Reports

The man who made the weather: – imperial standard bearer, national leader, local icon Centenary conference, 4–5 July 2014 Report by Tony Little

bout 100 people attended was compounded both by his crea- the special conference – tive vision of the post as prime Aheld in Birmingham and ministerial rather than merely an partly funded by the Liberal Demo- honoured chairman, and by his crat History Group – to mark the unexpected partnership with Sir centenary of the death of Joseph Richard Cross of Disraeli’s 1874– Chamberlain. Making the open- 1880 government.1 ing address at Newman University, The rest of the first day was Liberal Democrat MP, Sir Alan taken up with a series of papers cov- Beith, summed up Chamberlain as ering Chamberlain’s interactions a man whom Birmingham should with the wider world: Chamberlain thank but the Liberal and Con- and his rivals; Chamberlain’s post- a British South Africa or recog- servative parties probably wished home-rule career; and the repre- nise the British contribution to its they had never met. A pioneering sentation of Chamberlain in the rebuilding. There are no memorials executive mayor whose enterprise rich visual media of Victorian and to Chamberlain in South Africa. still shapes Birmingham, he was Edwardian Britain. These formed Relations with New Zealand’s also the figurehead, and more, for the real meat of the conference for charismatic, radical premier, Rich- the emergence of the Liberal Party historians. ard Seddon, were rather more cor- as an accountable, campaigning, dial, as Tom Brooking explained. national, mass-membership organi- Seddon was an autodidact – a self- sation. Yet his ‘morally ambiguous’ Chamberlain and the wider made mechanical engineer – and imperialism helped split the party world Popular Liberal. He introduced over devolution for Ireland, hur- Thomas Otte set out the commu- workmen’s compensation and old- tling him into a partnership with nity of interest between Chamber- age pensions, causes favoured by the Tories. His restless quest for lain’s imperialism and the outlook Chamberlain in Britain, and sup- policies that promoted working- of the Salisbury government, ported Chamberlain’s Imperial class welfare while reinforcing the which cemented the alliance with Preference scheme, as he saw the unity of the British Empire then the Liberal Unionists despite differ- advantages to a small distant col- split the Tories. As Sir Alan argued, ences in outlook between the two ony of a pact between the compo- in our own time only David men. Chamberlain and some of the nent nations of Britain’s empire. He Owen’s record is comparable. younger Conservatives preferred favoured an imperial council and Sir Alan was followed by Peter an Anglo-Saxon alliance on social- sent troops and horses to support Marsh, who has written the defini- Darwinist grounds, favouring Ger- the British in the Boer War – and tive Chamberlain biography and many over Salisbury’s preference was furious when Chamberlain edited for publication some of for France, and backed German resigned in 1903. the Chamberlain family corre- expansion in China and Africa, at spondence. Peter Marsh attributed least up until the Boer War. Chamberlain’s municipal success to Jackie Grobler reminded del- Chamberlain and his rivals his background as an entrepreneur- egates that Chamberlain was the Although politics is well known to ial businessman, a self-proclaimed only Victorian Colonial Secretary be competitive, Chamberlain had ‘Screw King’, who understood the to visit South Africa and took them a reputation for unusually sharp social impact of industrial busi- through the tangled and deceit- elbows that was both confirmed nesses on the city and the impor- ful manoeuvres which provoked and undermined at this confer- tance of finance in securing the the Boer War. He suggested that, ence. Many think of Chamberlain success of his renovation plans. By although Chamberlain worked well as the archetypal Victorian radi- persuading the council to take over with Milner, he was not a comfort- cal, but Eleanor Tench showed that the gas and water utilities, he cre- able ally of Rhodes. Chamberlain’s there were other, different radi- ated a revenue base on which the attempts at reconciliation, during cals even among those who sym- council was able to borrow the cap- his post-war visit, were unsuccess- pathised with Liberal Unionism ital for redevelopment. Chamber- ful because the Boer War lead- when she compared the career of lain’s unusual mayoral enterprise ers refused to accept his vision of Chamberlain with that of Leonard

