William Morland
William Morland (1739–1815) was an English banker and politician, Member of Parliament for Taunton from 1796 to 1806.[1]
Life[edit]
Morland formed a bank in 1786 with Griffin Ransom II and Thomas Hammersley; it had London premises at 57 Pall Mall, and traded as Ransom, Morland & Hammersley.[2] George Kinnaird, 7th Lord Kinnaird married Elizabeth Ransom, daughter of the banker Griffin Ransom I, who died 5 January 1784.[3] Lord Kinnaird was also a partner in the bank, though it never traded using his name.[1]
In politics[edit]
The bank became closely involved in the financial affairs of the Prince of Wales. Morland had a role in the Duchy of Cornwall in 1789–90. In the 1790 general election he stood for the first time as a parliamentary candidate in the two-seat Taunton constituency, as partner to John Halliday; Ginter suggests that by then he had had some contact with the political manager William Adam of Blair Adam. Morland and Halliday were unsuccessful in the poll.[1][4]
By 1796, the situation at Taunton was changed by the withdrawal of the sitting Pittite, Alexander Popham. Morland, standing as a Whig, was able to discourage Walter Boyd, another Pittite, from making a serious bid to replace Popham. The election was not contested, and Morland was elected with Sir Benjamin Hammet.[5]
Morland supported the second Pitt administration and opposed the Ministry of All the Talents.[1] The latter took steps in 1806 to exploit resentments in Taunton about process in the 1802 election, and Morland lost his seat to Alexander Baring, prompted by Lord Henry Petty.[1][5]
Banking[edit]
Morland was involved in the setting up at the end of 1801 of the Dundee New Bank, in which Lord Kinnard and John Baxter of Idvies were the major players.[1][6]
Family[edit]
Morland married in 1762 Mary Ann Mills, daughter of Austin Mills of Greenwich. They had one daughter Hannah, or Harriet, who married in 1785 Scrope Bernard.[1][7]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g "Morland, William (1739-1815), of 56 Pall Mall, Mdx. and Lee House, Kent. History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
- ^ Orbell, John (5 July 2017). British Banking: A Guide to Historical Records. Taylor & Francis. p. 456. ISBN 978-1-351-95468-6.
- ^ "Deaths". The Scots Magazine. 1 January 1784. p. 57.
- ^ Ginter, Donald E. (1967). Whig Organization in the General Election of 1790: Selections from the Blair Adam Papers. University of California Press. p. 147.
- ^ a b "Taunton 1790-1820, History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
- ^ Thomson, James (1874). The History of Dundee. p. 352.
- ^ Cokayne, George Edward (1 January 1900). Complete Baronetage. Vol. V. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 151.