The Lord Sandys | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byGodfrey Kneller | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 12 February 1742 – 12 December 1743 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Wilmington Hon. Henry Pelham |
| Preceded by | Sir Robert Walpole |
| Succeeded by | Hon. Henry Pelham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1695-08-10)10 August 1695 |
| Died | 21 April 1770(1770-04-21) (aged 74) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | Letitia Tipping |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron SandysPC (10 August 1695 – 21 April 1770) was an EnglishWhig politician and peer who representedWorcester in theBritish House of Commons from 1718 until 1743 when he was createdBaron Sandys. He held numerous posts in thegovernment of the United Kingdom, namelyChancellor of the Exchequer,Leader of the House of Commons,Cofferer of the Household andFirst Lord of Trade. He was also ajustice in eyre.[1]
Sandys was the eldest son ofEdwin SandysMP (himself a descendant ofEdwin Sandys,Archbishop of York), and his wife Alice, daughter of SirJames RushoutBt MP.[2]
He was educated atNew College, Oxford, matriculating in 1711 aged 16.[3] He left Oxford in 1715 without graduating, and embarked on aGrand Tour of Continental Europe.[4]
In 1718, at the age of 22, Sandys was elected MP forWorcester, as aWhig. He represented the seat for 25 years.
Initially a supporter ofRobert Walpole's government, in 1725 Sandys and his uncleSir John Rushout went into opposition withWilliam Pulteney. Sandys was seen as second-in-command to Pulteney, the leader of thePatriot Whigs.[2]
In February 1730 Sandys introduced the Pension Bill, to bar from sitting in the House of Commons anyone with any pensions or offices held in trust for them from the Crown. The bill passed through the House of Commons but was rejected by the House of Lords; he reintroduced the bill several times in subsequent sessions, with the same result. Sandys opposed the government's economic policy: in 1733 he opposed both the motion to take £500,000 from thesinking fund and theExcise Bill to tax tobacco and wine imports; in February 1736 he called attention to the increase of the national debt.[1]
On 13 February 1741, Sandys moved a motion to call uponKing George II to dismiss Walpole. TheTories did not support the motion, which was defeated by 290 votes to 106;[1] the Tory JacobiteWilliam Shippen commented of Walpole and the opposition Whigs that "Robin and I are two honest men: he is for King George and I forKing James, but those men in long cravats only desire places under either one or the other".[5]
This impression that senior opposition Whigs were motivated by self-advancement rather than by opposition to the government gained substance when Walpole fell in February 1742. Pulteney (created Earl of Bath that year) brokered a deal with the Court, without consulting opposition parties. The new ministry led byLord Wilmington was a continuation of Walpole's ministry with few personnel changes, but with Sandys appointedChancellor of the Exchequer, and Sir John Rushout andPhillips Gybbon appointed Lords of the Treasury.[2]
Pulteney and Sandys supported the appointment of a secret committee to investigate Walpole's conduct in office; Sandys was elected a member of the committee. They opposed the repeal of theSeptennial Act 1716, and objected to the rejection by the Lords of the Indemnification Bill to recompense witnesses against Walpole. In December 1742 Sandys opposed a Place Bill (to limit the capacity of parliamentarians to hold other paid positions, especially in the military), although he had proposed several such bills when in opposition.[1][2]
Wilmington died in July 1743, succeeded as First Lord of the Treasury byHenry Pelham. On 12 December 1743, Pelham took the Chancellorship himself.
Sandys was compensated with a peerage, being createdBaron Sandys on 20 December 1743, and appointed asCofferer of the Household. He later held office as Speaker of the House of Lords in thePitt–Devonshire ministry (November 1756 – July 1757), and asFirst Lord of Trade under LordsNewcastle andBute (March 1761 – February 1763).[2]
Sandys died on 21 April 1770, from injuries sustained when hispost chaise overturned onHighgate Hill.[2]
On 9 June 1725 Sandys married Letitia, eldest daughter and co-heiress ofSir Thomas TippingBt MP and his wife Anne Cheke. They had seven sons and three daughters:[6][7]
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWorcester 1718–1743 With:Thomas Wylde 1718–1727 Sir Richard Lane 1727–1734 Richard Lockwood 1734–1740 Thomas Winnington 1741–1743 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Exchequer 1742–1743 | Succeeded by |
| Leader of the House of Commons 1742–1743 | ||
| Preceded by | Cofferer of the Household 1744 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of Trade 1761–1763 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Justice in Eyre south of Trent 1756 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Justice in Eyre north of Trent 1759–1761 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| New creation | Baron Sandys 2nd creation 1743–1770 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
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