William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Lord Francis Leveson-Gower | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Whig | 15 March 1779
Spouse |
Lady Caroline Ponsonby (m. 1805; died 1828) |
Children | Stillborn child George Augustus Frederick A daughter |
Parents |
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Education | Eton College |
Alma mater | |
Signature | |
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
His first premiership ended when he was dismissed by William IV in 1834, the last British prime minister to be dismissed by a monarch. Five months later, he was re-appointed and served for six more years, into the reign of Queen Victoria. He is best known for coaching the Queen in the ways of politics, acting almost as her private secretary, and the political scandals that resulted from it. His legacy as prime minister was not favourable, as he had no great foreign wars or domestic issues to handle, and he was involved in several political scandals in the early years of Victoria's reign.
Early life
In 1779, William Lamb was born in
He was educated at Eton, then at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was admitted in 1796 and graduated a Master of Arts in 1799,[1] and finally at the University of Glasgow (1799–1801), where he was a resident pupil of Professor John Millar alongside his younger brother Frederick.[7][8]
Admitted to
He succeeded his elder brother
The following year, Lamb was elected to the
Lamb first came to general notice for reasons he would rather have avoided: his wife had a public affair with Lord Byron – she coined the famous characterisation of Byron as "mad, bad and dangerous to know".[14] The resulting scandal was the talk of Britain in 1812.[citation needed]
Lady Caroline published a Gothic novel, Glenarvon, in 1816; this portrayed both the marriage and her affair with Byron in a lurid fashion, which caused William even greater embarrassment, while the spiteful caricatures of leading society figures made them several influential enemies. Eventually the two were reconciled, and, though they separated in 1825, her death in 1828 affected him considerably.[citation needed]
Early politics
Member of Parliament
In 1816, Lamb was returned for Peterborough by Whig grandee Lord Fitzwilliam. He told Lord Holland that he was committed to the Whig principles of the Glorious Revolution but not to "a heap of modern additions, interpolations, facts and fictions".[13] He, therefore, spoke against parliamentary reform, and voted for the suspension of habeas corpus in 1817 when sedition was rife.[13]
Lamb's hallmark was finding the middle ground. Though a Whig, he accepted the post of
Home Secretary
In November 1830, the Whigs came to power under Lord Grey. Melbourne was Home Secretary. During the disturbances of 1830–32 he "acted both vigorously and sensitively, and it was for this function that his reforming brethren thanked him heartily".[13] In the aftermath of the Swing Riots of 1830–31, he countered the Tory magistrates' alarmism by refusing to resort to military force; instead, he advocated magistrates' usual powers be fully enforced, along with special constables and financial rewards for the arrest of rioters and rabble-rousers. He appointed a special commission to try approximately 1,000 of those arrested, and ensured that justice was strictly adhered to: one-third were acquitted and most of the one-fifth sentenced to death were instead transported.[13]
There remains controversy regarding the hanging of Dic Penderyn, a protester in the Merthyr Rising who was then, and is now, widely judged to have been innocent. He appears to have been executed solely on the word of Melbourne, who sought a victim in order to "set an example".[16] The disturbances over reform in 1831–32 were countered with the enforcement of the usual laws; again, Melbourne refused to pass emergency legislation against sedition.[13]
Melbourne supported the 1834 prosecution and transportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to Australia for their attempts to protest against the cutting of agricultural wages.
Prime Minister
Government
After Lord Grey resigned as Prime Minister in July 1834, William IV was forced to appoint another Whig to replace him, as the Tories were not strong enough to support a government. Melbourne, who was the man most likely to be both acceptable to the King and to hold the Whig Party together, hesitated after receiving from Grey a letter from the King requesting Melbourne to visit him to discuss the formation of a government. Melbourne feared he would not enjoy the extra work that accompanied the office of Premier, but he did not want to let his friends and party down. According to Charles Greville, Melbourne said to his secretary, Tom Young: "I think it's a damned bore. I am in many minds as to what to do". Young replied: "Why, damn it all, such a position was never held by any Greek or Roman: and if it only lasts three months, it will be worthwhile to have been Prime Minister of England [sic]." "By God, that's true", Melbourne said, "I'll go!"[17]
Compromise was the key to many of Melbourne's actions. He was personally opposed to the Reform Act 1832 proposed by the Whigs and later opposed the repeal of the Corn Laws, but he reluctantly agreed to both.[18]
Melbourne was also a strong supporter of slavery.[19] He called Britain's abolition of slavery in 1833 a "great folly" and said that if he had had his own way (as opposed to what many Whigs wanted), he would "have done nothing at all!"[20] He had told his sister-in-law that "slavery was a matter of necessity", was hesitant to pressure foreign governments about slavery, and saw slavery as "no bar to the recognition of Texan independence."[19]
William IV's opposition to the Whigs' reforming ways led him to dismiss Melbourne in November. He then gave the Tories under Sir Robert Peel an opportunity to form a government. Peel's failure to win a House of Commons majority in the resulting general election (January 1835) made it impossible for him to govern, and the Whigs returned to power under Melbourne that April. This was the last time a British monarch attempted to appoint a government to suit his own preferences.[21]
Blackmail
The next year, Melbourne was once again involved in a sex scandal. This time, he was the victim of attempted blackmail from the husband of a close friend, the society beauty and author
Nonetheless, as the historian
Queen Victoria
Melbourne was Prime Minister when
Lord Melbourne's tutoring of Victoria took place against a background of two damaging political events: first, the
Foreign affairs
The
The Whig cabinet under Melbourne decided on 1 October 1839 to send an expeditionary force to China to protect British interests in the trafficking of opium into China, against the wishes of the Chinese Daoguang Emperor.[30] The First Opium War was fought between China and the United Kingdom from 1839 to 1842, one of the outcomes of the war was that Hong Kong would be ceded to the UK and become a British crown colony.
