The Marquess of Crewe | |
|---|---|
 Crewe in 1921 | |
| Secretary of State for War | |
| In office 25 August 1931 – 5 November 1931 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | Thomas Shaw |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham |
| His Majesty's Ambassador to France | |
| In office 1922–1928 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst |
| Succeeded by | SirWilliam Tyrrell |
| Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 14 April 1908 – 10 December 1916 | |
| Monarchs | Edward VII George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon |
| Succeeded by | George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston |
| Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp |
| Succeeded by | George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston |
| In office 10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Prime Minister | SirHenry Campbell-Bannerman |
| Preceded by | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry |
| Succeeded by | Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth |
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 13 February1912 – 25 May 1915 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Earl Carrington |
| Succeeded by | George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston |
| In office 9 October1908 – 23 October 1911 | |
| Monarchs | Edward VII George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon |
| Succeeded by | Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Earl Carrington |
| President of the Board of Education | |
| In office 18 August 1916 – 10 December 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Arthur Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Fisher |
| Secretary of State for India | |
| In office 25 May 1911 – 25 May 1915 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn |
| Succeeded by | Austen Chamberlain |
| In office 3 November1910 – 7 March 1911 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn |
| Succeeded by | John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 12 April1908 – 3 November 1910 | |
| Monarchs | Edward VII George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Harcourt |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
| In office 18 August 1892 – 29 June 1895 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland |
| Succeeded by | George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan |
| Lord-in-Waiting Government Whip | |
| In office 16 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone |
| Succeeded by | William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 12 August 1885 – 20 June 1945 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton |
| Succeeded by | Peerage extinct |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes (1858-01-12)12 January 1858 |
| Died | 20 June 1945(1945-06-20) (aged 87) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Sibyl Graham (d. 1887) (2)Lady Margaret Primrose |
| Children | 6, includingCynthia andMary |
| Parent | |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe (12 January 1858 – 20 June 1945), known asThe Honourable Robert Milnes from 1863 to 1885,The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and asThe Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British Liberal politician, statesman and writer.
Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes was born at 16Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, London, the only son ofRichard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton, by his wife the Hon. Annabella Crewe, daughter ofJohn Crewe, 2nd Baron Crewe, and was educated firstly at Winton House, near Winchester, and thenHarrow. He went up toTrinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1880.[1]
ALiberal in politics, Milnes became Assistant Private Secretary toLord Granville in April 1883 when Granville wasForeign Secretary. In 1884 he was the chosen as the prospective Liberal candidate for the new seat ofBarnsley, but never contested the seat as he succeeded to his father's barony and seat in teh House of Lords in August 1885, before the general election in November. As Baron Houghton, he was made Liberalwhip in 1885. In January 1886 he was made aLord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria during theThird Gladstone ministry, and remained aHome Ruler.
Prepared for ministerial success, a severe blow was struck to a burgeoning political career: his wife Sybil Marcia, daughter ofSir Frederick Ulric Graham, 3rd Baronet of Netherby, whom he had married on 3 June 1880, died suddenly in September 1887, still only thirty years old. He was determined to get over this personal tragedy by studying agriculture at theRoyal Agricultural College. However, he was prevented by illness from pursuing his studies. Leaving England, he travelled to Egypt where theStray Verses were written in a somewhat mournful lament at his great loss. Further melancholy hit hard when his eight-year-old son and heir Richard died in 1890.
Returning to Houghton in 1892, he wasLord Lieutenant of Ireland in theLiberal government, 1892–1895, in which his old friendLord Rosebery eventually became prime minister.
On the death of his uncle,Hungerford Crewe, 3rd Baron Crewe, he inherited vast estates of nearly 50,000 acres in four counties, and assumed the same yearthe additional surname of Crewe byroyal licence on 8 June 1894.[2] On 17 July 1895 he was createdEarl of Crewe, in theCounty palatine of Chester.
On 20 April 1899, he married an eighteen-year-old society beauty, Lady Margaret Etrenne Hannah Primrose, daughter of the former Prime Minister Lord Rosebery.
