George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen, PC, DL, FBA (10 August 1831 – 7 February 1907) was a British statesman and businessman best remembered for being "forgotten" by

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. Churchill was a Tory radical and coined the term ' Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, created the National Union ...

. He was initially a Liberal, then a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

before joining the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in 1893. While

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

, in 1888, he introduced the Goschen formula to allocate funding for Scotland and Ireland.

Background, education and business career

He was born in London, the son of Wilhelm Heinrich (William Henry) Goschen, who emigrated from

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. His grandfather was the prominent German printer Georg Joachim Göschen. He was educated at

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under Tait, and at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, where he took a first in Literae Humaniores. He entered his father's firm of Fruhling & Goschen, of Austin Friars, in 1853, and three years later became a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

. From 1874 to 1880, Goschen was Governor (Company chairman) of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, North America's oldest company (established by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1670).

Political career, 1863–1885

In 1863 he was returned without opposition as one of the four MPs for the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

in the Liberal interest, and he was reelected in 1865. In November of the same year he was appointed

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade is a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade. The office was created in 1786 but fell into abeyance in 1867. From 1848 onwards, the office was he ...

and

Paymaster-General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

, and in January 1866 he was made

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 ...

, with a seat in the cabinet. When

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...

became

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

in December 1868, Goschen joined the cabinet as President of the Poor Law Board, until March 1871, when he succeeded Childers as

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

. In the 1874 general election he was the only Liberal returned for the City of London, and by a narrow

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

in 1876 as delegate for the British holders of Egyptian bonds in 1876, he concluded an agreement with the

Khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"K ...

to arrange for the conversion of the debt. In 1878 his views on the county franchise question prevented him from voting consistently with his party. With the City of London becoming more Conservative, Goschen did not stand there at the 1880 general election, but was instead returned for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in Yorkshire, which he represented until 1885, when he was returned for Edinburgh East. He declined to join Gladstone's government in 1880 and refused the post of

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, but he became special ambassador to the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, where he settled the Montenegrin and Greek frontier questions in 1880 and 1881. He was made an

Ecclesiastical Commissioner The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the C ...

in 1882. When Sir Henry Brand was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

in 1884, Goschen was offered the role of Speaker of the House of Commons, but he declined. During the parliament of 1880–1885 he frequently found himself at odds with his party, especially over franchise extension and questions of

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

. When Gladstone adopted

Home Rule for Ireland The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

, Goschen followed Lord Hartington (afterwards 8th Duke of Devonshire) and became one of the most active of the Liberal Unionists. He failed to retain his seat for Edinburgh at the election in July of that year.

Political career, 1885–1895

On the resignation of

in December 1886, Goschen, though a Liberal Unionist, accepted Lord Salisbury's invitation to join his ministry as

. Churchill had assumed he could not be replaced and famously commented that he had "forgotten Goschen" was a potential alternative. Goschen needed a seat in Parliament and so stood in a by-election in the Liverpool Exchange constituency but was defeated by seven votes in January 1887. He was then elected for the strongly-Conservative St George's, Hanover Square, in February. His chancellorship was memorable for his successful conversion of the

National Debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

in 1888. He also introduced the first UK road tax, implemented in the form of two vehicle duties, on locomotives and carts. According to

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, "Whether Goschen was a good Chancellor is more problematical. His main and real achievement was the conversion in 1888 of the core of the national debt from a 3 percent to a 2.75 percent and ultimately 2.5 percent basis. For the rest he was a stolid and uninnovating Chancellor." Professor Thomas Skinner wrote, "Yet there remains a feeling that he failed to accomplish much of what needed to be done". The

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

again conferred upon him the honour of the rectorship in 1888, he received an honorary

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in the same year, and he received a similar honour from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

in 1890. Following the defeat of Salisbury's government in 1892, Goschen moved into opposition. Though he had been a leading Liberal Unionist as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Goschen did not stand against

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the C ...

for the leadership of the party in 1892 following the departure of Hartington to the House of Lords as the Duke of Devonshire. Unable to work with Chamberlain, Goschen left the Liberal Unionists and joined the Conservatives in 1893. One obvious sign of his change of allegiance within the Unionist alliance was when he joined the exclusively Conservative

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History T ...

in the same year.

Political career, 1895–1907

From 1895 to 1900 Goschen was

. He retired in 1900 and was raised to the

as Viscount Goschen of Hawkhurst, Kent. Though retired from active politics he continued to take a great interest in public affairs, and when Chamberlain started his tariff reform movement in 1903, Lord Goschen was one of the weightiest champions of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

on the Unionist side.

Other public positions

In educational subjects Goschen had always taken the greatest interest, his best known, but by no means his only, contribution to popular culture being his participation in the University Extension Movement. His first efforts in parliament were devoted to advocating the abolition of religious tests and the admission of

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, an ...

to the universities. His published works indicate how ably he combined the wise study of economics with a practical instinct for business-like progress, without neglecting the more ideal aspects of human life. In addition to his well-known work o
''The Theory of Foreign Exchanges''
he published several financial and political pamphlets and addresses on educational and social subjects, among them bein
''The Cultivation of the Imagination''
Liverpool, 1877, and that o
''Intellectual Interest''
Aberdeen, 1888. He was President of the Royal Statistical Society, 1886–88. He also wrote a biography of his grandfather, ''The Life and Times of George Joachim Goschen, publisher and printer of Leipzig'' (1903). This culminated a long-standing project to refute allegations of Jewish ancestry, giving his earliest ascertainable ancestor as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor named Joachimus Gosenius, recorded in 1609. (It did not apparently prevent his family being classed as of Jewish origin in the German genealogical work known as ''The Semi Gotha'', first published 1913.)

Private life

Goschen died on 7 February 1907. He had married, in 1857, Lucy, the daughter of John Dalley, and had 6 children. He was succeeded by his eldest son George (1866–1952), who was Conservative M.P. for

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

from 1895 to 1906 and married a daughter of Lord Cranbrook.

Cultural references

* Goschen appears as a minor character in the historical-mystery novel '' Stone's Fall'', by Iain Pears. * He is referenced in the poem ''Away from It All'' by New Zealand poet

A. R. D. Fairburn Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn (2 February 1904 – 25 March 1957), commonly known by his initials A. R. D. Fairburn and otherwise as Rex, was a New Zealand poet who was born and died in Auckland. Fairburn was born in Auckland in 1904. His grandf ...

I want to leave behind me all rancid emotion. I want to be alone. I want to forget Goschen.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goschen, George Goschen, 1st Viscount 1831 births 1907 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom Chancellors of the University of Oxford British classical liberals Fellows of the Royal Society First Lords of the Admiralty Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Rugby School Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Aberdeen UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company People educated at Blackheath Proprietary School Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom for the City of London Politics of Edinburgh George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen British people of German descent Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Fellows of the British Academy Presidents of the Oxford Union Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria George 1