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William Vernon Harcourt (politician)
Encyclopedia
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt (14 October 1827 – 1 October 1904) was a British
lawyer
, journalist
and Liberal
statesman. He served as Member of Parliament
for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary
and Chancellor of the Exchequer
under William Ewart Gladstone
before becoming Leader of the Opposition
. A talented speaker in parliament, he was sometimes regarded as aloof and possessing only an intellectual involvement in his causes. He failed to engender much emotional response in the public and became only a reluctant and disillusioned leader of his party.
, of Nuneham Park, Oxford and his wife Matilda Mary Gooch, daughter of Colonel William Gooch. His father was himself the fourth son and eventually heir of Edward Harcourt
, Archbishop of York
and his wife Lady Anne Leveson-Gower. Anne was a daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
and his second wife Lady Louisa Egerton. Her maternal grandparents were Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater
and his second wife Rachel Russell. Rachel was a daughter of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford
and the rich heiress Elizabeth Howland, daughter of John Howland of Streatham. William was therefore born a Vernon, and by his connection with the old families of Vernon and Harcourt was related to many of the great English houses, a fact of which he was proud. In later life his descent from the Plantagenets was a joke among his political opponents.
governess
, he was sent to a private school at Southwell, Nottinghamshire
when he was eight. William's father denied him a public school education, sending him to be educated in classics
at the small class of Rev. John Owen Parr. In 1840, Parr moved to Preston and William witnessed the Preston bread riots there in 1842. He left Parr in 1844 and, after two more years' study at home, William entered Trinity College, Cambridge
to pursue his interest in mathematics
. At Cambridge he became an Apostle
, graduating with first-class honours in the classics tripos
in 1851, but he did not enjoy the mathematics, graduating only senior optime.
At Cambridge, William rejected his family's Tory
instincts and began to write for the Morning Chronicle
in support of Sir Robert Peel
. William's father encouraged him to seek a Cambridge fellowship or a career in politics
but William chose law
and journalism
. He entered Lincoln's Inn
in 1852 and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
in 1854.
He quickly made his mark as a speaker, his reception into London
society being eased by his uncle George Harcourt
and aunt Frances Waldegrave. From 1855 William started to write for the Saturday Review
, becoming increasingly a follower of William Ewart Gladstone
and an opponent of Lord Palmerston
. He practised in railway law, commentating, especially in The Times
on international law
. In 1862, he wrote some famous letters to The Times over the signature of "Historicus," supporting Britain's neutrality in the American Civil War and condemning the widespread public sympathy for the Confederate States. He also wrote on the Trent Affair
and the Alabama controversy
. He became a Queen's Counsel
in 1866, and was appointed Whewell professor of international law
at the University of Cambridge
in 1869.
as Liberal
member for Oxford
, and sat from 1868 to 1880, being appointed Solicitor General
and knighted in 1873. He was re-elected in the Liberal victory at the United Kingdom general election, 1880
and, though he had not been a strong supporter of Gladstone in opposition, he was appointed Home Secretary
. A mandatory re-election was then required on acceptance of such an office and Harcourt was defeated by Alexander William Hall
by just 54 votes. Though Hall was subsequently unseated for political corruption
, a seat was found for Harcourt at Derby
, by the voluntary retirement of Samuel Plimsoll
. He continued to represent that constituency until 1895, when, having been defeated at the general election, he found a seat in West Monmouthshire
.
His name became connected with the passing of the Ground Game Act 1880
and the Arms (Ireland) Act 1881. As Home Secretary at the time of the Phoenix Park Murders
and the subsequent London bombings he reacted rapidly, and the Explosive Substances Act 1883
was passed through all its stages in the shortest time on record. His robust stand on law and order
brought him into conflict with the Irish members
. In 1884 he introduced an aborted bill for unifying the municipal administration of London. and was responsible for demanding the prosecution in the survival cannibalism case of R v. Dudley and Stephens. In 1885 he was responsible for commuting John 'Babbacombe' Lee
's death penalty to life imprisonment
after his execution failed three times. He was further the victim of the embarrassing stunts of the Harcourt interpolation
and the Home Office Baby
.
