Wigtown Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Wigtown Burghs
Former District of Burghs constituency
for the House of Commons
Major settlements New Galloway, Stranraer, Whithorn and Wigtown
1708–1885
Number of members One
Replaced by Kirkcudbright Stewartry
Wigtownshire
Created from New Galloway
Stranraer
Whithorn
Wigtown

Wigtown Burghs, also known as Wigton Burghs,.[1] was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP).

The first election in Wigtown Burghs was in 1708. In 1707–08, members of the 1702–1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain. See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, for further details.

Boundaries

The constituency was a district of burghs created to represent the Royal burghs of New Galloway, Stranraer, Whithorn and Wigtown, which had all been separately represented with one commissioner each in the former Parliament of Scotland.

In 1885 the district was abolished. New Galloway became part of the Kirkcudbrightshire constituency and the other three burghs were included in the Wigtownshire seat.

Political history

The politics of this constituency in the mid-18th century were relatively simple. The Stewart family, led by the Earl of Galloway, normally controlled the burghs of Wigtown and Whithorn. The Dalrymple family, supporting the Earl of Stair, controlled Stranraer. The predominant interest in New Galloway was held by the Gordons of Kenmure.

Thus when Wigtown or Whithorn were the returning burgh, with a casting vote in the event of a tie, the candidate backed by the Stewarts won. At other elections the Dalrymple supported candidate had a chance. This state of affairs continued until 1784 when the Dalrymple interest gained control of the Whithorn Council.

In the 1754 election the Duke of Argyll attempted to support James Abercrombie for the Wigtown Burghs seat. The Earl of Galloway agreed with John Hamilton, a member of the Dalrymple family who was supposedly backing his relative Captain John Dalrymple of Stair, to support Hamilton in the Burghs seat in exchange for the Dalrymple interest backing Lord Galloway's brother (James Stewart) for the county seat. This coalition worked and John Hamilton was elected unopposed.

In 1761, with Wigtown as the returning burgh, the Earl of Galloway could name the MP. He hoped to return his Naval officer son, the Honourable Keith Stewart. As Stewart was away at sea in the West Indies, the Earl decided to support Archibald Montgomerie until his son returned. Montgomerie was also a candidate for Ayrshire in the same general election. After he was elected for both seats he decided to retain Ayrshire. Stewart was elected at a by-election but soon gave up the seat, as a result of negotiations about the Wigtownshire seat. The energetic intriguer John Hamilton was again elected for the Burghs seat in the third election there in less than a year.

In 1768, with Whithorn as the returning burgh, the Earl of Galloway could again decide the MP. For this election the Earl was trying to get a seat in England for his son, Lord Garlies, who was ineligible to represent a Scottish constituency as the eldest son of a Scottish peer. The Earl entered into an agreement with an English MP, George Augustus Selwyn, who controlled both seats in the borough of Ludgershall. Selwyn, who himself represented Gloucester, feared defeat there and wanted a safe alternative seat. In exchange for supporting Lord Garlies in Ludgershall, Selwyn was elected in the Wigtown Burghs. He was the first Englishman to be elected for a Scottish constituency after the Union. However, as Selwyn was also elected in Gloucester and preferred to represent that Borough, a new candidate was required in Scotland. The government was able to offer a Treasury nominee, Chauncy Townsend. After Townsend's death a junior branch of the Stewart family provided the new MP.

In 1774, with New Galloway as the returning burgh, an alliance of the Dalrymple and Gordon families hoped to triumph. National politics again influenced the situation, as Sir Lawrence Dundas suggested William Norton as a candidate. The Earl of Stair was trying to get his son a seat in England so he accepted the proposal of the governments electoral manager in Scotland. The Stewart interest supported the 7th Earl of Galloway's brother in law, Henry Watkin Dashwood. This was the first time two Englishmen contested a Parliamentary seat in Scotland. Norton was returned, but the seat was awarded to Dashwood after an election petition.

For the 1780 election the Earl of Stair, despite being a pro-American admirer of the Earl of Chatham, offered the nomination for the seat to Lord North in exchange for a diplomatic post for his son Lord Dalrymple. Lord North suggested William Adam.

In 1784 the change in Whithorn enabled the Dalrymple candidate (William Dalrymple) to defeat the Earl of Galloway's nominee (George Johnstone).

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
26 May 1708 George Lockhart (chose to sit for Midlothian)
14 December 1708 by-election William Cochrane
17 September 1713 Sir Alexander Maxwell, Bt
17 February 1715 Sir Patrick Vanse
13 April 1722 William Dalrymple (1678-1744)
16 March 1728 by-election John Dalrymple
18 May 1734 James Stewart 1st term
28 May 1741 William Stewart (c 1706-1748)
22 July 1747 James Stewart 2nd term
9 May 1754 John Hamilton 1st term
20 April 1761 Hon. Archibald Montgomerie, later 11th Earl of Eglinton
19 February 1762 by-election Hon. Keith Stewart
15 April 1762 by-election John Hamilton 2nd term
11 April 1768 George Augustus Selwyn
23 December 1768 by-election Chauncy Townsend
7 May 1770 by-election William Stewart (1737-1797)
31 October 1774 William Norton, later 2nd Lord Grantley
23 March 1775 by-election Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, Bt
2 October 1780 William Adam
26 April 1784 William Dalrymple (1736-1807)
12 July 1790 Nisbet Balfour
20 June 1796 John Spalding
29 July 1803 by-election Hon. William Stewart (1774–1827)
9 August 1805 by-election James Graham
24 November 1806 Hon. Edward Richard Stewart
27 February 1809 by-election Lyndon Evelyn Tory
30 October 1812 Hon. James Henry Keith Stewart Tory
21 March 1821 by-election Sir John Osborn, Bt Tory
4 March 1824 by-election Nicholas Conyngham Tindal Tory
3 July 1826 John Henry Lowther Tory
23 May 1831 Edward Stewart Whig then Liberal
19 January 1835 Sir John McTaggart, Bt Liberal
1 April 1857 Sir William Dunbar, Bt Liberal
15 April 1865 by-election George Young Liberal
12 Feb 1874 Mark John Stewart 1st term Conservative
28 May 1874 petition George Young Liberal
15 June 1874 by-election Mark John Stewart 1st term Conservative
8 April 1880 John McLaren Liberal
20 May 1880 by-election Mark John Stewart 2nd term Conservative
2 August 1880 by-election Rt Hon. Sir John Charles Dalrymple Hay, Bt Conservative
1885 constituency abolished

Elections

The constituency had only four voters (the commissioners elected by the Burgh Councils) in 1708-1832. The place of election rotated between the Burghs and the commissioner for the returning Burgh had a casting vote if there was a tie. It was possible for the Court of Session to suspend a Burgh's rights for a Parliament, as a punishment for corruption. This procedure could disrupt the rotation

From 1832 the franchise was extended and the votes from all the burghs were added together.

References

  1. ↑ "No. 19008". The London Gazette. 28 December 1832. p. 2838.

Sources

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