[2] He trained in Glasgow as an analytical chemist, then after further study in London worked for a Welsh gold-mining company at Gwynfynydd and Glasdir.
In 1893 he was elected as a representative for Lewis – where he had never visited – on the Ross-shire county council, and appointed Secretary of the Highland Land League.
He was challenged by Dr. Donald Murray of Brora (later to become MP for the Western Isles), who felt that the county should have consulted more widely before selecting a candidate.
At the 1895 general election he was returned with 65% of the vote, a comfortable majority over the Liberal Unionist candidate, though slightly reduced from Sutherland's 72% in 1886 and 17% in 1892.
In the 1900 general election, however, he was defeated by the Liberal Unionist Frederick Leveson-Gower, a relative of the Duke of Sutherland, taking only 38% of the vote.