Everything about Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-cecil 3rd Marquess Of Salisbury totally explained
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Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury,
KG,
GCVO,
PC (
3 February 1830 –
22 August 1903), known as
Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and as
Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a
British statesman and thrice
Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years. He was the first British Prime Minister of the 20th century.
Life
Lord Robert Cecil was the second son of the
2nd Marquess of Salisbury. After an unhappy childhood, in which he was sent to
Eton College, he went up to
Christ Church, Oxford, and on taking his degree was elected a Fellow of
All Souls College. He entered the
House of Commons as a
Conservative in 1853, as
MP for
Stamford in
Lincolnshire. He retained this seat until entering the peerage.
In 1866 Lord Robert, now
Viscount Cranborne after the death of his older brother, entered the third government of
Lord Derby as
Secretary of State for India. He resigned the next year over the
Reform Bill, which he opposed.
In 1868, on the death of his father, he inherited the
Marquessate of Salisbury, thereby becoming a member of the
House of Lords. From 1868 and 1871, he was chairman of the
Great Eastern Railway, which was then experiencing losses. During his tenure, the company was taken out of
chancery, and paid out a small dividend on its ordinary shares.
He returned to government in 1874, serving once again as India Secretary in the government of
Benjamin Disraeli. Salisbury gradually developed a good relationship with Disraeli, whom he'd previously disliked and distrusted. In 1878, Salisbury succeeded
Lord Derby (son of the former Prime Minister) as Foreign Secretary in time to help lead Britain to "peace with honour" at the
Congress of Berlin. For this he was rewarded with the
Order of the Garter.
Following Disraeli's death in 1881, the Conservatives entered a period of turmoil. Salisbury became the leader of the Conservative members of the House of Lords, though the overall leadership of the party wasn't formally allocated. So he struggled with the Commons leader
Sir Stafford Northcote, a struggle in which Salisbury eventually emerged as the leading figure. He became
Prime Minister of a minority administration from 1885 to 1886. Although unable to accomplish much due to his lack of a parliamentary majority, the split of the
Liberals over
Irish Home Rule in 1886 enabled him to return to power with a majority, and, with a short break (1892–1895) to serve as Prime Minister from 1886 to 1902.
In 1889 Salisbury set up the
London County Council and then in 1890 allowed it to build houses. However he came to regret this, saying in November 1894 that the LCC, "is the place where collectivist and socialistic experiments are tried. It is the place where a new revolutionary spirit finds its instruments and collects its arms".
Also in 1889 Salisbury's Government passed the
Naval Defence Act 1889 which facilitated the spending of an extra £20 million on the
Royal Navy over the following four years. This was the biggest ever expansion of the navy in peacetime: ten new
battleships, thirty-eight new
cruisers, eighteen new
torpedo boats and four new fast
gunboats. Traditionally (since the
Battle of Trafalgar) Britain had possessed a navy one-third larger than their nearest naval rival but now the Royal Navy was set to the
Two-Power Standard; that it would be maintained "to a standard of strength equivalent to that of the combined forces of the next two biggest navies in the world". This was aimed at France and Russia.
Salisbury's expertise was in foreign affairs. For most of his time as Prime Minister he served not as
First Lord of the Treasury, the traditional position held by the Prime Minister, but as
Foreign Secretary. In that capacity, he skilfully managed Britain's foreign affairs, famously pursuing a policy of "
Splendid Isolation". Among the important events of his premierships was the
Partition of Africa, culminating in the
Fashoda Crisis and the
Second Boer War. At home he sought to "fight Home Rule with kindness" by launching a land reform programme which helped hundreds of thousands of Irish peasants gain land ownership.
On
11 July 1902, in failing health and broken hearted over the death of his wife, Salisbury resigned. He was succeeded by his nephew,
Arthur James Balfour. Salisbury was offered a dukedom by
Queen Victoria in 1886 and 1892, but declined both offers, citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle dukes were expected to maintain.
When Salisbury died his estate was probated at 310,336 pounds sterling. In 1900 Salisbury was worth
£6.56 million, about £374 million in 2005.
Legacy
Salisbury is seen as an icon of traditional, aristocratic conservatism. The academic quarterly
Salisbury Review was named in his honour upon its founding in 1982.
Clement Attlee (Labour Party Prime Minister, 1945-1951) believed Salisbury to be the best Prime Minister of his lifetime.
