Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading

Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading,

Rufus Isaacs was born at 3 Bury Street, in the parish of St Mary Axe, London, the son of a Jewish fruit importer at Spitalfields.^[3] He was educated at University College School^[1] and then entered the family business at the age of 15. In 1876–77 he served as a ship's boy and later worked as a jobber on the stock-exchange from 1880 to 1884. In 1887 he married Alice Edith Cohen, who suffered from a chronic physical disability and died of cancer in 1930, after over 40 years of marriage. The Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar is named after her.

He then married

Isaacs was admitted as a student to the

Isaacs mainly practised in the

As a barrister, Isaacs was a hard worker, rising early to prepare his cases, although he never worked after dinner. His advocacy was calm and forensic, and he was renowned for his style of cross-examination.

Political career

Having earlier contested unsuccessfully North Kensington in 1900, Isaacs entered the

In 1910, he was appointed solicitor general in the government of H. H. Asquith and received the customary knighthood. After six months, he was appointed attorney general. On the resignation of Lord Loreburn as Lord Chancellor in 1912, Isaacs had expected to succeed him, but was passed over in favour of Lord Haldane. To appease him, Asquith invited Isaacs to join the Cabinet; he was the first attorney general to sit in the Cabinet.

As law officer, Isaacs handled many high-profile cases. As solicitor general, he appeared for the Admiralty in the

In addition, he helped to pilot through the Commons several pieces of key legislation, including the

Isaacs was one of several high-ranking members of the Liberal government accused of involvement in the Marconi scandal.^[7] An article published in Le Matin on 14 February 1913 alleged corruption in the award of a government contract to the Marconi Company and insider trading in Marconi's shares, implicating a number of sitting government ministers, including Lloyd George, the chancellor of the Exchequer; Isaacs, then attorney general; Herbert Samuel, postmaster general; and the treasurer of the Liberal Party, Lord Murray.^[8]

The allegations included the fact that Isaacs's brother, Godfrey Isaacs, was managing director of the Marconi company at the time that the cabinet, in which Isaacs sat, awarded Marconi the contract.^[9][10] Isaacs and Samuels sued Le Matin for libel, and as a result, the journal apologised and printed a complete retraction in its 18 February 1913 issue.^[8][11][12]

The factual matters were at least partly resolved by a parliamentary select committee investigation, which issued three reports: all found that Isaacs and others had purchased shares in the American Marconi company, but while the fellow-Liberal members of the committee cleared the ministers of all blame, the opposition members reported that Isaacs and others had acted with "grave impropriety".^[8] It was not made public during the trial that these shares had been made available through Isaacs's brother at a favourable price.^[13]

Diplomatic career

In October 1913 he was made

In 1921, he resigned the chief justiceship to become

As Viceroy Reading was appointed GCSI and GCIE ex officio in 1921, and in 1922 was promoted to GCVO.

As a former viceroy, Reading was critical of some of the policies of his successor Lord Irwin. On 5 November 1929 he attacked Irwin in the House of Lords for using the term "Dominion Status" with regard to India, prior to the report of the Simon Commission.^[18]

Later life and career

On his return from India, Reading, who had no pension and was a heavy spender, sat on several corporate boards, and later became president of Imperial Chemical Industries. The Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1931 to 1935, he took part in the Round Table Conferences of 1930–32 on the future of British India as head of the Liberal delegates. He was also a member of the select committee charged with the drafting of the Government of India Act 1935.

In MacDonald's

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords

, but stood down after the first major reshuffle in November due to ill-health.

He was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1934.

Death

Lord Reading died in London in December 1935 aged 75. After cremation at Golders Green Crematorium his ashes were buried at the nearby Jewish cemetery.^[19] The house where he died, No. 32 Curzon Street in Mayfair, has had a blue plaque on it since 1971.^[20]

Honours and commemoration

In addition to five peerages and five knighthoods, Reading received many other honours. In 1925 he was appointed Grand Cordon of the

Captain of Deal Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, received the freedom of Reading and of London, and was a Bencher

and Treasurer of the Middle Temple. He received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Toronto, Calcutta, Cambridge and Oxford.

