691 Sir Charles Wingfield

Constituency : Gravesend 1868-74

Charles  was  the  first  MP  for  the  new  seat  of  Gravesend.

Charles  was  the  son  of  a  judge  and  MP  for  Bodmin.  Richard  Wingfield-Baker  MP  for  Essex  South  was  his  older  half-brother. He  worked in  the  Bengal  Civil  Service  from  1840  to  1866. He  was  knighted  in  1864. There  is  a  park  named  in  his  honour  in  Lucknow.

Charles's  interventions  were  usually  concerned  with  India. In  1870  he said  experience  had  convinced  him  "that  the  moderate  use  of  this  drug ( opium ) is  not  more  prejudicial  or  injurious  than  the  moderate  use  of  alcoholic  drinks".

Charles  was  pro-Russian. In  1873  he  declared  Russia's  annexation  of  Khiva  was  "in  the  interests  of  humanity"  and  would  restore  "this  degraded  population  to  order  and  civilisation".
Charles  was  defeated  by  the  Tories  in  1874.

He  died  in  1892  aged  71.

690 George Jessel

Constituency : Dover  1868-73

George  was  a  rare  Liberal  victor  in  Dover.

George  was  the  son  of a  Jewish  coral  merchant. He  was  educated  at  a  Jewish  school  then  went  to  University  College, London. He  became  a  barrister  in  1847. Palmerston's  Lord  Chancellor  Lord  Westbury  disliked  him  and  tried  to  impede  his  career.

George  made  an  impression  during  debates  on  the  Bankruptcy  Bill  in  1869. Two  years  later George  was  made  solicitor-general  becoming  the  first  practising  Jewish  government  minister  which  was  made  possible  by  the  Promissory  Oaths  Act  of  that  year. He  was  knighted  in  1872.

In  1873  George  succeeded  Lord  Romilly  as  Master  of  the  Rolls  and   resigned  his  seat  though  this  was  not  strictly  necessary  at  the  time. He  is  remembered  for  being  extremely  efficient  and  able  to  master  the  complexities  of  the most  difficult  cases.

George  suffered  from  diabetes  and  died  in  1883  of  cardiac  syncope  aged  59.

689 Theodore Brinckman

Constituency : Canterbury  1868-74

Theodore  regained  one  of  the  Canterbury  seats  for  the  Liberals.

Theodore  was  the  son  of a  baronet  and  a  grandson  of  Baron  Godolphin. He  was  educated  at  Eton  then  joined  the  17th  Regiment  of  Foot. He  served  in  the  Crimean  War  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain. He  married  the  daughter  of  Marquess  Conyngham.

Theodore's  only  speech  in  Parliament  was  on  a  trivial  issue  of  sherrifs' appointments  in  Ireland.

He  died  in  1905  aged  74.

688 Nathaniel Lambert

Constituency : Buckinghamshire  1868-80  

Nathaniel  captured  one  of  the  three  Buckinghamshire  seats  for  the  Liberals  that  had  been  lost  in  1863.

Nathaniel  was  a  privately  educated  mineowner. He  was  captain  commandant  of  the  Buckinghamshire  Yeomanry  from  1863  to  its  disbandment  in  1871.

In  1869  and  1870   Nathaniel  made   speeches  in  favour  of  reducing  the  national  debt  during  peacetime. In  1872 he  moved  for  a  select  committee  to  look  at  ministerial  salaries. He  also  called  for  majority  verdicts  in  Irish  trials  to  increase  the  conviction  rate.

He  died  in  1882  aged  71.

687 James Howard

Constituency :  Bedford  1868-74, Bedfordshire  1880-85  

James  took  the  second  Bedford  seat  from  the  Tories.

James  was  a  Bedford  man  educated  locally. With  his  brother  he  set  up  a  business  making  agricultural  machinery. In  1862  he  bought  a  large  part  of  the  estates  of  the  Earl  of  Ashburnham  and  set  up  a  model  farm  there. He  was  a  noted  pig  breeder. He  was  mayor  of  Bedford  in  1863-4. In  that  capacity  he  entertained  Garibaldi  in  1864.

James  was  defeated  in  1874. In  1879  he  founded  the  Farmers' Alliance  to  rally  support  for  more  flexible  land  laws.

He  died  in  1889  aged  68.

