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A Diarist in the Cabinet: Lord Derby and the Australian Colonies 1882‐85
Author(s) -
Powell Graeme
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.00389.x
Subject(s) - expansionism , cabinet (room) , christian ministry , german , colonialism , history , state (computer science) , law , political science , ancient history , economic history , archaeology , politics , algorithm , computer science
Of several diarists in the second Gladstone Ministry, the most assiduous was Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby. As Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1882‐85, he encountered unexpected difficulties in his relations with the self‐governing colonies in the south Pacific. He handled tactfully royal involvement in vice‐regal appointments, encouraged the first moves towards Australian federation, and persuaded Gladstone to accept the offer of colonial troops for the Sudan. However, in responding cautiously to French and German expansionism in the Pacific, he alienated and infuriated the Australian colonists. Derby's diaries and letters reveal that, while scornful of Australian territorial ambitions and dismissive of the imperial romanticism of some of his colleagues, he was anxious to conciliate the Australian colonies, especially with regard to New Guinea.