902 Robert Mackie

Constituency : Wakefield  1880-85

Robert  recaptured  Wakefield  for  the  Liberals.

Robert  was  a  corn  merchant. He  was  educated  at  Wesley  College, Sheffield. He  stood  unsuccessfully  in  1874.

Robert's  only   speech  in  parliament  was  a  brief  comment  on  the  new  boundaries  in  1885.

Robert  was  re-elected  in  1885  but  died  shortly  afterwards  aged  64.

901 William Caine

Constituency : Scarborough  1880-85, Barrow-in-Furness 1886-90 ( Liberal  Unionist ) , Bradford  East  1892-5, Camborne  1900-03

William  took  the  second  Scarborough  seat  for  the  Liberals.

William  was  a  metal  merchant's  son  from  Cheshire. He  was  educated  privately  then  went  into  the  family  business. He  was  a  Baptist  and  married  his  minister's  daughter.  He  then  became  a  leading  light  in  the  temperance  movement  being  elected  vice-president  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance. He  stood  for  Liverpool  unsuccessfully  in  1873  and  1874.

Once  in  Parliament   William  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  radical  for  his  temperance  views  but  in  1884  he  was  made  Civil  Lord  of  the  Admiralty. He  won  the  resulting  by-election  but  lost  a  year  later.

In  1886  William  won  a  by-election  at  Barrow-in- Furness.  He  was  opposed  by  both  the  Tories  and  the  Irish  Nationalists  who'd  got  wind  of  his  opposition  to  Home  Rule .He  immediately  began  organising  the  Home  Rule  revolt  which  led  to  the  nickname  "Brand  of  Caine"  for  the  Liberal  Unionists. He was  the  teller in  the  crucial  debate  in  1886.  He  said  of  Gladstone  after  a  party  meeting  at  the  Foreign  Office  that  he  "surrenders  the  fort  &  armaments  but  asks  for  a  cotton  pocket  handkerchief  &  some  old  muskets  that  he  might  please  the  women  and  children  as  he  marches  out".

 William  held  his  seat  in  1886 and  became  chief  whip  for  the  Liberal  Unionists   but  his  views  on  temperance  soon  caused  problems  for  the  alliance  with  the  Tories.  In  1887  he  objected  to  the  appointment  of  William  Pearce  to  the  committee  on  purchase  and  contract  in  the  navy  as  he  was  a  "disappointed  tenderer". In  1888  he  formed  the  Anglo-Indian  Temperance  Association  with  Samuel  Smith  and  went  to  India  to  promote  it.  In  1890  he  resigned  the  whip  and  fought  a  by-election  as  an  independent  Liberal. He  was  defeated  by  a  Gladstonian.  Chamberlain  wrote  that  he  was  "grieved  and  wounded"  by  William's  desertion. William  responded  that  "nine  tenths  of  what  I  want  in  politics   I  must  get  from  the  recognized  Liberal  party...  the  Tory  Alliance  has  become  unbearable  and  their  attack  on  the  whole  Temperance  movement  , which  I  could  never  subordinate  to  anything  , gave  me  emancipation".

Following  his  defeat  William  visited  India  in  1890  and  is  thought  to  be  the  model  for  the  titular  character  in   Kipling's  political  tract  The  Enlightenments  of  Pagett  MP. He  himself  wrote  a  guidebook  Picturesque  India.

In  1892  William  was  elected  for  Bradford  East  as  a  Liberal. He  soon  became  friendly  with David  Lloyd  George. He  mounted  a  one  man  campaign  against  the  Government  of  India  over  their  cannabis  policy  and  secured   the  Indian  Hemp  Drugs  Commission  of  1893/94. He  described  cannabis  as  "the  most  horrible  intoxicant  the  world  has  yet  produced". He  also  campaigned  against  the  mutoscope  for  showing  nude  figures  of  women  saying  young  men  were  being  "polluted and  degraded " by  them.

  In  1893   his  iron  company  collapsed  which  left  him  poorer.  He  was  defeated  in  1895   but  came  back   for  Camborne  in  1900. His  health  was  failing  and  after  a  trip  to  South  America  in  1902  he  died  of  heart  failure  in  1903  aged  60,

900 Sidney Woolf

Constituency : Pontefract 1880-85

Sidney's  victory  made  it  two  Liberals  in  Pontefract  for  the  first  time  since  1863.

