Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|British politician}} |
{{short description|British politician (1800–1885)}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} |
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{{Use British English|date=April 2012}} |
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}} |
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| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] |
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| name = The Viscount Halifax |
| name = The Viscount Halifax |
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| honorific-suffix = |
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|Bt|GCB|PC|size=100%}} |
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| image = 1stViscountHalifax.jpg |
| image = 1stViscountHalifax.jpg |
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|predecessor8 = ''[[Earl of Halifax|Peerage created]]'' |
|predecessor8 = ''[[Earl of Halifax|Peerage created]]'' |
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|successor8 = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|The 2nd Viscount Halifax]]|office9=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Ripon]]|predecessor9=[[Reginald Vyner]]|successor9=[[Lord John Hay (Royal Navy officer, born 1827)|Lord John Hay]]|termstart9=11 July 1865|termend9=21 February 1866|office10=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Halifax (UK Parliament constituency)|Halifax]]|predecessor10=''New constituency''|successor10=[[Edward Akroyd]]|termstart10=10 December 1832|termend10=11 July 1865|office11=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Wareham (UK Parliament constituency)|Wareham]]|predecessor11=[[James Ewing (MP)|James Ewing]]|successor11=[[John Hales Calcraft]]|termstart11=2 May 1831|termend11=12 December 1832|office12=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Grimsby]]|predecessor12=William Duncombe|successor12=[[Sir John Shelley, 7th Baronet|John Shelley]]|termstart12=9 June 1826|termend12=25 July 1831}} |
|successor8 = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|The 2nd Viscount Halifax]]|office9=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Ripon]]|predecessor9=[[Reginald Vyner]]|successor9=[[Lord John Hay (Royal Navy officer, born 1827)|Lord John Hay]]|termstart9=11 July 1865|termend9=21 February 1866|office10=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Halifax (UK Parliament constituency)|Halifax]]|predecessor10=''New constituency''|successor10=[[Edward Akroyd]]|termstart10=10 December 1832|termend10=11 July 1865|office11=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Wareham (UK Parliament constituency)|Wareham]]|predecessor11=[[James Ewing (MP)|James Ewing]]|successor11=[[John Hales Calcraft]]|termstart11=2 May 1831|termend11=12 December 1832|office12=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Grimsby]]|predecessor12=William Duncombe|successor12=[[Sir John Shelley, 7th Baronet|John Shelley]]|termstart12=9 June 1826|termend12=25 July 1831}} |
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[[File:Memorial to Grey and Wood family members in the Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross.jpg|thumb|Heraldic memorial window to Grey and Wood family, Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross, Staffordshire]] |
[[File:Memorial to Grey and Wood family members in the Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross.jpg|thumb|Heraldic memorial window to Grey and Wood family, Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross, Staffordshire.]] |
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'''Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax''' |
'''Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|Bt|GCB|PC}} (20 December 1800 – 8 August 1885), known as '''Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet''', between 1846 and 1866, was a British [[Whig (British political party)|Whig]] politician and Member of the British Parliament. He was [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] from 1846 to 1852, [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] from 1855 to 1858, and [[Secretary of State for India]] from 1859 to 1866. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Halifax was the son of Sir Francis Wood, 2nd Baronet of Barnsley, and his wife Anne, daughter of Samuel Buck. He was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Oriel College, Oxford]], where he studied classics and mathematics. |
Halifax was the son of [[Sir Francis Wood, 2nd Baronet]] of Barnsley, and his wife Anne, daughter of Samuel Buck. He was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Oriel College, Oxford]], where he studied classics and mathematics. |
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==Political career== |
==Political career== |
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A [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] and Member of Parliament from 1826 to 1866, Wood abandoned the seat of Great Grimsby and was returned in 1831 for the pocket borough of Wareham, probably as a paying guest, which arrangement enabled him to remain in London in preparation for the reading of the [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Bill]]. He confided his views to his father: <blockquote>the reform is an efficient, substantial, anti-democratic, pro-property measure, but it sweeps away rotten boroughs and of course disgusts their proprietors. The main hope therefore of carrying it, is by the voice of the country, thus operating by deciding all wavering votes ... The radicals, for which heaven be praised, support us ...<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/wood-charles-1800-1885|title=Charles Wood|website=History of Parliament Online}}</ref></blockquote>He voted meticulously for the bill at every stage, and it received the Royal assent in the following year. |
