Friday, 31 January 2014
404 Sir John Hibbert
Constituency : Oldham 1862 - 74, 1877-86, 1892-5
John came in at Oldham in May 1862 after the resignation of William Cox.
John was a barrister educated at Shrewsbury and Cambridge.
John was involved with the Co-Operative movement. He was also interested in sanitary questions. His amendment to the Second Reform Bill failed.
John was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board in 1872 and resumed the position in 1880. In 1883 he was moved to Under Secretary for the Home Department and in 1884 became Financial Secretary to the Treasury. He was Secretary to the Admiralty in Gladstone's third ministry. He was re-appointed to Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1892 and retained the post under Rosebery.
In 1895 John came under attack at Oldham over import duties introduced by the Government of India on cotton. John had abstained in a crucial division and this was felt to be against the interest of his constituents. He was defeated for a third and final time.
He died in 1908 aged 84.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
403 Frederick Doulton
Constituency : Lambeth 1862-8
Frederick came in at Lambeth in May 1862 when William Roupell was forced to step down.
Frederick , as his name suggests was involved in the ceramics industry although it was his brother Henry who really established "Doulton" as a worldwide brand. Frederick was a member of the Metropolitan Board of Works. He first stood for Lambeth in 1852 as a campaigner for electoral reform. In 1857 he supported the candidature of Roupell, possibly writing his speeches and generally engaging in all the malpractices he'd previously highlighted. In 1859 it was planned that the other MP William Williams would stand down in favour of Frederick but when rumours circulated that Frederick had bribed him , William decided he had to stand again to protect his reputation.
Frederick was a moderate who feared parliamentary reform. He voted with the Adullamites in 1866. He was chased out of a public meeting for his resistance to reform and was one of those "traitors" referred to by Layard in his speech at Bermondsey. He voted for the Disraeli bill to settle the question and heavily criticised Bright and Gladstone in his speech. He spoke in favour of preserving open spaces in the capital.
Frederick had to stand down in 1868 as he was involved in a fraud case about overcharging though he eventually cleared himself on appeal.
He died in 1872 aged 48.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
402 John Mills
Constituency : Wycombe 1862-8
John came in at Wycombe in March 1862 to replace the deceased George Dashwood.
John was the son of a textile and property magnate and the brother of Thomas Mills, MP for Totnes. He was a Congregationalist. He was a silk manufacturer but took a back seat from 1840 to concentrate on philanthropy and politics.
Shortly after John's election, Thomas Mills died and the estate of Tolmers Park came into John's possession.
John contested the seat, now reduced to a single member in 1868 but lost out to his fellow MP William Carington.
He died in 1879 aged 81,
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
401 Myles O'Reilly
Constituency : Longford 1862-74 , 1874-9 ( Home Rule League )
Myles came in at Longford in 1862 when Luke White had to seek re-election as a whip. Myles's prestige as a war hero ( see below ) gave him a crushing victory.
Myles was born to a wealthy family and came into possession of Knockabbey Castle. He was educated in Dublin and at the University of London . He was involved in the foundation of the Catholic University of Ireland but declined a Professorship of Law thereHe became a captain in the Louth Rifles. As a staunch Catholic he offered his services to the Pope and raised an Irish brigade of 900 men to fight against Garibaldi. He was present at every battle up to the surrender of Spoleto ( where he led the defence until instructed by the Pope to surrender) in 1860.
In Parliament Myles frequently spoke on Irish and military matters
In 1868 Myles published Sufferings for the Faith in Ireland , a historical account of Irish Catholicism.
Myles was one of the founders of the Home Rule movement , loyal to Butt, and stood under those colours in 1874. He resigned his seat in 1879 to become assistant commissioner of intermediate education in Ireland.
He died in Dublin in 1880 aged 55.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
399 (25a) Robert Ferguson
Constituency : Kirkcaldy Burghs 1841-62
Further research has made me realise that I had originally misclassified this guy as a Tory,
Robert was the son of the previous Whig MP for the seat.
Robert was a Lieutenant-Colonel.
Robert resigned the seat in 1862.
He died in 1868 aged 66.
398 Charles Berkeley
Constituency : Gloucester 1862-5
The seat of Gloucester had been left vacant after its two MPs were ejected in 1860. In February 1862 the ban was lifted and the Liberals were able to reclaim both seats with new candidates.
