1164 Benjamin Hingley

Constituency : Worcestershire  North  1885-95

Benjamin  took the  new  seat  of  Worcestershire  North.

Benjamin  was  educated  at  King  Edward's  School  Halesowen  and  entered  the  family  firms  which  were  a  chain  and  anchor  manufacturers  and  a  colliery  business. He  was  chair  of  the  regional  Ironmasters  Association  and  sat  on  to  Wages  Boards. He  also  had  an  interest  in  gas  companies.

Benjamin  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886  and  was  returned  unopposed  . He  had  returned  to  the  main  fold  by  the  1892  election.

Benjamin  opposed  the  mandatory  imposition  of  a  detaching  hook  for  miners'  cages.  His  parliamentary  contributions  were  mostly  on  mining  matters.  He  sat  on  the  Admiralty  Committee. He  pressed  for  the  Particulars  Clause  which  favoured  women  workers  to  be  applied  to  the  chainmaking  business. He  was  a  benevolent  employer  but  opposed  the  eight  hour  day  for  miners  and  Workmen's  Compensation  Bill  of  1897  which  he  viewed  as  communistic.

Benjamin  was  Mayor  of  Dudley  from  1887  to  1889. He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1893

Benjamin  stepped  down  on  health  grounds  in  1895.

Benjamin  was  elected  president  of  the  Mining  Association  of  Great  Britain  in  1903.

He  died  of  heart  failure  in  1905  aged  74.

That  concludes  our  look  at  the  Liberals  elected  in  1885. That  Parliament  didn't  sit  for  very  long. Jesse  Collings'  amendment  to  the  Queen's  Speech  brought  down  the  Salisbury  government  and  let  Gladstone  form  a  third  ministry  but  when  he  proposed  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  enough  Liberals  voted  against  to  defeat  the  Bill  on  its  second  reading. Most  of  those  Liberals  came  to  an  agreement  with  the  Tories  and  stood  at  the  ensuing  election  as  Liberal  Unionists.

There  were  no  new  Liberals  elected  at  by-elections  during  the  Parliament.

1163 George Fuller

Constituency  : Westbury  1885-95

George  took  Westbury  from  the  Tories.

George  was  the  son  of  a  brewer  from  Wiltshire. He  was  educated  at  Wiltshire  and  Oxford. He  was  a  keen  cricketer. He  inherited a  share  in  the  family  business  and  was  also  chairman  of  Avon  Rubber. He  also  managed  an  estate. He  stood  for  North  Wiltshire  in  1880. He  was  the  brother-in-law  of  the  prominent  Tory  Michael  Hicks-Beach.

George  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  rent  fixing  propositions  of  the  Crofters  Bill  in  1886.

George  was  defeated  by  166  votes  in  1895. His  son  John  regained  the  seat in  1900.

George  was a  member  of  Wiltshire  County Council.

He  died  in  1927  aged  94.

1162 Frederick Lambart aka Viscount Kilcoursie

Constituency : South  Somerset  1885-92

Frederick  took  the  new  seat  of  South  Somerset.

Frederick  was  the son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Cavan. He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Navy  and  took  part  in  the  Siege  of  Sebastopol  and  the  Second  Opium  War  against  China. He  stood  in  by-elections at  Taunton  in  1882  and  Somerset  in  1884.

Frederick  served  as  Vice-Chamberlain  of  the  Household  during  Gladstone's  ministry  of  1886. He  made  a  rather  poor  speech  during  the  Home  Rule  debate  in  which  , as  Lewis  McIver  dryly  pointed  out  he  did  not  say  "anything calling  for  a  direct  reply".

Frederick  became  Earl  of  Cavan  in  1887  but  stayed  in  the  Commons  as  it was  an  Irish  peerage.He  stood  down  in  1892.

Frederick  was  a  keen  sportsman  and  travel  writer.

He  died  in  1900  aged  60.

1161 Thomas Blake

Constituency : East  Somerset  1885-1906 ( from 1886  Liberal Unionist )

Henry  took  East  Somerset  which  had  previously  been  represented  by  two  Tories.

Henry  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister  and  parliamentary  draughtsman. He  was  also  a  considerable  landowner.

Henry  spoke  in  favour  of  Hartingtion's  position  on  Home  Rule  and  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886. He  stood  down  in  1886.

Henry  had  a  large  interest  in  education. He  joined  the  Board  of  Education  in  1900  and  helped  draft  the  1902  Education  Act.. He  was  also  pro- chancellor  of  Bristol  University and  left  his  book  collection  to  them.

