Dudley Long North
Encyclopedia
Dudley Long North was an English
Whig politician.
, Suffolk
, he was the younger of two sons of Charles Long (1705–1778), landowner, of Hurts Hall, Suffolk, and his wife, Mary, daughter and coheir of Dudley North of Little Glemham
, Suffolk, and granddaughter of Sir Dudley North. On 2 May, 1789 he changed his surname to North in order to inherit Little Glemham from his aunt Anne Herbert.
, from 1766, from where he graduated BA
in 1771 and MA in 1774. In 1769 he entered Lincoln's Inn
, but was not called to the bar. Of ample fortune, his father having left him £25,000 and a joint interest in his Jamaican plantations, he entered parliament in 1780 at Lord Rockingham's instigation, as MP for St Germans
on the Eliot
interest. His kinsman Lord North
was then still Prime Minister
, but due to a speech impediment, Long was discouraged from speaking in the House of Commons
. His shyness, despite inheriting the family's corrosive wit, led Dr Johnson
, when they were introduced in 1781, to dismiss him as a man ‘of genteel appearance, and that is all’. Nevertheless Long silently supported the Prime Minister, and in 1783 was mentioned as a possible secretary of embassy at Paris
.
Long switched to Great Grimsby
at the general election in 1784, a more expensive constituency under the patronage of his father-in-law Charles Anderson Pelham. He was in opposition together with Lord North, and aligned himself with North's ally Charles James Fox
. Already a member of Brooks's
, Long joined the Whig Club in 1785, and Fox relied on him as a dinner host to strengthen party unity, and for political counsel. He was instrumental in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
. On 11 February 1793, the contested Grimsby election of 1790 was eventually voided, and he secured re-election on 17 April. He had briefly joined the Friends of the People Society
before seceding on 4 June 1792, but maintained his loyalty to Fox, who was deserted by conservative Whigs, and in 1793 backed the subscription to pay Fox's debts. His success at Grimsby in 1796 was thought unlikely, and he found another seat, for Banbury
, on the North family interest, which he held unopposed until 1806. A supporter of parliamentary reform in 1793 and 1797, he disagreed with the decision of Fox to secede from the house in the latter year; he returned to oppose Pitt's taxes and Irish policy, and regularly attended the House of Commons from 1800 onwards. On the peace of Amiens and the war in Ceylon, he voted with the government, but otherwise opposed Addington, and Pitt in his second term of office.
In 1806, even though his friends were in office in George Grenville
's administration, a surprise defeat occurred at Banbury, a one-seat constituency with only eighteen electors. In the 1807 election he tied with the usurper, William Praed, and in a fresh election, on 16 February 1808, regained the seat, by 5 votes to 3. He then vacated his seat of Newtown
, Isle of Wight, where he had been returned on the Yarborough interest. He had expected his patron Lord Guilford to pay for these elections, which had cost Long £5000, especially as he had promised to bequeath his own estate to Guilford. Guilford asked him to relinquish Banbury in favour of his nephew at the dissolution in 1812, which left Long feeling justifiably let down. Yet in 1811 an offer was made by Charles Grey
, which Long declined, of a sinecure if the Whigs returned to office, a hope dashed by the desertion of the Prince Regent. In 1812 after a protracted search, a seat was obtained for him by Earl Fitzwilliam in Richmond
, Yorkshire, on the Dundas
interest. In December that year, on succeeding his elder brother Charles to the family estate of Hurts Hall, he resumed his former surname, thereby becoming Dudley Long North. In parliament he voted with the opposition in favour of Catholic relief, against the resumption of war with Bonaparte in 1815, and for financial retrenchment. However, to the dismay of Earl Fitzwilliam
in 1817, he also opposed the suspension of civil liberties and supported parliamentary reform. In the next parliament he sat on his friend Lord Lauderdale's interest for Jedburgh burghs
(1818–20). He voted for Francis Burdett's critical motion of 1 July 1819, and was a supporter of George Tierney
's move to lead the Whigs in the Commons, though he was absent from the last session of that parliament. He again represented Newtown, Isle of Wight, in 1820, but on 9 February 1821 resigned his seat.
