James Caldwell,
PC (1839–1925) was a Scottish businessman and politician. He served as an MP for two constituencies, both in
Glasgow.
The son of Findley Caldwell, a "working man", James Caldwell worked in a lawyer's office before attending law classes at
Glasgow University and began business as a lawyer. He then joined a firm of
calico printers, where he remained for nearly 20 years. He was a member of the
Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow.
He was first elected for
Glasgow St Rollox in 1886 as a
Liberal Unionist. 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
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 1910.
Caldwell took an interest in development issues in the
Highlands and Islands. In the spring of 1889, he undertook a trip to mainland
Ross-shire and
Lewis to gather information on obstacles to the development of the West Coast fishing industry. On the journey from
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
to
Ullapool, 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.
Background
He was born in September 1826, one of five sons of Donald Paterson (177 ...
, chief engineer of the
Highland Railway Company.
[Drummond, Andrew (2020), ''A Quite Impossible Proposal: How Not to Build a Railway'', Birlinn, pp. 62 & 76]
References
External links
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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
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