Henry  was  a  member  of  Somerset  Council   and  the  founder  of  the  County  Councils  Association.

He  died  in  1937  aged  83.

1160 Lawrence Baker

Constituency : Frome 1885-6  

Lawrence  took  over  from  Henry  Samuelson,  who  was  retiring  through  illness,  at  short  notice.

Lawrence  was  the  son  of  an  army  officer  who'd  served  in  India. He  was  privately  educated  and  became a  stockjobber. He  was  a  trustee  of  the  London  Stock  Exchange. He  was  an  expert  on  foreign  bond  holdings. He  stood  at  Guildford  and  Worcester  in  earlier  elections.

Lawrence  asked  a  few  questions  about  government  expenditure.

By  the  time  of  the  1886  election  the  local  Liberals  decided  they  wanted   to  field  Samuelson's  son  instead  and  Lawrence  was  forced  to  stand  down. The  Liberals  lost  the  seat  anyway.

Lawrence  stood  in  Chertsey  in  1892  and  at  a  by-election  in  1897  without  success.

He  died  in  1921  aged  94.

1159 Pascoe Glyn

Constituency : Dorset  East  1885-6

Pascoe  took  the  new  seat  of  Dorset  East.

Pascoe  was  a  younger  brother  of  Baron  Wolverton.  He  was  a  banker.

Pascoe  anticipated  his  defeat  in  1886.

He  died in  1904  aged  71.

1158 Henry Sturgis

Constituency : South  Dorset  1885-6

Henry  won  the  new seat  of  South  Dorset.

Henry  was  the  son  of  an  American  banker. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  was  a  partner  in  Barings  and  a  director  of  London  and  Westminster  Bank. He  was  Henry  Brand's  son-in-law.

Henry  never  spoke  in  Parliament.

Henry  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  on  his  82nd  birthday.

1157 Edwin Portman

Constituency : North  Dorset  1885-92

Edwin  won  the  new  seat  of  North  Dorset.

Edwin  was  the  son  of  Viscount  Portman. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister. He  was  a  director  of  the  Phoenix  Assurance  Company.

Edwin  made  little  contribution  to  Parliament . He  was  defeated  in  1892.

Edwin  was  a  keen  cricketer.

He  died  in  1921 aged  90.

1156 Francis Mildmay

Constituency : Totnes  1885-1912  ( from 1886  Liberal Unionist ) 1912-22  ( Conservative )

Francis  won  the  new  seat  of  Totnes. He  was  24.

Francis   was  the  great  grandson  of  Earl  Grey . He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  partner  in  the  firm  Baring  Brothers. He  was  a director of  the Great Western  Railway.

Francis  was  persuaded  by Viscount  Ebrington  to  abstain  on  Jesse  Collings's  amendment  to  the  Queen's  Speech  to  the  fury  of  Collings  who  had  spoken  for  him  during  the  election  campaign.

Francis  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886.

Francis  volunteered  for  the  Imperial  Yeomanry  and  saw  service  in  the  Boer  War  where  he  was  lieutenant  of  a  battalion. He  also  served  as  a  divisional interpreter in  the  First  World War  and  saw  action  in  the  Second  Battle  of  Ypres.

Francis  retired in  1922  and  was  created  Baron  Mildmay. He  served  on  the  Committee for  Review  of  Political  Honours  Commission  between  1923  and 1924.

Francis  bred and  exhibited  cattle  on his  estate in  Devon  and  had  two  spells  as  President  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society. He  was  also  treasurer  of  the  Medical  Research Council.

He  died in  1947  aged  85.

1155 Lewis McIver

Constituency : Torquay  1885-6, Edinburgh  West  1895-1909 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Lewis  took  the  new  seat  of  Torquay. He  was  the  son  of  the  secretary  of  the  Presidency  Bank  of  Madras. He  was  educated  at  Kensington  Grammar  School  and  Bonn  University. He  was  in  the  Indian  Civil  Service  for  a while. He  became  a  barrister.

Lewis  spoke  out  against  the  annexation  of  Burma - "in  the  Burmese  mind  no  social  scheme  is  conceivable  without  a  King".

