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Alexander William Charles Murray of Elibank

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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"ALEXANDER WILLIAM CHARLES [[Oliphant Murray MURRAY OF ELIBANK, 1st Baron]] (1870-1920), British politician, known until 1912 as the Master of Elibank, was born at Elibank, Selkirk, April 12 1870, the eldest son of the first Viscount and tenth Baron Elibank (b. 1840). He was educated at Cheltenham, and in 1892 entered the Colonial Office. From 1893 to 1894 he was secretary to the governor of the Leeward Islands. In 1900 he was elected Liberal member for Midlothian, and in 1905 entered the Government as Comptroller of the Household and Scottish Liberal Whip. In 1909 he became UnderSecretary for India, and in 1910 parliamentary secretary to the Treasury and chief Liberal Whip, in which position he remained until 1 9 12. In 1 9 06 he retired from his Midlothian seat, and till 191o represented Peebles and Selkirk. In this year he again stood for Midlothian, holding the seat till 1912. As Whip the Master of Elibank earned high praise for his energy and tact; but he was somewhat unfortunately mixed up with the " Marconi Scandal " in connexion with Mr. Lloyd George and Sir Rufus Isaacs, as having invested part of the Liberal Party funds in American Marconi shares in which he, with them, was speculating - a transaction hotly debated in Parliament in 1913. On his retirement from the office of Whip in 1912 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Murray of Elibank, and entered the firm of Messrs. S. Pearson & Co. as a partner, shortly afterwards proceeding to South America on business connected with negotiations for the granting of oil concessions in Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica. On Lord Murray's return to England in 1914 he found it necessary to make a statement in the House of Lords with reference to the part he had played in the Marconi episode, and a select committee, appointed to inquire into his action in the matter, reported that he had acted " without sufficient thought," but acquitted him of "dishonourable conduct." In 1915 Lord Murray became for a short time honorary director of recruiting for munitions work. He died at Elibank, Selkirk, Sept. 13 1920, the barony becoming extinct.