Samuel
Whitbread, the son of the brewer Samuel
Whitbread, and Harriet Hayton, was born in Cardington, Bedfordshire
in 1758. His mother died when he was a child and his father took great
care over his only son. When Samuel was sent to Eton
he was accompanied by his own private tutor. Samuel continued his
education at Christ Church, Oxford and
St. John's College, Cambridge, where
he met his lifelong friend, Charles Grey.
After university Samuel Whitbread sent
his son on a tour of Europe, under the guidance of the historian,
William Coxe. This included visits to Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Poland,
Prussia, France and Italy. When Samuel returned in May 1786, he joined
his father running the extremely successful family brewing business.
In 1789 Samuel Whitbread married Elizabeth Grey, the sister of Charles
Grey. The two men were deeply interested in politics. Grey was
already MP for Northumberland and in 1790 Whitbread was elected MP
for Bedford. In the House of Commons, Whitbread
and Grey became followers of Charles Fox,
the leader of the Radical Whigs.
Whitbread soon emerged in Parliament as a powerful critic of the Tory
Prime Minister, William Pitt. A passionate
supporter of reform, Whitbread argued for an extension of religious
and civil rights, an end to the slave-trade, and the establishment
of a national education system.
In April 1792, Whitbread joined with a group of pro-reform Whigs
to form the Friends of the People. Three
peers (Lord Porchester, Lord Lauderdale and Lord Buchan) and twenty-eight
Whig MPs joined the group. Other leading members included Charles
Grey, Richard Sheridan, Major
John Cartwright, Lord John Russell,George
Tierney, and Thomas Erskine. The main
objective of the the society was to obtain "a more equal representation
of the people in Parliament" and "to secure to the people
a more frequent exercise of their right of electing their representatives".
Charles Fox was opposed to the formation of
this group as he feared it would lead to a split the Whig
Party.
On 30th April 1792, Charles Grey introduced
a petition in favour of constitutional reform. He argued that the
reform of the parliamentary system would remove public complaints
and "restore the tranquillity of the nation". He also stressed
that the Friends of the People would not
become involved in any activities that would "promote public
disturbances". Although Charles Fox had
refused to join the Friends of the People,
in the debate that followed, he supported Grey's proposals. When the
vote was taken, Grey's proposals were defeated by 256 to 91 votes.
In 1793 Samuel Whitbread toured the country making speeches on the
need for parliamentary reform. He encouraged
people to sign petitions at his meetings and when he returned to London
they were presented to Parliament. Whitbread also campaigned on behalf
of agricultural labourers. In the economic depression of 1795, Whitbread
advocated the payment of higher wages. When Whitbread introduced his
minimum wage bill to the House of Commons
in December 1795 it was opposed by William Pitt
and his Tory government and was easily defeated.
Whitbread was a strong supporter of a negotiated peace with France
and supported Fox's calls to send a government minister to Paris.
Whitbread argued for Catholic Emancipation
and opposed the act for the suppression of rebellion in Ireland. His
friend, Samuel Romilly, said that Whitbread
was "the promoter of every liberal scheme for improving the condition
of mankind, the zealous advocate of the oppressed, and the undaunted
opposer of every species of corruption and ill-administration."
In 1807 Samuel Whitbread proposed a new Poor Law. His scheme not only
involved an increase in the financial help given to the poor, but
the establishment of a free educational system. Whitbread proposed
that every child between the ages of seven and fourteen who was unable
to pay, should receive two years' free education. The measure was
seen as too radical and was easily defeated in the House
of Commons.
Whitbread refused to be disillusioned by his constant defeats and
during the next few years he made more speeches in the House of Commons
than any other member. Sometimes his attacks on George
III and his ministers were considered to be too harsh, even by
his closest political friends.
Unable to persuade Parliament to accept his ideas, Whitbread used
his considerable fortune (his father, Samuel
Whitbread had died in 1796) to support good causes. Whitbread
gave generous financial help to establish schools for the poor. An
advocate of the monitorial system developed
by Andrew Bell and Joseph
Lancaster, he helped fund the Royal Lancasterian Society that
had the objective of establishing schools that were not controlled
by the Church of England.
When the Whigs gained power in 1806, Whitbread
expected the Prime Minister, Lord Grenville,
to offer him a place in his government. He was deeply disappointed
when this did not happen. Some claimed it was because Whitbread was
too radical. Others suggested it was due to snobbery and the aristocrats
in the party disapproved of a tradesman entering the cabinet.
After this rejection, Whitbread consoled himself with his involvement
in the Drury Lane Theatre. In 1809 the
theatre was destroyed by fire. Already over £500,000 in debt,
the theatre was in danger of going out of business. Whitbread became
chairman of the committee set up to rebuild the theatre. With the
help of his political friends, Whitbread managed to raise the necessary
funds and the Drury Lane Theatre was reopened on 10th October, 1812.
In 1815 Whitbread began to suffer from depression. Over the years
he had been upset by the way he was portrayed by the political cartoonists
such as, James Gillray and George
Cruikshank. He also began to worry about the brewery business
and the way he was treated in the House of
Commons. After one debate in June he told his wife: "They
are hissing me. I am become an object of universal abhorrence."
On the morning of 6th June 1815, Samuel Whitbread committed suicide
by cutting his throat with a razor.
George Cruikshank,
Management of the Drury Lane Theatre (1812)
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