Peter Alfred Taylor
Encyclopedia
Peter Alfred Taylor was a British politician and radical.
He was the son of another Peter Alfred Taylor, a silk merchant, and the nephew of Samuel Courtauld
. He was educated at a school in Hove
, Sussex
, run by J. P. Malleson, his cousin and the Unitarian
minister for Brighton
. Here he met Clementia Doughty, who he married in 1842.
In the late 1830's he joined the family company of Samuel Courtauld & Co, later becoming a partner. The wealth from the company was what allowed him to develop and fund his radical interests, something which he conducted in concert with his wife.
in 1858 and Leicester
in 1861, he was elected unopposed as a Liberal
MP for Leicester in February 1862. At his election, when his programme included abolition of church rates and separation of church and state, he was attacked as ‘anti-everything’. He was a member of the Emancipation Society, founded in 1862 to promote the cause of the northern states in the American Civil War
. He was a vice-president and one of the few middle-class supporters of the Reform League
, constituted early in 1865 to campaign for manhood suffrage and the ballot, and appeared on league platforms during the parliamentary reform crisis of 1866–7. He attempted to achieve unity with the National Reform Union, which sought the more limited aim of household suffrage. With John Stuart Mill
he was a parliamentary spokesman for the Jamaica Committee
, formed in response to Edward John Eyre
's brutal suppression of riots in Jamaica during the Morant Bay rebellion
.
In 1873 ill health forced Taylor to retire from London to Brighton, where he founded clubs for working men, notably the Nineteenth Century Club, a forum for advanced radical and secularist views. He stood down from parliament in June 1884. Taylor died at home on 20 December 1891 and was buried at the extramural cemetery in Brighton on the 23rd.
He was the son of another Peter Alfred Taylor, a silk merchant, and the nephew of Samuel Courtauld
Samuel Courtauld (industrialist)
Samuel Courtauld was an industrialist and Unitarian, chiefly remembered as the driving force behind the rapid growth of the Courtauld textile business in Britain....
. He was educated at a school in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, run by J. P. Malleson, his cousin and the Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister for Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Here he met Clementia Doughty, who he married in 1842.
In the late 1830's he joined the family company of Samuel Courtauld & Co, later becoming a partner. The wealth from the company was what allowed him to develop and fund his radical interests, something which he conducted in concert with his wife.
Parliamentary career
After unsuccessful candidatures at Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle-upon-Tyne (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a borough constituency in the county of Northumberland of the House of Commons of England to 1706 then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...
in 1858 and Leicester
Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)
Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.-History:...
in 1861, he was elected unopposed as a 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...
MP for Leicester in February 1862. At his election, when his programme included abolition of church rates and separation of church and state, he was attacked as ‘anti-everything’. He was a member of the Emancipation Society, founded in 1862 to promote the cause of the northern states in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He was a vice-president and one of the few middle-class supporters of the Reform League
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the successful Reform Act 1867...
, constituted early in 1865 to campaign for manhood suffrage and the ballot, and appeared on league platforms during the parliamentary reform crisis of 1866–7. He attempted to achieve unity with the National Reform Union, which sought the more limited aim of household suffrage. With John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
he was a parliamentary spokesman for the Jamaica Committee
Jamaica Committee
The Jamaica Committee was a group set up in 1866, which called for Edward Eyre, Governor of Jamaica, to be tried for his excesses in suppressing the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865. More radical members of the Committee wanted him tried for the murder of British subjects , under the rule of law...
, formed in response to Edward John Eyre
Edward John Eyre
Edward John Eyre was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica....
's brutal suppression of riots in Jamaica during the Morant Bay rebellion
Morant Bay rebellion
The Morant Bay rebellion began on October 11, 1865, when Paul Bogle led 200 to 300 black men and women into the town of Morant Bay, parish of St. Thomas in the East, Jamaica. The rebellion and its aftermath were a major turning point in Jamaica's history, and also generated a significant political...
.
In 1873 ill health forced Taylor to retire from London to Brighton, where he founded clubs for working men, notably the Nineteenth Century Club, a forum for advanced radical and secularist views. He stood down from parliament in June 1884. Taylor died at home on 20 December 1891 and was buried at the extramural cemetery in Brighton on the 23rd.