38 Journal of Liberal History 85 Winter 2014–15 report – Joseph Chamberlain: imperial standard bearer, national leader, local icon

Courtney. Elected to parliament views on the expansion of suffrage it were of Nonconformity. While in the same year as Chamberlain, and the obstructionism of the House Chamberlain was ‘on message’ over and like him a friend of John Mor- of Lords. Gladstone backed Cham- education and disestablishment, his ley, Courtney was associated with berlain’s National Board scheme style suggested pragmatism rather the Chamberlain and Dilke radi- for Ireland when it was believed than passion, and unlike Gladstone cals – though Ms Tench suggested it might defuse the drive to home he was unable to build confidence that even where they did agree it rule. Even when the pair parted over in his audiences by employing the was not for the same reasons. An home rule, Chamberlain refrained language of religion. Further he Anglican rather than Noncon- from hostile comment about the had differences with the Noncon- formist, Courtney still supported Grand Old Man; and while Glad- formists over temperance, and in temperance and disestablishment stone sought to reclaim Chamber- turn they rejected his utilitarian and put proportional representa- lain through the round table talks, defence of coercive measures in Ire- tion ahead of ministerial office. He he could not bridge the philosophi- land. While there is evidence that voted against ’ pro- cal gulf between them. While Glad- Methodists supported the Unionist posals for ‘Three Acres and a Cow’ stone thought Chamberlain ‘the government during the Boer War, and against home rule but was most remarkable man of his genera- Chamberlain lost substantial Non- notoriously anti-imperialist, losing tion’, Quinault did not believe that conformist support over the rates his seat for his pro-Boer stance in Chamberlain would ever have suc- funding of established faith schools Chamberlain’s war. ceeded to the Liberal leadership, as in the 1902 Education Act. James Dixon, the great-grand- he lacked the support to overcome His need to create or extend a son of George Dixon, elaborated on Hartington and he faced a substan- base of support after the Boer War the thesis of his recent biography of tial obstacle in Queen Victoria’s and the Education Act, argued his ancestor. Both Chamberlain and hostility. Oliver Betts, was the cause of Dixon had been committed, active Chamberlain’s miscalculation in Liberals, both had been council- embracing tariff reform. Mis- lors for Birmingham and both rep- The context of pre-war politics taken conclusions were drawn resented the city in parliament. Separation from the Liberals in 1886 from by-elections at Dulwich and Chamberlain and Dixon cooper- opened a new phase in Chamber- Lewisham, which the Conserva- ated to promote free primary edu- lain’s career. Naomi Lloyd-Jones tives held on to not because of the cation in Birmingham and to win explored the battle for constitu- popularity of tariffs but because elections. Yet Chamberlain acted encies occasioned by home rule. of the rising gentility of the area. to undermine Dixon’s leadership She aimed to undermine Jonathan Chamberlain was appealing to the of the national education campaign Parry’s view that grass roots Lib- electorate over the heads of fellow and pressured him to allow Cham- eral