He was recognized as one of the ablest and most effective leaders of the Liberal party and when, after a brief interval in 1885, Gladstone returned to office in 1886, Harcourt was made Chancellor of the Exchequer
, an office which he again filled from 1892 to 1895. Between 1880 and 1892 Harcourt acted as Gladstone's political deputy. A first-rate party fighter, his services were of huge value. However, in spite of his great success as a platform speaker, he was generally felt to be speaking from an "advocate
's brief
", and did not impress the public as a conviction politician. It was he who coined the phrase about "stewing in Parnellite juice", and, when the split came in the Liberal party on the Irish question
, even those who gave Gladstone and John Morley
the credit of being convinced Home Rulers could not be persuaded that Harcourt had followed anything but the line of party expediency.
In 1894 he introduced and carried a memorable budget
, which equalized the death duties on real
and personal property
. After Gladstone's retirement in 1894 and Lord Rosebery's selection as prime minister
, Harcourt became the leader of the Liberal party in the House of Commons
, but it was never probable that he would work comfortably in the new conditions. He had been ignored as Gladstone's successor, and it was evident that Rosebery's ideas of Liberalism
and of the policy of the Liberal Party were not those of Harcourt. Their differences were patched up from time to time, but the combination was unstable. However the one significant legacy of the government was the introduction of a high uniform rate of death duties in Harcourt's 1894 budget. As Harcourt himself was a second son, and thus unlikely to ever have to pay such duties himself, though this proved to not be the case, it was often quipped that this introduction was a "second son's revenge".
At the 1895 elections
it was clear that there were divisions as to what issue the Liberals were fighting for. The effect of Harcourt's aborted Local Veto Bill, which would have given parish
es the right to vote on the closure of all local public house
s, on the election was seen not only in his defeat at Derby, which gave the signal for the Liberal rout, but in the set-back it gave to temperance
legislation. Though returned for West Monmouthshire
(1895, 1900), Harcourt's speeches in debate only occasionally showed his characteristic spirit, and it was evident that for the hard work of opposition he no longer had the same motivation as of old. In October 1896 Gladstone, in his last public speech, called for action to support the Armenia
ns who were being massacred by their Ottoman rulers. Harcourt backed Gladstone but Rosebery used the incident as an excuse to resign as Leader of the Opposition and Harcourt became an unenthusiastic leader.
In December 1898 the crisis arrived and, with Morley, Harcourt retired from the party and resigned his Leadership of the Opposition, alleging as his reason, in letters to Morley, the cross-currents of opinion among his old supporters and former colleagues. The split excited considerable comment, and resulted in much heart-searching and a more or less open division between the section of the Liberal party following Rosebery and those who disliked his imperialism
.
Though now a private member, Harcourt still continued to assert his independent position, and his attacks on the government were no longer restrained by any deference to Liberal Imperialism. He actively intervened in 1899 and 1900, strongly condemning the government's financial policy and their attitude towards the Transvaal
. Throughout the Second Boer War
he lost no opportunity of criticizing the South Africa
n developments in a pessimistic vein. A great parliamentary debater, he sprinkled his speeches with humour. From 1898 to 1900 he was conspicuous, both on the platform and in letters to The Times, in demanding active measures against ritualism in the Church of England
. However, his attitude in this was reflected in his political advocacy of disestablishment. In March 1904, just after he had announced his intention not to seek election again to parliament, he succeeded, by the death of his nephew, to the family estates at Nuneham. He found that the estate was in crisis, especially after having to pay the death duties he himself had introduced, and he died suddenly there in the same year.
and Lady Maria Theresa Villiers. They had two children:
His first wife died on 1 February 1863, only a day after giving birth to their second and last son. Harcourt remained a widower for thirteen years. On 2 December 1876, he married his second wife Elizabeth Cabot Motley. Elizabeth was a daughter of American
historian John Lothrop Motley
and his wife Mary Benjamin. Her maternal uncle Park Benjamin was a patent lawyer and writer on scientific subjects. She had been previously married to naval officer Thomas Poynton Ives. Ives was among the casualties of the American Civil War
. By this second marriage, Harcourt had his third and final son:
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...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
statesman. He served as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
and Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
under William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
before becoming Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (UK)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom. There is also a Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords...
. A talented speaker in parliament, he was sometimes regarded as aloof and possessing only an intellectual involvement in his causes. He failed to engender much emotional response in the public and became only a reluctant and disillusioned leader of his party.
Family and ancestry
Harcourt was the second son of the Rev. Canon William Vernon HarcourtWilliam Vernon Harcourt (scientist)
William Vernon Harcourt was founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.-Family:He was born at Sudbury, Derbyshire, a younger son of Edward Vernon-Harcourt, Archbishop of York and his wife Lady Anne Leveson-Gower, who was a daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of...