686 William McArthur

Constituency : Lambeth  1868-85

William  and  the  returning  James  Lawrence  replaced  Frederick  Doulton  and  Thomas  Hughes  at  Lambeth.

William  was  born  in  Donrgal  the  son  of  a  Methodist  minister  in  Londonderry.  He  started  out  as  a  draper's  apprentice  but  eventually  went  into  business  himself. In  1841  his  brother  went  to  Australia  helping  William  establish  a  number  of  trading  links  there. In  1857  he  relocated  his  business  to  London. He  had  interests  in  banking  and  insurance. He  was  originally  a  Conservative  but  considered  Derby's  Irish  views  "anti-Protestant"  and  admired  Palmerston. He  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Pontefract  in  1865. He  travelled  to  the  USA. He  was  teetotal. He  supported  equalization  of  the  poor  rates.

William  advocated  disestablishment  in  both  Ireland  and  England  because  he  felt  it  would  strengthen  Protestantism. In  Ireland  he  thought  it  would  strengthen  the  position  of  the  Ulster  Protestants  and  aid  the  conversion  of  Ireland  from  Catholicism. He  described  Methodism  as  "  a  breakwater  against  Popery, Puseyism  and  infidelity".

William  became  an  alderman  in  1872  and  Lord  Mayor  of  London  in  1880. He  helped  found  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  1881.He  was  knighted  in  1882.

William's  parliamentary  interventions  were  mainly  on  imperial  questions. He  pressed  for  the  annexation  of  Fiji  which  would  help  his  business  interests  in  the  Pacific  as  well  as  missionaries  working  on  the  island. He  was  noted  for  a  rather  fumbling  manner  when  he  spoke.

William  supported  Gladstone  over  the  Eastern  Question. He  voted  against  payment  for  MPs.

Lambeth  was  scrapped  in  1885. William  stood  as  an  independent  Liberal  candidate  which  helped  the  Conservatives  take  the  seat.

William  was  involved  in  the  Aborigines  Protection  Society  and  the  City  of  London  Committee  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act.

He  died  in  1887  aged  78.

685 Sir Charles Reed

Constituency : Hackney  1868-74, St Ives  1880-81

Charles   was  the  other  Liberal  victor  at  Hackney.

Charles   was  the  son  of  a  well  known  Congregationalist  minister  and  philanthropist. He  married  the  daughter  of  Edward  Baines. He  had  a  successful  typefounding  business  in  London.

In  1869  Charles  moved  a  bill  to  protect  Sunday  schools  from  being  rated.

In  1870  Charles  was  elected  to  the  newly-founded  London  School  Board  and  in  due  course  became  its  chairman.  He  also  founded  the  City  of  London  Library

Charles  was  involved  in  the  preservation  of  two  important  London  cemeteries.

Charles  was  knighted  in  1874  on  Gladstone's  recommendation.  He  collected  autographed  letters  and  keys  and  had  a  lifelong  interest  in  antiquities.

In  1874  the  election  result   at  Hackney   was  voided  and  at  the  by-election  Charles  made  way for  Henry  Fawcett.  He  returned  for  St  Ives  in  1880.

Charles  voted  against  the  party  in  the  Bradlaugh  debates  as  he  detested  atheism.

He  died  in  1881 aged  62.

684 John Holms

Constituency : Hackney  1868-85

John  was  one  of  the  first  MPs  for  the  new  seat  of  Hackney.

John  was  born  in  Scotland  where  the  family  business  was  spinning. John  was  a  cautious  Radical  who  looked  for  logical  cool  headed  arguments  to  justify  his  positions  rather  than  evangelical  fervour.

John  had  been  a  leading  supporter  of  Forster  for  the  Liberal  leadership. he  supported  Gladstone's  comeback  on  the  Eastern  Question. He  was  also  active  in  the  Commons  Preservation  Society. He  voted  against  the  royal  titles  bill  of  1876  though  he  was  not  a  republican.

Gladstone  made  John   a  whip  in  1880  and  then  Parliamentary  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade  from  1882.

John's  particular  concern  was  military  reform. He  wrote  books  on  military  matters. He  blamed  the  system  of  long  service  for  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act.

In  1885  Hackney  was  split  up  and  John  stood  for  the  Central  Hackney  seat.  Ill  health  impeded  his  campaigning  and  he  was  defeated  by  193  votes.

Just  a  few  days  later  John  fell  between  a  train  carriage  and  the  platform  at  Mansion  House  station  and  was  invalided  for  the  rest  of  his  life.

