Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935.
He was the first nominally-practising
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
to serve as a Cabinet minister and to become the leader of a major British political party. Samuel had promoted
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
within the
British Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers. ...
, beginning with his 1915 memorandum entitled ''
The Future of Palestine''. In 1920 he was appointed as the first
High Commissioner for Palestine
The High Commissioner for Palestine was the highest ranking authority representing the United Kingdom in the mandated territories of Palestine and the High Commissioner for Transjordan was the highest ranking authority representing the United King ...
, in charge of the administration of the territory.
Samuel was the last member of the Liberal Party to hold one of the four
Great Offices of State
The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the UK government. They are the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary or, alternatively, three of those offices excluding the Prime Minister.
Current
...
(as
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
from 1931–32 in the
National Government of
Ramsay MacDonald).
One of the adherents of "New Liberalism", Samuel helped to draft and present social reform legislation while he was serving as a Liberal cabinet member. Samuel led the party in both the
1931 general election and the
1935 general election, during which period the party's number of seats in parliament fell from 59 to 21.
Early life
Herbert Samuel was born at ''Claremont'' No. 11 Belvidere Road,
Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside.
Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill.
The area ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, in 1870. The building now houses part of
the Belvedere Academy
The Belvedere Academy is an all-ability state-funded girls’ Academy secondary- formerly independent- school in Liverpool, England. Its predecessor, The Belvedere School, was founded in 1880 as Liverpool High School. It is non-denominational, ...
. Around 1775, his great-grandfather, Menachem Samuel, had emigrated from Kempen in Posen (now
Kepno), not far from the city of Posen (now
Poznan), to Britain and his grandfather, Louis Samuel (1794-1859), was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He was the son of Clara (Yates) and Edwin Louis Samuel (1825–1877). His uncle was born Montagu Samuel, but became better known as
Samuel Montagu
Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling (21 December 1832 – 12 January 1911), was a British banker who founded the bank of Samuel Montagu & Co. He was a philanthropist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1900, a ...
, founder of the eponymous
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
. He was also known by a Hebrew name, Eliezer ben Pinchas Shmuel. His eldest brother,
Sir Stuart Samuel, was also a successful Liberal politician; his only sister, Mabel (1862–1938) married the influential art-critic
Marion Spielmann
Marion Harry Alexander Spielmann (London, 22 May 1858 – 1948) was a prolific Victorian art critic and scholar who was the editor of '' The Connoisseur'' and ''Magazine of Art''. Among his voluminous output, he wrote a history of ''Punch'', ...
, from the Spielmann dynasty of bankers and art-connoisseurs.
He was educated at
University College School
("Slowly but surely")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, religion =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Mark Beard
, r_head_label =
, r_he ...
in
Hampstead, London and
Balliol College, Oxford, but at home he had a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish upbringing. However, in 1892, while at Oxford he renounced all religious belief, writing to his mother to inform her. Samuel worked through the influence of
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
and the book ''On Compromise'' by senior Liberal politician
John Morley
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, (24 December 1838 – 23 September 1923) was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor.
Initially, a journalist in the North of England and then editor of the newly Liberal-leani ...
.
[Memoirs by Viscount Samuel (1945)] He remained a member of the Jewish community, however, to please his wife,
and observed the Sabbath and Jewish food laws at home "for hygienic reasons".
Early political career
Samuel unsuccessfully fought two general elections before being elected a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
at the November
1902 Cleveland by-election, as a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. He was appointed to the
Cabinet in 1909 by Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
, first as
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...
and then as
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...
,
President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...
and eventually
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
.
He put forward the idea of establishing a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
over
Palestine in 1915, and his ideas influenced the
Balfour Declaration. As Home Secretary, Samuel faced a shortage of manpower needed to fight in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and he initiated legislation to offer thousands of Russian refugees (many of them young Jews) a choice between conscription into the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
or returning to Russia for military service.
In December 1916, Asquith was replaced as Prime Minister by
Lloyd George. Lloyd George asked Samuel to continue as Home Secretary, but Samuel chose to resign instead.
