Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess Lansdowne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Petty-Fitzmaurice,_5th_Marquess_...

http://www.thepeerage.com/p959.htm#i9586

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• Updated from FamilySearch Family Tree via father Henry Petty FitzMaurice by SmartCopy: Apr 1 2015, 18:14:59 UTC

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Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne KG GCSI GCMG GCIE PC (4 January 1845 – 3 June 1927) was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He has the distinction of having held senior positions in both Liberal Party and Conservative Party governments.

The great-grandson of the British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne (later 1st Marquess of Lansdowne), and the eldest son of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne and his wife, Emily, 8th Lady Nairne, Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice was born in London in 1845. He held the courtesy title Viscount Clanmaurice from birth until 1863 and then the courtesy title Earl of Kerry until he succeeded to the marquessate in 1866. Upon his mother's death in 1895, he succeeded her as the 9th Lord Nairne in the Peerage of Scotland.

After studying at Eton and Oxford, he succeeded his father as 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (in the Peerage of the United Kingdom) and 6th Earl of Kerry (in the Peerage of Ireland) at the relatively early age of 21 on 5 June 1866. He was heir to a vast estate, including Bowood House, an Irish estate of over 121,000 acres (predominantly in Kerry), and also great wealth. At one of his inherited properties, Derreen House (Lauragh, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland), Lord Lansdowne started to create a great garden from 1871 onwards. For most of the rest of his life, he spent three months every year at Derreen.

Lord Lansdowne entered the House of Lords as a member of the Liberal Party in 1866. He served in William Gladstone's government as a Lord of the Treasury from 1869 to 1872 and as Under-Secretary of State for War from 1872 to 1874. He was appointed Under-Secretary of State for India in 1880, and, having gained experience in overseas administration, was appointed Governor General of Canada in 1883. The present-day town of Lansdowne, Garhwal in Uttarakhand, India, was established in 1887 and named after him.

Lord Lansdowne was Governor General during turbulent times in Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald's government was in its second term and facing allegations of scandal over the building of the railway (the Pacific Scandal), and the economy was once again sliding into recession. The North-West Rebellion of 1885 and the controversy caused by its leader, Louis Riel, posed a serious threat to the stability of Canada.[1] Yet Lord Lansdowne took the opportunity to travel extensively throughout western Canada in 1885, meeting many of Canada's Indian (First Nations) peoples. While the railway to British Columbia was not completed, this did not stop the Governor General from travelling throughout the Rockies on horseback and by boat.[1] On his second trip west, Lord Lansdowne travelled by the new Canadian Pacific Railway, and was the first Governor General to use the line all the way to its western terminus.[citation needed]

His experiences in western Canada gave Lansdowne a great love of the Canadian outdoors and the physical beauty of Canada. He was an avid salmon fisherman, and was also intensely interested in winter sports. His love of the wilderness and Canadian countryside led him to purchase a second residence on the Cascapédia River in Quebec.[1] Lansdowne proved himself an adept statesman in helping to negotiate a settlement of a potentially serious dispute between Canada and the United States in 1886-87 over fishing rights.[1] He was also a supporter of scientific development, presiding over the inaugural session of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1884.

Lord Lansdowne departed Canada, "with its clear skies, its exhilarating sports, and within the bright fire of Gatineau logs, with our children and friends gathered round us” to his regret.[1] He gave his wife a great deal of the credit for his success in Canada. One of her happiest and most successful endeavours while at Rideau Hall was a party she threw for 400 Sunday school children. Lady Lansdowne was decorated with the Order of Victoria and Albert and the Imperial Order of the Crown of India. Lord Lansdowne's military secretary, Lord Melgund, later became Lord Minto and served as Governor General between 1898 and 1904.

Lord Lansdowne was appointed Viceroy of India in the same year he left Canada. The viceroyalty, which he held from 1888 to 1894, was offered to him by the Tory prime minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and marked the pinnacle of his career. He reformed the army, police, local government and the mint. There was a small local rebellion in 1890, which was quickly suppressed, Lansdowne securing the death penalty for the leader in the face of considerable opposition from home. His attempt in 1893 to curtail trial by jury was, however, over-ruled by home government. He returned to England in 1894.