He  died  in  1891  aged  60.

683 Sir Charles Dilke

Constituency ; Chelsea  1868-86, Forest  of  Dean  1892-1911

Charles  was  one  of  the  first  MPs  for  the  new  seat  of  Chelsea. He  is  one  of  the  great  "might  have  beens"   of   British  politics.

Charles  was  the  son  of  the  baronet  of  the  same  name  who  was  MP  for  Wallingford. He  was  educated  at  Westminster  and  Cambridge  where  he  became  President  of  the  Union  Society.  Unlike  his  moderate  father  Charles  was  an  ardent  Radical  although  he  was  also  an  imperialist.

Charles  flirted  with  republicanism  in  a  speech  in  1871  but  was  forced  to  recant  his  position  due  to  public  outrage  when  the  Prince  of  Wales  fell  ill.. He  had  a  good  relationship  with  Hartington  realising  that  his  main  concern  was  with  party  unity  rather  than  ideological  opposition  to  radical  politics  

In  1880  Gladstone  made  Charles  Under-secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs.  Victoria  demanded  another  recantation  of  his  republicanism  before  she  would  consent  to  his  appointment. He  was  promoted  to  the  Cabinet  as  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board  in  1882  partly  to  balance  out  Bright's  departure. He  helped  negotiate  the  passage  of  the  Third  Reform  Act  in  1884.  That  same  year  he  chaired  a  Royal  Commission  on  housing  the  working  classes.He  was  favourable  to  female  suffrage , trade  union  rights  and  reducing  working  hours. He  was  a  useful  ally  to  Chamberlain  but  took  a  different  view  of  Home  Rule.

But  Charles  had  skeletons  in  his  closet. He  was  sleeping  with  his  brother's  mother-in-law  who  was  the  wife  of  his  Liberal  colleague  Thomas  Smith. In  1885  another  of  their  daughters, Virginia  accused  him  of  seducing  her  three  years  earlier. She  was  also  married  to   a  Liberal  MP, Donald  Crawford. He  sued  for  divorce  and  in  a  paradoxical  judgement  the  judge  found  that  she  had  been  guilty  of  adultery  with  Charles by  her  confession  and  granted  the  decree  ni  si  but also  said  there  was  no  admissible  evidence  against  Charles  and  dismissed  him  from  the  case  with  costs.

This  unsatisfactory  outcome  and  the  goading  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette   under  the  crusading  W T  Stead   led  to  Charles  taking  legal  action  opposing  the  decree  absolute  in  an  attempt  to  clear  his  name. Roy  Jenkins  describes  his  lawyers'  advice  as  "perhaps  the  worst  professional  advice  ever  given". The  idea  seems  to  have  been  to  try  and  subject  Virginia  to  a  harsh  cross-examination  but  instead  Charles  had  to  appear  in  the  witness  box  where  he  suffered  a  harrowing  cross-examination  by  Henry  Matthews  which  revealed  that  he'd  redacted  his  diary  to  hide  embarrassing  assignations. The  jury  decided  Virginia  was  probably  telling  the  truth.

Following  the  verdict  it  was  open  season  on  Charles  with  numerous  other  women  claiming  to  have  been  bedded by  him  and  wild  rumours  about  his  peccadilloes  circulating. He   was  threatened  with  a  trial  for  perjury. He  had  already   lost  Chelsea  in  the  1886  election  in  which   his  nemesis   Matthews  not  only  entered  Parliament  but  was  promoted  at  the  queen's  insistence  to  Home  Secretary. In  1889  a  proposal  to  nominate  him  as  a  London  County  Council  foundered  partly  due  to  women's  protests.

Charles  subsequently  spent   a  lot  of  time  and  money  on  trying  to  exonerate  himself . His  partial  rehabilitation  began  in  1892  when  he  returned  to  Parliament  as  MP  for  the  Forest  of  Dean. He  chaired  a  group  of  Labour  and  radical  Liberal  MPs  in  the  1900s.He  hoped  for  a  seat  in  Campbell-Bannerman's  Cabinet  in  1906  but  it  wasn't  forthcoming. As  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  Asquith  made  him  chair of  a  select  committee  to  look  at  his  proposed  new  tax  rates. Charles. as  Roy  Jenkins  put  it  "old  and  arid  with  disappointment " , opposed  them  but  was  over-ruled  by  the  rest  of  the  committee. he  introduced  a  motion  of  protest  at  the  Czar's  visit  in  1908.

