William Blair (died 21 October 1841) was a Scottish landowner and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician. He was the

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of Blair in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

in Scotland from 1782 to 1841. He was also the

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 ...

(MP) for the Ayrshire constituency from 1829 to 32.

Background

William Blair was the only son of Jane Williams and Major Hamilton Blair, the preceding

of the barony of Blair in

. Hamilton Blair succeeded his elder half brother from his father's first marriage, William Blair. Their father, William Scott, an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

from Malleny near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, had first married the Blair heiress Magadalene Blair, who died around 1715. Scot subsequently adopted the name Blair. The Blair family had been prominent for over 600 years in Ayrshire. The seat of the Blair barony, Blair House, is located about a mile and a half south-east of the township of Dalry.

Political Career

At the Ayrshire county meeting in April 1821, Blair seconded a petition opposing any change to the Scottish jury system. In autumn 1828, Blair and Sir James Fergusson canvassed local freeholders, both professed "friendly dispositions" towards the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

's government. When Montgomerie died in April 1829, triggering a by-election, Fergusson did not stand, resulting in Blair claiming the election outright. While emphasising that he was not a member of a party, Blair stated that he supported "Tory principles" and the ministry considered him a supporter. On the 22 November 1830, the Whig politician

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

became prime minister in a landslide election, at which he had committed to introduce an electoral reform bill. Blair opposed the second reading of the Grey government's electoral

Reform Act In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

in March 1831, which aimed to increase the number of voters in electorates throughout the United Kingdom. Blair's opposition to the Reform Act prompted

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...

to run against him in the next election. On 6 May 1831 a march was held in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in support of Oswald and the Reform Act, comprising some 5,000-,6000 people, including representatives from many classes of tradesmen. However, at the general election held on 18 May 1831, Blair defeated his pro-electoral reform opponent, Richard Oswald, 73 votes to 36, out of a possible 211 enrolled freeholders. This win prompted outbursts in the courthouse where the votes were counted, and it was surrounded outside, with Blair unable to leave for three hours until dragoons arrived to disperse the crowd. Blair was then escorted to the quay to board a ship, but when the troops left, the deck was pelted with stones, injuring those on board, including Blair who received a severe cut to the back of the head. In town, the windows of Blair's supporters were smashed. After re-election in 1831, Blair continued to vote against the readings of the Reform Act. The English and Welsh

was passed into law on 7 June 1832, with the Scottish Reform Act passing at approximately the same time. The effect was considerable, in Ayrshire the number of voters increased from 211 to 3,197. At the general election in 1832, Oswald stood again against Blair, who was heavily defeated and left office on the 27th of December. Blair made no recorded remarks in parliamentary debates, he did however present several petitions to parliament on behalf, including one against the renewal of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

's charter and an anti-slavery petition.

Family

Blair married Magdalen Fordyce, daughter of John Fordyce, at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

in April 1789. They had 12 children: # Catherine Eglinton Blair, 1790–1847 # Madaline Blair, 1791–1867 # Hamilton Blair, 1793–1816 # Louise Jean Blair, 1795–1817, married Col. William Jackson, son of George Jackson of Enniscoe # Elizabeth Agnes Blair, 197-1861 # John Charles Blair, 1798–1836 # Charlotte Ann Blair, 1801– # Jane Gordon Blair, 1803–29 # William Fordyce Blair, J.P., D.L., Capt. R.N., 1805–88, successor # Georgina Eglantine Blair, 1807–85 # Henry Melville Blair, 1809–37 # Augustus Thomas Blair, 1810–57 Blair died in Edinburgh in October 1841, leaving the Blair estate to his eldest surviving son, William Fordyce Blair, a naval captain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, William Year of birth missing 1841 deaths Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 People from Dalry, North Ayrshire