James Merry
Biography
Became proprietor of his familys West of Scotland coal business in 1836 and then formed a partnership that became Merry & Cunningham. By the end of the decade the firm was the second largest coal company and the third largest iron company in Scotland. Was unsuccessful in his first attempt to seek election to parliament in Glasgow in February 1857, but was elected on a liberal platform for Falkirk, Airdrie, Hamilton, Lanark and Linlithgow Burghs in April 1857 beating the Independent, George Baird, brother of the previous MP for the constituency, James Baird . At the beginning of his political career he was known as an 'advanced liberal' who advocated a substantial extension of the franchise, secret ballots and 'any amount of jews in parliament' However, soon after his election there was an objection put forward that he had tried to bribe electors.The proponents of this objection were William Forbes of Callendar and James Russel of the Clydesdale Bank. Merry lost his seat the following July following an enquiry, but was re-elected to the same seat in 1859. There was one serious effort to unseat him as MP in 1868 when Edward Horsman ,Tory MP for Stroud and accomplished parliamentarian who had fallen out of favour in his own constituency, stood against him. At the election Merry won by a large majority. He served as MP until 1874 when his health began to fail. By the end of his political career he was regarded as a moderate while still maintaining a record for voting for reform and extension of the franchise. Despite his business and political interests Merry was best known as an exceptionally successful racehorse owner and gambler. His horses won the Derby twice, 2000 Guineas twice,St Leger twice and Oaks once. Indeed he won three classics in 1873. He also won the Ascot Gold Cup three times. Among his most famous horses were Thormanby, Doncaster, Marie Stuart and Saunterer. As an indication of this his obituary in the Falkirk Herald of 8 Feb 1877 consisted of less than half a column regarding his political and business career and over two columns on his horse racing interests.
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James Merry
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A1022
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Falkirk Constituency Papers collection
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1857-1882
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A1022.001
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Election Leaflet
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16 Nov 1868
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A1022.002
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Election Leaflet
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(1857)
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A1022.003
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Election Leaflet
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(1868)
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A1022.005
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Election Leaflet
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(1868)
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A1022.001
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Election Leaflet
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16 Nov 1868
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A1022.002
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Election Leaflet
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(1857)
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A1022.003
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Election Leaflet
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(1868)
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(1868)
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Election Leaflet
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Late 19th Century
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