1107 Joseph Bennett

Constituency : Gainsborough  1885-6, 1892-5

Joseph  took  the  new  seat  of  Gainsborough.

Joseph  was  born  in  Grimsby . He  was  educated  at  Wesley  College, Sheffield  and  became  a  merchant  in  Louth.

Joseph  was  defeated  in  1886. He  regained  the  seat  in  1892  and  stood  down  at  the  1895  election.

Joseph  supported  the  extension  of  local  government  to  rural  districts  in  1893. He  spoke  in  the  debate  on  the  second  Home  Rule  Bill  the  same  year.

He  died  in  1908  aged  78.

1106 Francis Stevenson

Constituency  :  Eye  1885-1906

Francis  took  the  new  seat  of  Eye  in  Suffolk.

Francis  was  born  in  Mauritius  where his  father  was  Governor . He  was  educated  at  Lausanne, Harrow  and  Oxford.

Francis  was  president  of  the  Anglo-Armenian  Association  from  1892. He  was  on  the  Civil  List  Committee  from  1901. He  was  Parliamentary  Charity Commissioner  from  1894  to  1895.

Francis  stood  down  shortly  after  being  re-elected  in  1906.

Francis  wrote  an  eclectic  series  of  books  including  Historic  Personality, The  Case  for  the  Armenians,  Life  of  Robert  Grosseteste  Bishop  of  Lincoln  and  A  History  of  Montenegro.

He  died  in  1938  aged  75.

1105 John Blades

Constituency : West  Bromwich  1885-6

John  won  the  new  seat  of  West  Bromwich.

John  manufactured  blue-bricks  and  sanitary  pipes  in  the  town.

John  was  a  temperance  campaigner.

John  made  no  parliamentary  contributions  and  didn't  defend  his  seat.

He  died  in  1916  aged  75.

1104 Lord William Compton

Constituency  : Stratford-on-Avon  1885-6, Barnsley  1889-97

Lord  William  won  the  new  seat  of  Stratford-on-Avon.

Lord  William  was  the  second  son  of  the  Marquess  of  Northampton. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge. Lord  William  worked  in  the  Diplomatic  Service  then  acted  as  private  secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  between  1880  and  1882.

Lord  William  was  defeated  in  1886. He  was  known  as  Earl  Compton  from  1887  when  his  elder  brother  died.

In  1890  William  became  an  unlikely  representative  for  Barnsley  at  a  by-election.

In  1897  William  succeeded  his  father  and  moved  to  the  Lords.

William  served  on  London  County  Council  from  1889  to  1895.

In  1910  William  was  used  as  a  special  envoy  to  announce  the  accession  of  George V  in  foreign  courts.

His  last  speech  in  the  Lords  supported  reform  of  the  Lords.

He  died  in  Italy  in  1913  aged  62.

1103 William Bright

Constituency :  Stoke -upon -Trent  Stoke  1885-90

William  won  the  new  seat  of  Stoke-upon-Trent  Stoke.

William  was  the  son  of  John  Bright. He  was  educated  at  Grove  House  School, Tottenham  and  the  University  of  London.  He  became  a  colliery  agent  and  ship  broker.

William  took  a  different  stance  on  Home  Rule  to his  father  and  later  expressed  regret  that  "two  statesmen  could  not  discuss  politics  without  engaging  in  unnecessary  personalities".

William  made  few  parliamentary  contributions  but  supported  the  development  of  the  London  Underground  in  1889.

William  was  not  in  robust  health  and  resigned  his  seat  in  1890.

He  died  in  1910  aged  59.

1102 George Leveson-Gower

Constituency : Staffordshire  North  West  1885-6, Stoke-upon-Trent  Stoke 1890-95

George  won  the  new  seat  of  Staffordshire  North  West.

George  was  the  son  of  Frederick  Leveson-Gower  who  stepped  down  as  MP  for  Bodmin  at  the  1885  election. He  was  related  to  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  , Earl  Granville  and  the  Marquess  of  Northampton.He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford.

Gladstone, always  eager  to  appoint  young  aristocrats , made  George  a  junior  whip  in  his  third  administration.

George  was  defeated  in  1886  but  returned in  a  by-election  at  Stoke  in  1890.  He  was  Comptroller  of  the  Household  under  Gladstone  and  Rosebery. In  1895  he  was  defeated  by  a  Liberal  Unionist.

In  1890  George  repeatedly  raised  the  issue  of  persecution  of  the  Armenians  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.

George  was  chairman  of  the  Home  Counties  Liberal  Federation  from  1905  to  1908  and  a  Commissioner  of  woods  and  forests  from  1908  to  1924.

He  died  in  1951  aged  93.