, of Nuneham Park, Oxford and his wife Matilda Mary Gooch, daughter of Colonel William Gooch. His father was himself the fourth son and eventually heir of Edward Harcourt
Edward Harcourt
Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt was an English clergyman who was Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807, and then Archbishop of York until his death....
, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
and his wife Lady Anne Leveson-Gower. Anne was a daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician.-Background:...
and his second wife Lady Louisa Egerton. Her maternal grandparents were Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater
Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater
Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater , known as Viscount Brackley from 1687 to 1701 and as the Earl of Bridgewater from 1701 to 1720, was a British peer and courtier...
and his second wife Rachel Russell. Rachel was a daughter of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford
Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford
Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG was the son of William Russell, Lord Russell and his wife Lady Rachel Wriothesley...
and the rich heiress Elizabeth Howland, daughter of John Howland of Streatham. William was therefore born a Vernon, and by his connection with the old families of Vernon and Harcourt was related to many of the great English houses, a fact of which he was proud. In later life his descent from the Plantagenets was a joke among his political opponents.
Education and early life
William's childhood was an austere one, educated at home by a SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
, he was sent to a private school at Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Southwell is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire...
when he was eight. William's father denied him a public school education, sending him to be educated in classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at the small class of Rev. John Owen Parr. In 1840, Parr moved to Preston and William witnessed the Preston bread riots there in 1842. He left Parr in 1844 and, after two more years' study at home, William entered Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
to pursue his interest in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. At Cambridge he became an Apostle
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
, graduating with first-class honours in the classics tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
in 1851, but he did not enjoy the mathematics, graduating only senior optime.
At Cambridge, William rejected his family's Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
instincts and began to write for the Morning Chronicle
Morning Chronicle
The Morning Chronicle was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London, England, and published under various owners until 1862. It was most notable for having been the first employer of Charles Dickens, and for publishing the articles by Henry Mayhew which were collected and published in book format in...
in support of Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
. William's father encouraged him to seek a Cambridge fellowship or a career in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
but William chose law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. 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...
in 1852 and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1854.
He quickly made his mark as a speaker, his reception into 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...
society being eased by his uncle George Harcourt
George Harcourt
George Granville Harcourt was a British Whig and then Conservative Party politician.-Political career:...
and aunt Frances Waldegrave. From 1855 William started to write for the Saturday Review
Saturday Review (London)
The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855....
, becoming increasingly a follower of William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and an opponent of Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
. He practised in railway law, commentating, especially in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. In 1862, he wrote some famous letters to The Times over the signature of "Historicus," supporting Britain's neutrality in the American Civil War and condemning the widespread public sympathy for the Confederate States. He also wrote on the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
and the Alabama controversy
Alabama Claims
The Alabama Claims were a series of claims for damages by the United States government against the government of Great Britain for the assistance given to the Confederate cause during the American Civil War. After international arbitration endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain settled...
. He became a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1866, and was appointed Whewell professor of international law
Whewell Professorship of International Law
The Whewell Professorship of International Law is a professorship in the University of Cambridge.The Professorship was established in 1868 by the will of the 19th-century scientist and moral philosopher, William Whewell, with a view to devising "such measures as may tend to diminish the causes of...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1869.
Political career
Harcourt entered parliamentParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
as Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
member for Oxford
Oxford (UK Parliament constituency)
Oxford was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the city of Oxford in the county of Oxfordshire, and elected two Members of Parliament from its creation in 1295 until 1881...
, and sat from 1868 to 1880, being appointed Solicitor General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
and knighted in 1873. He was re-elected in the Liberal victory at the United Kingdom general election, 1880
United Kingdom general election, 1880
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
and, though he had not been a strong supporter of Gladstone in opposition, he was appointed Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. A mandatory re-election was then required on acceptance of such an office and Harcourt was defeated by Alexander William Hall
Alexander William Hall
Alexander William Hall was an English Conservative politician.Hall was the son of Henry Hall and his wife Catherine Louisa Wood, daughter of Lord Bridport. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. In 1862 he inherited the estate of Barton Abbey Steeple Aston...
by just 54 votes. Though Hall was subsequently unseated for political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, a seat was found for Harcourt at Derby
Derby (UK Parliament constituency)
Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It was represented by two Members of...
, by the voluntary retirement of Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line .-Early life:Plimsoll was born in Bristol and soon moved to Whiteley Wood...
