We need some variety in the election coverage, so I thought I would revisit the Diary of Lady Frederick Cavendish to see how she viewed the momentous election of 1868 which followed the extension of the vote to many working class men by the Reform Act of 1867.
She played her part as both loyal sister-in-law & wife, accompanying the future 8th Duke of Devonshire & her husband to their respective constituencies as the time for making nomination approached. She got very excited at both meetings & judged her (still quite new) husband’s speech the best she had ever heard him make. She nearly burst with enthusiasm.
The election saw the Liberal party increase their lead over the Conservatives in parliament, but there were anomalous results. John Stuart Mill lost his seat in Westminster & the Cavendish family had their number of MP brothers reduced from 3 to 1 - Lord Frederick kept his seat. As with all politicians in defeat the family were inclined to rather wild analysis of the reasons why – in this case rabid No Popery lies about the family from the opposition.
The subject of MPs employing family members has been much criticised of late. In 1868 nobody thought it wrong, in fact politics was intrinsically a family business. Lady Frederick’s uncle, the prime minister William Gladstone, was reluctant to lose the talents of heir to the Duke of Devonshire, who had served politics well in his 11 years as an MP, & so he offered to make Spencer Cavendish Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. But as Lady Frederick confided to her diary “It is far from suitable for a young bachelor!”
It is the next sentence which I had to work at to extract its significance: “The thing was kept as nearly secret as was compatible with Freddy, Eddy, Lord George, and Lou being married people!”
What was the secret? That Spencer Cavendish was unmarried – how could that be kept from the public? Had he already begun his long relationship with the duchess of Manchester- was that the problem? Why would the marriages of his siblings cause gossip?
But I guess really Lady Fred was just saying that too many people were in on the secret of Gladstone’s offer, so a leak was almost inevitable. You know what political gossip is like.
