William
Ewart was
born in Liverpool in 1798. An active
social reformer, Ewart was elected as MP for Bletchingly in 1828.
At first Ewart concentrated on legal reform and played an important
role in the abolition of capital punishment for minor offences.
In the 1840s, Ewart, now MP for Dumfries, turned his attention to
working class education. Ewart joined forces with the MP for Salford,
Joseph Brotherton, and the Chartist,
Edward Edwards, to draft a Public Libraries
Act. Ewart faced considerable hostility from the Conservatives
in the House of Commons. It was argued
that the rate paying middle and upper classes would be paying for
a service that would be mainly used by the working classes. Ewart
was therefore forced to make several changes to his proposed legislation
before Parliament agreed to pass the measure.
The Public Libraries Act became law in
1850. Whereas William Ewart wanted all boroughs to have the power
to finance public libraries, the legislation only applied to those
boroughs with populations of over 10,000. The Borough Councils also
had to obtain the consent of two thirds of the local ratepayers who
voted in a referendum. Other restrictions included that the rate of
no more than a halfpenny in the pound could be levied. Furthermore,
this money could not be used to purchase books.
When Ewart retired in 1868 he had served in the House of Commons for
forty years. William Ewart died in 1869.
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