986 Andrew Porter

Constituency : Londonderry  1881-4

Andrew  took  over  from  Hugh  Law  when  the  latter  was  elevated  to  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland.

Andrew  was  a  vicar's  son  from  Belfast. He  was  educated  at  Royal  Belfast  Academical  Institution   and  Queen's  University  Belfast. He  became  a  barrister. He  was  a  Presbyterian.

Andrew  immediately  took  over  as  Solicitor  General  for  Ireland  and  Attorney-General  for  Ireland  a  year  later.  He  declined  Gladstone's  offer  of  the  Secretaryship  in  1882.He  had  to  arrange  the Phoenix  Park  murder  trials. In  1883  he  became  Master  of  the  Rolls  in  Ireland  and  resigned  his  seat  shortly  afterwards.

Andrew  was  made  a  baronet  in  1903  and  retired  in  1906.

He  died  in  1919  aged  81.

985 Hugh Fortescue aka Viscount Ebrington

Constituency : Tiverton  1881-5, Tavistock 1885-92 ( from  1886  Liberal Unionist )

Hugh  took  over  at  Tiverton  after  the  death of  William  Massey.

Hugh  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Earl  Fortescue.  He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge.
He  was  a  captain  in  the  North  Devon  Yeoman  Hussar  Cavalry. He was  a  Freemason  and  Master  of  hounds

Hugh became  private secretary to  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council, Earl  Spencer.

Hugh   persuaded  his  colleague  Francis  Mildmay  to  abstain  on  the  Collings  amendment  to  bring  down  the  Salisbury  administration  in  1886. He  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886  holding  his  seat  until 1992.

In  1905  Hugh   succeeded  his  father  as  Earl . He  was  aide-de-camp  to  both  Edward VII  and  George V.

He  died  in  1935  aged  78.

984 Thomas Buchanan

Constituency : Edinburgh  1881-5, Edinburgh  West 1885-92  ( 1886-8  Liberal  Unionist ), Aberdeenshire  East  1892-1900, Perthshire  East  1903-10

Thomas  took  over  at  Edinburgh  when  John  McLaren  resigned  to  become  a  judge.

Thomas  was  a  Glaswegian, educated  at  Sherborne  School  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister.  He  stood  for  Haddington  in  1880.

Thomas  went  with  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886   but  came  round  to  supporting  Home  Rule  by  1888. He  resigned  his  seat  and  won  it  as  a  Gladstonian  in  the  by-election.  He  was  defeated  in  1892  but  won  a  by-election  in  Aberdeenshire  East  in  1892. He was  defeated  in  1900  and  remained  outside  Parliament  until  1903  when  he  came  back  in  for  Perthshire  East.

Thomas  was  appointed  Financial  Secretary  to  the  War  Office  by  Campbell-Bannerman  in  1905. In  1908  Asquith  made  him  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  India, a  post  he  held  for  just  over  a  year.

Thomas  was  a noted  book  collector.

He  died  in  1911  aged  65.

983 Alexander Asher

Constituency : Elgin  Burghs  1881-95

Alexander  came  in  unopposed  at  Elgin  following  the  appointment  of  Mountstuart  Duff  as  Governor  of  Madras.

Alexander  was  a  clergyman's  son  educated  at  King's  College, Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  University. He  became  a  barrister. In  1880  he  contested  Glasgow  and  Aberdeen  Universities.

Gladstone  made  Alexander  Solicitor  General  for  Scotland  immediately. He  held  the  post  until  1885.  He  was  re-appointed  in  1886  and  again  in  1892, serving  until  1894  when  he  resigned  ostensibly  to  improve  his  finances . He  was  then  thought  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Speakership  but  it  didn't  happen.

He  died  in  1905  aged  71.

982 Samuel Storey

Constituency : Sunderland  1881-95 , 1910  ( Independent  Tariff  Reform )

Samuel  came  in  for  Sunderland  unopposed  after  the  resignation  of  Henry  Havelock-Allen. Some  of  the  local  Liberals  were  unhappy  about  his  radical  opinions  including  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  and  tried  to  prevent  his  candidature.

