Godfrey Lushington
Encyclopedia
Sir Godfrey Lushington KCB
, GCMG, (8 March 1832 – 5 February 1907), British civil servant and promoter of prison reform
, was Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Home Office
of the United Kingdom
from 1886 to 1895.
Lushington was born in Westminster
, London
, in 1832 to Stephen
and Sarah Grace (née Carr) Lushington; his twin brother was Vernon Lushington
, Q.C., a county court judge. Educated at Rugby School
and Balliol College, Oxford
, he later became a fellow
of All Souls
and the President of the Oxford Union. He married Beatrice Anne Shore Smith (b. 3 June 1865), daughter of barrister Samuel Smith.
With his brother Vernon, he advocated positivist
philosophy, motivated by the ideas of Auguste Comte
. A supporter of labour movement
s, he, and fellow positivist intellectuals A.J. Mundella, Edward Spencer Beesly
, Henry Crompton, and Frederic Harrison
, played a leading role in the acceptance of trades’ union
legitimacy.
Influenced by Frederick Denison Maurice, Lushington joined his brother, and Frederic Harrison, as a teacher at the Working Men's College
, and became a benefactor and member of the College governing corporation.
He rose to Permanent Under-Secretary at the Home Office in 1885, and was knighted in 1892. During his Home Office tenure the Whitechapel Murders
gripped attention and imagination; a Jewish and Anarchist connection was seriously considered. The chalked Goulston Street message
was seen by Commissioner Charles Warren
to have potential for increased religious tension; Warren explained to Lushington that reason for the immediate removal of the message.
He retired from the civil service in 1895 and became an alderman
of London County Council
, a position held until 1898 when he became one of the British Government delegates to the Rome
Anti-Anarchist Congress, (24 November to 21 December 1898) with Sir Philip Currie
and Sir C. Howard Vincent.
After retirement, Lushington gave evidence to the Gladstone Committee on prison reform
: “I regard as unfavourable to reformation the status of a prisoner throughout his whole career; the crushing of self-respect, the starving of all moral instinct he may possess, the absence of all opportunity to do or receive a kindness, the continual association of none but criminals, the forced labour, and the denial of all liberty. I believe the true method of reforming a man, of restoring him to society, is exactly in the opposite direction to all these.”
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, GCMG, (8 March 1832 – 5 February 1907), British civil servant and promoter of prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
, was Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1886 to 1895.
Lushington was born in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1832 to Stephen
Stephen Lushington (judge)
Stephen Lushington was a Doctor of Civil Law, a judge, a Member of Parliament and a radical for the abolition of slavery and capital punishment.-Early life and education:...
and Sarah Grace (née Carr) Lushington; his twin brother was Vernon Lushington
Vernon Lushington
Vernon Lushington QC, , was a Positivist, Deputy Judge Advocate General, Second Secretary to the Admiralty, and was associated with the Pre-Raphaelites....
, Q.C., a county court judge. Educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and Balliol College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, he later became a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of All Souls
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
and the President of the Oxford Union. He married Beatrice Anne Shore Smith (b. 3 June 1865), daughter of barrister Samuel Smith.
With his brother Vernon, he advocated positivist
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
philosophy, motivated by the ideas of Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
. A supporter of labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
s, he, and fellow positivist intellectuals A.J. Mundella, Edward Spencer Beesly
Edward Spencer Beesly
Edward Spencer Beesly , English historian and positivist, son of the Rev. James Beesly, was born at Feckenham, Worcestershire.- Life :...
, Henry Crompton, and Frederic Harrison
Frederic Harrison
Frederic Harrison was a British jurist and historian.Born at 17 Euston Square, London, he was the son of Frederick Harrison, a stockbroker and his wife Jane, daughter of Alexander Brice, a Belfast granite merchant. He was baptised at St...
, played a leading role in the acceptance of trades’ union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
legitimacy.
Influenced by Frederick Denison Maurice, Lushington joined his brother, and Frederic Harrison, as a teacher at the Working Men's College
Working Men's College
The Working Men's College- WMC, being among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, is Europe's oldest extant centre for adult education and perhaps one of its smallest...
, and became a benefactor and member of the College governing corporation.
He rose to Permanent Under-Secretary at the Home Office in 1885, and was knighted in 1892. During his Home Office tenure the Whitechapel Murders
The Whitechapel Murders (1888-91)
The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel District in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. Eleven women were killed; the crimes remain unsolved...
gripped attention and imagination; a Jewish and Anarchist connection was seriously considered. The chalked Goulston Street message
Goulston Street graffito
The Goulston Street graffito was some writing on a wall that was found beside a clue in the Whitechapel murders investigation. The Whitechapel murders were a series of brutal attacks on women in the Whitechapel district in the East End of London that occurred between 1888 and 1891...
was seen by Commissioner Charles Warren
Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of Temple Mount...
to have potential for increased religious tension; Warren explained to Lushington that reason for the immediate removal of the message.
He retired from the civil service in 1895 and became an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
, a position held until 1898 when he became one of the British Government delegates to the Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
Anti-Anarchist Congress, (24 November to 21 December 1898) with Sir Philip Currie
Philip Currie, 1st Baron Currie
Philip Henry Wodehouse Currie, 1st Baron Currie GCB , known as Sir Philip Currie between 1885 and 1899, was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1893 to 1898 and Ambassador to Italy from 1898 to 1902.-Background and education:Currie was the son of Raikes Currie, Member...
and Sir C. Howard Vincent.
After retirement, Lushington gave evidence to the Gladstone Committee on prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
: “I regard as unfavourable to reformation the status of a prisoner throughout his whole career; the crushing of self-respect, the starving of all moral instinct he may possess, the absence of all opportunity to do or receive a kindness, the continual association of none but criminals, the forced labour, and the denial of all liberty. I believe the true method of reforming a man, of restoring him to society, is exactly in the opposite direction to all these.”