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Hutchison2018.Pdf This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Origins of the Scottish Conservative Party, 1832–1868 Gary D. Hutchison Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD School of History, Classics and Archaeology University of Edinburgh September 2017 ii iii Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed by me and is my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Gary D. Hutchison iv v Abstract This thesis examines the Scottish Conservative party between 1832 and 1868. It focuses on the party’s organisation, structure, leadership, and attitudes. It begins by examining the social, occupational, educational, and religious background of its MPs, candidates, and peers. This reveals that the party’s composition, while predominantly aristocratic, nevertheless boasted a range of distinctive and often competing interests. The thesis then explores the make-up, organisation and activity of the party on a local constituency level. This illustrates that the party was more inclusive and heterogeneous than might be assumed, and was very active in promoting itself through a wide variety of methods. The party thus had a notable impact on the wider social and cultural life of Scotland throughout the mid- nineteenth century. Following this, the structure and leadership of the Scottish party on a national level is examined. These could be a source of innovation and accomplishment, and their subsequent decline had a marked effect on the party’s overall performance. Above this level, the party’s role in parliament, governance, and in a British context is explored. It is demonstrated that the Scottish party maintained a modicum of distinctiveness even at Westminster. Moreover, its multifaceted role in Scottish governance gave it significant influence over Scottish society. Finally, the positions of the Scottish party on important political issues are examined, as are the underlying attitudes which determined these positions. The Scottish party contained many competing and overlapping factions, which held a hitherto unsuspected diversity of outlooks. Overall, this thesis illustrates that the Scottish Conservative party had a pronounced effect on many different facets of Scottish politics and wider society, and was itself more complex and more popular than is reflected in the existing historiography. It therefore counters the assumption that Scotland was almost hegemonically Liberal – a finding which has potential implications for scholarship spread across Scottish and British political, social, and cultural history. vi Lay Summary This thesis examines the Scottish Conservative party between 1832 and 1868. It focuses on the party’s organisation, structure, leadership, and attitudes. It begins by examining the social, occupational, educational, and religious background of its MPs, candidates, and peers. This reveals that the party’s composition, while predominantly aristocratic, nevertheless boasted a range of distinctive and often competing interests. The thesis then explores the make-up, organisation and activity of the party on a local constituency level. This illustrates that the party was more inclusive and heterogeneous than might be assumed, and was very active in promoting itself through a wide variety of methods. The party thus had a notable impact on the wider social and cultural life of Scotland throughout the mid- nineteenth century. Following this, the structure and leadership of the Scottish party on a national level is examined. These could be a source of innovation and accomplishment, and their subsequent decline had a marked effect on the party’s overall performance. Above this level, the party’s role in parliament, governance, and in a British context is explored. It is demonstrated that the Scottish party maintained a modicum of distinctiveness even at Westminster. Moreover, its multifaceted role in Scottish governance gave it significant influence over Scottish society. Finally, the positions of the Scottish party on important political issues are examined, as are the underlying attitudes which determined these positions. The Scottish party contained many competing and overlapping factions, which held a hitherto unsuspected diversity of outlooks. Overall, this thesis illustrates that the Scottish Conservative party had a pronounced effect on many different facets of Scottish politics and wider society, and was itself more complex and more popular than is reflected in the existing historiography. It therefore counters the assumption that Scotland was almost hegemonically Liberal – a finding which has potential implications for scholarship spread across Scottish and British political, social, and cultural history. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgements viii Abbreviations ix Textual Note x Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Electoral Organisation and Activity 15 Chapter 2 National Organisation, Leadership, and Activity 93 Chapter 3 Parliament, Local and National Governance, and the British 159 Context Chapter 4 Scottish Conservatism in the Age of Reform 211 Chapter 5 Mid-Victorian Scottish Conservatism 275 Conclusion 337 Bibliography 349 Appendix A: Scottish Conservative Candidates, 1832–1868 365 Appendix B: Scottish Constituency Profiles – Electorates and Influence 377 Appendix C: Scottish Conservative Election Results, 1832–1868 385 Appendix D: Scottish Representative Peers, 1832–1868 387 Appendix E: Conservative Lords Advocate, 1832–1868 391 Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Scottish Conservative MPs, 1832– 393 1868 Appendix G: A Survey of the Scottish Conservative Party, 1832–1868 415 viii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the efforts of my supervisors, Gordon Pentland and Ewen Cameron. Their unfailingly helpful advice, constructive comments on my work, and all-round willingness to go the extra mile for me has made the writing (and, not incidentally, the content) of this thesis immeasurably richer. Gordon encouraged me to continue along this path from undergraduate study right up to this point, for which I am very thankful. More broadly, I would like to thank the University of Edinburgh and its staff, particularly Alex Murdoch and Ben Weinstein, for providing help, advice, and a genuinely collegial environment in which to develop my ideas. The postgraduate community were also instrumental to this. I would like to thank my fellow doctoral student Ben Rogers in particular for giving useful scholarly advice, and for distracting me from my work when I needed a break. Throughout my time at the university, my old partner in crime Nick Cassidy also provided help and amusement when I needed it most – it was very much appreciated. This thesis would also not have been possible without the generous financial support of the Wolfson Foundation, for which I am sincerely thankful – particularly for the research element of the award, which enabled me to visit numerous archives, who also deserve my thanks. Noteworthy was the History of Parliament’s 1832–1868 team, who went above and beyond in providing advice and assistance. To my partner Becca, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for everything. Her love, support, (endless) patience, and encouragement were more important than words can express. Finally, I would not be here today without the unwavering support and affection of my family. My grandparents always urged me to work towards my full potential, and provided a nurturing environment in which to do so. Above all, my parents, Audrey and Alan, gave me an ideal upbringing and constant encouragement. They deserve ultimate credit for everything that follows – this thesis is dedicated to them. ix Abbreviations BEM Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine EHR English Historical Review HoP History of Parliament (online) JBS Journal of British Studies NAVSR National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online) RSCHS Records of the Scottish Church History Society SHR Scottish Historical Review WS Writer to the Signet x Textual Note In quotations, grammar and spelling have been modernised, capitalisations altered, and abbreviations lengthened, except where doing so would have materially altered the meaning or import of the content in question. In particular, the capitalisation of party and factional labels has been left entirely unaltered, even where this may seem incongruous. Within the text itself, capitalised labels (e.g. Conservative) pertain to parties and their de facto members, while lower-case labels (e.g. conservative/conservatism) refer to broader sets of beliefs and their adherents. The term ‘Tory’ is used only in reference to the period before 1832. 1 INTRODUCTION The central question of nineteenth-century
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