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Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock

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Arthur Lawley, The 6th Baron Wenlock
GCIE, KCMG
Governor of Madras
In office
28 March 1906 – 3 November 1911
Governors‑GeneralGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Preceded bySir Gabriel Stokes (acting)
Succeeded byThomas Gibson-Carmichael, 1st Baron Carmichael
Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal Republic
In office
29 September 1902 – 4 December 1905
Preceded byAlfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner
Succeeded byWilliam Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
13th Governor of Western Australia
In office
1 May 1901 – 14 August 1902
PremierGeorge Throssell
George Leake
Alf Morgans
Walter James
Preceded byGerard Smith
Succeeded byFrederick Bedford
Administrator of Matabeleland
In office
5 December 1896 – January 1901
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byNone
Personal details
Born(1860-11-12)12 November 1860
London, United Kingdom
Died14 June 1932(1932-06-14) (aged 71)
Freiberg, Germany
Spouse(s)Annie Allen Cunard; 3 children)

Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock, GCSI, GCIE, KCMG (12 November 1860 – 14 June 1932) was a British soldier and colonial governor who served as the Administrator of Matabeleland, Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of Transvaal and Governor of Madras. [1]

Lawley was born in 1860 to 2nd Baron Wenlock and his wife, Lady Elizabeth (née Grosvenor). He was their seventh child to the couple and the fourth and youngest son. He attended Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2] However, Lawley did not complete his studies at Cambridge. Instead, he went in 1880 to Sandhurst and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars in 1882. He served in India and in fought in the Sudan Mahdist War seeing action at Suakin (1884). In 1885 he was promoted to Captain and served in the United Kingdom until 1892.[3] Upon retiring from the army, he became involved in politics, serving as the private secretary to his uncle, the Duke of Westminster from 1892 to 1896, after which he was appointed secretary to Earl Grey, who went to administer Rhodesia after the Jameson Raid. In 1897 Lawley was promoted to be the Administrator of Matabeleland,[4]. He later served as Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal and Governor of Madras. [3]

Matabeleland

When Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey was sent to Salisbury to replace Sir Leander Starr Jameson, Lawley was in due course appointed the acting administrator of Matabeleland representing the British South Africa Company. In November 1896 he was appointed Deputy Administrator for Matabeleland. He served as Administrator of Matabeleland from 1897 to 1901.[5][6] In 1898, Lawley led a mission to the court of Lewanika, the king of Barotseland.

Lawley later wrote a detailed account and a diary of his journey to Barotseland and his experiences. An agreement was signed at the Victoria Falls on June 21st 1898 between King Lewanika and Captain Arthur Lawley with Robert Coryndon, the resident in Barotseland as witness. The ivory seal with its gold handle used by Lawley to endorse the Treaty is in The National Trust Collection at Tyntesfield.[7][8]

The Second Matabele War, which began after the failure of the Jameson Raid in January 1896, concluded during Lawley's residence in Bulawayo with a victory for British settlers and a Peace Agreement on October 13th 1896, reached by Cecil Rhodes meeting with the Matabele Chiefs in the Matopos Hills. On the departure of Earl Grey in July 1897, Lawley succeeded Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey as the Administrator of Matabeleland and served from 1897 to 24 January 1901.[9][5] As Deputy-administrator, Lawley participated in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria. As Cecil Rhodes was unwell, Captain Arthur Lawley gave the speech opening the Railway from Mafeking to Bulawayo on the 4th November 1897. Captain Lawley sent half the force which relieved Mafeking under the command of Colonel Plumer in May 1900. He was in close contact with Colonel Robert Baden Powell, who later served under him as Chief of Police in the Transvaal. [10]

Governor of Western Australia

Lawley was knighted and appointed Governor of Western Australia in February 1901,[11] and arrived in Albany aboard the ship Ophir along with the Duke and Duchess of York. Lawley served as Governor of Western Australia from 1 May 1901 to 14 August 1902.[12] As Governor, he represented Western Australia at the opening of the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne on May 9th 1901.[13]

Lawley was Governor for a short tenure but his tenure witnessed the rise and fall of seven governments. As soon as he took charge, Lawley received the resignation of Premier George Throssell on 21 May 1901. This was followed by the rise and fall of five successive governments. In December 1901, Lawley toured the south-western parts of the province along with the Governor General Lord Hopetoun, a friend from Eton College. His tenure also witnessed instability in the Perth City Council. Lady Lawley devoted herself to numerous charities in particular the children's hospice at Cottesloe known as Lady Lawley Cottage. The suburb of Mount Lawley in Perth is named after Lawley. Sir Arthur Lawley laid the foundation stones of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Parliament of Western Australia.

Transvaal Republic

On the recommendation of Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, Lawley was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Transvaal in April 1902.[14] Lawley arrived in Pretoria at the end of August and served as lieutenant governor of Transvaal from September 1902 to 1905 . South Africa in 1902 was emerging from the bitter conflict of the Boer War and under the leadership of Lord Milner, the Lieutenant Governor of the Transvaal had the arduous task of post war reconstruction. The visit of Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, greatly facilitated this and generous financial provision was made for rebuilding the devastated farms and settlements. However given that Britain had just conquered the Transvaal with its rich gold fields, diamond and platinum mines, this was the very least that could be expected. Farms had been destroyed by war and families brought to their knees in Kitchener’s Concentration Camps. The administration brought in new cattle to restock the farms, tackled disease amongst the livestock, and re-opened the mines controversially using imported Chinese labour in the Rand Goldfields, an idea backed by Lord Milner. Joseph Chamberlain went with Sir Arthur on a tour of the Transvaal and endeavoured to establish cordial relations with the defeated Boers. This policy was taken up by Sir Arthur who succeeded so well in winning the friendship Jan Christian Smuts and Louis Botha that both expressed their great sadness when he left South Africa towards the end of 1905. This was the year when the Cullinan Diamond was discovered at the Premier Mine near Pretoria. The diamond, which was cut to create the four Stars of Africa, was presented by Louis Botha, the First Prime Minister of South Africa, to King Edward VII in 1907. Sir Arthur Lawley’s administration also saw the legislation introduced, which led to the creation of the Kruger National Park and the University of the Witwatersrand. At one of the schools established at that time by Bishop William M. Carter and the Mirfield Fathers, a young lad called Desmond Tutu received his education.[15] Lawley was given the task of demarcating and allotting separate reserves in Transvaal for indigenous Africans.[16] In the end, Lawley set aside only about 3% of Transvaal for Africans.[16]

In 1903, due to petitions from Boer farmers, the government of Transvaal permitted them access to Kgatla reserves in the Bechuanaland protectorate to recover their stolen cattle on the condition they reciprocate by offering the Kgatla access to their own settlements.[17] The Kgatla responded by requesting Lawley to merge Kgatla reserves in Bechuanaland and the Crown colony into a single settlement.[17]

The Kgatla request was framed to enable their chief Lentshwe gain complete sovereignty over all the lands occupied by the Kgatla from the Boers during the Second Boer War.[18] The request was turned down by Lawley, who, however, permitted Lentshwe to appoint his brother Ramono as his deputy over Saulspoort.[18]

During his tenure, Lawley had reservations about Lord Milner's policy of importing cheap Chinese labour into Transvaal to work in the gold mines.[19][20] Nonetheless he pointed out the extent of success that had attended their work.[20] The town of Lawley in Transvaal is named after Arthur Lawley.[21] Lawley also encountered Mohandas Gandhi in the Transvaal and Gandhi wished him well when he was appointed Governor of the Madras Presidency in India.[22]

As Governor of Madras

While serving as Lieutenant-Governor of Transvaal, Lawley was appointed Governor of Madras on 28 December 1905 at a monthly pay of Rs. 10,000. He took office on 28 March 1906 succeeding The Lord Ampthill. Lawley's eldest brother Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock had also served as the Governor of Madras from 1891 to 1896. The Madras Legislative Council was completely reformed according to the Indian Councils Act 1909 and enlarged during his time.

Lawley undertook a fifteen tours to acquaint himself of the administrative machinery prevailing in the Presidency.[23] During his tenure, the Madras Estates Land Bill was passed. In 1906, the Arbuthnot Bank of Madras crashed precipitating one of the worst financial disasters of the 20th century.[24] Lawley, who was himself one of the stockholders, tried to raise public funds to rescue investors.[24] The disillusioned investors eventually responded by founding the Indian Bank.[24] At the end of 1908 Sir Arthur Lawley introduced the Morley-Minto reforms which brought Indian representation into the government of Madras.He appointed the Maharaja of Bobbili to be the first Indian to have membership of the Executive.[25]

The newly constructed building housing the Government Museum, Chennai was opened by Lawley on 5 September 1906. Lawley also inaugurated the Victoria Memorial Hall in Madras on 28 March 1909 in memory of Queen Victoria.[26] In 1910, Lawley unveiled a portrait of Queen Victoria inside the Victoria Public Hall after the building was acquired by the Suguna Vilas Sabha. On 27 October 1911, Lawley presided over the Annual Day function of the Madras Sanskrit College and presented diplomas to meritorious students.[27]

Lawley inaugurated the Giffard School block of the Women and Children's Hospital in Egmore in October 1911.[28] The next year, a nurses' quarters was established opposite to the hospital and named after Lawley.[28]

Legacy

A road in Coimbatore is named after him.[29] The Lawley Institute in Ooty, a gentlemen's club, commemorates Sir Arthur's governorship of the Madras Presidency. Mount Lawley, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia is named after him. Sir Arthur Lawley's Court Dress as Governor of Madras is kept in the National Trust Victorian House of Tyntesfield. Lady Lawley lived there from 1939 until her death in 1944 and many things in the house belonged to Sir Arthur and Lady Lawley. [30]

Later life

In August and September 1912 Sir Arthur Lawley visited Canada at the instigation of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. He gave speeches in Ottawa and Winnipeg on the subject of "Canada, the Royal Navy and the Empire". The purpose was to encourage Canada to build Dreadnoughts for the Royal Navy.[31] In May 1913, Sir Arthur was Deputy Leader of the British Empire Delegation to the United States to celebrate 100 years of peace between Britain and the U.S.A. He delivered memorable speeches in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago. [32]On November 19th 1914 he accompanied Lady Roberts to the State Funeral in St Paul's Cathedral of her husband, Field Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar.[33] During the First World War, he served as a Commissioner of the British Red Cross Society in Boulogne, France. In 1917 he served as Red Cross Commissioner in Mesopotamia and liaised with the Indian Red Cross because so many Indian soldiers were injured in Mesopotamia. In his later life, Lawley served as the director of numerous London-based companies including Forestal in Argentina[34] In 1927 Sir Arthur and Lady Lawley visited the Fairbridge Farm School at Pinjarra, Western Australia, and Lady Lawley Cottage. Sir Arthur remained president of the Child Emigration Society until 1929.[30] Sir Arthur Lawley succeeded his brother, Reverend Algernon George Lawley, who died without an heir, as the 6th Baron Wenlock in June 1931.

Death

Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock, died on 14 June 1932 at Freiberg, Saxony, Germany, and was interred at Escrick, Yorkshire. As he had no surviving male children, he was the last Baron Wenlock.

Family

On 15 October 1885, he married Annie Allen Cunard, a daughter of Sir Edward Cunard, 2nd Baronet. The Baroness Wenlock was named Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1917.

The couple had three children:

  • Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley (b 15 June 1889 - 3 May 1969)
  • Hon. Richard Edward Lawley (8 May 1887– 4 September 1909). He was killed in a hunting accident at Ooty in Southern India, aged 22.
  • Ursula Mary Lawley (8 June 1888– 16 October 1979). She married George Abraham Gibbs, 1st Baron Wraxall. From 1927 until her death in 1979 she lived at Tyntesfield in Somerset, England. [35]

Honours

  • 11 February 1901: Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, on appointment as Governor of the State of Western Australia.[36] February 1906, Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire on appointment as Governor of Madras. December 1911, Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India at the Delhi Durbar of King George V and Queen Mary.[37]

References

  1. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  2. ^ "Lawley, the Hon. Arthur (LWLY879A)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ a b David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  4. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  5. ^ a b "Zimbabwe". worldstatesmen.
  6. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  7. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  8. ^ Assa Okoth (2006). A History of Africa: African societies and the establishment of colonial rule, 1800-1915. East African Publishers. p. 234. ISBN 9966253572, ISBN 978-9966-25-357-6.
  9. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  10. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  11. ^ "No. 27290". The London Gazette. 1 March 1901.
  12. ^ "Western Australia". worldstatesmen.
  13. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  14. ^ W. Basil Worsfold (2009). The Reconstruction of the New Colonies Under Lord Milner. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 60. ISBN 1115384198, ISBN 978-1-115-38419-3.
  15. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  16. ^ a b Hermann Giliomee (2003). The Afrikaners: biography of a people. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 300. ISBN 1850657149, ISBN 978-1-85065-714-9.
  17. ^ a b Peter Warwick (1983). Black people and the South African War, 1899-1902: Volume 40 of African studies series. Cambridge University Press. p. 48. ISBN 0521252164, ISBN 978-0-521-25216-4.
  18. ^ a b Peter Warwick (1983). Black people and the South African War, 1899-1902: Volume 40 of African studies series. Cambridge University Press. p. 49. ISBN 0521252164, ISBN 978-0-521-25216-4.
  19. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  20. ^ a b The Cyclopedia of India: biographical, historical, administrative, commercial, Volume 3. Cyclopedia Pub. Co. 1909. p. 193.
  21. ^ Adrian Room (1989). Dictionary of world place names derived from British names. Taylor & Francis. p. 98. ISBN 0415028116, ISBN 978-0-415-02811-0.
  22. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  23. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  24. ^ a b c "Building a bank the MCt. way". The Hindu. 12 April 2004.
  25. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  26. ^ "Milestones crossed in the history of the museum". Government Museum, Chennai.
  27. ^ V. Sundaram (22 October 2009). "103 glorious years of Madras Sanskrit College-II". News Today.
  28. ^ a b Shobha Menon. "'The best east of Suez,' they described MH". Madras Musings. 19 (4).
  29. ^ "When it rains city is a shambles". The Hindu. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  30. ^ a b David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  31. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  32. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  33. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  34. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  35. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.
  36. ^ "No. 27283". The London Gazette. 12 February 1901.
  37. ^ David J. Hogg (2012). Sir Arthur Lawley, Eloquent Knight Errant. iBooks. p. 490. ISBN9780955445750.

Sources

Further reading

  • The eighth tour of H.E. The Hon. Sir Arthur Lawley: Governor of Madras : Tanjore, February 19th to 28th, 1908. Madras Government Press. 1912.
  • Speeches delivered by His Excellency the Honourable Sir Arthur Lawley, while Governor of Madras, 1906-11. 1912.
Government offices
Preceded by
(none)
 Administrator of Matabeleland
1898–1901 		Succeeded by
(none)
Preceded by Governor of Western Australia
1901–1902 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Transvaal Republic
1902–1905 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Madras
1906–1911 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Wenlock
1931–1932 		Succeeded by
Title extinct

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