William Walls (1817-1893) was an oil merchant and councillor.
Born in Kirkwall in Orkney, Walls trained as a lawyer in Edinburgh. He became a friend of James Marwick, and The Bailie claimed he later used his influence on the town council to help secure the post of Town Clerk for his fellow-Orcadian. Walls served on the Town Council 1868-1886, and 1887-1889 (when he was also Dean of Guild).
Walls had come to Glasgow in 1847, and formed William Walls & Co, oil merchants and refiners. As a partner in the business he was charged in 1874 with contravening the smoke section of the Glasgow Police Act. Although the case was dismissed, The Bailie’s caricaturist gleefully portrayed him comforting the policeman who reported the incident, and who was clearly suffering from the effects of smoke-inhalation!
Reference: Mitchell Library, 920.04BAI
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
councillors, Deans of Guild, lawyers, oil merchants, oil refiners, policemen, smoke nuisance
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