A [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] and Member of Parliament from 1826 to 1866, Wood abandoned the seat of [[Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Grimsby]] and was returned in 1831 for the [[pocket borough]] of [[Wareham (UK Parliament constituency)|Wareham]], probably as a paying guest, which arrangement enabled him to remain in London in preparation for the reading of the [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Bill]]. He confided his views to his father: <blockquote>the reform is an efficient, substantial, anti-democratic, pro-property measure, but it sweeps away rotten boroughs and of course disgusts their proprietors. The main hope therefore of carrying it, is by the voice of the country, thus operating by deciding all wavering votes ... The radicals, for which heaven be praised, support us ...<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/wood-charles-1800-1885|title=Charles Wood|website=History of Parliament Online}}</ref></blockquote>He voted meticulously for the bill at every stage, and it received the Royal assent in the following year. |
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Wood served as [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]]'s [[Whig Government 1846–1852|government]] (1846–1852), where he opposed any further help for [[Ireland]] during the [[Great Irish Famine|Great Famine]] there. In his 1851 budget, Sir Charles liberalized trade, reducing import duties and encouraging consumer goods. |
Wood served as [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]]'s [[Whig Government 1846–1852|government]] (1846–1852), where he opposed any further help for [[Ireland]] during the [[Great Irish Famine|Great Famine]] there. In his 1851 budget, Sir Charles liberalized trade, reducing import duties and encouraging consumer goods. This reduction in tariffs led to a noticeable increase in consumption. In the succeeding [[Who? Who? ministry|Tory government]], the new Chancellor [[Benjamin Disraeli]], a former protectionist, referred to Wood's influence on economic policy in an interim financial statement on 30 April 1852, setting a trend for the way budgets are presented in the Commons.<ref>Hurd & Young, p. 116.</ref> For Wood, Disraeli was 'petulant and sarcastic', qualities he disliked.<ref>Hurd & Young, p. 121.</ref> |
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Wood later served as [[President of the Board of Control]] under [[George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen|Lord Aberdeen]] (1852–1855), as [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] in [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]]'s first administration (1855–1858), and as [[Secretary of State for India]] in Palmerston's second government (1859–1866). |
Wood later served as [[President of the Board of Control]] under [[George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen|Lord Aberdeen]] (1852–1855), as [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] in [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]]'s first administration (1855–1858), and as [[Secretary of State for India]] in Palmerston's second government (1859–1866). He succeeded to his father's [[baronet]]cy in 1846, and in 1866 he was elevated to the peerage as '''Viscount Halifax''', of [[Monk Bretton]] in the West Riding of the County of York.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} After the unexpected death of [[George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon|Lord Clarendon]] necessitated a reshuffle of [[William Ewart Gladstone|Gladstone]]'s first cabinet, Halifax was brought in as [[Lord Privy Seal]], serving from 1870 to 1874, his last public office. |
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==Role in the Irish Famine== |
==Role in the Irish Famine== |
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The [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] in [[Ireland]] (1845 to 1851) led to the death of 1 million, and over 1 million emigrating from the country. On 30 June 1846, Peel's Tories were replaced by a Whig government led by [[Lord John Russell]]. The government sought to embed free trade and laissez |
The [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] in [[Ireland]] (1845 to 1851) led to the death of 1 million, and over 1 million emigrating from the country to the United States or to the British dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. On 30 June 1846, Peel's Tories were replaced by a Whig government led by [[Lord John Russell]]. The government sought to embed free trade and laissez-faire economics. [[Sir Charles Trevelyan]], a senior civil servant at the Treasury, in close cooperation with Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood, sought to oppose intervention in Ireland.<ref>[https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/281 Charles Trevelyan, John Mitchel and the historiography of the Great Famine]</ref> Extreme parsimony of the British Government towards Ireland while Wood was in charge of the Treasury greatly enhanced the suffering of those affected by famine. Wood believed in the economic policy of ''[[Laissez-faire]]'' and preferred to leave the Irish to starve rather than "undermine the market" by allowing in cheap imported grain.<ref>Woodham Smith, Cecil, (1962) ''The Great Hunger''. Penguin Books {{ISBN|9780140145151}}</ref> Wood also shared [[Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet|Trevelyan]]'s anti-Irish, moralistic views, with Wood believing the famine should eliminate the "present habits of dependence", and obliging Irish property to support Irish poverty.<ref name=potatoes>[http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/potatoes%20and%20providence.pdf Potatoes and Providence]</ref> Wood wrote to the lord lieutenant that the famine was not accidental, but willed, and would bring along a social revolution: "A want of food and employment is a calamity sent by Providence", it had "precipitated things with a wonderful impetus, so as to bring them to an early head".<ref name=potatoes/> He hoped the famine would clear small farmers, and lead to a "better" economic system.<ref>[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/37771388.pdf The Irish Hunger and its Alignments with the 1948 Genocide Conventione]</ref> |
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==Wood's despatch== |
==Wood's despatch== |
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{{main|Wood's despatch}} |
{{main|Wood's despatch}} |
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As the President of the Board of Control, Wood took a major step in spreading education in India |
As the President of the Board of Control, Wood took a major step in spreading education in India in 1854, when he sent a [[s:The_Despatch_of_1854,_on_General_Education_in_India|despatch]] to [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]], the [[Governor-General of India]]. Wood recommended the following: |
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# An education department |
# An education department should be set in every province. |
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# Universities on the model of the London |
# Universities on the model of the [[University of London]] should be established in large cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. |
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# At least one government school be opened in every district. |
# At least one government school be opened in every district. |
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# Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid. |
# Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid. |
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# The Indian natives should be given training in |
# The Indian natives should be given training in the vernacular. |
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In accordance with Wood's despatch, education departments were established in every province and universities were opened at Calcutta, Bombay |
In accordance with Wood's despatch, education departments were established in every province and universities were opened at [[University of Calcutta |Calcutta]], [[University of Mumbai|Bombay]] and [[University of Madras|Madras]] in 1857, as well as in [[University of the Punjab|Punjab]] in 1882 and in [[University of Allahabad| Allahabad]] in 1887 {{citation_needed|date=November 2023}}. |
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== Family == |
== Family == |
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Lord Halifax married [[Mary Wood, Viscountess Halifax|Lady Mary Grey]] (3 May 1807 – 6 July 1884), fifth daughter of [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]], on 29 July 1829. They had four sons and three daughters:{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} |
Lord Halifax married [[Mary Wood, Viscountess Halifax|Lady Mary Grey]] (3 May 1807 – 6 July 1884), fifth daughter of [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]], on 29 July 1829. They had four sons and three daughters:{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} |
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* [[The Honourable|Hon]] Blanche Edith Wood (d. 21 July 1921) married 21 September 1876, [[Colonel|Col]] Hon Henry William Lowry-Corry (30 June 1845 – 6 May 1927). |
* [[The Honourable|Hon.]] Blanche Edith Wood (d. 21 July 1921) married on 21 September 1876, [[Colonel|Col]] Hon Henry William Lowry-Corry (30 June 1845 – 6 May 1927). |
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* Hon Alice Louisa Wood (d. 3 June 1934) |
* Hon. Alice Louisa Wood (d. 3 June 1934) |
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* [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax]] (7 January 1839 – 19 January 1934) |
* [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax]] (7 January 1839 – 19 January 1934) |
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* Hon Emily Charlotte Wood (1840 – 21 December 1904) married [[Hugo Meynell-Ingram|Hugo Francis Meynell-Ingram]] (1822 – 26 May 1871) |
* Hon. [[Emily Meynell-Ingram|Emily Charlotte Wood]] (1840 – 21 December 1904) married [[Hugo Meynell-Ingram|Hugo Francis Meynell-Ingram]] (1822 – 26 May 1871) |
