Nathaniel Smith was a naval officer and official in the Honourable East India Company and a politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of Great Britain

The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...

 variously between 1783 and 1794.

Smith was the posthumous son of naval captain Nathaniel Smith of St Giles Cripplegate and his wife Anne Gould, daughter of James Gould. Smith joined the naval service of the Honourable East India Company and was appointed commander of the East-Indiaman Clinton in 1759. In 1765 he transferred to the Lord Camden. After six voyages to India he retired in 1771 with a small fortune. He stood for parliament unsuccessfully at Rochester

Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochester was a parliamentary constituency in Kent. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...

 in 1772 and in 1780.

Smith wrote three pamphlets on the rule of the East India Company in India and two on its shipping problems. He became a director of the company in 1774. In February 1783, Smith was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Pontefract

Pontefract (UK Parliament constituency)

Pontefract was an English parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pontefract in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1621 until 1885, and one member from 1885 to 1974.-In the unreformed...

 until he was unseated on petition in April 1783. However he vigorously opposed Fox's India Bill and was consequently elected chairman of the HEIC in November 1783.

In 1784 Smith was elected MP for Rochester and held the seat until 1790. He offered guarded support for Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...

 in the debate on his impeachment in 1787

Impeachment of Warren Hastings

The Impeachment of Warren Hastings was a failed attempt to impeach the former Governor-General of India Warren Hastings in the Parliament of Great Britain between 1788 and 1795. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta particularly relating to mismanagement and personal...

. He regained the seat in a by-election in 1792 and held it until his death aged 63 in 1794.

Smith married Hester Dance, daughter of George Dance

George Dance the Elder

George Dance the Elder was an English architect of the 18th century. He served as the City of London surveyor and architect from 1735 until his death....

 on 4 December 1784. He provided support for his wife's nephew Nathaniel Dance

Nathaniel Dance

Sir Nathaniel Dance was an officer of the Honourable East India Company who had a long and varied career on merchant vessels, making numerous voyages to India and back with the fleets of East Indiamen...

in his dealings with the East India Company.