support for was for Gladstone ministers, but it was an elector- berlain to succeed him at Westmin- personally rather than for Irish ate that was more concerned with ster. Despite which, Dixon stuck devolution itself. Her work, which immigration than the threat of with Chamberlain when he split is not yet complete, has mapped the imports: the Conservatives did well from Gladstone over home rule. 1,500 meetings that occurred in the at Bethnal Green, for example, on However, Roland Quinault’s Although aftermath of Gladstone’s embrace an anti-Jewish immigrant ticket. survey of the relationship between of home rule and the resolutions Evidence from Booth’s surveys of Chamberlain and Gladstone sought politics is that were discussed at these meet- the working class showed some to overthrow the orthodox view ings, where they were contested trades would gain from import pro- that they had always been uneasy well known within a local party and where par- tection but others would lose from colleagues and that Chamberlain ties competed to test local opinion. retaliation. sought to be Gladstone’s succes- to be com- Meetings were particularly likely sor, views propounded in particular in areas where the MP was likely by Chamberlain’s early biographer petitive, to oppose home rule, which led to A magnificent ego or just J. L. Garvin. Prior to his election criticisms that the NLF’s Schnad- political nous? to Westminster, Chamberlain had Chamberlain horst was ‘wire-pulling’ to coerce It is hard to do justice to the final campaigned against the education MPs towards the official party view. sessions of the first day, as so much policy of Gladstone’s first govern- had a reputa- Efforts to secure a unanimous vote of the material was pictorial, illus- ment as insufficiently radical, but dictated the form of the resolution trating how Chamberlain was por- was reconciled after Gladstone’s tion for unu- and in particular the inclusion of trayed in the local and national 1874 defeat. In opposition, he praised support for the Grand Old Man. press. Coming to fame before the Gladstone for taking up the cause of sually sharp Cut off from much of his tradi- development of moving pictures the Bulgarians and sided with the elbows that tional support, Chamberlain did and sound recordings, Chamber- older man over the Tories’ Afghan his best to retain the affection of lain’s image was predominately and Zulu wars, seeing no alterna- was both Nonconformists and to bring them formed in caricature and reinforced tive for the leadership. Gladstone into sympathy with the Unionist by other visual media such as post recognised Chamberlain’s organisa- confirmed alliance. Graham Goodlad argued card sets and cigarette cards. While tional skills, seeking to harness the that, as a Unitarian, Chamberlain much was made of the feminis- Birmingham-based National Lib- and under- was from a denomination that was ing of Chamberlain in cartoons eral Federation (NLF) to the main- a tiny minority but nevertheless that portrayed him as Old Mother stream. He brought Chamberlain mined at this one that was commercially suc- Hubbard or as a voluptuously into his 1880 Cabinet despite his lack cessful and provided leadership for shaped orchid, perhaps not enough of experience, and the two shared conference. many campaigns – the Brahmins as was made of the way in which