Sidney  was  the  son  of  a  china  merchant  who  had  a  pottery  business   in  Ferrybridge.  He  was  Jewish  and  educated  at  University  College  London  and  Frankfurt. Sidney  expanded  the  business  in  Knottingley  and  became  a  prominent  citizen  in  the  town.

Sidney  was  living  in  Johannesburg  in  1897  but  later  returned  to  the  UK.

He  died  in  1918  aged  81.

899 Sir Henry Meysey-Thompson

Constituency : Knaresborough  1880-81, Brigg 1885-6, Birmingham  Handsworth  1892-95 ( Liberal  Unionist ) 

Henry  won  one  of  the  Knaresborough  seats  from  the  Tories.

Henry  was  the  son  of  the  former  MP  for  Whitby  , Harry  Meysey-Thompsn. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge. He  became  Gladstone's  private  secretary. In  1874  his  father  was  made  a  baronet  and  Henry  succeeded  him  just  months  later. Henry  was  a  director  of  the  Forth  Bridge  Railway  Company

Henry's  election  was  declared  void  on  petition. In  1885  he stood  unsuccessfully  at  a by-election  for  North  Lincolnshire  but  got  back  in  at  Brigg  at  the  election.

Henry  rebelled  against  Home  Rule , helping  to  organise  meetings  of  rebel  MPs  in  1886  and  stood  as  a  Liberal  Unionist  in  1886  but  was  defeated  by  Samuel  Waddy. He  moved  to  the  Liberal  Unionist  stronghold  of  Birmingham  and  was  elected  in  1892.

In  1905  Henry  went  to  the  Lords    as  Baron  Knaresborough.

Henry  was  chairman  of  the  North  Eastern  Railway  from  1912 to  1922. He  had  a  special  interest  in  bimetallism. In  1915  his  son  and  heir  was  killed  at  Ypres.

He  died  in  1929  aged  83.

898 John McMinnies

Constituency  :  Warrington  1880-85

John  took  Warrington  from  the  Tories. Since  1874  the  Crosfields,  a  chemical  manufacturing  family,  had  built  up  the  Liberal  organisation  in  the  town  founding  a  Liberal  Association  on  the  Birmingham  model  in  1878  and  delivered  the  victory.

John  was  a  cotton  manufacturer  and  an  alderman  and  magistrate  in  the  town.

John  did  not  speak  in  Parliament. In  1884  he  announced  his  intention  to  step  down  at  the  next  election.

He  died  in  1890  aged  72.

897 William Summers

Constituency : Stalybridge  1880-85, Huddersfield  1886-93 

William  unseated  the  Tory  MP  at  Stalybridge.

William  was  the  son  of  a  local  ironmaster. He  was  privately  educated  then  went  to  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister.

William  made  frequent  parliamentary  interventions  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects.

In  1885  the  Tories  reclaimed  the  seat. William  got  back  in  at  Huddersfield  the  following  year.

In  1889  William  agreed  to  act  as  Treasurer  for  the  journal  Haiasdan  , the  mouthpiece  of  the  Armenian  community  in  the  UK.

William  was  re-elected  in  1892  despite  being  unable  to  fully  campaign  due  to  ill  health. Later  that  year  he  sailed  for  Bombay  hoping  to  improve  his  health  but  he  died  at  Allahabad  of  malignant  smallpox  on  New  Year's  Day  1893.

896 Arthur Arnold

Constituency  :  Salford  1880-85

Arthur  was  the  other  Liberal  victor  at  Salford.

Arthur  was  the  son  of  a  Sussex  magistrate  and  brother  of  the  poet  Edwin  Arnold. He  was  privately  educated  and  trained  to  be  a  surveyor  and  land  agent. He  was  an  Assistant  Commissioner  of  public  Works  during  the  Lancashire  cotton  famine  and  wrote  a  book "The  History  of  the  Cotton  Famine". He  also  wrote  two  lowbrow  novels. He  was  an  advanced  Radical  and  in  1868  became  the  first  editor  of  The  Echo , an  evening  paper. He  unsuccessfully  contested  the  Huntingdon  by-election  of  1873. In  1878  he  published  "Social Politics"  setting  out  his  views  on  disestablishment, land  law, railway  nationalisation, female  suffrage , Home  Rule   and  temperance.  He  was   president  of  the  Free  Land  League  and  a  member  of  the  London  Anti-Vivisection  Society.

Arthur  was  a  frequent  questioner  of  ministers  and  made  over  100  interventions  each  year  he  was  in  Parliament.

