Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby

The Right Honourable The Earl of Derby KG PC FRS


Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 6 July 1866 – 9 December 1868
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	The Earl of Clarendon
Succeeded by	The Earl of Clarendon
In office 21 February 1874 – 2 April 1878
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	The Earl Granville
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Salisbury

Personal details
Born	(1826-07-21)21 July 1826
Died	21 April 1893(1893-04-21) (aged 66)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Lady Mary Sackville-West (d. 1900)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby KG PC FRS (21 July 1826 – 21 April 1893), known as Lord Stanley from 1851 to 1869, was a British statesman. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs twice, from 1866 to 1868 and from 1874 to 1878.

Background and education

He was born to Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, who led the Conservative Party from 1846–1868 and served as Prime Minister three times, and Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham, daughter of Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale, and was the older brother of Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby. The Stanleys were one of the richest landowning families in England. Lord Stanley, as he was styled before acceding to the earldom, was educated at Eton, Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took a first in classics and became a member of the society known as the Cambridge Apostles.^[1]

Political career

In March 1848 he unsuccessfully contested the borough of Lancaster, and then made a long tour in the West Indies, Canada and the United States. During his absence he was elected member for King's Lynn, which he represented till October 1869, when he succeeded to the peerage. He took his place, as a matter of course, among the Conservatives, and delivered his maiden speech in May 1850 on the sugar duties. Just before, he had made a very brief tour in Jamaica and South America. In 1852 he went to India, and while travelling in that country he was appointed under-secretary for foreign affairs in his father's first administration. On 11 March 1853, he was commissioned a captain in the 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia.^[2]

From the outset of his career he was known to be more politically sympathetic to the Liberals rather than the Conservatives, and in 1855 Lord Palmerston offered him the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies. He was much tempted by the proposal, and hurried down to Knowsley to consult his father, who called out when he entered the room, "Halo, Stanley! what brings you here?—Has Dizzy cut his throat, or are you going to be married?" When the object of his sudden appearance had been explained, the Conservative chief received the courteous suggestion of the prime minister with anything but favour, and the offer was declined. On 13 May 1856, he was appointed to the Royal Commission on the purchase of commissions in the British army.^[3] In his father's second administration Lord Stanley held, at first, the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies (1858), but became President of the Board of Control on the resignation of Lord Ellenborough. He had the charge of the India Bill of 1858 in the House of Commons, became the first Secretary of State for India, and left behind him in the India Office an excellent reputation as a man of business.

After the revolution in Greece and the disappearance of King Otto, the people most earnestly desired to have Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred, for their king. He declined the honour, and they then took up the idea that the next best thing they could do would be to elect some great and wealthy English noble, not concealing the hope that although they might have to offer him a Civil List he would decline to receive it. Lord Stanley was the prime favourite as an occupant of this bed of thorns, and it has been said that he was actually offered the crown. That, however, is not true; the offer was never formally made.

The Earl of Derby.

Foreign minister 1866-68

After the fall of the Russell government in 1866 he became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in his father's third administration. He compared his conduct in that great post to that of a man floating down a river and fending off from his vessel, as well as he could, the various obstacles it encountered. He thought that that should be the normal attitude of an English foreign minister, and probably in the circumstances of the years 1866–1868 it was the right one. He enunciated the policy of Splendid isolation in 1866 :

it is the duty of the Government of this country, placed as it is with regard to geographical position, to keep itself upon terms of goodwill with all surrounding nations, but not to entangle itself with any single or monopolizing alliance with any one of them; above all to endeavor not to interfere needlessly and vexatiously with the internal affairs of any foreign country."^[4]^[5]

Passport for a railway engineer dated 1876 containing Lord Stanley's full title and his signature.

He arranged the collective guarantee of the neutrality of Luxembourg in 1867, negotiated a convention about the Alabama, which, however, was not ratified, and most wisely refused to take any part in the troubles in Crete.

Foreign Minister 1874-78

In 1874 he again became Foreign Secretary in Disraeli's government. Disraeli usually gets the main credit for a series of achievements. In 1875 came the purchase of the controlling shares in the Suez Canal company. By negotiations, Russia gave up substantial gains in the Balkans and a foothold in the Mediterranean. Britain gains control of Cyprus from the Ottomans as a naval base covering the Eastern Mediterranean. In exchange, Britain guaranteed the Asiatic territories of the Ottoman Empire. Britain did not do well in conflicts in Afghanistan and South Africa.^[6]