Journal of Liberal History 85 Winter 2014–15 39 report – Joseph Chamberlain: imperial standard bearer, national leader, local icon

Chamberlain cultivated his image. Carrington, as representatives of Always a sharp dresser, Cham- the three main political parties, berlain’s orchid in the buttonhole, each claimed some of Chamber- changed daily, became a trademark lain’s legacy for their own and all that helped the artists give him a argued for a return to greater ini- recognisable persona. Most of the tiative, autonomy and responsi- illustrations given in the presenta- bility for local authorities. After tions came from the Chamberlain a century of increasing Whitehall papers, which also included a sam- centralisation, patience may be ple of his correspondence with a required, though the Scottish ref- well-known cartoonist. erendum has opened a window of opportunity.

An evening at Highbury Those conference goers who paid Chamberlain’s duchy the necessary supplement had the Even so, time was found for the pleasure of dinner at Chamberlain’s social culture of Joseph Chamber- home, Highbury, followed by a talk lain’s Birmingham. Andrew Vail from Stephen Roberts. Highbury spoke of Chamberlain’s relation- is a large, but by no means grand, ships with the leading Noncon- Ruskin-influenced house which formist ministers, Dawson, Dale served as much as a political head- and Vince. The anti-Catholic quarters as domestic residence. In Murphy riots of 1868 were excep- Chamberlain’s time, the house had tional; much more usual was the twelve bedrooms and thirty-four cooperation between the differ- staff, of whom twenty were gar- ent denominations. Not only did deners. The staff were mostly in the Unitarians and Quakers (such their twenties and the policy was as Cadbury) exert influence out of to recruit strangers to Birmingham proportion to their number but, to minimise the passing on of gos- in addition, over the course of the sip. Annual garden parties for the century, Nonconformists became party faithful could lead to speeches a majority of church goers. Their to (a tightly packed) crowd of six political influence came from their hundred in the hall if it rained. Inti- development of the ‘’, Conference union representation were those mate dinners were given to small which preached the care of the poor speakers: most threatened by an increasingly groups of political allies and rivals, not just through charity but also Alan Beith competitive world trade and the while private meetings in a smoke- through the utilisation of munici- MP, Michael imposition of tariffs in Germany wreathed library plotted progress. pal authority. The Civic Gospel Meadowcroft and America. Birmingham had Highbury was so much identified was enthusiastically embraced by (photos © long been renowned for its politi- with Joe that after his death the disciples such as Chamberlain. In Graham cal organisation and this was not family moved away, and the build- addition, the involvement of bud- CopeKoga) neglected by Chamberlain, who ing has now come into the keeping ding leaders such as Chamberlain in maintained trusted allies in key of Birmingham Council, though Sunday school teaching strength- positions and ensured that loyalty minus the extensive greenhouses ened and informed their partici- was rewarded. Labour was politi- that furnished those orchids for the pation in the campaign for state cally poorly organised and Cham- Chamberlain image. Currently used education. berlain even refused to share his as a wedding venue, the council Andrew Reekes revisited the duchy with his Tory allies. He plans a closer association between exceptionalism of Birmingham understood the needs of the media, the home and its former owner. in the 1906 general election. In did not hesitate to employ female that landslide, Liberals gained canvassers and dominated the pub- forty seats in Lancashire and simi- lic space by intimidation if neces- A fanfare for Birmingham larly recovered ground in Lon- sary, as the riot occasioned by Lloyd The second day’s proceedings don, but Birmingham remained George’s visit in 1901 demonstrated. opened with a newly composed true to Chamberlain and, unlike Again the lessons of Chamberlain’s Fanfare for Birmingham played in the the rest of the country, true to his business life were reinforced. This theatre of the city’s recently opened fair trade vision. Only Sheffield was an executive who never forgot central library and a speech from and Liverpool showed compa- his home market, fostering good the council leader, Albert Bore.2 He rable, though patchier, Unionist relations with his party workers and was followed by Greg Clark, the strength. Reekes argued that Bir- working-class voters. Cities Minister, a post unheard of in mingham had sympathised with The final academic paper, by Gladstone’s time when cities were fair trade since the mid-1880s and Peter Bounous, drew attention to largely left to govern themselves. this was reinforced in a 1902 work- the construction dates of the vari- The focus of the day was much ing men’s petition. Chamberlain ous monuments to Chamberlain in more on the local context and cur- understood the nature of Birming- the city and asked the question why rent relevance. Michael Meadow- ham businesses; its small-scale, they were all erected during his croft, Gisela Stuart MP and Lord craft-based organisations with weak lifetime rather than in his memory.

