Alexander Ure, 1st Baron Strathclyde, (22 February 1853 – 2 October 1928) was a Scottish politician, judge, and georgist

land value tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation ta ...

activist.

Life

He was the son of John Ure, Lord Provost of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and his wife Isabella. He studied law at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

he was admitted to membership of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1878. He was

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

from 1895 to 1913. He became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1897. He provided as

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

from December 1905 to 1909, and as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

from February 1909 to 1913. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Lloyd George's 1909–10 budget. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1909. In 1909, he conducted the prosecution of

Oscar Slater Oscar Joseph Slater (8 January 1872 – 31 January 1948) was the victim of a miscarriage of justice in Scotland. Wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death, he was freed after almost two decades of hard labour at Scotland’s HM Priso ...

for murder; the conviction was later quashed on appeal. During his working life he lived at 31 Heriot Row, a large Georgian townhouse, in Edinburgh's Second New Town. On leaving Parliament he was raised to the bench as Lord Strathclyde and appointed

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, a post he held until 1920. He was raised to the Peerage as Baron Strathclyde, of Sandyford in the

County of Lanark Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, in 1914. In 1917, he was appointed to the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

as a Knight Grand Cross. He is said to have been skilled in cross-examination, and was more suited to life as an advocate than as a judge. He retired to his father's house of Cairndhu in

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local governm ...

in 1920 and died there in 1928. He is buried in Helensburgh Cemetery.

Notable trials

Ure famously oversaw the trial of alleged murderer,

, now seen as a serious mis-trial. Although Ure sentenced him to death in 1909. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Following a campaign by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

and others, Slater received a pardon, but only after having served 18 years in

Peterhead Prison HMP Peterhead was a prison in Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, operating from 1888 to 2013. Since June 2016, the former grounds operate as the Peterhead Prison Museum. History Peterhead Convict Prison was built around 1888. It was designed ...

.The Trial Of Oscar Slater, Wm Roughhead.

Family

In 1879 he married Margaret McDowell Steven. their only child was a daughter, Chruistopbel Helen Ure, who died in 1918, before the Baron's death. The peerage therefore became extinct on his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strathclyde, Alexander Ure, 1st Baron 1853 births 1928 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Senators of the College of Justice Lord Advocates Solicitors General for Scotland Barons Strathclyde Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Ure, Alexander Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Barons created by George V