Edward Horsman
Encyclopedia
Edward Horsman PC, PC (Ire)
(8 February 1807 – 30 November 1876), was a British
politician.
, and sister of the seventh and eighth Earls of Stair
; she died in 1833. He entered Rugby School
at Midsummer 1819, and afterwards proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge
, but did not take a degree. He was admitted an advocate of the Scottish bar in 1832, but did not long continue to practise his profession.
in 1835, but was successful at the following election on 15 February 1836, and continued to represent the constituency till 1 July 1852. Defeated at the general election of that date, he was returned unopposed on 28 June 1853 for Stroud
, and sat for that town till 11 November 1868. At the 1868 general election
he stood unsuccessfully in Falkirk Burghs
. From 11 May 1869 to his death he was member for Liskeard
, but he had then so far separated himself from the Liberal Party that he was opposed on both occasions by more advanced members of his own party — in 1869 by Sir F. Lycett, and in 1874 by Leonard Courtney
.
Early in his political career (January 1840) Horsman, when addressing his constituents at Cockermouth, denounced James Bradshaw
, M.P. for Canterbury, for speaking ill of the queen, and for secretly sympathising with the chartists. A bitter correspondence was followed by a duel at Wormwood Scrubbs, which was without serious results. Finally Bradshaw apologised. Horsman was from September to August 1841 a junior Lord of the Treasury
in Lord Melbourne's
administration. He criticised severely, and at times with personal bitterness, the ecclesiastical policy of Lord John Russell's
ministry of 1847, as being far too favourable to the bishops. A vote of censure on the ecclesiastical commissioners
was moved by him and rejected 14 December 1847. On 26 April 1850, in the discussion on the Ecclesiastical Commission Bill, Horsman smartly attacked the bishops, and roused Goulburn to denounce him as "a disappointed man" foiled of his hopes of office. In March 1855, when Lord Palmerston
became prime minister and the Peelites withdrew from the cabinet, Horsman was made Chief Secretary for Ireland
, and was sworn a member of both the British and Irish Privy Councils. He resigned the chief secretaryship after the general election in April 1857, and thenceforth assumed a more independent position in the House of Commons. With Robert Lowe
, afterwards Viscount Sherbrooke, he resisted the Reform Bill brought in by William Ewart Gladstone
in March 1866. John Bright
, speaking on the second reading (13 March 1866), ascribed Mr. Lowe's hostility to Horsman's influence, and depicted Horsman retiring ‘into what may be called his political cave of Adullam, to which he invited every one who was in distress, and every one who was discontented.’ According to Bright Horsman's party, to which Bright's sobriquet of the "cave" has since adhered, consisted only of himself and Mr. Lowe, but thirty-three liberal members voted against the second reading of the bill upon which the ministry was afterwards defeated in committee (18 June). Horsman maintained his independent attitude to the last. He best served the public by exposing jobs and other weak points in the ecclesiastical system.
He was a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Melbourne
's administration for a few months during 1841, and gained notoriety for attacking Lord John Russell
's ecclesiastical policy in 1847 and subsequent years. In 1855, under Lord Palmerston
, he was made Chief Secretary for Ireland
, but resigned in 1857. He gradually took up a position as an independent Liberal, and was well known for his attacks on the Church, and his exposures of various "jobs". His name became principally connected with his influence over Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
in 1866 at the time of Gladstone
's Reform Bill, to which he and Lowe were hostile; and it was in describing the Lowe-Horsman combination that John Bright
spoke of the "Cave of Adullam". In the 1867 debate on extending the franchise, he said in the House of Commons: "There is an irreconciliable enmity between democracy and freedom".
, MP, on 18 November 1841. He died at Biarritz
, France
, on 30 November 1876, aged 68, and was buried there on 2 December.
His views and assertions were criticised in "Mr. Horsman's Statement respecting the Horfield Manor Lease", by J. H. Monk, bishop of Gloucester, 1852; in "Mr. Horsman's Motion in the House of Commons [on the institution of Bennett to vicarage of Frome], tested by Extracts from 'Letters to my Children'", by the Rev. W. J. E. Bennett, 1852 (HANSARD, 20 April 1852, pp. 895–916); and in "An Usurious Rate of Discount limits and prevents the Working Classes from obtaining Employment. Being a reply to Mr. Horsman", by R. Wason, 1866.
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
(8 February 1807 – 30 November 1876), was a British
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...
politician.
Background and education
Horsman was the son of William Horsman, a well-to-do gentleman of Stirling, Scotland, who died 22 March 1845, aged 86. His mother was Jane, third daughter of Sir John Dalrymple, 4th BaronetSir John Dalrymple, 4th Baronet
Sir John Dalrymple, 4th Baronet was a Scottish lawyer and historian. He is best known for his Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland from the dissolution of the last parliament of Charles II until the sea battle of La Hogue, first published in 1771...
, and sister of the seventh and eighth Earls of Stair
Earl of Stair
Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. He actively supported William III's claim to the throne and served as Secretary of State for Scotland. However, he was forced to resign after he authorised...
; she died in 1833. He entered Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
at Midsummer 1819, and afterwards proceeded to 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...
, but did not take a degree. He was admitted an advocate of the Scottish bar in 1832, but did not long continue to practise his profession.
