Sir James Robert George Graham, 2nd Baronet, (1 June 1792 – 25 October 1861) was a British statesman, who notably served as Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty. He was the eldest son of Sir James Graham, 1st Baronet, by Lady Catherine, eldest daughter of the 7th Earl of Galloway.
In 1819, he married Fanny Callander, youngest daughter of Sir James Campbell of Craigforth and Ardkinglas Castle. Sir James was created Doctor of Laws at the University of Cambridge in 1835, was Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow, 1840. He was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1830 to 1834 when he resigned on account of the government pressing for a reform of the Irish Church. He became Secretary of the Home Department from September 1841 to July 1846 and again First Lord of the Admiralty from December 1852 until February 1855. He was a member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Deputy Lieutenant for county of Hertfordshire. He represented Kingston upon Hull from 1818 to 1820; for St Ives in 1820; for Carlisle from 1826 until 1829; for East Cumberland from 1830 until 1837; for Pembrokeshire District from 1838 until 1841; for Dorchester from 1841 until 1847; for Ripon from 1847 until July 1852; and was again returned for Carlisle from 1852 until his death in 1861. Graham Land in Antarctica is named after him.
Background and education Graham was born at Naworth, Cumberland, the son of Sir James Graham, 1st Baronet, by his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway. He was taught at a private school at Dalston in Cumberland, kept by the Rev. Walter Fletcher, before attending Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He left Oxford after two years and while travelling for his pleasure abroad, he took up a position of private secretary to Lord Montgomerie, British diplomat in Sicily, during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. When Montgomerie became ill the responsibility for the mission fell on Graham. When Lord William Bentinck returned to the Embassy he agreed that Graham should retain the post. During this time he conducted the negotiations which led to the separation of Joachim Murat from Napoleon. When the war ended he returned to England.Torrens pages 77-78 Back in London he became friends with Wilfrid Lawson, who went on to join Graham in politics. Lawson also became Graham's brother-in-law and father to Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Brayton.Ward page 25
Early political career Whig beginnings Back in London, Graham immersed himself in political affairs. Although his father was a staunch Tory he made his headquarters in Brooks's Club where he made many Whig contacts. On 10 June 1818 he announced that he would contest the mercantile borough of Hull. Known at the time as the Yorkshire Dandy on account of his fine appearance and flowery speech, he stood on the Whig doctrine of Parliamentary reform, the abolition of unnecessary positions and pensions, peace, retrenchment, the abolition of the slave trade, and religious and civil liberties. After three days of open voting and official scrutiny, Graham entered parliament as the junior member by a mere four votes. However, he had gained the seat at great personal expense and notwithstanding other donations accrued a debt of £6,000. In January 1820, George IV succeeded thus forcing a dissolution of parliament. As a result of his past support for radical measures he failed to gain the necessary support to retain the Yorkshire seat and in consequence he stood and won the Cornish seat of St Ives, heading the poll with 205 votes. At Westminster, Graham maintained his campaign for economy, generally opposing the Government's proposed increase in the Royal Family's Civil List. However his parliamentary career, although undistinguished, now became brief: when charged with bribing the electorate he resigned rather than contest an expensive suit.Ward pages 24-45
Agricultural improver
Graham returned to Cumberland and began a programme of improving the family estate at Netherby, with the intention that such improvements would benefit both the landowner and the tenant. He began with a one-off gesture, wiping out the arrears of his tenants debts. He reduced the number of small uneconomic farms on the estate; he rebuilt the cottages and farm-buildings, introduced tile drains whereby much marshy land was reclaimed, and improved the breed of stock on the estate, spending in excess of £100,000 over a twenty-year period. He eventually studied the Corn Laws and their effects upon the community, publishing his conclusions in a pamphlet of 114 pages entitled "Corn and Currency", which brought him into prominence as a man of advanced Liberal opinions. He argued that liberal economics rather than protection would best serve the interests of the landowners. High duties on foreign corn had failed to help British agriculture and should be cut to a level where they simply balanced the landowner's taxes and rates. Whereas high prices increased rents to the benefit of the landowners they conferred no advantage to the labourer and were an injury to the productive and a tax on the unproductive classes of the community. His general conclusions were in favour of free trade and free banking.Corn and Currency He was also a founder member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (later RSPCA).Arthur W. Moss, Valiant Crusade: The History of the RSPCA (London: Cassell, 1961), p 23. Kathryn Shevelow, For the Love of Animals: The Rise of the Animal Protection Movement (New York: Henry Holt, 2008) p 269.
On 8 July 1819, Graham married Frances ("Fanny") Callander, of Craigforth and Ardkinglas, a famous society beauty. In 1824 he succeeded to the baronetcy.
