William Torrens McCullagh Torrens (13 October 1813 – 26 April 1894) was an Irish

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politician, who sat in the

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for English constituencies variously between 1848 and 1885. Torrens was the son of James McCullagh of Greenfield, Dublin, and his wife Jane Torrens, daughter of Andrew Torrens of Dublin. He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In 1835 he was Assistant Commissioner of the Irish Poor Inquiry and was

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in Ireland in 1836. He was an original member of the

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founded in 1838. In 1846 he was private secretary to

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when he was

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.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> Torrens stood for parliament unsuccessfully at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in 1847 but was seated as

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on petition in March 1848. He held the seat until 1852 when he stood unsuccessfully for

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. Torrens was called to the bar at

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in 1855. He was elected MP for Yarmouth in 1857 but his election was declared void on petition. In 1863 he adopted the additional surname Torrens. In 1865 he was elected MP for

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. He held the seat until 1885. He introduced in 1866 the "Artisans and Labourers Dwelling Bill" and carried the lodger franchise in the

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. He obtained a Select Committee on Extradition in 1869 and in 1874 brought in and carried the Building Societies Bill. Torrens published a number of works including *''Lectures on the Use and Study of History'' *''Life of Lord Melbourne'' *''Industrial History of Free Nations'' *''Empire in Asia'' *''Memoirs of Wellesley'' Torrens died at the age of 80 after being knocked down by a

hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, ...

. Torrens married firstly Margaret Henrietta Gray daughter of John Gray of Claremorris, County Mayo in 1836. She died in 1873 and he married secondly Emily Harrison, daughter of William Harrison of Leamington in 1878.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens, William 1813 births 1894 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Louth constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1847–1852 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Lincoln's Inn Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth Members of the London School Board