He  died  in  1911  aged  67. A  local  hospital  was  named  after  him.

682 William Wells

Constituency : Beverley  1852-57, Peterborough  1868-74

William  unseated  fellow  Liberal  Thomson  Hankey  to  take  the  second  Peterborough  seat.

William  was  the  son  of  a  Navy  captain. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford  and  served  in  the  First  Life  Guards  from  1839  to  1843. He  inherited  landed  estates. He  was  elected  for  Beverley  in  1852  after  coming  third  from  three  Liberals  at  Peterborough  but  defeated  by  a  fellow  Liberal in  1857. William  contested  the  result  on  the  grounds  that  the  victor  didn't  meet  the  property  qualification. He  was  successful  in  getting  the  result  declared  void  but  the  Conservatives  won  the  by-election. Disraeli  described  him  as  "the  most  offensively  conceited  fellow  that  ever  obtruded  himself".

William  retired  at  the  1874  election. He  became  President  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  in  1880. He  was  also  a  patron  of  the  arts,

He  died  in  1889  aged  71.

681 Edward Denison

Constituency :  Newark  1868-70

Edward  took  over  from  Arthur  Pelham-Clinton  at  Newark.

Edward  was  the  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  and  nephew  of  the  Speaker, John  Denison. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister.

Edward  was  known  for  charitable  endeavours  in  London's  East  End. His  only  parliamentary  speech  called  for  reform  of  the  Poor  Law.

His  parliamentary  career  was  cut  short  by  his  early  death  in  1870. He  was  just  29.

680 Edward Bentall

Constituency : Maldon 1868-74 

Edward  recovered  Maldon, now  a  single  member  seat , after  both  had  been  won  by    the  Tories  in  1865.

Edward's  father  had  developed  a  business  making  agricultural  implements. He  was  educated  at  private  schools. The  business  greatly  expanded  under  his  watch.

In  1873  Edward  built  a  house  in  Maldon  which  pioneered  the  use  of  in  situ  concrete.

He  died  in  1898  aged  84

679 John Palmer

Constituency : Lincoln  1868-74,  1880-84

John  took  over  from  Edward  Heneage  at  Lincoln.

John  was  a  barrister  who'd  stood  unsuccessfully  in  1857 , 1859  and  the  1862  by-election.

In  1873  John  moved  an  amendment  to  the  Married  Women's  Property  Act which  had  to  be  withdrawn  for lack  of  time. In  1881  he  led  a  delegation  from  the  Married  Women's  Property  Committee   to  Lord  Chancellor  Selborne  which  successfully  asked  for  government  time  for  the  measure.

John  supported  a  public  library  for  Lincoln.

John  was  defeated  in  1874  but  returned  in  1880.

He  died  of  pleurisy  in  1884  aged  75.

678 Henry West

Constituency : Ipswich  1868-74, 1883-86

Henry  took  the  second  seat  at  Ipswich  from  the  Tories.

Henry  was  the  son  of  a  judge  and  a  grandson  of  the  Earl  of  Orford. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister  and  subsequently  Recorder  of  Manchester. He  stood  unsuccessfully  in  1865 losing  out  by  just  6  votes. He  acquired  the  name  "Zephyr". In  1870  he  became  Lord Granville's  brother-in-law.

Henry  was  one  of  the  last  Liberals  to  consciously  style  themselves  a  Whig. His  interventions  were  usually  on  legal  matters.

Henry  was  defeated  in  1874  but  won  his  seat  back  in  a  by-election  in  1883. He  and  Jesse  Collings  were  re-elected  in  1885  but  unseated  on  petition  on  account  of  corruption  by  the  party's  agents.

He  died  in  1893  aged  70.

677 Sir Hugh Cholmeley

Constituency : Grantham  1868-80

Sir  Hugh  was  one  of  two  Liberal  victors  in  Grantham,  displacing  the  Tories  alongside  the  returning  Frederick  Tollemache.

Sir  Hugh  was  a  baronet  and  grandson  of  the  Duke  of  St  Alban's. He  was  educated  at  Harrow. He  served  in  the  Grenadier  Guards  and  reached  the  rank  of  captain.

He  died  in  1904  aged  64.

