James Clay (author)
James Clay was an English politician and a leading whist authority.
Early life and education
Clay was born in Bloomsbury, London, son of merchant James Clay and Mary. He was educated at Winchester College, then went up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a "gentleman's third" in classics.Career
Clay was MP for Kingston upon Hull from July 1847 until 1853, when he was unseated after a bribery inquiry. He regained the seat at an 1857 by-election and held it until his death.Clay played an important role in the development and passing of the Reform Act 1867. A radical who favoured greatly expanding the franchise, Clay entered into a pact with his old friend Benjamin Disraeli, who was responsible for the bill, to ensure it survived attacks and amendments from Gladstone. In return, Disraeli accepted Clay and his allies' amendments, which led to the enfranchisement of far more people than originally intended by the governing conservative party.
According to an obituary in the Westminster papers: a monthly journal of chess, whist, games of skill and the drama Clay had been "the acknowledged head of the Whist world" for the last thirty years before his death, spending much of his time and attention on whist and piquet. In 1863 he became chairman of a committee for settling the laws of whist.