Sir John Stuart (1793 – 29 October 1876) was a British Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons 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. The name Ballachulish (Ballecheles, 1522 – Straits town) was more correctly applied to the area now called No ...

in Argyll. 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 is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

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 under the patronage of the

Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

, 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 and of the Corn Laws, claiming that their abolition would "injure the best interests of our empire". The hustings 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, 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 (i.e. a judge of the Court of Chancery). He succeeded

James Parker James, Jim, and Jimmy Parker may refer to: Arts and entertainment *James Cutler Dunn Parker (1828–1916), American musician * James Ervan Parker (born 1942), American singer-songwriter *James Stewart Parker (1941–1988), English playwright an ...

, who had died, after some speculation. Earlier that year Stuart had refused the post of Solicitor General in Lord Derby's new government, and was reported to be indignant that he was not appointed Lord Chancellor. Whilst he was reported by '' The Times'' 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 knighted in 1853, and sat as a judge until 1871, when he retired on a pension and was sworn as member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Family

In 1813, Stuart married Jessie, the daughter of Duncan Stewart. He was a landlord in Scotland, with estates at Loch Carron in Ross-shire and Grishernish on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o 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 ...

. He was reported by '' The Times'' 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