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* [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Capt]] Hon Francis Lindley Wood, [[Royal Navy|RN]] (17 October 1841 – 14 October 1873) |
* [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Capt.]] Hon. Francis Lindley Wood, [[Royal Navy|RN]] (17 October 1841 – 14 October 1873) |
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* [[Lieutenant colonel|Lt Col]] Hon Henry John Lindley Wood (12 January 1843 – 5 January 1903) |
* [[Lieutenant colonel|Lt Col.]] Hon. Henry John Lindley Wood (12 January 1843 – 5 January 1903) |
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* Fredrick George Lindley Wood (later Meynell) (4 June 1846 – 4 November 1910) |
* Hon. Fredrick George Lindley Wood (later Meynell) (4 June 1846 – 4 November 1910) |
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Lady Halifax died in 1884. Lord Halifax survived her by just over a year and died in August 1885, aged 84. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles]], who was the father of [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax]]. |
Lady Halifax died in 1884. Lord Halifax survived her by just over a year and died in August 1885, aged 84. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles]], who was the father of [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax]]. |
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[[File:Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax by Anthony de Brie (Bree).jpg|thumb|right|An 1873 portrait of Lord Halifax by Anthony de Brie.]] |
[[File:Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax by Anthony de Brie (Bree).jpg|thumb|right|An 1873 portrait of Lord Halifax by Anthony de Brie.]] |
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=== Bibliography === |
=== Bibliography === |
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*{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29865 |title=Wood, Charles, first Viscount Halifax (1800–1885) |last=Steele |first=David |date=May 2009 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29865}} |
* {{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29865 |title=Wood, Charles, first Viscount Halifax (1800–1885) |last=Steele |first=David |date=May 2009 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29865}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Kinealy |first= Christine |title=This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845–52 |publisher= [[Gill & Macmillan]] | location=[[Dublin]] |date=1994}} |
* {{cite book |last=Kinealy |first= Christine |title=This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845–52 |publisher= [[Gill & Macmillan]] | location=[[Dublin]] |date=1994}} |
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*{{cite book |title=Famine 150: Commemorative Lecture Series |publisher= [[Teagasc]] / [[University College, Dublin|U.C.D.]]|location=Dublin|date=1997}} |
* {{cite book |title=Famine 150: Commemorative Lecture Series |publisher= [[Teagasc]] / [[University College, Dublin|U.C.D.]]|location=Dublin|date=1997}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Kinealy |first= Christine|title=A Death-Dealing Famine: The Great Hunger in Ireland |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780745310749 |url-access=registration |publisher= [[Pluto Press]] |location=London|date= 1997}} |
* {{cite book |last=Kinealy |first= Christine|title=A Death-Dealing Famine: The Great Hunger in Ireland |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780745310749 |url-access=registration |publisher= [[Pluto Press]] |location=London|date= 1997}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Kinealy |first=Christine |article= Was Ireland a Colony? The Evidence of the Great Famine |editor=Terrence McDonough |title=Was Ireland A Colony? |publisher=Irish Academic Press |location=Dublin |date=2005}} |
* {{cite book |last=Kinealy |first=Christine |article= Was Ireland a Colony? The Evidence of the Great Famine |editor=Terrence McDonough |title=Was Ireland A Colony? |publisher=Irish Academic Press |location=Dublin |date=2005}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Boyce |first= D. George |title=New Gill History of Ireland Vol. 5: Nineteenth Century Ireland |publisher= Gill & Macmillan |place=Dublin |date= 2005}} |
* {{cite book |last=Boyce |first= D. George |title=New Gill History of Ireland Vol. 5: Nineteenth Century Ireland |publisher= Gill & Macmillan |place=Dublin |date= 2005}} |
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*{{cite book |last1=Hickey |first1= D. J. |last2= Doherty |first2= J. E. |title=A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800 |publisher= Gill & Macmillan |place=Dublin |date= 2003}} |
* {{cite book |last1=Hickey |first1= D. J. |last2= Doherty |first2= J. E. |title=A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800 |publisher= Gill & Macmillan |place=Dublin |date= 2003}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Ó Gráda |first= Cormac |title=Ireland's Great Famine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives |publisher= [[University College, Dublin|U.C.D.]] |location=Dublin|date= 2006}} |
* {{cite book |last=Ó Gráda |first= Cormac |title=Ireland's Great Famine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives |publisher= [[University College, Dublin|U.C.D.]] |location=Dublin|date= 2006}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* {{wikisource author-inline}} |
