Sir Gilbert Eliott, 3rd Baronet, of Stobs ( – 27 May 1764) was a Scottish Whig politician who sat in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1708 and 1727. He was outlawed after killing his opponent in an after-dinner argument and fight, but was subsequently pardoned.

Early life

Eliott was the eldest son of Sir William Eliott, 2nd Baronet, a member of the pre-Union

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 ...

. His mother was Sir William's second wife Margaret, daughter of Charles Murray of Hadden, Roxburghshire. He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father in 1699. On 23 April 1702 at St Bride's Church,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he married Eleanora or Eleanor Elliot (died 1728), daughter of William 'the laceman' Elliot from London, of the Elliot family of Brugh and Wells, Roxburghshire.

Career

The Eliotts of Stobs dominated the politics of Roxburghshire. Three generations of Eliott's ancestors had represented the county in the

. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

, Eliott was returned in a contest to serve in the new

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

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 ...

. On an election case on 16 December 1708, he upset his Scottish colleagues by sticking to the Whigs rather than joining with the Tories against a member who expressed anti-Scottish sentiments. He voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the 1710 British general election, he was returned as a Whig, again a contest and initially voted with the Whigs. However he began to act independently, and took part in an attempt to dissolve the Union in May 1713 and voted against the French commerce bill on in June 1713. He was returned unopposed at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1714, He told in support of the Whigs, but was willing to work with Tories on some matters of Scottish interest. Eliott stood down at the 1715 election in favour of William Douglas, son the county's hereditary sheriff. At the 1722 election he let the seat be taken by his relative Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet, of Minto. Minto was appointed in 1726 as a judge of 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 ...

, and at the resulting by-election Sir Gilbert was elected to replace him. However, at a dinner shortly after the election, he fell into an argument with Colonel John Stewart (a former MP for Kirkcudbright Stewartry). The dispute escalated into a fight, and Sir Gilbert killed the Colonel with his sword. He was declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

, and fled to Holland. Due to lobbying on his behalf during the next year by his friends Lord Minto and Lord Ilay, Eliott received a royal pardon, and returned to Scotland.

Death and legacy

Eliott lived quietly at family seat was at Stobs Castle near Hawick, Roxburghshire, until his death in 1764, aged about 84. He and his wife had 10 sons and one daughter, including *

George Augustus Eliott General George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served as the governor of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1790. Eliott rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he foug ...

, Lord Heathfield, (1717-1790) He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliott, Gilbert 1680s births 1764 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1722–1727 Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Scottish outlaws Recipients of British royal pardons Scottish murderers