Hugh Watt was a Scottish merchant and Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. His career ended in scandal and imprisonment.

Early life

Watt was the only son of John Watt, Sheriff of Ayrshire and his wife Jane Baird. He was educated at Kilmarnock Academy

Kilmarnock Academy

Kilmarnock Academy is a comprehensive school, one of several in Kilmarnock, a town in western Scotland. It can trace its history back to the local burgh school founded in the 1630s and the first school to bear the name was established in 1807...

 and at the University of Geneva

University of Geneva

The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...

. He was a merchant in London, Liverpool, and Glasgow and chairman of Maxim-Weston Electric Co. and the New Chile Mining Co. He was the author of " Lectures on Practical Electricity."

Political career

At the 1885 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

 Watt was elected as the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for the newly-created Camlachie division

Glasgow Camlachie (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Camlachie was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1955.It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...

 of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and was re-elected in 1886

United Kingdom general election, 1886

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

. Watt became party to several legal battles. In June 1888, he was suing a fellow MP, Charles Cameron

Sir Charles Cameron, 1st Baronet

Sir Charles Cameron, 1st Baronet was a Scottish doctor, newspaper editor and an advanced Liberal politician....

, who represented Glasgow College

Glasgow College (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow College was a parliamentary constituency in Glasgow. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the plurality voting system.-History:...

. Cameron had claimed in his newspaper North British Daily Mail that an address given by Watt was plagiarism. In July 1892, Watt was forced to pay damages after losing a libel action. Watt's biggest legal entanglement concerned his marriage and acrimonious divorce.

At the general election in July 1892

United Kingdom general election, 1892

The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...

, he stood again for re-election, this time as an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Liberal, but came a poor fourth with only 179 votes (2.3% of the total).

Personal life

Watt married Julia Welstead of Home Place, near Battle, Sussex in 1880. She petitioned for divorce in May 1896 on the grounds of Watt's adultery and cruelty. In May 1901, Watt was named as co-respondent in a divorce action brought by Sir Reginald Proctor-Beauchamp, 5th baronet

Proctor-Beauchamp Baronets

The Beauchamp-Proctor, later Proctor-Beauchamp Baronetcy, of Langley Park in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 20 February 1745 for the twenty-two-year-old William Beauchamp-Proctor, subsequently Member of Parliament for Middlesex...

, against his wife, Lady Violet Proctor-Beauchamp, daughter of the 5th Earl of Roden

Earl of Roden

Earl of Roden is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1771 for Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Viscount Jocelyn. This branch of the Jocelyn family descends from the 1st Viscount, prominent Irish lawyer and politician Robert Jocelyn, the son of Thomas Jocelyn, third son of Sir Robert Jocelyn,...

. After Sir Reginald obtained his divorce, Watt's wife also obtained a divorce from Watt. In August 1905 Watt was arrested on a charge of attempting to procure the murder of his first wife. He was found guilty on 21 December 1905, and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. He served only one year and was released on 10 December 1906. Watt and Lady Violet Proctor-Beauchamp were married shortly after his release.

Watt died at the age of 72.

External links