Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury,
KG,
GCVO,
PC , known as Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and as Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a
British statesman and
Prime Minister on three occasions, for a total of over 13 years. He was the last British Prime Minister to hold office whilst a member of the
House of Lords.
Quotations
On general grounds I object to Parliament trying to regulate private morality in matters which only affects the person who commits the offence.
Letter to Sir Henry Peek (1888)
Parliament is a potent engine, and its enactments must always do something, but they very seldom do what the originators of these enactments meant.
Statement to the Associated Chambers of Commerce (March 1891)
Most legislation will have the effect of surrounding the industry which it touches with precautions and investigations, inspections and regulations, in which it will be slowly enveloped and stifled.
Statement to the Associated Chambers of Commerce (March 1891)
If I were asked to define Conservative policy, I should say that it was the upholding of confidence.
Quoted in Salisbury -- Victorian Titan (1999) by Andrew Roberts
The only true lasting benefit which the statesman can give to the poor man is so to shape matters that the greatest possible liberty for the exercise of his own moral and intellectual qualities should be offered to him by law.
Quoted in Salisbury -- Victorian Titan (1999) by Andrew Roberts
More Quotes >>
Encyclopedia
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury,
KG,
GCVO,
PC , known as
Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and as
Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a
British statesman and
Prime Minister on three occasions, for a total of over 13 years. He was the last British Prime Minister to hold office whilst a member of the
House of Lords.
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.
In 1857, Cecil married Georgina Alderson, a woman of lower social standing, over the objections of his father. The marriage proved a happy one and bore him five sons and two daughters. In 1866 Cecil, now Viscount Cranborne after the death of his older brother, entered the third government of
Lord Derby as Secretary of State for India, but 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 had previously disliked and distrusted. In 1878, Salisbury succeeded
Lord Derby 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 was not 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 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".
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. While at home he sought to "fight Home Rule with kindness" by launching a land reform program which helped hundreds of thousands of Irish peasants gain land ownership.
On July 11, 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 the last peer to serve as Prime Minister, with the brief exception of the
14th Earl of Home who renounced his peerage within a few days of being appointed. Salisbury was twice 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.
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.
Family
Salisbury was the third son of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, a minor Tory politician. He went against his father's wishes and married Georgina Alderson, the daughter of Sir Edward Alderson, a moderately notable jurist. Robert and Georgina had eight children, all but one of whom survived infancy.
- Lady Beatrix Cecil , married William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
- Lady Gwendolen Cecil , author, seeming not to have married
- Lady Fanny Cecil , died as infant
- James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury
- Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil
- Edgar Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood
- Lord Edward Gascoyne-Cecil
- Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood
The blatant favour Lord Salisbury showed towards his family in appointing them while he was in office is immortalised in the phrase "Bob's your uncle".
Lord Salisbury's First Government, July 1885–February 1886
...
– Secretary of State for India
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 is not in the Cabinet.
- January, 1886 – The Lord-Lieutenantship 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
...
–
Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons
Cabinet after the reorganization of January, 1887
...
– President of the Local Government Board
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 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
...
– 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:
...
– Secretary of State for the Home Department
Notes
Further reading
Andrew Roberts Salisbury: Victorian Titan