Samuel  was  a  farmer's  son  from  Durham. He  was  educated  in Newcastle  then  trained  as  a  teacher. He  worked  as  a  teacher  at  a  Church  of  England  school  from  1860  to  1864  when  he  got  married. He  then  worked  as  a  travelling  salesman  for  three  years  then  set  up  in  business  as   an  accountant. In  1870  he  succeeded  his  father  as  Actuary  of  the  Monkwearmouth  Savings  Bank. He  expanded  his  business  interests  to  become  a  partner  in  a  timber  firm  and  dabble  in  land  speculation. In  1865  he  supported  Henry  Fenwick  in  Sunderland  but  then  turned  against  him  and  encouraged  John  Candlish's  ousting  of  him. He  became  a  town  councillor  in  1869  and  an  alderman  from  1877  to  1890. He  was  mayor of  Sunderland  in  1876, 1877  and  1890. In  1873  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Sunderland  Echo, the  town's  first  daily  paper, in  order  to  further  the  radical  cause.

In  1882  Samuel  formed  a partnership  with  Andrew  Carnegie  which  came  to  own  a  chain  of  papers   including  titles  in  Wolverhampton, London  and  Portsmouth.

In  1891  a  charge  of  perjury  , brought  against  Samuel  for  remarks  about  evictions  of  striking  miners  at  the  Silksworth  Colliery  on  the  orders  of  the   Marquess  of  Londonderry,  was  dismissed.  Samuel  spoke  up  for the  miners  in  the  Commons.

From  1892  until  1913  he  served  on  Durham  County  Council  becoming  chairman  iin  1894-7  and  again  in  1898-1905.

In  1895  Samuel  was  defeated.  He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Newcastle  in  1900. He  was  involved  in  the  Barnard  Castle  by-election  campaign  in  1903  and  warned  the  party  about  the  threat  posed  by  the  Labour  Representation  Committee.

Samuel  was  convinced  by  Chamberlain's  arguments  for  Tariff  Reform  and  resigned  as  chairman  of  the  Northern  Liberal  Association. The  Sunderland  Liberal  Association  rejected  the  idea  in  1904   so  the  following  year  he  set  up  the  Northern  Tariff  Reform  Association.

Samuel   regained  Sunderland  as  an  Independent  Tariff  Reform  candidate  in  January  1910. He  stood  down  in  December.  He  bought  the  Newcastle  Daily  Journal  to  promote  the cause.

In  1915  Samuel  became  honorary  commander  of  the  Sunderland  branch  of  the  Volunteer  Training  Corps.

He  died  in  1925  aged  84. His  grandson  Samuel  later  became  a  Conservative  MP.

981 James Cropper

Constituency : Kendal  1880-85

James  took  over  at  Kendal  after  the  death  of  John  Whitwell.

James  was  a  paper  manufacturer  from  Liverpool.

James's  parliamentary  contributions  were  largely  on  foreign  affairs.

James  was  defeated  in  1885. In  1888  he  became  the  first  chairman  of  Westmorland  County  Council.

He  died  in  1900  aged  77.

980 John Balfour

Constituency : Clackmannan  and  Kinross  1880-89

John  replaced  William  Adam  after  the  latter's  appointment  as  Governor  of  Madras.

John  was  a  vicar's  son  from  Clackmannan. He  was  educated  at  Edinburgh  University  and  became  a  barrister.In  1880  John  stood  for  Ayrshire  North.

John  was  soon  appointed  Solicitor  General  for  Scotland  then  became  Lord  Advocate  in  1881.  He  took  up  the  latter  post  again  in  1892

In  1899  John  became  a judge  and  resigned  his  seat.

In  1902  John  became Baron  Kincross. He  did  in  1905  aged  67.

 

979 Alexander Crum

Constituency : Renfrewshire 1880-85

Alexander  was  returned  unopposed  at  the  by-election  following  the  death  of  William  Mure.

Alexander  ran  the  family  calico  printing  business. He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow  and  in  Germany. He  was  a  major  benefactor  to  Thornliebank, the  village  where  the works  was  situated.

Alexander  did  not  stand  in  1885  and  later  left  the  party  in  opposition  to  Home  Rule.

