Charles Wood, 1st Viscount HalifaxBtGCBPC (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 served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846 to 1852.
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. 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] This reduction in tariffs led to a noticeable increase in consumption. For Wood, Disraeli was 'petulant and sarcastic', qualities he disliked.[3]
The 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 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]
As the President of the Board of Control, Wood took a major step in spreading education in India when in 1854 he sent a dispatch to Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India. It was recommended therein that:
An education department was to be set in every province.
Universities on the model of the London university be established in big 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 their mother tongue also.
In accordance with Wood's dispatch, education departments were established in every province and universities were opened at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras in 1857, in Punjab in 1882, and at Allahbad in 1887.
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.
^The Irish Hunger and its Alignments with the 1948 Genocide Conventione
An 1873 portrait of Lord Halifax by Anthony de Brie.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax.
Bibliography
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.
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
Works by or about Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax at Internet Archive
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Halifax
charles, wood, viscount, halifax, december, 1800, august, 1885, known, charles, wood, baronet, between, 1846, 1866, british, whig, politician, member, british, parliament, served, chancellor, exchequer, from, 1846, 1852, right, honourablethe, viscount, halifax. 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 served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846 to 1852 The Right HonourableThe Viscount HalifaxBt GCB PCLord Keeper of the Privy SealIn office 6 July 1870 17 February 1874MonarchVictoriaPrime MinisterWilliam Ewart GladstonePreceded byEarl of KimberleySucceeded byEarl of MalmesburySecretary of State for IndiaIn office 18 June 1859 16 February 1866Prime MinisterViscount PalmerstonEarl RussellPreceded byLord StanleySucceeded byEarl de Grey and RiponFirst Lord of the AdmiraltyIn office 13 March 1855 8 March 1858Prime MinisterViscount PalmerstonPreceded bySir James GrahamSucceeded bySir John PakingtonPresident of the Board of ControlIn office 30 December 1852 3 March 1855Prime MinisterEarl of AberdeenPreceded byJohn Charles HerriesSucceeded byRobert Vernon SmithChancellor of the ExchequerIn office 6 July 1846 21 February 1852Prime MinisterLord John RussellPreceded byHenry GoulburnSucceeded byBenjamin DisraeliFirst Secretary of the AdmiraltyIn office 27 April 1835 4 October 1839Prime MinisterViscount MelbournePreceded byGeorge Robert DawsonSucceeded byRichard More O FerrallParliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryIn office 10 August 1832 14 November 1834Prime MinisterEarl GreyViscount MelbournePreceded byEdward ElliceSucceeded bySir George ClerkMember of the House of Lords Lord TemporalIn office 22 February 1866 8 August 1885Hereditary peeragePreceded byPeerage createdSucceeded byThe 2nd Viscount HalifaxMember of Parliament for RiponIn office 11 July 1865 21 February 1866Preceded byReginald VynerSucceeded byLord John HayMember of Parliament for HalifaxIn office 10 December 1832 11 July 1865Preceded byNew constituencySucceeded byEdward AkroydMember of Parliament for WarehamIn office 2 May 1831 12 December 1832Preceded byJames EwingSucceeded byJohn Hales CalcraftMember of Parliament for Great GrimsbyIn office 9 June 1826 25 July 1831Preceded byWilliam DuncombeSucceeded byJohn ShelleyPersonal detailsBorn 1800 12 20 20 December 1800Pontefract Yorkshire England Kingdom of Great BritainDied8 August 1885 1885 08 08 aged 84 Hickleton Hall Doncaster West Riding of Yorkshire England UKPolitical partyWhigLiberalSpouseLady Mary Grey d 1884 Children7 including Charles Wood 2nd Viscount HalifaxAlma materOriel College OxfordHeraldic memorial window to Grey and Wood family Church of the Holy Angels Hoar Cross Staffordshire Contents 1 Background 2 Political career 3 Role in the Irish Famine 4 Wood s dispatch 5 Family 6 References 6 1 Bibliography 7 External linksBackground EditHalifax 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 EditA 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 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 This reduction in tariffs led to a noticeable increase in consumption 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 EditThe 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 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 dispatch EditMain article Wood s dispatch As the President of the Board of Control Wood took a major step in spreading education in India when in 1854 he sent a dispatch to Lord Dalhousie the then Governor General of India It was recommended therein that An education department was to be set in every province Universities on the model of the London university be established in big 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 their mother tongue also In accordance with Wood s dispatch education departments were established in every province and universities were opened at Calcutta Bombay and Madras in 1857 in Punjab in 1882 and at Allahbad in 1887 Family EditLord 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 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 amp Young p 116 Hurd amp 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 An 1873 portrait of Lord Halifax by Anthony de Brie Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Wood 1st Viscount Halifax 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 amp 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 amp Macmillan Hickey D J Doherty J E 2003 A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800 Dublin Gill amp Macmillan o Grada Cormac 2006 Ireland s Great Famine Interdisciplinary Perspectives Dublin U C D External links EditWorks by or about Charles Wood 1st Viscount Halifax at Internet Archive Hansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by the Viscount HalifaxParliament of the United KingdomPreceded byWilliam DuncombeCharles Tennyson Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby1826 1831 With George Heneage 1826 1830George Harris from 1830 Succeeded byJohn ShelleyGeorge HarrisPreceded byJohn CalcraftJames Ewing Member of Parliament for Wareham1831 1832 Succeeded byJohn Hales CalcraftNew constituency Member of Parliament for Halifax1832 1865 With Rawdon Briggs 1832 1835James Stuart Wortley 1835 1837Edward Protheroe 1837 1847Henry Edwards 1847 1852Francis Crossley 1852 1959James Stansfeld 1859 1865 Succeeded byEdward AkroydJames StansfeldPreceded byJohn GreenwoodReginald Vyner Member of Parliament for Ripon1865 1866 With Robert Kearsley Succeeded byRobert KearsleyLord John HayPolitical officesPreceded byEdward Ellice Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury1832 1834 Succeeded bySir George Clerk BtPreceded byGeorge Robert Dawson First Secretary of the Admiralty1835 1839 Succeeded byRichard More O FerrallPreceded byHenry Goulburn Chancellor of the Exchequer1846 1852 Succeeded byBenjamin DisraeliPreceded byJohn Charles Herries President of the Board of Control1852 1855 Succeeded byRobert Vernon SmithPreceded bySir James Graham Bt First Lord of the Admiralty1855 1858 Succeeded bySir John Pakington BtPreceded byLord Stanley Secretary of State for India1859 1866 Succeeded byThe Earl de GreyPreceded byThe Earl of Kimberley Lord Privy Seal1870 1874 Succeeded byThe Earl of MalmesburyPeerage of the United KingdomNew creation Viscount Halifax2nd creation1866 1885 Succeeded byCharles WoodBaronetage of Great BritainPreceded byFrancis Wood Baronet of Barnsley 1846 1885 Succeeded byCharles Wood Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Wood 1st Viscount Halifax amp oldid 1139182964, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