1101 James Ellis

Constituency  : Rushcliffe  1885-1910

John  won  the  new  seat  of  Rushcliffe.

John  was  a  Quaker  coal  owner  in  Nottinghamshire . His  father  was  chairman  of  the  Midland  Railway. He  was  educated  at  a  Quaker  school  in  Kendal. He  was  chairman  of  the  Nottingham  Joint-Stock  Bank.

John  was  a  radical. His  maiden  speech  was  supporting  the  Places  of  Worship  Sites  Bill  which  sought  to  allow  other  denominations  the  same  powers  of  compulsory  purchase  as  the  Church  of  England. In  1887  he  sought  to  amend  the  Mines  Bill  by  banning  the  employment  of  girls  under  16  as  pit  brow  lasses.

John  denounced  the  conditions  in  the  British  concentration  camps  in  South  Africa .  He  had  a  hard  campaign  in  1900  when  the  Tories  seized  on  the  "Solly  correspondence". John  had  written  to  a  lady  in  South  Africa  asking  for  information  for  parliamentary  purposes. The  Tories  produced  a  poster  reading  "Radical  Traitors  in  Correspondence  with  the  Enemy" against   which  John  failed  to  get  an  injunction. A Tory MP   visiting  the  constituency  during  the  campaign  declared  "Mr  Ellis  has  been  false  to  his  oath  and  a  traitor  to  his  King  and  country". He  won  by  a  reduced  majority  of  466  votes  and  told  the  electors, "You  have  protested  against  the  throttling  of  the  channel  of  inteligence  from  South  Africa  which  has  been  practised  by  those  charged  with  acts  of  maladministration  at  the  time  they  are  seeking  a  vote  of  confidence  in  relation  to  the  war".

 In  1905  Campbell-Bannerman  made  John  under-secretary  of  state  for  India. He  backed  Lloyd  George's  "People's  Budget".

John  was  a  philanthropist  and  gifted  a  public  library  to  Hucknall  in  1910.

John  died  in  the  middle  of  the  December  1910  election  campaign  aged  69.

1100 Henry Cobb

Constituency : Rugby  1885-95

Henry  took  the  new  seat  of  Rugby.

Henry  was  from  Oxfordshire. His  father  had  interests  in  girth-weaving  and  banking. He  was  a  Unitarian. He  became  a  solicitor  and  was  also  a  partner  in  the  family  bank.

Henry  was  a  radical  and  pressed  Gladstone  for  radical  measures  "while  the  steam  was  up". He  wanted  to  extend  free  education  to  secondary  pupils.

Henry  questioned  the  government  over  their  help  to  The  Times  in  the  Parnell  case.

He  died  in  1910  aged  74.

1099 Jasper Johns

Constituency : Nuneaton  1885-6

Jasper  won  the  new  seat  of  Nuneaton.

Jasper  was  a  civil  engineer  from  Wales. He worked  for  an  iron  merchants  firm  and  did  much  to  promote  railway  development  in  Wales. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Northallerton  in  1865  and  1868.

Jasper  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1891  aged  67.

1098 John Williams

Constituency : Nottingham  South  1885-6, Mansfield 1892-1900

John  won  the  new  seat  of  Nottingham  South.

John  was  privately  educated. He  was  a  Congregationalist  agitator  and  secretary  to  the  Liberation  Society  for  thirty  years  ( 1847-77 ).  In  1866  he  and  Henry  Richard  orchestrated  as  campaign  to  mobilise  nonconformist  voters  by  forming  local  registration  societies. He  was  a  deacon  at  Surbiton  and  trained  in  ecclesiastical  law. He  wrote  a  number  of  pamphlets  on  Nonconformist  causes  and  founded  The  Liberator  journal  in  1853. He  was  a  director  of  the  Whittington  Life  Insurance  Company.

By  the  time  of  his  election  John  was  deaf  and  suffered  from  a  harsh  cough.

In  1886  John  carried  a  Bill  extending  the   permitted  hours for  Noncnformist  mariages. In  1889  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Nationl  Education  Association  to  protect  undenominational  education.

John  was  friendly  with Morley  and  able  to  clarify  the  religious  equality  aspects  of   the  second  Home  Rule  Bill  in  1892.  He  wanted  to  use  the  campaign  for  Welsh  disestablishment  as  a  spearhead  to  drive  through  English  disestablishment  but  this  was  effectively  resisted  by  the  Welsh  MPs  particularly  Stuart  Rendel  who  operated  outside  the  L.S.

In  1894  John apologised  to  the  Liberal  leadership  for  the  advice  sent  out  to  Liberationist  voters  by  the  Society  to  abstain  at  the  Horncastle  by-election because  the  Liberal  candidate  would  not  commit  himself  fully  to  disestablishment. A  year  later  he  sought  to  dissociate  the  Society  from  Lloyd  George's  amendment  to  the  Welsh  Disestablishment  Bill  which  succeeded  , as  he  foresaw, in  wrecking  the  bill. He  himself  had  been  consulted  on  the  Bill's  technical  details.

