Sir Stephen Lushington, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Stephen Lushington, 1st Baronet (17 June 1744 – 12 January 1807), of South Hill Park
in Easthampstead
, Berkshire
, was an English Member of Parliament
and Chairman of the East India Company
.
Lushington was the third son of the Reverend Henry Lushington, vicar of Eastbourne
.
From 1782 he was a director of the East India Company, and supported the reforms of the company being proposed by Charles James Fox
; these would have brought the company under the control of a board of commissioners appointed by Parliament, and it was intended that Lushington should be one of the assistant commissioners. In 1783, as Fox prepared to introduce his India Bill in the House of Commons, Christopher Atkinson, one of the MPs for Hedon
in Yorkshire
, was convicted of fraud and would therefore be expelled from the House. Hedon was a rotten borough
where the Foxites could expect their candidate to be elected, and Lushington's name was put forward by Prime Minister Portland
to fill the vacancy.
Atkinson was formally expelled from the Commons on 4 December 1783, and a writ for the by-election was issued. However, the following day the Commons amended the East India Bill to make the assistant commissioners ineligible to sit in Parliament. This forced Lushington to choose between an assistant commissionership and a seat in Parliament and, knowing that the majority of the East India directors opposed Fox's bill he decided the latter was preferable. On 15 December he was elected unopposed for Hedon, but on the same day the House of Lords
unexpectedly defeated Fox's India bill and the government fell.
Lushington spoke in opposition to the East India bill
proposed by the new government under Pitt the Younger
, which placed control of the Company in the hands of a board appointed by the Crown rather than by Parliament. In the general election of 1784 he was a candidate at Hastings
, rather than defending his seat at Hedon, but was defeated.
He was deputy chairman of the East India Company in 1789-1790, and its chairman for three terms - 1790-1791, 1795–1796 and 1799-1800. He was created a baronet on 26 April 1791.
He returned to Parliament in 1790 as member for Helston
, and was an MP for the rest of his life, subsequently also representing Mitchell
, Penryn
and Plympton Erle
.
In 1771 he married Hester Boldero (d. 1830), whose father settled the manors of Aspenden
and Berkesdon in Hertfordshire
on the couple. Their children included:
South Hill Park
South Hill Park is a site that lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire, England.-History:The original South Hill Park mansion was built in 1760 for William Watts for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government...
in Easthampstead
Easthampstead
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, was an English 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,...
and Chairman of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
.
Lushington was the third son of the Reverend Henry Lushington, vicar of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
.
From 1782 he was a director of the East India Company, and supported the reforms of the company being proposed by Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
; these would have brought the company under the control of a board of commissioners appointed by Parliament, and it was intended that Lushington should be one of the assistant commissioners. In 1783, as Fox prepared to introduce his India Bill in the House of Commons, Christopher Atkinson, one of the MPs for Hedon
Hedon (UK Parliament constituency)
Hedon, sometimes spelt Heydon, was a parliamentary borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1547 to 1832.-History:...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, was convicted of fraud and would therefore be expelled from the House. Hedon was a rotten borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
where the Foxites could expect their candidate to be elected, and Lushington's name was put forward by Prime Minister Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
to fill the vacancy.
Atkinson was formally expelled from the Commons on 4 December 1783, and a writ for the by-election was issued. However, the following day the Commons amended the East India Bill to make the assistant commissioners ineligible to sit in Parliament. This forced Lushington to choose between an assistant commissionership and a seat in Parliament and, knowing that the majority of the East India directors opposed Fox's bill he decided the latter was preferable. On 15 December he was elected unopposed for Hedon, but on the same day the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
unexpectedly defeated Fox's India bill and the government fell.
Lushington spoke in opposition to the East India bill
Pitt's India Act
The East India Company Act 1784, also known as Pitt's India Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to address the shortcomings of the Regulating Act of 1773 by bringing the East India Company's rule in India under the control of the British Government...
proposed by the new government under Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, which placed control of the Company in the hands of a board appointed by the Crown rather than by Parliament. In the general election of 1784 he was a candidate at Hastings
Hastings (UK Parliament constituency)
Hastings was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1885 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member....
, rather than defending his seat at Hedon, but was defeated.
He was deputy chairman of the East India Company in 1789-1790, and its chairman for three terms - 1790-1791, 1795–1796 and 1799-1800. He was created a baronet on 26 April 1791.
He returned to Parliament in 1790 as member for Helston
Helston (UK Parliament constituency)
Helston, sometimes known as Helleston, was a parliamentary borough centred on the small town of Helston in Cornwall.Using the bloc vote system of election, it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and...
, and was an MP for the rest of his life, subsequently also representing Mitchell
Mitchell (UK Parliament constituency)
Mitchell, or St Michael was a rotten borough consisting of the town of Mitchell, Cornwall. From the first Parliament of Edward VI, in 1547, it elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons.-History:The borough encompassed parts of two parishes, Newlyn East and St Enoder...
, Penryn
Penryn (UK Parliament constituency)
Penryn was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1553 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to until 1832...
and Plympton Erle
Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency)
Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295-1640:-1640-1832:...
.
In 1771 he married Hester Boldero (d. 1830), whose father settled the manors of Aspenden
Aspenden
Aspenden is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The village is just to the south of Buntingford.The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of Aspenden....
and Berkesdon in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
on the couple. Their children included:
- Sir Henry Lushington (1775–1863), who succeeded to the baronetcy
- Stephen LushingtonStephen Lushington (judge)Stephen Lushington was a Doctor of Civil Law, a judge, a Member of Parliament and a radical for the abolition of slavery and capital punishment.-Early life and education:...
(1782–1873), a Member of Parliament and later a judge - Charles Lushington (1785–1866), secretary to the government of Bengal and later also an MP