|
|branch = British Army |serviceyears = 1820 |rank = 15px Lieutenant |unit = Staffordshire Yeomanry |}} Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 17882 July 1850) was a British statesman and member of the Conservative Party, who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) and twice served as Home Secretary (1822–1827 and 1828–1830). He is regarded as the father of the modern British police and as one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party. The son of wealthy textile manufacturer and politician Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet, he was educated at Bury Grammar School and Harrow School and earned a double first in classics and mathematics from Christ Church, Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1809 under the tutelage of his father and Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. Peel was widely seen as a "rising star" in the Conservative Party and served in various junior ministerial offices, including Chief Secretary for Ireland (1812–1818) and Chairman of the Bullion Committee. Peel entered the Cabinet for the first time as Home Secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "bobbies" and "peelers". He cut tariffs to stimulate business; to replace the lost revenue he pushed through a 3% income tax. He played a central role in making Free Trade a reality and set up a modern banking system. After the resignation of Prime Minister The Earl of Liverpool, Peel resigned as Home Secretary but, after a brief period out of office, he returned as Home Secretary under his political mentor the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as Leader of the House of Commons. Initially a supporter of legal discrimination against Catholics, Peel eventually supported the repeal of the Test Act (1828) and the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, claiming that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger". In 1830, the Whigs finally returned to power and Peel became a member of the Opposition for the first time. After successive election defeats, leadership of the Conservative Party gradually passed from Wellington to Peel and, when King William IV asked Wellington to become Prime Minister in November 1834, he declined and Peel was selected instead, with Wellington serving as caretaker until Peel took office. Peel then issued the Tamworth Manifesto, laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel serving as his own Chancellor of the Exchequer. After only four months, his government collapsed and he served as Leader of the Opposition during the second government of The Viscount Melbourne (1835–1841). Peel declined to become Prime Minister of another minority government again in May 1839, prompting a political crisis. He finally became Prime Minister again, after the 1841 general election. His second government ruled for five years and its major legislation included the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the Income Tax Act 1842, the Factories Act 1844 and the Railway Regulation Act 1844. Peel's government was weakened by anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial Maynooth Grant of 1845 and, following the outbreak of the Great Irish Potato Famine, his decision to join with Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws led to his resignation as Prime Minister in 1846. Peel remained an influential backbencher and leader of the Peelite faction until his death in 1850. Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed himself and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation. This happened with the Test Act, Catholic Emancipation, the Reform Act, income tax and, most notably, the repeal of the Corn Laws as the first two years of the Irish famine forced this resolution because of the urgent need for new food supplies. Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party. Therefore, many critics said he was a traitor to the Tory cause, or "a Liberal wolf in sheep's clothing" because his final position reflected liberal ideas. Historian A.J.P. Taylor says: "Peel was in the first rank of 19th century statesman. He carried Catholic Emancipation; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism."〔A.J.P. Taylor, ''Politicians, Socialism and Historians'' (1980) p 75〕 ==Early life== Peel was born at Chamber Hall, Bury, Lancashire, to the industrialist and parliamentarian Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet and his wife Ellen Yates. His father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early Industrial Revolution.〔Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 2–11.〕 Peel was educated first at Bury Grammar School , then at Harrow School and finally Christ Church, Oxford, where he took a double first in classics and mathematics.〔Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 11–12.〕 He was a law student at Lincoln's Inn in 1809 before entering Parliament.〔() History of Parliament Online article by R. G. Thorne.〕 While living in Tamworth, he is credited with the development of the Tamworth Pig by breeding Irish stock with some local Tamworth pigs. Peel saw part-time military service as a Captain in the Manchester Regiment of Militia in 1808, and later as Lieutenant in the Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1820.〔 Peel entered politics in 1809 at the age of 21, as MP for the Irish rotten borough of Cashel, Tipperary.〔Adelman, ''Peel and the Conservative Party: 1830–1850'', 1; Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 13; 376.〕 With a scant 24 electors on the rolls, he was elected unopposed. His sponsor for the election (besides his father) was the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next 25 years. Peel made his maiden speech at the start of the 1810 session, when he was chosen by Prime Minister Spencer Perceval to second the reply to the king's speech.〔Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 18.〕 His speech was a sensation, famously described by the Speaker, Charles Abbot, as "the best first speech since that of William Pitt."〔Gash, ''Mr. Secretary Peel'', 59–61; 68–69.〕 As chief secretary in Dublin in 1813, he proposed the setting up of a specialist police force, later called "peelers".〔OED entry at peeler (3)〕 In 1814 the Royal Irish Constabulary was founded under Peel. For the next decade he occupied a series of relatively minor positions in the Tory governments: Undersecretary for War, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and chairman of the Bullion Committee (charged with stabilising British finances after the end of the Napoleonic Wars).〔Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 6–12; Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 18–65; 376.〕 He also changed constituency twice: first picking up another constituency, Chippenham, then becoming MP for Oxford University in 1817.〔Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 12; 18; 35.〕 He later became an MP for Tamworth from 1830 until his death. His home of Drayton Manor has since been demolished.〔Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 490; Read, ''Peel and the Victorians'', 4; 119.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert Peel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|