On  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  John's  first  association  with  the  Liberation  Society in  1897  Gladstone  praised  his  "consistency, devotion, unselfishness, ability".

In  1900  John  became  president  of  the  Congregational  Union.

In  1901  John  publicly  complained  that  the  National  Liberal  Federation  was  stifling  discussion  of  disestablishment. By  this  time  the  Liberation  Society  was  dying  on  the  vine  and  their  1901  triennial  meeting  which  he  chaired  was  described  as  an  "Old  Guard  of  greyheads". John  lamented  that  "a  very  large  number  of  young  men have  gone  to  the  football  or  cricket  field, to  the  golf  links  or  the  cycling  track, and  the  appeals  which  stirred  their  fathers  have  gone  unheeded".

He  died  in  1907  aged  86.

1097 Sir John Swinburne

Constituency  : Lichfield  1885-92

Sir  John  took  Lichfield  , the  first  Liberal  victory  there  since  1868.

Sir  John  had  succeeded  his  grandfather  to  the  baronetcy  in  1860. He  spent  some  time  living  in  the  south  of  Ireland.

Sir  John  called  for  more  government  assistance  for  landowners  wishing  to  improve  their  land. He  also  called  for  military  maps  to  be  made  available  to  the  general  public.

In  1889  Sir  John  sought  to  delay  the  grant  of  a  royal  charter  to  a  gold-mining  company   in  South  Africa where  he  had  a  concession  he  had  never  developed. He  indicated  his  opposition  could  be  bought  off  and  settled  for  £10,000.

Sir  John  stood  for  Newbury  in  1895.

He  died  in  1914  aged  83.

1096 Edward Johnson-Ferguson

Constituency : Loughborough  1885-6, 1892-1900

Edward  won  the  new  seat  of  Loughborough.

Edward  was  born  Jabez  Johnson  in  Salford. He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  and  became  chairman  of  a  family  company. He  was  also  a  director  of  Williams, Deacon  & Manchester  and  Salford  Bank.

During  one  campaign  Edward's  wife  was  physically  attacked  by  a  county  magistrate   who  was  then  set  upon  by  a  crowd.

Edward  was  defeated  in  1886  but  regained  his  seat  in  1892.

In  1891  Edward  became  a  director  of  the  mining  company ,  Bolckow  Vaughan  Co  Ltd. In  1906   he  became  its  chairman  and  managing  director, He  was  created  a  baronet  the  same  year.

He  died  in  1929  aged  80.

1095 James Ellis

Constituency  : Bosworth  1885-92

James  won  the  new  seat  of  Bosworth.

James  was  from  Leicestershire  where  he  was  educated  at  a  Quaker  school. He  owned  granite  quarries  and  was  a  merchant  in  stone. He  chaired  the  Leicester  School  Board. In  !881  he  became  chairman  of  the  South  Leicestershire  Liberal  Association.

James  was  a  staunch  defender  of free  trade.

James  announced  he  would  be  standing  down  at  the  next  election  in  1888  but  saw  out  his  term.

He  died  in  1901  aged  82.

1094 Charles Crompton

Constituency : Leek  1885-6

Charles  won  the  new  seat  of  Leek.

Charles  was  a  judge's  son  from  London. He  was  educated  at  University  College  London  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  barrister. He  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  at  West  Cheshire  in  1874  and  a  member  of  the  commission  investigating  corrupt  practices  at  Knaresborough  in  1880.

Charles  praised  the  Irish  members  for  the  way  they  supported  the  Irish  Registration  Bill  in  1886  saying  it  augured  well  for  Home  Rule.

Charles  was  defeated  in  1886  and  did  not  stand  again.

He  died  in  1890  aged  57.

1093 Thomas Watson

Constituency  : Ilkeston  1885-7

Thomas  won  the  new  seat  of  Ilkeston.

Thomas  was  actually  from  Rochdale. He  started  work  as  a  silk  spinner  and  set  up  in  business  with  two  colleagues  in  silk  and  hat  making. He  invented  silk  plush  for  hat  making.He  became  successful  and  went  solo. He  built  a  new  infirmary  for  the  town. He  was  chairman  of  the  School  Board  and  treasurer  of  the  Free  Church  denomination.

He  died  in  1887  aged  66.

1092 Henry Wardle

Constituency : Derbyshire  South  1885-92

Derbyshire  South  was  reduced  from  a  two-member  constituency  , usually  represented  by  one  from  each  party  to  a  single  member  constituency. Henry  won  it  for  the  Liberals  replacing  the  retiring  Thomas  Evans.

