Hume, Joseph

1777-1855

Joseph Hume was born in Montrose. After a medical training at Edinburgh University he became an assistant surgeon in the East India Company in 1797. His proficiency for language enabled him to become very wealthy during his service in India. After the end of the Mahratta war Joseph removed to England and was influenced by the political philosophy of James Mill and Jeremy Bentham. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Weymouth constituency in 1812 and then for a variety of constituencies in Scotland, England and Ireland from 1818-55. At the start of his political career he held Tory principals. However his political persuasion became more and more liberal and radical. He was a proponent of Catholic Emancipation, the extension of voting rights, the promotion of savings banks and free trade. He also actively campaigned for the abolition of corporal punishment in the armed forces, press-ganging in the Navy and custodial sentences for those in debt.

Further reading: Huch, R.K., and Ziegler, P.R., Joseph Hume, the people's M.P., (Philadelphia, 1985)

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