William Rann Kennedy was the eldest son of William James Kennedy, the educationalist. He was born in Kensington, London in 1846. As a boy he lived in Preston and Manchester where his father was an Inspector of Schools.
He attended Eton about 1859-1864 then won a foundation scholarship to Kings College, Cambridge where he studied the Classics as did his grandfather, uncles and father before him. He won the Bell and Craven scholarships and the Browne and Powis medals and was Senior Classic. From 1868 to 1870 he was a Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
In 1871 he became a barrister like his uncle Charles Rann Kennedy, but specialising in industrial and especially shipping cases. At first he practised in London.
For a time he worked as secretary to Lord Goschen, the famous Liberal politician of the day.
In 1875 he moved to Liverpool and began building what would become a successful practice in Shipping cases.
He wooed and married Cecilia Richmond, daughter of George Richmond (1809-1896), portrait painter and friend of William Blake the artist and poet. Richmond was also the friend of William Ewart Gladstone, formerly High Tory, but latterly Liberal Leader and Radical.
Liverpool was one of the main ports of the Empire, with the docks expanding decade by decade as the ships grew bigger and their draughts deeper.
Side by side with the prosperity of the port, the poverty of the city was nightmarish.
William's political outlook was profoundly affected by the poverty around him. Whilst he did not come from a wealthy family, indeed they were a family who had always had to work hard in order to rise to success as they did, he had sympathy for the working class and to a large extent Irish population of Liverpool and wished to help. He and his father discussed the issues a great deal, and it was no surprise when in the early 1880s William decided to stand for Parliament, for the Liberal Party of William Ewart Gladstone. It is clear from the family papers that Gladstone was an acquaintance of William's father who was a major influence in the Liberal education reforms of the 1870s that led to the education system English children know now.
The 1880s had seen a revitalised Liberal Party back in power after the jingoistic Tory administrations of Disraeli in the 1870s had rolled forward the boundaries of the Empire after they had rolled out the vote to a whole mass of ordinary working class men for the first time ever. Disraeli, whilst Chancellor under Lord Derby in 1867, had cunningly realised that ordinary British voters could be enrolled into the Imperial adventure, and bolster the popularity of the Empire and the Queen - who had withdrawn from public life after the death of Prince Albert. Giving working class men the vote would mean votes for the Tories, not the Liberals, he thought. However the policy rebounded to some extent when Disraeli decided to back the Ottoman Empire in its aggressive campaign against Christian Bulgaria and ordinary people were revolted by press reports of brutal Turkish reprisals against Bulgarian civilians. Disraeli wanted to bolster the Turks as a buffer against the designs of the Russian Empire but Gladstone used the moral issue in a series of powerful speeches to the new mass electorate, which led ultimately to their sweeping to power.
The reality of a Liberal party gaining power in an Empire is that events take a turn for the worse and soon enough the Liberal government was faced with a revolt in Egypt against the client monarch by nationalist elements. This threatened British interests in the Suez Canal. British troops were sent in against Gladstone's instincts in order to stabilise the situation.
Meanwhile in Ireland the Fenian rebellion continued to simmer, with violence in the countryside and a bombing campaign which visited the mainland of Britain. Most Irish people wanted land reform, and to do away with the absentee Anglo Irish landlords. The Irish Nationalist MPs led by Charles Stuart Parnell blockaded the House of Commons, voting against government legislation with the Tories in order to put pressure on the Liberals to introduce Home Rule. The Chief Secretary for Ireland Lord Frederick Cavendish and his Under Secretary Thomas Henry Burke were brutally murdered in Phoenix Park by republican terrorists in 1883, causing a storm of outrage against Irish Nationalism in Britain. Parnell and his Party were blamed by many even though they were not associated with the terrorists.
The reforms that Gladstone wanted for Britain were clearly not going to take place unless the Irish issue was addressed. Lord Hartington, the other senior member of the Liberal Government was the brother of Lord Frederick Cavendish and was determined that the government would not bow to terrorism as he saw it. In this was the crucible of what shattered the Liberal establishment forever.
Events again were to blame when Gladstone was ultimately unseated by the backlash following the defeat of General Gordon at Khartoum in the Sudan (an event that he can hardly be held responsible for as Gordon had refused to return from his post as ordered, and in effect sought his own 'martyrdom'). Lord Salisbury formed a minority Tory government which survived a few months until a General Election was called in late 1885.