While Secretary of State for India in 1875, Salisbury made the infamous comment that India must be bled and proceeded to describe how that bleeding needed to be optimised. He also remarked that the British public wouldn't accept a "black man", such as the
Indian Dadabhai Naoroji as an
MP.
Family
Lord Robert was the second son of
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, a minor
Tory politician. In 1857, he defied his father and married
Georgina Alderson. She was the daughter of
Sir Edward Alderson, a moderately notable jurist and so of much lower social standing than the Cecils. The marriage proved a happy one. Robert and Georgina had eight children, all but one of whom survived infancy.
Lord Salisbury's First Government, July 1885–February 1886
Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Iddesleigh – First Lord of the Treasury
Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
Lord Harrowby – Lord Privy Seal
Sir Richard Cross – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Sir Frederick Stanley – Secretary of State for the Colonies
William Henry Smith – Secretary of State for War
Lord Randolph Churchill – Secretary of State for India
Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons
The Duke of Richmond – President of the Board of Trade
Lord John Manners – Postmaster-General
Lord Carnarvon – Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Edward Stanhope – Vice President of the Council
Changes
August 1885 – The Duke of Richmond becomes Secretary for Scotland. Edward Stanhope succeeds him at the Board of Trade. Stanhope's successor as Vice President of the Council isn't in the Cabinet.
January, 1886 – The Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland is put into commission. William Henry Smith becomes Chief Secretary for Ireland. Lord Cranbrook succeeds him as Secretary for War, while remaining Lord President.
Lord Salisbury's Second Government, August 1886–August 1892
Lord Salisbury – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
Lord Cadogan – Lord Privy Seal
Henry Matthews – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Lord Iddesleigh – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Edward Stanhope – Secretary of State for the Colonies
William Henry Smith – Secretary of State for War
Lord Cross – Secretary of State for India
Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
Lord Randolph Churchill – Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Stanley of Preston – President of the Board of Trade
Lord John Manners – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chief Secretary for Ireland
Arthur James Balfour – Secretary for Scotland
Cabinet after the reorganization of January 1887
Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords
William Henry Smith – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
Lord Cadogan – Lord Privy Seal
Henry Matthews – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Sir Henry Holland – Secretary of State for the Colonies
Edward Stanhope – Secretary of State for War
Lord Cross – Secretary of State for India
Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
George Goschen – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Lord Stanley of Preston – President of the Board of Trade
Lord John Manners – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Arthur James Balfour – Chief Secretary for Ireland
Charles Thomson Ritchie – President of the Local Government Board
Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Minister without Portfolio
Further Changes
February 1888 – Sir Michael Hicks Beach succeeds Lord Stanley of Preston as President of the Board of Trade
1889 – Henry Chaplin enters the Cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture.
October 1891 – Arthur James Balfour succeeds William Henry Smith (deceased) as First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons. William Lawies Jackson succeeds him as Irish Secretary.
Lord Salisbury's Third Government, June 1895–July 1902
Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords
Arthur James Balfour – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
The Duke of Devonshire – Lord President of the Council
Lord Cross – Lord Privy Seal
Sir Matthew White Ridley – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Joseph Chamberlain – Secretary of State for the Colonies
Lord Lansdowne – Secretary of State for War
Lord George Hamilton – Secretary of State for India
George Joachim Goschen – First Lord of the Admiralty
Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Charles Thomson Ritchie – President of the Board of Trade
Henry Chaplin – President of the Local Government Board
Lord James of Hereford – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Aretas Akers-Douglas – First Commissioner of Works
Lord Cadogan – Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Balfour of Burleigh – Secretary for Scotland
Walter Hume Long – President of the Board of Agriculture
Changes
November 1900 – Complete reorganization of the ministry:
Lord Salisbury – Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
Arthur James Balfour – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
The Duke of Devonshire – Lord President of the Council
Charles Thomson Ritchie – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Lord Lansdowne – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Joseph Chamberlain – Secretary of State for the Colonies
William St John Brodrick – Secretary of State for War
Lord George Hamilton – Secretary of State for India
Lord Selborne – First Lord of the Admiralty
Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Gerald William Balfour – President of the Board of Trade
Walter Hume Long – President of the Local Government Board
Lord James of Hereford – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Aretas Akers-Douglas – First Commissioner of Works
Lord Cadogan – Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Balfour of Burleigh – Secretary for Scotland
Robert William Hanbury – President of the Board of AgricultureFurther Information
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