Sir John Stuart (1793 – 29 October 1876) was a British Conservative Party politician who sat in 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 ...

from 1846 to 1852, before becoming a judge.

Early life

Stuart was the son of Dugald Stuart, of

Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish ( or , from Scottish Gaelic ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries, and now primarily serves tourists in the area. Name The name Ballachulish (from Scottish Gaelic, ''Baile a' Chao ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in November 1819.

Career

He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Newark-on-Trent at an unopposed by-election in January 1846. The borough was at that time under the patronage of the Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, and the 4th Duke was a staunch Conservative and protectionist. In an address "to the free and independent-minded electors of the borough of Newark", he pledged himself as a "firm supporter" of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

, claiming that their abolition would "injure the best interests of our empire". The

hustings A husting originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event (such as debates or speeches) during an election campaign where one or more of the candidates are present. Devel ...

took place in the town square of Newark in heavy rain on the morning of 29 January 1846, where Stuart spoke in favour of protection for agriculture and for industry. Since no other candidate was proposed, Stuart was nominated and promptly declared elected. He was re-elected at the 1847 general election. At the 1852 general election he did not stand again in Newark. The 5th Duke (who had succeeded in 1851) was a supporter 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 ...

, and declined to support Stuart. Stuart was elected instead for the borough of Bury St Edmunds. He resigned that seat later the same year to take up the post of

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

(i.e. a judge of the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

). He succeeded James Parker, who had died, after some speculation. Earlier that year Stuart had refused the post of

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

's new government, and was reported to be indignant that he was not appointed

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. Whilst he was reported by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' to be eminently qualified for the role, it was suggested that his Ultra-Toryism and opposition to reform of Chancery would make his appointment unpopular. He was

knight 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 ...

ed in 1853, and sat as a judge until 1871, when he retired on a pension and was sworn as member of the Privy Council.

Family

In 1813, Stuart married Jessie, the daughter of Duncan Stewart. He was a landlord in Scotland, with estates at

Loch Carron Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

and Grishernish on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

. He was reported by ''

'' newspaper to be a "deservedly popular" landlord.

Arms

"I aspire to greater things"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, John 1793 births 1876 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Vice chancellors (Court of Chancery) Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Lochaber Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council