VERE, James (c.1715-59), of Stonebyres, Lanark.

Vere’s parents both belonged to Covenanting families whose ‘Revolution principles’ were unquestioned.J. B. Greensheilds, Annals Parish Lesmahagow, 82; Sir W. Fraser, Earls of Cromartie, ii. 384-5. In 1754, as the result of an arrangement between Argyll, the Duke of Douglas, the Duke of Hamilton, and Lord Hyndford, Vere was elected for Lanarkshire. Listed by Dupplin among Government supporters ‘of various connexions’, Vere made no mark in Parliament. He was a spendthrift whose extravagance cost him a fortune and forced him to sell part of his estates. His financial difficulties were eased when in 1756 the Newcastle Administration granted him a secret service pension of £400 p.a., which he held until his death.Namier, Structure, 217, 441, 451, 457.

He died 4 Dec. 1759, leaving his affairs so embarrassed that his brother and successor was obliged to sell the greater part of the family estates to meet his debts.