Pryse Campbell (1727 – 14 December 1768), was a Scottish politician. He was 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 ...

(MP) for Cardigan Boroughs,

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

and

Nairnshire The County of Nairn (also called Nairnshire) ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was used for local administration until the county council, based at the county t ...

. He was also the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

Early life and education

Campbell was born in 1727 as the first son of John Campbell of Calder (or Cawdor). Campbell went on to attend

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

in 1745.

Political career

From his youth Campbell was intended for a parliamentary career, being mentioned as a possible candidate for

as early as December 1746; when he was 19. Unlike his father, Campbell was a strong supporter of

Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

, and it was thought Campbell might seem destined for a successful political career. Campbell later became an MP in 1754, when he was returned for Inverness-shire with the support of the

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerfu ...

. Argyll was supportive of the political aspirations of Simon Fraser of Lovat, a former Jacobite, but believed that 1754 was too soon for such a return for Fraser, and would cause offense in London. Despite this there was still a degree of competition with Fraser's interest for the seat. Aware that Fraser's acquisition of a Highland regiment in January 1757 heightened his political credibility with Inverness-shire voters, Pryse refused to assist in the recruitment process; but it was his support for the Irish Cattle Importation Act during February and March 1759 that deeply damaged his relationship with his constituents. By February 1761 Argyll had made it clear he would oppose reselection of Pryse for Inverness-shire, with the result that the latter, with the support of the

Earl of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...

, stood for and won the Nairnshire seat. Despite being created a lord of treasury in August 1766 and being re-elected to parliament on 4 December 1766, Campbell was still faced the problem that under the Scottish electoral system Nairnshire would not be represented at the next election. As a result, he switched to his Welsh interest and was elected for the Cardigan Boroughs on 24 March 1768, but died on 14 December of the same year.

Family

On 20 September 1752 Campbell married Sarah, daughter and heir of Sir Edmund Bacon, sixth baronet, of Garboldisham, Norfolk; they had four sons and three daughters.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Campbell family of Cawdor (per. 1511–1821): Pryse Campbell of Cawdor (1727–1768)
/ref> He was succeeded by his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, who was later created Baron Cawdor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John 1727 births 1768 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774