40 Journal of Liberal History 85 Winter 2014–15 report – liberal thinkers

Was such ‘pre-membering’ public Liberal Thinkers adoration, politics or ego? While Bounous conceded that there may Conference fringe meeting, 5 October 2014, with Alan have been an element of personal Beith, John Pugh, Liz Barker and Mark Pack; chair: Malcolm vanity, for example in the cor- ner stone of the Council House, Bruce the timing of the monuments was Report by Douglas Oliver much more suggestive of politically motivated public demonstration. The clock tower in the Jewellery he Liberal Democrat His- twentieth century: Foreign Sec- Quarter was timed in relation to tory Group met on the retary Edward Grey and the man his resignation from government TSunday night of the Octo- often credited with designing the and renewed his links to small busi- ber Federal Conference to dis- modern welfare state, Sir William nessmen. ‘Old Joe’, the tower at the cuss ‘Liberal Thinkers’ in an event Beveridge. Beith recalled that when university of which Chamberlain scheduled to tie in with the pam- he arrived in the area in the early was a principal sponsor, served to phlet of the same name released for 1970s, Beveridge’s ‘first-principles’ distract from the Boer War but also the first time in Glasgow. approach and reflective poise was reminded the community of his Musing upon his long involve- still widely remembered by locals commitment to promoting educa- ment with the party, the discus- in their mutual corner of north-east tion. There are more – and more In his book sion’s chair Malcolm Bruce – the . Beveridge was known in prominent – monuments to Cham- outgoing MP for Gordon, appear- the area for his sometimes philo- berlain than to or Tory of essays, ing at his last autumn conference sophical village hall discursives; hero Colonel Burnaby, each popu- as a Westminster representative and whilst he did occasionally lar in his time. Great Con- before his scheduled 2015 retire- contribute to canvassing and leaf- The second day also included ment – remarked that he was both leting efforts locally, he was unen- a short film covering Chamber- temporaries, an aficionado of liberal history as thusiastic about the micro-level of lain’s career and an introduction to well as a living example of it. The politics, which likely contributed some of the library’s Chamberlain Winston fact that the Great Welsh Wizard, to his electoral defeat to the Con- archives, including correspond- David Lloyd George, had lived for a servatives in May 1945. Given his ence, photographs, posters and the Churchill few months after he was born was a deeply academic and cerebral out- local architect’s original plans for useful reminder to himself that the look, Beveridge was best suited to Highbury. It ended with a tour of portrayed present and past ultimately always looking at the big issues of poli- Birmingham’s magnificent Council fade in to one. tics: Beith’s agent in the 1970s, Mrs House led by some of the leading Joseph The Liberal Democrat His- Gregson, reported that Beveridge members of the current administra- Chamberlain tory Group is always proud to laud had confided in her, ‘If they want tion who showed some of the relics the august partisan history of the to know what I think, they should and artwork associated with Cham- as a politi- Whig and Liberal Party, but also read my books.’ berlain and the council chamber in seeks, more widely, to highlight the His most famous publication, which he established his reputation. cal weather breadth of thought and ideas rep- Social Insurance and Allied Services, In his book of essays, Great Con- resented by political thinkers of a better known as 1942’s ‘Beveridge temporaries, Winston Churchill maker, a man liberal or liberal-minded disposi- Report’, is often considered the portrayed Joseph Chamberlain as tion throughout time. With this in blueprint for the welfare state, an a political weather maker, a man who created mind, Liberal Thinkers was conceived assessment that Beith resiled from who created the agenda with which as a pamphlet intended to provide because of its simplicity. Whilst allies and foes were forced to com- the agenda an accessible introduction to writ- Beveridge’s ideas had been appro- ply – and this was the verdict most ers including John Locke, Adam priated by social democrats and frequently repeated during the with which Smith, Mary Wollstonecraft, Rich- socialists, the man himself was conference. Where delegates prof- ard Cobden, John Stuart Mill, L. T. definitively a liberal, being a prag- ited was in a greater understand- allies and Hobhouse, John Maynard Keynes, matist with an aversion to a top- ing of the entrepreneurial spirit he William Beveridge, and many more. down command structures. The employed to achieve his ends and foes were The four speakers introduced by Beveridge version of welfare, Beith the political culture of Victorian Bruce were asked not only to dis- felt, included a flavour of the mixed Birmingham which both shaped forced to cuss the works of the thinkers from economy, as well as provision for and sustained his endeavours. the pamphlet that they found most input from the voluntary sector and comply – and impressive, but also to highlight friendly societies. The late twen- Tony Little is the Chair of the Liberal this was the the enduring legacy of the cho- tieth-century welfare system that Democrat History Group. sen writers’ work and to delineate the Labour government designed verdict most their relevance to liberalism and the was less diverse in approach, and 1 Peter Marsh’s speech is available at domestic and international political was consequently more prone to http://www.newman.ac.uk/files/ frequently struggle of today. bureaucracy and sclerosis. w3/media-centre/pdf/Peter%20 Inspired by his own long service The key hallmark of Beveridge’s Marsh.pdf?q=95 repeated as MP for Berwick Upon Tweed, method was, according to Beith, 2 Available at http://www.newman. the opening speaker, Alan Beith, careful study and empirical analy- ac.uk/media-centre/3596/confer- during the noted two other illustrious Liberals sis. If Beveridge had reflected today ence-joseph-chamberlain-imperial- who had represented the constitu- on such issues as the controversial standard-bearer-national-leader-lo conference. ency at Westminster within the ‘Bedroom Tax’, he would have

Journal of Liberal History 85 Winter 2014–15 41