He attempted to strike a balance between giving support to the new government while remaining loyal to Asquith. At the end of the war he sought election at the
general election of 1918 as a Liberal in support of the Coalition government. However, the
government's endorsement was given to his Unionist opponent, and he was defeated.
Women's rights
Initially he had not been a supporter of
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
but then changed his position. In 1917, a Speakers Conference was charged with looking into giving women the vote but did not have, in its terms of reference, consideration to women standing as candidates for parliament. However, Samuel moved a separate motion on 23 October 1918 to allow women to be eligible as Members of Parliament. The vote was passed by 274 to 25, and the government rushed through a bill to make it law in time for the 1918 election.
High Commissioner for Palestine
Background
One month after Britain's declaration of war on the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in November 1914, Samuel met
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israe ...
, who was to become the President of the
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...
and later the first
President of Israel
The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...
. According to Weizmann's memoirs, Samuel was already an avid believer in Zionism and believed that Weizmann's demands were too modest. Samuel did not want to enter into a detailed discussion of his plans but mentioned that "the Jews would have to build railways, harbours, a university, a network of schools, etc", as well as potentially a Temple in "modernised form".
In January 1915, Samuel circulated a memorandum, ''
The Future of Palestine'', to his cabinet colleagues, suggesting that Britain should conquer Palestine in order to protect the
Suez Canal against foreign powers, and for Palestine to become a home for the
Jewish people
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
. The memorandum stated, "I am assured that the solution of the problem of Palestine which would be much the most welcome to the leaders and supporters of the Zionist movement throughout the world would be the annexation of the country to the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
". In March 1915, Samuel replaced the January 1915 draft version with the final version of his memorandum, toned down from the earlier draft, explicitly ruling out any idea of immediately establishing a Jewish state and emphasizing that non-Jews must receive equal treatment under any scheme.
Appointment as High Commissioner
![Jerusalem King George plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Jerusalem_King_George_plaque.jpg)
In 1917, Britain occupied Palestine (then part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
) during the course of the First World War. Samuel lost his seat in the
election of 1918 and became a candidate to represent British interests in the territory.
He was appointed to the position of
High Commissioner in 1920, before the Council of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
approved a British mandate for Palestine. Nonetheless, the military government withdrew to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
in preparation for the expected British
Mandate, which was finally granted two years later by the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. He served as High Commissioner until 1925. Samuel was the first Jew to govern the historic
Land of Israel in 2000 years.
He recognised
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
as one of the three official languages of the territory. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(GBE) on 11 June 1920.
Samuel's appointment to High Commissioner for Palestine was controversial. While the Zionists welcomed the appointment of a
Zionist Jew to the post, the military government, headed by
Edmund Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
and
Louis Bols
Lieutenant General Sir Louis Jean Bols (23 November 1867 – 13 September 1930) was a British Army General, he served as Edmund Allenby's Third Army Chief of Staff on the Western Front and Sinai and Palestine campaigns of World War I. Fro ...
, called Samuel's appointment "highly dangerous".
Technically, Allenby noted, the appointment was illegal, as a civil administration that would compel the inhabitants of an occupied country to express their allegiance to it before a formal peace treaty (with the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
) was signed violated both
military law
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
and the
Hague Convention. Bols said the news was received with "consternation, despondency and exasperation" by the Muslims and Christians. Allenby said that the Arabs would see it "as handing country over at once to a permanent Zionist Administration" and predicted massive violence.
Lord Curzon
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
read the last message to Samuel and asked him to reconsider accepting the post. Samuel took advice from a delegation in London representing the Zionists, who told him that the "alarmist" reports were not justified. The
Muslim-Christian Association had sent a telegram to Bols:
Sir Herbert Samuel regarded as a Zionist leader, and his appointment as first step in formation of Zionist national home in the midst of Arab people contrary to their wishes. Inhabitants cannot recognise him, and Muslim-Christian Society cannot accept responsibility for riots or other disturbances of peace.
The wisdom of appointing Samuel was debated in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
a day before he arrived in Palestine.
Lord Curzon
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
said that no "disparaging" remarks had been made during the debate but that "very grave doubts have been expressed as to the wisdom of sending a Jewish Administrator to the country at this moment".
