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TAIT, William (d.1800), of Edinburgh.
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Constituency
Dates
Family and Education
2nd s. of Alexander Tait, WS, principal clerk of session and of processes by Janet, da. of William Blair of Blair, Ayr. educ. ?Edinburgh Univ.; L. Inn 1777; adv. 1780. unm. suc. fa. 1781.
Offices Held
Advocate depute 1787-90; sheriff depute, Stirling and Clackmannan 1790.
Biography
Tait, an advocate who acted as confidential agent to Henry Dundas, was chosen by the latter as candidate for the Stirling burghs on a vacancy in 1797, taking them by surprise. In Parliament, where he took his seat on 17 July 1797, he supported Pitt’s administration, voting with them on the assessed taxes, 4 Jan. 1798. No speech is known. He died at Exeter in pursuit of better health, 7 Jan. 1800. Brougham thought him ‘one of the most accomplished lawyers of his time’.
Senators (ser. 1), viii. 171; Gent. Mag. (1800), i. 89; Brougham, Life and Times, i. 232.