TheSecond Boer War broke out only months later in October. Crewe remained a leader of the conciliators who to the last tried to find a negotiated settlement with PresidentPaul Kruger. He began to grow apart from his father-in-law's Liberal imperialism, advocating a gradualist "step-by-step" policy of containment of the situation. But the war soon escalated with Crewe finding himself isolated. He was not much of anorator, but had skills in administration, proving an efficient organizer. He became increasingly influential withHenry Campbell-Bannerman and the Radicals. He made a personal friend out ofH. H. Asquith, who was his political mainstay in the round of intrigues that intensified during the lead-up to theFirst World War. A close confidante he was appointed as an aide on almost every committee. From 1905 to 1908 he wasLord President of the Council in the Liberal government. TheHouse of Lords, dominated by Tory peers, were hostile to Asquith's proposed reforms. They wrecked the Education Bill of 1906, while Crewe stood out as the main defender of the Cabinet's policy. In response to pleas from Campbell-Bannerman, he assumed the role of cross-party convenor. Crewe was moderate in all things. He deploredDavid Lloyd George'sLimehouse Speech in the east end of London in support of thePeople's Budget. By the same token, he found it unacceptable for die-hard Tories and Unionists to continue to block legislation.
AlthoughLord Elgin reassured him ofWinston Churchill's friendliness among Liberals, Crewe was in for a rude shock: he had succeeded the orientalist Elgin asSecretary of State for the Colonies, and in May 1908 he had an angry exchange of letters with Churchill who had intervened in a colonial debate in the Commons.[3]: 153 Crewe could be haughty and coldly disapproving: alike to Grey he took a dim view of Lloyd George's People's Budget.[3]: 159 It was Crewe's job to steer it through the Lords.[3]: 165 In his capacity asLeader of the House of Lords he played a key role in bringing theParliament Act 1911 (depriving the Lords of its veto) to the floor of the house and eventually onto the statute book. Asquith valued him highly as a colleague, for his common sense and sound judgment rather than any exceptional brilliance. But when Churchill circulated a memorandum proposing the abolition of the Lords in 1910, Crewe remained essentially whiggish and cautious, blocking any attempt to change the bicameral relationship.[4]: 168–169 He sat on the Constitutional Conference Commission set up on 16 June 1910 during the crisis followingEdward VII's death.[4]: 189 The inconclusive outcome of theJanuary 1910 election, which increased Unionist representation in the Commons, caused a wide-ranging debate on the constitutional implications of the Lords' powers. The new king,George V, to obviate a stalemate agreed to create 500 new peers, should the Liberals win theDecember 1910 election. Crewe was present at the discussions as one of the Inner Sanctum in the cabinet. He had previously taken a more right-wing position with Asquith arguing for reform of themembershipof the Upper House, rather than of its customary powers. Crewe was selected to face leading ToryLord Cromer, and the Archbishop of Canterbury,Randall Davidson, in negotiation of the provisions of the Veto bill, which would give a whip hand to an elected Commons.
It was his colonial responsibilities from September 1910 as part of his terms asSecretary of State for India (1910–11 and 1911–15), for which he gained the hoped-for promotion in the peerage. TheDelhi Durbar was an invention of his genius for organization, designed to the last detail for the first British monarch in history to pay a visit to India. In that post, he was responsible for the removal of the capital of India fromCalcutta toDelhi, and the reunion of the twoBengals under aGovernor-in-Council, as well as commissioning the architect, SirEdwin Lutyens for his outstanding visionary grand design of New Delhi.[5] He was further honoured in 1911 when he was createdEarl of Madeley andMarquess of Crewe.[2]
In at least one of Asquith's cabinet lists 1913–14, Crewe was at the top;[6]: n229 but other ministers, like Churchill, were more thrusting at pushing themselves forward for promotion. Crewe was widely respected for his administrative competence, efficiency and personal intelligence. Crewe served asLord President of the Council again from May 1915, coming second in Asquith's rankings[7] and working closely with Lloyd George on currency and exchange rate stabilisation in the budget.[citation needed] His home at Crewe House,Curzon Street in Mayfair became a centre for war propaganda.
In 1916 he was appointed briefly asPresident of the Board of Education, and may have been useful in the post-war educational sector, but theAsquith coalition split in December. He remained as ever, an Asquithian, declining office under Lloyd George, and after his resignation, he continued to lead the independent Liberal opposition in theHouse of Lords.[5] He took the largely honorific title of Chairman ofLondon County Council. He maintained a leading role in the education sector, serving as Chairman of the Governing Body ofImperial College London (1907–22), and Chancellor ofSheffield University. He was laterAmbassador to France appointed byBonar Law from October (1922–28). As Ambassador to France, he launched a fund for the creation of a British Institute in Paris, which has since developed into theUniversity of London Institute in Paris (ULIP). He had a very brief ten-week stint asSecretary of State for War inRamsay MacDonald'sNational Coalition from August 1931, but did not hold office after thegeneral election. TheSamuelite Liberals withdrew over free trade from the National Coalition in 1932. From 1936 and throughout theSecond World War Crewe was leader of the Independent Liberals in the House of Lords. He served asLord High Constable of England for thecoronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
He did not much like public speaking, but that was probably because he contrasted sharply with Lloyd George's firebrand delivery and populist demagogy.[8][9][incomplete short citation] Crewe himself tended to hesitate too long time with "pregnant pauses", as his speech became stilted. He was above all fastidious in the royal tradition ofCharles I.[10]Edwin Montagu claimed, somewhat sardonically, that one of his female constituents died of boredom listening to the Marquess. His father-in-law, Lord Rosebery, had been Liberal Leader six years before he himself became Leader in the House of Lords of that party. Rosebery thought Crewe a reliable politician but a poor speaker. When it was announced to him that his daughter, the Marchioness of Crewe, was in labour, Rosebery is said to have quipped "I hope that her delivery is not as slow as Crewe's".[11] Always at ease in London High Society, Crewe hosted the dinner party at whichWinston Churchill metClementine Hozier.
Crewe voiced his support during his time in Parliament for numerous reforms, including old-age pensions,[12] an eight-hour day for miners,[13] and meal provisions for schoolchildren.[14] In November 1905, Crewe had written to (then) Party leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman of the need for innovative reform on the part of the Liberals, noting that
More than ever before, the Liberal Party is on its trial as an engine for securing social reforms, – taxation, land, housing, etc. It has to resist the I.L.P. claim to be the only friend of the workers. Can it do this and attempt Home Rule as well?[15]: 393
During the Liberal party crises of 1886, 1909–11, and 1916, he stayed loyal to the party. He was also said to have acknowledged the damage the First World War did to liberalism. When he diedJames Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury described Crewe as "the best of thewhig statesmen". One historian[who?] believed his whiggery was more temperamental than ideological.[16] Reserved and stiff upper-lipped by nature he sought compromise by mediation attempting to negotiate a middle way. His meetings were often spontaneous and informal, but dominated by an aristocratic clique: Lloyd George recalled how in 1912 Crewe had tried at Deeside to resolve Ulster's longstanding problems with Bonar Law over a round ofgolf.
Crewe inherited his father's literary tastes, and published for public consumptionStray Verses in 1890, besides other miscellaneous literary work, includingGleanings from Béranger (privately printed in 1889), much of which he translated. A war poem,A Harrow Grave in Flanders—which touches on the theme of "what might have been"—was published in several anthologies during and following World War I.[17] Lord Crewe was the last of the Liberal grandees at the end of Empire. He was essentially by character a Victorian, and this showed in his austere reverential writings that took few risks with the material.
Soon after the death of his father-in-law the5th Earl of Rosebery in 1929, the family asked Crewe to write his biography. The two-volumeLord Rosebery[18]: 447 was published by John Murray in 1931. Crewe's dedication reads "To my wife – this attempt to tell the story of one we both loved".
Crewe died on 20 June 1945 at the age of 87. His body was buried in the graveyard ofSaint Bertoline's Church in theCheshire village ofBarthomley. As he had no surviving male heir, both his sons (one from each marriage) having died in childhood, his titles became extinct upon his death.
_Crewe-Milnes%2c_Marchioness_of_Crewe%2c_by_Glyn_Philpot.jpg)
Crewe married twice. In 1880, he married Sibyl Marcia Graham (1857–1887), daughter ofSir Frederick Graham, 3rd Baronet, of Netherby in the County of Cumberland. They had three daughters and one son, who died as a child:
In 1899, more than a decade after his first wife's death, the 41-year-old Crewe married again. At eighteen years of age, the bride was around the same age as Crewe's eldest daughter. She wasLady Margaret Etrenne Hannah Primrose, daughter of the5th Earl of Rosebery. As Lady Crewe, she became one of the first seven women appointed as magistrates in 1919 following the passing of theSex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919.[20] They had two children, a son and a daughter, and again the son died in childhood. The children were:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922)."Crewe, Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 772.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1892–1895 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord President of the Council 1905–1908 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonial Secretary 1908–1910 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1908–1911 | Succeeded by |
| Leader of the House of Lords 1908–1916 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn | Secretary of State for India 1910–1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1912–1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord President of the Council 1915–1916 | |
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Education 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the London County Council 1917–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for War 1931 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Liberals in theHouse of Lords 1908–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Liberals in theHouse of Lords 1936–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | British Ambassador to France 1922–1928 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Sheffield 1917–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of the County of London 1912–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senior Privy Counsellor 1943–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Marquess of Crewe 1911–1945 | Extinct |
| Earl of Crewe 1895–1945 | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Houghton 1885–1945 | |
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