He  died  in  1893  aged  65.

978 Enoch Baldwin

Constituency : Bewdley  1880-85

Enoch  took  over  at  Bewdley  after  Charles  Harrison  was  unseated  on  petition.

Enoch  was  an  iron  founder , senior  partner  in  a  family  firm. In  1868  he  was  involved  in  a  physical  scuffle  with  local  Tories. He  was  the  uncle  of  future  Conservatie  PM, Stanley  Baldwin.

Enoch  never  spoke  in  Parliament.

Enoch  became  a  county  councillor  for  Worcestershire  in  1889.

He  died  in  1905  aged  83.

977 Richard Martin

Constituency : Tewkesbury  1880-85,  Droitwich  1892-1906 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Richard  retained  Tewkesbury  for  the  Liberals  after  William  Price  was  thrown  out  on  petition.

Richard  was  from  a  family  of  bankers, some  of  whom  had  held  the  seat  before  him. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford. He  helped  found  the  British  North  Borneo  Company  and  the  Institute  of  Bankers. He  stood  for  Worcestershire  East  (1868 ) and  City  of  London  ( 1880 ). He  travelled  to  America  in  1880.

Richard's  first  speech  was  in  favour  of  the  Irish  Coercion  Bill  refuting  the  suggestion  that  the  majority  of  Americans  favoured  the  Irish  cause.

In  1885  when  Tewkesbury  became  a  county  division  instead  of  a  borough   Richard  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Chelmsford. Tewkesbury  remained  a  Tory  seat  ever  after.

In  1886  Richard  contested  Ashburton  as  a  Liberal  Unionist. He  got  back  in  for  Droitwich  in  1892.

Richard  was  made  a  baronet  in  1905  and  stood  down  the  following  year.

Richard  was  President  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society  from  1906  to  1907. He  was  interested  in  photography , architecture  and  agriculture.

He  died  in  1916  aged  78.

976 Frederick Lehmann

Constituency : Evesham  1880-1

Frederick  stood  for  Evesham  after  Daniel  Ratclif's  election  was  voided  and  won  by  two  votes.

Frederick  was  born  in  Hamburg  and  was  a  successful  steel  merchant .  He  was  also  a  partnr  in  an  engineeering  firm . He  was  a  musician  and  art  collector  and   friends  with  Charles  Dickens , Wilkie  Collins  and  Robert  Browning.  He  stood  for  Middlesex  in  1874  and  Waterford  in  1877. The  Times  described  him  as  being  on  the  "left  wing"  of  the  party.

A  petition  was  lodged  against  Frederick's  election  and  after  a  scrutiny  of  the  votes  he  was  found  to  have  lost  by  one  vote. That  ended  Liberal  representation  in  Evesham, the  Tories  holding  the  seat  until  its  abolition  in  1950.

He died  in  1891  aged  65. His  son  Rudolf  became  a  longer-lasting  Liberal  MP.

 

975 Richard Allman

Constituency :  Bandon  1880-85

The  Conservatives  gained  Bandon  at  the  1880  election  by  15  votes  but  the  Liberals  immediately  protested  the  result. The  Tory  victor  agreed  to  stand  down  in  return  for  a  withdrawal  of  the  election  petition. Richard  , the  Liberal  candidate  won  the  by-election  by  45  votes.

Richard  came  from  a  local  entrepreneurial  family  who  were  first  cotton  manufacturers  but  now  distillers.  He  was  educated  at  Belfast  College  and  was  a  Unitarian.

Richard  never  spoke  in  the  Commons.

He  died  in  1904  aged  91.

974 James Dickson

Constituency : Dungannon 1880-85

James  replaced  his  father  Thomas  whose  election  had  been  voided  for  bribery  as  MP  for  Dungannon. His  father  had  won  by  two  votes; James  managed  to  increase  the  majority  to  four.

James  was  educated  at  the  Royal  School  at  Dungannon  and  Broughton  High  School  in  Manchester. He  was  the  youngest  person  elected  to  the  Commons  between  1832  and  2015.

James's  one  speech  in  1882  was  on  Ulster  tenants'  rent  arrears.

