EMINENT PEER DEAD

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 156, 26 March 1908, Page 7

EMINENT PEER DEAD

THE ME OP DEVONSHIRE. IN POLITICS SINCE THE 'FIFTIES, " GENERAL TRIBUTES. - BY TELEGRAPH —FRESH ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT. London, March 24. Tho Duke of Devonshire died at Cannes, of heart failure. . v . , " A GREAT ENGLISHMAN." ' ( .'■■■'(lke. March 25,: 0.10 p.m.) London, March 25. ■Tho Duke of Dovonshiro succumbed to pneiinionia, which lie-contracted at Cairo, and which was aggravated by tho fatigue of ' tho journnjvto Cannes.' 1 ■ ;'. • . s ' V , King Edward sent a message of condolence to the Duchess of Devonshire. •■Newspapers pay warm tributes.' , "The Chronicle" describes tho late "a ■great Englishman." There are'many , signs of mourning in 100 i,; alities, with which,-the Duke I .'of Dovonshiro was associated. • . ;,":■■ I Lords Ripon (Lord Privy Seal); Lansdowne , (Loader of the Opposition),' and Rosebery, in tlie Houso of. Lords, and Messrs. Asquith ;nid Balfour, in ;the House' of Commons, paid tri- ' i.butes: tc> the' .late Duke's- sincerity of coa 1 "■ viction and devotion to duty. THE LORDS ADJOURN.' •' • ' (Rcc. March 25, 10.50 p.m.) . ; - ' '. l iLondon; March'2s; Oii tlio motion... of Lordßosebcry, the j Houso_\of _ Lords/-adjourucd .as-. a mark of & ■ i. s P e cfc,tp;thcJat'© Duko of Ddvbnsbiro. ■ '

AN EVENTFUL CAREER.

A STAUNCH TREE .TRADER AND UNIONIST. .

Spencer Compton Cavendish, Bth Dulrt of: Devonshire, has, born on fJuly 23, 1833studied ut .Trinity 'College, . 'where' he' grailuatedVin' 1854. "-Three years later he was' the.'. Liberal interest for North Lancashire. :In 1853 Lord Cavendish assumed the title of Marquis of Hartington, his father having succeeded to the dukedom. At 'tho'opening of tho 'hew Parliament of. 1859 he moved the' amendment; to .the address which overthrew tho Government of Lord Derby. In 1862 tho Marquia visited the United States. On . his return ho was appointed a Lord of tho Admiralty,•' and.in April,lß63, .< Under-Secretary, for..War. In February;''lß66,' lie entered the newlyformed; Russell-Gladstone Administration- as •Secretary/for War. .Lord : Hartington' was sworn as: a member of - the Privy Council some days later! Atithe general election of, November, 186 C ,; Lord._ Hartington' lost'- his soat' foriNorth.'iLancashire,' but in Pebiuary, 1869j" was returhed for v.tho Radnor : Boroughs, having first received tho office of Postmaster-General, which, in 1871, lie ex-' changed for that of Chief Secretary for Ireland.; Leader of the Liberal Party. -