Charles was the son of the admiral Maurice Berkeley aka Baron Fitzhardinge. and the younger brother of Francis Berkeley, MP for Cheltenham. He was educated at Rugby. He served as a private secretary to one of the Lords of the Admiralty in the early 1850s.
Charles spoke frequently during his short time in the House, usually on naval matters.
In 1896 he succeeded his brother as Baron Fitzhardinge.
He died in 1916 aged 86.
Saturday, 25 January 2014
397 Peter Taylor
Constituency : Leicester 1862-84
The radicals in Parliament got a new playmate at the beginning of 1862 when Peter came in at Leicester to replace the deceased John Biggs. Peter had contested a by-election at Leicester in 1861 but lost out to the Tories. This time he got in unopposed.
Peter was the son of a silk merchant and a nephew of Samuel Courtauld. He was educated at a Unitarian school run by his cousin. He went on to become a partner in Courtaulds and consequently a wealthy man but that didn't dampen his radical fire. He was active in the Anti-Corn Law League. He became friendly with Mazzini to the extent of making a hiding place in his home for him. He first stood unsuccessfully for Newcastle-upon-Tyne in a by-election in 1858.
Peter was a libertarian secularist who supported abolition of church rates and separation of church and state. He was described as being "anti-everything". He joined the Emancipation Society formed in 1862 to support the Northern cause. In 1863 he used his wealth to open the Aubrey Institute on his own property to remedy the gaps where people had had a poor education. Garibaldi stayed there during his 1864 visit. In 1865 he joined the Reform League to support manhood suffrage and payment of MPs , becoming its vice-president and appearing on its platforms during the agitation of 1866-7. He tried to achieve union with the more moderate Reform Union. He joined Mill on the Jamaica Committee.
Peter ticked all the radical boxes - female suffrage, repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act, land tenure reform, abolition of the game laws and flogging in the army, opposition to compulsory vaccination and censorship. The hostile Leicester Daily Post described him as "the very embodiment of faddism ". Peter's response was to buy the radical newspaper The Examiner in 1873.
Peter leaned towards republicanism and in 1871 supported Charles Dilke's motion opposing a dowry and annuity to Princess Louise.
Peter never gave money to any public cause in Leicester so that he could never be accused of buying the seat. Because of his libertarianism he was reluctant to address the issue of frame rents in Leicester which bore hard on some of his poorer constituents.
Peter's ventures were aided and abetted by his wife Clementia who set up her own pen and Pencil Club to support radical artists and writers.
In 1873 Peter moved from London to Brighton to improve his health. There he set up working men's clubs including the Nineteenth Century Club to promote radical secularism. He was finally forced to retire in 1884.
In 1886 Peter refused to support Home Rule and joined the Liberal Unionists.
He died in 1891 aged 72.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
396 Sir Robert Clifton
Constituency : Nottingham 1861-6, 1868-9
Sir Robert came in at Nottingham on Boxing Day (!) 1861 to replace John Mellor who resigned to become a judge. He stood as an independent candidate opposing the "permissive bill" which was attempting to limit alcohol consumption. He defeated Lord Lincoln, the Duke of Newcastle's son.
Sir Robert was a baronet from Staffordshire. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. In the 1850s he had to take refuge in France from huge gambling debts.
Sir Robert instigated coal mining on his estate and commissioned the Wiltord Toll Bridge but died before either bore fruit.He was a generous local benefactor. He was known for his gracious manners and zesty exuberance. He loved cigars.
Sir Robert's re-election in 1865 was declared void in 1866 for voter intimidation by Robert's supporters the "Clifton Lambs" and he was replaced by Ralph Osborne. He came back in 1868 but died of typhoid fever a year later aged 42. His statue was said by Punch to have the worst pair of sculpted trousers in England.
395 Harry Vernon
Constituency : Worcestershire East 1861-8
Harry came in at East Worcestershire in December 1861 to replace the deceased John Hodgetts-Foley.
Harry was from a minor branch of the ancient Vernon family. He had a large estate at Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire. He was the local party chairman.
In 1861 Harry married a daughter of the Earl of Haddington. In 1868 he decided to stand down as an MP to devote more time to his family and estates.
Harry was created a baronet in 1885. His wealth suffered in the agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century. He died in 1920 aged 86.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
394 William Cox
Constituency : Finsbury 1857-9, 1861-5
William came in at Finsbury in December 1861 to replace the deceased veteran Thomas Duncombe. He won by 42 votes.