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* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax}} |
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax}} |
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* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-charles-wood | the Viscount Halifax }} |
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-charles-wood | the Viscount Halifax }} |
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{{s-new | creation}} |
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{{s-ttl | title = [[Earl of Halifax|Viscount Halifax]] |
{{s-ttl | title = [[Earl of Halifax|Viscount Halifax]] |
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| creation = 2nd creation |
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| years = 1866–1885}} |
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{{s-aft | after = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Wood]]}} |
{{s-aft | after = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Wood]]}} |
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{{s-reg|gb-bt}} |
{{s-reg|gb-bt}} |
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{{s-bef | before = [[Sir Francis Wood, 2nd Baronet|Francis Wood]]}} |
{{s-bef | before = [[Sir Francis Wood, 2nd Baronet|Francis Wood]]}} |
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{{s-ttl | title = [[ |
{{s-ttl | title = [[Wood baronets|Baronet]] |
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| creation = of Barnsley |
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| years = 1846–1885}} |
| years = 1846–1885}} |
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{{s-aft | after = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Wood]]}} |
{{s-aft | after = [[Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax|Charles Wood]]}} |
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[[Category:Lords of the Admiralty]] |
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[[Category:Secretaries of State for India]] |
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[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Great Grimsby]] |
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[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wareham]] |
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[[Category:Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria]] |
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[[Category:Presidents of the Board of Control]] |
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[[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies|Wood, Charles]] |
Latest revision as of 15:59, 26 September 2024
Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax Bt GCB PC (20 December 1800 – 8 August 1885), known as Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet, between 1846 and 1866, was a British Whig politician and Member of the British Parliament. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846 to 1852, First Lord of the Admiralty from 1855 to 1858, and Secretary of State for India from 1859 to 1866.
Background
[edit]Halifax was the son of Sir Francis Wood, 2nd Baronet of Barnsley, and his wife Anne, daughter of Samuel Buck. He was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied classics and mathematics.
Political career
[edit]A Liberal and Member of Parliament from 1826 to 1866, Wood abandoned the seat of Great Grimsby and was returned in 1831 for the pocket borough of Wareham, probably as a paying guest, which arrangement enabled him to remain in London in preparation for the reading of the Reform Bill. He confided his views to his father:
the reform is an efficient, substantial, anti-democratic, pro-property measure, but it sweeps away rotten boroughs and of course disgusts their proprietors. The main hope therefore of carrying it, is by the voice of the country, thus operating by deciding all wavering votes ... The radicals, for which heaven be praised, support us ...[1]
He voted meticulously for the bill at every stage, and it received the Royal assent in the following year.
Wood served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord John Russell's government (1846–1852), where he opposed any further help for Ireland during the Great Famine there. In his 1851 budget, Sir Charles liberalized trade, reducing import duties and encouraging consumer goods. This reduction in tariffs led to a noticeable increase in consumption. In the succeeding Tory government, the new Chancellor Benjamin Disraeli, a former protectionist, referred to Wood's influence on economic policy in an interim financial statement on 30 April 1852, setting a trend for the way budgets are presented in the Commons.[2] For Wood, Disraeli was 'petulant and sarcastic', qualities he disliked.[3]
Wood later served as President of the Board of Control under Lord Aberdeen (1852–1855), as First Lord of the Admiralty in Lord Palmerston's first administration (1855–1858), and as Secretary of State for India in Palmerston's second government (1859–1866). He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1846, and in 1866 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Halifax, of Monk Bretton in the West Riding of the County of York.[citation needed] After the unexpected death of Lord Clarendon necessitated a reshuffle of Gladstone's first cabinet, Halifax was brought in as Lord Privy Seal, serving from 1870 to 1874, his last public office.