James  went  into  the  family  textiles  business  after  leaving  Parliament. He  held  a  number  of  positions  in  Irish  public  life.

He  died  in  1941  aged  82.

973 Herbert Gladstone

Constituency : Leeds  1880-85, Leeds  West 1880-1910

Gladstone ( Senior )  was  not  entirely  sure  of  success  in  Midlothian  so  he  stood  for  Leeds  as  well  ( even  though  the  Tories  won  both  seats  in  1874.  Triumphant  in  both , he  stood  down  in  Leeds  to  allow  his  youngest  son  Herbert  to  take  the  seat  unopposed

Herbert  was  born  in  Downing  St  in  1854  when  his  father  was  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford  where  he  lectured  in  history  for  three  years  after  graduating.  He  was  a  keen  sportsman , enjoying   cricket, football, cycling  and  gymnastics. He  stood  for  Middlesex  in  1880.

Herbert  started  out  as  his  father's  private  secretary  then  was  appointed  a  junior  whip  in  1881. His  first  speech  expressed  doubts  about  the actual  threat  Russia  posed  to  India. He  was  briefly  Deputy  Commissioner  for  the  Office  of  Works  in  1885.

Herbert  became  MP  for  the  new  seat  of  Leeds  West , where  he  had  the  support  of  local  industrialist  James  Kitson,   in  1885  then  made  his  most  famous  contribution  to  history  by  leaking  the  news  of  his  father's  conversion  to  Home  Rule, the  famous  "Hawarden  Kite". He  thought  the  revelation  would  bring  a  direction  and  purpose  to  the  party  rather  than  split  it.  It  has  been  suggested  that  his  father  put  him  up  to  it  so  he  could  deny  the  story  if  need  be.  The  effect  was  to  decisively  turn  the  Tories  against  Home  Rule  and  force  Parnell  and  Gladstone  into  alliance. When  his  father  came  back  to  power  in  1886  he  became  Financial  Secretary  to  the  War  Office.

In  1892  Herbert  became  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department   under  Asquith  then  First  Commissioner  of  Works  under  Rosebery.

In  1896  Herbert  visited  Constantinople.

In  opposition  Herbert  became  chief  whip  in  1899. He  , like  his  father  was  rather  pro- Boer  , but  he  kept  his  views  to  himself  and  helped  preserve  party  unity.  In  1903 he  negotiated  the  electoral  pact  with  the  Labour  Representation  Committee  that  bore  his  and  Ramsay  McDonald's  name.  In  Leeds  he  and  other  Liberal  leaders  had  placated  local  trade  union  leaders  with  town  council  seats  and  magistracies. The  Liberal  historian  Douglas   accused  him  of  being  the  architect  of  the  party's  downfall  through  misjudgement  of  Labour. He  then  investigated  the  possibility  of  seat  deals  with  Free  Trade  Unionists. He  sent  Asquith  a  letter  suggesting  that  Campbell- Bannerman  was  not  aiming  at  becoming  Prime  Minister.

Herbert  became  Home  Secretary  in  Campbell- Bannerman's  government  and  though  not  a  Radical  played  a  part  in  carrying  the  Workmen's  Compensation  act  of  1906, the  Children's  Act  of  1908 , the  Eight  Hours  act  of  1908   and  the  Trade  Boards  Act  of  1909. He  was  not  an  instinctive  opponent  of  female  suffrage  but  as  minister  responsible  for  public  order , the  prison  service  and  ministerial  security  he  often  had  to  take  tough  action  against  the  suffragettes.

In  1908  Herbert  upset  the  King  when  he  failed  to  respond  to  the  latter's  request   to  ban  a Catholic  procession  to  London. This  led  to  rumours  that  Edward  himself  favoured  the  procession  and  Asquith  had  to  ask  Lord  Ripon  to  intervene  to  get  it  cancelled .   Edward   also  protested  at  Herbert's  appointment  of  two  women  to  serve  on  a  Royal  Commission  on  divorce  reform. He  was  replaced  by  Winston  Churchill  shortly  after  Asquith  became  Prime  Minister.

