The Viscount Cross | |
|---|---|
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| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | |
| In office 29 June 1895 – 12 November 1900 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | The Lord Tweedmouth |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 29 June 1895 – 4 July 1895 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | The Lord Tweedmouth |
| Succeeded by | The Lord James of Hereford |
| Secretary of State for India | |
| In office 3 August 1886 – 11 August 1892 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Kimberley |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Kimberley |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| In office 24 June 1885 – 1 February 1886 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | Sir William Harcourt |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Childers |
| In office 21 February 1874 – 23 April 1880 | |
| Prime Minister | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Preceded by | Robert Lowe |
| Succeeded by | Sir William Harcourt |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 19 August 1886 – 8 January 1914 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Viscount Cross |
| Member of Parliament forNewton | |
| In office 18 December 1885 – 19 August 1886 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Legh |
| Member of Parliament forSouth West Lancashire | |
| In office 7 December 1868 – 18 December 1885 Serving withCharles Turner andJohn Ireland Blackburne | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament forPreston | |
| In office 24 April 1857 – 4 April 1862 Serving withCharles Grenfell | |
| Preceded by | Sir George Strickland, 7th Baronet |
| Succeeded by | Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1823-05-30)30 May 1823 Red Scar,Lancashire |
| Died | 8 January 1914(1914-01-08) (aged 90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Georgiana Lyon (d. 1907) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross,GCB, GCSI, PC, FRS, DL (30 May 1823 – 8 January 1914), known before his elevation to the peerage asR. A. Cross, was a BritishConservative politician. He wasHome Secretary from 1874 to 1880, and from 1885 to 1886.
Cross was born in Red Scar, nearPreston, Lancashire, the fifth child and third son of William CrossJP (1771–1827), DeputyProthonotary for theCourt of Common Pleas atLancaster and landed proprietor, and his wife Ellen, daughter of Edward Chaffers. He was educated atRugby School, matriculated atTrinity College, Cambridge in 1842 where he graduated B.A. in 1846, and was the President of theCambridge Union in 1845. He was admitted toLincoln's Inn in 1844, and wascalled to the Bar at theInner Temple in 1849, attaching himself to theNorthern Circuit.[1][2]
Cross entered Parliament as one of two representatives forPreston in1857, a seat he held until he stood down (to concentrate on business - see below) in1862.[3]
In1868 Cross returned to Parliament forSouth West Lancashire, topping the poll and defeatingGladstone, and continued to represent this constituency until theseat was abolished in1885.[3] He then briefly representedNewton,[3] until his elevation to the peerage in 1886.[4]
Cross wasHome Secretary inDisraeli's second government (1874–1880), to which post he had been appointed without first holding junior office. He was again Home Secretary inLord Salisbury's first government (1885–1886).
In 1886 Cross was raised to the peerage, asViscount Cross ofBroughton-in-Furness in theCounty Palatine of Lancaster,[5]
He was moved over to theIndia Office (1886–1892), where he oversaw the passage of theIndian Councils Act 1892. As India Secretary he had a reputation for reluctance to take responsibility, and for being somewhat afraid of his able deputyJohn Eldon Gorst who treated him with ill concealed contempt.[6]
He was very brieflyChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Salisbury's third government (1895–1902) before being elevated to thesinecure postLord Privy Seal. In 1898 he chaired the Joint Select Committee on Electrical Energy (Generating Stations and Supply), which recommended granting compulsory purchase powers for the building ofpower stations. He retired in 1900.
After the death of his father-in-law Thomas Lyon (the younger) in 1859, Cross was involved in the affairs ofParr's Bank, of which Thomas Lyon the elder, uncle of the younger Thomas Lyon, was a founder.[2][7][8] He became a partner, and dropped out of Parliament for six years. He was one of the group who changed the bank into ajoint stock company in 1865, of which he acted as deputy chairman. He became its chairman in 1870.[2][8]
In 1884, Cross was elected to the Board of theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway,[9] and he remained a Director of that company, and of its successor theGreat Central Railway (GCR), until his death.[10] During Board meetings, he would occasionally murmur "Where is the money to come from?"[11] In June 1909, when he was senior Director of the GCR, that railway named one of itsclass 8D express passenger locomotivesThe Rt. Hon. Viscount Cross G.C.B., G.C.S.I. in his honour.[12][13]
Cross married Georgiana, daughter of Thomas Lyon of Appleton Hall, in 1852; they had three daughters and four sons.[2] The eldest son, the Hon.William Cross, representedLiverpool West Derby in Parliament. The second son, Thomas Richard Cross, died young in 1873;[14] Charles Francis Cross, the third son, was a cleric;[15] and John Edward Cross, the fourth son, was a land agent.[16]
Lady Cross died in January 1907. Lord Cross survived her by seven years and died in January 1914, aged 90. He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his grandson,Richard Assheton Cross, the only son of the Honourable William Cross.[17]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPreston 1857–1862 With:Charles Grenfell | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forSouth West Lancashire 1868–1885 With:Charles Turner 1868 –1875 John Ireland Blackburne 1875–1885 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forNewton 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1874–1880 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for India 1886–1892 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1895 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1895–1900 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Cross 1886–1914 | Succeeded by |
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