William was a London solicitor and a member of the Common Council of the City of London. Finsbury had a history of competing liberal candidates and he got in as a supporter of Palmerston in 1857. In 1858 he introduced a motion for triennial parliaments but it was defeated. In 1859 he was pushed into third place. The Standard described his campaign thus : "the honourable gentleman neither spared his lungs nor his powers of sitting out the most long-winded debate....He had almost arrived at the distinction of being called a bore... Happily for his peace, his health , and his pocket his too Liberal career has been stopped by an oblivious constituency ".
William was a populist. He opposed acts compelling householders to divert their cesspits.
In the 1865 election William was one of four Liberal candidates and finished third, a long way behind.
He died in 1889 aged 72.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
400 John Powell
Constituency : Gloucester 1862-5
John was the other Liberal returned at Gloucester in 1862.
John was born locally and became a barrister.
After vacating Gloucester in 1865 John stood unsuccessfully at Weymouth in 1868 . In 1873 he tried to stand for Gloucester again at a by-election but was out manoeuvred by Thomas Robinson (who lost ) . He did get to stand in 1874 but failed to dislodge the Tory.
In 1890 John published Glocestriana , a compendium of facts and anecdotes about the city.
He died suddenly in 1891 aged 75.
393 Edmund Potter
Constituency : Carlisle 1861-74
Edmund came in at Carlisle in November 1861 following the death of Sir James Graham. He had been recommended by Cobden. He was attacked for his Unitarian beliefs but came through.
Edmund was a Unitarian industrialist from Manchester. He set up a calico printworks at Dinting near Glossop. He mechanised the calico printing process making him the largest calico printer in the world. He was a philanthropist who built libraries and provided schooling for the children of his workers. He was a friend of Cobden and Bright in the Anti-Corn Law League and became President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. He was an experienced lobbyist on behalf of the printing trade against heavy taxation and calling for greater protection against design piracy. He helped establish the Manchester School of Design and became its president. He also set up the Manchester Reform Association in 1858 to unite the various liberal factions in the city.
Edmund supported the ballot, single voting and ratepayer suffrage and published pamphlets.
In 1862 Edmund spoke on the Cotton Famine but did not urge a breaking of the Northern blockade. He backed a uniform duty on sugar. Edmund backed Gladstone's position at the Tea Room meeting of 1867. He supported compulsory education and tried to get it in the 1867 Hours of Regulation Bill. He supported total abolition of church rates.
Edmund belatedly became a spokesman for the National Federation of Associated Employers in 1873. He opposed trade unions , co-operation and limited liability. He favoured self-reliance.
He stepped down as an MP in 1874.
He died in 1883 aged 81. He was the grandfather of Beatrix Potter.
Monday, 20 January 2014
392 Charles Seely
Constituency : Lincoln 1847-8, 1861-85
Charles chalked up another gain when he took the second Lincoln seat for the Liberals in November 1861 after the death of the Tory.
Charles was born in the city as a miller's son . He made his fortune selling pig iron to the navy for ballast holding them to the contract after technology had made its use obsolete. He later moved into coal mining and became a huge landowner on the Isle of Wight. He was first elected in 1847 as a Chartist sympathiser but his election was declared void for vote-rigging; Charles naively said he thought it was the custom in Lincoln.
In 1864 Charles played host to both Garibaldi and Mazzini and hosted a reception for the former at his house in London. He supported the Second Reform Act because he thought that if it failed the next attempt would be more extreme. In 1868 he chaired the Commons committee on Admiralty Reform. He became their scourge , relentlessly identifying inefficiencies and mismanagement. In the 1870s he commissioned Myles Foster to paint 50 watercolours of Venice.
Charles was a supporter of working class education and founded libraries on the Isle of Wight.
Charles was small and frail-looking but he actually enjoyed good health to an advanced age still riding for hours round his estate in his eighties.
He died in 1887 aged 84. Both his son and grandson were called Charles and their terms as MPs overlapped causing some confusion.
Saturday, 18 January 2014
391 Walter Morrison
Constituency : Plymouth 1861 - 74, Skipton 1886-92, 1895-1900 ( Liberal Unionist )
Walter chalked up another gain for the Liberals in October 1861 when he took the second Plymouth seat after the elevation of the sitting Tory to the Lords.