The First Anglo-Afghan War occurred between 1839 and 1842. At the beginning of the conflict, the East India Company troops had defeated the forces of Afghan Emir and in 1839 occupied Kabul.
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs. In November 1840 a royal charter was signed by Queen Victoria, establishing New Zealand as a Crown colony.[31]
Rule and resign
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2017) |
On 7 May 1839, Melbourne intented to resign, which began a series of events that led to the
Among his government's Acts were a reduction in the number of capital offences, reforms of local government, and the reform of the Poor laws. This restricted the terms on which the poor were allowed relief and established compulsory admission to workhouses for the impoverished.[citation needed]
After Victoria fell in love with and became engaged to
On 25 February 1841, Melbourne was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society.[37]
Following
Later life
After Melbourne resigned permanently in August 1841, Victoria continued to write to him about political matters, but as it was deemed inappropriate after a time, their letters became cordial and non-political without issue.[39] On 1 October 1842, in reflecting on a prior journal entry from 1839 in which she had described her "happiness" with Melbourne, Victoria wrote that she "looked over and corrected one of my old journals, which do not now awake very pleasant feelings. The life I led then was so artificial and superficial, and yet I thought I was happy. Thank God! I now know what real happiness means.”[40]
Though weakened, Melbourne survived a stroke on 23 October 1842, 14 months after his departure from politics.[41] In retirement, he lived at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire. He died at home on 24 November 1848[42] and was buried nearby at St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield, Hertfordshire.[43] There is a memorial to him in St Paul's Cathedral.[44]
Upon his death, his titles passed to his brother, Frederick, as his son, George Augustus Frederick (1807–1836), had predeceased him.
Legacy
- Victoria, Australia, was named in his honour in March 1837. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time.[45][46]
- Mount Melbourne, a stratovolcano in Antarctica, was also named in his honour by the British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross, in 1841.[47]
In literature
Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration Lord Melbourne, to a portrait by Thomas Lawrence, was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837. It is one of the few instances in which she allowed herself a political comment.[48]
In popular culture
- On screen, Lord Melbourne has been portrayed by several actors:
- H. B. Warner in Victoria the Great (1937)
- Frederick Leister in The Prime Minister (1941)
- Karl Ludwig Diehl in the Austrian film Victoria in Dover (1954)
- Felix Aylmer in Victoria Regina (1961)
- Jon Finch in the film Lady Caroline Lamb (1972)
- Joseph O'Conor in Edward the Seventh (1975)
- Nigel Hawthorne in Victoria & Albert (2001)
- Paul Bettany in The Young Victoria (2009)
- Victoria (2016-2017).[49]
References
- ^ a b c "Lamb, the Hon. Henry William (LM796HW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ISBN 9780415185837. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "LAMB, Hon. William (1779-1848), of Brocket Hall, Herts. | History of Parliament Online".
- ^ Petworth- From 1660 to the present day, Peter Jerrome, The Window Press, 2006, pp. 62–63
- ISBN 9780230227255. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ Lord Melbourne, 1779–1848, L. G. Mitchell, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 6–7
- ^ Torrens, William McCullach (1878). Memoirs of the Right Honourable William, Second Viscount Melbourne. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan. p. 39. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ Lehmann, William C. (1960). John Millar of Glasgow 1735–1801. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–38. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ [1] History of Parliament article by R.G. Thorne.
- ^ Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, The Hertfordshire Yeomanry: An Illustrated History 1794–1920, Welwyn: Hart Books/Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Historical Trust, 1994; ISBN 0-948527-03-X, p. 35.