Herbert  stood  down  in  January  1910  and  was  ennobled  as  Viscount  Gladstone. He  was  not  re-appointed  to  the  Home  Office  and  Asquith  persuaded  a reluctant  George  V to  appoint  him  as  Governor-General  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa. In  1913  he  had  to  declare  martial  law  to  deal  with  disturbances.

Herbert  returned  to  Britain  in  1914  and  spent  the  First  World  War  working  with  charitable  organisations. After  the  War  he  worked  to  revive  the  Liberal  party's  fortunes.  He  was  very  critical  of  Asquith  saying  in  1920  "  Our  stroke  oar  neither  sets  the  time  nor  rows  his  weight...  beyond  a  weak  ripple  his  speeches  have  no  effect". Despite  this   he  saw  the  first  priority  as   getting  Lloyd  George  out  of   the  party  and  spent  most  of  his  last  decade  fighting  with  him  rather  than  anything  more  positive.  Lloyd  George  described  him  as  "the  greatest  living  embodiment  of  the  Liberal  doctrine  that  quality  is  not  hereditary".  He  supported  Lord  Grey's  Liberal  Council  formed  in  1826.

He  died  in  1930  aged  76.

972 Arnold Morley

Constituency  :  Nottingham 1880-85, Nottingham  East  1885-95

We  now  look  at  the  Liberal  victors  at  by-elections  during  the  1880-85  parliament. Gladstone's   second  ministry  was  not  a  great  reforming  one  like  his  first. A  number  of  unconnected factors  conspired  to prevent  this. There  was  the  interminable  Charles  Bradlaugh  saga  eating  up  Parliamentary  time, the  declining  situation  in  Ireland  despite  the  Land  Act  of  1881  and  the  obstructionist  tactics  of  Parnell  and  the  problems  of  empire  leading  to  the  controversial  occupation  of  Egypt  and  the  disaster  in  the  Sudan. Lastly , Gladstone  himself  was  reluctant  to  let  the  new  Radicalism  of  Chamberlain  and  his  ilk  lead  government  policy. The  one  major  domestic  achievement   was  the  Third  Reform  Act  of  1884 which  made  these  the  last  MPs  elected  under  the  1867  franchise.

Arnold  came  in  for  Nottingham  following  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  John  Wright.

Arnold   was  the  son  of  Samuel  Morley, now MP  for  Bristol  but  formerly  for  Nottingham.  He  was  a  barrister. At  one  time  he  was  proprietor  of  the  Daily  News  but  sold  out  to  Labouchere. He  was  very  wealthy.

In  1882  Arnold  was  in  charge  of  a  report  to  Parliament  into  a  colliery  disaster.

Arnold  was  Gladstone's  chief  whip  in  1886  and  continued  as  the  Liberal  whip  during  the  opposition  years.  In  1891  he  arranged  for  two  Liberal  MPs  to   buy  peerages  from  Glasdstone .In  1892  he  was  appointed  Postmaster  General.

Arnold  was  defeated  in  1895.

He  died  in  1916  aged  66.

971 Sidney Glyn

Constituency : Shaftesbury  1880-85

Sidney  recaptured  his  brother's  old  seat.

Sidney  was  the  younger  brother  of  Baron  Wolverton. He  was  a  captain.

Sidney  never  spoke  in  Parliament.

He  died in  1916  aged  80.

Sidney  completes  our  look  at  the  new  Liberals  in  1880 . We  now  turn  to  the  by-election  victors  of  1880-85.

970 John Edwards

Constituency : Salisbury  1880-5

John  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  in  Salisbury.

John  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter  from  Cornwall. He  was  educated  at  a  village  school .He  started work  as a  journalist  for  The  Sentinel  reporting  from  Manchester  on  the  Anti-Corn  Law  League. From  1846  he  started  giving  public  lectures  on  his  beliefs. He  was  a  delegate  to  peace  conferences  in  Europe  between  1848  and  1850. He  bought  Building  News  in  1862  and  made  it  profitable. He  bought  a  share  in  The  Echo  in  1876. He  stood  as an  Independent  in  Truro in  1868.

John  wasn't  happy as  a  professional  politician  and  didn't  speak  in  the  Commons. He  refused  a knighthood  in  1903.

