Arnold Muir Wilson (1857 – 1 October 1909) was 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, Wilson studied in the

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before becoming a solicitor based at

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...

. He built up a large practice in Sheffield, usually representing the defence at the Police Court, against Arthur Neal. He was a key figure in the formation of an Amateur Parliament in the city, and in 1883 he was elected to Sheffield City Council for the Conservative Party.J. H. Stainton, ''The Making of Sheffield 1865-1914'' He was also known as an early motorist and

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

.Roger Redfern,
Country diary: South Yorkshire
, ''

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'', 13 October 2009 In 1891, Wilson objected to an attack on him in the ''Sheffield Anarchist'', and successfully sued its editor, John Creaghe, for libel. Although he won the case, no damages were awarded, as the judge contended that the newspaper could inflict injury only on those who read it. In 1898, Wilson was appointed as an honorary consul for

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, and he attempted to use the position to promote British trade with the nation. In 1904, he travelled to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and worked with Frank Mottershaw to film the coronation of Peter I. This is the oldest surviving film shot in Serbia. In the 1900s, Wilson became known for his outspoken attacks on well-known figures in Sheffield. When

Lib-Lab The Liberal–Labour movement was the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions. These candidates stood for the British Parliament with the aim of representing the ...

councillor Charles Hobson appeared to have received a bribe for making a favourable land deal, Wilson brought a private prosecution against him. Hobson was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison, but public opinion was that the sentence was harsh.Helen Mathers, "Hobson, Charles (1845-1923)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.VII, pp.121-123 Wilson stood for the Conservatives in Sheffield Attercliffe at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

, taking 46.8% of the vote. In 1907, he began a lengthy trip around the world. Despite this, he objected to the nomination of an alternative Conservative candidate in the

1909 Sheffield Attercliffe by-election A 1909 by-election was held for the British House of Commons United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of Sheffield Attercliffe (UK Parliament constituency), Sheffield Attercliffe on 4 May 1909. Vacancy The election was caused by the resignati ...

, and ensured that he was nominated as an independent Conservative. He returned to Sheffield to campaign on a

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

platform, under the slogan "Vote for the Tory Chicken!! Kill the London Cuckoo!!".Sources for the Study of the election of Sheffield's first Labour Member of Parliament, 1909
Sheffield City Council He took a strong fourth place, with 21.7% of the votes cast. The week after the election, he called a public meeting, at which he complained that he had spent £1,100 on contesting the 1906 and 1909 elections, and that "if that is not enough to buy the seat of Attercliffe, I don't know what is". Later in the month, he sued the Conservative candidate for assault on the election night, and for damage to his bowler hat,"Sheffield by-election litigation", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 18 May 1909 but the case was dismissed before he was able to give evidence."Mr. Muir Wilson", ''

'', 4 October 1909 Wilson died in October 1909, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. His daughter became a prominent author under the pen-name

Romer Wilson Romer Wilson (born Florence Roma Muir Wilson (''married name'' O'Brien); 26 December 1891 in Sheffield – 11 January 1930 in Lausanne) was a British writer who wrote about 13 novels during the inter-war period. In 1921, she won the Hawthorn ...

, while his great-nephew was the author and journalist Roger Redfern.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arthur Muir 1857 births 1909 deaths Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Councillors in Sheffield English solicitors Politicians from Sheffield 19th-century English lawyers