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A Study of the Debate on Scottish Home Rule, 1886-1914 Nathan Kane PhD Scottish History The University of Edinburgh 2015 Abstract This thesis explores arguments for Scottish Home Rule, and the place these arguments were given during elections. It also discusses the interactions between Scottish Home Rulers with other Home Rule movements within the United Kingdom as well as attempts to build international support in the colonies and United States. Finally it examines the cultural and scientific manifestations of nationalism and how they were embraced by a Home Rule movement which was eager to identify evidence for devolution. The position of Scottish Home Rule before the Great War was very complex. Although the Scottish Liberal Association adopted it as a policy as early as 1888 the most ardent of Scottish Home Rulers were continually disappointed by the failure of the Liberal Party’s leadership to commit to a time frame for introducing legislation. Despite this difficulty Scottish Home Rulers fought an uphill battle to keep the issue before the public through a significant body of pamphlets, journals, letters, and even in motions in the House of Commons. Between the second 1910 election and the Great War, the issue was kept in front of the Scottish Electorate and featured in almost all of the Liberal and Labour candidates’ campaigns during the fourteen by-elections which occurred during the period. Culturally new expressions of ‘Scottishness’ can be seen in the establishment of bodies such as the Royal Scottish Geographic Society, the Scottish Historical Review and the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. When these Scottish institutions ran into conflict with larger bodies based in England, usually associated with funding, the question of Scotland’s relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom came into question. At these times nationalists within and without of these institutions could co-opt these concerns in order to further their appeals for greater Home Rule. Although Scottish Home Rule was never a dominant movement within Scottish politics before the war it did manage to find acceptance among a wide body of individuals and groups such as the Scottish Liberal Association, Young Scots’ Society, Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland, Highland Land League, Scottish Labour League and Scottish Liberal Women’s Association . This thesis will attempt to place Scottish Home Rule within the context of a time which saw the development of so many other great reforms and argue that although those who supported Scottish Home Rule did so for a variety of pragmatic reasons, the nationalistic ideology that Scotland should be governed by Scots, still found expression. Signed Declaration I hereby pledge: (a) that this thesis has been composed by the myself, and (b) that the work is my own, and (c) that this work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification except as specified. Nathan Kane 8 July 2015 Contents: Acknowledgements i Abbreviations ii Tables iii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Arguments for Scottish Home Rule 22 Chapter 2: Scottish Home Rule in By-elections 67 Chapter 3: ‘Home Rule All Round’ Interactions Between 106 Irish Scottish and Welsh Home Rulers Chapter 4: International Dimensions of the Scottish 144 Home Rule Movement Chapter 5: Science, Art, History, and expressions of 184 Scottish Home Rule Conclusion 221 Bibliography 230 i Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without a great deal of assistance from a large number of knowledgeable and caring individuals. I have been very lucky to have been supported by two excellent supervisors, Ewen A. Cameron and James Kennedy. Were it not for their suggestions, guidance, and perhaps most of all patience, this project might have been abandoned long ago. I have also been blessed with the wonderful support of family and friends. My parents, Linda and Richard Kane, my grandfather, Walter Taylor, and my dear friends, Jo Ebelewicz and Hank Clay, have all selflessly offered assistance through countless generous expressions of support and kindness. I must also thank the hardworking staff of the many public and university libraries which I have visited in the course of conducting this research. Without their hard work and diligence this project would not have been possible. ii List of Abbreviations: Edinburgh Evening News: EEN National Library of Scotland: NLS Scottish Home Rule Association: SHRA Young Scots’ Society: YSS iii Tables Table 1.1 80 Table 1.2 83 1 Introduction This thesis is a study surrounding the debate for Scottish Home Rule between 1886 and 1914. Scottish nationalism is interwoven into the discussion but it was not the only great ideological shaper of the movement. Liberalism and Scotland’s relationship with the Party it so loyally served during the long nineteenth century was essential in moulding the context in which the debate for Scottish Home Rule would take place. So too was the more prominent and controversial question of Irish Home Rule. This thesis will attempt to chart the development and interaction between Scottish Home Rule and these overshadowing political questions. The primary inspiration for the topic has been to question how a subject which could receive strong majorities among MPs representing Scottish constituencies could arouse so little credibility as a nationalist movement. The results of this study do not overturn assessments about the relative weakness of the movement during the period but it is hoped that they at least help to clarify its position, and crucially the motivation behind its support, within the broader political history of Scotland. Scottish Home Rule has been described as occupying the margins of the margins of Scottish politics before the First World War.1 If this description is accepted it might also be acknowledged that despite being scribbled on the margins, were we to imagine Scottish history as a book, Scottish Home Rule is a note which appears on several pages, including those of the Scottish Liberal Association; the Scottish Labour Party from its formation in 1888; the Highland Land League from its formation in 1886; the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition 1902-1904; the Convention of Royal Burghs of Scotland and, on several occasions, the majority of the Scottish MPs in the House of Commons. As well as these groups there was also the Scottish Home Rule Association (SHRA) and the Young Scots’ Society (YSS) and several other nationalist and patriotic groups and periodicals who put considerable effort into promoting the cause. This list is not included to suggest that Scottish Home Rule was a dominant force in Scottish politics during the period. It was not. It did, however, have a place within these groups and associations. This 1 Colin Kidd, Union and Unionisms: Political Thoughts in Scotland, 1500-2000, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 24-25. 2 thesis will attempt to shed light on the groups and individuals who scribbled Scottish Home Rule into the margins. By assessing the objectives, arguments and results of these groups a better understanding of Scottish nationalism before the War will be uncovered. As well as the issue of Scottish Home Rule it is also interesting to consider the place of nationalism within Scotland. Colin Kidd has noted that Scots before the Great War were often enthusiastic supporters of continental nationalist movements.2 ‘Scots were, it transpires, enthusiastic supporters of nationalist movements abroad. Glasgow alone was home to the Glasgow Garibaldi Italian Fund, the Glasgow Polish Association, the Glasgow Polish Committee and the Glasgow Working Men’s Garibaldi Committee.’3 The extent to which Scotland supported the rights of small nations is intriguing. Certainly when one looks at the SHRA and the YSS one is able to see support among the leadership for the Boers. Gavin Clark, a president of the Scottish Home Rule Association, was responsible for several motions in favour of Scottish Home Rule between 1889 and 1893. Clark had been elected as a Crofter MP for Caithness in 1885. He lost the seat in 1900 over his support for the Boers. The YSS was founded as a pro-Boer group in direct response to the jingoism and imperialism of the early 1900s. If the Scots during this time were aware and supportive of other nationalist movements during the nineteenth century one might ask why they did not pursue it more actively themselves? Terminology When setting out to discuss Scottish nationalism before the Great War one is invariably met with the question: did it exist? Contained within this yes or no question lies a host of complexities which must be wrought out before any attempt at an answer may be made. The first is defining the word ‘nationalism’. It is amusing to ponder if Britain has not produced more career scholars of nationalism than career nationalists. One of the great academic troubles of the word has been making the 2 Douglas Young ‘A Sketch History of Scottish Nationalism’, in Neil MacCormick, (ed.), Scottish Debates, London: Oxford University Press, 1970, pp.