Lewis  voted  against  the  Home  Rule  Bill  on  the  issue  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  UK  Parliament  in  1886  but  was  conciliatory  towards  Gladstone  and  his  local  Liberal  association  re-adopted  him  for  the election. The Tories  did  not  trust  him  and  Salisbury  declined  to  intervene  for  him. The  Tory  candidate  called  him  a  "vacillating  adventurer"  and  defeated  him.

Lewis  stood  as a  fully  fledged  Liberal  Unionist  in   Edinburgh  South  in  1892. He  returned  to  the  Commons  for  Edinburgh  West  three  years  later. He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1896.

Lewis  resigned  his  seat  in  1909  and  became  a  city  financier.

He  died  in  1920  aged  74.

1154 Charles Conybeare

Constituency : Camborne  1885-95

Charles  took  the  new  seat  of  Camborne  standing  as  an  "Independent  Liberal"  and  defeating  the  official  Liberal  Arthur Vivian  who  had  been  MP    for  West  Cornwall  by  349  votes . He  was  attacked  as  a  "carpet  bag  politician"  and  "the  Hottest  of  the  Red-Hot  Political  Agitators "  by  the  local  press.

Charles  was  a  barrister's  son  from  London.  He  was  educated  at  Tonbridge  School  and  Oxford.  He  worked  at Manchester  Grammar  School  for  a  couple  of  years  and  then  became  a  barrister. In  1882  he  sued  the  World  magazine  over  an  article  which  criticised  him  as  over-litigious  and  called  him  an  "ill-mannered, cross-grained  splutterer".  He  lost  the  action.

In  1886  Charles  introduced  a  Bill  to  prevent  the  sale  of  liquor  to  children  but  excluded  Ireland  under  pressure  from  his  Nationalist  allies.

In  1886  Charles  was  re-elected  as an  official  Liberal  candidate.

In  1887  Charles  challenged  the  appointment  of  Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg  as  executive  officer  on  the  Dreadnought.

Charles  was  a  supporter  of  Keir  Hardie  and  in  1888  following  Hardie's  dismal  showing  in  the  West  Lanarkshire  by-election, he  joined  Hardie's  Scottish  Labour  Party  as  an  allied  member. In  1889  he  warned  the  Commons  that  the  precarious  living  conditions  of  the  working  classes  could  lead  to  a  revolution.

In  1889  Charles  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Derry  Gaol  for  three  months  for  feeding  evicted  tenants  in  Donegal  which  was  illegal  under  the  1887 Irish  Coercion  Act. He  complained  abut  the  insanitary  conditions  particularly  the  lice.

Charles  presented  a  Bill  for  universal  suffrage  in  1889.

Charles  took  up  the  cause  of  Cornish  miners  and  became  known  as  the "Miners'  Friend".

 Charles  was  a  member  of  the  Men's  League  for  Women's  Suffrage. He  was  married  to  the  suffragist  Florence  Strauss.

Charles  was  defeated  in  1895  and  failed  to  get  back  in  at St  Helens  in  1900  and  Horncastle  in  1910.

Charles  visited  Argentina in  1914.

He  died of  a  stroke   in  1919  aged  65.

1153 William Bickford-Smith

Constituency : Truro  1885-92  ( from  1886  Liberal Unionist )

William  succeeded  Edward  Willyams  and  a  Tory  as  Truro  was  reduced  to  a  single  member.

William  came  from  the  town. His  grandfather  had  established  a  business  making  mining  fuses. He  was  educated  at  Saltash  and  Plymouth. He  was  a  partner  in  the  family  business  and  chairman  of  Helston  Railway. In  1882  he  paid  for  the  building  of  the  Bickford-Smith  Institute  in  Porthleven  as  a  scientific  and  literary  institute. He  was  a  Methodist.

William's  only  Parliamentary  contribution  was  to  formally  second  Sir  John  St  Aubyn's  attempt  to  amend  the  Stannaries  Act  in  1886.

William  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886.

William  stood  down  in  1892.

He  died  in  1899  aged  71.

1152 Arthur Winterbotham

Constituency :  Cirencester  1885-92 ( 1886-87  Liberal  Unionist )

Arthur  became  the  first  Liberal  to  represent  Cirencester  since  1865.  He  won  by  700  votes.

Arthur  was  a  banker's  son  from  Stroud.  He  was  the  brother  of  Henry  Winterbotham, former  MP  for  Stroud . He  was  educated  at  Amersham  School. He  was  a  partner  in  a  cloth  manufacturing  business.

Arthur  was  a  Radical  and   supporter  of  Chamberlain . His   maiden  speech  was  in  support  of  allotments.

Arthur  made  a  passionate  speech  against  the  Home  Rule  Bill  correctly  prophesying,  "the  Irish  Members  have  frankly  stated  that  they  accept  this  measure  as  a  bargain  and  that  they  will  abide  by  it  ; but  they  will  neither  live  nor  be  in  power  forever, and  there  will  arise  a  party  which  will  aim  at  sweeping  these  restrictions  away".

Accordingly  Arthur  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  was  unopposed  in  1886   but   in  1887  he  and  three  other  radicals  went  back  to  the  Liberals  in  protest  at  the  Salisbury  government's  Crimes  Bill. In  1892  he  was  re-elected  by  153  votes.

He  died  shortly  after  his  re-election, aged  54.

1151 Banister Fletcher

Constituency : Chippenham  1885-6

Banister  became  the  first  Liberal  to  represent  Chippenham  since  1865.

Banister  was  educated  privately  and  won  first  prize  in  a  contest  run  by  the  Institute  of  Architects  while  still  a  student. He  became  an  architect  and  at  first  worked  mainly  in  the  North  East  designing  industrial  buildings. He  moved  to  London  in  1870  and  published  Model  Houses  for  the  Industrial  Classes  the  following  year. This  was  the  first  of  many  practical  handbooks  that  he  published. He  also  designed  Gothic  Revival  furniture.

Banister  made  his  maiden  speech  on  excise  duties  on  herb  beer.

Banister   made  a  short  speech  in  favour  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill. He  envisaged  a  more  federal  form  of  government  for  the  UK  with  Westminster  meeting  to  decide  on  "imperial"  matters. He  was  defeated  in  1886.

In  1890  Banister  became  Professor  of  Architecture  at  King's  College  London. In  1895  he  and  his  son  published  A  History  of  Architecture  on  the  Comparative  Method  which  remains  a  popular  textbook.

He  died  in  1899  aged  66. His  son  of  the  same  name  followed  in  his  footsteps  as  an  architect  and  academic.

1150 Sir Joseph Weston

Constituency : Bristol  South  1885-6, Bristol  East  1890-5

Joseph won  the  new  seat  of  Bristol  South.

Joseph  was  an  iron  merchant's  son  from  Bristol. He  went  into  the  family  business  and  expanded  it  to  take  in  iron  foundries, cotton  manufacturing, Australian  emigration  and  railway  stock  building. He  was  a  city  councillor  in  Bristol  from  1868  with  an  interest  in  public  libraries. He  was  also  involved  in  the  city's  purchase  of  Portishead  and  Avonmouth  Docks. He  was  Mayor  of  Bristol  from  1880  to  1884.

Joseph  was  defeated  in  1886  and  was  returned  for  the  more  working  class  Bristol  East  at  a  by-election  in  1890.

Joseph  was  an  advanced  Liberal  and  it  was  said  "might  be  a  socialist  if  Socialism  were  more  respectable  and  not  so  dreadfully  lowering".

He  died  of  influenza in  1895  aged  72.

1149 Handel Cossham

Constituency : Bristol  East  1885-90

Handel  won  the  new  seat  of  Bristol  East.

Handel  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter  from  Thornbury  and  named  after  the  composer. He  was  educated  locally . He  was  a Congregationalist lay  preacher  and  temperance  advocate. In  1845  he  became  involved  in  the  coal  industry  with  a  pit  near  Yate. His  marriage  expanded  his  business. He  built  houses  and  a  school  for  his  workers. He  was  a  Bristol  city  councillor  in  the  1860s. He  stood  at  Nottingham  in  1866, Dewsbury  in  1868  and  Chippenham  in  1874  without  success.  In  1873  he  was  involved  in  a  Bristol  scandal  around  misappropriation  of  funds. In  1876  he  gave  a  lecture  to  Manchester's  National  Reforn  Union  on  "The  Land  Question". He  was  Mayor  of  Bath  from  1882  to  1885. He  was  described  by  the  local  Tory  press  as  a  "hack  demagogue"  and  "virulent  assailant  of  the  Church".

Handel  denounced  military  and  imperial  expenditure  "now  weighing  so  heavily  on  the  industry  and  commerce  of  the  country. He  wanted  to  shift  the  rate  burden  from  commerce  to  land. He  supported  Home  Rule  in  his  maiden  speech  believing  "that  the  integrity  of  the  Empire  could  be  best  secured  by  doing  justice".

