country and cause of reform first" he is credited with 20 recorded contributions in Parliament during his terms of office. It is said that while in Parliament, Oswald "seldom troubled the House unless he had something particular to say". On 20 February 1833, Oswald was appointed with Sir Robert Peel and others to a parliamentary select committee to classify and prepare abstracts for petitions presented to the house. In February the following year, he was appointed to another select committee to scrutinise the education, practice and usage of the medical profession in the United Kingdom. Oswald is described variously as a Liberal or Whig. In 1835, he was appointed to the acting committee for the management of the affairs of the Radical Whig Association, formed to protect the interests during a surge in conservative activity. On 16 February 1841 he was appointed to a select committee to investigate the laws concerning the exportation of machinery. He remained in Parliament until 29 July 1847. Oswald died on 3 June 1853 at Edinburgh. He was buried at Glasgow Cathedral. Artistic recognition In 1856, friends and admirers of Oswald commissioned a statue by Baron Marochetti. Originally erected in Sandyford Place, off Sauchiehall Street, it was moved to the north-east corner of George Square in 1875, after the council were petitioned by his great-nephew, Richard Alexander Oswald. It had long been felt by Oswald's friends and family that he should be accorded the same honour as his political opponent Robert Peel, whose monument had been erected in George Square in 1859. He was also sculpted by James Fillans. References External links 1779 births 1853 deaths Scottish merchants 19th-century Scottish people Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies