- William Gerard Hamilton
William Gerard Hamilton (
January 28 ,1729 –July 16 ,1796 ), Englishstatesman , popularly known as "Single Speech Hamilton," was born inLondon , the son of a Scottish bencher ofLincoln's Inn .He was educated at Winchester and at
Oriel College, Oxford . Inheriting his father's fortune he entered political life and became MP for Petersfield inHampshire . Hismaiden speech , delivered onNovember 13 ,1755 , during the debate on the address, which excited Walpole's admiration, is generally supposed to have been his only effort in the House of Commons. But the nickname "Single Speech" is undoubtedly misleading, and Hamilton is known to have spoken with success on other occasions, both in the House of Commons and in the Irish parliament.In 1756 he was appointed one of the commissioners for trade and plantations, and in 1761 he became chief secretary to Lord Halifax, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , as well as MP of theIrish House of Commons for Killybegs and English MP for Pontefract. He wasIrish Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1763, and subsequently filled various other administrative offices. Hamilton was thought very highly of byDr Johnson , and it is certain that he was strongly opposed to the British taxation of America. He died inLondon on the 16th of July 1796, and was buried in the chancel vault ofSt Martins-in-the-Fields .Two of his speeches in the
Irish House of Commons , and some other miscellaneous works, were published after his death under the title "Parliamentary Logick".----
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