The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Alexander Hume-Campbell KC (15 February 1708 – 19 July 1760), of Birghamsheil, Berwickshire, was a Scottish lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

almost continuously from 1734 to 1760. Hume-Campbell was the second surviving son of

Alexander Hume-Campbell, 2nd Earl of Marchmont Alexander Hume-Campbell, 2nd Earl of Marchmont (167527 February 1740), was a Scottish nobleman, politician and judge. Life The third but eldest surviving son of Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont, by his spouse Grisel (d.1703), daughter of Sir ...

and his wife Margaret Campbell, daughter of Sir George Campbell of Cessnock. He was educated at a private school in London from 1716 until possibly 1721. He was in the Netherlands in Utrecht and Franeker between 1721 and probably 1725. He attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and became an advocate in 1729. He entered

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and was called to the bar in 1731. He married Elizabeth Pettis of Savile Row, London on 16 July 1737. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, Hume-Campbell was returned as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

at the same time as his twin brother

Lord Polwarth Lord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 (the baronetcy had been created in t ...

was elected MP for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. There was a double return at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

and he was eventually declared elected on 19 January 1742. He was Solicitor-general to the Prince of Wales from December 1741 to January 1746. He was returned again for Berwickshire in

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Coul ...

. For most of the time from 1734 to 1754 he was in opposition, and during that time he built up a considerable practice at the English bar. Hume Campbell was returned again for Berwickshire at the 1754 general election and took a very active part ... in support of the King's measures’. He was willing to connect himself with Newcastle in return for help against Pitt over the subsidy treaties. The brothers sought full support for their Berwickshire interest. In 1756 he was appointed

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. Tod ...

of Scotland and held the post for the rest of his life. Hume-Campbell died without issue on 19 July 1760.

References

Sources

* "Marchmont And The Humes of Polwarth By one of Their Descendants". 1894. 1708 births 1760 deaths British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Younger sons of earls Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub