David Marshall Mason
David Marshall Mason (7 December 1865 – 19 March 1945) was a Scottish Liberal politician, banker and businessman.
Family and education
Mason was born at Campsie, near
Business interests
Mason went into banking, becoming an Associate of the
Political career
Mason first contested a Parliamentary seat for the Liberals at
Mason tried to return to Parliament at each of the next three general elections for the Romford Division of Essex,[9] and then for Barnstaple in North Devon at the 1929 general election .[10]
Radical, centrist or right-wing?
Described as being on the Radical wing of the Liberal party especially in relation to foreign policy,[11] Mason played a leading role in condemning Italian atrocities in Tripolitania during the war between Italy and Turkey in 1911 and urging British government intervention.[12] Attempting to rally an effective protest Mason said the Italian invasion had provoked an outburst of indignation from the friends of freedom and foes of aggression' in Britain.[13] However another historian has called Mason a 'Liberal Centrist' typical of the sort of candidates being adopted by Liberal Associations in the hope of attracting working class votes whilst maintaining the support of traditional Liberals.[14]
Mason was certainly associated with radical causes. He was a strong proponent of
Mason was an opponent of the Bill introducing conscription in 1916, being one of one 34 Liberal MPs to vote against it.[22] He was also in favour of votes for women and was identified by Sylvia Pankhurst as a fervent supporter of the Suffragette cause inside and outside Parliament.[23]
However it is clear that Mason was far more conservative on issues surrounding the economy. He kept a high political profile during the 1920s with his chairmanship of the Sound Currency Association and many letters to the Times newspaper on various aspects of the economy, trade and foreign policy . He was described as a ‘notorious advocate of a return to the gold standard’.[24] However he may have been moving in that direction far earlier as he was re-elected to Parliament at the 1931 general election as a Liberal candidate in East Edinburgh promising to support National Government of Ramsay MacDonald, the official position of the Liberal Party, and defeating the sitting Labour MP, Drummond Shiels. At this election, the Conservative candidate J Carmont had withdrawn in favour of Mason because he pledged support to the government[25] but the honeymoon with the Unionists did not last and Mason got into trouble with the local Unionist association for voting against the government just a few weeks later.[26] By the time of the 1935 general election he had gone into opposition with his Liberal colleagues, and so faced a Unionist opponent. However the seat was won back by Labour and Mason finished bottom of the poll. That year he joined the Anglo-German Fellowship.[27]
Death
Mason died on 19 March 1945 in a Nursing home in Malvern in Worcestershire,[28] aged 79.
Publications
- Macedonia and Great Britain's Responsibility; T Fisher Unwin, 1903
- Six Years of Politics, 1910–1916; J M Murray, 1917
- National Currency and Finance Reform; Loxley Bros. 1923
- Monetary Policy, 1914–1928; M Hopkinson & Co, 1928
- National Finance and the Future of Gold; National Liberal Club, 1937
- Stabilization of the Currency: its bearing on foreign trade; Industrial Publications, 1937
References
- ^ Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ The Times, 7.12.10
- ^ The Times, 7.12.10
- ^ The Times, 15.12.16
- ^ The Times, 8.11.17
- ^ The Times, 7.5.18
- ^ The Times, 4.12.18
- ^ Roy Douglas, Liberals: The History of the Liberal and Liberal Democrat Parties; Hambledon & London, 2005 p184
- ^ The Times, 15.10.24
- ^ Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ H V Emy, Liberals, Radicals, and Social Politics, 1892–1914; CUP Archive, 1973 p78
- ^ The Times, 21.11.11
- ^ Paul Laity, The British Peace Movement, 1870–1914; Oxford University Press, 2001 p207
- ^ Duncan Tanner, Political Change and the Labour Party 1900–1918; Cambridge University Press, 2003 p183
- ^ The Times, 1.4.12
- ^ The Times, 29.11.13
- ^ The Times, 18.12.13
- ^ Tanner op cit, p183
- ^ The Times, 23.1.14
- ^ The Times, 24.1.14
- ^ Cameron Hazlehurst, Politicians at War – July 1914 to May 1915: A prologue to the triumph of Lloyd George; Jonathan Cape, 1971 pp35-37
- ^ The Times, 7.1.16
- ^ Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst, The Suffragette Movement: An Intimate Account of Persons and Ideals; Lovat Dickson & Thompson, 1935 p.548
- ^ G J De Groot, Liberal Crusader:The Life of Sir Archibald Sinclair ; Hurst & Co, 1993 p.126
- ^ The Times, 16.10.31
- ^ The Times, 24.11.31
- The Manchester Guardian29 November 1935
- ^ The Times, 20.3.45