John  was  a  generous  philanthropist  with  over  70  buildings  starting  from  his bequests  in  both  London  and  the  West  Country. He  was  a  strong  supporter  of  workers'  education. He  was  opposed  to  capital  punishment.

John  was  a  vocal  opponent  of  the  Boer  War.

He  died  in  1911  aged  88.

969 William Grenfell

Constituency  : Salisbury  1880-2, 1885-6  , Hereford  1892-3 , Wycombe  1900-5  ( Conservative )

William  was  one  of  two  Liberal  victors  at  Salisbury.

William  was  the  son  of   Charles  Grenfell, former  Whig  MP  for  Sandwich. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford. He  was  a  major  landowner  in  Kent.He  was  a  keen  sportsman  and  rowed  for  Oxford  in  the  Boat  Races  of  1877 and  1878. He  was  also  fond  of  fencing  ( he  won  a  silver  medal  at  the  Athens  Olympics ), mountaineering , fishing  and  big-game  hunting.

In  1882  William  was  appointed  a  groom-in-waiting  to  the  queen  and  lost  his  seat  in  the  subsequent  by-election.  He  recaptured  it  with  a  very  small  majority  three  years  later. He  was  appointed  parliamentary  private  secretary  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.

William  predicted  his  defeat  in  1886  following  the  Home  Rule  crisis.  In  1888  he  went  out  to  Sudan  as  a  special  correspondent  of  the  Daily  Telegraph. In  1890  he  contested  the  Windsor  by-election  for  the  Liberals  but  was  unsuccessful.

In  1892  William  returned  as  MP  for  Hereford  but  resigned  his  seat  in  1893  when  he  could  not  support  the  Home  Rule  Bill. He  was  also  opposed  to  Treasury  policy  on  the  gold  standard  , advocating  bi-metallism. He  supported  a  Conservative  candidate  at  Oxford  in  1895.  He returned  in  1900  as  a  Conservative. He  never  spoke  in  the  Commons  until  1901. He  was  raised  to  the  Lords  as  Baron  Desborough  in  1905.

William  married  a  grandfather  of the  Earl  of  Westmorland  in  1887  and  hosted  an  exclusive  gathering  of  aristocrats  the  "Souls", eroding  Whig-Tory  distinctions . Hartington  was  a  frequent  visitor.

William  was  President  of  the  Thames  Conservancy  Board  from  1904  to  1937. He  was  at  different  times  President  of  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society.He   was  president  of  the  Olympic  Games  in  London  in  1908. He  donated  land  for  a  park  in  Maidenhead  and  populated  it  with  tree  from  seeds  gathered  during  his  international  travels. He  was  Mayor  of  Maidenhead  in  1895  and  1896.

In  November  1914  William  was  appointed  President  of  the  Central  Association  of  Volunteer  Training  Corps,  a  militia  for  home  defence   and  held  the  post  until  it  was  disbanded  in  1920. He  was  Captain  of  the  Yeoman  of  the  Guard  from  1924  until  1929.

When  Lord  Bessborough  died  in  1920  William  had  the  dubious  pleasure  of  reading  a  premature  obituary  in  The  Times.

He  died  in  1945  aged  89.

968 Peter Macliver

Constituency : Plymouth  1880-5

Peter  recaptured  one  of  the  Plymouth  seats  for  the  Liberals.

Peter  was  actually  a  Scotsman, educated  at  Glasgow  High  School  and  Glasgow  University. He  was  a  journalist  by  profession  and  founded  the  Western  Daily  Press  in  Bristol  in  1858.

Peter  supported  the  Employers  Liability  Bill.

Peter  was  defeated  in  1885.

He  died  in  1891  aged  68.

967 Lord Henry Reynolds-Moreton

Constituency : Gloucestershire  West  1880-85

Henry  recaptured  took  the  second  seat  at  Gloucestershire  West  from  the  Tories.

Henry  was  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Ducie   but  never  succeeded  to  the  title.

He  died  in  1920  aged  62, a  year  before  his  father.

