William Atherton

Sir William Atherton QC (October 1806 – 22 January 1864) was a Scottish barrister and Liberal Party politician.

An advanced Liberal who favoured the secret ballot and widening of suffrage, he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1852 to 1864, and was a Law Officer of the Crown for four years.

Early years

Atherton was the only son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, Rev. William Atherton, and his wife Margaret who was a daughter of the Church of Scotland minister Rev. Walter Morison.

Career

He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple and practised on the Northern Circuit, becoming a Queen's Counsel (QC) and a bencher in 1852. While practising below the bar he published 'An Elementary and Practical Treatise on the Commencement of Personal Actions, and the Proceedings therein to Declaration, in the Superior Courts at Westminster. Comprising the Changes effected by the Uniformity of Process Act (2 W. 4. c. 39) and recent Rules of Court.' Lond. 1833. 12mo.

He was elected at the 1852 general election as a Member of Parliament (MP) for City of Durham, and held the seat until his death in 1864.

Atherton was appointed as Solicitor General on 16 December 1859, having previously served as Counsel to the Admiralty and Judge Advocate of the Fleet. He was knighted on 23 February 1860,

and promoted to Attorney General on 9 July 1861.

Having taken an office of profit under the Crown, he was obliged on each occasion to present himself for re-election, and was returned unopposed at by-elections on 9 January 1860 and 8 July 1861. In his acceptance speech in July 1861 he called for greater unity in the Liberal Party, and supported British neutrality in the American Civil War.