Samuel Smith (4 January 1836 – 28 December 1906) was a British

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 ...

. He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) from 1882 to 1885 and from 1886 to 1906. He was noted for being a champion of "social purity" and opposed many plays with open displays of sexuality that he saw as "glorification of the vulgarest debauchery". Targets included the plays '' The Gay Lord Quex'' and ''

Zaza Zaza may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Zaza (play), ''Zaza'' (play), written by French playwrights Pierre Berton and Charles Simon * Zaza (1915 film), ''Zaza'' (1915 film), a film directed by Edwin S. Porter * Zaza (1923 film), ''Zaza'' (1 ...

''.

Life

Born near Borgue, Galloway, he was educated at Borgue parish school and

Kirkcudbright Academy Kirkcudbright Academy is a state funded, six-year secondary school in Kirkcudbright, Scotland with about 400 pupils and 87 staff including teaching, support and administration. Notable alumni *Jennie Adamson, Labour Party politician, junior m ...

before attending

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

. His grand-father and his uncle, both named Samuel Smith, were each parish minister of Borgue. The former (d. 1816) wrote 'A General View of the Agriculture of Galloway' (1806); the latter seceded at the disruption of the Scottish church in 1843. He was apprenticed to a Liverpool cotton broker in 1853. By 1864 he was head of the Liverpool branch of James Finlay & Co., a large cotton business of Glasgow and Bombay. Smith was first elected to

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on 11 December 1882 in a

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Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, following the

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 ...

Viscount Sandon A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...

's succession to the

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Earl of Harrowby Earl of Harrowby, in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1809 for the prominent politician and former Foreign Secretary, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Baron Harrowby. He was made Viscount Sandon, of Sa ...

on 19 November 1882. The three-seat Liverpool constituency was split for the 1885 general election and Smith stood in the new Liverpool Abercromby seat. However, he lost to the Conservative candidate William Lawrence by 807 votes. He returned to Parliament in a

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

on 3 March 1886. This by-election followed the elevation to the Peerage of Lord Richard Grosvenor. Smith remained the seat's MP until he retired 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 ...

. He died later that year aged 70 at

Calcutta, India Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary fin ...

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. The university, which originally opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, befo ...

has a hall of residence called Smith in honour of his contribution to the institution. He co-founded the university in 1885.

References

* *''British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1974)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Samuel 1836 births 1906 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 People from Dumfries and Galloway Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies