Dumfries Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Dumfries Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP).

Dumfries Burghs
Former district of burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire
Major settlements	Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben, Kirkcudbright
1708–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Annan Dumfries Kirkcudbright Lochmaben Sanquhar
Replaced by	Dumfriesshire Galloway

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituencies of Dumfries, Annan, Kirkcudbright Burgh, Lochmaben and Sanquhar.

Boundaries

The constituency comprised the Dumfriesshire burghs of Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquhar and the Kirkcudbrightshire burgh of Kirkcudbright.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished for the 1918 general election.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquar were then merged into the county constituency of Dumfriesshire. Kirkcudbright was merged into Galloway.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1708	William Johnstone
	1710	John Hutton
	1713	Sir William Johnstone
	1715	Alexander Fergusson
	1722	William Douglas
	1727	Archibald Douglas
	1734	Charles Erskine
	1735	William Kirkpatrick
	1738	Sir Robert Laurie
	1741	Lord John Johnstone
	1743	Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Bt
	1754	Archibald Douglas
	1761	Thomas Miller
	1766	James Montgomery
	1768	William Douglas
	1780	Sir Robert Herries
	1784	Sir James Johnstone, 4th Bt
	1790	Patrick Miller
	1796	Alexander Hope
	1800	William Johnstone Hope
	1802	Charles Hope
	1803	James Stopford
	1806	Henry Erskine
	1807	Sir John Heron-Maxwell
	1812	Lord William Douglas	Tory[6][7]
	1832	Matthew Sharpe	Whig[6][8]
	1841	William Ewart	Radical[9][10][11][12][13]
	1859		Liberal
	1868	Robert Jardine	Liberal
	1874	Ernest Noel	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1886	Sir Robert Reid	Liberal
	1906	John Gulland	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Dumfries District^[6][7][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	William Douglas	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 95
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Dumfries District^[6][7][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	William Douglas	3	60.0
	Whig	Matthew Sharpe	2	40.0
Majority			1	20.0
Turnout			5	c. 5.3
Registered electors			c. 95
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Dumfries District^[6][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Matthew Sharpe	488	56.9	+16.9
	Whig	David Hannay	370	43.1	N/A
Majority			118	13.8	N/A
Turnout			858	88.7	c. +83.4
Registered electors			967
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+16.9

General election 1835: Dumfries District^[6][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Matthew Sharpe	422	53.3	−3.6
	Whig	David Hannay	370	46.7	+3.6
Majority			52	6.6	−7.2
Turnout			792	79.3	−9.4
Registered electors			999
	Whig hold		Swing	−3.6

General election 1837: Dumfries District^[6][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Matthew Sharpe	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,050
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Dumfries District^[15][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	402	54.0	N/A
	Whig	Alexander Johnston[16]	342	46.0	N/A
Majority			60	8.0	N/A
Turnout			744	76.2	N/A
Registered electors			977
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1847: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			892
	Radical hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			881
	Radical hold

General election 1857: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	506	73.2	N/A
	Conservative	James Hannay[17]	185	26.8	New
Majority			321	46.4	N/A
Turnout			691	78.3	N/A
Registered electors			882
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ewart	432	51.7	−21.5
	Conservative	George Gustavus Walker[18]	403	48.3	+21.5
Majority			29	3.4	−43.0
Turnout			835	86.4	+8.1
Registered electors			966
	Liberal hold		Swing	−21.5

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ewart	540	58.4	+6.7
	Independent Liberal	John Clark Kennedy[19][20]	384	41.6	New
Majority			156	16.8	+13.4
Turnout			924	82.2	−4.2
Registered electors			1,124
	Liberal hold		Swing	+6.7

General election 1868: Dumfries District^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Jardine	1,125	51.0	−7.4
	Independent Liberal	Ernest Noel[21]	1,083	49.0	+7.4
Majority			42	2.0	−14.8
Turnout			2,208	93.8	+11.6
Registered electors			2,353
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

Noel

General election 1874: Dumfries Burghs^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,420	55.9	+4.9
	Conservative	Morden Carthew Yorstoun	1,122	44.1	New
Majority			298	11.8	+9.8
Turnout			2,542	89.7	−4.1
Registered electors			2,833
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Dumfries Burghs^[15][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,700	64.7	+8.8
	Conservative	William Gordon[23]	872	33.2	−10.9
	Ind. Conservative	Theodore Edgar Dickson Byrne[24][25]	54	2.1	New
Majority			828	31.5	+19.7
Turnout			2,626	89.6	−0.1
Registered electors			2,931
	Liberal hold		Swing	+9.9

