Charles Fraser-Mackintosh ( gd, Teàrlach Friseal Mac An Tòisich; 1828 – 25 January 1901) was a Scottish lawyer, land developer, author, and

independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

and Crofters Party politician. He was a significant champion of the

Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

in Victorian Britain. Fraser-Mackintosh was the son of Alexander Fraser, of Dochnalurg, Inverness, and his wife Marjory Mackintosh. He assumed the additional surname of Mackintosh by royal licence 1857.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> He trained as a lawyer and became a councillor in Inverness. He was heavily involved in land and development in the town and was chairman of the Anglo-American Land Mortgage and Agency Co. Using money he made from the construction of Union Street, in which he made a large number of people homeless ee The Life and Times of Fraser Mackintosh, pages 23 to 34 he bought and laid out the Drummond estate (1863), which had previously belonged to Fraser-Mackintosh's great-great uncle Provost Phineas Mackintosh and Ballifeary estates (1860s).Am Baile Highland History and Culture
/ref> Fraser-Mackintosh was also a captain in the Inverness-shire Rifle Volunteers from 1860 and a J.P. for Inverness-shire. As a lawyer, he had access to many rare manuscripts and documents, and these formed the basis for his own published works on Scottish history. In his historical work, Fraser-Mackintosh admitted to a sympathy for the Jacobite cause of "

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

," due to being indirectly named after the prince via various Jacobite ancestors. He was a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

. In 1875, he was Chief of the Gaelic Society of Inverness. He was the third President of , the national Gaelic Society, serving from 1896 to 1898. It is thought that Fraser-Mackintosh rendered legal assistance to when she was accused of theft from her employer in 1872. He appears to have recruited to her cause by John Murdoch and to have earned her enduring gratitude and affection. He is one of the land rights campaigners mentioned in her celebrated poem . Fraser-Mackintosh was elected

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 o ...

(MP) for Inverness Burghs in 1874 and held the seat until the 1885 general election. Initially he was opposed to agrarian unrest, arguing that negative consequences would occur if Scottish Gaels adopted the tactics of the

Irish Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...

and came to be seen as "discontented and disaffected." Later he changed his mind and was returned as the MP for

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

for the Crofter's Party in 1885. He was returned unopposed in

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

, but opposing

home rule for Ireland The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

, he joined the Liberal Unionist Party, and lost the support of the local

Highland Land League The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Associat ...

. The League backed

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate Donald MacGregor at the 1892 election, who unseated Fraser-Mackintosh. He was then the only Gaelic-speaking member of the Commons and became known as the 'Member for the Highlands'. One of five members of the

Napier Commission The Napier Commission, officially the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands was a royal commission and public inquiry into the condition of crofters and cottars in the Highlands and ...

, set up in 1883, to investigate the crofters' situation; he was the driving force behind the establishment of the Crofters' Commission and for promoting the use of Gaelic in Highland schools. His efforts led to the establishment of a Free Library in Inverness in 1883. Fraser-Mackintosh died at the age of 72. Fraser-Mackintosh married Eveline May Holland of Brooklands, Streatham in 1876. His widow left his personal library of over 5000 books and journals to Inverness Burgh library in 1921.

Publications

*''Dunachton, past and present'' (1866) *''Letters of Two Centuries'' (1890) *''The Last Macdonalds of Isla'' (1895) *''An account of the confederation of clan Chattan'' (1898) *''Antiquarian notes'' (1897)

References

External links

NYPL Digital Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser-Mackintosh, Charles 1828 births 1901 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Crofters Party MPs Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland