Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet PC (4 September 1843 – 26 January 1911) was an English Liberal
and reformist politician. Touted as a future prime minister, his aspirations to higher political office were effectively terminated in 1885, after a notorious and well-publicised divorce case.
. He was educated at Westminster School
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society
. His wife was the author, art historian, feminist and trade unionist Emilia, Lady Dilke
.
Dilke became Liberal
Member of Parliament
for Chelsea
in 1868, a seat he held until 1885. He was Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
from 1880 to 1882 during Gladstone
's second government and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1882. In December 1882 he entered the cabinet as President of the Local Government Board
, serving until 1885. A leading and determined radical within the Liberal party, he negotiated the passage of the Third Reform Act, which the Conservatives allowed through the House of Lords in return for redistribution favourable to themselves (the granting of the vote to agricultural labourers threatened Conservative dominance of rural seats, but in return many double-member seats were abolished and seats redistributed to suburbia, where Conservative support was growing). He also supported laws giving the municipal franchise
to women, legalising labour unions, improving working conditions and limiting working hours, as well as being one of the earliest campaigners for universal schooling.
Dilke's younger brother Ashton Wentworth Dilke
married May Eustace Smith, the eldest daughter of Thomas Eustace Smith in 1876. Sir Charles Dilke became Ellen's lover, a relationship which continued after his marriage in 1884. In July 1885, however, he was accused of seducing the Eustace Smiths' daughter Virginia in the first year of her marriage to Donald Crawford
MP
. This was supposed to have occurred in 1882 when Virginia was 19, and she claimed that the affair had continued on an irregular basis for the next two and a half years.
Crawford sued for divorce
, and the case was heard on 12 February 1886 before The Hon. Mr Justice Butt in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division. Virginia Crawford was not in court and the sole evidence was her husband's account of Virginia's confession. There were also some accounts by servants, which were both circumstantial and insubstantial. Dilke, aware of his vulnerability over the affair with Virginia's mother, refused to give evidence, largely on the advice of his confidante Joseph Chamberlain
. Butt found – paradoxically – that Virginia had been guilty of adultery with Dilke, but that there was no admissible evidence to show that Dilke had been guilty of adultery with Virginia. He concluded, "I cannot see any case whatsoever against Sir Charles Dilke," dismissed Dilke from the suit with costs, and pronounced a decree nisi
dissolving the Crawfords' marriage.
The paradoxical finding left doubts hanging over Dilke's respectability, and investigative journalist
William Thomas Stead
launched a public campaign against him. Two months later, in April, Dilke sought to re-open the case and clear his name by making the Queen's Proctor a party to the case and opposing the decree absolute. Unfortunately, Dilke and his legal team had badly miscalculated. Though they had planned to subject Virginia to a searching cross-examination
, Dilke, having been dismissed from the case, had no locus standi
. As a consequence it was Dilke who was subjected to severe scrutiny in the witness box by Henry Matthews. Matthews' attack was devastating and Dilke proved an unconvincing witness. His habit of physically cutting pieces out of his diary with scissors was held up to particular ridicule, as it created the impression that he had cut out evidence of potentially embarrassing appointments. The jury found that Virginia had presented the true version of the facts, and that the decree absolute should be granted.
Dilke was ruined. Other women claimed he had approached them for a liaison. Various lurid rumours circulated about his love-life, including that he had invited a maidservant to join himself and his lover in bed, and that he had introduced one or more of these to "every kind of French vice". For a time it seemed that he would be tried for perjury
, although this did not eventuate. The accusations had a devastating effect on his political career, leading eventually to the loss of his parliamentary seat (Chelsea
) in the 1886 UK general election
. Matthews, on the other hand, gained public acclaim, winning the seat of Birmingham East
as a Conservative at the same election. Queen Victoria, who approved of his performance in the trial, demanded that he be included in Lord Salisbury's cabinet, and he was made Home Secretary.
Dilke spent much of the remainder of his life and much of his fortune trying to exonerate himself, and this adds weight to the view that Virginia lied about the identity of her lover. Various men have been implicated over the years, including Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
and Chamberlain himself.
in 1892, serving until his death in 1911. He had hoped to be appointed Secretary of State for War in the Liberal Government formed in 1905, but this was not to be.
, opened its doors for the first time in 1923 and still exists as a permanent memorial to the popular M.P.
In the 1994 film Sirens
, detailing sexual licence in Australia in the 1930s, the local pub is called the "Sir Charles Dilke".
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
and reformist politician. Touted as a future prime minister, his aspirations to higher political office were effectively terminated in 1885, after a notorious and well-publicised divorce case.
Background and education
Dilke was the son of Sir Charles Dilke, 1st BaronetSir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet , English Whig politician, son of Charles Wentworth Dilke, proprietor and editor of The Athenaeum, was born in London, and was educated at Westminster School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge...
. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
. His wife was the author, art historian, feminist and trade unionist Emilia, Lady Dilke
Emilia Frances Dilke
Emilia, Lady Dilke , born Emily Francis Strong, was an English author, art historian, feminist and trade unionist.-Biography:...
.