Handel  died  in  1890  after  collapsing  in  the  Commons  library.  He  was  66. He  left  a  bequest  for  the  building  of  a  hospital  in  Kingswood. At  its  opening  in  1907  Augustine  Birrell  said  "He  was  a  most  vigorous  and  energetic  man  , who  applied  himself  with  unsparing  assiduity  to  his  personal  business  and  public  work... So  passed  away  a  man  whose  aim  in  life  was  to  do  good  , loved  by  many  and  respected  by  all."

1148 George Pitt-Lewis

Constituency : Barnstaple  1885-92

George  replaced  Viscount  Lymington  and  a  Tory  as  Barnstaple  was  reduced  to  a  single  member  seat.

George  was  a  minister's  son  from  Honiton. He  attended  Honiton  Grammar  School  where  his  father, grandfather  and  great-grandfather  were  successive  headmasters. He  became  a  barrister. He  wrote  a  number  of  legal  reference  works  such  as  A  Complete  County  Court  Practice. He  was  Recorder  of  Poole.

George  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  Gladstone's  concessions  on  Irish  MPs  at  Westminster  failed  to  assuage  his  concerns.

George  stood  down  in  1892.

George  was  keen  on  tricycling.

He  died  in  1906  aged  61.

1147 Charles Seale-Hayne

Constituency : Ashburton  1885-1903

Charles  won  the  new  seat  of  Ashburton.

Charles  was  educated  at  Eton  and  was  a  London  barrister. He  was  the  first  chairman  of  the  Dartmouth  and  Torbay  Railway  and  a  considerable  landowner  in  Devon.

Charles  was  appointed  Paymaster-General  by  Gladstone  in  1892  and  held  the  office  until  1895.

He  died  in  1903  aged  70. He  endowed  a  farming  and  food  science  college  in  his  will  which  later  became  part  of  Plymouth  University.

1146 Robet Bickersteth

Constituency :  Newport  1885-6

Robert  won  the  new  seat  of  Newport  ( Shropshire )  and  was  the  only  Liberal  MP  in  its  short  history.

Robert  was  the  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Ripon. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford.He  was  an  inspector  of  factories  between  1873  and  1880. He  was  private  secretary  to  Lord  Kimberly   at  the  Colonial  Office  between  1880  and  1882  and  Secretary  of  State  for  India  between  1882  and  1885.

Robert's  one  speech  in  the  House  attacked  Gladstone  for  his  inconsistency  and  misleading  the  country  over  Home  Rule  at  the  1885  election. Robert  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886  and  stood  for  them  at  Leicester  in  the  election  but  he  was  defeated. He  became  the  secretary  of  the  Liberal  Unionist  Association.

He  died  in  1916  aged  69.

1145 Sir William Crossman

Constituency : Portsmouth  1885-92 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

Sir  William  was  one  of  two  victors  at  Portsmouth  who  ensured  the  city  had  two  Liberals  for  the  first  time  since  1868 and  any  Liberal  since  1874.

William  was  the  son  of  a  brewer  from  Berwick-upon-Tweed. William  became  a  lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Engineers  in  1848  and  was  sent  to  Australia  in  1851. He  returned  to  England  in  1857  and  became  an  inspector  of  fortifications  at  the  War  Office. Over  the  next  25  years  he  was  posted  to  Canada, China, Japan , Constantinople, the  West  Indies, South  Africa  and  New  Zealand  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel. He  was  made  a  major-general  on  retirement  in  1886.

William's  parliamentary  contributions  were  usually  on  military  matters.

William  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  thanked  the  Tories  for  not  opposing  him  in  1886. He  recruited  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle  to  the  Liberal  Unionists.

William  stood  down  in  1892.

He  died  in  1901  aged  70.

1144 William Palmer ( aka Viscount Wolmer )

Constituency : Petersfield  1885-92, Edinburgh  West  1892-5 ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist )

William  defeated  his  predecessor  William  Nicholson  who  contested  the  election  as  a  Liberal  Conservative. Another  Tory  joined  the  contest  and  William  won  by  161  votes.

William  was  the  son  of  the  former  Liberal  Lord  Chancellor  Roundell  Palmer, now  Lord  Selborne. This  gave  him  the  title  of  Viscount  Wolmer. He  was  educated  at  Winchester  and Oxford. He  was  assistant  private  secretary to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  Hugh  Childers  from  1882  to  1885. In  1883  he  married  Lord  Salisbury's  daughter.