. He continued to represent that constituency until 1895, when, having been defeated at the general election, he found a seat in West Monmouthshire
West Monmouthshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Western Monmouthshire was a parliamentary constituency in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
.
His name became connected with the passing of the Ground Game Act 1880
Ground Game Act 1880
The Ground Game Act 1880 is a law that was passed by the British Parliament in 1880 AD by Gladstone's government.There were many complaints over many decades about the intolerable amount of damage that farmers' crops were suffering from damage by wild rabbits and hares and landowners not allowing...
and the Arms (Ireland) Act 1881. As Home Secretary at the time of the Phoenix Park Murders
Phoenix Park Murders
The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant...
and the subsequent London bombings he reacted rapidly, and the Explosive Substances Act 1883
Explosive Substances Act 1883
The Explosive Substances Act 1883 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use -- or conspire or intend to use -- any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes...
was passed through all its stages in the shortest time on record. His robust stand on law and order
Law and order (politics)
In politics, law and order refers to demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through harsher criminal penalties...
brought him into conflict with the Irish members
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In 1884 he introduced an aborted bill for unifying the municipal administration of London. and was responsible for demanding the prosecution in the survival cannibalism case of R v. Dudley and Stephens. In 1885 he was responsible for commuting John 'Babbacombe' Lee
John 'Babbacombe' Lee
John Henry George Lee , better known as John "Babbacombe" Lee or "The Man They Couldn't Hang", was a British man famous for surviving three attempts to hang him for murder....
's death penalty to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
after his execution failed three times. He was further the victim of the embarrassing stunts of the Harcourt interpolation
Harcourt interpolation
The Harcourt interpolation was a scandal of Victorian London in which a rogue compositor inserted an obscene remark into a page proof for The Times newspaper, in the middle of a speech by a leading politician of the day...
and the Home Office Baby
Home Office Baby
The Home Office Baby was an 1884 publicity stunt perpetrated by the Rev. J. Mirehouse, the eccentric rector of Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England....
.
He was recognized as one of the ablest and most effective leaders of the Liberal party and when, after a brief interval in 1885, Gladstone returned to office in 1886, Harcourt was made Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, an office which he again filled from 1892 to 1895. Between 1880 and 1892 Harcourt acted as Gladstone's political deputy. A first-rate party fighter, his services were of huge value. However, in spite of his great success as a platform speaker, he was generally felt to be speaking from an "advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
's brief
Brief (law)
A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why the party to the case should prevail....
", and did not impress the public as a conviction politician. It was he who coined the phrase about "stewing in Parnellite juice", and, when the split came in the Liberal party on the Irish question
Irish question
The Irish Question was a phrase used mainly by members of the British ruling classes from the early 19th century until the 1920s. It was used to describe Irish nationalism and the calls for Irish independence....
, even those who gave Gladstone and John Morley
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM, PC was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1883...
the credit of being convinced Home Rulers could not be persuaded that Harcourt had followed anything but the line of party expediency.
In 1894 he introduced and carried a memorable budget
Government budget
A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...
, which equalized the death duties on real
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
and personal property
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
. After Gladstone's retirement in 1894 and Lord Rosebery's selection as prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Harcourt became the leader of the Liberal party in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, but it was never probable that he would work comfortably in the new conditions. He had been ignored as Gladstone's successor, and it was evident that Rosebery's ideas of Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and of the policy of the Liberal Party were not those of Harcourt. Their differences were patched up from time to time, but the combination was unstable. However the one significant legacy of the government was the introduction of a high uniform rate of death duties in Harcourt's 1894 budget. As Harcourt himself was a second son, and thus unlikely to ever have to pay such duties himself, though this proved to not be the case, it was often quipped that this introduction was a "second son's revenge".
At the 1895 elections
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
it was clear that there were divisions as to what issue the Liberals were fighting for. The effect of Harcourt's aborted Local Veto Bill, which would have given parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es the right to vote on the closure of all local public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, on the election was seen not only in his defeat at Derby, which gave the signal for the Liberal rout, but in the set-back it gave to temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
legislation. Though returned for West Monmouthshire
West Monmouthshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Western Monmouthshire was a parliamentary constituency in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
(1895, 1900), Harcourt's speeches in debate only occasionally showed his characteristic spirit, and it was evident that for the hard work of opposition he no longer had the same motivation as of old. In October 1896 Gladstone, in his last public speech, called for action to support the Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
ns who were being massacred by their Ottoman rulers. Harcourt backed Gladstone but Rosebery used the incident as an excuse to resign as Leader of the Opposition and Harcourt became an unenthusiastic leader.
