John McDonald Henderson
Encyclopedia
John McDonald Henderson (1846 – 20 November 1922) was a Scottish chartered accountant
, barrister
and Liberal
Member of Parliament.
. He was educated at Gordon’s College and at Marischal College
, both in Aberdeen. In 1872 he married Kate Mary, daughter of Thomas Francis Robins. They had one son and a daughter.
and Edwardian period, favouring a more positive attitude towards the development of the British Empire
and Imperialism
and ending the primacy of the party’s commitment to Irish Home Rule. In domestic affairs they advocated the concept of ‘national efficiency.’ This policy was never definitively set out, but the implication in the speeches of its leading lights was that the Liberal Party in government should take action to improve the social conditions, the education and welfare of the population, as well as to reform aspects of the administration of government so as to maintain British economic, industrial and military competitiveness.
Henderson duly held the seat by 5,949 votes to the 2,791 polled by his Unionist
opponent R McNeill, a majority of 3,158. Henderson held his seat against a new Tory
opponent in January 1910, defeating Mr. G Smith by 5,901 votes to 3,194 a majority of 2,707. Henderson’s majority again decreased at the December 1910 general election. Again facing Smith for the Unionists, Henderson won by 5,415 votes to 3,232 a reduced majority of 2,183 but still comfortably ahead.
who was at the time Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Lord Aberdeen wrote to Henderson saying he felt fears about the consequences of Home Rule were baseless , especially apprehensions concerning religious intolerance and that Henderson could quote this opinion during the election. While The Times
newspaper reported that Lord Aberdeen was not taken very seriously in Ireland, his remarks nevertheless gave offence to Unionists
there, as the Lord-Lieutenant was supposed to stay above party politics. The question of the Lord-Lieutenant’s alleged interference in politics then became the issue. It was rumoured Aberdeen was about to resign but this was denied. The controversy later rumbled into 1911 with the matter being taken up by the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges. Lord Aberdeen tried to smooth the waters by explaining that he had written to Henderson in his capacity as Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire. But this back-fired and in a fuller explanation later he had to clarify that in sending his letters to Henderson he had never meant to use the authority of the Lord-Lieutenancy of Aberdeenshire to influence voters in the general election. No doubt sensing that times were moving on, the Committee of Privileges concluded that Lord Aberdeen had not committed any breach of privilege of the House of Commons.
. However Henderson sought and won the Liberal nomination for the new seat of Central Aberdeenshire
. He fought the election against Alexander Theodore Gordon
who stood as a Coalition Conservative, that is a supporter of the Coalition government
of David Lloyd George
and who presumably received the Coalition coupon
. Henderson lost by 638 votes, polling 5,908 votes to Gordon’s 6,546. Even this defeat was not sufficient to force Henderson into retirement however. Early in 1919 Gordon died causing a by-election
in Aberdeenshire Central. It was agreed that Henderson should be the candidate and stand as a full blooded Asquithian Liberal. This posed a difficulty for Lloyd George, who despite his Liberalism was being required to endorse another Conservative candidate against a Liberal who had represented the party in Parliament for 16 years. As a result there was some speculation that Henderson would be asked to stand for the Coalition. Henderson and his local Liberal Association were willing to accept this. Henderson exchanged letters with Freddie Guest the Coalition Liberal Chief Whip
coming to an agreement to give overall support to the government but the Aberdeenshire Tories would not adopt Henderson as the Coalition candidate and chose their own man, L F W Davidson. In the end Henderson decided not to contest the by-election and stood down in favour of his Liberal colleague Murdoch McKenzie Wood
who won the by-election with a majority of 186 votes in a three-cornered contest with the Unionists and Labour
.
for the County of Suffolk
, where he had a home in Felixstowe
. He was also JP for the County of Surrey
where he had a home.
on 20 November 1922 in Aberdeen aged 76. He was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery
in Surrey
, near his London home in Wimbledon
.
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
, barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
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...
Member of Parliament.
Education and family
Henderson was a native of the city of AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. He was educated at Gordon’s College and at Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...
, both in Aberdeen. In 1872 he married Kate Mary, daughter of Thomas Francis Robins. They had one son and a daughter.
Career
Henderson qualified as a chartered accountant. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He appeared in court often, regularly being appointed a trustee for bankrupt companies and this perhaps encouraged him to go in for the law as well. He was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1897. He also had business interests, being a director of Thomas Bolton and Son Ltd, brass and copper manufacturers, the Lancashire United Tramways Company and other firms.Liberal Imperialist
Henderson was a member of the Imperial Liberal Council. The Liberal Imperialists were a centrist faction within the Liberal Party in the late VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian period, favouring a more positive attitude towards the development of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and Imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and ending the primacy of the party’s commitment to Irish Home Rule. In domestic affairs they advocated the concept of ‘national efficiency.’ This policy was never definitively set out, but the implication in the speeches of its leading lights was that the Liberal Party in government should take action to improve the social conditions, the education and welfare of the population, as well as to reform aspects of the administration of government so as to maintain British economic, industrial and military competitiveness.
