Robert Wallace (1773–1855) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician. He was an

electoral franchise Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

reformer and agitator for

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

reform. He was elected to the

Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

as the member for

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

in the 1832 general election, sitting for that constituency until 1845. Robert Wallace was the founder of the campaign for the

Uniform Penny Post The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...

, providing cheap postage regardless of distance within the United Kingdom. He appeared in 1835 before the commission of enquiry set up to consider postal service reform.

Life

He was the second son of John Wallace (1712–1805) of

Cessnock, Glasgow Cessnock is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde and was part of the former Burgh of Govan. Cessnock's main street is Paisley Road West, which runs west in the direction of Paisley and east through K ...

and Kelly at

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have always ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, by his third wife, Janet, third daughter of Robert Colquhoun of the island of St. Christopher. His father was a West India merchant 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 ...

, who amassed a large fortune and became proprietor of some major estates. The eldest son was Sir

James Maxwell Wallace General Sir James Maxwell Wallace, KH (21 February 1783 – 3 February 1867), of Ainderby Hall, near Northallerton, was a British Army officer. Biography James Maxwell was born the fifth son of John Wallace of Kelly, a local landowner and ...

. By the father's will Robert Wallace received the estate of Kelly and part of the West Indian property, and was known by the designation of Wallace of Kelly. Robert Wallace was a strong Whig, and often spoke in public during the reform agitation before 1832. After the passing of the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

he was the first member of parliament for Greenock under the act, and held that seat until 1846. In parliament his efforts were directed towards law reform, especially in the direction of having cheaper and simpler methods for the transfer of

heritable property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...

. His name is closely associated with the reform of the postal service, and with the introduction of the penny post. After repeated applications to parliament he succeeded in having a Royal Commission appointed in 1836 to report on the state of the posting department. Reports made by the commission supported the charges brought against this department, and prepared the way for reforms. Wallace was chairman of the committee that examined

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

's penny postage scheme; and it was by his casting vote that it was decided to recommend this scheme to parliament. In 1846 he became embarrassed financially through the depreciation in value of some of his West Indian estates, and resigned his seat in parliament. The estate of Kelly was sold, and Wallace lived in retirement at Seafield Cottage,

. After his resignation a public subscription was made for him, which enabled him to live his last years in comfort. He died at Seafield on 1 April 1855.

Family

He married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Forbes of

Craigievar Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle or fortified country house south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was given to the ...

5th baronet, but left no issue. His sister, Anne Wallace, died unmarried in 1873 in her hundred and second year.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Robert 1773 births 1855 deaths Politics of Inverclyde Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 British slave owners