Walter was the son of a successful haberdashery merchant and banker and former MP for Ipswich. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. He had his own business interests in Argentine railways and land. He was a local philanthropist building and repairing churches and schools and a patron of the arts and archaeology. He gave the Bodleian Library its largest ever donation in real terms. He also built the chapel at Giggleswick School.
Walter was a champion of the co-operative movement. He was indecisive during the Second Reform Bill debate. He voted with Disraeli on passing the fine to settle the issue as soon as possible. He supported women's suffrage. In 1872 he introduced a bill for proportional representation.
Walter was defeated in 1874. He unsuccessfully contested City of London in 1880. He returned in 1886 as a Liberal Unionist for Skipton in which constituency he had his country seat at Malham Tarn. It was a notable victory by 134 votes against the sitting Liberal. He was ejected by a Gladstonian in 1892. He then had to deal with two separate allegations made by the West Yorkshire Pioneer , a local newspaper which claimed firstly that he was causing economic hardship to his tenants by importing Argentine food and secondly that he had reversed a rent concession after his defeat in the election. Walter eventually took them to court and won his case which no doubt helped him to win the seat back in 1895. He was defeated unexpectedly in 1900 and didn't stand again. It probably didn't help him that he was a poor orator.
It was at Walter's house that Charles Kingsley was inspired to write The Water Babies and the character of John Hartover is based on Walter.
He died in 1921 aged 85.
Friday, 17 January 2014
390 Western Wood
Constituency : City of London 1861-3
Western entered Parliament in July 1861 to replace Lord John Russell when he went to the Lords. Because of the prestige of the seat and its previous occupant the by-election was one of the most notable of the Parliament. His Conservative opponent was the Lord Mayor of London William Cubitt who had resigned his seat at Andover to contest the London seat. Western won by 506 votes.
Western was the son of the baronet Sir Matthew Wood a former Lord Mayor and MP for the constituency for 36 years. His brother William had been MP for Oxford before becoming a judge ( and would eventually become Lord Chancellor as Lord Hatherley ). Western was a hop merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.
Western supported the secret ballot , franchise extension, education reform and some action on church rates.
Western's parliamentary career was unfortunately brief; he died of a lung infection in 1863 aged 59.
389 Roundell Palmer
Constituency : Plymouth 1847-52, 1853-7, Richmond 1861-72
Roundell came in at Richmond , Yorkshire in July 1861 after the resignation of Henry Rich to accommodate him as Palmerston wanted to appoint him Solicitor-General.
Roundell was an Oxfordshire rector's son. He was educated at rugby and Oxford where he was a brilliant scholar. He became a barrister and built up a lucrative practice, enabling him to set up a country estate. He entered Parliament in 1847 as a Conservative but immediately associated himself with the Peelites. He was forced to withdraw from the contest in 1852 as a result of voting against the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. His defeat in 1857 was due to his opposition to Palmerston over China.
Roundell was switched to Attorney-General in 1863 after the resignation through ill-health of William Atherton. Roundell had already shouldered the burden of much of his Commons work. His sympathies with the north helped maintain British neutrality in the American Civil War; speaking of the proposal to break the blockade he declared "An armed neutrality ... is a species of war , and not the most honourable , because it is not avowed ". After the death of Cornewall Lewis he was viewed as the last hope of the Palmerstonians who wished to avoid Gladstone's succession.
Roundell was a High Churchman and an avowed moderate who supported church rates and opposed the secret ballot. He opposed educational franchises. It was a shock when he declared support for household suffrage in 1866 and it helped to undermine the Russell-Gladstone Bill. He conducted much of the routine business of opposition in 1867-8 and predicted , perhaps looked forward to, a profound political realignment. He wrote a number of publications on the rights of the church
Roundell did not initially join Gladstone's government as he opposed disendowment of the Irish Church and he also spoke against the Irish Land Act describing its provisions as "confiscation and communism ". He defended the church's interests in the debates on the University Tests Act and the Education Act. Notwithstanding this opposition he was still consulted by Gladstone's government on legal matters and argued the British case in the Alabama arbitration.In 1872 Gladstone elevated Roundell to the Lords as Baron Selborne and he became Lord Chancellor. He supervised the Judicature Act of 1873 , a comprehensive re-organisation of the judiciary. In opposition he fretted over growing Liberal tendencies towards disestablishment.He resumed as Lord Chancellor in 1880 and was upgraded to an earl in 1882 as a reward for his helpful acquiescence to the Second Irish Land Act. Though he greatly admired Gladstone as a statesman he became increasingly worried that he could be led towards a fundamental assault on the church and the aristocracy. He accepted Bradlaugh on the grounds that the Bible gave "no rule on which to found any exclusive or theocratic constitution of civil society". In the Cabinet he was one of the chief voices in favour of imperialist courses of action. His last service to Gladstone was in persuading the Lords to accept the Third Reform Act rather than risk a dissolution.