Upon Mr. Gladstone's. electoral .defeat ' , and consequont.: : resignation .in January. 1874, the Marquis was' unanimously elected/; leader o£,tho Liberal party,: at' a; meeting a' the Reform' Club, under the"; presidency o! Mr. John Bright. On 'November 5, 1877, hi'.'" reiioived'.tlio freedom ; of tli'e, City of Glasgow-' and ou ,January.^l^.lSTg, l . was.installed Lore Rector; of ; the /University; of ' Edinburgh., '• which pbsitirin he twejvo' years. After' the complete defeat; of tho ! Conservatives iii the genpral ,; election" of '1880 Lord Hartington, who- had-'Vbeeiir ; returned for , North-East Lancashire,' •:.was oent • for. by the late'|Queon,'but declined'.to.form, an admiuistration,. being contentto serve again under' Mr. Gladstone. In. tho new Ministry. ho bo- , came Secretary-of; State.; for ."India, - from : which' : office, in December, 1882 v he passed to that of Secretary for War. His {administration was ' memorable for tho expeditions of; General Gordon and Lord Wolseley to Khartoum'. 5 ; lii; June,; 1885,. he resigned, along vv;ith his colleagues, and-in November of the same year was elected for the Rossendale Division of Lancashire (created by the new •Roform,Bill): by ..a majority of over 1800 /votes.: r'i " ■ The,-' Home < Rule t Secession. /Immediately afterwards, the, great political incident: of Lord Hartington's lifo came to l -him in Mr. Gladstone's^-conversion toHome Ruler Tho Marquis refused to' follow his chief in this cause,,: and was: ; elected leader of the now Liberal-Unionist'/, partyi At .the famous public meoting/at the Opera ' House in 'April; '1886; Lord '/Hartington moved the first of a / series of '{resolutions against ; H6me Rule, and, • in the House of » Commons, a month later,, moved the rejection. of Mr.- Gladstone's Bill on' tho. second . reading. • He accepted, the . presidency. of tho Unionist Association on i May 22, : 188Q.' The Government w*as defoatcd shortly , afterwards,' and an exciting: general election, in "which all 'was ;topsy-turvy,, followed. Lord' ' Hartington was re-elected by a "majority of : nearly 1500 votes. In the new . Parliament he.iyas the leader of a small compact , party, the standing- and 'ability ,of whose members were out.of. all proportion, to their numbers. On July ( ,24 tho late Lord Salisbury 1 offered tc/. serve'under him if .ho accopted the Premiership, arid again,'/in December, , endeaivoured to induco him .to' join his'-Cabinet ; but ho'.- ' declined both offers." Lord Hartington was granted the freedom'of the City of London in Aprils 1888: .-Three years later ho-was appointed chairman,of. the Royal. Commission . on Labour. : ;j

| In the House of Lords. , On :Dccembor. 21,... 1891, tho .'Marquis", ■succeeded,.. his father, ,&3,,Duko,.of...Devonshire, and early in tl\o following year • ' .was made Chancellor of tho. University j of ■■■> .Cambridge, in succession to, tho lato- Duke. •In; August, 1892;, theiDuke was_ married privately,at Christ, Churcli, to Louiso, ■ Duchess of, ( widow of tho 7tn 'Duke, v/ho died in-1890.- . Shortly-afterwards ■ho was invested with the..Order,'of tha;-Gtar-: . 'tef. ' ,7 1n"'1892' ho' was ■ appointed Lord,-Licu-; tenant .of Derbyshire: On September -5, 1893, tl)o;Duko moved, the rejection of tho : - - second Homo Rulo Bill in the Lords.lt. was not until 1895. when the differonces-'bo-tween Conservatives and Liberal Unionists had bocome almost obliterated by changed circumstances 'and the habit of acting- to-I , : gether, that tho Duke again accepted offico,, , becoming Lord President of tho Council in ' Lord Salisbury's third Ministry., Ho was ■ First .President of. the Board of' Education ■ "from" 1900 until 1902,'' and, subsequently, President of tho Cabinet Committee of- Na - tional and Imperial Defence.Tariff Reform Split. On tho retirement of ■ Lord Salisbury in July ,1902, he became loader of the . House of Peers, but'resigned offico in tho Ministry in October 1903, in consoouenco of developments 1 arising out'of Mr."Cliambonlam's fiscal ■ proposals; which Weiro repugnant to tho Duko's principles of Lator in tho same month," lie was elected President of tlio Uniqnisfc Frco Food Leaguo. On jlajr 19, 1904, he withdrew/from the Liberals-Unionist Association, because it had agreed to support the fiscal policy of, Mr. Chamberlain.

