William James (Carlisle MP)

James was born in Liverpool, to a family enriched by his grandfather William James (1735–1798), a slave trader, plantation owner and slave owner. He was baptised at a Paradise Street Unitarian Chapel in Liverpool, but later practised as an Anglican. He was educated at Eton and Jesus College, Cambridge, then Trinity College, Cambridge. When his grandfather died in 1798, the Clifton Hill Plantation at Saint Thomas-in-the-East, Jamaica was placed in a trust which passed to young William in 1817. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery throughout the British Empire, but paid compensation to slave-owners for the loss of their property. The £20 million total cost amounted to 40% of the United Kingdom's annual budget. James was awarded £4,713 14 shillings and 9 pennies (equivalent to £ in ). == Career ==

At the general election in March 1820, James was persuaded by the lesser tradesmen of Carlisle to stand for the borough of Carlisle. He polled poorly on the first day, and withdrew. At the 1835 general election, James stood down in Carlisle. In 1836, he was elected unopposed in a by-election for East Cumberland. He was returned again in contested elections in 1837 and 1841, but stood down at the 1847 general election when he decided that a contest would be too expensive. ==Personal life==

In 1815, James bought Barrock Lodge near Carlisle in Cumberland, a former country estate of the 3rd Duke of Portland. In 1816, he married Frances "Fanny" Rutson, the daughter of William Calton Rutson of Allerton Lodge, a Liverpool cotton broker. They had ten sons and three daughters, but seven of the thirteen children died before their parents. James died at Barrock Lodge on 4 May 1861. Fanny had died ten months earlier, on 6 July 1860. He was succeeded in Barrock Lodge by his eldest son, William Edward James, also High Sheriff of Cumberland. == See also ==