Thursday 14 November 2013
317 Thomas Baring
Constituency : Penryn and Falmouth 1857-66
Thomas was the son and heir of Baron Northbrook and related to the Greys through his mother. He was educated at Twyford and Oxford. He should not be confused with his Tory uncle of the same name. He became private secretary to a number of leading Whigs, Henry Labouchere, George Grey and Charles Wood. It was a natural progression into Parliament in 1857 and Palmerston immediately made him a Lord of the Admiralty.
After Thomas's return in 1859 he was made Under-Secretary of State for India , a post he held until 1861 when he was switched to the War Office. That didn't work out and he was switched back. In 1864 he went to the Home Office under his uncle George Grey. In 1866 he had a brief stint as First Lord of the Admiralty before Russell's government fell. That same year he succeeded his father as Baron Northbrook and left the Commons.
In 1868 Thomas returned to office as Under-Secretary of State for War and played his part in Cardwell's reforms. He held the post until 1872 when he was made Viceroy of India. He pursued a laissez-faire policy of lower taxation and free trade although in 1874 he commissioned some public works in Bengal to alleviate a famine. He wanted to conclude a peace with Sher Ali in Afghanistan but he was over-ruled by the Secretary of State, Argyll. In 1876 he resigned the position after repeated disagreements with Argyll's Tory successor Lord Salisbury and was upgraded to an earl. The Indians referred to him as "the just Northbrook".
In 1880 Thomas joined Gladstone's second Cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty. He had to deal with agitation for a stronger navy and in 1884 was despatched to Egypt on a fact-finding mission. His report advised against withdrawing the British garrison yet advised international financial control rather than Britain alone, a proposal that was rejected. This led to a marked decline in his relations with Gladstone.
Thomas disagreed with Gladstone's Home Rule policy and held aloof from his third ministry, spurning offers of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Lord President of the Council. He became a Liberal Unionist. In December 1886 he rejected suggestions that he join Salisbury's Cabinet along with George Goschen. He became closely involved with local government in Hampshire instead. From 1890 to 1893 he was President of the Royal Asiatic Society.
In 1903 Thomas broke with the Liberal Unionists over tariff reform.
Thomas was not a great orator but a reserved and scholarly man who treated any question with a dignified impartiality. His expertise was in finance.
He died in 1904 aged 78.
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