First Russell ministry

Russell (1853)

Whig Lord John Russell led the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1846 to 1852.

History

See also: 1851 vote of no confidence in the government of Lord John Russell and 1852 vote of no confidence in the government of Lord John Russell

Following the split in the Tory Party over the Corn Laws in 1846 and the consequent end of Sir Robert Peel's second government, the Whigs came to power under Lord John Russell. Sir Charles Wood became Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir George Grey Home Secretary and Lord Palmerston Foreign Secretary for the third time.

One of the major problems facing the government was the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), which Russell failed to deal with effectively. Another problem was the maverick Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, who was eventually forced to resign in December 1851 after recognising the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon without first seeking royal approval. He was succeeded by Lord Granville, the first of his three tenures as Foreign Secretary. Palmerston thereafter successfully devoted his energies to bringing down Russell's government, leading to the formation of a minority Conservative government under Lord Derby in February 1852.

Cabinet

July 1846 – February 1852

Office Name Term
First Lord of the Treasury
Leader of the House of Commons		 Lord John Russell July 1846 – February 1852
Lord Chancellor Charles Pepys, 1st Baron Cottenham July 1846 – July 1850
  Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro July 1850 – February 1852
Lord President of the Council
Leader of the House of Lords		 Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne July 1846 – February 1852
Lord Privy Seal Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto July 1846 – February 1852
Home Secretary Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet July 1846 – February 1852
Foreign Secretary Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston July 1846 – December 1851
  Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville December 1851 – February 1852
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey July 1846 – February 1852
Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood July 1846 – February 1852
First Lord of the Admiralty George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland July 1846 – January 1849
  Sir Francis Baring January 1849 – February 1852
President of the Board of Control Sir John Cam Hobhouse, Bt July 1846 – February 1852
  Fox Maule February 1852
President of the Board of Trade George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon July 1846 – July 1847
  Henry Labouchere July 1847 – February 1852
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St Andrews July 1846 – March 1850
  George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle March 1850 – February 1852
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests George Howard, Baron Morpeth† July 1846 – July 1850
  Edward Seymour, Baron Seymour July 1850 – February 1852
Chief Secretary for Ireland Henry Labouchere July 1846 – July 1847
  successor not in cabinet
Postmaster General Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde July 1846 – February 1852
Paymaster General Thomas Babington Macaulay July 1846 – July 1847
  successor not in cabinet
  Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1851‡–December 1851
  successor not in cabinet
Secretary at War Fox Maule 1851‡–February 1852
  successor not in cabinet

† became the Earl of Carlisle in 1848 ‡ denotes becoming a member of the cabinet, not gaining the office

Notes

  • Lord Carlisle served as both Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and First Commissioner of Woods and Forests between March and July 1850.

Changes

  • July 1847: Henry Labouchere succeeds Lord Clarendon as President of the Board of Trade. Labouchere's successor as Chief Secretary for Ireland is not in the cabinet. Thomas Babington Macaulay leaves the cabinet. His successor as Paymaster-General is not in the Cabinet.
  • January 1849: Sir Francis Baring succeeds Lord Auckland as First Lord of the Admiralty
  • March 1850: Lord Carlisle succeeds Lord Campbell as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He remains First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
  • July 1850: Lord Truro succeeds Lord Cottenham as Lord Chancellor. Lord Seymour succeeds Lord Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Carlisle remains Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
  • 1851: Fox Maule, the Secretary at War, and Lord Granville, the Paymaster-General, enter the Cabinet
  • December 1851: Lord Granville succeeds Lord Palmerston as Foreign Secretary. Granville's successor as Paymaster-General is not in the Cabinet
  • February 1852: Fox Maule succeeds Sir John Cam Hobhouse as President of the Board of Control. Maule's successor as Secretary at War is not in the Cabinet.

