Berwickshire was dominated by the Hume Campbells, earls of Marchmont, sheriffs of the county during pleasure. From 1708 to 1734 they returned the 1st Earl’s son-in-law, George Baillie. In 1734 the 2nd Earl of Marchmont, now in opposition, returned his younger son, Alexander Hume Campbell, as the Squadrone candidate against a government supporter, who petitioned unsuccessfully. Before the 1741 election the Earl of Marchmont had been replaced as sheriff by the Earl of Home, whose deputy, after a tumultuous election, made a double return of the government candidate and Hume Campbell, to whom the House awarded the seat on 19 Jan. 1742 at one of the key election hearings before the fall of Walpole.1 He was re-elected after a contest in 1747, standing with Pelham’s support.2