Questions in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
of the period also show much concern about the choice of Samuel: "what action has been taken to placate the Arab population... and thereby put an end to racial tension". Three months after his arrival, ''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'' commented: "Sir Herbert Samuel's appointment as High Commissioner was regarded by everyone, except Jews, as a serious mistake."
Tenure
As High Commissioner, Samuel attempted to mediate between
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
and Arab interests, acting to slow Jewish immigration and win the confidence of the Arab population. He hoped to gain Arab participation in mandate affairs and to guard their civil and economic rights, but refused them any authority that could be used to stop Jewish immigration and land purchase. According to Wasserstein his policy was "subtly designed to reconcile Arabs to the... pro-Zionist policy" of the British.
Islamic custom at the time was that the chief Islamic spiritual leader, the
Grand Mufti
The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...
of Jerusalem, was to be chosen by the temporal ruler, the Ottoman Sultan in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, from a group of clerics nominated by the indigenous clerics. After the British conquered Palestine, Samuel chose
Haj Amin al Husseini, who later proved a thorn in the side of the British administration in Palestine. At the same time, he enjoyed the respect of the Jewish community, and he was honoured by being called to the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
at the
Hurva synagogue
The Hurva Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת החורבה, translit: ''Beit ha-Knesset ha-Hurva'', lit. "The Ruin Synagogue"), also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ( he, חורבת רבי יהודה החסיד, "Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Piou ...
in the
Old City of Jerusalem.
During Samuel's administration the
Churchill White Paper
The Churchill White Paper of 3 June 1922 (sometimes referred to as "British Policy in Palestine") was drafted at the request of Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, partly in response to the 1921 Jaffa Riots. The off ...
was published. It supported Jewish immigration within the economic absorptive capacity of the country to accommodate them and defined the Jewish national homeland as:
not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take, on grounds of religion and race, an interest and a pride.
Samuel won the confidence of all sections of the population by his noted "impartiality". He struck a particularly strong relationship with
Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg (russian: Пётр Моисеевич Рутенберг, Pyotr Moiseyevich Rutenberg; he, פנחס רוטנברג: 5 February 1879 – 3 January 1942) was a Russian Jewish engineer, businessman, and political activist. He pl ...
, granting him exclusive concessions to produce and distribute electricity in Palestine and Trans-Jordan, often strongly backing Rutenberg in his relations with the Colonial Office in London. Samuel government signed the Ghor-Mudawarra Land Agreement with the Baysan Valley Bedouin tribes, that earmarked for transfer 179,545
dunams of state land to the Bedouin.
Samuel's role in Palestine is still debated. According to Wasserstein:
He is remembered kindly neither by the majority of Zionist historians, who tend to regard him as one of the originators of the process whereby the Balfour Declaration in favour of Zionism was gradually diluted and ultimately betrayed by Great Britain, nor by Arab nationalists who regard him as a personification of the alliance between Zionism and British imperialism and as one of those responsible for the displacement of the Palestinian Arabs from their homeland. In fact, both are mistaken.
Samuel Commission
On his return to Britain in 1925, Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin asked Samuel to look into the problems of the mining industry. The
Samuel Commission
The Samuel Commission was a Royal Commission set up by the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated ...
published its report in March 1926, recommending a reorganisation of the industry but rejecting the suggestion of
nationalisation. The report also recommended the government subsidy to be withdrawn and the miners' wages reduced. The report was one of the leading factors that led to the
1926 General Strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...
.
Later political career
Samuel returned to the House of Commons following the
1929 general election. Two years later, he became deputy leader of the Liberal Party and acted as leader in the summer of 1931 when Lloyd George was ill. Under Samuel, the party served in the first
National Government of Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald formed in August 1931, with Samuel himself serving as
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
. However the government's willingness to consider the introduction of
protectionist tariffs
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...
and call a general election to seek a mandate led to the Liberal Party fragmenting into three distinct groups.
Sir John Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...
had already led a breakaway group of MPs to form the
Liberal National Party.
