Dumfries Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Dumfries Burghs
Former District of burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire
Major settlements	Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben, Kirkcudbright
1708–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Dumfriesshire Galloway
Created from	Annan Dumfries Kirkcudbright Lochmaben Sanquhar

Dumfries Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP).

Boundaries

The constituency comprised the Dumfriesshire burghs of Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquhar and the Kirkcudbrightshire burgh of Kirkcudbright.

It was abolished for the 1918 general election, when Dumfries, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquar were merged into the county constituency of Dumfriesshire. Kirkcudbright was merged into Galloway.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [1]	Party
	1708	William Johnstone
	1710	John Hutton
	1713	Sir William Johnstone
	1715	Alexander Fergusson
	1722	William Douglas
	1727	Archibald Douglas
	1734	Charles Erskine
	1735	William Kirkpatrick
	1738	Sir Robert Laurie
	1741	Lord John Johnstone
	1743	Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Bt
	1754	Archibald Douglas
	1761	Thomas Miller
	1766	James Montgomery
	1768	William Douglas
	1780	Sir Robert Herries
	1784	Sir James Johnstone, 4th Bt
	1790	Patrick Miller
	1796	Alexander Hope
	1800	William Johnstone Hope
	1802	Charles Hope
	1803	Viscount Stopford
	1806	Henry Erskine
	1807	Sir John Heron-Maxwell
	1812	Lord William Robert Keith Douglas
	1832	Matthew Sharpe	Whig
	1841	William Ewart
	1868	Robert Jardine	Liberal
	1874	Ernest Noel	Liberal
	1886	Sir Robert Reid	Liberal
	1906	John William Gulland	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Elections

General Election 1868: Dumfries District^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Jardine	1,125
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,083

Ernest Noel

General Election 1874: Dumfries District^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,420	56
	Conservative	Morden Carthew Yorstoun	1,122	44
Turnout			2,543

General Election 1880: Dumfries District^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,700	65	+9
	Conservative	W Gordon	872	33	-11
	Conservative	T E D Byrne	54	2	+2
Turnout			2,626	89.6

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885: Dumfries Burghs ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Ernest Noel	1,546	53	-12
	Conservative	Miles Mattinson	1,363	47	+14
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1886: Dumfries Burghs ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,547
	Conservative	Miles Mattinson	1,217
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Dumfries Burghs ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Reid	1,698
	Conservative	Sir Andrew Noel Agnew	1,166
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Sir Robert Reid

General Election 1895: Dumfries Burghs ^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Sir Robert Reid	1,785
	Conservative	William Murray	1,185
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Dumfries Burghs ^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Sir Robert Reid	1,847
	Liberal Unionist	William Murray	1,300
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

John Gulland

General Election 1906: Dumfries Burghs ^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John William Gulland	2,035	59.2
	Conservative	Joseph J. Glover	1,402	40.8
Majority			633	18.4
Turnout			3,437	90.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Dumfries Burghs by-election, 1909^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John William Gulland	1,877	54.2	-5.0
	Conservative	John Bryce Duncan	1,585	45.8	+5.0
Majority			292	8.4	-10.0
Turnout			3,462	86.9	-3.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.0

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Dumfries Burghs ^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John William Gulland	2,303	57.1	+2.9
	Liberal Unionist	John Bryce Duncan	1,730	42.9	-2.9
Majority			573	14.2	+5.8
Turnout				93.6	+6.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.9

General Election December 1910: Dumfries Burghs ^[18][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John William Gulland	2,315
	Liberal Unionist	John Buchanan Pollok-McCall	1,596
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: John William Gulland
• Unionist: Sir Archibald Mclnnes Shaw^[20]

Notes

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)
2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-85, FWS Craig
3. British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-85, FWS Craig
4. "Election Results". The Times. 6 April 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
5. British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-85, FWS Craig
6. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
7. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
8. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
9. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
10. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
11. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
12. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
13. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
14. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
15. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
17. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
18. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
19. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
20. Dundee Courier 28 Feb 1914