676 Andrew Johnston

Constituency : South  Essex  1868-74

Andrew  was  the  other  Liberal  who  was  elected  in  South  Essex. He  had  been  trying  to  persuade  Anthony  Trollope  to  stand  instead.

Andrew  was  the  son  of  a  Scottish  MP  of  the  same  name  who  had  been  active  in  the  anti-slavery  campaign. Andrew  was  a  partner  in  an  iron  manufacturers.

Andrew  was  defeated  in  1874.

He  died  in  1895  aged  60.

675 Richard Wingfield-Baker

Constituency : Essex  South  1857-9, 1868-74

 Richard  reclaimed  his  former  seat  from  the  Tories. Both  Liberal  candidates  were  unopposed.

Richard  was  the  son  of  a  former  MP  for  Bodmin  and  related  through  his  mother  to  Earl  Digby. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford.He  became  a  barrister.

He  died  in  1880  following  a  fall  while  hunting .He  was  77. His  brother  Frederick  claimed  that  he  saw  an  apparition  of  Richard  before  his  bed  on  the  night  of  his  death.

674 William Brewer

Constituency :  Colchester  1868-74

William  took  the  second  seat  at  Colchester  away  from  the  Tories.

William  was  the  son  of  a  Norwich  schoolmaster. He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh  and  became  a  doctor . In  1840  he  published  The  Family  Medical  Reference  Book . In  1863  he   switched  to  historical  novels  with  Beatrice  Sforza . He  became  a  coroner  in  Monmouthshire

William  helped  found  the  Metropolitan  Asylums  Board  to  control  the  spread  of  infectious  diseases  and  provide  hospital  facilities  for  the  poor. He  became  chairman  of  the  saniotary  committee  for  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works.

He  died   suddenly in  1881 aged  69.

673 William Fowler

Constituency : Cambridge  1868-74, 1880-85

William  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  at  Cambridge.

William  was  a  barrister  from  Wiltshire. He  was  educated  at  University  College, London.  Like  Torrens  he  was  interested  in  land  reform  and  wrote  a  number  of  papers  on  the  question. He  was  a  member  of  the  Cobden  Club. He  had  business  interests  and  was  a  director  in  several  companies.

William's  first  speech  in  1869  was  in  support  of  abolishing  the  religious  tests  at  the  universities. In  1870  he  made  a  very  long  speech  against  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act.

William  was  defeated  in  1874  but  won  his  seat  back  in  1880.

William  wrote  in  1901  of  Gladstone  ; "He broke  faith  with  his  old  friends  to  whom  in  September  1885  he  sent  a  message  utterly  opposed  to  the  plans  which  he  developed, even  before  the  election  of  that  year.He  was  not  straight  and  he  had  his  reward.And  he  destroyed  the  Liberal  party."

He  died  in  1905  aged  77.

672 Robert Torrens

Constituency : Cambridge  1868-74

Robert  was  one  of  two  Liberal  victors  at  Cambridge  against  sitting  Tories.

Robert  was  born  in  Ireland. His  father  was  a  distinguished  economist  and  one  of  the   founders  of  South  Australia. Robert  was  educated  at  Trinity  College, Dublin  and  joined  his   father  in  Australia  in  1839. He  became  involved  in  the  government  of  the  state  from  his arrival  and  rose  to  be  premier  in  1857  despite  a  knack  for  causing  controversy. However  his administration  fell  within  a  month.  However  he  remained  influential  enough  to  get  a  bill through  for  registering  transfer  of  property  by  title  rather  than  deed  and  this  was  adopted internationally  becoming  known  as  the  Torrens  title  although  it  was  perhaps  not  his  idea originally. In  1863  he  emigrated  to  England  and  contested  Cambridge  unsuccessfully  in  1865. He  lectured   energetically  to  promote  his  land  reforms  but  the  cause  never  took  off   in  the UK.

Robert  spoke  in  favour  of  the  ballot  as  someone  who  had  opposed it  in  Australia  but  converted  when  he  observed  the  results.

He  largely  withdrew  from  public  life  after  his  defeat  in  1874  and  unsuccessfully  pestered  the  government  of  South  Australia  for  a  pension.

He  died of  pneumonia   in  1884  aged  70.

