  of  protestant  agitator  George  Wise  who had  been  imprisoned  for  repeated  breaches  of  the  peace. Charles  was  opposed  to  the  Roman Catholic  Disabilities  Removal  Bill  in  1909  on  the  grounds  that  it  threatened  the  Protestant succession.

Charles   retained   his  seat  in  January  1910  but  died  6  months  later  from  a  gastric  illness. He  was  66.

1401 James Duckworth

Constituency : Middleton  1897-1900,  Stockport  1906-10

James  recaptured  Middleton  from  the  Tories  after  the  unexpected  death  of  the  incumbent.He  won  by  300  votes.

James  was   a  weaver's  son   from  Haslingden . He  worked  as  a  doffer  in  a  cotton  mill  from  a child. He  later  had  a  short  spell  in  the  Marines. He  attended  night  classes. He  got  a  job  in the warehouse  of  a  wool  merchant. In  the  1860s  he  suffered  a  health  breakdown  and  started selling  tea  to  get  some  fresh  air. In  1868  he  opened  his  first  shop  in  Rochdale . In  1876  he bought  a  warehouse  there  and  started  a  wholesale  business. In  1895  he  started  a  limited company which  eventually  expanded  to  run  nearly  200  shops.  in  the  North. There  was  still  a "Duckworth's "  store  in  Littleborough  when  I  was  little. He  also  had  interests  in  cotton  firms, newspapers  and  coffee  houses. He  was  inspired  by  Cobden  and  Bright  and  was  present  at  the former's  last  address  to  his  constituents  in  1864. In  1891  he  became  mayor  of  Rochdale. In 1892  he  became  a  Lancashire  county  councillor. He  stood  in  the  Warwick  and  Leamington by-election  in  1895 , losing  to  a  Liberal  Unionist. He  was  a  Methodist.

James  criticised  the  government's  Indian  policy  in  his  maiden  speech. He  was  a  passionate  supporter  of  the  Education  of  Children  Bill  in  1998.

James  was  narrowly  defeated  in  1900. He  was  mayor  again  in  1901. He  retired  as  managing  director  and  chairman  of  the  firm  in  1905.

James  was  knighted  in  1908.

James's  last  parliamentary  contribution  was  lamenting  German  scare  stories  in  the  debate  on the  naval  estimates  in  1909. He  had  just  been  to  Germany  and  found  only  warm  feelings towards  Britain.

James  stood  down  in  January  1910  as  he  was  approaching  70.  He  became  mayor  of Rochdale  for  a  third  and  final  term.

He  died  in  1915  aged  74.

It's  nice  to  be  writing  this  one  on  a  day  that  the  length  of  this  blog  just  expanded.

1400 Joseph Walton

Constituency  : Barnsley  1897-1922

Joseph   took  over  at  Barnsley  from  William  Compton  who  had  become  Marquis  of  Northampton. It  was  a  bruising  contest  as  the  ILP  decided  to  contest  the  constituency  with  Pete  Curran  chief  organizer  of  the  Gasworkers  and  General  Labourers  Union  as  their  candidate. Frederick  Maddison  who  had  recently  come  through  an  acrimonious  contest  with  the  ILP  at  Sheffield  Brightside  weighed  in  against  them  during  the  campaign. Joseph  won  with  a  3,290  majority  over  the  Unionist  candidate.

Joseph  was  a  colliery  owner's  son  from  Durham.  He  was  educated  privately. He  was  an  active  Wesleyan  Methodist. He  created  his  own  prosperous  coal  business  based  in  Midlesbrough. He  contested  Doncaster  in  1895.

Joseph  was  a  Radical  in  favour  of  "Home  Rule  All  Round". He  was  in  favour  of  female  suffrage. In  1905  he  complained  that  Britain  was  overspending  on  defence  compared  to  her  competitors. He  travelled  round  the  world. Joseph  was  opposed  to  state  interference  in  the  coal  industry  but  supported  the  nationalisation  of  coal  royalties. In  1904  he  complained  that  Britain  didn't  support  its  overseas  merchants  as  effectively  as  her  competitors.

Joseph  held  his  seat  in  1900  and  was  unopposed  in  1906. He  won  easily  in  January  1910  and  was  unopposed  in  December. The  Barnsley  Trades  Council  grudgingly  conceded he  was  "not  a  bad  representative "  in  1914.

Joseph  was  created  a  baronet  in  1910.

Joseph  was  elected  unopposed  as  a  Coalition  Liberal  in  1918. He  stood  down  in  1922.

Joseph  had  a  deep  interest  in  China, becoming  known  as  the  "Member  for  China"  and  publishing  China  and  the  Present  Crisis  in  1900.

He  died  in  1923  aged  73.