's funeral, a mourner at Sir Joshua Reynolds's, and a patron of the poet George Crabbe
, few of Long North's witticisms are preserved, despite his popularity in both literary and political circles; they were for the most part confined to his friends. He died at Brompton, London, on 21 February 1829, and was buried at Little Glemham church where there is a full length Italian marble statue of him, erected by his widow.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Whig politician.
Early life
Baptised Dudley Long at SaxmundhamSaxmundham
Saxmundham is a small market town in Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus, a tributary of the River Alde, approximately northeast of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed by the A12 and is served by Saxmundham railway station on the East Suffolk...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, he was the younger of two sons of Charles Long (1705–1778), landowner, of Hurts Hall, Suffolk, and his wife, Mary, daughter and coheir of Dudley North of Little Glemham
Little Glemham
Little Glemham is a small village on the A12 road , in the Suffolk Coastal District, in the county of Suffolk. Nearby settlements include the town of Wickham Market and the village of Marlesford. Little Glemham has a church called St Andrew Church, a pub and a hall called Glemham Hall. The...
, Suffolk, and granddaughter of Sir Dudley North. On 2 May, 1789 he changed his surname to North in order to inherit Little Glemham from his aunt Anne Herbert.
Parliamentary career
He was educated at Bury St Edmunds grammar school from about 1758 and Emmanuel College, CambridgeEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, from 1766, from where he graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1771 and MA in 1774. In 1769 he entered Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, but was not called to the bar. Of ample fortune, his father having left him £25,000 and a joint interest in his Jamaican plantations, he entered parliament in 1780 at Lord Rockingham's instigation, as MP for St Germans
St Germans (UK Parliament constituency)
St Germans was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
on the Eliot
Edward James Eliot
The Honourable Edward James Eliot was an English Member of Parliament.Eliot was born in Cornwall, the son of Edward Craggs-Eliot , politician, created Baron Eliot in 1784....
interest. His kinsman Lord North
Frederick North, Lord North
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...
was then still Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, but due to a speech impediment, Long was discouraged from speaking in the House of Commons
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
. His shyness, despite inheriting the family's corrosive wit, led Dr Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, when they were introduced in 1781, to dismiss him as a man ‘of genteel appearance, and that is all’. Nevertheless Long silently supported the Prime Minister, and in 1783 was mentioned as a possible secretary of embassy at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Long switched to Great Grimsby
Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Grimsby is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, consisting of the town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
at the general election in 1784, a more expensive constituency under the patronage of his father-in-law Charles Anderson Pelham. He was in opposition together with Lord North, and aligned himself with North's ally Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
. Already a member of Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
, Long joined the Whig Club in 1785, and Fox relied on him as a dinner host to strengthen party unity, and for political counsel. He was instrumental in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
Impeachment of Warren Hastings
The Impeachment of Warren Hastings was a failed attempt to impeach the former Governor-General of India Warren Hastings in the Parliament of Great Britain between 1788 and 1795. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta particularly relating to mismanagement and personal...
. On 11 February 1793, the contested Grimsby election of 1790 was eventually voided, and he secured re-election on 17 April. He had briefly joined the Friends of the People Society
Friends of the People Society
The Society of the Friends of the People was formed in Great Britain by Whigs at the end of the 18th century as part of a movement seeking radical political reform that would widen electoral enfranchisement at a time when only a wealthy minority had the vote...
before seceding on 4 June 1792, but maintained his loyalty to Fox, who was deserted by conservative Whigs, and in 1793 backed the subscription to pay Fox's debts. His success at Grimsby in 1796 was thought unlikely, and he found another seat, for Banbury
Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Banbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a strongly Conservative seat.The constituency was created January 26, 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton...
