Background
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice was born on 2 July 1780, the only son of William Petty, the second Earl of Shelburne and first Marquess of Lansdowne. His mother was Lady Louise Fitzpatrick, daughter of John, Earl of Upper Ossary.
politician statesman Chancellor of the Exchequer
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice was born on 2 July 1780, the only son of William Petty, the second Earl of Shelburne and first Marquess of Lansdowne. His mother was Lady Louise Fitzpatrick, daughter of John, Earl of Upper Ossary.
Petty-Fitzmaurice was educated at Westminster School in his youth, and later attended Edinburgh University and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Petty-Fitzmaurice launched his political career in 1802, when he was elected M.P. for Caine. From the start he was a very moderate Whig, committed to ensuring that the monarch was answerable to Parliament, and equally committed to reform. He focused his attention on financial matters, choosing as the subject of his first parliamentary speech the Bank Restriction Act of 1804. In 1806, at the age of 25, he became chancellor of the exchequer in the “Ministry of All the Talents,” led by Lord Grenville. This brief ministry lasted little more than thirteen months; but it did permit the new chancellor to raise revenue for the Napoleonic Wars by increasing the property tax from 6.5 percent to 10.0 percent in 1806. He, like many other ministers, resigned in March 1807 when the king attempted to wrest from them a promise not to push for Catholic emancipation.
In 1807 Petty-Fitzmaurice became M.P. for Camelford; but on the death of his half brother in 1809 he was raised to the House of Lords.
Lansdowne returned to office in 1830 when Lord Grey invited him to become President of the Council after he refused the proffered post of foreign secretary. He continued as Lord President of the Council under Lord Vlelbourne from 1834 to 1841, with a brief hiatus during the Peel government, in 1834—1835. Out of office from 1841 to 1846, he once again became Lord President of the Council in Lord John Russell’s government. When Lord Aberdeen formed a ministry, Lansdowne was too ill to occupy a top office, but he remained in the cabinet without a department. In 1855, Lansdowne advised Queen Victoria to call Lord Palmerston to form a government, although he played no part in its political activities. It was at this point that he refused a dukedom, offered as a reward for his public service. The September issue of Punch, the political satirical journal, approved:
Lord Lansdowne won’t be Duke of Kerry Lord Lansdowne is a wise man very Punch drinks his health in port and sherry.
After 1855, Lansdowne’s political activities diminished as he gradually withdrew from politics. He died on 31 January 1863, a distinguished elder statesman who was content to be helmsman rather than captain of the ship of state.
From 1807 on, Lansdowne played a prominent part in British politics, supporting the abolition of the slave trade and strongly advocating Catholic emancipation. The Lansdowne Whigs gave support to Viscount Goderich, who formed a ministry in 1827, following the death of George Canning; but with the exception of Lansdowne, who became home secretary, they gained only minor government roles in return for their support.
In 1808 he had married Lady Louise Emma Fox- Strangeways, fifth daughter of Henry Thomas, Earl of Ilchester.
