Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British and Australian Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. Punch was a British weekly Magazine of Humour and Satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002 Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1827 ( MDCCCXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a Politician or other notable figure of State who has had a long and respected career in The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar He is perhaps best known for being the politician responsible for the sinking of HMS Captain and for his damaging 'reforms' at the Admiralty. Background The history of the Captain can be traced back to the Crimean War and the experiences of British captain Cowper Phipps Coles in 1855 However he had other failures. At the War Office he made budget cuts in the period before the First Boer War. See also Second Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The First Boer War ( Dutch: Eerste Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: As Chancellor of the Exchequer he made a failed attempt to convert Consols, and his attempt to correct a budget shortfall led to the fall of the government. Consols (originally short for consolidated annuities but can now be taken to mean consolidated stock are a form of British Government bond ( gilt) dating originally
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Early Life
He was born in London and educated at both Oxford and the University of Cambridge, graduating B.A. from the latter in 1850. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link He then decided to seek a career in Australia and in October emigrated to Victoria.
Australia
He joined the government of Victoria and served as inspector of schools and immigration agent, before becoming auditor-general in 1853. In 1852 he placed a bill before the state legislature proposing the establishment of a second university for Victoria, following the foundation of the University of Sydney in 1850. The University of Sydney (informally Sydney Uni or USyd) is the oldest university in Australia With the receipt of the Royal Assent in 1853, the University of Melbourne was founded, with Childers as its first vice-chancellor. The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of Lawmaking by formally assenting to an The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria.
Return to Britain
He retained the post until his return to Britain in March 1857 and received a M.A. from Cambridge the same year. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the
Enters British Politics
In 1860 he entered Parliament as the Liberal member for Pontefract, and served in a minor capacity in the government of Lord Palmerston, becoming a Civil Lord of the Admiralty in 1864 and Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1865. 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 The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Pontefract is a Market town in West Yorkshire, England near the A1 (or Great North Road the M62 motorway, and Castleford. "Lord Palmerston" and "Henry Temple" redirect here The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy. Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the UK Treasury.
First Lord of the Admiralty
With the election of Gladstone's government in December 1868 he rose to greater prominence, serving as First Lord of the Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy. Childers "had a reputation for being hardworking, but inept, autocratic and notoriously overbearing in his dealing with colleagues. "[1] He "initiated a determined programme of cost and manpower reductions, fully backed by the Prime Minister, Gladstone described him [Childers] as 'a man likely to scan with a rigid eye the civil expenses of the Naval Service'. He got the naval estimates just below the psychologically important figure of £10,000,000. Childers strengthened his own position as First Lord by reducing the role of the Board of Admiralty to a purely formal one, making meetings rare and short and confining the Naval Lords rigidly to the administrative functions. . . Initially Childers had the support of the influential Controller of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Sir [Robert] Spencer Robinson. Admiral Sir Robert Spencer Robinson KCB (1809-1889 was a British Naval officer who served as two five-year terms as Controller of the Navy from February "[2] "His re-organisation of the Admiralty was unpopular and poorly done. "[1]
Childers was responsible for the construction of HMS Captain in defiance of the advice of his professional advisers, the Controller (Robinson), and the Chief Constructor Edward James Reed). Background The history of the Captain can be traced back to the Crimean War and the experiences of British captain Cowper Phipps Coles in 1855 Sir Edward James Reed ( 20 September 1830 &ndash 30 November 1906) KCB, FRS, was the Chief Constructor The Captain was commissioned in April 1870, and sank on the night of 6/7 September 1870. She was, as predicted by Robison and Reed, insufficiently stable. "Shortly before Captain sank, Childers had moved his son, Midshipman Leonard Childers from Reed's designed HMS Monarch onto Captain; Leonard did not survive. Modernisation In 1890 she was selected for what was at the time called "modernisation" "[1] Childers "faced strong criticism following the Court Martial on the loss of Captain, and attempted to clear his name with a 359 page memorandum, a move described as "dubious public ethics". Vice Admiral Sir [Robert] Spencer Robinson wrote 'His endeavors were directed to throw the blame which might be supposed to attach to himself on those who had throughout expressed their disapproval of such methods of construction'. " Childers unfairly blamed Robinson for the loss of the Captain, and as a result of this Robinson was replaced as Third Lord and Controller of the navy in February 1871. [3] "Following the loss of his son and the recriminations that followed, Childers resigned through ill health as First Lord in March 1871. "[1]
1871-1880
Following his resignation he spent some months on the Continent,[1] and recovered sufficiently to take office in 1872 as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is in modern times a Sinecure office in the Government of the United Kingdom.
