# Haddington Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Haddington Burghs was a Scottish district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain (at Westminster) from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (also at Westminster) from 1801 until 1885. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

## Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituencies of Haddington, Dunbar, Jedburgh, Lauder and North Berwick

## Boundaries

The constituency consisted of the Haddingtonshire burghs of Haddington, Dunbar, and North Berwick, the Berwickshire burgh of Lauder, and the Roxburghshire burgh of Jedburgh.

## History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished for the 1885 general election.
In 1885, Haddington, Dunbar, and North Berwick were merged into the county constituency of Haddingtonshire, Lauder was merged into the county constituency of Berwickshire, and Jedburgh was merged into the county constituency of Roxburghshire.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Member | Party |
| 1708 | Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet | |
| 1722 | Sir James Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet | |
| 1734 | James Fall | |
| 1742 | Sir Hew Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet | |
| 1747 | Andrew Fletcher | |
| 1761 | Sir Hew Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet | |
| 1768 | Patrick Warrender | |
| 1774 | John Maitland | |
| 1780 | Francis Charteris | |
| 1787 | William Fullarton | |
| 1790 | Thomas Maitland | |
| 1796 | Robert Baird | |
| 1802 | Thomas Maitland | |
| 1805 | Sir John Hamilton-Dalrymple, 5th Baronet | |
| 1806 | Henry Erskine | Whig |
| 1806 | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne | Whig |
| 1807 | Sir George Warrender, 4th Baronet | |
| 1812 | Thomas Maitland | |
| 1813 | Anthony Maitland | |
| 1818 | Dudley North | Whig |
| 1820 | Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, 4th Baronet | |
| 1826 | Sir Adolphus Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet | Tory |
| May 1831 | Robert Steuart | Whig (Unseated on petition) |
| August 1831 | Sir Adolphus Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet | Tory |
| 1832 | Robert Steuart | Whig |
| 1841 | James Maitland Balfour | Conservative |
| 1847 | Sir Henry Ferguson Davie | Whig |
| 1859 | Sir Henry Ferguson Davie | Liberal |
| 1878 | Lord William Hay | Liberal |
| 1879 | Sir David Wedderburn, 3rd Baronet | Liberal |
| 1882 | Alexander Craig Sellar | Liberal |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Adolphus Dalrymple | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 99 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1831: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | 3 | 60.0 |
| | Tory | Adolphus Dalrymple | 2 | 40.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1 | 20.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5 | c. 5.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 99 | |
| | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory |
* On petition, Steuart was unseated in favour of Dalrymple
General election 1832: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 545 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1835: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 601 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
Steuart was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 2 May 1835: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1837: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | 268 | 53.1 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Buchan-Hepburn | 237 | 46.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 31 | 6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 505 | 79.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 635 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Maitland Balfour | 273 | 50.8 | +3.9 |
| | Whig | Robert Steuart | 264 | 49.2 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9 | 1.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 537 | 82.6 | +3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 650 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +3.9 | |
General election 1847: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 775 | | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Ferguson Davie | 312 | 62.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Archibald Campbell Swinton | 185 | 37.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 127 | 25.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 497 | 77.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 642 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1857: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 741 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1859: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 657 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 698 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1868: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,477 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Ferguson Davie | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,753 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
Davie resigned, causing a by-election.
1878 Haddington Burghs by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Hay | 881 | 57.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Grant-Suttie | 651 | 42.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 230 | 15.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,532 | 83.3 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,840 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
Hay succeeded to the peerage, becoming the 10th Marquess of Tweeddale.
1879 Haddington Burghs by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | David Wedderburn | 921 | 56.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative | John Macdonald | 723 | 44.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 198 | 12.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,644 | 89.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,846 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | David Wedderburn | 1,019 | 62.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Flower Houston | 607 | 37.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 412 | 25.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,626 | 85.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,896 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
Wedderburn resigned, causing a by-election.
By-election, 24 Aug 1882: Haddington Burghs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Alexander Craig Sellar | 833 | 60.5 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | Walter Scott Seton-Karr | 544 | 39.5 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 289 | 21.0 | −4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,377 | 74.9 | −10.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,839 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.2 | |