Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 4.djvu/238

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220 DERBY XXIII. 1851. 14. Edward Geoffrey (Smith-Stanley), Earl of Derby, i^c., s. and h., b. 19 Mar. 1799, at Knowsley; ityled Lord Stanley till 1844; ed. at Eton; matric. at Oxford (Ch. Ch.) 17 Oct. 1 8 17, gaining the Latin verse prize {^'■Syracuse") in 1 8 19; M.P. (Whig) for Stockbridge i822-26,() for Preston 1826-30, for Windsor 1831-32, for North Lancashire 1832-44; Under Sec. for the Colonies 1827-28; P.C. 22 Nov. 1830; P.C. [I.] 10 Jan. 1 83 1 ; Chief Sec. for Ireland 1830-33, and a Cabinet Minister, June 1831; Sec. of State for the Colonies 1833-34, and again 1841-45. Lord Rector of the Univ. of Glasgow 1834-36; Sloane Trustee of the Brit. Museum 1835-66. He was sum. to the House of Lords v.p., 4 Nov. 1844, as LORD STANLEY OF BICKERSTAFFE. Soon after succeeding to the Earldom he became First Lord of the Treasury (Prme Minister) Feb. to Dec. 1852, Mar. 1858 to Jan. 1859, and for the 3rd time July 1866 to Feb. i868;() Chancellor of the Univ. of Oxford 1852-69, having been cr. D.C.L. thereof by diploma 1 9 Oct. 1852; Elder Brother of the Trinity House 1852-69; K.G. 28 June 1859. G.C.M.G. 25 Mar. 1869. He tn., 31 May 1825, at Marylebone, Emma Caroline, 2nd da. of Edward (Bootle-Wilbraham), ist Baron SiCELMERSDALE, by Mary Elizabeth, da. of Edward Taylor. He d. at Knowsley, 23, and was bur. there 29 Oct. 1869, aged 70. Will dat. 21 Feb. 1865 to 21 Sep. 1869, pr. 2 Apr. 1870, under ;^2 50,000. His widow, who was b. 17 Mar. 1805, d. 26 Apr. 1876, at 15 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, and was bur. at Knowsley, aged 71. Will dat. 25 Nov. 1870, pr. 26 May 1876. XXIV. 1869. 15. Edward Henry (Stanley), Earl of Derby, ^c, s. and h., b. 21 July 1826, at Knowsley; ed. at Rugby, Easter 1840, and at Trin. Coll. Cambridge; loth in the ist class of classical tripos and M.A. 1848; M.P. (Conservative) for King's Lynn i848-69;(') styled 'LoKD Stanley 1851-69; Under Sec. of State for foreign and successor is always said to have declined a Dukedom, not wishing to exchange his 15th century coronet for brand new strawberry leaves. V.G. (*) He joined the Conservatives in 1835. V.G. {^) As a Scholar his translation of the Iliad testifies to his ability; as an Orator his impetuous eloquence gave him the name of "the Rupert of debate"; while O'Connell dubbed him "Scorpion Stanley." Brilliance, gaiety, and courage, cannot make up tor the absence of serious conviction in a statesman, and the man who could speak of his own measure of Household Suffrage as "a leap in the dark," and could boast of "dishing the Whigs," hardly deserves that honoured name. Lord Melbourne said of him in 1839 to the Queen, "Stanley everybody knows to be a man of great abilities, but of much indiscretion, and he is extremely unpopular." {Girlhood of Queen Fictoria^ vol. ii, p. 1 50). See as to his refusing a Dukedom, note "e" on preceding page. G.E.C. and V.G. ("=) He went over to the Liberals in 1879, ^"^ became a Unionist in 1886, when Gladstone was " converted " to Home Rule. Lord Salisbury referred to him, about 1880, as "Dr. Oates"(!) and political differences led to a complete and permanent breach between these two old colleagues and connections. V.G.