Political career
As a moderate liberal he unsuccessfully contested CockermouthCockermouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Cockermouth was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295, and again from 1641, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough represented by two...
in 1835, but was successful at the following election on 15 February 1836, and continued to represent the constituency till 1 July 1852. Defeated at the general election of that date, he was returned unopposed on 28 June 1853 for Stroud
Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)
Stroud is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, and sat for that town till 11 November 1868. At the 1868 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
he stood unsuccessfully in Falkirk Burghs
Falkirk Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Falkirk Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. The constituency comprised the burghs of Falkirk, Airdrie, Hamilton, Lanark and Linlithgow, lying in Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire and Linlithgowshire.In 1918,...
. From 11 May 1869 to his death he was member for Liskeard
Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)
Liskeard was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- History :...
, but he had then so far separated himself from the Liberal Party that he was opposed on both occasions by more advanced members of his own party — in 1869 by Sir F. Lycett, and in 1874 by Leonard Courtney
Leonard Courtney, 1st Baron Courtney of Penwith
Leonard Henry Courtney, 1st Baron Courtney of Penwith PC was a British politician, academic and man of letters...
.
Early in his political career (January 1840) Horsman, when addressing his constituents at Cockermouth, denounced James Bradshaw
James Bradshaw (MP)
James Bradshaw was a British Tory and later Conservative Party politician. He sat as Member of Parliament for Brackley from 1825 to 1832, for Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1835 to 1837 and for Canterbury from 1837 to 1847....
, M.P. for Canterbury, for speaking ill of the queen, and for secretly sympathising with the chartists. A bitter correspondence was followed by a duel at Wormwood Scrubbs, which was without serious results. Finally Bradshaw apologised. Horsman was from September to August 1841 a junior Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...
in Lord Melbourne's
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
administration. He criticised severely, and at times with personal bitterness, the ecclesiastical policy of Lord John Russell's
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
ministry of 1847, as being far too favourable to the bishops. A vote of censure on the ecclesiastical commissioners
Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners
The Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners was established in 1833 to supersede the Board of First Fruits. It was created to overcome criticisms against the established church by enforcing a reform of the church. Ten dioceses were dissolved by joining them with neighboring dioceses and their...
was moved by him and rejected 14 December 1847. On 26 April 1850, in the discussion on the Ecclesiastical Commission Bill, Horsman smartly attacked the bishops, and roused Goulburn to denounce him as "a disappointed man" foiled of his hopes of office. In March 1855, when 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...
became prime minister and the Peelites withdrew from the cabinet, Horsman was made Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
, and was sworn a member of both the British and Irish Privy Councils. He resigned the chief secretaryship after the general election in April 1857, and thenceforth assumed a more independent position in the House of Commons. With Robert Lowe
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke PC , British and Australian statesman, was a pivotal but often forgotten figure who shaped British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1868 and 1873 and as Home...
, afterwards Viscount Sherbrooke, he resisted the Reform Bill brought in by 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...
in March 1866. John Bright
John Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
, speaking on the second reading (13 March 1866), ascribed Mr. Lowe's hostility to Horsman's influence, and depicted Horsman retiring ‘into what may be called his political cave of Adullam, to which he invited every one who was in distress, and every one who was discontented.’ According to Bright Horsman's party, to which Bright's sobriquet of the "cave" has since adhered, consisted only of himself and Mr. Lowe, but thirty-three liberal members voted against the second reading of the bill upon which the ministry was afterwards defeated in committee (18 June). Horsman maintained his independent attitude to the last. He best served the public by exposing jobs and other weak points in the ecclesiastical system.
He was a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
's administration for a few months during 1841, and gained notoriety for attacking Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
's ecclesiastical policy in 1847 and subsequent years. In 1855, under 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 was made Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
, but resigned in 1857. He gradually took up a position as an independent Liberal, and was well known for his attacks on the Church, and his exposures of various "jobs". His name became principally connected with his influence over Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke PC , British and Australian statesman, was a pivotal but often forgotten figure who shaped British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1868 and 1873 and as Home...
in 1866 at the time of 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...
's Reform Bill, to which he and Lowe were hostile; and it was in describing the Lowe-Horsman combination that John Bright
John Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
spoke of the "Cave of Adullam". In the 1867 debate on extending the franchise, he said in the House of Commons: "There is an irreconciliable enmity between democracy and freedom".
Family
Horsman married Charlotte Louisa, only daughter of John Charles RamsdenJohn Charles Ramsden
John Charles Ramsden was a British Whig and Liberal Party politician from Newby Park in Yorkshire. He sat in the House of Commons between 1812 and 1836.- Family :...
, MP, on 18 November 1841. He died at Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on 30 November 1876, aged 68, and was buried there on 2 December.
Publications
- "Speech on the Bishopric of Manchester Bill", 1847, two editions.
- "Five Speeches on Ecclesiastical Affairs delivered in the House of Commons, 1847, 1848, and 1849".
- "Speech on the Present State of Parties and Public Questions", 1861.
His views and assertions were criticised in "Mr. Horsman's Statement respecting the Horfield Manor Lease", by J. H. Monk, bishop of Gloucester, 1852; in "Mr. Horsman's Motion in the House of Commons [on the institution of Bennett to vicarage of Frome], tested by Extracts from 'Letters to my Children'", by the Rev. W. J. E. Bennett, 1852 (HANSARD, 20 April 1852, pp. 895–916); and in "An Usurious Rate of Discount limits and prevents the Working Classes from obtaining Employment. Being a reply to Mr. Horsman", by R. Wason, 1866.