Henry  was  born  in  Berkshire  but  started  a  partnership  in  a  brewery  at  Burton-upon-Trent. He  was  active  in  the  town's  civic  affairs.

Most  of  Henry's  few  parliamentary  contributions  concerned  supposed  errors  in  the  official  Prayer  Books.

He  died  shortly  before  the  election  in  1892  aged  59.

1091 James Jacoby

Constituency : Mid-Derbyshire  1885-1909

James  won  the  new  seat  of  Mid-Derbyshire.

James  was  the  son  of  a  Jewish  lace  manufacturer  in  Nottingham. He  was  educated  privately He  became  a  director  of  the  family  firm. He  joined  Nottingham  Town  Council  in  1876  and  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  Nottingham  Chamber  of  Commerce. He  took  charge  of  committees  on  technical  schools  and  the  Castle  Museum.

James  was  an  art  collector  and  bequeathed  paintings  to  the  Castle  Museum. James  did  not  appreciate  street  music  and  made  several  attempts  to  outlaw  the  "organ  grinding  nuisance".

In  1897  the  Earl  of  Crawford  described  James  as  "whip  of  the  advanced  radicals, epicure, flatfooted  and  Ishmaelite".

He  died  in  1909  aged  57.

1090 Hugh Gilzean-Reid

Constituency : Aston  Manor  1885-6

Hugh  took  the  new  seat  of  Aston  Manor.

Hugh  was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Highland  crofters. He  was  mainly  self-educated  and  did  some  theological  study  in  preparation  for  a  Baptist  ministry. Instead  he  became  a  journalist. In   1869  he  founded  the  North-Eastern  Daily  Gazette. He  later  became  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Weekly  News. He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Institute  of  Journalists.  His  wife  Ann  was  a  founder  member  and  president  of  the  Women's  Liberal  Association.

Hugh  was  defeated  by  the  Conservatives  in  1886.

Hugh  was  knighted  in  1893. He  spent  much  of  his  later  years  in  Belgium  and  became  involved  in  promoting  missionary  work  in  the  Congo. He  received  honours  from  the  Belgian  crown. He  was  President  of  the  Society  of  Newspaper  Proprietors  and  Managers  in  1898-9.

In  1909  he  was  injured  in  an  early   car  crash  and  died  two  years  later  aged  75.

1089 Joseph Powell-Williams

Constituency :  Birmingham  South  1885-1904 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Joseph  was  another  beneficiary  of  the  Liberal  caucus,  taking  Birmingham  South.

Joseph  was  the  son  of  a  vinegar  merchant  in  Worcester  . He was  educated  at  Hazlewood  School, Birmingham. He  worked  for  a  firm  of  solicitors  in  Birmingham  on  whose  behalf  he  travelled  to  the  USA. On  his  return  he  worked  for  the  Post  Office  where  he  befriended  Anthony  Trollope. He  later  became  chairman  of  the  Midland  Railway  Carriage  and  Wagon  Company. He  was  a  Congregationalist  who  became  a  close  associate  of  Chamberlain. He  was  elected  a  councillor  in  1877 and  became  chair  of  the  Finance  Committee.  He  was  an  advocate  of  county  government  and  wrote  a  paper  on  it  for  the  National  Liberal  Federation.

Joseph  was  inclined to  abstain  in  the  Home  Rule  vote having  previously  promised  "  to  give  the  Irish  as  much  local  government  as  ourselves" but  went  with  Chamberlain  out  of  friendship.  He  wrote  to  him  "I  would  not  be  guilty , whatever  may  be  my  own  opinion  upon  the  particular  point  at  issue,  of  the  meanness  of  standing  aloof  from  you  in  the  critical  moment. He  was  returned  unopposed  in  1886. He  became  chairman  of  the  new  Birmingham  Liberal  Unionist  Association and  Chamberlain's  chief  political  agent. He  arranged  for  Bright's  son  to  succeed  him  in  his  seat  when  Churchill  was  looking  to  stand  and  complained  of  difficulties  with  Birmingham  Tories  who  wanted  a  larger  slice  of  the  seats.

 He  served  on  Commons  committees  on  ground  rents  and  the  Manchester  Sheffield  and  Lincolnshire  Railway.

When  the  Liberal  Unionists  joined  the  government  in  1895  Joseph  became  Financial  Secretary  to  the  War  Office  and  held  that  position  until  1901. The  Daily  Chronicle  called  him  "a  square  peg  in  a  round  hole"  and  suggested  his  office  was  accident-prone.

Joseph  was  known  for  his  sense  of  humour  in  the  Commons  and  The  Times  noted  that  he  was  "greatly  esteemed  by  lobby  journalists  and  officials". The  Birmingham  Post  said  "He  kept  the  Liberal  Unionist  seats  going  and  the  alliance  with  the  Conservatives  alive".

