Rosebery is perhaps the least well-known of the Liberal Prime Ministers, having the misfortune to serve in the office only as the era of Gladstonian Liberalism was definitively drawing to a close. He had a difficult relationship with the radicals of the parliamentary party, not because of his social policy attitudes (he was a convinced constructionist) but because of his forthrightly imperialist views, and, perhaps, his somewhat casual attitude to politics.
Rosebery's declared ambitions were to marry an heiress, own a horse that won the Derby and be Prime Minister. He fulfilled all three. On 20 March 1878 he married Hannah, the only child and heiress of Baron Meyer de Rothschild; his horses won the Derby in 1894, 1895 and 1905; and he headed a Liberal ministry between 5 March 1894 and 22 June 1895. He never sat in the House of Commons and, like others in that situation, found it difficult to lead a government from the Lords. In 1899 he said: There are two supreme pleasures in life. One is ideal, the other real. The ideal is when a man receives the seals of office from his Sovereign. The real pleasure comes when he hands them back.
Archibald Philip Primrose was born on 7 May 1847 in London. He was educated at Eton and went up to Christ Church, Oxford in 1866. On 4 March he succeeded his grandfather to become the fifth Earl of Rosebery, taking his seat in the House of Lords on 22 May. He left Oxford in 1869, without taking his degree, when the university authorities gave him the choice between selling his racehorse or departing.
Despite not having completed his degree, Rosebery was considered to be one of the most widely read young men of his day. He was a true bibliophile and kept his collection of rare Scottish books and pamphlets at Barnbougle Castle. In 1927 he presented some three thousand of these items to the National Library of Scotland. Well-educated, wealthy and with all the advantages of social position, Rosebery was able to travel widely and indulge his passions, one of which was writing. In 1862 he published privately a volume of verse; other published works of his include Pitt (1891), Peel (1899), Napoleon: the Last Phase (1900); Lord Randolph Churchill (1906) and Chatham: His Early Life and Connections (1910). Rosebery's essays and appreciations were published in Miscellanies (two volumes, 1921) edited by John Buchan.
Rosebery had a long parliamentary career as a Liberal politician. On 9 February 1871, his maiden speech seconded the Address to Her Majesty following the opening of Parliament. Following his successful return to office in 1880, Gladstone (q.v.) twice offered Rosebery the post of Under-Secretary of State at the India Office. Rosebery declined on both occasions, believing that his management of Gladstone's Midlothian campaign would be interpreted as an attempt to further his personal ambition rather than as a commitment to Liberal ideals and the party.
In 1881 Rosebery did take office, as Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office with special responsibilities for Scottish affairs; the following year he complained to Gladstone that Scottish matters were marginalised in Parliament, and in 1883 he resigned, saying that he would not rejoin the government unless he was a Cabinet minister. Shortly afterwards he left the country for a tour of America and Australia.
Perhaps Rosebery's major contribution to the Liberal Party was his attitude towards Britain's overseas possessions. Rosebery held strong beliefs about the British Empire, considering it to be a federation of nations. He promoted this idea whilst abroad and on 18 January 1884 he made a now-famous speech at Adelaide in which he said: '.... There is no need for any nation, however great, leaving the Empire, because the Empire is a Commonwealth of Nations'. Rosebery served as Foreign Secretary in Gladstone's ministries in 1886 and August 1892 - March 1894. In the interim, he was elected as one of the City's representatives to the first London County Council in 1889, and was chosen as its Chairman. He was elected as member for East Finsbury in 1892 and continued in the role of Chairman until he became Foreign Secretary.
He opposed the evacuation of Egypt, insisted on keeping control of Uganda and refused to join the Russians, French and Germans in an anti-Japanese league. In 1893 he intervened in the coal strike and chaired the Conference of Federated Coal-Owners and the Miners' Federation, persuading the two sides to reach agreement. When Gladstone resigned in 1894, Rosebery was the Queen's choice as Prime Minister (Gladstone himself probably preferred his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William Harcourt (q.v.), but the Queen deliberately avoided consulting him). His first speech in office created an outcry in the Liberal Party when he announced that home rule for Ireland could come only when England, as the senior member of the three kingdoms, agreed. This was unexpected, particularly after all Gladstone's efforts to secure home rule, and Rosebery was criticised in the Commons for his attitude.
Besides being Prime Minister, Rosebery was Leader of the Liberal Party between 1894 and 1896. Increasingly he was at odds with Liberal MPs, especially Harcourt; in February 1895 Rosebery threatened to resign because of lack of support from the parliamentary Liberals. After protests of loyalty from his Cabinet, he withdrew the threat. However he was seriously ill in 1894 and the government was defeated in June 1895; a Conservative House of Lords rejected all legislation but the budget. Campbell-Bannerman (q.v.) and the government felt obliged to resign and Rosebery visited Queen Victoria, formally resigning on 22 June 1895. In October 1896 he resigned as leader of the party in the interests of unity. Although he continued to be an active member of the Liberal Party in the Lords, Rosebery refused to accept office again. He ended up a cross-bencher.
In 1901 the Liberal Imperial Council was formed by Rosebery's supporters; in February 1902, the Liberal League was founded with Rosebery as its first President. He consistently advocated a reform of the Upper House, although he spoke against the Parliament Bill of 1910. In November 1918, he suffered a stroke which left him partially disabled; he died at the Durdans, Epsom, on 21 May 1929.
In 1931 the Marquis of Crewe (q.v.) published a two-volume biography of Rosebery. The most recent, authoritative study is Robert Rhodes James, Rosebery: A Biography, published in 1963 but still available in paperback.
Marjie Bloy
Marjie Bloy is a history teacher. She graduated from London University in 1981 and was awarded a PhD by the University of Sheffield in 1986