In 1884 the Tories and the Liberals had combined in Parliament, to extend the vote to poor people in the country too. Now 5,500,000 men had the vote.
William Rann Kennedy was interested in socialism. He made a speech on the subject
here .
William Rann Kennedy had decided to stand as Liberal Candidate for Birkenhead. The following was his election address:
To the Electors of the Borough of Birkenhead
Gentlemen-More than a year ago I had the high honour of being invited by the representatives of the Liberal Party in Birkenhead to come forward at the next Parliamentary election as the Liberal candidate for the Borough.
In glad compliance with the invitation, I now respectfully beg the favour of your suffrages.
I am and always have been a Liberal in politics. I conceive that, whereas the Tory idea is the maintenance of class privilege and artificial inequalities, the object of Liberalism is before all and above all the well-being -religious, intellectual and material- of the greatest number. I believe that the Liberal Party has worked, and will work, faithfuly for this object, and that great as have been its past achievements, it will in the near future, under the invigorating influence of the wider and more popular electorate which its labours have created, achieve even grander triumphs for the cause of progress and the welfare of the people.
I accept with satisfaction Mr. Gladstone's programme of Liberal measures. These measures are in my humble judgement, most important, not only for the blessings which they will directly confer, but also as the natural and necessary stepping-stones to further legislative reforms. To the subjects of two of Mr. Gladstone's proposals-the enfranchisement of the land and the reform of the present chaos of Local Government, and taxation-I have for many years past devoted much thought and study.
I want in the course of the ensuing contest to have the ample opportunity of explaining to you fully and frankly my opinions as to these, and also as to other subjects of political controversy, such, as that of National Education, which I cannot adequately or properly handle within the narow limits of a preliminary address. I may, as regards the education question, just say this-that I would not support any legislative proposal which did` not preserve the existing interests of Denominational Education. (In the copy of this address held in the family records, someone has underlined this sentence in pen and noted "I agree but would omit").
There are however, certain questions of moment as to which I feel bound to take this opportunity of informing you of my views, and the nature of which, as I dare to hope, permits me to state these views briefly without risk of misconstruction.
I am an ardent Free Trader. I am convinced that Free Trade has been the main cause of our wonderful prosperity, and that in the comparative depression of business that has lately visited us, as well as foreign nations, and which has, I grieve to seefallen so heavily on Birkenhead, Free Trade is for the vast industrial population the main safeguard against intolerable privation.
I have long felt that the better housing of the poor in our crowded cities and the improvement of the condition of the rural labourer are urgent questions of national concern. I am confident that both these difficult and complex problems wil be solved by the Liberal Party without either sapping the independence of the poor or diregarding the claims of private property.
I am anxious in the interest alike of the artisan and of his employer, for the establishment of a system of Technical Education. The want of it has sorely hampered us in our competition with foreign industry, and, most certainly, if the trade of Great Britain goes, her power and prosperity go with it.
I am prepared to vote for a just and moderate scheme of Local Option.
In regard to Ireland, I am an advocate for the largest amount of Irish self-government which is compatible with the real integrity of the empire and an undivided parliament.
I am in favour of our withdrawal from Egypt at the earliest moment at which our solemn duty to establish there an an orderly and stable Government permits us to withdraw. To the performance of this duty we stand, in my judgement, pledged by every consideration of national honour and national interest.
As to our Colonies, I shall rejoice if it should be found possible, as I think it may be, without a foolish meddling in their growth, to draw our fellow subjects in every part of the Greater Britain beyond the seas into closer and more active union with ourselves and with each other.
In conclusion, permit me respectfully, but most earnestly, to entreat you to bear in mind the momentous issues of the impending contest, and to assure you of the deep sense of responsibility which I feel in asking you, especially at such a crisis, for the splendid privilege of your confidence. I can only say as I do from the bottom of my heart, that, if you give it to me, I shall spare no pains to serve you worthily, both as regards the great local interests of your borough, and as regards your wider and higher interests as citizens of a country of which it has been well said that it "stands unrivalled in the magnitude of its enterprises, and the humanity of its purposes"-I remain,
Your obedient servant,
WILLIAM RANN KENNEDY
Birkenhead 10th Oct 1885.
Birkenhead had been more or less built by the Laird family, from Scotland, who erected the grand square at the centre of the town and laid out the large park. The Lairds introduced Shipbuilding, building the extensive docks and founding the Cammell Laird company. They were the political force in the constituency, Tories. They had built ships for the Confederacy during the American Civil War which would have outraged Liberal sentiment.
