Constituency : Coventry 1818-26, 1830-63
We've already discussed his son of the same name but in 1859 Edward was still representing Coventry in his seventies. He was born in London and educated at Winchester and Aberdeen but in 1803 was sent over to Canada to build the family fur trade. He later became known as "The Bear" for this though he was also very tall and rugged. He energetically developed his business interests there and was always interested in the relationship between Britain and Canada. In 1809 he married the sister of the future Whig Prime Minister Lord Grey. He was first elected as a radical for the very expensive seat of Coventry in 1818 but defeated in 1826 partly due to bad press over a loan to the Greeks to build a navy which he championed but did not bring the desired result. He returned in 1830 and was appointed chief whip and patronage secretary by his brother-in-law. He attracted another nickname "Mr Jobbery" and he actually advised Grey against making any more family apointments. Edward brought typical energy to the job building registration associations and the Whig triumph in the 1831 owed a lot to his work. He was also a strong advocate for the 1832 Reform Act after the passing of which he resigned his office.. He was also a great gossip and an intriguer behind the scenes often on the behalf of his friend Lord Durham. In 1833 he was made secretary at war. He was partly responsible for the Cabinet resignations in 1834 when Russell and Stanley fell out. He stepped down when Melbourne resigned in 1834 and never accepted Cabinet office again (nor a peerage )although he remained politically active. He had a large part in the founding of the Reform Club in 1836. He opposed the corn laws but was in favour of protection for the silk industry. He often used his contacts in Canada and France to conduct private diplomacy usually with a pro-French stance much to the irritation of Palmerston although Edward solidly backed him as Prime Minister sharing his opposition to further parliamentary reform.
Edward was socially popular and though no intellectual, had a good understanding of political issues.
Edward was helpful in effecting the Palmerston-Russell reconciliation of 1858-9. Mindful of his business interests he was studiously neutral in the American Civil War which he had long foreseen.
He died in 1863 of heart failure aged 79. The Tories won the by-election due to the collapse of the silk industry which was blamed on the Cobden Treaty with France.
No comments:
Post a Comment