Evidence for this is seen with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish
Rights, established in 1853. The body set out to voice grievances held about a perceived
imbalance of treatment that Scotland was receiving, in response to the Irish Home Rule
movement, and desired for greater representation in Westminster, along with increased
investments. 12 It is important to note here that these calls were for reform within the union
as opposed to outside it, indicating that the Scottish were content with the union. Later
stirring in the nineteenth-century led to a series of Reform Acts, with the Third Reform Act
(1884) resulting with a Scottish electorate (three in five males) that was more representative
than an English and Welsh electorate (two in five males). 13 Further Scottish representation
was acknowledge with the establishment of the Scots Office in 1885, responding to greater
demands for Scottish land reform. 14 Despite this, Ireland continued to influence Scottish
advocacy for devolution, with the Scottish Home Rule Association forming the following
year. Liberals were split on the issue of home rule, with some leaning towards unionist
positions, while others responsible for pushing for greater autonomy. However, Liberal
unionists were ultimately responsible for downplaying home rule advocacy in their push for
settlements within the union when in power with Scottish Conservatives, making Scottish
home rule unlikely after 1895. 15
As seen, the political situation surrounding both political representation for Scotland
and the movement in Ireland affected the Home Rule Movement in Scotland. Links can also
be drawn to ways concerning the political situation of Wales in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Regarding Irish Home Rule, the Welsh Home Rule movement was both promoted
12 Robbins, p.102 13 Robbins, p.103 14 Alvin Jackson, The Two Unions: Ireland, Scotland, and the Survival of the United Kingdom, 1707-2007: First Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 190-191 15 Jackson, pp. 244-245
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