The Liverpool newspapers followed the campaign in detail:
The Daily Post October 9 1885 contained a report describing the difficulties in selection of a Conservative candidate. Mr Alexander Allen had been rejected for legal reasons though his commercial connection with the town led him to be a popular choice with many of the party bigwigs, as opposed to General Hamley. Others objected to General Hamley as being little known to the people of Birkenhead.
The current member David McIver was subsequently deselected ostensibly for health reasons but it is suggested elsewhere for his weak performances in parliament - though he was still being considered at this late stage and he was said to be popular outside the committee since his health had recovered.
Leader Comment in the Daily Post October 10 1885 edition seemed a little impatient at the arrival of Kennedy's election address. The correspondent mentioned that Tories had been implying and Liberals were concerned that Kennedy was lukewarm in his commitment. However the Leader expresses the view that there could be no fitter representative than Kennedy. It should be noted here that the Liberal Party had little support to offer candidates who would receive no salary if elected. Kennedy was not a rich man and no doubt had business to tie up - election or no election.
The Leader points to the Tories' absurd objections to Kennedy on account of his being a lawyer. It notes that Kennedy worked on the issue of Land Law Reform, Local Government reform, Local Option and Local Taxation some years before when he was Goschen's secretary. This compares him favourably with the General.
The rest of Kennedy's address is commended to the voters of Birkenhead.
The Daily Post October 13 1885 describes a meeting of the Birkenhead Conservative Association, Committee at Queens Hall Claughton Rd.
General Sir E. B. Hamley KCB had been adopted as candidate. 5-600 present and the press attempted to be excluded. Mr John Laird President of the Association had written to apologise for his absence due to illness.
There was some discussion over the non-selection of a Mr. Allen who had been excluded by the Attorney General because of his company's government contract. The chair, Mr. Taylor was very regretful that Allan was not the candidate.
Hamley had been selected because of his record in the Egyptian conflict, and his work for Salisbury and Granville. The writer said that Hamley's speech short, his voice was weak and his style halting.
He tackled Fair Trade (selective protectionism) saying that it was not fair to have no tariffs when other countries were raising tariffs. Next he criticised the policy of free education, because it would lead to secular education and undermine the denominational schools. (The Liberal policy was not free education nor was it to attack denominational schools - the Tory candidate would continue to use this slur throughout the campaign in a calculated attempt to turn Roman Catholics against Kennedy).
Next he turned to general remarks on the benefits of the colonies and pointed out various shortcomings of Liberal policy in the far-flung possessions. He mentioned the Liberals stopping work on the Afghan Quetta Railway as endangering the North West Frontier, and the death of Gordon which the Tories in general blamed on Gladstone - although Gordon had gone to Khartoum without orders to do so. Hamley expressed a desire for no more British effort in Sudan. In contrast he said there was no call for the British to get involved in Bulgaria - Gladstone's big concern in the 1870s.
He expressed a desire for the Established Church to be fortified, along with the British coastline and the Navy thereby to be put under less pressure. An odd combination, showing how his mind worked in relation to the Church and the Military.
He proposed a Royal Commission to look into the Licensing Laws - clearly he wished to avoid upsetting the business interests traditionally allied with the Tories. He said that publicans losing licenses should be compensated.
Another member of the ruling family, H.H. Laird seconded the motion in support of the candidate.
The Daily Post October 22 1885 reported on a Public Meeting of the Conservatives at the Theatre Royal Argyle St.
Prior to the start of the meeting a young man regaled the audience with a selection of patriotic songs - an indication of the Jingoism of the Birkenhead Tories. Several members of the Laird family were in attendance. Also Captain Gladstone, the GOM's Tory brother.
David McIver formally took leave of the constituency after eleven years service. The chairman John Laird pointed out McIver's work in many committees especially on foreign policy issues in which he had brought important issues to the public eye, he said. He was intimating that the economic depression was caused by some of these issues and that the Tory leadership would be investigating them if elected.
McIver effectively apologised for underperforming as MP but said he'd done his best. He indicated that he had acted independently at times. He pointed out that he had supported commercial and trade interests though they were not given due recognition in parliament due to the numbers of lawyers and professional politicians. He attacked the Fair Trade policies of the Liberals - calling Kennedy a member of the "Cobden Club". He had fought against Chamberlain's Shipping Bill and tried to reduce the over-regulation of British Shipping as he saw it.