Arthur  was  defeated  at  Salford  North  in  1885  and  1886. In  1892  he  tried  for  Dorset  North  unsuccessfully.

When  London  County  Council  was  formed  in  1889  Arthur  was  elected   as   a  county  alderman. He  chaired  the  council  between  1895  and  1897.  He  was  knighted  in  1895,

He  died  unexpectedly  in  1902 aged  68.

895 Benjamin Armitage

Constituency  :  Salford  1880-85, Salford  West  1885-6

Benjamin  was  part  of  a  double  Liberal  triumph  in  recapturing  Salford.

Benjamin   was  the  son  of  a  Salford  textile  manufacturer  and  educated  locally.  He  was  involved  in  the  local  agitation  for  elementary  education  in  the  1860s. In  1878  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce.

In  1882  Benjamin  spoke  in  favour  of  including  a  clause  preventing  the  employment  of  street  children  inserted  in  the  Manchester  Corporation  Bill.

Benjamin  was  defeated  in  1886.

In  1889  Benjamin  was  chairman  of  a  memorial  committee  in  Manchester  following  Bright's  death.

He  died  in  1899  aged  76.

894 Edward Lyulph Stanley

Constituency  : Oldham  1880-85

Edward  captured  the  second  seat  at  Oldham  for  the  Liberals.

Edward   was  the  son  of  Baron  Stanley  of  Alderley. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister.   He  was  an  agnostic  and  a  member  of  the  Liberation  Society.  he  attacked  clerical  restrictions  at  Oxford  He  had  been  unsuccessfully  contesting  Oldham  since  a  by-election  in  1872  where  he  was  backed  by  the  National  Education  League  although  many  nonconformists  decried  his  religious  views.  W  R  Ward  described  him  as  a  "prominent  wild  man  among  the  secularising  Liberals". He  became  a  member  of  the  London  School  Board  in   1876 ; with  a  short  break  he  held  his  place  until  1904 and  was  constantly  at  odds  with  the  church  schools.  as  leader  of  the  Progressive  party.  He  saw  elementary  education  as  the  key  and  wanted  to  build  as  many  new  schools  as  possible.In  1873  he  married  Mary , the  daughter  of  Lowthian  Bell.

Edward  never  spoke  in  Parliament. He  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Housing  of  Working  Classes. Stuart  Rendel  described  him as  "political  garlic.Put  him  in  the  ministerial  dietary  and  the  whole  party  would  reek  of  him".  He  told  Mundella  he  was  "as  bad  as  the  Tories."

Edward  was  defeated  in  1885.  The  Tory  victor  told  Salisbury  "The  Irish  did  not  vote  straight  and  their  strength  had  been  considerably  exaggerated, while  Mr  S R  Platt  , the  great  employer  of  labour  , though  a  churchman  himself, used  all  his  influence  to  secure  Lyulph  Stanley's  return".   He  unsuccessfully  contested  the  seat  again  in  1892  although  Sidney  Webb  commented  in  a  letter  that  "Stanley  has  done  better  than  was  expected".

Edward  published  a  book  Our  National  Education  in  1899.

Edward  succeeded  his  elder  brother  to  the  barony   in  1903.

Edward  was  the  father  of  Asquith's  female  friend,  Venetia  Stanley.

He  died  in  1925  aged  86.

893 John Slagg

Constituency : Manchester  1880-85, Burnley  1887-89

John  took  over  from  Thomas  Bazley  at  Manchester.

John  was  the  son  of  a  Manchester merchant. Richard  Cobden  had  been  his  godfather. John  became  president  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce. He  lived  in  South  Manchester.

In  1880  John  spoke  in  favour  of  a  new  commercial  treaty  with  France.  He  supported  the  opening  of  museums  on  a  Sunday.  In  1882  he  clashed  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Lawson  over  the  latter's  term  of  "Cotton  Jingoes"  to  describe  Liberal  supporters  of  the  intervention  in  Egypt . He  agitated  for  the  removal  of  tax  on  silver  and  gold  plate.  He  attacked  opponents  of  a  Channel  Tunnel  for  their  "timid  and  unworthy  state  of  mind". He  was  a  critic  of  British  policy  in  India.

John  stood  for  Manchester  North  West in  1885  but  was  defeated.  That  same  year  he  became  a  director  of  the  Suez  Canal  Company.

In  1887  John  returned  to  Parliament  at  a  by-election  in  Burnley.

He  died  two  years  later  aged  47.

