Who? Who? ministry

Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby led the "Who? Who?" ministry, a short-lived British Conservative government which was in power for a matter of months in 1852. Lord Derby was Prime Minister and Benjamin Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It marked the first time the protectionist wing of the Conservative Party had taken office since the Corn Laws schism of 1846. It is also called the First Derby–Disraeli ministry.^[1]

Early in 1852 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, by then very deaf, gave Derby's first government its nickname by shouting "Who? Who?" as the list of inexperienced cabinet ministers was read out in the House of Lords.^[2]^[3]

History

After the fall of Lord John Russell's Whig government in early 1852, the Conservative leader Lord Derby formed a government. The Conservatives had been weakened by the defection of the Peelites, and many of the new Cabinet ministers were men of little experience. The government became known as the "Who? Who?" Ministry after Wellington's comments, due to the lack of prominence of its ministers. The government was in a significant minority, and lasted less than a year, collapsing in December. The Whigs and Peelites then formed a coalition government under the Peelite leader Lord Aberdeen.

Though the government had little impact, it attracted derision through its plethora of new political names, which demonstrated the relative inexperience of the party. Only four members of the Cabinet (Derby himself, St Leonards, Lonsdale, and Herries) were existing Privy Councillors and many others were complete political unknowns.

Cabinet

Office	Minister	Tenure
First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby	February–December 1852
Lord Chancellor	Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, Lord St Leonards	February–December 1852
Lord President of the Council	William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale	February–December 1852
Lord Privy Seal	James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury	February–December 1852
Home Secretary	Spencer H. Walpole	February–December 1852
Foreign Secretary	James Howard Harris, Earl of Malmesbury	February–December 1852
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	Sir John Pakington, Bt	February–December 1852
First Lord of the Admiralty	Algernon Percy, Duke of Northumberland	February–December 1852
President of the Board of Control	J.C. Herries	February–December 1852
Chancellor of the Exchequer Leader of the House of Commons	Benjamin Disraeli	February–December 1852
President of the Board of Trade	J. W. Henley	February–December 1852
First Commissioner of Works	Lord John Manners	February–December 1852
Postmaster-General	Charles Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke	February–December 1852

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

Office	Minister	Tenure	Notes
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords	Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby	23 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons	Benjamin Disraeli	27 February 1852
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	William Forbes Mackenzie	2 March 1852
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	George Alexander Hamilton	2 March 1852
Junior Lords of the Treasury	Richard Temple-Grenville, Marquess of Chandos	28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Lord Henry Lennox	28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Thomas Bateson	28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
Lord Chancellor	Edward Sugden, Lord St Leonards	27 February 1852
Lord President of the Council	William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale	27 February 1852
Lord Privy Seal	James Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury	27 February 1852
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Spencer Horatio Walpole	27 February 1852
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	William Joliffe, Bt	27 February 1852
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	James Harris, Earl of Malmesbury	27 February 1852
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Lord Edward Stanley	18 May 1852
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	John Pakington, Bt	17 February 1852
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	John Cuffe, Earl of Desart	2 March 1852
First Lord of the Admiralty	Algernon Percy, Duke of Northumberland	28 February 1852
First Secretary of the Admiralty	Augustus Stafford	3 March 1852
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Arthur Duncombe	28 February 1852
President of the Board of Control	J. C. Herries	28 February 1852
Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control	Henry Baillie	1 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control	Charles Bruce	1 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
Postmaster-General	Charles Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke	1 March 1852
President of the Board of Trade	J. W. Henley	17 February 1852
Vice-President of the Board of Trade	Charles Edward Abbot, Lord Colchester	27 February 1852
First Commissioner of Works	Lord John Manners	4 March 1852
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Richard Bourke, Lord Naas	1 March 1852
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	Archibald Montgomerie, Earl of Eglinton	1 March 1852
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Robert Adam Christopher	1 March 1852
Master-General of the Ordnance	Henry Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge	1 March 1852
Master-General of the Ordnance	Lord Fitzroy Somerset	30 September 1852	created Lord Raglan 20 October 1852
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance	George Berkeley	18 June 1852
Clerk of the Ordnance	Francis Plunkett Dunne	5 March 1852
Storekeeper of the Ordnance	Thomas Hastings	25 July 1845	continued in office
Paymaster General	Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Colchester	28 February 1852
President of the Poor Law Board	John Trollope, Bt	1 March 1852
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board	Frederick Knight	3 March 1852
Secretary at War	William Beresford	28 February 1852
Attorney General	Frederic Thesiger	27 February 1852
Solicitor General	Fitzroy Kelly	27 February 1852
Judge Advocate General	George Bankes	28 February 1852
Lord Advocate	Adam Anderson	28 February 1852
Lord Advocate	John Inglis	19 May 1852
Solicitor General for Scotland	John Inglis	28 February 1852
Solicitor General for Scotland	Charles Neaves	24 May 1852
Attorney General for Ireland	Joseph Napier	February 1852
Solicitor General for Ireland	James Whiteside	February 1852
Lord Steward of the Household	James Graham, Duke of Montrose	27 February 1852
Lord Chamberlain of the Household	Brownlow Cecil, Marquess of Exeter	27 February 1852
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Orlando Bridgeman, Viscount Newport	5 March 1852
Master of the Horse	George Child-Villiers, Earl of Jersey	1 March 1852
Treasurer of the Household	Lord Claud Hamilton	27 February 1852
Comptroller of the Household	George Weld-Forester	27 February 1852
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich	27 February 1852
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	Lord William FitzGerald-de Ros	27 February 1852
Master of the Buckhounds	James St Clair-Erskine, Earl of Rosslyn	28 February 1852
Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal	Lord Charles Colville of Culross	28 February 1852
Mistress of the Robes	Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl	16 March 1852
Lords in Waiting	George Douglas, Earl of Morton	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	James Grimston, Earl of Verulam	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Cornwallis Maude, Viscount Hawarden	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	George Monckton-Arundell, Viscount Galway	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Edward Crofton, Lord Crofton	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Henry Hepburne-Scott, Lord Polwarth	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
	Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, Earl Talbot	2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852

References

^ Tout, T. F. (1910). An advanced history of Great Britain from the earliest times to the death of Edward VII. New York: Longmans, Green. pp. 740-741. OL 13991885M.
^ Bloy, Marjorie (2011). "Biography-Edward George Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)". A Web of English History. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
^ "A Web of English History". Retrieved 4 June 2011.

Bibliography

C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900

External links

"Lord Derby looses bigotry on the streets". Manchester Guardian. 3 July 1852.

Preceded by First Russell ministry	Government of the United Kingdom 1852	Succeeded by Aberdeen ministry

[1] Tout, T. F. (1910). An advanced history of Great Britain from the earliest times to the death of Edward VII. New York: Longmans, Green. pp. 740-741. OL 13991885M.

[2] Bloy, Marjorie (2011). "Biography-Edward George Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)". A Web of English History. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.

[3] "A Web of English History". Retrieved 4 June 2011.

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