Charles Stuart Parker (1 June 1829 – 18 June 1910) was a British academic, writer and

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 ...

politician.

Life

Parker was the eldest son of Charles Stewart Parker (1800–1868), merchant, of

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

, Liverpool, and Fairlie, Ayrshire, and his wife, Anne Sandbach. When the British government emancipated the slaves in the 1830s, the elder Charles Stuart Parker was compensated for over 400 slaves he shared ownership of on 16 estates in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. As a result of the wealth obtained by his father in sugar and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, the younger Charles Stuart Parker was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

. After obtaining a first class degree he became a fellow of his college in 1854. From 1857 he gave private tuition to the future philosopher T.H. Green of Balliol College, helping Green to his First in Greats in 1859. He was a public examiner at Oxford in 1859, 1860, 1863, and 1868. From 1864 to 1868 he was Private Secretary to

Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell, (24 July 1813 – 15 February 1886) was a prominent British politician in the Peelite and Liberal parties during the middle of the 19th century. He is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of Sta ...

when he was

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

. Cardwell married Parker's sister Annie. At the 1868 general election, Parker was elected as the

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 ...

(MP) for

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Military Education from 1869 to 1870, and of the Scottish Endowed Schools Commission from 1872 to 1874, and was one of the Special Commissioners for Public Schools. Parker lost his Perthshire seat at the 1874 general election. He was returned 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. ...

as MP for

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

at a by-election in January 1878 at a by-election, and held the seat until 1892. He was chairman of referees on

Private Bill Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...

s in the 1885 parliament. Parker collated and published the papers of

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

in 1899. He also published ''Life and Letters of Sir James Graham, Second Baronet of Netherby, P.C., G.C.B., 1792-1861'' in 1907. Parker lived at Fairlie House, which had been built by his grandfather, Charles Stewart Parker the elder (1771–1828). He died in London at the age of 81.

References

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* * 1829 births 1910 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 People from Fairlie, North Ayrshire {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub