Joseph Johnstone (1860 – 13 January 1931) was a Scottish

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician.

Family and education

Johnstone was born in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

but was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent. He was the eldest son of Robert Johnstone a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

. He was educated at Crummock School in

Beith Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) afte ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, a town renowned for its furniture making industries. In 1882 he married Jane Clerk, the daughter of Alexander Muir of Beith and they had two sons and three daughters. Johnstone was widowed in 1917 and did not remarry.

Career

Jonhstone followed his father into the furniture business, going on to become head of his own furniture manufacturing concern with works situated at

Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch (; , ) is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying on the banks of Castle Semple Loch and the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is chiefly a residential dormitory v ...

Local government service

Johnstone was first elected as a member of

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

when it came into existence in 1889. He served as Chairman of Renfrewshire

National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

Committee, Chairman of Renfrewshire

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Committee and Chairman of Renfrewshire Joint

Sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

Board.

Parliament

Johnstone also had parliamentary ambitions and was adopted as Liberal candidate for the constituency of

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

. Reflecting his interest in promoting effective business activity, he successfully moved a resolution encouraging the creation of joint industrial councils as a means of promoting cooperation between capital and labour and avoiding industrial strife, at a conference of the Council of the Scottish Liberal Association in Glasgow in November 1918. In

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

Johnstone was elected as

Coalition Liberal The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

MP for Renfrewshire East in a straight fight with the Labour candidate Robert Spence. The seat had been

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 ...

held at the two previous general elections of

January January is the first month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the No ...

and December 1910 but the Tories did not oppose Johnstone in 1918, presumably indicating that he had received the

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

. But Johnstone, while one of those Liberals who supported

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and the need for a strong government to prosecute the war, criticised the use of the coupon and looked forward to Liberal reunion. After the war ended, Johnstone said that he would be one of a number of Liberals elected in 1918 as supporters of the Coalition who would stand at the next general election as Liberals ‘without prefix or suffix’. Notwithstanding this, he was still sufficiently closely associated with Lloyd George that when the 1922 general election came Johnstone was first shown in the national press as a

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

. By the time nominations were declared however, his description had changed to straightforward Liberal. In 1922 Johnstone was opposed by both Labour and Conservative opponents and came third behind both the successful Labour man Robert Nichol and the Tory, Sir Frederick Lobnitz, winning just 17.5% of the overall poll. Johnstone did not stand for Parliament again.

Other appointments

Johnstone also sat as a Justice of the Peace for the county of Renfrewshire.

Honours

In July 1918, Johnstone was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to the Scottish War Aims Committee in the King's

Birthday Honours list The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are p ...

. This organisation was a branch of the National War Aims Committee set up in 1917, with Lloyd George,

H H Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

and George Barnes as joint presidents. Its official address was number

12 Downing Street 12 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been traditionally used as the office of the Chief Whip although the upper floor forms part of the residential apartment ...

. The committee's formal aim was "to keep before the nation both the causes of the war and the necessity of continuing the struggle until the forces which produced the conflict are destroyed" and was effectively an instrument for keeping up public morale, countering

war-weariness War-weariness is the public or political disapproval for the continuation of a prolonged conflict or war. The causes normally involve the intensity of casualties—financial, civilian, and military. It also occurs when a belligerent has the abili ...

and

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

and encouraging pro-war

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

. It was founded following revolutionary activities in Russia,

French army mutinies The 1917 French Army mutinies took place amongst French Army troops on the Western Front in northern France during World War I. They started just after the unsuccessful and costly Second Battle of the Aisne, the main action in the Nivelle Offen ...

and a series of labour strikes in Britain in May 1917. Johnstone continued to take seriously the issue of the war and the honouring of the war dead. In April 1920, he performed the unveiling of the war memorial for the parish of

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

, on the outer wall of the lower part of the steeple of the parish church.Glasgow Herald, 5 April 1920

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Joseph 1860 births 1931 deaths Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scottish Labour councillors Councillors in Renfrewshire