James Avon Clyde, Lord Clyde, (14 November 1863 – 16 June 1944) 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 and judge.

Early life

Clyde was born on 14 November 1863, the son of Dr James Clyde LLD (1821-1912). His father was a teacher at

Dollar Academy Dollar Academy is a 5–18 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school for boys and girls in Scotland. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil ...

and then at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

. He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he graduated with an MA 1884 and an LLB in 1888.

Career

Clyde was called to the Scots Bar in 1889, and by the times he was appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(KC) in August 1901, he was the leading junior counsel in Scotland. As a KC, he was retained by several railway companies and frequently appeared before the

Law Lords Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

. He was later Dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1915 to 1918. He held office briefly as

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

from October 1905 to December 1905. He was the unsuccessful

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

candidate for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire in 1906. He was elected at a by-election in May 1909 as the

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West, and held the seat until 1918. He was Coalition Unionist member for Edinburgh North from 1918 to 1920. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in December 1916. He was also appointed to the Dardanelles Commission. He served as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

from December 1916 to 1920 in Lloyd George's coalition government. He was appointed to the bench and served as

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

from 1920 to 1935, with the judicial title Lord Clyde. During this time Lord Clyde gave this famous quote (in taxation circles) in the case of Ayrshire Pullman Motor Services v Inland Revenue

929 Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 16 – Emir Abd al-Rahman III of Córdoba, Spain, proclaims himself caliph and creates the Caliphate of Córdoba. H ...

14 Tax Case 754, at 763,764:

''"No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel in his stores. The Inland Revenue is not slow, and quite rightly, to take every advantage which is open to it under the Taxing Statutes for the purposes of depleting the taxpayer's pocket. And the taxpayer is in like manner entitled to be astute to prevent, so far as he honestly can, the depletion of his means by the Inland Revenue."''

He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Kinross-shire, and later became Lord Lieutenant of Kinross-shire from 1937 until his death. He was Chairman of the Trustees of the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

from 1936 to 1944.

Personal life

In 1895 Clyde married Anna Margaret MacDiarmid. They had two sons; the older,

James Latham Clyde James Latham McDiarmid Clyde, Lord Clyde, (30 October 1898 – 30 June 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. Life Born on 30 October 1898 at Heriot Row, Edinburgh, Clyde was the eldest son of Anna Margaret McDiarmid (''d''. ...

, later also became Lord Advocate and Lord Justice General. Clyde died in Edinburgh on 16 June 1944.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clyde, James Avon 1863 births 1944 deaths Deputy lieutenants of Kinross-shire Lord-lieutenants of Kinross-shire Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Clyde Lord advocates Solicitors general for Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Deputy lieutenants of Edinburgh