William Forbes Mackenzie (18 April 1807 – 24 September 1862) was a Scottish

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and temperance reformer. He is best known for the Forbes MacKenzie Act, legislation passed in 1853 to regulate

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s in Scotland.

Life

Born in Exmouth, Devon, he was the third son of

Colin MacKenzie Colonel Colin Mackenzie CB (1754–8 May 1821) was Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist. He surveyed southern India, ...

writer to the signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

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

and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo. He studied for the law, and was called to the bar in 1827. In 1830, he married Helen Anne Montgomery, daughter of Sir James Montgomery, and they had two children. In 1831, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Peeblesshire. At the 1837 general election he was elected to 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 ...

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 o ...

for Peeblesshire. He was re-elected as member for the constituency in

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the i ...

and

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

. He was one of

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

's junior

Lords of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 26 April 1845 until the end of the latter's second premiership. He was an advocate of Catholic and Jewish emancipation and supported the administration's increase of the grant to Maynooth College. However, in May 1845, he threatened to resign from office as he felt that the Jewish Disabilities Reform Bill did not carry reforms far enough. He finally resigned from the government on 11 April 1846 over 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 ...

, an issue which quickly led to the collapse of the administration. In

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

, he was elected one of two Conservative members of parliament for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

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from February 1852 to January 1853. In April 1853, he introduced the Public Houses (Scotland) Bill to the Commons. The Bill, which was eventually enacted as the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.67), forced the closure of

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in Scotland on Sundays and at 10pm on weekdays. Because of his active involvement in promoting it, the legislation was popularly known as the "Forbes Mackenzie Act". In the meantime, he had been forced out of parliament. The two defeated

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidates at Liverpool had issued an election petition contesting the results. In the ensuing court proceedings the Conservative

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...

s were found to have been guilty of bribery and treating. On 21 June 1853 the election was declared void. Forbes MacKenzie made an attempt to re-enter parliament at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

in 1857, but failed to be elected. In 1859 he was made chairman of the Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland. He died suddenly in September 1862, aged 55, while visiting Sir Charles Tennant at Glen House,

Innerleithen Innerleithen ( gd, Inbhir Leitheann) is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes f ...

, Peeblesshire.

References

Sources

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, William Forbes 1807 births 1862 deaths Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Scottish temperance activists Deputy Lieutenants of Peeblesshire