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

Office Name Date Notes
Prime Minister,
First Lord of the Treasury
and Leader of the House of Commons		 Lord John Russell 30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852 The Government resigned 22 February 1851 and resumed 3 March 1851
Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet 6 July 1846  
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Henry Tufnell 7 July 1846  
William Goodenough Hayter July 1850  
Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Parker 7 July 1846  
William Goodenough Hayter 22 May 1849
George Cornewall Lewis 9 July 1850
Junior Lords of the Treasury Hugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington 6 July 1846 – 22 December 1847 the number of Junior Lordships was reduced from four to three in 1848
Denis O'Conor 6 July 1846 – 2 August 1847
William Gibson-Craig 6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
Henry Rich 6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
Richard Bellew 2 August 1847 – 21 February 1852
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Shelburne 22 December 1847 – August 1848
Lord Chancellor Charles Pepys, 1st Baron Cottenham 6 July 1846  
in commission 19 June 1850
Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro 15 July 1850
Lord President of the Council
and Leader of the House of Lords		 Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne 6 July 1846  
Lord Privy Seal Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto 6 July 1846  
Secretary of State for the Home Department Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet 6 July 1846  
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department Sir William Somerville, 5th Baronet 5 July 1846  
Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1st Baronet 22 July 1847
George Cornewall Lewis 15 May 1848
Edward Pleydell-Bouverie 9 July 1850
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston 6 July 1846  
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 26 December 1851
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Edward Stanley 6 July 1846  
Austen Henry Layard 12 February 1852
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey 6 July 1846  
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Benjamin Hawes 6 July 1846  
Frederick Peel 1 November 1851
President of the Board of Control Sir John Hobhouse, 2nd Baronet 8 July 1846  
Fox Maule 5 February 1852
Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control George Byng 6 July 1846 – 30 November 1847  
Thomas Wyse 6 July 1846 – 26 January 1849
George Cornewall Lewis 30 November 1847 – 16 May 1848
James Wilson 16 May 1848 – 21 February 1852
John Elliot 26 January 1849 – 21 February 1852
First Lord of the Admiralty George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland 7 July 1846  
Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet 15 January 1849
First Secretary of the Admiralty Henry George Ward 13 July 1846  
John Parker 21 May 1849
Civil Lord of the Admiralty William Cowper 7 July 1846  
Chief Secretary for Ireland Henry Labouchere 6 July 1846  
Sir William Somerville, 5th Baronet 22 July 1847
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough 8 July 1846  
George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon 22 May 1847
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell 6 July 1846  
George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle 6 March 1850
Paymaster General Thomas Babington Macaulay 7 July 1846  
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 8 May 1848 entered the Cabinet October 1851
Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 12 February 1852  
Postmaster-General Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde 7 July 1846  
President of the Board of Trade George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon 6 July 1846  
Henry Labouchere 22 July 1847
Vice-President of the Board of Trade Thomas Milner Gibson 8 July 1846  
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 8 May 1848
Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 11 February 1852
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests George Howard, Viscount Morpeth 7 July 1846 succeeded as 7th Earl of Carlisle 7 October 1848
Edward Seymour, Baron Seymour 17 April 1849 office abolished 1 August 1851
First Commissioner of Works Edward Seymour, Baron Seymour 1 August 1851 entered the Cabinet October 1851
Master-General of the Ordnance Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 8 July 1846  
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance Charles Richard Fox 8 July 1846  
Clerk of the Ordnance George Anson 8 July 1846  
Storekeeper of the Ordnance Sir Thomas Hastings 25 July 1845 continued in office
President of the Poor Law Board Charles Buller 23 July 1847  
Matthew Talbot Baines 1 January 1849
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board Hugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington 23 July 1847  
Ralph William Grey 28 January 1851
Secretary at War Fox Maule 6 July 1846  
Robert Vernon Smith 6 February 1852
Attorney General Sir Thomas Wilde 7 July 1846  
Sir John Jervis 17 July 1846
Sir John Romilly 11 July 1850
Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet 28 March 1851
Solicitor General John Jervis 7 July 1846  
Sir David Dundas 18 July 1846
Sir John Romilly 4 April 1848
Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet 11 July 1850
Sir William Page Wood 28 March 1851
Judge Advocate General Charles Buller 8 July 1846  
William Goodenough Hayter 22 December 1847
Sir David Dundas 26 May 1849
Lord Advocate Andrew Rutherfurd 6 July 1846  
James Moncreiff 7 April 1851
Solicitor General for Scotland Thomas Maitland 6 July 1846  
James Moncreiff 7 February 1850
John Cowan 18 April 1851
George Deas 28 June 1851
Attorney General for Ireland Richard Moore 16 July 1846  
James Henry Monahan 21 December 1847
John Hatchell 23 September 1850
Solicitor General for Ireland James Henry Monahan 16 July 1846  
John Hatchell 24 December 1847
Henry George Hughes 26 September 1850
Lord Steward of the Household Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue 8 July 1846  
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster 22 March 1850
Lord Chamberlain of the Household Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer 8 July 1846  
John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane 5 September 1848
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household Lord Edward Howard 8 July 1846  
Master of the Horse Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk 11 July 1846  
Treasurer of the Household Lord Robert Grosvenor 3 August 1846  
Lord Marcus Hill 23 July 1847
Comptroller of the Household Lord Marcus Hill 6 July 1846  
William Lascelles 23 July 1847
George Phipps, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave 23 July 1851
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley 24 July 1846  
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland 24 July 1846  
George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall 11 February 1848
Master of the Buckhounds Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 9 July 1846  
John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough 16 May 1848
Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal Lord Alfred Paget 7 July 1846  
Mistress of the Robes Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland 4 July 1846  
Lords in Waiting Edmund Parker, 2nd Earl of Morley 24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852  
Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie 24 July 1846 – 1 December 1847
Henry Cavendish, 3rd Baron Waterpark 24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys 4 August 1846 – 21 February 1852
George Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton 10 September 1841 – 26 June 1849
John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde 10 September 1841 – 21 February 1852
John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone 1 December 1847 – 21 February 1852
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye 26 June 1849 – 21 February 1852

References

  • C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900
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