671 Alexander Brown

Constituency : Wenlock 1868-85; Wellington 1885-1906  ( from  1886  Liberal  Unionist ) 

Alexander  was  elected  unopposed   in  Wenlock  ; presumably  the  Tories  decided  it  was  impossible  to  retain  both  seats  with  the  enlarged  electorate.

Alexander  served  in  the  5th  Dragoon  Guards  from  1864  to  1866.

Alexander  supported  the  regulation  of  child  labour.

Alexander  never  spoke  in  the  Commons  after  changing  seats.

Alexander  was  created  a  baronet  in  1903.

Alexander  stood  down  in  1906.

He  died  in  1922  aged  78.

670 Alexander Brogden

Constituency : Wednesbury  1868-85

 Alexander  was  the  first  MP  for  the  new  seat  of  Wednesbury.

Alexander  was  the  son  of  an  engineering  contractor  from  Manchester. He  was  educated  at  King's  College  London. He  had  some  thoughts  of  becoming  a  barrister  but  was  persuaded  to  work  in  the  family  firm  instead. He  supervised  the  building  of  numerous  railways  including  the  East  Lancashire  Railway.  He  gradually  took  over  the  running  of  the  firm. He  also  had  interests  in  mining  in  Ulverston  and  Bridgend. He  also  had  investments  in  America/
 He  was  defeated  at  Great  Yarmouth  in  1865.

Alexander  was  a  firm  believer  in  retrenchment  and  made  many  nitpicking  interventions  on  the  Civil  Service  Estimates.

In  1884  the  firm  went  into  liquidation  largely  due  to  the  failure  of  the  Ulverston  Mining Company. Alexander  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  seat  for  the  1885  election  where  it  fell  to  the  Tories.

Alexander  paid  for  the  Grand  Organ  in  West  Bromwich  Town  Hall.

Alexander  died  in  1892  of  burns  received  in  a  domestic  accident. He  was  67.

669 Sir Henry Bulwer

Constituency : Wilton  1830-1. Coventry  1831-5, Marylebone  1835-7, Tamworth  1868-71

Henry  took  the  second  seat  at  Tamworth  held  by  the  Tories  since  a  by-election  in  1863.

Henry  was  the  son  of  a  general. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. He  had  a  brief  stint  in  the  army  in  the  mid  1820s  but  opted  for  the  diplomatic  service  instead  in  1827. He  stood  for  Hertford  in  1826  but  was  first  successful  for  Wilton  as  a  Radical  in  1830. He  switched  to  Coventry  for  the  1831 election  then  Marylebone  in  1835. In  1837  he  gave  u  his  seat  to  be  a  full  time  diplomat  and  was  sent  to  Constantinople. Henry  saw  service  in  Spain, America , France  and  Italy  before  becoming  Ambassador  to  the  Ottoman  Empire  from  1858  to  semi-retirement  in  1865. He  had  some  faith  in  the  reformability  of  the  Turkish  givernment  and  thought  none  of  the  subject  races  were  capable  of  self-government.

Henry  was  a  friend  of  Palmerston's  and  wrote  his  first  biography. He  claimed  that  Palmerston  disapproved  of  Liverpool's  repressive  policies.

Henry  spoke  in  favour  of  the  secret  ballot. and  Irish  disestablishment.

Henry  was  raised  to  the  peerage  in  1871  as  Baron  Dilling  and  Bulwer.

He  died  in  Naples  the  following  year  aged  71.

668 William Roden

Constituency : Stoke-upon-Trent  1868-74

William  took  over  from  Henry  Grenfell  at  Stoke. He  was  unopposed.

William  was  from  Wolverhampton. He  was  an  iron master  and  railway  man,  being  chairman  of  the  Manchester, Buxton, Matlock  and  Midland  Junction  Railway. He  also  had  an  interest  in  mining. He  was  mayor  of  Hanley  between  1866  and  1868.

William  was  defeated  in  1874.

William  died  in  1882  aged  52.

667 John McClean

Constituency : Stafford  1868-73

John  took  one  of  the  new  Staffordshire  East  seats  for  the  Liberals.

John  was  a  civil  engineer  from  Belfast. He  was  educated  at  Glasgow  University . In  the  1840s  he  became  the  sole  owner  of  the  South  Staffordshire  Railway  which  he  had  constructed. He  planned  and  built  The  South  Staffordshire  Water  Works  Company  which  supplied  water  to  a  large  area  of  the  Black  Country.  He  was  also  chairman  of  the  Anglo-American  Telegraph  Company  and  had  interests  in  coal  mining. He  had  a  large  part  in  the  development  of  Barrow-in-Furness.  He  tried  and  failed  to  get  elected  in  Belfast  in  1857.