Upon his return, as a Liberal Unionist, he aligned with the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, appointed Lord Lansdowne to the post of Secretary of State for War in June 1895. The unpreparedness of the British Army during the Second Boer War brought calls for Lansdowne's impeachment in 1899. His biographer, Waite, considers that he was unjustly criticized for British military failures: ever the good minister, he took full responsibility and said nothing, though the real fault lay with his military advisers.

After the Unionist victory in the general election of October 1900, Salisbury reorganised his cabinet and gave up the post of Foreign Secretary, appointing Lansdowne to replace him. Lansdowne remained at the Foreign Office under Salisbury's successor Arthur Balfour. As British Foreign Secretary, he signed the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance at his London home (the back half of which still exists as the Lansdowne Club) and negotiated the 1904 Anglo-French Entente Cordiale with the French foreign minister, Theophile Delcassé.

On 15th June, 1903, he made a speech in the House of Lords defending fiscal retaliation against countries with high tariffs and whose governments subsidised products for sale in Britain (known as 'bounty-fed products', also called dumping). The retaliation was to be done by threatening to impose tariffs in response against that country's goods. His Liberal Unionists had split from the Liberals, who promoted Free Trade, and the speech was a landmark in the group's slide towards Protectionism. Landsdowne argued that threatening retaliatory tariffs was similar to getting respect in a room of armed men by showing a big revolver (his exact words were "a rather larger revolver than everybody else's"). The "Big Revolver" became a catchphrase of the day, often used in speeches and cartoons.

In 1903, Lord Lansdowne became the leader of Unionists (Conservative and Liberal Unionist peers) in the House of Lords.[1] This was followed shortly by the Liberal victory in the January 1906 general elections. In his new role as head of the opposition Peers, he was instrumental in the Unionist leader Arthur Balfour's plans to obstruct Liberal policies through the Unionist majority in the upper house. Although he and Balfour both had some misgivings, he led the Lords to reject the People's Budget of 1909. After the Liberals won two elections in 1910 on the pledge to reform the House of Lords and remove its veto power, and after a series of failed negotiations in which Lansdowne was of key importance, the Liberals moved forward to end the Lords veto, if necessary by recommending to the King that he create hundreds of new Liberal peers. Lansdowne and the other Conservative leaders were anxious to prevent such an action by allowing the bill, distasteful as they found it, to pass, but soon Lansdowne found that he could not count on many of the more reactionary peers, who planned on a last-ditch resistance. Ultimately, enough Unionist peers either (like Lansdowne himself) abstained from the vote ("hedgers") or even voted for the bill ("rats") to ensure its passage into the Parliament Act 1911.

In the following years, Lansdowne continued as Opposition Leader in the Lords, his stature increasing when Balfour resigned as party leader and was replaced by the inexperienced Andrew Bonar Law, who had never held cabinet office. In 1915, Lansdowne joined the wartime coalition cabinet of H. H. Asquith as a Minister without Portfolio, but was not given a post in the Lloyd George government formed the following year, despite Conservative pre-eminence in that government. In 1917, having discussed the idea with colleagues for some time with no response, he published the controversial "Lansdowne Letter", which called for a statement of postwar intentions from the Entente Powers. He was criticised as acting contrary to cabinet policy.

When Lansdowne died his estate was valued at probate at £1,044,613 in land, with another £233,888 pounds in other assets.

Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquis of Lansdowne, 6th Earl of Kerry

Born 14 Jan 1845. Died 3 Jun 1927 at Newtown Anner, Tipperary.

Son of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquis of Lansdowne.

Henry (5th Marquis) was a member of the House of Lords, Lord of the Treasury (1869—72), Under Secretary of State for War (1872—74), Under Secretary for India (1880), Governor General of Canada (1883—88), Viceroy of India (1888—94), Secretary of State for War (1895—1900), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (12 Nov 1900—11 Dec 1905), and Leader of the House of Lords until his death in 1927.215

Investiture as Knight of the Garter in 1895.