In  1904  he  suffered  a  fatal  stoke  in  the  Commons  lobby. He  was  63.

1088 William Kenrick

Constituency : Birmingham  North  1885-99

William  took  the  new  seat  of  Birmingham  North.

William  was  the  son  of  an  iron  founder  and  hardware  manufacturer  from  West  Bromwich.  He  was  also  Joseph  Chamberlain's  brother-in-law  twice  over, each  marrying  the  other's  sister.. He  joined  the  council  in  1870  and  was  Mayor  from  1877  to  1878. He  was  chairman  of  the  Museum  and  School  of  Arts  Committee  and  was  visited  by  William  Morris  in  1880.He  was  involved  in  the  Arts  and  Crafts  movement. He was  a  benevolent  employer.He  was  a  Unitarian.

William  naturally  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists.

In  1888  William  pressed for  county  councils  to  have  control  over  police  numbers  in  their  area.

William  stood  down  in  1899.

He  died  in  1919  aged  88.

1087 William Cook

Constituency  : Birmingham  East  1885-6

William  took  the  new  seat  of  Birmingham  East  as  Chamberlain's  "caucus"  made  a  clean  sweep  of  the  city's  seats.

William  started  out  as  an  apprentice  in  the  pin  and  wire  trade  in  Birmingham  but  set  up  his  own  business  making  tacks  and  shoe  rivets. He  made  his  name   in  the  Amalgamated  Society  of  Engineers  from  a  very  young  age. He  was  elected  to  Birmingham  Town  Council  and  became  chair  of  the  Borough  Health  Committee. He  was  mayor  in  1883-84. He  taught  in  the  early  morning  schools  for  the  instruction  of  adults set  up  in  the  city.

William  never  spoke  in  Parliament. He  supported  allotments  but  did  not  endorse  land  confiscation.

Like  Henry  Broadhurst , William  resisted  moving  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  but  stayed  to  defend  his  seat  in  1886  which  he  lost  to  the  Conservatives.   He  retained  his  position  on  the  the  Borough  Health  Committee  and  became  president  of  the  Birmingham  Liberal  Association.   He  set  up  convalescent  homes  in  Llandudno  in  connection  with  Birmingham's  Hospital  Saturday  Fund .He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Birmingham  Bordesley  in  1895.

In  1901  the Tory  Birmingham  Daily  Gazette  mounted  a  sustained  attack  on  him  describing  him  as  "totally  incapable  of  conducting  a  vigorous  and  efficient  sanitary  administration. His  25  years  of  office  represent  a  dreary  blank  in  the  history  of  progress". He  won  a  libel  suit  after  the  paper  suggested  he  owned  slum  properties  in  the  city.

William  was  knighted  in  1906

He  died  in  1908  aged  63. A  tuberculosis  hospital  was  named  after  him. The  paper  shamelessly  said  he  " probably  helped  in  doing  more  for  the  betterment  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  poorer  classes  live  than  any  other  man  who  has  occupied  a  seat  in  the  Council  Chamber".  

1086 Frank Lockwood

Constituency : York  1885-97

Frank  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  in  York.

Frank  was  a   draughtsman's  son   from  Doncaster. He  was  educated  at  Manchester  Grammar  School  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  successful  barrister.  In  1880  he  was  a member  of  the  Royal  Commission  looking  at  corrupt  practices  in  Chester. That  year  he  stood  for  election  in  King's  Lynn. In  January  1883  he  had  to  contradict  a  newspaper  report  that  he  was  going  to  stand  for  Sunderland  as  a  Tory  ;  later  that  year  he  contested  the  York  by-election  of  1883  and  was  defeated  by  21 votes. Salisbury  claimed  that  in  supporting  Ireland  being  given  the  same  parliamentary  franchise  and  local  institutions  as  the  rest  of  the  country  Frank  had  bought  the  Irish  vote  and  sold  the  integrity  of  the  country.

Frank  believed  the  Irish  vote  had  secured  his  victory  in  1886. He  was  kissed  by  a  big  dirty  Irishman  during  the  campaign. He  had  misgivings  about  the  Home  Rule  Bill  but  voted  for  its  second  reading  in  the  hope  that  the  exclusion  of  Irish  members  from  Westminster  could  be  dropped  at  a  later  stage.

Frank  was  an  infrequent  speaker  in  the  House  believing  that  his  work  at  the  Bar  prevented  him  from  being  knowledgeable  enough  to  speak  on  many  questions.

Frank  supported  the  death  penalty  in  cases  where  malice  aforethought  had  been  proved  , maintaining  that  it  was  a  deterrent.