- ^ Profile of Viscount Melbourne, gov.uk. Accessed 28 December 2022.
- JSTOR 1316621.
- ^ a b c d e f Peter Mandler, "Lamb, William, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. Accessed 27 December 2009.
- ^ "Ireland: Poetic justice at home of Byron's exiled lover". The Sunday Times. London. 17 November 2002. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
'Mad, bad and dangerous to know' has become Lord Byron's lasting epitaph. Lady Caroline coined the phrase after her first meeting with the poet at a society event in 1812.
- ^ Henry Dunckley, Lord Melbourne p 135
- ^ "Wales Online: Trade unions to mark the legacy of Dic Penderyn and the Merthyr Uprising on 70-mile memorial walk: Robin Turner 2 August 2013: Accessed 12 August 2017". 2 August 2013.
- ISBN 9781842124970.
- ^ Cecil, David, Melbourne, (Indianapolis, 1954), p. 422
- ^ a b Lord Melbourne, 1779–1848, L. G. Mitchell, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 198-199
- ^ Lord Melbourne, 1779–1848, L. G. Mitchell, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 198
- .
- ISBN 1-872-870-57-0.
- ^ David Cecil, Melbourne (1954) ch 11
- ^ Boyd Hilton, A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846 (2006), p. 500.
- ^ "History of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne – GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ Cecil, Melbourne ch 14
- ^ a b Hibbert, p. 77-78; Weintraub, 119-121
- ^ a b Weintraub, 119
- ^ Hibbert, p. 79
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand officially becomes British colony". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "BBC - Radio 4 - This Sceptred Isle - The Bedchamber Crisis and Afghanistan". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 84, 86, 88.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 16.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 16–17.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 98.
- ^ "Lists of Royal Society Fellows". Archived from the original on 22 January 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
- ^ "Confidence in the Ministry—Adjourned Debate (Fifth Day)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 58. House of Commons. 4 June 1841. col. 1121–47. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 131.
- ^ Weintraub (1997), pp. 136.
- ^ "Lord Melbourne | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 18, 11th Edition
- ^ Hibbard, Scott David (15 March 1779). "William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne". geni.com. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- Sinclair, W.p. 462: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909.
- ^ Anonymous. "Short history of Melbourne". Only Melbourne. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ^ "History of the City of Melbourne" (PDF). City of Melbourne. November 1997. pp. 8–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ISBN 9781108030854 – via Google Books.
- ^ Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1836). "poetical illustration". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837. Fisher, Son & Co.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1836). "picture". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837. Fisher, Son & Co.
- ^ "Victoria (TV Series 2016– )". IMDb. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
Bibliography
- Cecil, David (1954). Melbourne. London: Constable. 1954. major biography focused on his psychology
- Cecil, David (1939). The Young Melbourne: And the Story of His Marriage with Caroline Lamb.
- Dunkley, Henry ("VERAX") (1890). Lord Melbourne.
- ISBN 0-00-638843-4
- Mandler, Peter (1 January 2008) [1 September 2004]. "Lamb, William, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15920. Retrieved 27 December 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Marshall, Dorothy (1975). Lord Melbourne. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297767732.
- Mitchell, L. G. (1997). Lord Melbourne, 1779–1848. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198205920.
- Newbould, I. D. C. (December 1976). "William IV and the Dismissal of the Whigs, 1834". Canadian Journal of History. 11 (3): 311–330. .
- Newbould, Ian D. C. (1980). "Whiggery and the Dilemma of Reform: Liberals, Radicals, and the Melbourne Administration, 1835-9". Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research. 53 (128): 229–241. .
- Weintraub, Stanley (1997). Albert : uncrowned king. London: John Murray. OCLC 36727394.
- Weintraub, Stanley (1987). Victoria : biography of a queen. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 15016119.
- Ziegler, Philip (1987). Melbourne: A Life of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-217957-7.
Further reading
- Hilton, Boyd (2006). A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0199218912.
- Cameron, R. H. (1976). "The Melbourne Administration, the Liberals and the Crisis of 1841". Durham University Journal. 69 (1).
- Cecil, David. "Melbourne and the Years of Reform." History Today (Aug 1954) 4#8 pp 529–536.
Collected papers
- Lloyd Charles Sanders, ed. (1889). Lord Melbourne's papers. London: Longmans, Green, and Company.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Lamb
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 90. .
- More about William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne on the Downing Street website
- Historica's Heritage Minute video docudrama "Responsible Government" (Adobe Flash Player)
- "Archival material relating to William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne". UK National Archives.
- Portraits of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- About William's Notorious Wife, Lady Caroline