Edward
Stanley, eldest son of the 14th Earl of Derby,
was born on the 21st July 1826. He was educated at Rugby
School and Trinity College, Cambridge.
In 1848 Stanley went in a tour of the West Indies, America and Canada.
While he was away he was elected as the Conservative
MP for King's Lynn. As a result of his visit to the West Indies, Edward
Stanley published a pamphlet putting forward the planters' case.
In 1852 the Earl of Derby became Prime
Minister. He appointed his son as under secretary for foreign affairs.
Stanley lost this post when the Earl of Aberdeen
became the new Prime Minister later on that year. When Lord
Palmerston became Prime Minister of the new Liberal
government in 1855 he offered Stanley the post of colonial secretary.
However, his father, who was still leader of the Conservatives,
advised him to remain on the opposition benches.
The Earl of Derby became Prime Minister
again in February 1858. He appointed his son as Colonial Secretary,
and on the resignation of Lord Ellenborough, he became President of
the Board of Trade. He held the post until Lord
Palmerston returned as Prime Minister in 1859.
In the early 1860s Stanley was on the liberal wing of the Conservative
Party. He agreed with some aspects of parliamentary reform suggested
by the government of Lord John Russell.
The speech that he made on Russell's proposed parliamentary reform
bill in 1866 was considered by some of his colleagues as the best
one he made in the House of Commons.
In 1866
the Earl of Derby became Prime Minister
for a third time. Once again Stanley joined the Cabinet, this time
as Foreign Secretary. Benjamin Disraeli
became the new leader of Hose of Commons. Disraeli pointed out that
although attempts by Lord John Russell
and William Gladstone to extend the
franchise had failed, he believed that if they returned to power,
they would certainly try again. Disraeli argued that the Conservatives
were in danger of being seen as an anti-reform party. In 1867 Disraeli
proposed a new Reform Act. Although some members of the Cabinet such
as Lord Cranborne (later the Marquis of
Salisbury) resigned in protest against this extension of democracy,
the Earl of Derby and Edward Stanley supported
the measure.
In the House of Commons, Disraeli's proposals were supported by William
Gladstone and his followers and the measure was passed. The 1867
Reform Act gave the vote to every male adult householder living
in a borough constituency. Male lodgers paying £10 for unfurnished
rooms were also granted the vote. This gave the vote to about 1,500,000
men.
In 1868 Earl of Derby resigned and Benjamin
Disraeli became the new Prime Minister. However, in the general
election that followed, William Gladstone
and the Liberals were returned to power with a majority of 170 and
Stanley returned to the opposition benches. In 1869 Stanley's father
died and he succeeded him as the 15th Earl of Derby.
Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister
in February 1874 and the Earl of Derby became Foreign Secretary. Derby
main objective during this period was to prevent war in the Balkans.
This policy ended in failure when Russia invaded Turkey in April 1877.
The Cabinet was divided on what Britain should do. Derby believed
that Britain should keep out of the war and when Disraeli made the
decision to support Turkey, he resigned from the government. Lord
Derby also opposed the acquisition of Cyprus and the Afghan War in
1879.
Unable to support the Conservative
government's foreign policy, the Earl of Derby decided in March 1880
to join the Liberals. This move surprised
many people as Derby was considered to be the most likely person to
replace Benjamin Disraeli as leader of
the Conservatives and therefore the future Prime Minister. William
Gladstone was glad to have Derby in his party and asked him to
be leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords. When Gladstone became
Prime Minister in 1882 he appointed Derby as his Colonial Secretary.
He held the post until the Marquis of Salisbury
replaced Gladstone as Prime Minister in 1885.
The Earl of Derby disagreed with Gladstone's policy of Irish
Home Rule and in 1886 joined the new Liberal Unionist Party. He
led this party in the House of Lords until
he retired in 1889. Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, died on 21st
April, 1893.
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