, on the North family interest, which he held unopposed until 1806. A supporter of parliamentary reform in 1793 and 1797, he disagreed with the decision of Fox to secede from the house in the latter year; he returned to oppose Pitt's taxes and Irish policy, and regularly attended the House of Commons from 1800 onwards. On the peace of Amiens and the war in Ceylon, he voted with the government, but otherwise opposed Addington, and Pitt in his second term of office.
In 1806, even though his friends were in office in George Grenville
George Grenville
George Grenville was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham...
's administration, a surprise defeat occurred at Banbury, a one-seat constituency with only eighteen electors. In the 1807 election he tied with the usurper, William Praed, and in a fresh election, on 16 February 1808, regained the seat, by 5 votes to 3. He then vacated his seat of Newtown
Newtown (UK Parliament constituency)
Newtown was a parliamentary borough located in Newtown on the Isle of Wight, which was represented in the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
, Isle of Wight, where he had been returned on the Yarborough interest. He had expected his patron Lord Guilford to pay for these elections, which had cost Long £5000, especially as he had promised to bequeath his own estate to Guilford. Guilford asked him to relinquish Banbury in favour of his nephew at the dissolution in 1812, which left Long feeling justifiably let down. Yet in 1811 an offer was made by Charles Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
, which Long declined, of a sinecure if the Whigs returned to office, a hope dashed by the desertion of the Prince Regent. In 1812 after a protracted search, a seat was obtained for him by Earl Fitzwilliam in Richmond
Richmond (Yorks) (UK Parliament constituency)
Richmond is a constituency located in North Yorkshire, which elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
, Yorkshire, on the Dundas
George Heneage Dundas
Rear Admiral George Heneage Lawrence Dundas CB was a senior naval officer and First Naval Lord.-Family:He was the fifth son of Thomas Dundas by his wife Charlotte, daughter of the third Earl Fitzwilliam.-HMS Queen Charlotte:In February 1800 George Heneage Dundas was aboard Lord Keith's flagship,...
interest. In December that year, on succeeding his elder brother Charles to the family estate of Hurts Hall, he resumed his former surname, thereby becoming Dudley Long North. In parliament he voted with the opposition in favour of Catholic relief, against the resumption of war with Bonaparte in 1815, and for financial retrenchment. However, to the dismay of Earl Fitzwilliam
William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC , styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates, making him one of the richest people in...
in 1817, he also opposed the suspension of civil liberties and supported parliamentary reform. In the next parliament he sat on his friend Lord Lauderdale's interest for Jedburgh burghs
Haddington Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Haddington Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885...
(1818–20). He voted for Francis Burdett's critical motion of 1 July 1819, and was a supporter of George Tierney
George Tierney
George Tierney PC was an English Whig politician.-Background and education:Born in Gibraltar, Tierney was the son of Thomas Tierney, a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living in Gibraltar as prize agent. He was sent to Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Law in 1784...
's move to lead the Whigs in the Commons, though he was absent from the last session of that parliament. He again represented Newtown, Isle of Wight, in 1820, but on 9 February 1821 resigned his seat.
Marriage and death
On 6 November 1802 he had married Sophia (1775–1856), daughter of his former patron at Grimsby, Charles Anderson Pelham, by then first Baron Yarborough, and his wife, Sophia Aufrère. They had no children. Long North was dogged by ill health in his later years, which was exacerbated by his unwarranted anxiety about the state of his finances. A pallbearer at Edmund BurkeEdmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
's funeral, a mourner at Sir Joshua Reynolds's, and a patron of the poet George Crabbe
George Crabbe
George Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...
, few of Long North's witticisms are preserved, despite his popularity in both literary and political circles; they were for the most part confined to his friends. He died at Brompton, London, on 21 February 1829, and was buried at Little Glemham church where there is a full length Italian marble statue of him, erected by his widow.