In  1894  Frank  became  solicitor-general  in  Rosebery's  government.  In  1895 he  led  for  the  crown  in  Regina  v  Wilde  , reluctantly  but  judging  that  the  case  had  become  too  politicised  to  be  dropped.

In  1896  Frank  went  to  the  USA  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  American  Bar  Association  as  a  guest  speaker  and  furthered  his  reputation  as  a  humorous  after-dinner  speaker.

Frank  was  also  a  skilled  cartoonist . He  had  an  exhibition  in  1889   and  his  work  featured  in  Punch  from 1893  to  his  death.

He  died  in  1897 aged  51. A  sketch-book  of  his  drawings  was  published  the  following  year.

1085 Alfred Pease

Constituency : York  1885-1892, Cleveland  1897-1902

Alfred  was  one  of  the  two  Liberal  winners  in  York  replacing  a  Tory  by-election  victor  and  the  retiring  Ralph Creyke.

Alfred  was  a  member  of  the  Quaker  Pease  dynasty. He  was  the  son  of  Sir  Joseph  Pease, the  MP  for  Barnard  Castle. He  was  educated  at  Grove  House  School  and  Cambridge.  He  started  working  in  the  family  bank. He  became  the  managing  director  of  the  Middlesbrough  Estate.

Alfred  stood  for  York  in  1892  and  1895  but  was  defeated. He  was  returned  for  Cleveland in  1897  despite  being  away  in  Somaliland  at  the  time.

Alfred  was  not  in  favour  of   MPs  receiving  instructions  from  their  constituents  writing  that  "Even  a  Radical  like  John  Bright  declared  that  it  was  a  duty  to  stand  like  a  "tiger"  in  the  path  of  people  if  they  are  wrong".

Unlike  other  members  of  the  family  Alfred  decided  to  stick  with  his  father  over  Home  Rule. He  described  the  Liberal  Unionists  thus : "Some  were  merely  Liberal  in  name ; others  were  Whigs; some  were  Liberals  apart  from  the  Irish  Question, others  were  Radicals, others  teetotal  fanatics  and  a  small  body  were  whatever  Chamberlain  was ". His  son  was  hit  by  a  rotten  pear  during  the  1886  campaign.

In  1900  Alfred  was  working  with  his  father  in  Darlington  and  missed  his  train  home  in  a  ferocious  blizzard. Given  that  his  father  was  chairman  of  the  North  Eastern  Railway  Company  a  one-carriage  special  was   rustled  up  to  get  him  home. After  he  had  alighted  his  train  got  stuck  in  a  drift  and  was  struck  by  a  subsequent  train  killing  a  fireman.

The  Pease  family  suffered  catastrophic  business  failure  at  the  turn  of  the  century. Alfred  resigned  his  seat  in  1902  to  pursue  new  opportunities  in  Africa. He worked  in  the  Transvaal  as  a  resident  magistrate  then  crossed  to  Sudan  churning  out  a  series  of  travel  books. He  succeeded  to  his  father's  baronetcy  in  1903.  In  1906  he  leased  a  farm  in  Kenya  close  to  the  Uganda  Railway  where  he  farmed  ostriches  and  hunted  game. He  also  played  host  to  many  famous  people  who  came  to  hunt  the  big  game  including  President  Rooseveldt  who  described  him  as  "a singularly  good  rider  and  one  of  the  best  game  shots I  have  ever  seen." In  1909  he  founded  the  Shikar  Club  for  big  game  hunters.

He  died  in  1939  aged  81.

1084 Joseph Woodhead

Constituency  : Spen  Valley  1885-92

Joseph  took  the  new  seat  of  Spen  Valley.

Joseph  was  the  son  of  a  currier  and  leather  merchant  from  Holmfirth. He  was  educated  at  private  schools  then  became  apprenticed  to  a  wool  manufacturer. In  1851  he  was  part  of  a  group  that  founded  the  Huddersfield  Examiner. The  paper  became  a  success  and  he  went  ion  to  found  the  Dewsbury  Reporter. He  was  mayor  of  Huddersfield  in  1876-77.  He  had  a  long  battle  with  the  local  MP  and  landowner  Sir  John  Ramsden  over  the  siting  of  Huddersfield  Town  Hall.He  was  a  teetotal  Nonconformist.

Joseph  was  a  supporter  of  female  suffrage.

Joseph's  main  contributions  to  Parliament  centred  around  the  Technical  Instruction  Bill  of  1889  which  threatened  to  make  School  Boards  subject  to  other  authorities.

Joseph  stepped  down  in  1892  but  refused  a  baronetcy.

He  died  in  1913  aged  89.

1083 Edward Crossley

Constituency  : Sowerby  1885-92

Edward  won   the  new  seat  of  Sowerby.