966 Thomas Robinson

Constituency : Gloucester  1880-81, 1885-95

Thomas  captured  the  second  seat  at  Gloucester  from  the  Tories  thanks  to  a  well  organised  caucus.

Thomas  was  a  local  merchant  who  was  four  times  the  city's  mayor. In  1873  he  edged  out  the  former  MP  John  Powell  for  the  Liberal  nomination  for  a  by-election  but  was  defeated  by  the  Tory.

Thomas's  election  was  voided  due  to  bribery  in  1881  and  a  Royal  Commission  suspended  the  writ  until  1885.

Thomas  was  opposed  to  compulsory  vaccination.

Thomas  was  re-elected  in  1885  ; his  control  of  the  caucus  meant  he  not  Charles  Monk  contested  the  now  single  member  seat.  Monk  fought  him  as  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  1892  but Thomas   held  the  seat  until  1895  when  he stood  down.

Thomas  was  knighted  in  1894.

He  died  in  1897  aged  70.

965 Edward Johnson

Constituency : Exeter  1880-85

Edward  took  over  from  John  Johnson  at  Exeter.

Edward  was  a  London  merchant. He  was  educated  at  King's  College, London.

Edward's  two  parliamentary  contributions  show  an  interest  in  military  affairs.

He  died  in  1894  in  Algiers  aged  61.

964 Mervyn Story-Maskelyne

Constituency : Cricklade  1880-92 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Mervyn  recaptured  one  of  the  Cricklade  seats  from  the  Tories.

Mervyn  was  the  grandson  of  the  Astronomer  Royal  Nevil  Maskelyne, the  villain  in  Longitude. The  family  had  large  estates  in  the  West  Country. He  was  educated  at  Oxford  and  became  a  professor  of  mineralogy  there. In  1857  he  became  Keeper  of  Minerals  at  the  British  Museum. A  meteriotic  mineral  was  named  maskelynite  after  him. He  was  also  an  early  pioneer  of  photography .  He  authored  a  number  of  works  on  minerals.

Mervyn  served  on  Wiltshire  County  Council  from  1889  to  1904.

He  died  in  1911  aged  87.

963 Reginald Brett

Constituency : Penryn  and  Falmouth  1880-5

Reginald  took  the  second  seat  at  Penryn  and  Falmouth  for  the  Liberals.

Reginald  was  the  son  and  heir  of   William  Brett, Solicitor-General  under  Disraeli  before  becoming  Master  of  the  Rolls. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge.

Reginald  was  Hartington's  parliamentary  private  secretary  from  1882  to  1885.

In  1885  Reginald  was  defeated  at  Plymouth  and  decided  to  withdraw  from  electoral  politics. He  wrote  to  Chamberlain  afterwards ,"if  as  a party  we  have  no  policy  which  can  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the  Tories, there  seems  no  adequate  reason  for  putting us  in  office". He  expected  the  1885  parliament  to  be  a  conservative  one.

Reginald  did  not  want  to  choose  a  side  in  the  Home  Rule  split  and  worked  hard  to  reunify  the   party  at  the  Round  Table  Conference  in  1887.

In  1895  Reginald  supported  Rhodes  over  the  Jameson  Raid.  That  same  year  he  became  Permanent  Secretary  at  the  Office  of  Works.

In  1897  Reginald's  father  became  Viscount  Esher  and  Reginald  succeeded  him  in  the  title  two  years  later. He  became  a  great  favourite  with  the  Royal  Family  particularly  Edward  VII.
He  sat  on  Lord  Elgin's  Commission  on  the  Boer  War  and  irritated  the  Secretary  for  War  John  Broderick  who  felt  he  was  being  undermined.

Reginald  was instrumental  in  setting  up  the  Committee  for  Imperial  Defence in  1904.

In  1912   Reginald  helped  his  friend  Lewis  Harcourt  establish  the  London  Museum.

Reginald  declined  offers  of  office  such  as  Viceroy  of  India  or  Secreatary  for  War  ( which  Edward  VII  urged  him  to  accept. He  spent  much  of  the  First  World  War  in  France  reporting  back  on  developments  there.