Roundell could not countenance Home Rule and so became a Liberal Unionist in 1886. It was " a surrender to the Revolutionary party here and in Ireland" and said of his former leader "if he lived long enough there is nothing ... he would not destroy". He allied with Salisbury rather than Hartington in the Lords.
Roundell published four volumes of his memoirs eliciting from Gladstone the comment "The padding ... is something fearful".
He died in 1895 aged 83. His son married Salisbury's daughter and was a minister in Balfour's Cabinet.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
388 Thomas Weguelin
Constituency : Southampton 1857-9, Wolverhampton 1861-80
Thomas came in at Wolverhampton when Richard Bethell was elevated to the Woolsack.
Thomas was the son of a Russian merchant based in London. He had international business interests, an insurance company in England, a railway company in California and finance house in Canada. He was a governor of the Bank of England from 1855 to 1859.
In 1857 he helped found a new international bank based in Paris, the International Society for Commercial Credit.He lost his seat at Southampton in 1859.
Most of Thomas's parliamentary contributions were on business issues.
Thomas retired at the 1880 election.
He died in 1885 aged 75.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
387 Richard Grosvenor
Constituency : Flintshire 1861-86
Richard came in at Flintshire to replace the deceased Thomas Lloyd-Moston.
Richard was a younger son of the Marquess of Westminster and brother of Hugh, the MP for Chester. He was educated at Westminster and Cambridge. He travelled widely and was in China during the Second Opium War.
In 1869 Richard headed an international committee looking at the feasibility of a Channel Tunnel.In 1870 Richard became a director of the London and North Western Railway and was chairman for twenty years from 1891. He introduced a company savings bank and pension schemes.Richard was a genial and beneficient landlord who spent a huge amount on refurbishing the farms on his estate and often remitted rents in hard times. He was fond of hunting and yachting.
Richard was made Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household by Gladstone, holding the post until 1874. He was Chief Whip throughout Gladstone's second ministry where he had to deal with the ongoing obstruction tactics of Parnell's Nationalists . This made him extremely hostile to Home Rule and he resigned his seat in protest before the crucial vote.
The Liberals retained the seat at the by-election and Richard went to the Lords as Baron Stalbridge. He became one of the leaders of the Liberal Unionist party. In later years he experienced financial difficulties and had to sell a large proportion of his estates in 1905.
He died in 1912 aged 75.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
386 Robert Duff
Constituency : Banffshire 1861-93
Robert came in at Banffshire in May 1861 after the resignation of Lachlan Gordon-Duff.
Robert was a Scottish aristocrat and Freemason educated at Blackheath School. He joined the navy at 13 in 1848 and rose to the rank of Commander.
Robert joined Lowe in the Adullamites. He was a whip from 1882 to 1885 and was briefly Civil Lord of the Admiralty in 1886.
Robert was fond of hunting and shooting.
Robert resigned his seat in 1893 to become Governor of New South Wales. After barely 18 months in Australia he became ill from hepatic abscesses and died of septicaemia in 1895 aged 59.
Monday, 13 January 2014
385 John Lewis
Constituency : Marylebone 1861-74
John came in at Marylebone in April 1861 when Edwin James was forced to resign.
John was born in Dublin and went to Trinity College Dublin. He became an Irish barrister.
John contested Hull unsuccessfully in 1859. He was a moderate in favour of a peaceful foreign policy and the reduction of income tax. He took reception to Layard describing Liberals who were lukewarm about parliamentary reform as "traitors ".
He died in 1888 aged 74.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
384 Sir David Dundas
Constituency : Sutherland 1840-52, 1861-7
Sir David came back in at Sutherland in March 1861 when George Leveson-Gower became Duke of Sutherland.