In Parliament Representative for Cumberland
At the general election of 1826, Graham, who stood upon principles identical to those advocated when contesting Hull, became the senior member for the city of Carlisle. It was a remarkable contest. When Sir Philip Musgrave, 8th Baronet (1794–1827), the Tory candidate, ventured into one of the poorest districts of the city, he was confronted by a group of non-electors seeking his opinions relating to the Corn Laws. When his views failed to meet with their approval he received a storm of abuse followed by a shower of stones, and a general disturbance ensued. Members of the corporation and the constabulary were man-handled and thrown into the Milldam. In the course of the afternoon a detachment of the 55th regiment of Foot appeared to quell the disturbance. The mob received the troops with a volley of stones, the troops reacted with a hail of ball cartridges and when the smoke cleared two young women lay dead and numerous others lay wounded.Carlisle Journal, 26 October 1861 In 1828, the death of John Christian Curwen caused a vacancy in the representation of the county of Cumberland. As a result, Graham resigned his seat and entered parliament in an uncontested election on their behalf.Carlisle Journal, 17 January 1829 In 1830 the celebrated "Dalston Dinner" took place, a public dinner given to Graham by a number of the freeholders of the county in testimony of their approbation of his conduct in parliament. During the proceedings Graham declared himself a "party man" under the Blue flag of freedom; declaring.
At the end of July, following the dissolution of parliament, Graham and Sir John Lowther both returned for Cumberland. In 1830 he first made a name in the House of Commons by a motion for the reduction of official salaries, and he increased his reputation by an attack on the salaries received by privy councillors. This gave him a position as one of the more advanced reformers, and in November Earl Grey offered him the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. He was also sworn of the Privy Council. Although this precipitated the need for a new election he was returned unopposed. Graham later became a member of the committee, along with Lord Durham, Lord Duncannon and Lord John Russell charged with the task of compiling and introducing the Reform Act 1832.Ward pages 97-105 From 1832 to 1837 he sat for the eastern division of the county of Cumberland.
First Lord of the Admiralty Break with Whiggism
By the summer of 1834, Graham had become a successful minister, the navy was reformed, apart from impressments, and seamen's conditions had improved. The Reform Act was assured, and European peace secured. All was well except in Ireland where the unfair system of raising tithes for the church and the problems relating to land tenure prevailed. The discontent of the Irish Catholic majority was strong enough to prevent the collection of tithes to support an antagonistic and as they believed heretical church. Parliament proposed that all compositions for tithes should cease, and that an annual land tax should be paid, out of which provision should be made for the clergy and other tithe owners. As such in 1833, the British Government introduced the Irish Church Temporalities Bill which proposed the administrative and financial restructuring of the Church. The bill sought to reduce the number of both bishoprics and archbishoprics from 22 to 12, to change the structure of the leases of Church lands and to apply the revenues saved by these changes for the use of parishes. Since Graham believed that the union of the two countries principally rested on the church and that any meddling with the establishment would inevitably lead to its downfall he resigned from the government. He did not act alone, Lord Stanley, Lord Ripon and the Duke of Richmond also tendered their resignations.Ward page 136 He now became a member of the Derby Dilly. In January 1835, notwithstanding criticism from significant parts of the Cumbrian electorate, Graham reassured his supporters that he still favoured peace, retrenchment and reform and in consequence he was returned unopposed at the general election.Carlisle Patriot, 17 January 1835 On 30 June that year Graham crossed the floor of the House and henceforth sat on the Tory side. Graham now joined the Cumberland Conservative Association, and forsook the Carlisle Journal in favour of the Carlisle Patriot.
Cumberland rejection Graham's conduct in Parliament alienated many of his traditional Whig supporters. In 1837, upon the death of William IV and the announcement of a general election, a requisition signed by over 2,500 county freeholders sought the election of two alternative Whig candidates. On the day of the election, freeholders flocked from every part of the division to offer support for the reform candidates. The cavalcade of horsemen, four abreast, many of whom had ridden many miles that morning, stretched over half a mile. Flags and banner, advertising the disapproval of Graham, flew profusely, many of them bearing skits relating to Graham's past conduct. On the hustings, Graham found it difficult to obtain a hearing, and in consequence he submitted to his opponents' cries. At the close of the poll the numbers were: for Francis Aglionby 2,294; for William James 2,124; for Graham 1,505. This ended Graham's influence in his home county.
Home Secretary Entry to government In 1838, Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet ordered his son Hugh Owen, MP for Pembroke in Wales, to resign and make way for Graham. Graham won the resulting by-election unopposed and so re-entered Parliament. In 1838 he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow, an award quickly followed with the Freedom of the same city.Ward, pages 165-166
However, Graham's tenure in Pembroke was short-lived. In the 1841 general election, Sir John Owen chose to reclaim Pembroke; Graham felt honour-bound to comply and did not stand. Instead, Robert Williams, MP for Dorchester, stood down in favor of Graham, who was elected unopposed there. Sir Robert Peel became Prime Minister and appointed Graham Home Secretary in his cabinet.