Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

The Right Honourable Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (October 20, 1784 - October 18, 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. He was in government office almost continually from 1807 till his death in 1865, beginning his parliamentary career as a Tory, and concluding it as a Liberal. He is remembered primarily for having directed British foreign policy as either Foreign Secretary or Prime Minister through most of a thirty five year period when the United Kingdom was at the height of its power. His achievements in that field were many, but some of his aggressive measures drew considerable criticism both in this own time and subsequently.

Early Life and Career

Henry John Temple was born at Broadlands, near Romsey in Hampshire. The Irish branch of the Temple family, from which Lord Palmerston descended, was very distantly related to the great English house of the same name, but these Irish Temples were not without distinction. In the reign of Elizabeth they had furnished a secretary to Sir Philip Sidney and to Essex in Sir William Temple (1555-1627), afterwards provost of Trinity College, Dublin, whose son, Sir John Temple (1600-1677), was Master of the Rolls in Ireland. The latter's son, Sir William Temple, figured as one of the ablest diplomatists of the age. From his younger brother, Sir John Temple (1632-1704), who was speaker of the Irish House of Commons, Lord Palmerston descended. The eldest son of the speaker, Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673-1757), was created a peer of; Ireland on the March 12 1723, and was succeeded by his grandson, Henry the second viscount (1739-1802), who married Miss Mary Mee (d. 1805), a lady celebrated for her beauty.

Related Topics:
Broadlands - Romsey - Hampshire - Philip Sidney - Essex - William Temple - 1555 - 1627 - Trinity College, Dublin - John Temple - 1600 - 1677 - Master of the Rolls - Ireland - 1632 - 1704 - Irish House of Commons - Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston - 1673 - 1757 - March 12 - 1723 - Henry - 1739 - 1802 - 1805

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The 2nd Viscount's eldest son, Henry John, is mentioned by Lady Elliot in her correspondence as a boy of singular vivacity and energy. Educated at Harrow, Edinburgh, and St John's College, Cambridge, Palmerston succeeded his father on April 17, 1802. Before he was twenty-four he had stood two contested elections for the University of Cambridge, at which he was defeated, and he entered parliament for a pocket borough, Newport, Isle of Wight, in June 1807. He began his political career as a Tory and, thanks to the influence of his patrons Lord Chichester and Lord Malmesbury, he received a post in the ministry of the Duke of Portland), as Junior Lord of Admiralty from 1807. A few months later he delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons in defence of the expedition against Copenhagen, which he conceived to be justified by the known designs of Napoleon on the Danish court. This speech was so successful that when Perceval formed his government in 1809, he proposed to this young man of five-and-twenty to take the Chancellorship of the Exchequer. Lord Palmerston, however, preferred the less important office of Secretary at War, charged exclusively with the financial business of the army, without a seat in the cabinet, and in this position he remained, without any signs of an ambitious temperament or of great political abilities, for twenty years. During the whole of that period Lord Palmerston was chiefly known as a man of fashion, and a subordinate minister without influence on the general policy of the cabinets he served. Some of the most humorous poetical pieces in the New Whig Guide were from his pen, and he was entirely devoted, like his friends Peel and Croker, to the Tory party of that day. Lord Palmerston never was a Whig, still less a Radical; he was a statesman of the old English aristocratic type, liberal in his sentiments, favourable to the march of progress, but entirely opposed to the claims of democratic government.

Related Topics:
Harrow - Edinburgh - St John's College, Cambridge - April 17 - 1802 - University of Cambridge - Newport, Isle of Wight - 1807 - Tory - Lord Chichester - Lord Malmesbury - Duke of Portland - Admiralty - Maiden speech - House of Commons - Copenhagen - Napoleon - Danish - Perceval - 1809 - Chancellorship of the Exchequer - Secretary at War - Peel - Whig - Radical

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In the later years of Lord Liverpool's administration, after the death of Lord Londonderry in 1822, strong dissensions existed in the cabinet. The Liberal section of the government was gaining ground. Canning became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Commons. Huskisson began to advocate and apply the doctrines of free trade. Roman Catholic emancipation was made an open question. Although Lord Palmerston was not in the cabinet, he cordially supported the measures of Canning and his friends. Upon the death of Lord Liverpool, Canning was called to the head of affairs; the Tories, including Peel, withdrew their support, and an alliance was formed between the Liberal members of the late ministry and the Whigs. In this combination the Chancellorship of the Exchequer was first offered to Lord Palmerston, who accepted it, but this appointment was frustrated by the King's intrigue with Herries, and Palmerston was content to remain Secretary at War with a seat in the cabinet, which he now entered for the first time. The Canning administration ended in four months by the death of its illustrious chief, and was succeeded by the feeble ministry of Lord Goderich, which barely survived the year. But the Canningites, as they were termed, remained, and the Duke of Wellington hastened to include Palmerston, Huskisson, Charles Grant, Lamb, and Dudley in his government. A dispute between the Duke and Huskisson over the issue of parliamentary representation for Manchester and Birmingham soon led to the resignation of the latter, and his friends felt bound to share his fate. In the spring of 1828 Palmerston found himself in opposition.

Related Topics:
Lord Liverpool's - Lord Londonderry - 1822 - Canning - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs - Leader of the House of Commons - Huskisson - Catholic emancipation - King's - Herries - Lord Goderich - Canningites - Duke of Wellington - Charles Grant - Lamb - Dudley - Manchester - Birmingham - 1828

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