William  had  an  advanced  cast  to  his  views  and  voted  for  Labouchere's  House  of  Lords  motion

William    followed  his  father  into  the  Liberal  Unionists. He  was  blackballed  at  Brooks  after  his  defection  but  the  local  Liberals  made  no  effort  to  challenge  him  in  1886 . Salisbury  failed  to  persuade  the  local  Tories  to  stand  down  and  William  won  by  111  votes .He  switched  to  Edinburgh  West  in  1892.

In  1895  William  joined  Salisbury's  government  as  under-secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies  under  Chamberlain. That  same  year  he  succeeded  his  father  as  Earl  of  Selborne. In  1900  he  joined  the  Cabinet  as  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.

In  1905  William  succeeded  Lord  Milner  as  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa. He  accepted  the  change  in  policy  when  the  Liberal  government  took  office  and  expressed  it  in  the  Selborne  Memorandum. He  retired  in  1910  just  before  the  establishment  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa.

William  returned to  England  and  became  President  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  Asquith's  Coalition  government  in  1915. He  resigned  in  protest  at  Asquith  and  Lloyd  George's  handling  of   the   Home  Rule  negotiations  following  the  Easter  Rising.

He  died  in  1942  aged  82.

1143 Francis McLean

Constituency : Woodstock  1885-91

Francis  took  Woodstock  , ostensibly  from  the  Tories  but  the  name  of  a  borough  constituency  had  been  switched  to  a  county  one.

Francis  was  educated  at  Westminster  School  and  Cambridge  and  became  a  barrister.

Francis's  maiden  speech  opposed  an  attempt  by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  to  acquire  more  powers  over  water  supply. He  saw  it  as  an  attempt  by  the  MBW - "a  body  to  some  extent  moribund" to  get  new  powers  to  justify  its  existence.

Francis  went  over  to  the  Liberal  Unionists  after  making  a  long  speech  attacking  the  Home  Rule  Bill.

Francis  resigned  his  seat  in  1891  to  become  a  judge. From  1896  to  1909  he  was  Chief  Justice  of  Bengal. He  was knighted  in  1896. Also  whilst  in  India  he  chaired  famine  relief  committees  and  had  a  two  year  spell  as  Vice-Chancellor  of  Calcutta  University.

He  died  in  1913  aged  68.

1142 Francis Channing

Constituency : East  Northamptonshire  1885-1910

Francis  took  the  new  seat  of  East  Northamptonshire.

Francis  was  born  in  the  USA. His  father  was  a   Nonconformist  minister. He  was  naturalized  as  a  British  citizen  in  1883. He  was  educated  at  Oxford  where  he  became  a lecturer  in philosophy. He  also  became  a  barrister.

Francis  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  parliamentary  debates.

Francis  was  a  member  of  the  National  Vigilance  Association, a  militant  anti-vice  organisation. In  1888  he  asked  the  Home  Secretary  a  question  about  the  sensationalist  literature  read  by  two  teenage  murderers  who  had  no  apparent  motive - "these  stories, attractively  written, are  widely  circulated , and  read  by  enormous  numbers  of  children, and  instigate  many  of  them  to  the  commission  of  crime".

From  1893  to  1896  Francis  was  a  member  of  the  Commission  for  Agricultural  Depression. He  was  also  a  champion  of  railway  workers  in  their  fight  for  shorter  hours, concerned  about  the  high  number  of  worker  fatalities. He  managed  to  get  a  measure  of  protection  included  in  the  1889  Regulation  of  Railways  Act

Francis  was  a  supporter  of  moderate  land  reform  as  part  of  a  dwindling  number  of  Liberal  MPs  for  agricultural  constituencies. He  was  chair  of  a  committee  of  the  Land  Law  Reform  Association  and  used  the  prosition  to  promote  farmers'  grievances  as  well  as  the  labourers'  desire  for  smallholdings. He  believed  that  the  Liberal  advantage  in  his  seat  would  "melt  away  like  the  snow  in  summer  "  if  the  party  failed  in  its  concerns  for  agricultural  questions".

In  the  debate  on  the  1905  Finance  Bill  Francis  complained  that  "the  total  expenditure  on  war  and  armaments  during  the  last  ten  years  amounted  to  something  like  £400,000,000. Through  the  policy  of  war, expansion  and  reckless  Imperialism , the  whole  of  that  money  had  been  thrown  into  the  sea. Placed  at  5 %  the  mere  interest  on  that  sum  would  have  provided  universal  old-age  pensions  forever  without  any  further  appeal  to  the  taxpayer".

