William Gerard Hamilton (28 January 172916 July 1796), was an English
statesman and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
politician, popularly known as "Single Speech Hamilton".
Biography
He was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the son of William Hamilton, a Scottish bencher of
Lincoln's Inn, and succeeded his father in 1754. He was educated at
Winchester,
Lincoln's Inn and
Oriel College, Oxford. With his father's fortune he entered political life and became Member of Parliament for
Petersfield
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
. His
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
, delivered on 13 November 1755, during the debate on the address, which excited
Walpole's admiration, is generally supposed to have been his only effort in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
. But the nickname "Single Speech" is undoubtedly misleading, and Hamilton is known to have spoken with success on other occasions, both in the House of Commons and in the Irish parliament.
Political offices
In 1756 he was appointed one of the commissioners for trade and plantations, and in 1761 he became chief secretary to
Lord Halifax
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...
, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as well as
MP of the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
for
Killybegs
Killybegs () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the largest fishing port in the country and on the island of Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. Its Irish name ''Na Cealla ...
(until 1768) and English MP for
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...
.
He was appointed
Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as C ...
in 1763, and subsequently filled various other administrative offices. Hamilton was thought very highly of by
Samuel Johnson, and it is certain that he was strongly opposed to the British taxation of
America. He was close to the
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
, serving as a trusted adviser.
In 1784 he exchanged his office as Chancellor of the Exchequer for a pension of £2,000 p.a.
Hamilton had held the office for over 20 years, although had treated the role as a largely ceremonial position. He was succeeded by
John Foster, who went on to bring in changes credited with greatly boosting the rural Irish economy.
Ireland: A History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day p.75
/ref>
Ill health and death
He suffered from a severe paralytic stroke in the winter of 1791–92. This had not been his first, and by August 1792 he remained in a poor state. On 4 March 1793 he received a leave of absence from the House of Commons due to his ill health. He died in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 16 July 1796, and was buried in the chancel vault of St Martins-in-the-Fields. His death came "just in time to save him from absolute poverty."[HAMILTON, William Gerard (1729-96), of Hampton Court, Mdx., The History of Parliament](_blank)
/ref> He was unmarried.
Two of his speeches in the Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
, and some other miscellaneous works—including previously unpublished notes on the Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They wer ...
by Johnson—were published by Edmond Malone
Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare.
Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...
after his death under the title ''Parliamentary Logick''.
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
William Gerard Hamilton
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, William Gerard
1729 births
1796 deaths
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford
Members of Lincoln's Inn
British MPs 1754–1761
British MPs 1761–1768
British MPs 1768–1774
British MPs 1774–1780
British MPs 1780–1784
British MPs 1784–1790
British MPs 1790–1796
Irish MPs 1761–1768
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies
Chancellors of the Exchequer of Ireland
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Chief Secretaries for Ireland