Reverend James Barr (26 July 1862 – 1949) was a Scottish minister and a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Liberal then Labour politician and a noted

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campai ...

and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

. He was also a strong supporter of home rule for Scotland, a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

and the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

Life

He was born on 26 July 1862 at Beanscroft Farm near Fenwick, East Ayrshire the son of Allan Barr a farmer and his wife Elizabeth Brown. He studied a general degree at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating MA in 1884. He returned to university around 1889 to study Divinity, graduating BD in 1892. He was ordained as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland in 1889 serving Johnstone and

Wamphray Newton Wamphray is a village in Dumfries and Galloway. Wamphray is the name of the surrounding parish and of the Wamphray Water, which flows south-west through the Wamphray Glen to join the River Annan near the small village, or hamlet, of Newton. ...

. In 1895 he became minister of

Dennistoun Dennistoun is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, ha ...

in east Glasgow. Barr was originally a Liberal but then joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. He served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

, from 1924 to 1931 and then for

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

from 1935 to 1945. He was also the President of The Scottish Home Rule Association. He served as Chairman of the

Select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system) A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system o ...

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

, 1929–1930, which reported at the end of the latter year. In 1930–1931, Barr was Chairman of the Liaison Committee, as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party was then known at any time when the party was in government. A

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister, Barr strongly opposed any link between church and state; in his view, the Church must support and maintain itself on an entirely voluntary basis. For this reason, he was a prominent member of the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

and he led the opposition to that group's reunion with the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1929; he and those of like mind did not participate in the reunion and continued as the United Free Church of Scotland, which is still in existence. In 1929, the year that the remainder of the United Free Church merged with the Church of Scotland, he was the first

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the United Free Church of Scotland Continuing, the section which refused to merge with the Church of Scotland. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

as an MP was an attack on the Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act 1925 and lasted just under an hour and a half.

Private life

In 1890 he married Martha Wilson Stephen. They had five children including their last child who was the minister Elizabeth Barr. She was first woman in Scotland to be a Presbyterian minister. Barr was the grandfather of

James Barr (biblical scholar) James Barr (30 March 1924 – 14 October 2006) was a Scottish Old Testament scholar, known for his critique of the notion that the vocabulary and structure of the Hebrew language may reflect a particular theological mindset. At the University ...

Published works

* * * *

References

Sandra Osborne Sandra Currie Osborne (née Clark, born 23 February 1956) is a Scottish Labour politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock from the 2005 to 2015 general elections. She was first elected as MP for the Ayr constitue ...

MP Speech on the

Second Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

of the House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Bill, (6 February 2001
''Hansard'' vol 362 cols 837-38

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, James 1862 births 1949 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 Scottish temperance activists Scottish pacifists Calvinist pacifists Scottish Labour MPs Scottish Christian socialists Presbyterian socialists 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Ministers of the United Free Church of Scotland Parliamentary Peace Aims Group