John Charles Herries

The Right Honourable
John Charles Herries
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
3 September 1827  25 January 1828
Monarch George IV
Prime Minister The Viscount Goderich
Preceded by The Lord Tenterden
(interim)
Succeeded by Henry Goulburn
President of the Board of Trade
In office
2 February  22 November 1830
Monarch George IV
William IV
Prime Minister The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by William Vesey-FitzGerald
Succeeded by The Lord Auckland
Member of Parliament for Harwich
In office
1823  1847
Preceded by Charles Bathurst
Nicholas Vansittart
Succeeded by William Beresford
John Attwood
Member of Parliament for Stamford
In office
1847  1853
Preceded by Sir George Clerk, Bt
Marquess of Granby
Succeeded by Viscount Cranborne
Sir Frederic Thesiger
Personal details
Born November 1778 (1778-11)
Died 24 April 1855(1855-04-24) (aged 76)
St Julians, Kent
Nationality British
Political party Tory
Spouse(s) Sarah Dorington (d. 1821)
Alma mater University of Leipzig

John Charles Herries PC (November 1778 – 24 April 1855), known as J. C. Herries, was a British politician and financier and a frequent member of Tory and Conservative cabinets in the early to mid-19th century.

Background and education

Herries was the eldest son of Charles Herries, a London merchant, by his wife Mary Ann Johnson, and was educated at Cheam and the University of Leipzig.

Political career

Herries worked his way up in the Treasury and eventually became Secretary to the First Lord of the Treasury, Commissary-General to the Army, Paymaster of the Civil List, Secretary to the Treasury (1823–1827), Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Goderich's government (1827–1828), Master of the Mint under the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), briefly President of the Board of Trade (1830), Secretary at War under Sir Robert Peel (1834–1835), and finally President of the Board of Control in Lord Derby's first government (1852). During his tenure as Commissary-General, he used the help of Nathan Mayer Rothschild to transfer money to British and allied army troops on the continent, which was not an easy task during the Continental Blockade. Rothschild's successful conclusion of these transfers was one of the foundations of the house's English banking empire.

Herries was one of few men of ministerial experience to side with the protectionist Tories after the repeal of the Corn Laws. Following the death of Lord George Bentinck in 1848, Herries was suggested by Lord Stanley as an alternative to Benjamin Disraeli as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. In the end Herries declined, and Disraeli gradually came into his own as leader. Staunchly protectionist, Herries was in repeated conflict with Disraeli who, despite championing protectionism barely six years before, was hurriedly disassociating himself and the party from that doctrine. The two never got along, and Herries' refusal to assist in the framing of the 1852 Budget (which he regarded as "wild work"), cannot have helped matters. By the time of Derby's second government in 1858, Herries had died. His son, Charles Herries, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue by Disraeli during the latter's second premiership in 1877.

Family

Herries married Sarah, daughter of John Dorington, in 1814. They had three sons, one of whom, Sir Charles Herries, was a well-known financier. Sarah died in February 1821. Herries survived her by over thirty years and died at St Julians, near Sevenoaks, Kent, in April 1855, aged 76.

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Charles Bathurst
Nicholas Vansittart
Member of Parliament for Harwich
1823–1847
With: George Canning 1823–1826
Nicholas Conyngham Tindal 1826–1827
Sir William Rae, Bt 1827–1830
George Robert Dawson 1830–1832
Christopher Thomas Tower 1832–1835
Francis Robert Bonham 1835–1837
Alexander Ellice 1837–1841
Succeeded by
William Beresford
John Attwood
Preceded by
Sir George Clerk, Bt
Marquess of Granby
Member of Parliament for Stamford
1847–1853
With: Marquess of Granby 1847–1852
Sir Frederic Thesiger 1852–1853
Succeeded by
Viscount Cranborne
Sir Frederic Thesiger
Political offices
Preceded by
Charles Arbuthnot
Stephen Rumbold Lushington
Joint Secretary to the Treasury
18231827
With: Stephen Rumbold Lushington 18231827
Joseph Planta 1827
Succeeded by
Joseph Planta
Thomas Frankland Lewis
Preceded by
George Canning
Chancellor of the Exchequer
1827–1828
Succeeded by
Henry Goulburn
Preceded by
George Tierney
Master of the Mint
1828–1830
Succeeded by
The Lord Auckland
Preceded by
William Vesey-FitzGerald
President of the Board of Trade
1830
Preceded by
Edward Ellice
Secretary at War
1834–1835
Succeeded by
Viscount Howick
Preceded by
Marquess of Granby
Conservative Leader of the Commons
1849–1851
With: Benjamin Disraeli and Marquess of Granby
Succeeded by
Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by
Fox Maule
President of the Board of Control
1852
Succeeded by
Sir Charles Wood
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