James Caldwell, PC (1839–1925) was a Scottish businessman and politician. He served as an MP for two constituencies, both in

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 ...

. The son of Findley Caldwell, a "working man", James Caldwell worked in a lawyer's office before attending law classes at

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

and began business as a lawyer. He then joined a firm of

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

printers, where he remained for nearly 20 years. He was a member of the

Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow is a professional body of legal practitioners based in Glasgow and providing services to lawyers in the city and the surrounding area. The Faculty owns and operates the largest law library in the West ...

. He was first elected for Glasgow St Rollox in 1886 as a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

. During his term he went over to the Liberals, and in 1892 he stood for re-election not in his own constituency but in Glasgow Tradeston, where he was narrowly defeated. He was then elected as Liberal MP for Mid-Lanarkshire at a by-election in 1894, where he served until January 1910, when he stood down. An acknowledged expert in parliamentary procedure, he was Deputy Chairman Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1906 until 1910. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1910. Caldwell took an interest in development issues in the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...

. In the spring of 1889, he undertook a trip to mainland

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting o ...

and

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

to gather information on obstacles to the development of the West Coast fishing industry. On the journey from Inverness to

Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...

, he was accompanied by

Murdoch Paterson Murdoch Paterson (September 1826 – 9 August 1898) was an engineer and architect based in Inverness, Scotland, who was chief engineer of the Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the R ...

, chief engineer of the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger ...

Company.Drummond, Andrew (2020), ''A Quite Impossible Proposal: How Not to Build a Railway'', Birlinn, pp. 62 & 76

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* 1839 births 1925 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs 19th-century Scottish people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Scottish businesspeople Scottish lawyers {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub