Charles Lacaita

Charles Carmichael Lacaita (1853 – 17 July 1933) was a British botanist and Liberal politician.

Lacaita was the only son of Sir James Philip Lacaita and his wife Maria Clavering Gibson-Carmichael daughter of Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1879. He was Assistant Private Secretary to Earl Granville in 1885.[1]

At the 1885 general election, Lacaita was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee.[2] He was re-elected in 1886,[3] and resigned his seat on 7 February 1888 by the procedural device of accepting the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.[4] His resignation was reported by The Glasgow Herald to be due to "his strong disapproval of the procedure adopted by the Gladstone Liberals in their Home Rule policy" and reportedly angered Liberal supporters in Dundee.[5] He had written to Ex-Bailie John Robertson, the Chairman of the Dundee Liberal's on 25 November 1887 intimating his intention to resign owing to his objection to what he saw as some Liberals practically encouraging Irish Nationalists pursuing "obstruction in parliament" and "violent agitation and lawlessness in Ireland". He indicated that this meant he could no longer guarantee to support William Gladstone and the Liberal Party in parliament, and as he believed that the majority in Dundee did support Gladstone he felt he should resign.[6]

Lacaita was a botanist of note. He lived at Horsley near Leatherhead and later at Selham, West Sussex.[7] Lacaita died at the age of 80. Lacaita married Mary Annabel Doyle, daughter of Sir Francis Hastings Doyle. Lacaita had nineteen plant species named after him.

References
  1. Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
  2. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 495. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  3. "No. 25609". The London Gazette. 20 July 1886. p. 3504.
  4. Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  5. "Election News. Result of the Polling at Dundee". The Glasgow Herald. 17 February 1888. p. 8. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  6. "Resignation of Mr Lacaita MP for Dundee. Differences on the Home Rule Question". The Glasgow Herald. 28 November 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. New York Times Digging for Darwin 15 May 2009
  8. IPNI.  Lacaita.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
George Armitstead
Edmund Robertson		 Member of Parliament for Dundee
1885 – 1888
With: Edmund Robertson		 Succeeded by
Joseph Firth
Edmund Robertson


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