892 John Ramsay

Constituency : Liverpool 1880

John   took  over  from  William  Rathbone  as  the  Liberal  representative  in  Liverpool.

John  was  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie  who  was  also  an  admiral. He  became  Lord  Ramsay  in  1874. He  was  educated  at  Oxford. He  served  in  the  navy  from  1861  to  1879  rising  to  the  rank  of  Commander. He  was  an  equerry  to  Prince  Alfred  between  1874  and  1876. He  was  a  Provincial  Grand  Master  in  the  Freemasons.

John  only  sat  for  a  few  months  before  succeeding  his  father. The  Tories  won  the  by-election. He  was  a  whip  in  the  Lords  from  1880  to  1885. He  was  briefly  Secretary   for  Scotland  in  1886  when  George  Trevelyan  resigned  over  Home  Rule.

John  didn't  speak  in  either  House.

In  1887  John  and  his  wife  were  in  Le  Havre  returning  from  the  States  when  his  wife  was  taken  ill. She  died  of  peritonitis  and  the  same  night  John  died,  apparently  of  an  apoplectic  fit  aged  40 .

891 William Agnew

Constituency : South  East  Lancashire  1880-85, Stretford  1885-6

William  was  elected  alongside  his  cousin  Robert  Leake.

William  is  better  known  as  an  art  dealer.  His  father's  business  flourished  as  one  of  Britain's  premier  art  dealerships  until  two  years  ago  when  it  was  privately  purchased. From  1870  he  was  a  partner  in  Bradbury  &  Evans  who  published  Punch  and  in  1890  became  its  chairman. He  was  said  to  combine  business  acumen  with  a keen  eye  for  good  art. He  helped  the  wealthy  amass  fine  collections  of  Old  Masters.

William  was  an  Anglican  but  in  1884  spoke  against  its   bishops  sitting  in  the  Lords. He  was  in  favour  of  women's  suffrage. He  was  a  friend  of  Gladstone  and  gave  freely  to  party  organisations. He  was  a  founder  of  the  National  Liberal  Club, London  and  was  President  of  the  Manchester  Reform  Club.

William  was  defeated  in  1886  and  at  Prestwich  in  1892.

In  1888  the  Magazine  of  Art  described  him  as  "a  handsome  man  just  past  the  prime  of  life, a  fine  type  of  the  robust  English  gentleman... with  the  air  of  a  man  fully  aware  of  his  own  importance.

William  was  created  a  baronet  in  1895.

He  died  in  1910  aged  85.

890 Robert Leake

Constituency : Lancashire  South-East  1880-85, Radcliffe-cum-Farnworth 1885-95

Robert  scored  another  double  triumph  for  the  Liberals  in  tandem  with  his  cousin  William  Agnew  at  South  East  Lancahire.

Robert  was  a  Mancunian. He  was  educated  privately  then  set  up  a  calico  printing  company. He  was  very  active  in  the  party  in  Manchester  acting  as  President  of  both  the  Manchester  Liberal  Association  and  the  Manchester  Reform  Club.  He  resisted  calls  for  him  to  stand  for Parliament  until  1880.

In  1889  Robert  spoke  at  the  "indignation"  meeting  held  at  the  Free  Trade  Hall  to  protest  at  the  expulsion  of  the  Irish  Nationalist , William O'Brien.

In  1892  Robert  made  a  long  speech  when  moving  the  second  reading  of  the  MInes  (Eight  Hours ) Bill.

Robert  stood  down  in  1895.

He  died  in  1901  aged  77.

889 Frederick Grafton

Constituency : North East  Lancashire  1880-85,  Accrington  1885-6

Along  with  Hartington,  Frederick  wrested  both  North  East  Lancashire  seats  for  the  Liberals.

Frederick  was  the  son  of  a  Manchester  merchant.  He  was  educated  privately  and  started  work  at  a  calico  printing  works.  He  established  his  own  calico  business  and  became  a  major  employer  in  the  area.

Frederick  voted  against  Home  Rule  but  declined  to  contest  Accrington  as  a  Liberal  Unionist  citing  poor  health.

He  died  in  1890  aged  74.

888 David Ainsworth

Constituency : West  Cumberland  1880-85, Egremont  1892-5

David  was  the  only  Liberal  who  ever  sat  for  the  West  Cumberland  seat. He  probably  derived  his  victory  from  a  growing  Irish  community  as  industry  spread  in  the  area.

