Isaac Gascoyne

Isaac Gascoyne (about 1763¹ - 26 August 1841) was a British Tory politician. [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/lcommons3.htm]

In 1779, Gascoyne entered the British Army as an Officer, and the following year, he joined the Coldstream Guards. Gradually rising through the ranks, he was wounded at the Battle of Lincelles in 1793, but continued to hold various posts into the 1810s. [http://www.thepeerage.com/p4739.htm]

In 1796, Gascoyne was elected as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool, succeeding his elder brother, Bamber Gascoyne. While there, he used his position to strongly oppose the abolition of the Slave Trade [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/slavery/eprofits.asp] and the Reform Act, 1832. He also opposed the abolition of bull baiting and Catholic emancipation.

In 1811, Gascoyne received a number of petitions from Liverpool resident John Bellingham, calling for him to take up his claim for compensation from the British government for a period of imprisonment he had suffered in Russia. In May 1812, Bellingham entered the chamber of the House of Commons and shot Prime Minister Spencer Perceval dead. Gascoyne was able to recognise Bellingham, providing leads in the immediate aftermath. [http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/perceval.htm]

In 1831, Gascoyne moved a motion opposing a reduction of the seats allocated to England. The Government opposed this, holding that it was necessary to address the over-representation of England. When Gascoyne's motion was carried, the Government called the 1831 general election, in an attempt to gain a clear majority for reform. [http://www.dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/refact/refacttl.htm]

Gascoyne lost his seat in the 1831 election, and died in 1841.

Notes

:¹ His date of birth is often given as 1770, but this is inconsistent with an Army Commission in 1779.

References

:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography