William Edward Forster | |
|---|---|
 William Edward Forster in 1851 | |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | |
| In office 30 April 1880 – 6 May 1882 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | James Lowther |
| Succeeded by | Lord Frederick Cavendish |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1818-07-11)11 July 1818 Bradpole, Dorset |
| Died | 5 April 1886(1886-04-05) (aged 67) |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Dr Thomas Arnold (father-in-law) Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster (nephew) Florence Arnold-Forster (niece) William Delafield Arnold (brother-in-law) |
William Edward Forster,PC,FRS (11 July 1818 – 5 April 1886) was an Englishindustrialist, philanthropist andLiberal Party statesman. As a minister in Gladstone's government, he steered through theElementary Education Act 1870 which was the foundation of compulsory national free education for children in the UK. However his reputation was later greatly tarnished by his coercive policies as minister for Ireland, then in the throes of a struggle for independence. His purported advocacy of theIrish Constabulary's use oflethal force against theNational Land League earned him the nicknameBuckshot Forster fromIrish nationalists.[1]
Born toWilliam and Anna Forster,Quaker parents atBradpole, nearBridport in Dorset, Forster was educated at the Quaker school atTottenham, where his father's family had long been settled, and on leaving school he was put into business. He declined to enter a brewery and became involved inwoollen manufacture inBurley-in-Wharfedale, Yorkshire. In 1850 he married Jane Martha, eldest daughter ofDr Thomas Arnold. She was not a Quaker and Forster was formallyread out of meeting for marrying her, but the Friends who were commissioned to announce the sentence "shook hands and stayed to luncheon". Forster thereafter ranked himself as a member of theChurch of England.[2]
The Forsters had no natural children, but when Mrs Forster's brother, William Delafield Arnold, died in 1859, leaving four orphans, the Forsters adopted them as their own. One of the children wasHugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster, aLiberal Unionist member of parliament, who eventually became a member ofBalfour's cabinet.[2] Another wasFlorence Arnold-Forster, who started Limerick Lace and she wrote a journal about family life and politics in the 1880s.[3] The youngest child,Frances Egerton Arnold-Forster, compiled the first systematic study of English church dedications, published in 1899 as "Studies in English Church Dedications or England's Patron Saints".[4]
William Forster became known as a practical philanthropist. In 1846–47, he accompanied his father to Ireland as distributor of the Friends' relief fund for theGreat Irish Famine inConnemara, and the state of the country made a deep impression on him. He began to take an active part in public affairs by speaking and lecturing.[2]
In 1859, Forster stood asLiberal candidate forLeeds, but lost. He was highly esteemed in theWest Riding, and in 1861 was returned unopposed forBradford. He was returned again in 1865 (unopposed) and in 1868 (at the head of the poll). He took a prominent part in parliament in the debates on theAmerican Civil War, and in 1865 was madeUnder-Secretary of State for the Colonies inLord John Russell's ministry. It was then that he first became a prominent advocate ofimperial federation. In 1866, his attitude on parliamentary reform attracted attention. He showed knowledge of the real condition of common people, and foreshadowed Radical legislation, heralding the start of a campaign of educational reform.[5]
Directly after theReform Bill had passed, Forster andEdward Cardwell brought in EducationBills in 1867 and 1868. In 1868, when the Liberal party returned to office, Forster was appointedVice-president of the Council, with the duty of preparing a government measure for national education. TheElementary Education Bill was introduced on 17 February 1870 andschool boards were set up with elected representatives (for example,Charles Reed in London) the same year where possible. The religious difficulty at once came to the front. TheManchester Education Union and theNational Education League/Birmingham Education League had already formulated in the provinces the two opposing theories, the former standing for the preservation of denominational interests, the latter advocating secular rate-aided education as the only means of protectingNonconformity against theEstablished Church.[6]
TheDissenters were not satisfied with Forster's "conscience clause" as contained in the bill, and they regarded him, the ex-Quaker, as a deserter from their own side. They resented the "25th clause", permitting school boards to pay the fees of needy children at denominational schools out of the rates, as an insidious attack on their interests. By 14 March, at the second reading, the controversy had assumed threatening proportions; andGeorge Dixon, the Liberal member for Birmingham and chairman of the National Education League, moved an amendment, the effect of which was to prohibit all religious education in board schools. The government made its rejection a question of confidence, and the amendment was withdrawn; but the result was the insertion of theCowper-Temple clause (which prohibited the use of distinctive religious formularies in a rate-supported school) as a compromise before the bill passed. The bill of 1870, imperfect as it was, established at last some approach to a system of national education in England.[6]
Forster's next important work was in passing theBallot Act 1872. In 1874, he was again returned for Bradford. In 1875, whenGladstone "retired", Forster was strongly supported for the leadership of the Liberal party, but declined to be nominated. In the same year he was elected to theRoyal Society, and made Lord Rector ofAberdeen University. In 1876, when theEastern question was looming, he visitedSerbia andTurkey, and his subsequent speeches on the subject were marked by moderation. On Gladstone's return to office in 1880, he was madeChief Secretary for Ireland. He carried theCompensation for Disturbance Bill through the Commons, only to see it thrown out in the Lords. On 24 January 1881, he introduced a Coercion Bill in the House of Commons, to deal with the growth of theLand League, and in the course of his speech declared it to be "the most painful duty" he had ever had to perform. The bill passed, among its provisions being one enabling the Irish government to arrest without trial persons "reasonably suspected" of crime and conspiracy.TheIrish Party used every opportunity to oppose the act, and Forster was kept constantly on the move betweenDublin and London, conducting his campaign and defending it in the House of Commons.[6]
He was nicknamed "Buckshot" by the Nationalist press, on the supposition that he had ordered its use by the police when firing on a crowd. On 13 October 1881,Charles Stewart Parnell was arrested, and soon after theLand League was suppressed. From that time Forster's life was in danger, and he had to be escorted bymounted police in Dublin. In speeches given across Ireland in early 1882, Forster, while criticizing the populace for not helping the government, nonetheless pledged that it was the government's duty to protect them. The danger to his life became more apparent, and several plans to murder him were frustrated by the merest accidents. On 2 May 1882, Gladstone announced that the government intended to release Parnell and his fellow-prisoners fromKilmainham Gaol, and that bothLord Cowper-Temple and Forster had in consequence resigned; on the following Saturday, Forster's successor,Lord Frederick Cavendish, wasmurdered inPhoenix Park, Dublin. Still, Forster offered to return to Dublin temporarily as chief secretary, but the offer was declined. In the ensuing parliamentary session, he charged Parnell with conspiring in the murders, to be in turn denounced by Parnell.[6]
During the remaining years of his life, Forster's political record covered various interesting subjects, but his efforts in Ireland threw them all into shadow. He was at variance with Gladstone's Liberalism, for example in policies towardsSudan andTransvaal. When the constituency of Bradford was divided into three, he was returned for the central division but did not take up his seat.[6]
Forster died in London on 5 April 1886, on the eve of the introduction of theFirst Home Rule Bill, which he had opposed.[6] His funeral took place atWestminster Abbey and his remains were returned to be buried near his home in Burley-in-Wharfedale.[8]
Forster's grave can be found in God's Acre Cemetery, Burley-in-Wharfedale. The inscription reads:
To the beloved memory
of
William Edward Forster
Born at Bradpole Dorset
July 11th 1818
Died in London
April 5th 1886
He represented the Borough of Bradford in Parliament during 25 years holding at various times the offices of Under Secretary for the Colonies Vice President of the Education Department and Chief Secretary for Ireland.
Eager in all things to promote the welfare of his countrymen, labouring especially for the national education and succeeding finally in extending it throughout the land, prompt and watchful with hereditary sympathy to defend the cause of weak or oppressed races
Striving with unwearied devotion & unfailing courage to give order and peace to Ireland. Ever upholding the ideal of an united realm in which the mother country and her colonies should be linked together in peaceful strength.
"After he had served his own generation by the will of God he fell on sleep."
After a funeral Service in Westminster Abbey his mortal remains were laid to rest here near his home in Wharfedale.
Let thy mercy O Lord be upon us according as we hope in thee
Psalm XXXIII v22
Forster is referred to as 'Buckshot' in the Irish folk song "Monto" made famous byThe Dubliners and inAndy Irvine's songForgotten Hero aboutMichael Davitt.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh (1911). "Forster, William Edward". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 675–677.
There is a memorial to him in his home village ofBradpole.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBradford 1861 – 1885 With:Henry Wickham Wickham 1861–1867 Matthew William Thompson 1867–1868 Henry Ripley 1868–1869 Edward Miall 1869–1874 Henry Ripley 1874–1880 Alfred Illingworth 1880–1885 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forBradford Central 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1865–1866 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-President of the Committee on Education 1868–1874 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Ireland 1880–1882 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Rector of the University of Aberdeen 1875–1878 | Succeeded by |