Background
He was born near Dublin on the 13th of October 1813, the son of James McCullagh of Greenfield Dublin, and his wife Jane Torrens.
He was born near Dublin on the 13th of October 1813, the son of James McCullagh of Greenfield Dublin, and his wife Jane Torrens.
He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.
He was called to the bar, and in 1835 became assistant commissioner on the special commission on Irish poor-relief, which resulted in the extension of the workhouse system in Ireland in 1838. In the forties he joined the Anti-Corn Law League, and in 1846 published his Industrial History of Free Nations. In 1847 be was elected to parliament for Dundalk, and sat till 1852. In 1857 he was elected as a Liberal for Yarmouth and from 1865 to 1885 he represented Finsbury. Torrens was a well known man in political life, and devoted himself mainly to social questions in parliament. It was an amendment of his to the Education Bill of 1870 which established the London School Board, and his Artisans Dwellings Bill in 1868 facilitated the clearing away of slums by local authorities. He published several books, and his Twenty Years in Parliament (1893) and History of Cabinets (1894) contain useful material. He died in London on the 26th of April 1894.
He is widely known for his Artisans and Labourers Dwelling Bill and several publications.
Torrens married firstly Margaret Henrietta Gray, daughter of John Gray of Claremorris, County Mayo in 1836. She died in 1873 and he married secondly Emily Harrison, daughter of William Harrison of Leamington in 1878.
