StAubyn (Molesworth-StAubyn Baronets) Arms

Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet, (23 May 181022 October 1855) was a

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

British politician, who served in the coalition cabinet of The Earl of Aberdeen from 1853 until his death in 1855 as

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ir ...

and then

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies. History The position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increas ...

. Much later, when justifying to the Queen his own new appointments,

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 ...

told her: "For instance, even in Ld Aberdeen's Govt, in 52, Sir William Molesworth had been selected, at that time, a very advanced Radical, but who was perfectly harmless, & took little, or no part... He said these people generally became very moderate, when they were in office", which she admitted had been the case.

Background

Molesworth was born in London and succeeded to the

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

cy in 1823. He was educated privately before entering

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

as a

fellow commoner A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees. Cambridge ...

. Moving to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, he fought a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

with his tutor, and was sent down from the university. He also studied abroad and at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

for some time. Molesworth was a member of the London Electrical Society.

Political career

On the passing of the

Reform Act 1832 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 ...

Molesworth was returned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for the Eastern division of Cornwall, to support the ministry of Lord Grey. Through Charles Buller he made the acquaintance of

George Grote George Grote (; 17 November 1794 – 18 June 1871) was an English political radical and classical historian. He is now best known for his major work, the voluminous ''History of Greece''. Early life George Grote was born at Clay Hill near B ...

and

James Mill James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of Briti ...

, and in April 1835 he founded, in conjunction with Roebuck, the ''London Review'', as an organ of the Philosophic Radicals. After the publication of two volumes he purchased the ''

Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...

'', and for some time the united magazines were edited by him and

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

. Buller and Molesworth were associated with

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...

and his schemes for colonising South Australia, Canada and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. From 1837 to 1841 Molesworth sat for

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 ...

, and acquired considerable influence in the House of Commons by his speeches and by his tact in presiding over the select committee on

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became thei ...

. But his Radicalism made little impression either on the house or on his constituency. In 1839 he commenced and carried to completion, at a cost of £6000, a reprint of the entire miscellaneous and voluminous writings of

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

, which were placed in most of the English university and provincial libraries. The publication did him great disservice in public life, his opponents endeavouring to identify him with the

freethinking Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other method ...

opinions of Hobbes in religion as well as with the philosopher's conclusions in favor of despotic government. From 1841 to 1845 he had no seat in parliament, but in 1842 served as

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, oth ...

. In 1845 Molesworth was returned for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and retained that seat until his death. On his return to parliament he devoted special attention to the condition of the colonies, and was the ardent champion of their self-government. In January 1853,

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 ...

included him as the only Radical in his coalition cabinet as

, the chief work by which his name was brought into prominence at this time being the construction of the new

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...

; he also was the first to open Kew Gardens on Sundays. In July 1855, he was made Colonial Secretary, an office he held until his death in October of the same year.

Personal life

It is known that Molesworth collected, paraphrased and published many of the works of

between 1839 and 1845 in the eleven volumes of ''The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited by Sir William Molesworth, Bart.'' Those works included Hobbes's translation of the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

''. Molesworth became engaged in June and married Andalusia Grant Carstairs on 9 July 1844. She had been a singer and was not from a noble family. Moleworth's family were opposed to the match. He died on 22 October 1855, aged 45. He had no children, and the baronetcy passed to a cousin. He is buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, London, on the north side of the main path leading from the entrance to the central chapel. The philanthropist John Passmore Edwards installed a likeness of Sir William Molesworth as a memorial medallion in the Borough Road public library in Southwark as a mark of appreciation such that, "In so doing, we gratefully remember illustrious and useful lives into whose labours we have entered, and keep before us examples worthy of admiration."John Passmore Edwards "A Few Footprints: the autobiography of John Passmore Edwards", 1905 digital facsimile http://www.passmoreedwards.org.uk/pages/Footprints/Contents.htm Retrieved 11 April 2017

Biography

Millicent Garrett Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897– ...

, ''Life of the Right Hon. Sir William Molesworth'', London: Macmillan, 1901 *

Alison Adburgham Alison Adburgham (28 January 1912 – 23 May 1997) was an English journalist, author and social historian, best known for her work as fashion editor of '' The Guardian'' newspaper, a position she held for 20 years. Along with Prudence Glynn of ...

, ''A Radical Aristocrat: the Rt. Hon. Sir William Molesworth, Bart., PC, MP of Pencarrow and his wife Andalusia''. (Padstow: Tabb House, 1980)

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molesworth, Sir William, 8th Baronet 1810 births 1855 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Baronets in the Baronetage of England British Secretaries of State Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Politicians from Cornwall Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Fellows of the Royal Society High Sheriffs of Cornwall Secretaries of State for the Colonies