Member of Parliament
In 1905, the sitting MP for Aberdeenshire West, Dr. Robert Farquharson, decided to stand down at the next election and Henderson was selected in his place. At the 1906 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
Henderson duly held the seat by 5,949 votes to the 2,791 polled by his Unionist
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
opponent R McNeill, a majority of 3,158. Henderson held his seat against a new Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
opponent in January 1910, defeating Mr. G Smith by 5,901 votes to 3,194 a majority of 2,707. Henderson’s majority again decreased at the December 1910 general election. Again facing Smith for the Unionists, Henderson won by 5,415 votes to 3,232 a reduced majority of 2,183 but still comfortably ahead.
Irish Home Rule controversy
During the December 1910 general election, Henderson was unwittingly caught up in a row over Irish Home Rule. He received a letter from Lord AberdeenJohn Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , known as The Earl of Aberdeen from 1870 to 1916, was a Scottish politician...
who was at the time Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Lord Aberdeen wrote to Henderson saying he felt fears about the consequences of Home Rule were baseless , especially apprehensions concerning religious intolerance and that Henderson could quote this opinion during the election. While The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper reported that Lord Aberdeen was not taken very seriously in Ireland, his remarks nevertheless gave offence to Unionists
Unionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
there, as the Lord-Lieutenant was supposed to stay above party politics. The question of the Lord-Lieutenant’s alleged interference in politics then became the issue. It was rumoured Aberdeen was about to resign but this was denied. The controversy later rumbled into 1911 with the matter being taken up by the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges. Lord Aberdeen tried to smooth the waters by explaining that he had written to Henderson in his capacity as Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire. But this back-fired and in a fuller explanation later he had to clarify that in sending his letters to Henderson he had never meant to use the authority of the Lord-Lieutenancy of Aberdeenshire to influence voters in the general election. No doubt sensing that times were moving on, the Committee of Privileges concluded that Lord Aberdeen had not committed any breach of privilege of the House of Commons.
1918-1919
Although he was by now over 70 years old, Henderson apparently had no wish to leave Parliament. His West Aberdeenshire constituency was being abolished in boundary changes for the 1918 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
. However Henderson sought and won the Liberal nomination for the new seat of Central Aberdeenshire
Aberdeen and Kincardine Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen and Kincardine Central, also known as Central Aberdeenshire, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1950...
. He fought the election against Alexander Theodore Gordon
Alexander Theodore Gordon
Alexander Theodore Gordon was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Aberdeen and Kincardine Central in the 1918 General Election, but died two months later....
who stood as a Coalition Conservative, that is a supporter of the Coalition government
Coalition Government 1916-1922
The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...
of David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
and who presumably received the Coalition coupon
Coalition Coupon
The ‘Coalition Coupon’, often referred to as ‘the coupon’, refers to the letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the United Kingdom general election, 1918 endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory in...
. Henderson lost by 638 votes, polling 5,908 votes to Gordon’s 6,546. Even this defeat was not sufficient to force Henderson into retirement however. Early in 1919 Gordon died causing a by-election
Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central by-election, 1919
The Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central on 16 April 1919.-Vacancy:...
in Aberdeenshire Central. It was agreed that Henderson should be the candidate and stand as a full blooded Asquithian Liberal. This posed a difficulty for Lloyd George, who despite his Liberalism was being required to endorse another Conservative candidate against a Liberal who had represented the party in Parliament for 16 years. As a result there was some speculation that Henderson would be asked to stand for the Coalition. Henderson and his local Liberal Association were willing to accept this. Henderson exchanged letters with Freddie Guest the Coalition Liberal Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
coming to an agreement to give overall support to the government but the Aberdeenshire Tories would not adopt Henderson as the Coalition candidate and chose their own man, L F W Davidson. In the end Henderson decided not to contest the by-election and stood down in favour of his Liberal colleague Murdoch McKenzie Wood
Murdoch McKenzie Wood
Major Sir Murdoch McKenzie Wood OBE, DL was a Scottish Liberal politician.The second son of James Wood of Cullen, Banffshire, Wood was educated at Edinburgh University...
who won the by-election with a majority of 186 votes in a three-cornered contest with the Unionists and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Appointments
In 1911, Henderson was appointed as a Justice of the PeaceJustice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for the County of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, where he had a home in Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
. He was also JP for the County of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
where he had a home.
Death
Henderson died from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 20 November 1922 in Aberdeen aged 76. He was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in London is surrounded by Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, and is located within forty-seven acres of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, near his London home in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
.