Eugene Wason

Eugene Wason (26 January 1846 – 19 April 1927) was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in three periods between 1885 and 1918.

Harris related that the story always told about Eugene was that if he stepped on a weighing machine the hands would go on until they could no farther as he topped the maximum 20 stone mark on the dial.

Not surprisingly, according to Harris, Eugene was fond of his food and wine,[6]) although he was also a keen sportsman listing his recreations in Who's Who in his younger days as football, shooting, rowing, and fishing although in later life these pursuits turned into reading, bridge, backgammon, and the card game picquet.

Wason was selected as Liberal candidate and fighting the by-election against the background of the war in South Africa he managed to hold the seat, beating his Conservative opponent George Younger[7] albeit by a marginally reduced majority of 516 – down from 545 at the previous general election.

[9] After his by-election victory, Wason retained his Clackmannan and Kinross seat at the 1900 general election in a straight fight with the Conservatives by a majority of 351.

[16] According to another source the delegation saw the prime minister again on 6 May 1912 and, while agreeing there was no groundswell of opinion in Scotland for home rule, there was 'concern and disgruntlement at the general neglect of Scottish affairs' and they told Asquith they were worried this might escalate if not dealt with through an element of devolution.

[4] He was said to be a frequent speaker in the House of Commons (unlike his brother Cathcart) and usually gave expression to advanced radical views.

At the general elections of 1923 and 1924 in Wason's home area of South Ayrshire no Liberal candidate could be persuaded to stand, leaving a straight fight between Labour and Conservative parties.

[20] Faced with this choice at a time of polarisation in British politics, with Liberalism at a low ebb in Ayrshire,[21] Wason supported the Conservative.

[3] Wason enjoyed foreign travel throughout his life and twice went round the world; in 1886–87 by India, China, Japan, San Francisco, and America, and in 1896–97 by Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Vancouver, and Canada.

In the summer of 1914, Wason was on holiday in the Spa resort of Marienbad (now called Mariánské Lázně) in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Imperial province of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).

He was detained there as an enemy alien until September when he was allowed to travel to neutral Switzerland along with 200 other British subjects who had been taking the waters there and at the other nearby Spa town of Karlsbad (now called Karlovy Vary).

The guests had to make do with what The Times newspaper report of the event described as 'an Italian dish' (otherwise unspecified) but which was properly piped in by the bagpipes.