Edward  was  a  scion  of  the  famous  Halifax  carpets  dynasty. He  was  educated  at  Owens  College,  Manchester. He  was  the  son-in-law  of  the  former  MP  for  Leeds, Edward  Baines. He  was  mayor  of  Halifax  between  1874  and  1876  and  in  1884-85. Edwards's  principal  interest  was  astronomy. In  1867  he  became  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society.  He  built  an  observatory  at  Bernerside  and  bought  a  36-inch  telescope. He  co-authored  a  book  on  double  stars  in  1879. He  was  a  deacon  of  Square  Congregational  Chapel  though  in  1888  he  fell  out  with  the  minister  and  built  his  own  independent  Evangelical  Protestant  chapel  on  the  Isle  of  Wight..

Edward  was  a  keen  supporter  of  Home  Rule  and  referred  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  as  "chained  to  the  Tory  chariot".

Edward  was  a   campaigner  against  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act.

In  1895  Edward  donated  his  telescope  to  the  Lick  Observatory  in  California  where  viewing  conditions  were  better.  It  became  known  as  the  Crossley  reflector  and  saw  service  up  to  2010.

He  died  in  1905  aged  64.

1082 Joseph Craven

Constituency  : Shipley  1885 -92

Joseph  won  the  new  seat  of  Shipley.

Joseph'  father  started  out  as  a  wool  spinner  in  a  local  mill  but  came  to  own  his  own  mill. He  was  a  member  of  Bradford  Chamber  of  Commerce.

Joseph's  seat  was  uncontested  in  1886.  In  1891  Joseph  suffered  a  severe  attack  of  bronchitis  and  he  stood  down  in  1892.

He  died  in  1914 aged  89.

1081 Bernard Coleridge

Constituency  : Sheffield  Attercliffe  1885-94.

Bernard  won  the  new  seat  of  Sheffield  Attercliffe.

Bernard  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Baron  Coleridge, former  Liberal  MP  for  Exeter  and  Lord  Chief  Justice  for  England. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister.

Bernard  was  opposed  to  anti-vivisection.

Bernard  was  a  skilful  public  orator  described  as  "silver-tongued".

In  1894  Bernard  succeeded  to  his  father's  title.  He  did  so  unwillingly  because  he  thought  it  might  prevent  him  from  practicing  at  the  Bar  ; he  became  the  first  lord  to  regularly  do  so He  served  as  a  High  Court  judge  from  1907  to  1923,  becoming  the  first  hereditary  peer   to  become  a  judge  outside  the  House  of  Lords  itself..

He  died  in  1927 aged  76.

1080 Arthur Acland

Constituency : Rotherham  1885-99

Arthur  took  the  new  seat  of  Rotherham  for  which  he  was  a  somewhat  incongruous  candidate.

Arthur  was  the  son  of  the  MP  for  Wellington,  the  wealthy  baronet  Thomas  Acland. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister. He  was  a  tutor  at  Oxford  for  the  early  part  of  his  career. He  became  a  deacon  in  1872 and  a  priest  in  1874  but   had  a  nervous  collapse  brought  about  by  doubts  about  the  validity  of  the  Anglican  faith  and   gave  up  holy  orders  five  years  later  to pursue  a  political  career  inspired  by  a  tour  of  the  industrial  north  in  1875.  From  1878  he  administered  the  Oxford  Extension  Lectures.

In  1886  Arthur  presided  over  the  second  day  of  the  Co-Operative  Congress. His  maiden  speech  extolled  the  working  classes'  interest  in  adult  education  and  called  for  more  information  on  government  to  be  made  available  to  them  through  the  Blue  Books.

Arthur  pursued  his  interest  in  education  in  Parliament  . He  was  one  of  the  principal  sponsors   of  the  1889   Welsh  Intermediate Act  which  gave  control  of  schools  to  county  councils  in  Wales. He  was  active  in  the  Liberal  Publications  Department  founded  in  1887

Arthur  was  a  radical  who  introduced  Lloyd  George  to  the   Speaker  in  1890.

In  1892  Gladstone  appointed  Arthur Vice-President  of  the  Council  of  Education  under  Lord  Kimberley  , with  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet. He  served  until  1895. He  was  responsible  for  the  Elementary  Education  ( Blind  and  Deaf  Children )  Act  of  1893  and  the  Elementary  Education  (  School  Attendance )  Act  of  the  same  year  which  extended  the  compulsory  age  to  eleven. He  also  introduced   the  Evening  Continuation  School  Code  which  laid  the  groundwork  for  adult  education  and  improved  the  inspection  of  school  buildings  service.

Arthur was  friendly  with  Asquith  and  Grey  and  helped  persuade  the  latter  to  accept  office  in  1905.