David  was  the  son  of  a  Unitarian  linen  mill  owner  and  ironmaster . He  also  owned  some  mines  nearby.He  stood  in  1874  but  was  defeated,

David  opposed  a  proposed  railway  through  Ennerdale, a  stretch  of  which  would  have  passed  through  a  field  he  owned.

David  stood  for  Egremont  in  1885  and  1886  but  was  unsuccessful.

David  was  defeated  in  1895.

In  1898  David  purchased  Wray  Castle.

He  died  in  1906  aged  63.

887 Edward Waugh

Constituency : Cockermouth  1880-5

Edward  took  over  from  William  Fletcher  at  Cockermouth.

Edward  was  a  solicitor  and  one  time  Registrar  of  the  County  Court. He  often  acted  for  the  Cockermouth, Keswick  and  Penrith  Railway  Company.

Edward's  particular  interest  was  the  abolition  of  copyhold  tenure  and  he  made  a  number  of  parliamentary  speeches  on  the  subject.

Edward  stood  down  in  1885.

In  1886  Edward  bought  a  field  for  the  erection  of  the  town's  Drill  Hall.

He  died  in  1891  aged  74.  A  clock  erected  in  his  memory  in  the  town  was  demolished  in  1932  for  causing  too  many  traffic  accidents.

886 Richard Fort ( 2 )

Constituency : Clitheroe  1880-85

Richard  recaptured  his  father's  old  seat  of  Clitheroe.

Richard  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  became  a  lieutenant  in  the  11th  Hussars.

Richard's  only  parliamentary  contribution  was  a  question  about  the  army  medical  department.

Richard  stood  down  in  1885.

He  died  in  1918  aged  61.  His  nephew  Richard  was  a  Conservative  MP  for  the  seat  in  the  1950s.

885 Beilby Lawley

Constituency : Chester  1880

Beilby  took  over  from  John  Dodson  at  Chester.

Beilby  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Baron  Wenlock  and  grandson  of  the  Marquess  of  Westminster. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge .He  bought  a  commission  into  the  Yorkshire  Hussars  in  1869  and  became  a  captain. He  was  a  magistrate  in  Yorkshire.

Beilby  inherited  his  father's  title  in  1880  just  before  representation  of  Chester  was  suspended.

In  1890, by  which  time  he  had  switched  allegiance  to  the  Conservatives ,  Beilby  was  appointed  Governor  of  Madras. He  served  from  1891  to  1896  during  which  time  he  had  to  deal  with  a  severe  famine. In  1901  he  was  made  a  Lord  of  the  Bedchamber  to  the  Prince  of  Wales.

He  died  in  1912  aged  62.

884 John Thomasson

Constituency  :  Bolton  1880-85

John  won  the  second  seat  at  Bolton  making  it  the  first  double  triumph  for  the  Liberals  since  1852.

John  was  a  Quaker  and  went  into  his  family's  cotton  spinning  firm. In  1867  he  married  John  Bright's  neice. He  was   a  Unitarian  and  an  advanced  Liberal  but  declined  an  invitation  to  contest  the  seat  in  1873. He  was  a large  benefactor  to  Bolton  funding  the  Haulgh  Board  School, the  Chadwick  museum  and  a  gymnasium.

John  supported  women's  suffrage.  He  opposed  denominational  education.  He  spoke  for  the  repeal  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Act. In  1880  he  and  Charles  Hopwood  introduced  an  unsuccessful  bill  to  allow  wives  to prosecute  husbands  for  the  neglect  of  their  children.

In  1885  the  Tories  captured  both  seats.

In  1890  John  gave  Mere  Hall  to  the  borough.

He  died  in  1904  aged  62. The  Thomasson  Memorial  School  for  blind  and  deaf  children  was  built  as  a  memorial  to  him  in  1907.

883 Hugh Mason

Constituency : Ashton-under-Lyne  1880-85

Hugh  recaptured  Ashton-under-Lyne  for  the  Liberals.

Hugh  was  a  textiles  manager's  son  from  Stalybridge. He  was  working  in  a  mill  from  10 and  being  educated  at  a  private  school. He  worked  at  a  bank  before  entering  the  family  business.  He  built  two  mills  in  the  Ryecroft  area  and  a  "worker's  colony"  of  better  housing  for  his  employees.  He  discouraged  drinking. He  helped  set  up  the  Manchester  Cotton  Company  during  the  Lancashire  Cotton  Famine. He  was  President  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce  from  1871  to  1874 and  had  interests  in  the  Bridgewater  Canal  Navigation  Society, the  Midland  Railway , Mersey  Dock  Board  and  iron  and  coal  companies. He  was  mayor  of  Ashton  between  1857  and  1860.  In  1867  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Manchester  Reform  Club. He  was  not  always  in  agreement  with  other  Liberals  and  founded  his  own  newspaper,  the  Ashton-under-Lyne  News  to  get  his  views  across.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  Prosecution  of  General  Eyre  in  Jamaica . In  1874, fed  up  with  infighting  he  retired  from  the  local  council  but  by  1878  he  had  reconciled  with  the  party  who  wanted  him  to  stand  for  Parliament.

