James Wilson | |
|---|---|
 A portrait of James Wilson by Sir John Wilson Gordon, published inThe Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843–1993. The portrait was presented to Mrs Wilson in 1859, by theRoyal Scottish Academy. | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 5 January 1853 – 21 February 1858 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Aberdeen The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | George Alexander Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | George Alexander Hamilton |
| Paymaster General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade | |
| In office 18 June 1859 – 12 August 1859 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | Lord Lovaine |
| Succeeded by | Hon. William Cowper |
| Finance Member, Viceroy's Executive Council | |
| In office December 1859 – 11 August 1860 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Governor‑General | Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Sir Samuel Laing |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 June 1805 (1805-06-03) Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland |
| Died | 11 August 1860 (1860-08-12) (aged 55) Calcutta, India |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig Liberal |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Preston |
| Children | 6 |
James Wilson (3 June 1805 – 11 August 1860) was a Scottish businessman, economist, andLiberal politician who foundedThe Economist weekly and theChartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which merged withStandard Bank in 1969 to formStandard Chartered.[1][2][3][4] He was the first Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from December 1859 until his death in August 1860. Sent there to put order into the chaos that followed the "Sepoy Mutiny" of 1857, he presented India's first budget, and was responsible for the government accounting system, Pay Office, and audit, apart from government paper currency, Indian Police, a Military Finance Commission, and a Civil Finance Commission.[5]
Wilson was born inHawick in theScottish Borders. HisQuaker father William Wilson owned a hat manufactury, and his ancestors were local sheep farmers. He was the fourth of fifteen children, of whom ten reached adulthood. His mother died when James was young.[6]
A successful disciplinedautodidact scholar from a Quaker family, he was destined to be aschoolmaster but hated it so much that he "would rather to be the most menial servant in [his] father's mill". After considering studying law with a view to becoming anadvocate, a profession which would have meant abandoning his family religion, Wilson decided instead to learn business, and at the age of sixteen became an apprentice in a hat factory. Later, his father bought the business for him and his elder brother, William. When James Wilson was nineteen, the brothers left Scotland and migrated to London, with a gift of£2,000 each,[7] equivalent to £222,306 in 2023.
The brothers established a manufacturing factory—Wilson, Irwin & Wilson—that they dissolved in 1831. Wilson continued in the same line of business with much success (hisnet worth was £25,000 in 1837, equivalent to £2,869,419 in 2023. During the economic crisis of 1837, he lost most of his wealth when the price ofindigo fell. By 1839, he had sold most of his property and avoided bankruptcy. However, in 1853 he founded theChartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which later merged with theStandard Bank to formStandard Chartered Bank in 1969.[5]
Wilson was generally opposed to privileging theChurch of England, thesecret ballot when it was proposed in 1853, and theCorn Laws. He wrote apamphlet titledInfluences of the Corn Laws, as affecting all classes of the community, and particularly thelanded interests. It slowly received positive feedback and Wilson's fame had grown. He then went on writing on currency, and especiallyThe Revenue; or, What should the Chancellor do?. He started to write for newspapers, including theManchester Guardian. In 1843 he establishedThe Economist as a newspaper to campaign forfree trade, and acted as Chief editor and sole proprietor for sixteen years. His overarching goal to end vested interests in the Westminster parliament wherever these led to poverty or starvation, as the Corn Laws most notably had done. An article Wilson published in April 1848 in opposition to theTen Hours Bill[8] was criticised byKarl Marx[9] for misunderstanding profit and the working day.The Economist is still published today, now with a weekly circulation of over 1.6 million globally.[10] Wilson was the most respected statistician of his times and saw economics as an optimistic and rational way of mediating socially sustainable futures drawing on the Scottish School ofAdam Smith and the French "Entrepreneur" School ofJean-Baptiste Say.[citation needed]
Wilson entered theHouse of Commons asLiberal Member of Parliament forWestbury, Wiltshire, in 1847.[11] Due to his economic experience, in 1848, prime ministerLord John Russell appointed Wilson asSecretary of the Board of Control, which supervised theEast India Company's control ofBritish India, a post he held until the government fell in 1852. He then served asFinancial Secretary to the Treasury between 1853 and 1858, firstly inLord Aberdeen'scoalition government and secondly inLord Palmerston'sfirst administration.[citation needed] In 1857, he was returned to Parliament forDevonport.[12] He again briefly held office under Palmerston asPaymaster General andVice-President of the Board of Trade between June and August 1859, and was sworn of thePrivy Council the same year.[13]
In August 1859, Wilson resigned these offices and his seat in parliament to sit as the financial member of theCouncil of India. He was sent by Queen Victoria to India to establish the tax structure, a new paper currency, and remodel India's finance system after theRebellion of 1857. However, he was in office only a year before he died. In 1860, he refused to leave the stifling summer heat ofCalcutta, contracteddysentery, and died in August of that year at age 55.[2]
Despite his prominent public role, Wilson was buried unknown at a cemetery atMullick Bazar inKolkata. His grave was discovered in 2007 by CP Bhatia, a joint commissioner of Income Tax, while researching a book onIndia's tax history. Due to the efforts of CP Bhatia the tombstone was restored by the Christian Burial Board.[14][15]
Wilson married Elizabeth Preston ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne in January 1832. They had six daughters, of whom Eliza, the eldest, marriedWalter Bagehot.[16]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWestbury 1847–1857 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDevonport 1857–1859 With:Thomas Erskine Perry 1857–1859 Sir Michael Seymour 1859 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Joint Secretary of the Board of Control 1848–1852 With:Thomas Wyse 1848–1849 Hon. John Elliot 1849–1852 | Succeeded by Henry Baillie Charles Bruce |
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1853–1858 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1859 | Succeeded by |
| Vice-President of the Board of Trade 1859 | ||
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