Henry Pelham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 27 August 1743 – 6 March 1754 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Wilmington |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 12 December 1743 – 6 March 1754 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Samuel Sandys |
| Succeeded by | William Lee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1694-09-25)25 September 1694 Laughton, Sussex, England |
| Died | 6 March 1754(1754-03-06) (aged 59) Westminster, England |
| Resting place | All Saints' Church, Laughton, East Sussex, England |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a BritishWhig statesman who served asPrime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother ofThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who served in Pelham's government and succeeded him as prime minister. Pelham is generally considered to have been Britain's third prime minister, afterRobert Walpole andthe Earl of Wilmington.
Pelham's premiership was relatively uneventful in terms of domestic affairs, although it was during his premiership thatGreat Britain experienced the tumult of the1745 Jacobite uprising. In foreign affairs, Britain fought in several wars. Two of Pelham's final acts were theJewish Naturalization Act 1753, which allowedJews to becomenaturalized by application toParliament, and theMarriage Act 1753, which enumerated the minimumage of consent for marriage. On Pelham's death, his brother Newcastle took full control of the British government.
Pelham, Newcastle's younger brother, was a younger son ofThomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham, and his wife, the former Grace Pelham, Baroness Pelham of Laughton, the daughter ofGilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare, and Grace Pierrepont. Pelham's father, Thomas, died when he was 12 years of age. Pelham inherited £5,000 and small annuities for life while a large part of the estate went to his elder brother, the Duke Newcastle.[1]
He was educated atWestminster School, andmatriculated atKing's College, Cambridge at Easter 1709,[2] then migrated toHart Hall, Oxford (the present-day Hertford College), matriculating on 6 September 1710,[3] upon the appointment of his tutorRichard Newton as Principal of Hart Hall.[4]
As a volunteer he served in Dormer's regiment at theBattle of Preston in 1715 and spent some time on the Continent. He was returned asMember of Parliament forSeaford inSussex by his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, at a by-election on 28 February 1717 and represented it until 1722.[5][6]
On 20 May 1720, Pelham made hisfirst speech in theHouse of Commons. It was made during a time of union for the Whigs, which was achieved by a call for discharging the civil list debt, a motion supported by both Pelham and Walpole. On 15 March 1721, Pelham aided Walpole in getting theEarl of Sunderland's acquittal from charges ofbribery.[7]
The first position Pelham held was asTreasurer of the Chamber in 1720. The advancement came as a result of his brother's influence.[6] Newcastle and Pelham lost £2,000 in theSouth Sea Bubble.[8]
Through strong family influence, and the recommendation ofRobert Walpole, he was chosen in 1721 asLord of the Treasury. At the1722 general election he was returned as MP for Sussex county.[5]
In 1724, he entered the ministry asSecretary at War, a position he held for the next 6 years. Many of the problems that Pelham faced in that office was regarding legal affairs of theBritish Army, which concerned enlistments, courts-martial, mutiny, desertion, the jurisdiction of army officials and civil magistrates and the commutation powers of the King.[9]
Pelham asserted his independent function in the ministry by voting against one of Walpole's measures to reduce interest on thenational debt.[10] In 1729, Pelham proposed placing 17,000 troops and later commanded the debate to continue paying the 12,000Hessian troops for another year. He was criticised and denounced byWilliam Shippen, aJacobite member of Parliament, for the government's military policies.[11] When Walpole introduced a bill in the Commons to increase revenue by placing excise tax on salt, it was met with fierce opposition and the sole responsibillity of defending the government fell on Pelham's shoulders. He continued to support the bill despite it being highly unpopular despite being rebuked in public.[10]
But following the resignation of Townshend, he exchanged his then position, in 1730 for the more lucrative one ofPaymaster of the Forces.[12] He made himself conspicuous by his support of Walpole on the question of theexcise. He, Newcastle, and the Prime Minister would often meet atHoughton Hall in Norfolk, where they would draw up much of the country's policy. These meetings became known as theNorfolk Congress. With Walpole, he served as a founding governor of the popular charity theFoundling Hospital when it opened its doors in 1739. Like his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, Pelham was an activefreemason of thePremier Grand Lodge of England, active alongsideJohn Theophilus Desaguliers.[13]
In 1742 a union of parties resulted in the formation of an administration in which Pelham became Prime Minister andFirst Lord of the Treasury the following year, succeeding theEarl of Wilmington after his death.[14]
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The first year of Pelham's premiership is regarded as a continuation of theCarteret ministry, withLord Carteret continuing asSecretary of State for the Northern Department with responsibility for foreign affairs; Carteret was close toKing George II. Pelham served asFirst Lord of the Treasury,Chancellor of the Exchequer andLeader of the House of Commons.
In November 1744, the Pelhams forced Lord Carteret out of the ministry: Pelham bluntly told the king that either Carteret step down, or the Pelhamites would, leaving His Majesty without a government. Thereafter Pelham shared power with his brother, theDuke of Newcastle upon Tyne. Pelham was regarded as the leading figure, but rank and influence made his brother very powerful in the Cabinet. In spite of a genuine attachment, there were occasional disputes between them, which sometimes led to further difficulties.
Being strongly in favour of peace, Pelham carried on theWar of the Austrian Succession with languor and indifferent success, but the country, wearied of the interminable struggle, was disposed to acquiesce in his foreign policy almost without a murmur. KingGeorge II, thwarted in his own favourite schemes, made overtures in February 1746 toLord Bath, but his purpose was upset by the resignation of the two Pelhams (Henry and Newcastle), who, after a two-day hiatus in which Bath and Carteret (now earl Granville) proved unable to form a ministry, resumed office at the king's request. One of their terms was to insist that the king should have 'total confidence' in a ministry; rather than partial grudging acceptance of the Whigs.
TheAugustan era was essential to the development ofprime ministerial power as being entirely dependent on a Commons majority, rather thanroyal prerogative interventions. While the king struggled with his headstrong son,Frederick, Prince of Wales, his son's uncertain constitutional position was high in the Leicester House party set. In 1748 Frederick, a Tory, planned to bring down the Pelhamites at a general election due the following year. The Prime Minister called an early poll in 1748 by asking the king to dissolve Parliament in 1747. The prince and his father, the king, grew to hate one another with unspeakable animosity. But one consequence was a closer relationship between Henry Pelham and the sovereign. When he finally died in 1754, the king remarked "Now I shall have no more peace." TheTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had been signed in 1748 leading inexorably to a number of cost-cutting budgetary measures.
TheBritish Army andRoyal Navy spending shrunk from £12 m to £7 million per annum. Pelham promised to reduceinterest rates through introduction of a balancing act measure from 4% to 3% by 1757. He also assisted a fund to reduce thenational debt. In 1749, theNavy Act 1748 was passed, reorganising the Royal Navy. On 20 March 1751, the British calendar was reorganised as well (New Year's Day became 1 January); Britain would adopt theGregorian calendar one year later. In 1752 he was able to reduce theland tax from 4 s to 2 s in the pound (an effective reduction from 20% to 10%).
One social consequence of thepress gangs going to sea in an expansive navy fleet was the growth of industrial processes necessary for warfare. The distillation of gin reduced the price of alcohol, resulting inwidespread drunkenness, demonstrated clearly byWilliam Hogarth in "Gin Lane". Preaching in favour of temperance, and social problems caused by drunken soldiers and sailors, persuaded the administration to introduce the Gin Acts. TheGin Act 1751 was the last of four that had largely failed to prevent serious social unrest, including riots in London, reduced the number licensed dealers and sellers of liquor. By restricting supply the consumption dropped and price fell helping to manage the problem.[15]
Pelham’s final session saw passage of theJewish Naturalization Act 1753 and theMarriage Act 1753. On 20 July 1753 he told his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, that attacks in the opposition weeklyThe Protester “gave [him] not the least concern” and that “the less notice is taken of him the better”.[16] Later that year, despite Pelham’s objections, Newcastle approved a Treasury pension to endJames Ralph’s political writing.[17]
Upon his death, his brother (the aforementioned Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne) took over government.
His very defects were among the chief elements of Pelham's success, for one with a strong personality, moderate amount self-respect, or haughty conceptions of statesmanship could not have restrained the discordant elements of the cabinet for any length of time the way he did. Moreover, he possessed tact and a thorough acquaintance with the forms of theHouse of Commons. Whatever quarrels or insubordination might have existed within the cabinet, they never broke out into open revolt. His foreign policy followed Walpole's model of emphasizing peace and ending wars. His financial policy was a major success once peace had been signed in 1748 to end theWar of the Austrian Succession.[18] He demobilized the armed forces, and reduced government spending from £12 million to £7 million. He refinanced the national debt dropping the interest from 4% to 3%. In 1752 he reduced the land tax from four shillings to two shillings in the pound; that is, from 20% to 10%.[19][20] Historians Stephen Brumwell and W. A. Speck describe him as being an effective politician:
His subdued manner concealed a shrewd and calculating politician. He was reserved and cautious, but behind the reserve was steel. All agreed on his integrity, which was remarkable in a venal age; unlike Walpole, he died relatively poor.[19]
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Pelham marriedLady Catherine Manners, daughter of the2nd Duke of Rutland, on 31 October 1726 in theParish of St James,City of Westminster.[21] They had four daughters:
When Pelham was elevated to Prime Minister, he began construction of a house located at22 Arlington Street in St James's, Westminster. He hired the architectWilliam Kent to build the structure in two phases.[22] Kent died in 1748[23] and the work was completed by Stephen Wright[24] in 1754.[22]
Pelham died in 1754 and was buried in All Saints' Church,Laughton, East Sussex.[25] His personal papers were inherited by his son-in-law and now form part of the Newcastle (Clumber) Collection held at the department ofManuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham.
He was one of the first of a relatively few prime ministers who never acceded to apeerage. Others includeGeorge Grenville (died as an MP),William Pitt the Younger (died in office),Spencer Perceval (died in office),George Canning (died in office),Sir Robert Peel (died as an MP, though was abaronet in his own right),William Ewart Gladstone (declined a peerage),Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (declined a peerage but died as an MP),Bonar Law (died as an MP),Ramsay MacDonald (died as an MP),Neville Chamberlain (declined a peerage but died as an MP),Sir Winston Churchill (declined a peerage),Sir Edward Heath (declined a peerage),Sir John Major (declined a peerage),Sir Tony Blair (declined a peerage),Gordon Brown (declined a peerage),Boris Johnson, andLiz Truss.
Prime Minister Henry Pelham was played byRoger Allam, as depicted in the 2011 filmPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[26]
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"Pelham, Henry (1695?-1754)".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Chamber 1720–1722 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary at War 1724–1730 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster of the Forces 1730–1743 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Great Britain 27 August 1743 – 6 March 1754 | Succeeded by |
| First Lord of the Treasury 1743–1754 | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Exchequer 1743–1754 | Succeeded by |
| Leader of the House of Commons 1743–1754 | Succeeded by | |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSeaford 1717–1722 Served alongside:George Naylor | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSussex 1722–1754 With:Spencer Compton 1722–1728 James Butler 1728–1741 Earl of Middlesex 1742–1747 John Butler 1747–1754 | Succeeded by |