In December 1898 the crisis arrived and, with Morley, Harcourt retired from the party and resigned his Leadership of the Opposition, alleging as his reason, in letters to Morley, the cross-currents of opinion among his old supporters and former colleagues. The split excited considerable comment, and resulted in much heart-searching and a more or less open division between the section of the Liberal party following Rosebery and those who disliked his imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
.
Though now a private member, Harcourt still continued to assert his independent position, and his attacks on the government were no longer restrained by any deference to Liberal Imperialism. He actively intervened in 1899 and 1900, strongly condemning the government's financial policy and their attitude towards the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
. Throughout the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
he lost no opportunity of criticizing the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n developments in a pessimistic vein. A great parliamentary debater, he sprinkled his speeches with humour. From 1898 to 1900 he was conspicuous, both on the platform and in letters to The Times, in demanding active measures against ritualism in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. However, his attitude in this was reflected in his political advocacy of disestablishment. In March 1904, just after he had announced his intention not to seek election again to parliament, he succeeded, by the death of his nephew, to the family estates at Nuneham. He found that the estate was in crisis, especially after having to pay the death duties he himself had introduced, and he died suddenly there in the same year.
Marriages and children
On 5 November 1859, Harcourt married his first wife Maria Theresa Lister, known as Therese. She was a daughter of novelist Thomas Henry ListerThomas Henry Lister
Thomas Henry Lister was an English novelist and Registrar General.-Life and writings:Lister was the son of Thomas Lister of Armitage Park and his first wife Harriet Anne Seale. His maternal grandfather was John Seale...
and Lady Maria Theresa Villiers. They had two children:
- Julian Harcourt (6 October 1860 - 2 March 1862).
- Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (31 January 1863 - 24 February 1922). A prominent politician, better known as Secretary of State for the ColoniesSecretary of State for the ColoniesThe Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
from 1910 to 1915.
His first wife died on 1 February 1863, only a day after giving birth to their second and last son. Harcourt remained a widower for thirteen years. On 2 December 1876, he married his second wife Elizabeth Cabot Motley. Elizabeth was a daughter of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian John Lothrop Motley
John Lothrop Motley
John Lothrop Motley was an American historian and diplomat.-Biography:...
and his wife Mary Benjamin. Her maternal uncle Park Benjamin was a patent lawyer and writer on scientific subjects. She had been previously married to naval officer Thomas Poynton Ives. Ives was among the casualties of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. By this second marriage, Harcourt had his third and final son:
- Robert Harcourt (born 7 May 1878). He married Marjorie Laura Cunard. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Harcourt married Ian Rochfort Johnston, a CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Popular culture
- Harcourt was the subject of several parody novels based on Alice in Wonderland, such as Caroline LewisEdward Harold BegbieEdward Harold Begbie , also known as Harold Begbie, was an English author and journalist who published nearly 50 books and poems and contributed to periodicals. Besides studies of the Christian religion, he wrote numerous other books, including political satire, comedy, fiction, science fiction,...
's Clara in BlunderlandClara in BlunderlandClara in Blunderland is a novel by Caroline Lewis , written in 1902 and published by William Heinemann of London. It is a political parody of Lewis Carroll's two books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass...
(1902) and Lost in BlunderlandLost in BlunderlandLost in Blunderland: The further adventures of Clara is a novel by Caroline Lewis , written in 1903 and published by William Heinemann of London. It is a political parody of Lewis Carroll's two books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass...
(1903)., - Sir William Harcourt is the source for the character of Sir Ethelred in Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Secret AgentThe Secret AgentThe Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is a novel by Joseph Conrad published in 1907. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. The Secret Agent is also notable as it is one of Conrad's later political novels, which move away from his typical...
.
By Harcourt
- Harcourt, W. V. (1863) Letters by Historicus on some Questions of International Law
- — (1865) American Neutrality
About Harcourt
- [Anon.] (1911) "Sir William George Granville Harcourt", Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Stansky, Peter (2008) "Harcourt, Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon (1827–1904)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, accessed 17 February 2008
- Morrell, Jack (2004) "http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12249Harcourt, William Venables Vernon (1789–1871)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, accessed 20 July 2011
- Fairclough, K R (2009) "http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8584Egerton, Francis, third duke of Bridgewater (1736–1803)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, accessed 20 July 2011