Hugh  seconded  the  Queen's  Speech  in  1880.  He  spoke  in  favour  of  local  option  that  same  year  when  the  Local  Option  Bill  got  passed. He  also  opposed  smoking. .Hugh  agreed  to  become  a  spokesman  for  the  Women's  Suffrage  Association  in  1881  and  he  put  forward  two  motions  which  were  defeated. From   1883  onwards  he  was  in  poor  health.

Unable  to  fight  an  energetic  campaign  in  1885  Hugh  was  defeated  by  48  votes.

The  Manchester  Guardian  described  Hugh  as  "unpopular : the  ruggedness  which  mars  his  virtues  and  the  self  assertion which  stamps  his  conduct , do  not  invite  the  affection  of  his  fellow.Although  he  has  done  more  than any  other  millowner  on  securing  the  physical  and  social  well-being  of  his  employees, he  is  not  highly  esteemed. He  has  built  for  his  workpeople  admirable  cottages,  swimming  baths, gymnasiums  and  lecture  halls, but  beneficient  acts  do  not  suffice  to  secure  popularity unless  there  is  a  suavity  of  manner  and  sympathy  of  nature  in  the  benefactor  and  these  are  qualities  which  Mr  Mason  lacks".

Hugh  was  a  Congregationalist.

Hugh  died  in  1886  aged  69.

882 Albert Grey

Constituency  : South  Northumberland  1880-85, Tyneside  1885-6

Albert  won  the  second  seat  at  South  Northumberland. He  had  tied  with  the  Tory  , Edward  Ridley  at  a  by-election  there  in  1878  but  declined  to  have  his  votes  scrutinised  and  gave  way  to  Ridley.

Albert  was  a  grandson  of  the  Whig  prime  minister  Earl  Grey. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Cambridge. After  graduating  Albert  became  private  secretary  to  Sir  Henry  Frere  on  the  Council  of  India  and  accompanied  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  tour  there.

Despite  his  withdrawal  at  the  by-election  Albert  was  serious  about  politics. He  was  looking  to  develop  a  distinctive  Whig  programme.  He  gave  the   address  in  answer  to  the  Queen's  Speech  in  1880. He  opposed  the  Irish  Land  Bill. He  tried  to  secure  proportional  representation  in  the Third  Reform  Act.   In  1884  he  became  one  of  the  founder  members  of  the   Imperial  Federation  League  looking  to  turn  the  Empire  into  a  Federation.

In  1885  Albert  switched  to Tynesde  winning  his  seat  easily  and  believing  he  was  independent  of  the  local  Liberal  caucus. He  put  down  an  amendment  to  Dillwyn's  motion  on  Welsh  disestablishment  calling  for  reform  not  abolition.

Albert  broke  decisively  with  Gladstone  on  Home  Rule. Lewis  Harcourt  described  him  as  "thirsting  for  the  blood  of  the  Irish  and  all  who  sympathise  with  them".  He  was  an  important  organising  force  behind  the  party  split. With  another  election  approaching  he  asked  his  agent  about  his  chances The  reply  was  candid  , "You  have  no  supporters  and  I  am  your  only  friend". Only  13  out  of  1,000  men  at  a  Newcastle  meeting  had  supported  his  position. Nevertheless  Albert  fought  the  seat  as  a  Liberal  Unionist   and  was  defeated  by  his  former  colleague  at  Northumberland  South, Wentworth  Beaumont  by  122  votes.

