Lieutenant-General James Scott (c. 1672–1747), of Commieston, Kincardine, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1713 to 1734. He served in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

for 51 years Scott was the second son of Hercules Scott of Brotherton, Kincardine and his wife Jane Ogilvy, daughter of Sir James Ogilvy, of New Grange, Forfar a commissioner to the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. He joined the army and was an ensign in the Scots Guards in 1692. He became lieutenant and captain in 1693, and captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1694. In 1712 he became a brevet colonel. He married. Margaret Wallace, daughter of Hugh Wallace, of Ingliston, Midlothian, a commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, in April. 1712, Scott acquired some property in the Kincardineshire in 1708, probably from his uncle John Scott of Commieston, and stood for parliament at

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

at the

1710 general election Year 171 ( CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 ''Ab urbe con ...

. He was unsuccessful then but was returned as

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 ...

at the 1713 general election. In 1713 he became a 2nd major. He was considered to be a Tory. He told in favour of the election of John Houston for Linlithgowshire, and on 12 May he voted against extending the schism bill to cover Catholic education. However, as one of the Scottish MPs then in London, he signed the proclamation of George I, and was described as a Whig. Scott was re-elected MP for Kincardineshire in a contest at the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

. He served the Hanoverians loyally, and voted consistently for the Court in all divisions. In 1717 he became 1st major in the Guards. In 1721, the committee of inquiry into the

South Sea bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

revealed that he had accepted £1,000 stock from the Company without paying for it. He was returned unopposed in the general election of

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

and became lieutenant-colonel commanding his regiment in 1723. At the 1727 general election, he was returned unopposed again. He stood down at the 1734 general election to make way for his son to succeed him in the seat although he was defeated. Scott became brigadier-general in 1735, major.-general in. 1739 and lieutenant-general in 1743. He died in 1747 leaving a son John, and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1670s births 1747 deaths Scots Guards officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British Army lieutenant generals