Matthew Talbot Baines (17 February 1799 – 22 January 1860) was a

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lawyer and Liberal politician. He most notably served 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 ...

in Lord Palmerston's 1855 to 1858 administration.

Background and education

Born at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Baines was the eldest son of Edward Baines, a noted journalist and minor politician, by Charlotte, daughter of Matthew Talbot. Sir Edward Baines was his younger brother. He was educated at

Richmond School Richmond School & Sixth Form College, often referred to simply as Richmond School, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by the merger of three schools, the oldest of which ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated in 1820.

Legal and political career

Baines was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1825 and established a successful legal practice. In 1837 Baines was appointed

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Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south- ...

, and in 1841 he became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. Baines then turned to politics and was elected to parliament for

in 1847, a seat he held until 1852, and subsequently represented

until 1859. Only two years after entering 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 ...

, he was appointed President of the Poor Law Board in the Whig administration of

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

. In July 1849 he was also admitted to the Privy Council. The Liberals fell from power in February 1852, but in December of the same year he was once again appointed President of the Poor Law Board, this time in the coalition government headed by

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...

. Baines remained as head of the Poor Law Board when Lord Palmerston's became Prime Minister in February 1855. In December 1855 he was made

with a seat in the cabinet. He remained in this office until the Liberals lost power in 1858. Baines was also a Deputy Lieutenant of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

and of

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 ...

. He retired from public life in April 1859 on grounds of ill-health.

Personal life

In 1833, Baines married the only daughter of Lazarus Threlfall. He died in January 1860, at the age of 60.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baines, Matthew Talbot 1799 births 1860 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire Deputy Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 Politicians from Kingston upon Hull