EWART, WILLIAM (1798-1869), English politician, was born in Liverpool on May 1, 1798, and died at Broadleas, near Devizes, on Jan. 23, 1869. Ewart carried through parliament in 1834 a bill for the abolition of hanging in chains, and in 1837 he secured the passage of an act abolishing capital punishment for cattle-stealing and other offences. In 185o he carried a bill for establishing free libraries supported out of the rates, and in 1864 for legalizing the use of the metric system of weights and meas ures. He advocated the abolition of capital punishment and on his motion in 1864 a select committee was appointed to consider the subject.