The Liberal leader, Lloyd George, led a small group of
Independent Liberals, opposing the National Government. That left Samuel effectively as leader of the parliamentary party and in control of party headquarters. The government's moves to introduce tariffs caused further friction for the Liberals, and Samuel withdrew the party from the government in stages, first obtaining the suspension of
cabinet collective responsibility
Cabinet collective responsibility, also known as collective ministerial responsibility, is a constitutional convention in parliamentary systems that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if ...
on the matter to allow Liberal members of the government to oppose tariffs. In October 1932, the Liberal ministers resigned their ministerial posts but continued to support the National Government in parliament. Finally, in November 1933, Samuel and the bulk of the Liberal MPs
crossed the floor
Crossed may refer to:
* ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis
* ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie
* "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead''
S ...
of the House of Commons and opposed the government outright. He remained leader of the Liberal Party until he again lost his seat in 1935.
In 1937, he was granted the title
Viscount Samuel
Viscount Samuel, of Mount Carmel in Israel and Toxteth in the City of Liverpool, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 June 1937 for the Liberal politician and former High Commissioner of the British Mandate of ...
; later that year, Samuel, despite his Jewish ancestry, aligned himself with Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, urged that Germany be cleared of its 1914 war guilt and recommended the return of
German colonies
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
lost after the war. His biographer
John Edward Bowle noted Samuel's recollection of his comments to
Lord Halifax
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...
in a conversation shortly before the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
in 1938:
I said that I regarded Hitler as a man with a conscience — a conscience that sometimes led him to do things that were very bad; but he was not a man who would do what he knew to be a crime as Napoleon would have. The danger was that, being a mystic and impetuous, he might easily be swept away at some moment of crisis.
He declined a later offer by Chamberlain to return to government. In 1938, he supported the ''Kindertransport'' movement for refugee children from Europe with an appeal for homes for them.
Samuel later became the leader of the Liberal Party in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
(1944–1955). During the 1951 general election, on 15 October 1951, Samuel became the first British politician to deliver a party political broadcast on television.
Family
On 17 November 1897 Samuel cousin marriage, married his first cousin Beatrice Miriam (1871–1959), daughter of Ellis Abraham Franklin, a banker. They had three sons and one daughter.
[Bernard Wasserstein,]
Samuel, Herbert Louis, first Viscount Samuel (1870–1963)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 His son, Edwin Herbert Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel, Edwin, served in the Jewish Legion.
Samuel was great-uncle to the scientist Rosalind Franklin, the co-discoverer of DNA.
Literary career
In his later years, he remained concerned over the future of humanity and of science, writing three books: ''Essays in Physics'' (1951), ''In Search of Reality'' (1957) and a collaborative work, ''A Threefold Cord: Philosophy, Science, Religion'' (1961). The three works tended to conflict with the beliefs of the scientific establishment, especially as his collaborator and friend in the last work was Herbert Dingle.
Arms
See also
*Liberalism in the United Kingdom
*Pro-Jerusalem Society - Herbert Samuel was its Honorary President
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* Trevor Wilson (ed.), ''The Political Diaries of C.P.Scott 1911–1928'', Collins: St James Place, London, 1970.
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Herbert Samuel & Churchill - UK Parliament Living HeritageHerbert Samuel & 1909 Theatre Censorship Committee - UK Parliament Living Heritage*
*
National Register of Archives: Herbert SamuelPapers of Herbert Samuelat the UK Parliamentary Archives
National Portrait Gallery: Herbert SamuelBiography of Samuel at the website of the Liberal Democrat History GroupAlbum MIZPAH Publication of an album which was given to Herbert Samuel by members of the American Colony in 1925. Israel State Archives site
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Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, 1870-1963Herbert Samuel and the British Mandate for Palestine: The Formative Yearson the Israel State Archives website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Herbert, 1st Viscount Samuel
1870 births
1963 deaths
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
British High Commissioners of Palestine
British Jewish writers
British Zionists
Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster
Diplomatic peers
Samuel-Montagu family, Herbert
English Jews
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Leaders of the Liberal Party (UK)
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Order of Merit
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at University College School
Politicians from Liverpool
Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society
Secretaries of State for the Home Department
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs 1931–1935
UK MPs who were granted peerages
United Kingdom Postmasters General
Jewish British politicians
Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery
Viscounts created by George VI
Presidents of the Classical Association