Sir David was educated at Westminster and Oxford and became a barrister. He was first elected in 1840 and became Russell's first Solicitor-General in 1846. He resigned the office on health grounds two years later when he declined a move to the Lords. In 1849 he became Judge Advocate General holding the post until 1852. He did not contest the 1852 election. During his break from politics he continued to practise and served as a trustee of the British Museum.
Sir David was persuaded to stand in the by-election and served until 1867 when he stood down and arranged for Ronald Leveson-Gower to succeed him.
Sir David was a reserved man with scholarly interests and he built up a fine personal library.
He died in 1877 aged 78.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
383 Sir Hugh Owen
Constituency : Pembroke Burghs 1826-38 (Tory) , 1861-8
Sir Hugh registered another gain when he came in to replace the deceased John Owen ( no relation ).
Sir Hugh was a baronet who'd had a previous stint as a Tory MP for the constituency.
Sir Hugh was a moderate who was criticised for voting for the ballot but not the Locke King motion.
He did in 1891 aged 88.
Friday, 10 January 2014
382 William Forster
Constituency : Bradford 1861-85, Bradford Central 1885-6
William was probably the most significant of all the by-election victors in this Parliament. He came in at Bradford unopposed to replace the deceased Titus Salt.
William was a modestly educated lawyer turned wool manufacturer. He was originally a Quaker but had to leave the Friends for marrying outside the faith and became an Anglican. In 1846-7 he went to Ireland with his father on a relief mission which appears to have spurred his interest in politics and philanthropy. He was a member of the Anti-Slavery Society. He tried to stand for Leeds in 1857 but his support for state education brought him into conflict with the voluntarist Edward Baines and he was blocked.In his frustration he set up a rival newspaper The Leeds Express .
William and Baines settled their differences and both stood for Leeds in 1859 but William was unsuccessful by 22 votes. He was a business radical who wanted to extend the Factory Acts. He was regarded with some suspicion by the Manchester School. Bright criticised his enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement. In 1861 he told a public meeting "the prosperity of the working classes.. rested upon... our Indian empire". He strongly supported the North in the American Civil War as fighting against slavery. His motion of 1862 on retrenchment caused some embarrassment between Gladstone and Palmerston. In 1864 he played host to Palmerston at a public meeting in Bradford where he spoke for retrenchment and parliamentary reform.
On the latter topic William accepted office as Under-Secretary for the Colonies under Russell on the condition that it would be a priority for the government. He said of the working masses " If they are excluded as a class and feared as a class, they will agitate as a class and demand admission as a class".
William became known as "The Gorilla" for his ungainly manner. He was untidy and hairy and somewhat blunt in his manner of speaking. He remained an outsider showing no interest in land or country sports. Despite this he was socially popular and liked by the queen. He was a principled man with a certain inflexibility which eventually did for him in Ireland.
After bringing forward two education bills while the Liberals were in opposition William was appointed Vice-President of the Council ( Education Secretary ) by Gladstone in 1868. He was the architect of the 1870 Education Act. This set up school boards with elected representatives where provision was inadequate, the first step towards a national education system. William's relatively modest ambitions were "to fill up its gaps at least cost of public money".William came under fire from both the church and nonconformists seeking to protect their positions. The latter were particularly incensed at the clause allowing school boards to subsidise poor children at church schools and demanded completely secular education at all board schools. Gladstone saw off a threatening amendment by making it a confidence issue and the government accepted the Cowper-Temple clause as a compromise, allowing religious education of a non-denominational character in the board schools. The dissenters were not satisfied by this and their hostility to William , exacerbated by his ex-Quaker status hampered his career thereafter.
William was also largely responsible for the Ballot Act of 1872.
In 1875 Gladstone announced his retirement. Despite the nonconformists' opposition William had a lot of support for the leadership but he eventually refused the nomination after an intervention by Hartington's mistress. He grew apart from Gladstone over the Eastern question denying the Bulgarians' capacity for self-rule although he was opposed to any form of military support for Turkey. He became more enthusiastic about the empire - "what more popular cry than the preservation of our colonial empire" and an enthusiast for some form of imperial federation. He disliked Chamberlain and the Caucus seeing its potential use for imposing policy on the party. He faced a caucus of his own in Bradford led by Alfred Illingworth who were trying to bind him to the policies of the Liberal association.
