William Beresford (17 April 1797 – 6 October 1883) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Background

He was the only son of Marcus Beresford and his wife Frances Arabella, daughter of

Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown (11 March 1701 – 2 October 1783) was an Irish peer and politician. Background He was the son of Joseph Leeson, a brewer in Dublin, and Mary Brice, daughter of Alderman Andrew Brice, Sheriff of Dublin. His ...

. Beresford was educated at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902. History In 1320, ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1819 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

five years later. He joined the British Army and served in the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...

and then in the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers, finally as a major.

Career

Beresford contested

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

unsuccessfully in 1837. He was elected for

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

in the next general election in 1841, which he represented until 1847. Beresford and Charles Newdegate were the Conservative

whips A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

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. ...

after the party split over the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...

. His relations with

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

were strained, with Beresford often taking his cue from

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

in the Lords instead of the nominal leader in the commons. As Chief Whip he managed the 1852 general election, widely noted for its venality (even by the standards of the day), and was censured by the house for "reckless indifference to systematic bribery". Disraeli took the opportunity to remove Beresford, who was briefly succeeded as whip by

William Forbes Mackenzie William Forbes Mackenzie (18 April 1807 – 24 September 1862) was a Scottish Conservative politician and temperance reformer. He is best known for the Forbes MacKenzie Act, legislation passed in 1853 to regulate public houses in Scotland. Li ...

. Mackenzie, however, lost his seat for much the same reason, and was in turn succeeded by Sir

William Joliffe William Joliffe (c.1622 – 1712) was an English merchant and politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Poole (UK Parliament constituency), Poole from 1698 to 1705. References

1622 births ...

. The management of elections Disraeli transferred to his solicitor, Philip Rose.Blake, 322; 352. Beresford was appointed

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

in 1852, and on this occasion was sworn in as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

Family

In 1833, he married Catherine, the youngest daughter of George Robert Heneage, and had by her two sons and a daughter.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford, William 1797 births 1883 deaths Alumni of St Mary Hall, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers 12th Royal Lancers officers