A Motto! Peer,, - ' . Of tiio .laW Duivo, it has ' boon said by . critics of the Houso of Lords that he was., the. best;-excuse ,tli!jt tho last half century producod for the colitihuhhce of:tho' peerage. • Wealth and rank corabinod, with character to placo him in a measure abovo party, mid ho was a luminous example of tho benefit" .which* v. democratic; community may derive from, tho psistoncp; . Tpthii);., it-, of an aristocratic, ' .class .. and /"tlie" -'participation . of " its; members in .. public af- • fairs. The" 'late : Duko -was : one of tho wealthiest land-owners-'in : the United Kingdom, his annual rent roll' tofallilm over £180,000. No other British nobleman had so many magnificent palaces; indeed, ho-

could have provided thred dukedoms with . homes onough for personal' satisfaction and' the envy of others. , ■ ■ . A Storehouse el Art. I -■ :.: " Chatsworth," a noblo building of !■/ lonic- stylo in- Derbyshire, is . : the ." family seat. ■ For' the- gardens, Sir Joseph Praxton -was chiefly, responsible,- and ■! the* grand conservatory is not to bo equalled in l England, or upon tho Continent. Tho • interior splendour of the -hall-is in keeping with the outward display,; and tho carvings of Gibbons and Watson, tho' sculptures of Canova, Thorwaldsen; Chantrey and Wyatt, : i ; ahd tho paintings of many ;of the most'fain-, ous' roasters —Rubens, ;,' Raphael,' Salvator Rosa, Titian; and a host of other immortals / —render this 'little: villa; in tho Peak,' as the sixth' Duke .in his/, pleasantry .jirould . describe it; one of.- tho most'" valuablo- store- ■ houses of art that aro to.be found in : private /'' collections. It is'all enclosed by a beautiful park of a circumferenco of some ten or eleven miles. The other'family seats;aro:—Deyoii- . ini^London; Hardwick ; Hall, in Derbyshire; Bolton Abbey, . in Yorkshire; , Lism'oro' Castle, in Ireland; Compton Placo, ■'. at Eastborne. • -'■'•/ / -. ,Tho Turf. ■ ... ■. For:'ovor thirty 'years the . lato Duko was 'prominently' associated with tho' turf, and ho derived ' from-.: his hobby .an . .amount of; pleasure/ and. interest' .that ,ho would, hot/ willingly' have sacrificed' for any "vother diversion,: although ho never, achicvod ■ tho much-covoted blue riband at \Epsom, : nor ■ Hhcoth'or. premier, bvcnts'ot each racing year,.. • the'" Oaks -and/the St. Loger.;. His. heir/ the' ' Hon. Victor Christian William •Cavendish, P.C.,v 13.A., .'Liberal vTJmonist M.P.' for Western Division of Derbyshire,: "late Treasurer, of tho.Household and Financo .Secretary'to'the Treasury, 'was born in 186S, j;"i iiid, when :2i.'. years, of;.age, ' married Lady ■ Evelyn, .Fitsmaurice, daughter, -of :,tho; st-h Marquis of Lansdcwne. . ' THE DISUNITED UNIONISTS. A RECENT SPEECH.' : . Though never Premier, tho ' Puke of. Devonshire 'twice- refused' the .Premiership." : Long before lie becanie..Duke, :ho. had,,,as ■ Lord Hartinston, : the. • .Com-; ; Jnons. . Nevergreat 'orator, ho 'was still . always ,in the. front rank... Secession Ims '/,- boon •; tlio '..trigody of;.his - career—first;' thd . fiplit/ over ;Homo Rule; then, in 1903; that ovor tariff' reform; • On, both -these''oceasiimsi-•>"-and:throughout 'his'-career, ,th'e Duko nailed .'. his .colours'to Principle. -~ t ... .The Last Elections. At .'the last ,■ general 'elections;; while-lie ■ had to rejoice at the victory of Free Trade, lie had to' witness- the /defeat" of the. TJnionists." * Still,'- he': frankly confessed that--.tho former' was ' the greater , good; and lie declarcd that the Unionist 1 Government," had it continued 1 in office,' could not have carried > out its self-imposed -fiscal: reform - misGion. In a speech, last year., to tho, .Unionist. party from': a position.'.a-,very great diffi- ■ Free -Trade ; Club, lio - saidWhatever,. they might think,; of- the. result of the last . General Election, in his' opinion; the.- - result of/ - that election had delivered 'the, country, and. ;. delivered, -he oven' the'/Unionist , party from a position "of' very ; great' difficulty, 'and' 'a'"position'' not. altogether free' ' from .risk 'to; the future' "relations , between; Britain and the/colonies.'-If''the late Governmenthad 'had':- to ' meet': 'the Colonial - conference they' would have' found themr,elves in a-'-'difficult; -if ""not an ! position.-; •. They , would havo had the tariff reform members of their. Government, tho .Chancellor,. .of tho 'Exchequer : and! ; the Colonial Secretary, the two. most i important members on their side, burning to- negotiate . with :the"roprosentatiyes of -.the' colonies on- , a • basis of tariff-., .reform;. and .'.they., would' have had the Government as a whole unable ' 'to sanction any such negotiation because - tlicy had declined to ask : for the necessary . 'mandate from tho .constituencies.':.. ■ Anarchy Deplored! t . :/ -. Referring';in- ' thV'.'same-speech to • the" >.-. "direct attack" (Home, Rule) and to tlio .v' 1 indirect* attack " (Devolution), , the Duke