Francis  was  also  involved  with  the  Congo  Reform  Association  and  clashed  with  Grey  in  1907  over  the Foreign  Office's  inaction. He  said  he  was  "utterly  disheartened  and  disgusted"  by  Grey's  "coldness  and  slackness".

Francis  saw  a  natural  connection  between  the  Liberals  and  Labour  on   such  subjects  as  the  rights  of  the  working  man, graduated  tax, land  reform and  school  meals.

Francis  was  created  a  baronet  in  1906. He  stepped  down  at  the  December  1910  election.

Francis  was  made  a  peer  as  Baron  Channing  in  1912.

In  1918  Francis  published  Memories  of  Midland  Politics  1885-1910.

He  died  in  1926  aged  84.

1141 Edmund Verney

Constituency : Buckingham  1885-6, 1889-91

Edmund  took  over  from  his  father  Harry  Verney  at  Buckingham.

Edmund  was  educated  at  Harrow  then  joined  the  Royal  Navy  at  thirteen  in  1851. Edmund  served  in  the  Crimean  War  and  during  the  Indian  Mutiny.  He  eventually  reached  the  rank  of  captain.  In  1877  he  was  injured  in  a  shooting  accident  on  his  estates  and  moved  to  the  coastguard  service  in  Liverpool.He  retired  in  1884. Edmund  had  unsuccessful  contests  at  Great  Marlow  in  1868, Anglesey  in  1874  and  Portsmouth  in  1880. He  served on the  Isle  of  Anglesy  County  Council  and  later  London  County  Council.

Edmund's  maiden  speech  was  on  the  Collings  amendment  in  1886. He  often  spoke  on  naval  matters.  He  supported  the  lowering  of  the  property  qualification  for  Poor  Law  Guardians  in  Ireland.  He  disliked  Home  Rule  but  stayed  loyal  to  Gladstone  after  concessions.

Edmund  was  defeated  in  1886  but  won  back  the  seat  in  a  by-election  three  years  later.

Edmund  sat  until  1891  when  he  was  expelled  for   his  conviction  for  procuring  a  girl  aged  19  for  immoral  purposes.  His  assignation  had  been  in  Paris  under  the  assumed  name  iof  "Wilson"  but  the  girl  later  recognised  him  in  the  street. He  received  a  one  year  prison  sentence. After  his  release  he  confined  himself  to  collecting  bibles

Edmund  wrote  a  number  of  books  including  The  Last  Four  Days  of  the  Eurydice.   He  built  a  branch  line  to  link  the  family  estates  to  the  Great  Northern  Railway.

Edmund  inherited  his  father's  baronetcy  in  1894

He  died  in  1910  aged  72.

1140 Samuel Montagu

Constituency : Whitechapel  1885-1900

Samuel  won  the  new  seat  of  Whitechapel.

Samuel  was  born  in  Liverpool. His  father  was  a  watchmaker  and  silversmith . He  was  educated  at  the  High  School  of  Liverpool  Mechanics'  Institute.  He  started  out  working  in  banking  with  relatives. In  1853  he  began  the  Samuel  Montagu  &  Co  Bank  which  concentrated  on  foreign  exchange.  He  was  a  pious  Orthodox  Jew  who  sought  to  develop  Jewish  institutions. He  was  involved  in  the  "Lovers  of  Zion "  movement. He  established  the  Federation  of  Synagogues  in  the  East  End.  Samuel  persuaded  the  Royal  Exchange  to  put  a  roof  over  its  dealings. He  had  a  reputation  for  probity.

Samuel  largely  confined  himself  to  speaking  on  financial  and  Jewish  matters  in  the  House.

In  1886  Samuel  visited  Russia  but  was  ordered  to  leave  Moscow when  the  authorities  discovered he  was  Jewish. He  was  keen  to  help  persecuted  Russian  Jews settle  in  London.

From  1887  to  1890 , Samuel  sat  on  the  Gold  and  Silver  Commission  as  an  ardent  bimetallist.. In  1888  he  offered  a  reward  for  information  about  the  murder  of  Annie  Chapman  fearing  an  increase  in  anti-semitism  in  the  East  End  as  a  response  to  the  Ripper  murders.He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1894.

In  1893 , on  behalf of  the  Lovers  of  Zion,  Samuel  presented  a  petition  to  the  Foreign  Secretary  in  favour  of  Jewish  colonisation  of  Palestine   to  be  passed  on  to  the  Sultan. In  1895  he  dined  with  the  Zionist  Theodor  Herzl  and  declared  that  he  himself   and  his  family  would  settle  in  Palestine.

In  1894  Samuel  persuaded  Harcourt  to  insert  a  clause  in  the  Finance  Act  exempting  bequests  to  libararies, museums  and  art  galleries  from  death  duties.

Samuel  was  the  main  architect  of  the  Weights  and  Measures  Act  of  1897  which  legalised  the  use  of  metric  measures.

In  1898  Samuel  started  a  housing  scheme  to  encourage  Jewish  families  in  Whitechapel  to  move  out  to  the  suburbs.

In  1900  Samuel  stood  down  in  Whitechapel  in   favour  of  his  nephew  Stuart  Samuel,  standing  unsuccessfully  in  Leeds  Central  instead.

In  1907  Samuel  was  created  Baron  Swaythling. His  last  speech  in  the  Lords  was  in  support  of  Lloyd  George's  Budget  in  1909.

Samuel  was  a  collector  of  art  and  silver  artefacts.

He  died  in  1911  aged  78. His  second  son  Edwin  was  a  prominent  Liberal  of  the  early  twentieth  century  as  was  his  nephew  Herbert  Samuel.

1139 Joseph Leicester

Constituency :  West  Ham  South  1885-6

Joseph  won  the  new  seat  of  West  Ham  South.

Joseph  was  the  son  of  a  glass  blower  from  Warrington. He  became  an  apprentice  in  his  father's  trade. He  moved  to  London  in  1850  and  worked  at  a  glass  blowing  fir  for  35  years. He  was  secretary  of  the  Glassmakers  Trade  Society  for  over  forty  years. He  was  a  strong  temperance  advocate  who  favoured  Sunday  closing. He  once  said  at  a  radical  meeting  in  Southwark  that  " ignorance  was  better  than  knowledge  in  politics..  the  educated  class  always  went  wrong  &  masses  always  right"

In  his  maiden  speech  Joseph  claimed  there  was  mass  working  class  support  in  favour  of  Sunday  closing. He  supported  Home  Rule  and  said  "Our  Joe  has  gone  completely  off  the  rails".

Joseph  was  defeated  in  1886. In  1891 a  private  letter  to   a  current  MP  which  criticised  Hartington's  oratorical  skills  was  made  public. The  Spectator   called  him  "  a  very bumptious  working  man" .   He  was  selected  to  fight  the  seat  in  1892  but  persuaded  to  withdraw  in  favour  of  Keir  Hardie  of  the  I.L.P.

He  died  in  1903  aged  78.

1138 Edward Cook

Constituency : West  Ham  North  1885-6

Edward  took  the  new  seat  of  West  Ham  North.

He  was  educated  at  City  of  London  school  and  University  College  London  where  he  studied  theoretical  and  analytical  chemistry. He  was  the  senior  partner  in  a  soap  and  chemical  manufacturing  company. He  chaired  an  unsuccessful  fish  marketing  venture  in  London. He  was  on  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works.

Edward  was  an  advanced  Liberal.   He  opposed  the  death  penalty  and  spoke on  fire  safety  in  theatres .He  was  defeated  in  1886.

He  died  of  a  stroke  in  1898  aged  62.

1137 Edward Buxton

Constituency : Walthamstow  1885 - 86 

Edward  won  the  new  seat  of  Walthamstow.

Edward  was  the  son  of  a  baronet  of  the  same  name  who  had  been  a  Whig  Mp  up to  1858.
He  was  educated  at  Cambridge. He  was  a  partner  in  a  London  brewing  firm. He  was  a  keen  mountaineer  with  some  significant  first  ascents. He  stood  for South  Essex  in  1880. He  was  chairman  of  the  London  School  Board  between  1875  and  1881.

Edward  was  defeated  in  1886

Edward  campaigned  for  more  open  land  near  cities.  He  saved  a  number  of  woodlands  for  public  use. He  was  a  founder  of  the  Society  for  Protection  of  Royal  Fauna  of  Empire. In  the  early  1900s  he  made  two  trips  to  South  Africa  and  wrote  a  book  on  big  game  preservation.

He  died  in  124  aged  83  having  bequeathed  Hatfield  Frest  to  the  National  Trust  on  his  deathbed.