When Gladstone returned to power in 1880 William became Chief Secretary for Ireland. He saw his Compensation for Disturbance Bill thrown out by the Lords and then had to reluctantly pass the Coercion Act to quell the activities of the Land League. He acquired the unwanted nickname of "Buckshot Forster " as a result of suppressing disorder. Radicals such as John Morley began to attack him in the press. In October 1881 he had Parnell arrested and became a target for assassination. In 1882 Gladstone and Parnell came to an agreement involving the latter's release and co-operation with the Land Act in return for removing the coercion measures . William threatened to resign and the Cabinet decided to accept it. This ended his ministerial career. It has been debated whether William was worn out and wanted a reason to quit or had become personally obsessed with not yielding anything to Parnell. He continued his attacks on Parnell after leaving office. He was also a strong critic of the government's imperial policies and presided at the first meeting of the Imperial Federation League in 1884. He voted against Gladstone in the censure debate following the death of Gordon having said of the PM that he could "persuade most people of most things and himself of almost anything".
William had difficulty securing selection for the new Bradford Central seat in 1885 which he won despite being too ill to campaign .William opposed Home Rule but died before Gladstone's first bill was introduced in 1886 leaving it a moot point whether he would have joined the Liberal Unionists. He was 67.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
381 Thomas Barnes
Constituency : Bolton 1852-7, 1861-8
Thomas came back in at Bolton in February 1861 after the resignation of Joseph Crook
Thomas was a local cotton manufacturer.
Thomas was a member of the Reform Union. He bought a plantation in Jamaica in 1862. In 1864 he gave part of his estate for Farnworth Park. Gladstone came up to open the park and give a public speech.
He died in 1897 aged 83.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
380 Reginald Vyner
Constituency : Ripon 1860-5
Reginald came in just before Christmas 1860 to replace the deceased John Warre.
Reginald was only 21 and had been working as a clerk at the Foreign Office. In his election address he declared himself in favour of moderate franchise reform as embodied in the Russell Bill, the maintenance of army and navy and the Volunteers.
He died in 1870 aged just 31.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
379 Austen Layard
Constituency : Aylesbury 1852-7, Southwark 1860-70
Austen came in at Southwark after the death of Sir Charles Napier.
Austen was born in Paris of Huguenot descent. His father was in the Ceylon Civil Service. He was educated in various countries and started work in his solicitor uncle's office. During this period he befriended Disraeli. In 1839 he set off overland for Ceylon. He was diverted at Constantinople by the ambassador Stratford Canning into unofficial ( Aberdeen refused to make him a paid attaché ; he eventually secured this from Palmerston ) diplomatic missions and archaeological excavations. He made his name with books on his excavations at Nimrud, Nineveh and Babylon and was responsible for acquiring many of the Assyrian antiquities in the British Museum.
Austen was first elected in 1852 as a Radical though he was assisted by Lord Carington. He was immediately appointed Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs but resigned a few weeks later on the fall of Russell's government despite tempting offers from the Conservatives to continue. Russell secured for him an offer of the consul-generalship of Egypt in 1853 but he declined.He was an ardent Turcophile who agitated against Russia and eventually called for Aberdeen's overthrow telling his colleagues "throw your Jonah overboard; if you do not your vessel will be wrecked". He was present during the Crimean War but not in a fighting capacity. He also founded the Ottoman Bank with Stratford de Radcliffe. When Palmerston came to power in 1855 he wanted to place him at the War Office but the queen refused to countenance it after his outspoken criticims of the army commanders . Instead he offered him the post of under-secretary for the Colonies but he declined and was jeered at for injudicious remarks about Whig scum coming to the top. Instead he founded the Administrative Reform Association calling for a meritocracy in public appointments especially in the army. Palmerston responded with a sarcastic reference to Austen's own career and his motion in the Commons was heavily defeated. After opposing Palmerston over China he went down to defeat at Aylesbury in 1857. He went off to India to investigate the causes of the Mutiny. He unsuccessfully contested York in 1859.
Back in Parliament Austen settled his differences with Palmerston whose Italian policy he supported and in 1861 was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ( against Victoria's opposition ) to help Palmerston in the Commons when Russell went to the Lords. Cobden described him as Palmerston's "partial imitator". He held the post until the fall of Russell's government.
Austen was an ardent supporter of parliamentary reform and raised hackles again by describing wavering Liberals as "traitors". However he later blamed the 1867 Act for lessening MPs' independence.