General election 1885: Dumfries Burghs ^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,546	53.1	−11.6
	Conservative	Miles Walker Mattinson	1,363	46.9	+13.7
Majority			183	6.2	−25.3
Turnout			2,909	92.4	+2.8
Registered electors			3,147
	Liberal hold		Swing	−12.7

General election 1886: Dumfries Burghs ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,547	56.0	+2.9
	Conservative	Miles Walker Mattinson	1,217	44.0	−2.9
Majority			330	12.0	+5.8
Turnout			2,764	87.8	−4.6
Registered electors			3,147
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Dumfries Burghs ^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,698	59.3	+3.3
	Liberal Unionist	Andrew Agnew	1,166	40.7	−3.3
Majority			532	18.6	+6.6
Turnout			2,864	86.1	−1.7
Registered electors			3,325
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.3

Reid is appointed Solicitor General for Scotland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 1894: Dumfries Burghs^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Reid	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Reid

General election 1895: Dumfries Burghs ^[26][27][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,785	60.1	+0.8
	Conservative	William Murray	1,185	39.9	−0.8
Majority			600	20.2	+1.6
Turnout			2,970	85.9	−0.2
Registered electors			3,456
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.8

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Dumfries Burghs ^[26][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,847	58.7	−1.4
	Liberal Unionist	William Murray	1,300	41.3	+1.4
Majority			547	17.4	−2.8
Turnout			3,147	84.7	−1.2
Registered electors			3,717
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.4

Gulland

General election 1906: Dumfries Burghs ^[26][29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Gulland	2,035	59.2	+0.5
	Conservative	Joseph J. Glover	1,402	40.8	−0.5
Majority			633	18.4	+1.0
Turnout			3,437	90.7	+6.0
Registered electors			3,790
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.5

1909 Dumfries Burghs by-election^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Gulland	1,877	54.2	−5.0
	Conservative	John Bryce Duncan	1,585	45.8	+5.0
Majority			292	8.4	−10.0
Turnout			3,462	86.9	−3.8
Registered electors			3,984
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Dumfries Burghs ^[29][30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Gulland	2,303	57.1	−2.1
	Conservative	John Bryce Duncan	1,730	42.9	+2.1
Majority			573	14.2	−4.2
Turnout			4,033	93.6	+2.9
Registered electors			4,307
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.1

General election December 1910: Dumfries Burghs ^[29][30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Gulland	2,315	59.2	+2.1
	Conservative	John Pollok-McCall	1,596	40.8	−2.1
Majority			719	18.4	+4.2
Turnout			3,911	91.1	−2.5
Registered electors			4,294
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.1

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: John Gulland
• Unionist: Sir Archibald Mclnnes Shaw^[31]

Notes

1. "Dumfries Burghs". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "Dumfries Burghs". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
3. "Dumfries Burghs". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
4. "Dumfries Burghs". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
5. "Dumfries Burghs". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
6. Smith, Henry Stooks (1841). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 199. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
7. Escott, Margaret. "Dumfries Burghs". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
8. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 204. Retrieved 14 August 2019 – via Google Books.
9. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 164. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
10. Boase, George Clement (1889). "Ewart, William" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 18. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
11. Farrell, S. M. (9 January 2014) [2004]. "Ewart, William (1798–1869)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9011.
12. "Leeds Intelligencer". 31 July 1841. p. 7. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Dumfries Burghs". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 7. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980). British Historical Facts 1760-1830. Basingstoke: Palgrave. p. 58. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-06465-3. ISBN 978-1-137-06465-3. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via Google Books.
15. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
16. "Evening Mail". 7 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "The Scotch Elections". Dundee, Perth, and Cupar Advertiser. 20 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Election Intelligence". Glasgow Herald. 18 April 1859. p. 5. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Dumfries". Hamilton Advertiser. 24 June 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "Dumfries". Wexford Independent. 24 June 1865. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "Election News". Liverpool Daily Post. 22 July 1868. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Election Results". The Times. 6 April 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
23. "The General Election". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 April 1880. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "The General Election". Glasgow Herald. 18 March 1880. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
25. "Dumfries Burghs". Ayr Advertiser. 15 January 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
26. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
27. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
28. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
29. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
30. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
31. Dundee Courier 28 Feb 1914