Although he had

Quebec Bar) was named in his honour.^[22] A founding chairman of the Palestine Electric Corporation (along with Alfred Mond (father of his daughter in-law) and Herbert Samuel), the Reading Power Station in Tel Aviv, Israel was named in his honour.^[23]

Scholarly assessment

In his approach to politics, Isaacs was, according to Denis Judd,

"no blood-red Radical, and had 'little sympathy with the narrower aspects of the Nonconformist outlook which constituted so powerful an element in contemporary Liberalism.' Liberalism, nonetheless, was the natural party for him to support. Within his own father’s lifetime Jews had been obliged to struggle to obtain full civil rights. Moreover, the Liberal party apparently stood for the noble principles of liberty, toleration and progress whereas the Tories, although somewhat disguised with the Unionist coalition, seemed to offer little in the way of enlightened policies. For a man who approved of social reform, yet wanted to stop well short of revolution, the Liberal party was the obvious home."[24]

Indeed, Isaacs championed such measures as the taxation of land values and reforms in the legal standing of unions, education, licensing, and military organization.^[25] Isaacs also gave staunch official backing to David Lloyd George's initiative on land reform, together with his tax on land values^[26] and national social insurance scheme.^[27]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Reading, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Earl of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 255.
2. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35928. Retrieved 22 March 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership
   required.) Isaacs could be considered the first believing Jew to be a member of the Cabinet.
3. ^
   doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34119. (Subscription or UK public library membership
   required.)
4. ^ "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1941. p. 12.
5. ^ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 1944. p. 2586.
6. ^ The Concise Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 1992.
7. ^ Lady Frances Lonsdale Donaldson, "The Marconi scandal", Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962
8. ^
   ISBN 0-415-14624-0
   , pages 144–146
9. ^ H. Montgomery Hyde, "Lord Reading; the Life of Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading", Heinemann, 1968, pages 124,138–140
10. ^ Stanley Jackson, "Rufus Isaacs, first marquess of Reading", Cassell, 1936, pages 167–172
11. ISBN 1-4179-8663-8
    , page 179
12. ISBN 0-297-78858-2
    , pages 204–205
13. ISBN 0-297-78858-2
    , pages 204–205
14. ^ "No. 28791". The London Gazette. 9 January 1914. p. 258.
15. ^ "No. 29651". The London Gazette. 4 July 1916. p. 6597.
16. ^ "No. 30442". The London Gazette. 21 December 1917. p. 13384.
17. ^ "Captains of Deal Castle". East Kent freeuk. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
18. ^ Jago 2015, pp.65-7, 70
19. ^ The Complete Peerage, Volume XIII, Peerage Creations 1901–1938. St Catherine's Press. 1949. p. 182.
20. ^ "Rufus Isaacs blue plaque". openplaques.org. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
21. ^ Royal Decree of 1925/-Mémorial du centenaire de l'Ordre de Léopold. 1832-1932. Bruxelles, J. Rozez, 1933.
22. ^ "About us". The Lord Reading Law Society. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
23. ^ The Power Plant on Two Rivers
24. ^ Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading: radical liberal
25. ^ The Platform On Which He Stood
26. ^ Rufus Isaacs and land values
27. ^ Hansard 25 May 1911, National Insurance bill

Further reading

• Fowler, Wilton B. British-American Relations 1917-1918 (Princeton University Press, 2015).
• Hyde, Harford Montgomery. Lord Reading; the Life of Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading (London: Heinemann, 1967).
• Judd, Denis. Lord Reading: Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading, Lord Chief Justice and Viceroy of India, 1860–1935 (Faber & Faber, 2013).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rufus Isaacs.

• Jago, Michael Rab Butler: The Best Prime Minister We Never Had?, Biteback Publishing 2015
  ISBN 978-1849549202
• Works by or about Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading at Internet Archive
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Reading
• Reading^[usurped]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George William Palmer	Member of Parliament for Reading 1904–1913	Succeeded by Leslie Wilson
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Parmoor	Leader of the House of Lords 1931	Succeeded by The Viscount Hailsham
Preceded by Arthur Henderson	Foreign Secretary 1931	Succeeded by Sir John Simon
Party political offices
Preceded by The Earl Beauchamp	Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords 1931–1935	Succeeded by The Marquess of Crewe
Legal offices
Preceded by Sir Samuel Evans	Solicitor General 1910	Succeeded by Sir John Simon
Preceded by Sir William Robson	Attorney General 1910–1913
Preceded by The Lord Alverstone	Lord Chief Justice 1913–1921	Succeeded by The Lord Trevethin
Government offices
Preceded by The Lord Chelmsford	Viceroy of India 1921–1925	Succeeded by The Lord Irwin
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir Cecil Spring Rice	British Ambassador to the United States 1918–1919	Succeeded by The Viscount Grey of Fallodon
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl Beauchamp	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1934–1935	Succeeded by The Marquess of Willingdon
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Marquess of Reading 1926–1935	Succeeded by Gerald Isaacs
	Earl of Reading 1917–1935
	Viscount Reading 1916–1935
	Baron Reading 1914–1935