Role in the Irish Famine
[edit]The Great Famine in Ireland (1845 to 1851) led to the death of 1 million, and over 1 million emigrating from the country to the United States or to the British dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. On 30 June 1846, Peel's Tories were replaced by a Whig government led by Lord John Russell. The government sought to embed free trade and laissez-faire economics. Sir Charles Trevelyan, a senior civil servant at the Treasury, in close cooperation with Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood, sought to oppose intervention in Ireland.[4] Extreme parsimony of the British Government towards Ireland while Wood was in charge of the Treasury greatly enhanced the suffering of those affected by famine. Wood believed in the economic policy of Laissez-faire and preferred to leave the Irish to starve rather than "undermine the market" by allowing in cheap imported grain.[5] Wood also shared Trevelyan's anti-Irish, moralistic views, with Wood believing the famine should eliminate the "present habits of dependence", and obliging Irish property to support Irish poverty.[6] Wood wrote to the lord lieutenant that the famine was not accidental, but willed, and would bring along a social revolution: "A want of food and employment is a calamity sent by Providence", it had "precipitated things with a wonderful impetus, so as to bring them to an early head".[6] He hoped the famine would clear small farmers, and lead to a "better" economic system.[7]
Wood's despatch
[edit]As the President of the Board of Control, Wood took a major step in spreading education in India in 1854, when he sent a despatch to Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India. Wood recommended the following:
- An education department should be set in every province.
- Universities on the model of the University of London should be established in large cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
- At least one government school be opened in every district.
- Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid.
- The Indian natives should be given training in the vernacular.
In accordance with Wood's despatch, education departments were established in every province and universities were opened at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857, as well as in Punjab in 1882 and in Allahabad in 1887 [citation needed].
Family
[edit]Lord Halifax married Lady Mary Grey (3 May 1807 – 6 July 1884), fifth daughter of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, on 29 July 1829. They had four sons and three daughters:[citation needed]
- Hon. Blanche Edith Wood (d. 21 July 1921) married on 21 September 1876, Col Hon Henry William Lowry-Corry (30 June 1845 – 6 May 1927).
- Hon. Alice Louisa Wood (d. 3 June 1934)
- Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax (7 January 1839 – 19 January 1934)
- Hon. Emily Charlotte Wood (1840 – 21 December 1904) married Hugo Francis Meynell-Ingram (1822 – 26 May 1871)
- Capt. Hon. Francis Lindley Wood, RN (17 October 1841 – 14 October 1873)
- Lt Col. Hon. Henry John Lindley Wood (12 January 1843 – 5 January 1903)
- Hon. Fredrick George Lindley Wood (later Meynell) (4 June 1846 – 4 November 1910)
Lady Halifax died in 1884. Lord Halifax survived her by just over a year and died in August 1885, aged 84. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Charles, who was the father of Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax.
References
[edit]- ^ "Charles Wood". History of Parliament Online.
- ^ Hurd & Young, p. 116.
- ^ Hurd & Young, p. 121.
- ^ Charles Trevelyan, John Mitchel and the historiography of the Great Famine
- ^ Woodham Smith, Cecil, (1962) The Great Hunger. Penguin Books ISBN 9780140145151
- ^ a b Potatoes and Providence
- ^ The Irish Hunger and its Alignments with the 1948 Genocide Conventione
Bibliography
[edit]- Steele, David (May 2009). "Wood, Charles, first Viscount Halifax (1800–1885)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29865. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Kinealy, Christine (1994). This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845–52. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
- Famine 150: Commemorative Lecture Series. Dublin: Teagasc / U.C.D. 1997.
- Kinealy, Christine (1997). A Death-Dealing Famine: The Great Hunger in Ireland. London: Pluto Press.
- Kinealy, Christine (2005). "Was Ireland a Colony? The Evidence of the Great Famine". In Terrence McDonough (ed.). Was Ireland A Colony?. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.
- Boyce, D. George (2005). New Gill History of Ireland Vol. 5: Nineteenth Century Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
- Hickey, D. J.; Doherty, J. E. (2003). A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
- Ó Gráda, Cormac (2006). Ireland's Great Famine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Dublin: U.C.D.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax at Wikisource
- Works by or about Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax at the Internet Archive
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Halifax
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