Snowdon Barne (26 December 1756 – 3 July 1825) was a lawyer and a British Member of Parliament, who represented the Dunwich seat from 1796 to 1812.

Family and early career

Born on 26 December 1756, he was the third son of Miles Barne of

Sotterley Sotterley, originally ''Southern-lea'' from its situation south of the river, Suckling, A.I., (1846). 'Sotterley', in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk'', 2 vols (W.S. Cowell, Ipswich 1846), Ipp. 81–96(British History Onli ...

, Suffolk, and his second wife, Mary Thornhill, a daughter of George Thornhill of Diddington, Huntingdonshire.Stokes (1986) He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and then matriculated at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, in 1776, gaining LL.B. in 1781 and then becoming a fellow in 1786. He was admitted at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

on 11 June 1773 and then migrated to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

at that date in 1782, having been called to the Bar in 1781, from which time he began practising on the Western circuit. He later became a Bencher of the Inner Temple, in 1816.

Member of Parliament

In 1796, the ill health of his eldest brother, Miles Barne, who was already quite reluctant to be a member, left the family seat of Dunwich vacant (Dunwich was a notorious "

Rotten Borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

" and remained in the pocket of the Barne family from 1764 until the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

). Given that the elder brother, Barne Barne, had been appointed Commissioner of Taxes in 1791, it fell upon Snowdon Barne, who had not been "making that progress in his profession which … might have been expected",''The Gentleman's Magazine'' (1825, pt. ii), p. 89 to take over the seat. He gave silent support to Pitt the Younger's administration, but tended to oppose Addington's, voting with the opposition on the defence questions that brought down that ministry in 1804. He continued to support Pitt when he became Prime Minister after Addingtion's defeat; he voted against censuring Lord Melville in 1805 and sat on a Committee to investigate the Eleventh Naval Report, both acts allowing him to obtain a reward for his service from Pitt, who had him appointed Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in 1806. He declined the offer from

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

to be Secretary to the Treasury, citing the workload, but was made one of the

Lords Commissioners of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in 1809 and being reappointed each year thereafter until 1812; during that time, he voted in favour of the Government, making clear his desire for a place on the Custom Board. His support in several Bills during 1811 and 1812 saw this realised and he was appointed to that Board in 1812.

Later life and death

With the retirement of the joint Chairmen of the Commissioners of Customs, William Roe and Francis Fownes Luttrell, in 1819, Richard Betenson Dean became Chairman and Barne was appointed Deputy Chairman.''Gentleman's Magazine'', 1825, part ii, p. 89; for the full names of "Messrs. Roe and Luttrell" named in the obituary, se
''The Royal Kalendar''
p. 245; there was no deputy prior to Barne's appointment, as that source shows. He suffered from a "stoke of the palsy" in 1822 and, although recovering to some degree, decided to resign that office in 1823; he died, unmarried, on 3 July 1825 and was buried at Sotterley.Venn and Venn (1940), p. 160

References

Citations

Bibliography

''The Gentlemen’s Magazine''
vol. xcv (1825, pt. ii). * R. L. Arrowsmith, ''Charterhouse Register: 1769–1872'' (London: Phillimore, 1974). * J. C. Sainty
''Office-Holders in Modern Britain''
vol. 1, "Treasury Officials 1660–1870" (London: University of London, 1972). * W. Stokes
"Barne, Snowdon (1756–1825), of Dunwich, Suff."
in R. Thorne (ed.), ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986). * J. Venn and J. A. Venn (eds.)
''Alumni Cantabrigienses''
vol. ii, pt. i (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1940).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barne, Snowdon 1756 births 1825 deaths Snowdon People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812