War Office
When the Liberals regained power in 1880, Childers was appointed Secretary for War, a position he accepted reluctantly. The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British Cabinet -level position first applied to Henry Dundas He therefore had to bear responsibility for cuts in arms expenditure, a policy that provoked controversy when Britain found itself fighting first the Boers in South Africa in 1880 and invading Egypt in 1882. See also Second Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The First Boer War ( Dutch: Eerste Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: The Urabi Revolt or Orabi Revolt (ˈʕoɾɑːˌbi also known as the Orabi Revolution, was an uprising in Egypt in 1879-82 against the Khedive
Childers was also very unpopular with Horse Guards for his reinforcement and expansion of the Cardwell reforms. The Cardwell Reforms refer to a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War (and former soldier Edward Cardwell between In 1 May 1881 he passed General Order 41, which made a series of improvements known as the Childers reforms. The Childers Reforms restructured the Infantry Regiments of the British army.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
He became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1882, a post he had coveted. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial As such, he attempted to implement a conversion of Consols in 1884. Consols (originally short for consolidated annuities but can now be taken to mean consolidated stock are a form of British Government bond ( gilt) dating originally Although the scheme proved a failure, it paved the way for the subsequent conversion in 1888. George Joachim Goschen 1st Viscount Goschen ( 10 August 1831 &ndash 7 February 1907) was a British Statesman and
He attempted to resolve a budget shortfall in June 1885 by increasing alcohol duty and income tax. His budget was rejected by Parliament, and the government - already unpopular due to events in Egypt - was forced out of office. 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 Major-General, CB ( 28 January 1833 &ndash 26 January 1885) known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha The Earl of Rosebery commented resignedly: "So far as I know the budget is as good a question to go out upon as any other, and Tuesday as good a day. Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC (7 May 1847 &ndash 21 May 1929 was a British Liberal Statesman and "
Home Secretary
At the subsequent election in December 1885 Childers lost his Pontefract seat, but returned as an independent Home Ruler for Edinburgh South (one of the few Liberals who adopted this policy before Gladstone's conversion in 1886). Home rule refers to a demand that constituent parts of a state be given greater self-government within the greater administrative purview of the central government Edinburgh South is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1885
He then served as Home Secretary in the short-lived ministry of 1886. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office He was critical of the financial clauses of the first Home Rule Bill, and their withdrawal was largely due to his threat of resignation. Nevertheless, the Bill still failed to pass, and its rejection brought down the Liberal government.
Retirement
He retired from parliament in 1892, and his last piece of work was the drafting of a report for the royal commission on Irish financial relations, of which he was chairman. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world
Miscellaneous
Towards the end of his ministerial career "HCE" Childers was notable for his girth, and so acquired the nickname "Here Comes Everybody". Obesity is a condition in which excess Body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected
A cousin, Robert Erskine Childers, was the author of the famous spy novel The Riddle of the Sands, and father of the fourth President of Ireland, Erskine Childers. Robert Erskine Childers DSC (25 June 1870&ndash24 November 1922 was an author and Irish nationalist who was executed by the authorities of the nascent The Riddle of the Sands A Record of Secret Service is a 1903 novel by Irish nationalist Erskine Childers. The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 &ndash 17 November 1974 served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974
Biography
- The Life and Correspondence of the Rt. Hon. Hugh C. E. Childers, Spencer Childers, 1901
- The Educational Activities in Victoria of the Right Hon. H. C. E. Childers, E. Sweetman, 1940
External Links
- [1] A Portrait from the New York Public Library Archives
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e HMS Captain website biography of Hugh Childers.
- ^ Page 14, Smith, Paul (editor), Government and the Armed Forces in Britain, 1856-1990, pub Hambledon Press, 1996, ISBN 1852851449
Note that the original anachronistically says 'Sea Lord'; at the time the title was Naval Lord. - ^ Online biography Robert Spencer Robinson
Succession
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Monckton Milnes and William Overend |
Member of Parliament for Pontefract 2 seats until 1885 (with Richard Monckton Milnes to 1863; Samuel Waterhouse, 1863–1880; Sidney Woolf 1880–1885 ) 1860–1885 |
Succeeded by Rowland Winn |
| Preceded by Sir George Harrison |
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South 1886–1892 |
Succeeded by Herbert Woodfield Paul |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Henry Lowry Corry |
First Lord of the Admiralty 1868 – 1871 |
Succeeded by George Joachim Goschen |
| Preceded by The Earl of Dufferin |
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1872 – 1873 |
Succeeded by John Bright |
| Paymaster-General 1872 – 1873 |
Succeeded by William Adam |
|
| Preceded by Sir Frederick Stanley |
Secretary of State for War 1880 – 1882 |
Succeeded by Marquess of Hartington |
| Preceded by William Ewart Gladstone |
Chancellor of the Exchequer 1882 – 1885 |
Succeeded by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach |
| Preceded by Sir Richard Assheton Cross |
Home Secretary 1886 |
Succeeded by Henry Matthews |
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