James Oswald (2 May 1779 – 3 June 1853) was a Scottish merchant and Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow. Early life James Oswald was born on 2 May 1779, the fifth child and second son of Alexander Oswald of Shieldhall, Glasgow, and Margaret Dundas, and was the grand-nephew of slave-trader Richard Oswald. He was the paternal first cousin of Richard Alexander Oswald and paternal uncle of Alexander Haldane Oswald, both Members of Parliament. On the death of Richard in 1841, James Oswald succeeded to the family estate at Auchincruive, and the estates of Cavens and Preston in Kirkcudbright, by deed of Entail (Fee tail) specified by Richard Oswald. Career Shortly after the founding of the Glasgow Bank by Alexander Dennistoun in 1809, Oswald joined other influential merchants there. Oswald's older brother, Richard Alexander Oswald was also a merchant in Glasgow and together they owned a mill in Barrowfield. In 1812, they formed Oswald, Stevenson & Co., a company formed for mercantile transactions in cottons and yarns, with Nathaniel Stevenson and his brother James. On the death of Richard Alexander Oswald in 1821, James Stevenson took control of the cotton branch while Oswald remained in partnership with Nathaniel for a further nearly 40 years, with Nathaniel's son, James "Croesus" Stevenson, taking over in 1843. Oswald retired from the company, which operated in Glasgow and Manchester, on 31 December 1848. Another of Oswald's business ventures was a company called Oswald, Tennant & Co., which went into bankruptcy due to a "trail of rapid commercial misfortunes connected with India". It is not clear when this occurred, but the company was still trading in 1837 In 1828 James Oswald was on the Committee of the Trustees for the Parish of Govan Prior to becoming an M.P., Oswald commanded the Glasgow squadron of mounted Yeomanry. James Oswald was Liberal Member of Parliament for Glasgow from 10 December 1832 until 26 May 1837, when he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. Oswald returned to Parliament upon the death of Lord William Bentinck on 24 June 1839, when he stood against Feargus O’Connor, a well known Chartist. Oswald was one of the leading supporters of the movement that led to the Reform Act 1832. and one of the first M.P.'s for Glasgow to be elected by manhood suffrage. Described as a "powerful orator", and a "steady, consistent, honourable man" who claimed to "always put the interests of my