Before we leave the guano islands, there’s time for more on the story of Fife guano merchants, Balfour and Williamson. Williamson, from the fishing village of Cellardyke, made his fortune as a merchant in Liverpool where he was known as the Guano King. He later stood for Parliament and was elected for the St Andrews District of Burghs in 1880 - here is his address to the electors, seeking their votes:
All would have been well had he not upset the locals with his views on the disestablishment of the Church of Scotland. A powerful lobby set up a rival candidate for the 1885 election, Sir Robert Anstruther of Balcaskie, who had been an MP but retired due to ill health. He joined the fray, but the election ended in a disputed vote count, with allegations of corruption against Williamson:
Sir Robert won his case and became the MP, but sadly died shortly after.
The local papers had plenty of comment. This cartoon from the East of Fife Record pits Williamson’s supposed humble origins and mercantile background against the elegant suit and noble brow of the landed gentry.
The 19th century sense of humour isn’t quite the same as ours so don’t worry if you don’t get the joke. The hand-written additions are wrong - they were both Liberals.
But Williamson did get a decent write-up on his exit from Parliament from the Fifeshire Journal:
He didn’t stay in private life for long, gaining a seat as MP for Kilmarnock in 1886.
And finally we have a special reason to be fond of Williamson in Special Collections, because in 1894, he donated a wonderful 15th century French gradual to the Library. This is a book of music for church services and was intended to have a group of choristers sing from it, so of course it had to be huge, and ours is. You can learn more about the faces and other fancies hidden in this manuscript on our other blog, Echoes from the Vault.
