Sir James Duncan Millar (5 August 1871 – 10 December 1932) was a Scottish
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and
Liberal, later
National Liberal politician.
Family and education
James Duncan Millar was the son of John Millar, a medical doctor from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. He had family connections to
Duncan McLaren
Duncan McLaren (12 January 1800 – 26 April 1886) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician and political writer. He served as a member of the burgh council of Edinburgh, then as Lord Provost, then as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Edinbu ...
, a former Edinburgh
Member of Parliament (MP) and to the famous Liberal
John Bright
John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies.
A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...
. His maternal grandfather was James Duncan who was a member of
The Society of Writers to the Signet the Edinburgh legal association. He was educated at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
where he obtained an
MA degree
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
and a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
(LLB).
In 1906, he married Ella Forester-Paton of
Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...
. They had one daughter and one son.
[''Who was Who'', OUP 2007] Their son, Ian Alistair Duncan Millar, a Perthshire farmer, stood as Liberal candidate in the
Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election in 1963 at which
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
was returned to the House of Commons, coming second to Home.
Law career
James Duncan Millar was one of the few men to become a member of both the Scottish and English Bars. He was admitted to the
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...
in Edinburgh in 1896 and in the following year was called to the English Bar at the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
. He obtained a large practice in Scotland and was Senior Advocate Depute from 1913 to 1916.
He was made a
King's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in Scotland in January 1914.
Politics
Millar was elected Liberal MP for
St Andrews Burghs at the general election of
January 1910 when he defeated the sitting
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
,
William Anstruther-Gray. However he lost the seat back to Anstruther-Gray at the
December 1910 general election. In 1911, an opportunity arose for Millar with the resignation from Parliament of the Liberal MP for
North East Lanarkshire, Thomas Fleming Wilson and Millar was re-elected to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
at a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
held on 9 March 1911.
He held North East Lanarkshire until 1918, when the seat was abolished. He moved to contest
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
at the
1918 General Election as the Liberal party candidate, but finished second to the Unionist in a three-way contest.
Millar did not find another seat until the
1922 general election when he was successful at
East Fife, gaining the seat from the Tories. This must have been a particularly sweet victory as the MP he defeated had taken the constituency from former Liberal leader
H H Asquith in 1918, a seat Asquith had held since 1886. Millar was able to hold the seat at the
1923 general election but lost in
1924 to the Conservative
Archibald Cochrane. He won the seat back from Cochrane at the
1929 general election albeit by the narrow margin of 581 votes
National Liberal
In 1931, an economic crisis led to the formation of a
National Government led by Labour prime minister
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
and initially supported by the Conservative and Liberal parties. However the Liberals were increasingly divided over the issue of the National Government, particularly over the policy of
Free Trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
.
The official party led by
Sir Herbert Samuel although agreeing to go into the
1931 general election supporting MacDonald became increasingly alarmed about the government's stance on Free Trade and worried about the predominance of the Conservatives in the coalition. However a group of Liberal MPs led by
Sir John Simon who were concerned to ensure the National Government had a wide cross-party base formed the Liberal National Party to more openly support MacDonald's administration.
Millar was not one of the founding members of the Liberal National Party but his endorsement of the government's programme was enough to ensure the Conservatives did not put up a candidate against him in East Fife in 1931 and on 16 October 1931, Millar found himself returned unopposed to represent East Fife in the next Parliament.
He then chose to support the administration loyally and continued to describe himself as a Liberal National when the Samuelite Liberals withdrew from the coalition. He continued to enjoy the support of both the local Liberal and Conservative Associations in East Fife, with both of which organisations he had gained the reputation for being a good constituency MP, particularly in representing the interests of fishing and agriculture.
Death
Millar died in office at the age of 61. At
the by-election held on 2 February 1933 to fill the East Fife seat following Millar's death, the local Liberal Association selected the Simonite
James Henderson-Stewart to fight the seat.
Standing as a Liberal National, Henderson-Stewart easily held the seat with a majority of 9,135 votes. He did not face Conservative opposition but there were four other candidates, including
Labour,
Agricultural Party, Independent Liberal and
National Party of Scotland.
Honours
In 1913, Millar was appointed by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire.
The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
to sit on a committee of experts to look into the spread of various diseases in Africa and how they could be controlled. Millar was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
in the
1932 New Year Honours for political and public services.
Death
Millar died at his home, Remony Lodge,
Aberfeldy in
Perthshire
Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
, on 10 December 1932, aged 61, following a period of some weeks suffering badly with
phlebitis
Phlebitis (or venitis) is inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs. It most commonly occurs in superficial veins. Phlebitis often occurs in conjunction with thrombosis (clotting inside blood vessels) and is then called thrombophlebitis or ...
and complications.
[''The Times'', 10 October 1932/12 December 1932.]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, James Duncan
1871 births
1932 deaths
Members of the Faculty of Advocates
Knights Bachelor
Scottish King's Counsel
20th-century King's Counsel
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
Scottish Liberal Party MPs
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs 1931–1935
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians