Ralph Anstruther Earle (1835 – 10 June 1879) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early career

He came from a well-known

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

slave-trading family with a Whig background, and was educated at

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, before joining the British

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

. While working as an attaché at the embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, from 1857 he supplied

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

, who was leading the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

, with secret diplomatic information to use against the government of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

Political activity

Probably hoping Disraeli would become Foreign Secretary on a change of government, he became the politician's private secretary. Disraeli in fact became

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 the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

in 1858, and Earle served as his secretary for eight years. Disraeli sent him to Paris in 1858, on a confidential mission to the Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, without consulting the Foreign Secretary,

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

, in an unsuccessful attempt to influence events in

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. Earle was elected at the 1859 general election as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, but

resigned Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

from the House of Commons the same year, taking the

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on 12 August 1859, under a bargain with his electoral opponent. He returned to

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at the 1865 general election, when he was elected as one of the two MPs for

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. After a further spell in opposition, he accepted the post of Parliamentary Secretary to the

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when the Conservatives returned to office in 1866, and Disraeli ceased using him as his confidant. In 1867 he rebelled against the government over the

Reform Act The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

and resigned. He did not stand for the Commons again when Maldon's representation was reduced to one seat at the 1868 general election.

Later life

Having left Parliament, he became agent for Baron Hirsch in his Turkish railway negotiations, earning £10,000 in commission (worth some £1.2 million today). He was said to be the writer of articles in 1878 attacking Disraeli in the ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...

'', though he denied this. When he died the next year, aged 44, he left some £40,000.

Earle family

Many of his relatives were slave traders, they include William Earle, Thomas Earle and

Hardman Earle Sir Hardman Earle, 1st Baronet (11 July 1792 – 25 January 1877) was a British railway director and slave owner. Earle owned plantations and enslaved people in what is now modern-day Guyana. He bought shares in the Liverpool to Manchester rail ...

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Ralph A 1835 births 1879 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Parliament for Maldon UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868