John  suffered  sunstroke  while  touring  India  and  his  health  never  fully  recovered.

He  died  in  1873  aged  60.

666 Henry Pochin

Constituency  : Stafford  1868-69

Henry  took  over  from  Michael  Bass  at  Stafford.

Henry  was  a  yeoman's  son  from  Leicestershire  who  began  work  as  an  apprentice  to  a manufacturing  chemist  in  Manchester. He  rose  to  be  a  partner  in  the  firm  and  sole  proprietor on  his  partner's  death  in  1858. Henry  made  his  fortune  from  two  innovations  , a  process which  made  white  soap  possible  and  a  cheap  alternative  to  alumstone  for  the  production  of paper. Exploiting  the  latter  involved  purchasing  china  clay  mines  in  Cornwall. He later  formed Manchester-based  consortia  to  invest  in  iron, steel  and  coal aided  by  the  accountant  MP  David Chadwick. Henry  suffered  from  headaches  and  high  blood  pressure  all  his  life  which  may have  been  linked  to  his  work. Henry  was  a  radical  and  wrote  a  "plan  for  Parliamentary  Reform". He  was  a  friend  of  Bright  and  mayor  of  Salford  in  1866-68.

Henry's  election  was  contested  due  to  allegations  of  bribery  and  the  Tories  managed  to  win  both  seats  at  the  by-election. Henry's  son-in-law  avenged  his  defeat  in  1880.

In  later  life  Henry  relocated  to  Wales  where  he  created  Bodnant  Gardens, now  owned  by  the  National  Trust. In  1890  he  had  a  mild  stroke. The  following  year  his  son  Percival  and  his  wife  were  prosecuted  by  the  NSPCC  for  maltreating  their  page  boy. Percival  was  disinherited  but  whether  solely  due  to  this  scandal  is  not  known.

He  died  in  1895  aged  71.

665 Thomas Lea

Constituency : Kidderminster 1868-74; County  Donegal 1879-85; Londonderry  South  1886-1900  ( Liberal  Unionist )

Thomas  recaptured  Kidderminster  for  the  Liberals  which  had  been  lost  in  1865. He  was  only  27  on  election.

Thomas  was  a  carpet  manufacturer  from  the  town.

Thomas  became  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  1886. The  Unionist  press  rejoiced  at  his  victory  over  a  Home  Ruler  in  Derry  that  year.

Thomas  was  created  a  baronet  in  1892.

He  died  in  1902  aged  60.

664 John Wylie

Constituency  : Hereford  1868-9

John  recaptured  the   second  seat  at  Hereford  lost  in  1865.

John   was  the  son  of  an  army  officer  who  served  in  India.  He  was  educated  at  Cheltenham  and  Oxford.  He  was  a  civil  servant  in  the  Indian  service. In  1858  he  contracted  Gujarat  fever  which  permanently  affected  his  health. He  is  said  to  have  coined the phrase  "masterly  inactivity"  to  describe  the  the  policy  of  the  governor-general  Lord  Lawrence  in  a  magazine  article.

The  election  was  declared  void  in  1869  because  of  alleged  treating  by  his  agent. Having  resigned  his  post  in  India  he  became  a  journalist.

John  died  in   Paris  in  1870  aged  35  after  catching  a  chill  which  re-ignited  malarial  fever.

663 Henry Strutt

Constituency : Derbyshire  East  1868-74; Berwick-upon-Tweed 1880

Henry  took  the  second  seat  at  Derbyshire  East.

Henry  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Baron  Belper  who  had  been  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of Lancaster  in  Aberdeen's  ministry. The   Strutt  family  business  was  cotton. He  was  educated  at Harrow  and  Cambridge  and  was  a  keen  cricketer.

Henry  was  defeated  in  1874.

Henry  had  to  relinquish  his  seat  in  1880  when  he  succeeded  to  the  baronage.  In  1886  he  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists. Salisbury   made  him  Captain  of  the  Honourable  Corps  of  Gentlemen-at-Arms  in  1895  and  he held  it  until  1905.  he  was  also  an  aide-de-camp  to  all  three  monarchs  between  1894  and  1914.

He  died  in  1914  aged  74.