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Then Watson in d ica te d a ccuple o f f ie ld s , saying t h is was th e kind o f area he wanted, McNeil did n ot know who owned the land, but im m ediately he proposed a bargain . He would provide an option on the s it e w ith in a week i f I.B .M ., fo r th e ir p art, would undertake to accept i t . Watson, though sk e p tic a l o f whether th is could be done, agreed, McNeil and h is o f f i c i a l s then roused a s ta r tle d Tov/n C lerk and id e n tifie d the owner as a Dowager liv in g in Sussex, McNèll took o f f in h is chartered plane and b efore the weekend was over he had h is op tion . In the fa c e of strenu­ ous op p osition from S ir H artley Shawcross who, a s P resid en t o f the Board of Trade, was canvas­ sin g a s it e in S t. Helens, McN6*l p revailed . An in d u str ia l development c e r t if ic a t e was granted and I.B.M . moved to Greenock, An unorthodox, but im aginative, s o r t ie . Morale ro se in the S c o ttis h O ffice.^

But McN^'^l's enthusiasm fo r new industry in Scotland was not e n tir e ly a lt r u is t ic . He earned th e t i t l e 'Secretary o f S ta te fo r Greenock and M.P. fo r Scotland* by h is r e je c tio n of th e New Town o f Houston

Bishopton because i t was to be next to h is con stitu en cy. McNeil defen­ ded h is stance by saying he was impressed by th e h o s t i lit y o f the people o f Greenock to th is scheme, which could have been tru e, and that he was tryin g to 'sa v e' th e Cart V a lley . But r e a l i s t i c a l l y th ere was no

doubt in anyone's mind a t th e time th at McNc;« 1 was tryin g to 'save' h is home co n stitu en cy and p reserve h is v o te r s. Even when he was s t i l l in New York a t the U nited N ations he had sen t urgent telegram s tryin g

2 to quash the Houston Bishopton New Town.

McNeil went out o f o f f ic e in 1951 w ith th e f a l l o f the Labour Government in th e October General E le ctio n . Although he had no

1. Ib id .

coh esive p o lic y during h is years in o ffic e he provided many s o lid ad hoc so lu tio n s to p ressin g problems. H is n in eteen months in o f f ic e l e f t th e ir mark on th e S c o ttish O ffice; he was a very p r o fe ssio n a l p o lit ic ia n who turned i t in to a more modern and b u sin e ss -lik e organ isa-

1

tio n than i t had been h ith erto ,

( f ) James S tuart (1951-1957)

James Stuart, th e new C onservative S c o ttish S ecretary o f S ta te, came in to o ff ic e in 1951 w ith C h u rc h ill's new Government, As Prime M in ister fo r th e second time (1951-1955) C hurchill appointed h is

o ld C hief Whip as S c o ttish Secretary and added a M inister o f S ta te and a th ird Parliam entary U nder-Secretaiy to the S c o ttish O ffic e , making

2

f iv e m in isters in a l l . As in the case of Johnston, S tu art was able

3

to r e ly on th e support o f C hu rchill in cab in et d isp u tes. The fin d in g s

o f the C atto Committee appeared in J u ly 1952, L ater th a t year Stuart

1. I b id ,, p .128.

2. R e lia s, Modem S cotlan d , p. 103,

3. James S tuart (V iscou n t), W ithin the F rin g e. (London, Bodley Head,

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