On 8 Nov 1869, in Westminster Abbey, London, England, Henry (5th Marquis) married Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton (b. 17 Dec 1850 in London; d. 21 Oct 1932 in London). They had four children:

   Lady Evelyn Emily Mary Fitzmaurice (27 Aug 1870—2 Apr 1960). On 30 Jul 1892, she married Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (31 May 1868—6 May 1938).

Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquis of Lansdowne (b. 14 Jan 1872—5 Mar 1936).
Charles George Francis Mercer Nairne (b. 12 Feb 1874; kia 30 Oct 1914), father of 8th Marquis of Lansdowne. On 20 Jan 1909, he married Lady Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (28 May 1889—3 Jan 1965). They had two children:

       Mary Margaret Elizabeth (b. 6 Feb 1910) who, on 27 Jul 1931, married Ririd Myddelton (25 Feb 1902—1988).

       George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice (27 Nov 1912—12 Aug 1997), 8th Marquis of Lansdowne.

Beatrix Frances Petty-Fitzmaurice (25 Mar 1877—5 Aug 1953). On 16 Oct 1897, she married firstly Henry de la Poer Beresford (28 Apr 1875—1 Dec 1911), 6th Marquis of Waterford. On 19 Aug 1918, Beatrix married secondly Osbourne de Vere Beauclerk (16 Oct 1874—2 Mar 1964), 12th Duke of St. Albans.
Source: http://fitzmaurice-family.com/engl.html

He was styled as Earl Clanmaurice between 1845 and 1863.1 He was educated between 1858 and 1862 at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, England.1 He was styled as Earl of Kerry between 1863 and 1866.2 He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.).1 He succeeded to the title of 5th Earl Wycombe of Chepping Wycombe [G.B., 1784] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Earl of Shelburne, co. Wexford [I., 1753] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, co. Somerset [G.B., 1784] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 5th Viscount Calne and Calston, co. Wilts [G.B., 1784] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 24th Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw [I., c. 1295] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Lord Wycombe, Baron of Chepping Wycombe, co. Bucks [G.B., 1760] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Viscount FitzMaurice [I., 1751] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Baron Dunkeron [I., 1751] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Earl of Kerry [I., 1723] on 5 July 1866.1 He succeeded to the title of 6th Viscount Clanmaurice [I., 1723] on 5 July 1866.1 He held the office of Lord of the Treasury between 1868 and 1872.2 He held the office of Under-Secretary for War between 1872 and 1874.2 He was a Fellow between 1880 and 1883 at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, England.3 He held the office of Under-Secretary for India between April 1880 and July 1880.2 He held the office of Governor-General of Canada between 1883 and 1888.2 He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1884 with a Master of Arts (M.A.).1 He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Order of St. Michael and St. George (G.C.M.G.) on 28 January 1884.2 He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws (D.C.L.) by Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1888.1 He held the office of Viceroy of India between 1888 and 1893.2 He was invested as a Knight Grand Commander, Order of the Indian Empire (G.C.I.E.) on 10 December 1888.2 He was invested as a Knight Grand Commander, Order of the Star of India (G.C.S.I.) on 10 December 1888.2 He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.2 He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by Leeds University, Leeds, Yorkshire, West Riding, England.2 He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.2 He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) on 10 November 1894.2 He held the office of Secretary of State for War between 1895 and 1900.2 He succeeded to the title of 9th Lord Nairne [S., 1681] on 26 June 1895.2 He was invested as a Privy Counsellor (P.C.) on 4 July 1895.2 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire between 1896 and 1920.2 He held the office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1900 and 1905.3 He was decorated with the award of the Royal Victorian Chain on 11 December 1905.2 He held the office of Minister without Portfolio between 1915 and 1916.2 He held the office of Chancellor of the Order of St. Michael and St. George between 1917 and 1920.