Sir Charles Hobhouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 23 October 1911 – 11 February 1914 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Jack Pease |
| Succeeded by | Charles Masterman |
| Postmaster General | |
| In office 11 February 1914 – 25 May 1915 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Herbert Samuel |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Samuel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1862-06-30)30 June 1862 |
| Died | 26 June 1941(1941-06-26) (aged 78) Monkton Farleigh,Wiltshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet,TD,PC,JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a BritishLiberal politician and officer in theTerritorial Force.[1] He was a member of theLiberal cabinet ofH. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915, and kept a diary, since published, of his time in the Cabinet.
He was the third child and only son of Sir Charles Parry Hobhouse, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Edith Lucy Turton, daughter of Sir Thomas Turton, 2nd Baronet, born atDormansland, Surrey. He was educated atEton College, and matriculated atChrist Church, Oxford in 1880. He then attended theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst.[2][3][4]
Hobhouse was commissioned from Sandhurst as alieutenant in theKing's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) on 23 August 1884,[4] and served with the regiment until he resigned from the Regular Army on 7 May 1890 to enter politics.[5] However, he became acaptain in the part-time 7th Battalion, KRRC, (the Royal 2nd Middlesex Militia) on 17 April 1897.[6] When a new 3rd Volunteer Battalion of theGloucestershire Regiment was formed inBristol during theSecond Boer War, he was commissioned as amajor in the unit, succeeding to its command with the rank oflieutenant-colonel on 5 April 1903.[7] He continued in that role when the battalion became the6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment in theTerritorial Force in 1908.[8] Hobhouse retired from the command on 5 April 1911,[9] but on the death of the 6th Gloucesters'Honorary Colonel,Earl Roberts, shortly after the outbreak ofWorld War I, he was appointed to succeed him on 24 December 1914.[10] Hobhouse continued to be the 6th Gloucesters' Hon Colonel for the rest of his life, the battalion being converted into44th Royal Tank Regiment in 1938.[11]
Hobhouse's first attempt to get elected was atNorth Buckinghamshire. He was LiberalMember of Parliament forDevizes between 1892 and 1895 and forBristol East between 1900 and 1918.[12] He was aParliamentary Private Secretary at theColonial Office from 1892 to 1895 and aChurch Estates Commissioner from 1906 to 1907.
Hobhouse was appointed to his first ministerial post in 1907 whenSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman made himUnder-Secretary of State for India. TheHobhouse Commission he headed recommended a cautious expansion of thepanchayat raj system in Indian villages.[13] The commission's report influenced later legislation for India.[2] He then served underH. H. Asquith asFinancial Secretary to the Treasury from 1908 to 1911. In 1909 he was sworn of thePrivy Council.[14] He was a member of Asquith's cabinet asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1911 and 1914 and asPostmaster-General between 1914 and May 1915 when Asquith's Liberal government was replaced by a coalition in which Hobhouse did not hold office.
Hobhouse, told by his doctors that he had only months to live, retired from active politics in October 1915 (the last published entry in his diary is 14 October, followed by a letter to Asquith the following day thanking him for his kindness in promoting his career). However on the operating table what had been thought to be a growth was found to be merely “a large stoppage” and he resumed limited political activity thereafter.[15]
Apart from his career in national politics, Hobhouse was anAlderman onWiltshire County Council from 1893 to 1924. He succeeded his father as fourth Baronet in 1916. At theCoupon election in 1918 he lost his seat, as did Asquith, and the leading former Liberal Cabinet ministers McKenna, Runciman, Simon, Samuel and McKinnon Wood. Hobhouse became the first former Cabinet minister to suffer the embarrassment oflosing his deposit, deposits being a measure just introduced to discourage “freak” candidates.[16]
In 1922 Hobhouse stood again inNorth Buckinghamshire but again came third, behind both Conservative and Labour.[17][18]
Hobhouse, long associated with Bristol, was appointed to the largely honorary positions of President of the Western Counties Liberal Federation from 1924 to 1935 and President of theNational Liberal Federation from 1926 to 1930.
Hobhouse married first in 1890 Georgina Fleetwood Fuller (Lady Nina), daughter ofGeorge Pargiter Fuller ofNeston Park; she died in 1927. He married again in 1931, to Aimee Gladys Brendon, widow of Benjamin Adams Brendon, and daughter of David Charles Ballinger Griffith. He had no children by either marriage.[2] They lived atMonkton Farleigh until he died on 26 June 1941, aged 78.
Although only a relatively minor political figure, Hobhouse is now remembered largely for his diaries, which cover the years 1893-8 and 1904 to October 1915. They were discovered in a drawer, filling three handwritten exercise books, by a nephew after his death. About a third of the material was published in 1977, offering vivid portraits of people and events in Asquith’s Cabinet.[19]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDevizes 1892–1895 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBristol East 1900–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Church of England titles | ||
| Preceded by | Second Church Estates Commissioner 1906–1907 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for India 1907–1908 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1908–1911 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1911–1914 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Postmaster-General 1914–1915 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the National Liberal Federation 1927–1930 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Charles Hobhouse | Baronet (of Westbury) 1916–1941 | Succeeded by Reginald Hobhouse |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