flaid he , had no doubt that all Unionists, : whatever; might ■bo their opinions ■ upon other • quostionsy, would} uniteVin .the determination. to resist :any 'proposal which either: directly > .or indirectly,- 'either ;',at; present or in the ; future, threatened the existence of - the legis- : lativo union between Great Britain and Ireland. At the same time," he deeply deplored the increasing recklessness and anarchy which -. at present prevailed :in the- ranks'of, the . : Unionist party. The "dissension's were not; dissensions between the official 'leaders and • those members .who had been forced, like themselves, to' withdraw from, or who had ■ been expelled from, tho party. .There were : tho ■ dissensions; between members' who ' sat on the front Opposition bench..' "The exist-' . enee of such a stato of conflict and'confusion ; was. a state, of things which was rapidly :be-. ooming. a public, scandal, and if thero was'.a ': etate' of things,,which required an aut-hori- ■ tative and stern interference from tho leaderi . oi. tbo, party,' that ; state, of ' things had /arisen?' "/■ \ :■' ■: v ' : ;; ■ / • A re-united Unionist, party was ever the wish- of the man who ; for his ; Unionist and '■Fiscal faith, had seen so much of Secession. No Rest Obtainable. • ' In' the course , of. a Parliamentary.. sketch of the the .".Pall Mall; Gazette " re^ ■ marks:— .. . • Only : ■in the early .political days can .he ••••'' liavTrfelt anything like ease.; ' ; It was , well ; -.'enough wbenj'. in 1859;-. in his 'twenty-sixth : year, ho .turned out' a Government by, his ; motion ofr Want of confidence'in Lord Derby's : .Ministry. ;»•' ','aiid • down' •to ' 1870,? the 'AdV - miralty,- War Office, and Post Oilico,-.h'is Ministcrial: career may havo, run 'with 'avcrago < smoothness. , t But then, camo an Irish 'Chief — Secretaryship; never a jobo even before the » days .of those Parncllites whom Lord Frederick "Cavendish's brother was to face with such admirablo imperturbability in' the 'SO : Parliament. ; Then' follow.cd that hopelessly .-' embarrassed Opposition leadership,: when the ' ■ " vanished" hand of Cladstono. would ob- ■ trude its touch and tho sound of the .voice p that ought to' have been still persisted in ..being heard. But .even; gibes, at ■." tho late leader of: the-Liberal 'party " did not deter / Lord HartinEton' from " the" thankless task C-:. which,' as, A , the .'Midlothian campaign must • have warned him, : was only to end in tho ". self-effacement of 1830.■ ■ . [i Of ; the: ensuing Gladstone / Ministry," it 'suffices to quote Mr. Morley's words, that, "on more than one' critical 1 occasion,' all tho • poors plusSLord Hartingtori were pn ; ono; side)' arid all the"'conimoher3 oiivihe otier.'' Then, como Home Rule, arid Mr. Gladstone and lie " did not mean the' samo / thing." •' The deli-" ' .cato early relations ;of ' Conservatives and ' ; Liberal' Unionists ended;, in a " coalition, ; in which tho Duke loyally consented to'play a subordinate part. And final rest even here ■ was shattered by the Fiscal developments.