Charles Hobhouse

The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hobhouse Bt JP TD
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 23 October 1911 – 11 February 1914
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Jack Pease
Succeeded by	Charles Masterman
Postmaster General
In office 11 February 1914 – 25 May 1915
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Herbert Samuel
Succeeded by	Herbert Samuel
Personal details
Born	30 June 1862 (1862-06-30)
Died	26 June 1941 (1941-06-27) Monkton Farleigh
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, TD, PC, JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915.

Background and education

The eldest son of Sir Charles Parry Hobhouse, 3rd Baronet, he was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and served as a Lieutenant in the 60th Rifles from 1884 to 1890.

Political career

Hobhouse's first attempt to get elected was at North Buckinghamshire. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Devizes between 1892 and 1895 and for Bristol East between 1900 and 1918.^[1] He was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Colonial Office from 1892 to 1895 and a Church Estates Commissioner from 1906 to 1907.

Hobhouse was firmly on the left of the Liberal party. Distressed by the announcement of war in August 4th, he was equally perturbed by the loss of his friend Asquith; the secret determination to resign had been hidden from all except McKenna and Lloyd George in the cabinet. An advocate of socialist reforms, a supporter of mining legislation, raising the minimum wage to prevent strikes, protecting state education and welfare provision, he also supported efforts at bi-partisanship with Labour MPs. In foreign affairs Hobhouse was essentially a pacifist; he opposed Churchill's attempts to uprate the Naval capacity in the years before the Great War, and questioned raising taxes to pay for defence estimates, when miners families went starving. Whilst prepared to concur with Lloyd George's tax reforms he baulked at the Imperialism within the cabinet's power brokers. Hobhouse was the most junior cabinet minister in Asquith's term of office, as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, but proved capable at improving state education in this portfolio. Rapid promotion did not come. He joined McKenna's Group that opposed the alliance of Imperialists and economisers. They met at the former's swanky London home, Walter Runciman, Sir John Simon, John Burns frequently voted together on priority issues. The Left's inability to negotiate effectively with Germany spelled disaster for millions, and signalled the end of constitutional liberal hegemony across Europe.

He was appointed to his first ministerial post in 1907 when Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman made him Under-Secretary of State for India, and then served under H. H. Asquith as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1908 to 1911. He was a member of Asquith's cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1911 and 1914 and as Postmaster-General between 1914 and 1915. In 1909 he was sworn of the Privy Council.^[2] Apart from his career in national politics Hobhouse was a County Alderman for Wiltshire from 1893 to 1924 and an Honorary Colonel of the Royal Tank Regiment. He succeeded his father as fourth Baronet in 1916.

At the Coupon election in 1918 he lost his seat, as did Asquith, McKenna, Runciman, Simon, Samuel and McKinnon Wood. In 1922 Hobhouse chose to stand in North Buckinghamshire but was swept aside by both Conservative and Labour party candidates. As most Liberals found their party and principles were in retreat.

Hobhouse, long associated with Bristol was appointed President of the Western Counties Liberal Federation from 1924 to 1935 and President of the National Liberal Federation from 1926 to 1930.

Personal life

Sir Charles Hobhouse's wife, Lady Nina died in 1927. He married again to Aimee Gladys Brendon. They lived at Monkton Farleigh until he died on 26 June 1941, aged 78.

See also

• Under Secretary of State for India
• Financial Secretary to the Treasury
• Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Postmaster General

Notes

References

Primary Sources

• David, Edward, ed. (1977). Inside Asquith's Cabinet: from the Diaries of Charles Hobhouse. London. 

Secndary Sources

• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-27-2. 

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Charles Hobhouse, Bt