Reginald  was  a  bisexual  and  Matthew  Parris  has  accused  him  both  of  gathering  up  Harcourt's  supposed  child  porn  collection  after  the  latter's  death and  having  relations  with  his  own  son  Maurice  and  his  schoolfriends..

He  died  in  1930.

962 William Borlase

Constituency : East  Cornwall  1880-85, St  Austell  1885-7

William  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  in  East  Cornwall  displacing  a  Tory.

William  was  a  scion  of  a  wealthy  Cornish  family. He  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Oxford. His  great-great-grandfather  had  been  a noted  local  historian  and  William  followed  in  his  footsteps  though  he  did  not  seek  to defend  his  outdated  speculations. He  supervised  archaeological  excavations  in  Cornwall  and  wrote  a  number  of  works  on  archaeology. He  was  also  a  barrister.

William  supported  Charles  Bradlaugh's  right  to  take  the  parliamentary  oath.

William  switched  seats  to  St  Austell  in  1885. He  was  appointed  parliamentary  secretary  to  the  Local  Government  Board  in  1886. He  supported  the  Tithe-Rent  Charge  Redemption  Bill  in  1886.

William  was  living  beyond  his  means  and  a  Spanish  mistress  exposed  his  debts. William  had  to  resign  his  seat  as  a  bankrupt.  His  collection  of  antique  books  and  artefacts  attracted  much  interest  when  it  went  on  sale. His  family  packed  him  off  to  Ireland.  He  later  managed  tin  mines  in  Spain  and  Portugal.

He  died  in  1899  aged  51.

961 Thomas Agar-Robartes 2

Constituency : Cornwall  East  1880-82

Thomas  took  over  from  Colman  Rashleigh  in  what  had  been  his  father's  seat.

Thomas  was  the  son  of  Baron  Robartes.  He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister.

In  1882  Thomas  succeeded  his  father  and  went  to  the  Lords. His  son  Thomas  became  an  MP  from  1906   until  his  death  in  the  First  World  War.

In  1899  Thomas  also  became  Viscount  Clifden.

Thomas  died  in  1930  aged  86.

960 Horace Davey

Constituency : Christchurch  1880-5,  Stockton-on-Tees 1888-92

Horace  recaptured  Christchurch  for  the  Liberals  after  being  nominated  by  the  National  Liberal  Club.

Horace  was  the  son  of  a  prosperous  coal  merchant . He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister  and  quickly  became  renowned. His  protege  Haldane  described  him  as  "the  finest  advocate  on  pure  points  of  law".

In  1885  Horace  tried  to  detach  the  receipt  of  medical  relief  from  other  forms  of  parochial  relief  for  the  purposes  of  determining  the  franchise.

Horace  was  defeated  in  1885. He  was  appointed  Solicitor-General  by  Gladstone  in  1886  but  had  no  seat, being  defeated  at  both  Ipswich  and  Stockport  that  year. He  returned  in  a  by-election  at  Stockton-on-Tees  in  1888  but  lost  the  seat  in  1892.

In  1894  Horace  was  made  a  Lord  of  Appeal  and  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Davey.

Horace  wanted  to  be  Lord  Chancellor  in  Campbell-Bannerman's  government  and  put  his  name  forward  but  Lord  Crewe  was  chosen  instead.

He  died  of  bronchitis  in  1907  aged  74.

959 Charles de Ferrieres

Constituency : Cheltenham  1880-5

Charles  recaptured  Cheltenham  for  the  Liberals  by  just  21  votes.

Charles  was  born  in  Holland  to  a  Huguenot  family  but  his  mother  was  English. He  came to  England  as  an  infant. He  was  naturalised  in  1867, the  same  year  as  he  became  Baron  de  Ferrrieres  in  the  Dutch  peerage. He  became  mayor  of  Cheltenham  in  1877  despite  having  opposed  the  creation  of  the  mayoralty  and  corporation.

Charles  declined  to  stand  again  in  1885.

Charles  was  a  noted  philanthropist  in  Gloucestershire  making  gifts  to  various  colleges  and  giving  Cheltenham  its  Art  Gallery, stocked  with  paintings  from  his  father's  collection  in  1899.

He  died  in  1908  aged  84.