John Arthur Roebuck
.JPG)
John Arthur Roebuck (28 December 1802 – 30 November 1879), British politician, was born at
Life
John Arthur Roebuck was born at
Political career
He was elected as a member of parliament for Bath in 1832, declaring himself "an independent member of that house". A disciple of Jeremy Bentham and a friend of John Stuart Mill, Roebuck professed advanced political opinions, which he resolved to uphold in the House of Commons.[1] In general, he took up an attitude of hostility to the government of the day, whatever it was, which he retained throughout his life.[2] He attacked everyone who differed from him with such vehemence as to earn the nickname of "Tear 'em." He was never sympathetic with the Whigs, and never let an opportunity go to exhibit his contempt for them. In 1852, he wrote "The whigs, have ever been an exclusive and aristocratic faction, though at times employing democratic principles and phrases as weapons of offence against their opponents. ... When out of office they are demagogues; in power they become exclusive oligarchs".[1]
He opposed the use of coercion in Ireland; advocated the abolition of sinecures; and proposed withdrawing the veto from the House of Lords. In 1835 he collected in a volume a series of Pamphlets for the People in support of his political views. In one of his pamphlets Roebuck denounced newspapers and everybody connected with them. As a result, John Black, the then editor of The Morning Chronicle, challenged him to a duel which was fought on 19 November 1835. Neither party was injured. He failed to be re-elected for Bath in 1837, but he regained the seat in 1841.[1]
In 1843, he proposed a motion in favour of secular education, which was rejected. In the debate on the Irish Colleges Bill, he taunted the Irish supporters of the bill with such bitterness that
Roebuck lost his seat in the general election of 1847. He spent some of his time in writing A Plan for Governing our English Colonies, which was published in 1849. He was returned to parliament for the Sheffield constituency in a by-election in 1849.[1]
Roebuck championed a vigorous foreign policy. In 1850 he moved a strongly worded vote of confidence in
In his latter years his political opinions became greatly modified.
Works
- Remarks on the Proposed Union of the Canadas, 1822
- Debate in the House of Commons, on 15 April 1834, on Mr. Roebuck's Motion for "a Select Committee to inquire the means of remedying the evils which exist in the form of the governments now existing in Upper and Lower Canada", 1834
- The Canadas and Their Grievances, 1835
- Existing Difficulties in the Government of the Canadas, 1836
- The Colonies of England : A Plan for the Government of Portion of Our Colonial Possessions, 1849
- History of the Whig Ministry of 1830, to the Passing of the Reform Bill, 1852
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Roebuck, John Arthur", Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 49
- ^ a b c d This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roebuck, John Arthur". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 451.
- ^ "Resolution (1863)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 30 June 1863. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Order for Resuming Adjourned Debate (1863)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 13 July 1863. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
Further reading
- Briggs, Asa. “John Arthur Roebuck and the Crimean War" in Briggs, Victorian People (1955) pp. 52–86. online
External links
Media related to John Arthur Roebuck at Wikimedia Commons- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Arthur Roebuck
- . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
- Life and Letters of John Arthur Roebuck, P.C., Q.C., M.P.: With Chapters of Autobiography, London: E. Arnold, 1897, 392 p. (online)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