Political career, 1868-1886
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Chelsea
Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867 for the 1868 general election, when it returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.Under the...
in 1868, a seat he held until 1885. He was Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
|The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been a junior position in the British government since 1782, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs...
from 1880 to 1882 during 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 second government and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1882. In December 1882 he entered the cabinet as President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board
The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...
, serving until 1885. A leading and determined radical within the Liberal party, he negotiated the passage of the Third Reform Act, which the Conservatives allowed through the House of Lords in return for redistribution favourable to themselves (the granting of the vote to agricultural labourers threatened Conservative dominance of rural seats, but in return many double-member seats were abolished and seats redistributed to suburbia, where Conservative support was growing). He also supported laws giving the municipal franchise
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
to women, legalising labour unions, improving working conditions and limiting working hours, as well as being one of the earliest campaigners for universal schooling.
The Crawford scandal
Ashton Wentworth Dilke
Ashton Wentworth Dilke was a British traveller and radical Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1883.He was the younger son of Sir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet, and was educated privately before being admitted to Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1868...
married May Eustace Smith, the eldest daughter of Thomas Eustace Smith in 1876. Sir Charles Dilke became Ellen's lover, a relationship which continued after his marriage in 1884. In July 1885, however, he was accused of seducing the Eustace Smiths' daughter Virginia in the first year of her marriage to Donald Crawford
Donald Crawford
Donald Crawford was a United Kingdom Liberal MP. He sat for the constituency of Lanarkshire North-East from 1885 to 1895....
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. This was supposed to have occurred in 1882 when Virginia was 19, and she claimed that the affair had continued on an irregular basis for the next two and a half years.
Crawford sued for divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, and the case was heard on 12 February 1886 before The Hon. Mr Justice Butt in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division. Virginia Crawford was not in court and the sole evidence was her husband's account of Virginia's confession. There were also some accounts by servants, which were both circumstantial and insubstantial. Dilke, aware of his vulnerability over the affair with Virginia's mother, refused to give evidence, largely on the advice of his confidante Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
. Butt found – paradoxically – that Virginia had been guilty of adultery with Dilke, but that there was no admissible evidence to show that Dilke had been guilty of adultery with Virginia. He concluded, "I cannot see any case whatsoever against Sir Charles Dilke," dismissed Dilke from the suit with costs, and pronounced a decree nisi
Decree nisi
A decree nisi is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time....
dissolving the Crawfords' marriage.
The paradoxical finding left doubts hanging over Dilke's respectability, and investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
launched a public campaign against him. Two months later, in April, Dilke sought to re-open the case and clear his name by making the Queen's Proctor a party to the case and opposing the decree absolute. Unfortunately, Dilke and his legal team had badly miscalculated. Though they had planned to subject Virginia to a searching cross-examination
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
, Dilke, having been dismissed from the case, had no locus standi
Standing (law)
In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case...
. As a consequence it was Dilke who was subjected to severe scrutiny in the witness box by Henry Matthews. Matthews' attack was devastating and Dilke proved an unconvincing witness. His habit of physically cutting pieces out of his diary with scissors was held up to particular ridicule, as it created the impression that he had cut out evidence of potentially embarrassing appointments. The jury found that Virginia had presented the true version of the facts, and that the decree absolute should be granted.
Dilke was ruined. Other women claimed he had approached them for a liaison. Various lurid rumours circulated about his love-life, including that he had invited a maidservant to join himself and his lover in bed, and that he had introduced one or more of these to "every kind of French vice". For a time it seemed that he would be tried for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
, although this did not eventuate. The accusations had a devastating effect on his political career, leading eventually to the loss of his parliamentary seat (Chelsea
Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867 for the 1868 general election, when it returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.Under the...
) in the 1886 UK general election
United Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. Matthews, on the other hand, gained public acclaim, winning the seat of Birmingham East
Birmingham East (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham East was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
as a Conservative at the same election. Queen Victoria, who approved of his performance in the trial, demanded that he be included in Lord Salisbury's cabinet, and he was made Home Secretary.
Dilke spent much of the remainder of his life and much of his fortune trying to exonerate himself, and this adds weight to the view that Virginia lied about the identity of her lover. Various men have been implicated over the years, including Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
and Chamberlain himself.
Political career after 1886
Dilke later became MP for Forest of DeanForest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:- See also :* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire...
in 1892, serving until his death in 1911. He had hoped to be appointed Secretary of State for War in the Liberal Government formed in 1905, but this was not to be.
Cultural references
Following his death, fund raising commenced to establish a local community hospital in his Forest of Dean constituency. The Dilke Memorial Hospital, CinderfordCinderford
Cinderford is a small town on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. A population of 8,116 people is recorded in the 2001 census....
, opened its doors for the first time in 1923 and still exists as a permanent memorial to the popular M.P.
In the 1994 film Sirens
Sirens (film)
Sirens is a 1993 film, written and directed by John Duigan, and set in Australia between the two World Wars.Sirens, along with Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bitter Moon—all released in the U.S...
, detailing sexual licence in Australia in the 1930s, the local pub is called the "Sir Charles Dilke".