Derby acquiesced in Disraeli's purchase of the Suez Canal shares, a measure then considered dangerous by many people, but ultimately most successful. He accepted the Andrassy Note, but declined to accede to the Berlin Memorandum. Derby's conduct during the Eastern Crisis was mysterious to many of his contemporaries and for some time thereafter. Derby's hope for peace with Russia led him (and his wife) to share Cabinet secrets with the Russian ambassador, Pyotr Shuvalov, in hopes of averting war with Russia.^[7] Robert Blake commented that "Derby surely must be the only Foreign Secretary in British history to reveal the innermost secrets of the Cabinet to the ambassador of a foreign power in order to frustrate the presumed intentions of his own Prime Minister." Derby resigned in January 1878 when the Cabinet resolved to send the British fleet through the Dardanelles, but when that action soon proved unnecessary, Derby was allowed to withdraw his resignation. However, he resigned again and finally in the same year when the Cabinet agreed to call up the reserve.

By October 1879 it was clear enough that he had thrown in his lot with the Liberal Party, but it was not till March 1880 that he publicly announced this change of allegiance. He did not at first take office in the second Gladstone government, but became Colonial Secretary in December 1882, holding this position till the fall of that government in the summer of 1885. In 1886 the old Liberal party was run on the rocks and went to pieces. Lord Derby became a Liberal Unionist, and took an active part in the general management of that party, leading it in the House of Lords till 1891, when Lord Hartington became Duke of Devonshire. In 1892 he presided over the Labour Commission.

He served as President of the first day of the 1881 Co-operative Congress.^[8]

Personal life

Lord Derby married Lady Mary, daughter of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr and widow of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, in 1870. They had no children. Derby's health never recovered from an attack of influenza which he had in 1891, and he died at Knowsley on 21 April 1893, aged 66. He was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother, Frederick. Lady Derby died in December 1900.

Notes

↑ "Stanley, Edward Henry (STNY844EH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
↑ "No. 21421". The London Gazette. 15 March 1853. p. 784.
↑ "No. 21883". The London Gazette. 13 May 1856. p. 1756.
↑ harmley, "Introduction"
↑ Great Britain. Parliament (1866). The Parliamentary Debates. Wyman. p. 2.
↑ R. C. K. Ensor, England, 1870–1914 (1936), pp 37-65. online
↑ Blake, Robert (1966). Disraeli. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 623. ISBN 0-19-832903-2. OCLC 8047.
↑ "Congress Presidents 1869–2002" (PDF). February 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-10.

External links

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Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stanley (Family)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 776.
Hamilton, John Andrew (1898). "Stanley, Edward Henry". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography. 54. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Derby

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Lord George Bentinck Viscount Jocelyn	Member of Parliament for King's Lynn 1848–1869 With: Viscount Jocelyn 1848–1854 John Henry Gurney 1854–1865 Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bt 1865–1868 Robert Bourke 1868–1869	Succeeded by Lord Claud Hamilton Robert Bourke
Political offices
Preceded by Austen Henry Layard	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1852	Succeeded by The Lord Wodehouse
Preceded by Henry Labouchere	Secretary of State for the Colonies 1858–1859	Succeeded by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Bt
Preceded by The Earl of Ellenborough	President of the Board of Control 1858	Succeeded by Himself as Secretary of State for India
Preceded by Himself as President of the Board of Control	Secretary of State for India 1858–1859	Succeeded by Sir Charles Wood, Bt
Preceded by The Earl of Clarendon	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1866–1868	Succeeded by The Earl of Clarendon
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1874–1878	Succeeded by The Marquess of Salisbury
Preceded by The Earl of Kimberley	Secretary of State for the Colonies 1882–1885	Succeeded by Frederick Stanley
Academic offices
Preceded by The Lord Glencorse	Rector of the University of Glasgow 1868–1871	Succeeded by Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, Bt	Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1874–1877	Succeeded by Marquess of Hartington
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Chancellor of the University of London 1891–1893	Succeeded by The Lord Herschell
Peerage of England
Preceded by Edward Smith-Stanley	Earl of Derby 1869–1893	Succeeded by Frederick Arthur Stanley

Foreign Secretaries of the United Kingdom
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Fox Grantham Fox Temple Leeds Grenville Hawkesbury Harrowby Mulgrave Fox Howick Canning Bathurst Wellesley Castlereagh Canning Dudley Aberdeen Palmerston Wellington Palmerston Aberdeen Palmerston Granville Malmesbury Russell Clarendon Malmesbury Russell Clarendon Stanley Clarendon Granville Derby Salisbury Granville Salisbury Rosebery Iddesleigh Salisbury Rosebery Kimberley Salisbury Lansdowne Grey Balfour Curzon MacDonald Chamberlain Henderson Reading Simon Hoare Eden Halifax Eden Bevin Morrison Eden Macmillan Lloyd Home Butler Gordon Walker Stewart Brown Stewart
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	Stewart Douglas-Home Callaghan Crosland Owen Carrington Pym Howe Major Hurd Rifkind Cook Straw Beckett Miliband Hague Hammond Johnson
Book:Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Category:British Secretaries of State Portal:United Kingdom

Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society
19th century	1834–1836 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1836–1838 Sir Charles Lemon, Bt 1838–1840 The Earl FitzWilliam 1840–1842 Viscount Sandon 1842–1843 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1843–1845 Lord Ashley 1845–1847 The Lord Monteagle of Brandon 1847–1849 The Earl FitzWilliam 1849–1851 The Earl of Harrowby 1851–1853 The Lord Overstone 1853–1855 The Earl FitzWilliam 1855–1857 The Earl of Harrowby 1857–1859 Lord Stanley 1859–1861 Lord John Russell 1861–1863 Sir John Pakington, Bt 1863–1865 William Henry Sykes 1865–1867 The Lord Houghton 1867–1869 William Ewart Gladstone 1869–1871 William Newmarch 1871–1873 William Farr 1873–1875 William Guy 1875–1877 James Heywood 1877–1879 George Shaw-Lefevre 1879–1880 Thomas Brassey 1880–1882 James Caird 1882–1884 Robert Giffen 1884–1886 Rawson W. Rawson 1886–1888 George Goschen 1888–1890 Thomas Graham Balfour 1890–1892 Frederic J. Mouat 1892–1894 Charles Booth 1894–1896 The Lord Farrer 1896–1897 John Biddulph Martin 1897 Alfred Edmund Bateman 1897–1899 Leonard Courtney 1899–1900 Henry Fowler 1900–1902 The Lord Avebury
20th century	1902–1904 Patrick George Craigie 1904–1905 Sir Francis Powell, Bt 1905–1906 The Earl of Onslow 1906–1907 Richard Martin 1907–1909 Sir Charles Dilke, Bt 1909–1910 Jervoise Athelstane Baines 1910–1912 Lord George Hamilton 1912–1914 Francis Ysidro Edgeworth 1914–1915 The Lord Welby 1915–1916 Lord George Hamilton 1916–1918 Bernard Mallet, Registrar General 1918–1920 Herbert Samuel 1920–1922 R. Henry Rew 1922–1924 The Lord Emmott 1924–1926 Udny Yule 1926–1928 The Viscount D'Abernon 1928–1930 A. William Flux 1930–1932 Sir Josiah Stamp 1932–1934 The Lord Meston 1934–1936 Major Greenwood 1936–1938 The Lord Kennet 1938–1940 Arthur Lyon Bowley 1940–1941 Henry William Macrosty 1941 Hector Leak 1941–1943 William Beveridge 1943–1945 Charles Ernest Snow 1945–1947 The Lord Woolton 1947–1949 David Heron 1949–1950 Sir Geoffrey Heyworth 1950–1952 Austin Bradford Hill 1952–1954 Ronald Fisher 1954–1955 The Lord Piercy 1955–1957 Egon Pearson 1957–1959 Harry Campion 1959–1960 Hugh Beaver 1960–1962 Maurice Kendall 1962–1964 Joseph Oscar Irwin 1964–1965 Sir Paul Chambers 1965–1966 L. H. C. Tippett 1966–1967 M. S. Bartlett 1967–1968 Frank Yates 1968–1969 Arthur Cockfield 1969–1970 R. G. D. Allen 1970–1971 Bernard Benjamin 1971–1972 George Alfred Barnard 1972–1973 Harold Wilson 1973–1974 D. J. Finney 1974–1975 Henry Daniels 1975–1977 Stella Cunliffe 1977–1978 Henry Wynn 1978–1980 Sir Claus Moser 1980–1982 David Cox 1982–1984 Peter Armitage 1984–1985 Walter Bodmer 1985–1986 John Nelder 1986–1987 James Durbin 1987–1989 John Kingman 1989–1991 Peter G. Moore 1991–1993 T. M. F. Smith 1993–1995 D. J. Bartholomew 1995–1997 Adrian Smith 1997–1999 R. N. Curnow 1999–2001 Denise Lievesley
21st century	2001–2003 Peter Green 2003–2005 Andy Grieve 2005–2007 Tim Holt 2008–2009 David Hand 2010–2010 Bernard Silverman (resigned Feb 2010; replaced pro tem by David Hand) 2011–2012 Valerie Isham 2013–John Pullinger
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Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 116105 LCCN: n83139083 ISNI: 0000 0001 1255 7752 GND: 119325284 SELIBR: 183678 SUDOC: 073318957 BNF: cb12504386n (data) NLA: 36336075

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