Alexander Urquhart (died 1727) [1] [2] was a Scottish officer in the British Army and a Jacobite politician. He sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1715 to 1727, and died bankrupt after his financial speculation failed.
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.
Jacobitism was the name of the political movement in Great Britain and Ireland that aimed to restore the House of Stuart to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The movement was named after Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant changes brought about by the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Urquhart was the oldest son of John Urquhart of Newhall and his wife Jean, daughter of Colin Mackenzie of Redcastle, Ross-shire. He was a brother-in-law Sir Kenneth Mackenzie MP. [3]
Redcastle, historically known as Edirdovar and Ederdour, is a mediaeval castle in Killearnan on the Black Isle, northern Scotland. It is so named from the colour of the stone of which it is built. The castle is now in a state of ruinous disrepair, although it is protected as a category B listed building.
Ross-shire is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire the south, as well as a complex border with Cromartyshire which consists of numerous enclaves and exclaves of the latter scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. It includes most of Ross as well as Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Dingwall is the traditional county town. The area of Ross-shire was based on that of the historic province of Ross, but with the exclusion of the many exclaves that formed Cromartyshire.
Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Baronet was a Scottish politician who served as a shire commissioner for Cromartyshire in the Parliament of Scotland and as one of the first Scottish MPs in the new Parliament of Great Britain.
He had a brief career in the army, being commissioned in 1708 as an ensign in the 15th Foot. He was promoted to the rank of captain in Stanwix's Foot in 1710, and retired on half-pay in 1714. [3]
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank acquired the name. This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant. Ensigns were generally the lowest ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of subaltern existed. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, لواء, liwa', derives from the command of units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a unit's ensign, and is today the equivalent of a major general.
Captain (Capt) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. The rank of captain in the Royal Navy is considerably more senior and the two ranks should not be confused.
He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cromartyshire from 1715 to 1722, [2] and for Ross-shire from 1722 to 1727. [1] He speculated heavily during the South Sea Bubble, and used his parliamentary privilege to shield himself from his creditors. He was forced to waive the immunity, and was successfully sued; he died bankrupt. [3]
Cromartyshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 until 1800, and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.
Ross-shire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.
Parliamentary privilege in the United Kingdom is a legal immunity enjoyed by Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords designed to ensure that Parliamentarians are able to carry out their duties free from interference. The privileges are freedom of speech, freedom from arrest on civil matters, freedom of access to the sovereign and that 'the most favourable construction should be placed on all the Houses's proceedings'. Parliamentary privilege is however something that forms part of the law rather than putting Members of Parliament above the law - for example, these rights and immunities do not extend to crimes unrelated to their office. The doctrine of Parliamentary privilege was unsuccessfully used to try and prevent details of 2010 MPs expenses scandal from emerging. In recent years the doctrine of Parliamentary privilege has made headlines in relation to the arrest of Damian Green and several cases relating to super-injunctions such as RJW & SJW v The Guardian newspaper & Person or Persons Unknown ('Trafigura') and CTB v News Group Newspapers leading to calls to reform the law relating to privilege.