In  1894  Albert  succceeded  his  uncle  as  Earl  Grey. He  was  a  friend  of  Cecil  Rhodes  and  became  a  director  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company  often  serving  as  a  liaison  between    Rhodes  and  Chamberlain. He  served  as  Administrator  of  Southern  Rhodesia  in  1896-7. He  invested  heavily  in  South  Africa  but  his  ventures  failed  and  he  was  virtually  bankrupt  when  appointed  Governor General  of  Canada  in  1904. He  oversaw  the  attachment  of  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  to  the  Canadian  Confederation . He  was  a  close  friend  of  Theodore  Roosevelt. He  was  also  largely  responsible  for  the  creation  of  the  Canadian  navy,  Albert's  imperialism  meant  he  had  frequent  clashes  with  the  Quebec  nationalists. He  supported  Asian  immigration  to  Canada  up  to  the  Russo-Japanese  War  then  became  more  circumspect.  He  promoted  sport  in  Canada.

Albert's  term  finished  in  1911. He  returned  to  the  UK  and  became  president  of  the Royal  Colonial  Institute.

He  died  in  1917  aged  66.  Alfred  Pease  described  him  as  "one  of  the  most  irresistible  and  charming  of  men, with  tact, temper, humour ; he  had  a  most  happy  disposition, and  his  ceaseless  efforts  told  on  the  young  for  he  was  always  young  himself".

881 Ashton Dilke

Constituency : Newcastle-upon-Tyne  1880-83

Ashton  recaptured  the  second  Newcastle  seat  for  the  Liberals.

Ashton  was  the  younger  brother  of  Charles  Dilke. He  was  educated  privately  and  at  Cambridge  though  he  left  the  latter  before  taking  a  degree  to  visit  Russia  in  1892. He  studied  the  language  and  society  in  a  Russian  village  before  contracting  tuberculosis  which  permanently  damaged  his  health. In  1874 he  published  a  couple  of  pieces  about  Russia  in  the  Fortnightly  Review. The  following  year  he  bought  the  Weekly  Dispatch  of  which  he  had  two  spells  as  editor.   In  1878  he  published  a  translation  of  Turgenev's  Virgin  Soil.

Ashton  had  the  reputation  of  a  radical  but  he  never  spoke  in  the  House. He  supported  women's  suffrage  and  his  wife  Margaret  was  on  the  executive  committee  of  the  National Society  for  Women's  Suffrage.

Ashton  was  forced  by  ill  health  his  seat  in  February   1883. He  was  living  in  Algiers  at  the  time  and  died  there  the  following  month  aged  32.

880 Frederick Lambton

Constituency : South  Durham  1880-85;   South  East  Durham  1900-1910  ( Liberal Unionist )

Frederick  took  over  from  Frederick  Beaumont  at   South Durham.

Frederick  was  the  younger  of  twin  sons  of  the  Earl  of  Durham.

Frederick's  first  speech  in  1882  crticised  Gladstone  for  heavy  handedness  towards  Ireland.

Frederick  did  not  stand  in  1885  but  in  1886  he  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  and  contested  Berwick-upon-Tweed  and  Sunderland  in  1886  winning  neither. He  unsuccessfully  contested  a  by-election  at  South  East  Durham  in  1898  but  defeated  its  winner  two  years  later. He  held  his  seat  unopposed  in  1906  but  was  crushed  at  the  January  1910  election.

Frederick  succeeded  his  brother  as  Earl  in  1928   but  himself  died  only  four  months  later  aged  73.

879 John Joicey

Constituency : Durham  North  1880-81

John  took  the  second  seat  at  North  Durham  from  the  Tories.

John  was  a  coal  owner  in  business  with  his  brother. He  had  started  out  taking  medical  training  but  soon  switched  to  mining  engineering.

John  never  spoke  in  Parliament.

He  died  in  1881  aged 64.

878 Theodore Fry

Constituency : Darlington  1880-95

Theodore  took  over  from  Edmund  Backhouse  at  Darlington.

Theodore  was  from  the  famous  Quaker  chocolate  making  family  but  he  concentrated  on  other  business  interests. He  was  a  director  of  a  coal  and  coke  company , a  waterworks  and  an   ironworks. He  was  mayor  of  Darlington  from  1877  to  1878. He  was  married  to  a  member  of  the  Pease  family Sophia,  a  campaigner  for  female  suffrage.

In  1886  Theodore  introduced  a  Bill  to  apply  the  principles  of  local  option  to  the  sale  of  liquour  on  a  Sunday  in  Durham. It  was  defeated  in  the  Lords.

The  Home  Rule  split  divided  the  family  and  Sophia's  cousin  Arthur  Pease  stood  against  Theodore  in  1892  as  a  Liberal  Unionist. Theodore  squeaked  home  by  56 votes.

In  1895  Theodore  and  Sophia  were both  injured  in  a  carriage  accident  in  Italy. This  hampered  Theodore  in  another  fierce  campaign  against  Pease  who  triumphed  by  657  votes.

