James William Thomson (1828 – 4 August 1907) was a 19th-century conservative

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 ...

in New Zealand.

Early life

Thomson was born in

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

, Scotland, in 1828. He obtained his education at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he obtained an MA. He came to New Zealand in 1859 and settled in Balclutha.

Political career

Provincial Council

He was elected onto the Otago Provincial Council for the Clutha electorate in October 1864. He remained on the Provincial Council until May 1873. For two days in May 1868, he was a member of the Otago Executive Council. He was a "provincialist''.

Member of Parliament

Thomson represented the Clutha electorate from

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

when he was defeated. He then represented

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

from

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

to 1892, when he resigned. He did not stand for election in the 1893 election. Finally he represented the Clutha electorate again from

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, when he retired.

Minister

Thomson was for three months in 1879 Minister of Lands in the Grey Ministry.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, James William Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 1828 births 1907 deaths Members of Otago provincial executive councils Members of the Otago Provincial Council Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Independent MPs of New Zealand People from Perthshire Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians