1394 William Lecky

Constituency  : Dublin  University  1895-1903 ( Liberal  Unionist )

The   1895-1900  Parliament  was  an  extremely  difficult  one  for  the  Liberals. Rosebery  proved  to  have  little  appetite  for  being  Leader  of  the  Opposition  and   took  the  opportunity  to  resign  less  than  a  year  later  over  the  Armenian  massacres  which  occasioned  Gladstone's  last  contribution  to  public  life. Harcourt  took  over  but  the  party  seemed  hopelessly  split  between  an  imperialist  wing  still  looking  to  Rosebery  for  leadership  and  pacifist  Radicals  who  wanted  a  focus  on  domestic  social  reform  rather  than  imperial  adventures. After  bungling  a  parliamentary  debate  on  the  Jameson  Raid, Harcourt  too  quit  in  1898,  the  year  Gladstone  finally  passed  away. The  left-leaning  Campbell-Bannerman  took  over  but  it  was  patently  clear  he  did  not  have  the  full  support  of  his  party  and  the  Boer  War  only  exposed  these  divisions to  public  glare.

As  for  the  Liberal  Unionists , they  threw  in  their  lot  with  the  Conservatives  with  Devonshire  becoming  Lord  President  of  the  Council  and  Chamberlain,  Colonial  Secretary.  Salisbury  allowed  them  more  influence  than  their  parliamentary  position  really  warranted.  This  partly   led  to  the  Boer  War  which  provided  a  platform  for  the  Unionist  coalition  to  go  to  the  country  in  1900.

William  succeeded  an  Irish  Unionist  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  peerage. He  was  the  only  Liberal  of  any  sort  to  represent  the  constituency.

William  was  born  near  Dublin , of  gentry  stock. He  was  educated  at  Cheltenham  College and  Trinity  College, Dublin. He  studied  divinity  with  a  view  to  becoming  a  priest. Instead  he  became  a  writer  with  works  on  morals, historiography , philosophy  and  eighteenth  century  history.  His  private  income  allowed  him  to  spend  long  periods  abroad  in  continental  libraries. His  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  the  Spirit  of  Rationalism  in  1865  was  very  popular  and  made  him  an  important  figure  in  literary  society.  He  was  a  moderate  Liberal  who  was  opposed  to  Home  Rule. In  1892  he  declined  the  Chair  of  Modern  History  at  Oxford.

William's  maiden  speech  argued  for  clemency  towards  a  group  of  Fenian  prisoners. He  supported  ameliorative  measures  in  Ireland.

In  1896  William  published  Democracy  and  Liberty  which  was  attacked  for  its  pessimistic  conclusions. A  new  edition  in  1899  was  also  criticised  for  its  denigration  of  the  recently  deceased  Gladstone.

He  died  in  1903  aged  65. Ten  years  later  his  widow  endowed  the  Lecky  Chair  of  History  at  Trinity  College.