Arthur's  energy  in  office  took  a  toll  on  his  health  which  deteriorated  markedly  during  his  last  years  as  an  MP. He  was  obliged  to  resign  his  seat  in  1899.

Arthur  served  on  a  number  of royal  commissions  after  that .  He  wrote  a  memoir  of  his  father  which  was  published  in  1902. He was  President  of  the  National  Liberal  Federation  from  1906  to  1907. He  refused  a  peerage  in  1908. He  worked  on  a  textbook  about  the  political  history  of  England.  He  chaired  Lloyd  George's  unofficial  land  enquiry  in  1912.  He  chaired  the  Forestry  sub-committee  of  the  Reconstruction  Committee  during  World  War  One   which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Forestry  Commission  in  1919.

Arthur  succeeded  to  his  brother's  baronetcy  in  1919.

He  died  in  1926  aged  78.

1079 William Harker

Constituency : Ripon  1885-6

William  took  over  at  Ripon  after  George  Goschen  moved  to  Edinburgh.

William  was  a  self-made  wool  baron  in  Bradford. He became  a  director  of  the  Bradford  Banking  Company  which  later  merged  into  Barclays. He helped  improve  Bradford's  water  supply  and  sewage disposal.

William  never  spoke  in  the  Commons.

William  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  in  1905  aged  86.

1078 Briggs Priestley

Constituency : Pudsey  1885-1900

Briggs  won  the  new  seat  of  Pudsey.

Briggs  was  a  cloth  manufacturer who  had  worked  his  way  up  from  a  millhand.His  company  led  in  the  manufacture  of  waterproof  fabrics. He  served  on  Bradford  Town  Council  and  gave  the  town  a  park, art  gallery  and  museum  and  a  school  for  orphans. In  1877  he  became  Mayor  and  started  the  ball  rolling  for  Bradford  College. He  was  a  Baptist.

Briggs  was known  as  an  advanced  Liberal  and  was  chair  of  the  East  Bradford  Liberal  Association.

Briggs  hardly  spoke  in  Parliament  but  he  did  manage  to  sabotage  a  Factory Bill.

Briggs  stood  down  in  1900.

He  died  in  1907  aged  76. Two  of  his  sons  became  MPs  themselves.

1077 Benjamin Pickard

Constituency  :  Normanton  1885-1904

Benjamin  won  the  new  seat  of  Normanton  as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate.

Benjamin  was  a  miner's  son  who  started  work  as  a  pitboy  aged  12  after  education  at  Kippax  Grammar  School. He  was  a  Methodist  lay  preacher. He  became  involved  in  trade  union  activities  aged  16  and  in  1873  became  assistant  secretary  of  the  West  Yorkshire  Miners  Association. He  united  it  with  a  similar  union  in  the  South  to  become  first  General  Secretary  of  the  Yorkshire  Miners  Association  in  1881. He  also  served  on  the  Wakefield  School  Board from  1881. The  YMA  came  to  an  agreement  with  the  local  Liberals  that  they  could  nominate  the  parliamentary  candidate  for  a  constituency  which  had  an  electorate  that  was  60%  miners.

Benjamin  was  active  in  promoting  the  Eight  Hours  Bill  and  other  industrial  legislation. In  1889  he  became  President  of  the  newly  founded  Miners  Federation  of  Great  Britain at  the  conference  in  Newport  that  he  had  instigated. In  1890  he  helped  establish  the  International  Federation  of  Mineworkers . In  1893  he  was  a  leader  in  the  miners  strike  and  supported  the  Board  of  Conciliation  that  resulted.

Benjamin  supported  the  payment  of  MPs , abolition  of  the  House  of  Lords  and  Charles  Bradlaugh's  right  to  affirm. He  opposed  the  idea  of  a  separate  labour  party  at  the  1886  TUC  declaring  that  he  was  a  Radical, Liberal  or  Whig  before  he  thought  of  becoming  a  labour  representative  and  that  "labour  is  best  served  by  the  Liberal  party,  and  that  the  Liberal  programme  is  a  working  man's  programme. In  1894  he  opposed  the  idea  of  nationalising  the  mines.

In  1897  Benjamin  supported  the  Liberal  candidate  Joseph  Walton, a  colliery  owner  against  the  ILP  in  the  Barnsley  by-election,  describing  the  ILP  as  "men  who  have  deliberately  come  into  your  midst  to  try  and  kill  your  power  and  influence  both  in  politics  and  in  combination".

Benjamin  was  a  pacifist  and  in  1897  he  visited  the  US  president   Grover  Cleveland  as  part  of  a  peace  delegation. He  was  also  a  teetotal  supporter  of  the  Temperance  Society.

He  died  in  1904  of  heart  failure  aged  61.