DOUGLAS, Hon. George (1662-1738), of St. Ola, Orkney.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1722 - 22 Jan. 1730

Family and Education

b. 1662, 4th s. of James Douglas, 10th Earl of Morton [S], by Anne, o. da. of Sir James Hay, 1st Bt., of Smithfield, Peebles. m. (1) a da. of Alexander Muirhead of Linhouse, Edinburgh, 1s. d. young; (2) bef. 1702, Frances, da. of William Adderley of Halstow, Kent, 3s. suc. bro. as 13th Earl of Morton [S] 22 Jan. 1730.

Offices Held

Lt. Ft. Gds. [S] 1685, capt.-lt. 1688; capt. 7 Drags. 1692; lt.-col. of Ft. [S] 1703; maj. 1707; col. of Drags. 1709; ret. 1709; ld. lt. Orkney and Shetland 1725-d.; rep. peer [S] 1730-d.; v.-adm. Scotland 1733-d.

Biography

George Douglas, a professional soldier, who became redundant at the Union, was granted a pension of 10s. a day in 1709,1 the payment of which was not, apparently, maintained. After the Hanoverian succession the grant was renewed to him in January 1717 with effect from 23 Dec. 1710.2 Returned as a Whig for the third time on his family’s interest at Linlithgow Burghs in 1715, he voted with the Administration, except on 4 June 1717, when he voted against them on Lord Cadogan. Three days later he was present at a dinner given by Cadogan’s rival, the Duke of Argyll,3 among whose followers he was classed in 1719. For the 1722 election he moved to Orkney and Shetland, where he was returned, the petition against him making no progress. At the same time he was defeated at Linlithgow Burghs, where he was still pressing a petition in November 1724, six months after his opponent’s death, but withdrew it in March 1725.4 Unopposed in 1727, he vacated his seat on succeeding to the peerage in January 1730, becoming a representative peer the same year, in which capacity he voted with the Government in the South Sea Company debates of May 1733.5 He died 4 Jan. 1738.

Ref Volumes: 1715-1754

Author: R. S. Lea

Notes

  • 1. HMC Portland, x. 449.
  • 2. Cal. Treas. Bks. xxxi. 111-12.
  • 3. More Culloden Pprs. ii. 175.
  • 4. CJ, xx. 31, 336, 451.
  • 5. HMC Carlisle, 118.