In  1894  Theodore  was  created  a  baronet. In  1895  he  introduced  a  bill  to  allow people  who  were  employed  on  public  works  schemes  to  retain  the  vote  but  it  was  defeated.  His  last  speech  was  in  favour  of  the  repeal  of  the  Coercion  Act  in  Ireland.

In  1897  Sophia  died  of  influenza  while  they  were  travelling  to  Madrid. When  Theodore  remarried  in  1902  he  left  Darlington  for  Surrey. In  1911  he  went  on  a  long  sea  voyage  to  South  America.

He  died  in  1912  aged  76.

877 Samuel Williams

Constituency : Radnor  1880-84

Samuel  took  over  from  Lord  Hartington  when  the  latter  decided  he  had  to  represent  a  seat  back  in  his  native  Lancashire.*

Samuel  was  the  son  of  an  Anglican  clergyman  yet  regarded  as  one  of  the  more  advanced  Liberals  in  Wales.

Samuel  never  spoke  in  the  Commons.

Samuel  resigned  the  seat  in  1884.

He  died  in  1926  aged  83.

*  CORRECTION: Lord  Hartington  won  the  seat  in  the  1880  election and  then  chose  to  sit  for  North  East  Lancashire  and  so  Samuel  should  have  been  introduced  among  the  by-election  victors  of  1880-85  not  the  victors  of  1880.

876 William Davies

Constituency : Pembrokeshire  1880-92

William  recaptured  Pembrokeshire  from  the  Tories.

William  was  a  solicitor  from  Haverfordwest. He  contested  the  1876  by-election.

In  1892  William  stood  down  in  favour  of  his  son.

He  died  in  1895  aged  74.

875 Henry Allen

Constituency : Pembroke  1880-85;  Pembroke  and  Haverfordwest  1885-6

Henry  replaced  Edward  Reed  who  switched  to  Cardiff.

Henry  came  from  a  Whig  gentry  background. His  father  was  a  previous  MP  for  Pembroke. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister.

Henry  stood  down  in  1886. He  became  the  first  chairman  of  Pembrokeshire  County  Council.

He  died  in  1908  aged  93.

874 Stuart Rendel

Constituency : Montgomeryshire  1880-94

Stuart took  over  from  Charles  Watkin-Williams  at  Montgomeryshire.

Stuart  was  the  son  of  an  eminent  civil  engineer. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister  but  was  mainly  involved  in  industrial  engineering. He  managed  the  London  office  of  William  Armstrong's  gunnery  works.

Despite  being  an  Anglican  Englishman  Stuart  quickly  immersed  himself in  Welsh  culture  and  concerns  attracting  the  nickname  "Member  for   Wales"  and  gradually  emerging as  the  leader  of  the  Welsh  MPs. He  supported  disestablishment  of  the  church  and  the  University  of  Wales.

Stuart   was  a  close  friend  of  Gladstone's  and  popular  in  London  society. His  daughter  married  Gladstone's  son  Henry.

In  1894  Stuart  stood  down  and  became  Baron  Rendel. A  year  later  he  became president  of  the  University  College  of  Wales  at  Aberystwyth  to  which  he  had  always  been  a  benefactor.

He  died  in  1913  aged  78.

873 Edward Carbutt

Constituency : Monmouth Boroughs  1880-86

Edward  re-took  the  bellweather  seat  of  Monmouth  Boroughs  from  the  Tories.

Edward  was  the  son  of  a  linen  merchant  and  former  Lord  Mayor  of  Leeds.  He  was  a  Baptist  .He  trained  as  a  mechanical  engineer  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Robinson  Thwaites  in  his  twenties. They  patented  a  steam  hammer  which  was  exhibited  in  the  1862  London  Exhibition.  He  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps  by  becoming  Lord  Mayor  of  Leeds  in  1878. He  was  a  director  of  the  Midland  Railway  Company  for  many  years.

Edward  supported  Sunday  closing  and  told  the  Conmons  in  1880  that  he  owed  his  election  to  his  promise  to  support  it.  He  agitated  in  favour  of  increasing  Britain's  ordnance  facilities. He  also  instigated  an  expansion  of  India's  railway  system.

Edward  was  defeated  in  1886.

Edward  was   elected  President  of  the  Institute  of  Mechanical  Engineers  in  1887 . He  was   created  a  baronet  in  1892.

He  died  in  1905  aged  67.