George Cavendish-Bentinck

George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck PC, JP (9 July 1821 – 9 April 1891), was a British barrister and Conservative politician. An MP from 1859 to 1891, he served under Benjamin Disraeli as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1874 to 1875 and as Judge Advocate General from 1875 to 1880.

Background and education

Cavendish-Bentinck was the only son of Major-General Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck, fourth son of Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland. His mother was Mary, daughter of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[1] In 1840 he joined the Grenadier Guards and retired in 1841. He was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1846 and became an equity draftsman and conveyancer.

Cavendish-Bentinck stood unsuccessfully for the borough of Taunton at the general election April 1859,^[2] but was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough at a by-election in August that year.^[2] He held the seat until the 1865 general election, when he was returned unopposed for Whitehaven.^[3] He held that seat until his death in 1891.^[4] He served in the second Conservative administration of Benjamin Disraeli as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1874 to 1875 and as Judge Advocate General from 1875 to 1880. In 1875 he was sworn of the Privy Council.

Apart from his legal and political career, Cavendish-Bentinck was a Trustee of the British Museum from 1875 until his death and a Justice of the Peace for Cumberland and Dorset.^[5] In 1885, he was one of the staunchest adversary of William Thomas Stead during the Eliza Armstrong case.^[6]

Cavendish-Bentinck married Prudentia Penelope Leslie, daughter of Charles Powell Leslie, in 1850. They had two sons and two daughters. His youngest son William was the father of Ferdinand Cavendish-Bentinck, 8th Duke of Portland, and Victor Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland. Their daughter, Christina Anne Jessica Cavendish-Bentinck, married Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet, and was the mother of Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet.^[7] Cavendish-Bentinck purchased Branksea Castle on Brownsea Island in 1873 and introduced Jersey cows and developed agriculture on the island. He died there in April 1891, aged 69. His wife survived him by five years and died in June 1896.

^ Cavendish-Bentinck, George in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
^ ^a ^b Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 300. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
^ Craig, Election results 1832–1885, page 330
^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 208. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
^ Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
^ Raymond L. Schults, Crusader in Babylon: W. T. Stead and the Pall Mall Gazette, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1972. ISBN 0-8032-0760-3, p. 138-145.
^ www.thepeerage.com

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Henry Labouchere Arthur Mills	Member of Parliament for Taunton 1859 – 1865 With: Arthur Mills	Succeeded by Alexander Charles Barclay Lord William Hay
Preceded by George Lyall	Member of Parliament for Whitehaven 1865 – 1891	Succeeded by James Bain
Political offices
Preceded by Arthur Wellesley Peel	Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade 1874 – 1875	Succeeded by Edward Stanhope
Preceded by Stephen Cave	Judge Advocate General 1875 – 1880	Succeeded by George Osborne Morgan