When Gladstone came to power in 1868 he appointed Austen First Commissioner of Works but their relations were not good and Gladstone vetoed his grandiose schemes for redeveloping the British Museum. He resigned after less than a year to become ambassador to Madrid. He resigned his seat shortly afterwards ( which went to the Tories ).
In 1877 Disraeli appointed Austen Ambassador to Constantinople and he was involved in the Congress of Berlin and the concession of Cyprus to Britain. He had heavily criticised Gladstone's campaign on the Bulgarian atrocities so his days were numbered when Gladstone returned to power in 1880. Gladstone got rid of him by publishing a rash despatch in which he described the Sultan as a hypocrite. Gladstone kept him dangling until 1883 before telling him he would not get another posting. He settled in Venice and spent his last years as a writer on art and travel.
He died in 1894 aged 77.
Monday, 6 January 2014
378 Somerset Beaumont
Constituency : Newcastle upon Tyne 1860-5, Wakefield 1868-74
Somerset came in at Newcastle when George Ridley resigned to become an Inclosure Commissioner.
Somerset was the elder brother of the Northumberland MP Wentworth Beaumont. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge. He was a partner in a banking firm and one of the founders of the Anglo-Austrian Bank. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Joseph spoke out against bishops sitting in the Lords. He was lukewarm on parliamentary reform; the Spectator reckoned it was because Newcastle had a large number of freeholders hjealous of their privileges.
In 1864 Somerset was part of a delegation from the Associated Chambers of Commerce sent to Austria to negotiate a commercial treaty. Russell disliked the idea of businessmen rather than his diplomats concluding such a treaty so he welcomed their failure and tried to block Somerset's appointment to an abortive commission in 1865. He maintained a lively interest in the subsequent diplomatic negotiations and encouraged the British banks to refuse Austria's request for a loan without substantial tariff reductions.
In 1865 Somerset was elbowed out of the way by Joseph Cowen's radical machine. He came back in at Wakefield in 1868. He was a moderate Liberal and refused an offer to become Disraeli's private secretary if he went over. He was defeated in 1874.
He died in 1921 aged 86.
Sunday, 5 January 2014
377 Gillery Piggott
Constituency : Reading 1860-3
Gillery came in at Reading in November 1860 replacing his older brother Francis who had resigned to become Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man.
Gillery was a barrister and judge who advised the Inland Revenue.
Gillery resigned his seat in 1863 to become Baron of the Court of Exchequer.
He died in 1875 after falling from his horse. He was 61.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
376 George Moffat
Constituency : Dartmouth 1845-52, Ashburton 1852-9, Honiton 1860-5, Southampton 1865-8
George came in at Honiton in October 1860 to replace the deceased Joseph Locke.
George had voted against Palmerston over the Conspiracy to Murder Bill
George was an associate of Cobden and Bright who urged the former to join the Cabinet in 1859. He was lukewarm about parliamentary reform opposing any bill "that shall make franchise of no avail by bringing it down to manhood suffrage or ... shall cut the country... into parallelograms and squares ... This country has maintained its character of representation ... by the varied elements sent to Parliament."
He died in 1878.
Friday, 3 January 2014
375 Thomas Sidney
Constituency : Stafford 1847-52 (Conservative ) 1860-65
Thomas came in at Stafford in August 1860 after the resignation of John Wise.
Thomas was a local, a woollen draper's son educated at Stafford Grammar School. He became a successful tea merchant. He was originally a Conservative MP for the seat until 1852 . In that year's election he was defeated at Leeds. He was Lord Mayor of London from 1853 to 1854. He was defeated again at Worcester in 1857. He switched his loyalties to the Liberals for the 1859 contest at Stafford but failed again.
Thomas was in favour of franchise extension , abolition of church rates and equalisation of the Poor Rate. He was opposed to endowing the Catholic clergy.
He died in 1889 aged 84 . He was commemorated by a fountain in Stafford but it was destroyed by a van crashing into it in 1928.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
373 Francis Calcutt
Constituency : Clare 1857-9, 1860-3
The last bit of business from the 1859 election was settled in April 1860 when Francis replaced the deposed Luke White at Clare.
Francis was an Irish Protestant landlord. He inaugurated the O'Connell testimonial at Ennis in March 1859.
He died in 1863 aged 44.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
372 Edward Warner
Constituency : Norwich 1852-9, 1860-8
Edward was the other victor in the Norwich by-election, topping the poll.
Edward was educated at Oxford.
He died in 1875 aged 56.
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