John Pringle, Lord Haining ( – 19 August 1754) 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 ...

lawyer, politician, and judge. His ownership of a large estate near Selkirk secured him a seat in the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from 1702 until the Act of Union in 1707, and then in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

from 1707 until he became a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

in 1729.

Early life

Pringle was the second son of Andrew Pringle of Clifton in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. His mother Violet was a daughter of John Rutherford of Edgerston, Roxburgh. Andrew Pringle had forced the marriage of his oldest son Robert to Andrew's niece Janet Pringle, thereby reuniting Pringle lands which had been divided in a previous generation. This wealth allowed Andrew to educate John 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 in 1692, and at

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

where he graduated in 1696. He was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1698.

Career

Pringle soon established a successful legal practice, and in 1701 or 1702 his father purchased for him The Haining estate at a cost of £3,412 (£,000 in ). This large estate, beside the town of Selkirk gave him a strong influence on the politics both of the shire of Selkirkshire and burgh of Selkirk. Due to the support of his future father-in-law, the

hereditary sheriff A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and rape ...

of Selkirkshire Sir James Murray, Pringle was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1702 as a

shire commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the Parliament of Scotland and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other countri ...

for Selkirkshire. After the

Union with England The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new political state of Great Britain. The treaty, effective since 1707, brought the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Ki ...

, Pringle was rewarded for his support of the union by appointment as one of the 45

Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked. The forty five men sent to London in 1707, to t ...

. At the first post-union election in 1708, Pringle was elected unopposed to the

as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It de ...

. His election was secured with the support of Sir James's son John Murray, who had succeeded his father in 1708. This alliance with the Murrays (and their patron the

Duke of Queensberry The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 3 February 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, 1st Marquess of Queensberry. The Dukedom was he ...

) defined Pringles's political career. In 1713 he married Ann Murray, daughter of Sir James Murray and brother of John, with a dowry of 18,000

merks The merk () is a long-obsolete Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 1 ...

. As a reward for supporting the

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...

, Pringle was appointed in 1711 as joint

Keeper of the Signet The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

for Scotland with William Cochrane, a post worth about 30,000 merks per annum to its holder. Pringle had to relinquish this lucrative office in 1713, when the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

was appointed as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

, and the office of Keeper was reunited with the Secretaryship. In 1714, Pringle was one of the 'gentlemen of quality' who endorsed the Privy Council's proclamation of

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as the new king. Thereafter, Pringle consistently voted with the

Tories 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 T ...

in support of the administration, but hankered for appointment to the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

. When a vacancy arose in 1725, his case was pressed unsuccessfully by John Scrope, the

Secretary to the Treasury In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure ...

. However, in 1729, after the death of Lord Pencaitland, Pringle was appointed as a

under the title of Lord Haining. In Edinburgh he lived on the west side of the old Scottish mint adjacent to

William Cullen William Cullen (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a British physician, chemist and agriculturalist from Hamilton, Scotland, who also served as a professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enli ...

's house.Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 p.271

Death

Pringle died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 19 August 1754, "in his eightieth year", and was buried in the Old Kirkyard at Selkirk. His widow Ann, who was sole

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...

of his estate, inherited a life-rent on lands purchased with her dowry, giving her an annual income of 2,000 merks. The couple had three sons, and three daughters: *

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

(died 1776) succeeded to the indebted estate at The Haining, but passed it on to his younger brother John. He was successful advocate who served 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 1755 until 1759, when he was appointed a Lord of Session with the judicial title Lord Alemoor. *

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(–1792), took over the Haining estate from his brother, and inherited to the rest of his brother's estates in 1776. In 1778 he succeed his cousin Robert Pringle to the Clifton estate in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

. He followed his father as MP for Selkirkshire from 1765 to 1786. * Robert(1719-1775), doctor of medicine who went to Jamaica and became a planter. Died in Philadelphia 12 Oct 1775. Married unknown(maybe surname Phillips), daughters Mary Elizabeth (1756-1836) married Thomas Cargill(1746-1807) planter of Jamaica and Janet. * Ann married Robert Rutherford of Fairnilee * Helen and Violet both died unmarried

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, John 1670s births 1754 deaths People from Selkirk, Scottish Borders Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Utrecht University alumni Members of the Faculty of Advocates

Haining () is a county-level city in Zhejiang Province, China, and under the jurisdiction of Jiaxing. It is in the south side of Yangtze River Delta, and in the north of Zhejiang. It is to the southwest of central Shanghai, and east of Hangzhou, the p ...

Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 18th-century Scottish landowners