amassed a large fortune and became proprietor of several important estates. The eldest son was Sir James Maxwell Wallace [see Wallace, Grace, Lady Wallace]. By the father's will Robert Wallace received the estate of Kelly and part of the West Indian property, and was known by the designation of Wallace of Kelly. He was a devoted whig, and, as he was a vigorous orator, his services were often in demand during the reform agitation before 1832. After the passing of the Reform Bill he was the first member of parliament for Greenock under the act, and held that seat continuously till 1846. In parliament his chief efforts were directed towards law reform, especially in the direction of having cheaper and simpler methods for the transfer of heritable property; and, though he did not carry through any measure specially for this purpose, he gave an impetus to reforms of this kind, and suggested plans which have since been adopted. His name is most intimately associated with the reform of the postal service, and with the introduction of the penny post. After repeated applications to parliament he succeeded in having a royal commission appointed in 1836 to report on the state of the posting department. The numerous reports made by the commission fully supported the charges brought against this department, and prepared the way for many reforms. Wallace was chairman of the committee charged with the examination of Rowland Hill's penny postage scheme; and it was by his casting vote that it was decided to recommend this scheme to parliament. He took an active interest in the realisation of cheap postage. In 1846 he became embarrassed financially through the depreciation in value of some of his West Indian estates, and deemed it prudent to resign his seat in parliament. The estate of Kelly was sold, and Wallace lived in retirement at Seafield Cottage, Greenock. After his resignation a liberal public subscription was made for him, which enabled him to spend his later years in comfort. He died at Seafield on 1 April 1855. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Forbes of Craigievar, but left no issue. His sister, Anne Wallace, died unmarried in 1873 in her hundred and second year.
[Millar's Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire; Foster's Members of Parliament of Scotland; Glasgow Herald, 2 April 1855; Loyal Reformer's Gazette, 1832; Transactions of Glasgow Archæological Soc. new ser. i. 112.]
WALLACE, THOMAS, Baron Wallace (1768–1844), only son of James Wallace, barrister-at-law (afterwards solicitor and attorney-general to George III), and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Simpson, Carleton Hall, Cumberland, was born at Brampton, Cumberland, in 1768. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he was the contemporary and associate of the Earl of Liverpool and of Canning. He graduated M.A. on 18 March 1790, and D.C.L. on 5 July 1793. At the general election in 1790 he was elected M.P. for Grampound. His subsequent elections were, for Penrhyn 1796, for Hindon 1802, for Shaftesbury 1807, for Weymouth 1812, for Cockermouth 1813, and for Weymouth 1818, 1820, and 1826. It was as a supporter of Pitt that he first appeared in public life, and he consistently upheld his policy, except in regard to Roman catholic emancipation, which he strenuously opposed. In July 1797 he was appointed to a seat at the admiralty, from which he was removed in May 1800 to become one of the commissioners for the affairs of India. When Pitt retired in 1801, Wallace continued to hold office under his successor, Addington, and was made a privy councillor on 21 May 1801. When Pitt resumed office in 1804, Wallace was included in the new government, which was dissolved by the death of Pitt in 1806. The colleagues of Pitt, after the death of Fox, were soon recalled, and remained in power till 1827. Wallace, in 1807 having returned to office, resigned it in 1816, and in 1818 became again a member of the government as vice-president of the privy council for the management of trade. In 1820 he was appointed chairman of the committee to consider the state of our foreign trade, and the best means for maintaining and improving it. The proceedings were extended through several sessions, and an active and leading part fell upon Wallace, who laid the report on the table before the end of the session of 1820, and afterwards introduced and carried through the legislature measures intended to give them effect. In 1823 he was succeeded by William Huskisson [q. v.] at the board of trade, and received addresses from many of the principal trading towns in the kingdom, thanking him for his services to the commerce of the country. Wallace was soon appointed chairman of the committee selected to inquire into the irregularities and abuses existing in the collection and management of the Irish revenue. The recommendations of the committee were adopted. In May 1825 Wallace submitted to the house a measure to effect the assimilation of the currencies of England and Ireland, which passed through both houses without any real opposition. In October 1823 he was appointed master of