McIver compared Hamley, a man who had served his country, with Kennedy, a man who served himself. He concluded with the phrase "Peace Abroad And Prosperity At Home".
The Chairman commended Hamley as a soldier, diplomatist, and a man of literature and science.
Hamley spoke of himself as a staunch Conservative, and opponent of Radicals. He accused Liberals of being nothing because they were neither Conservative nor Radicals. He reserves all his scorn for the Radicals who were as he saw it attacking the Constitution and the Established Church without an appreciation of the value of these institutions. He saw the Conservative role as preserving those institutions.
He referred to the economic depression and stated that the Conservatives had formed a Royal Commission on the subject and invited the Liberals to sit on it but they had refused.
He accused the Gladstone government of throwing Gordon to the wolves in Khartoum, after having used him to cover up their own inadequacy.
He proposed that the unemployed shipyard workers be re-employed in order to build more ships for the Navy.
He ridiculed the Liberals for awaiting the pronouncements of Gladstone like the ancient Romans did their old gods.
In general it was a long uncompromising speech which was punctuated with much applause.
The Daily Post October 23 1885 reported on a Liberal Public Meeting at the Queens Hall, Claughton Road.
Letters of apology included one from W. Rathbone MP who said that he thought "Mr Kennedy's representation of Birkenhead would tend to raise it to its proper position in the House of Commons."
The chairman was full of praise for Kennedy's candidature and said that all the Tories could object to was that he was a lawyer which was no objection at all. The presence of another military man in parliament would only increase jingoism and extravagant spending on the army and navy.
Kennedy said he was honoured by the large audience and that this would be the first election where the intelligent manhood of England would be polled on political questions. He also said he thought it would be the last time that Gladstone would be leader and for this he wanted a big majority. He wanted a reform of Parliament itself so that more business was transacted. He considered himself a Radical on the Land Reform issue which he thought threatened the nation. He wanted to "destroy" the law of primogeniture. He also wanted to give agricultural labourers an interest in the soil, but there should be fair compensation for any lad taken in order to do this. He wanted to end the law of entail so that owners of land were able to sell it if they chose to. He wanted fair local taxation, effective county and local government which was elected and that would hold the purse strings.
He said he would give local control over licensing and Sunday closing.
He said he was in favour of self-government for Ireland that did not break the Union and that did not divide the Imperial Parliament. He wanted any such measure to respect the law and not terrorise anyone.
He said there were other reforms which he wished to detail in other later addresses.
He pointed to the reforming element of the Tories led by Lord Randolph Churchill who was calling for support from moderate Liberals. He said that General Hamley was an old-fashioned Tory who did not have any truck with Churchill. He hoped that moderate Liberals would refuse Churchill's blandishments.
He attacked Churchill's proposals regarding education and said that he did not support free education because he thought it would devalue education, nor did he want to interfere with the denominational schools - pointing out that he was a Church Of England man.
In the same edition was a report on a Tory meeting at the Drill Hall, Tranmere.
David McIver continued to thank Birkenhead for his time as MP. He then set about Kennedy. He said he could "talk like a waterfall". He was a classical scholar and could make Latin verses [perhaps an attempt to show Kennedy as living in an ivory tower]. He was an ardent free trader which DMI saw as indicating that Kennedy had not considered commercial interests. He said that the lack of ships being built in Birkenhead and the incidence of foreign flagging confirmed that Free Trade was against local people's interests.
He said that Kennedy was a gentlemanly, pleasant fellow but that the Liberals seemed to think he was really eminent in his profession when in fact he wasn't and would not be. He said that Kennedy was just a junior and had accepted the candidacy chiefly in order to drum up more business in the area.
He then went on to point out how old Gladstone was and that he was giving respectability to Radical extremists such as Chamberlain, Schnadhorst and Mack.
Then he started to bleat about what had led to the end of his tenure as MP of Birkenhead. He said that he had done his best. He said he was not responsible for the statements by the newspapers as to the reasons for him standing down. He had been ill but now he was well and wanted to stand again for Parliament. He said he had not lost a large amount of money or even sixpence in sugar. He had never been involved in speculation but he had suffered financially recently and in any event had never been rich. [it is easy to imagine the finger drumming and eye rolling going on at the top table at this point]
Hamley added a few words to the effect that the Liberals had been bad for trade but that the Tories would be much better which would end economic depression.
The constituency of Birkenhead did not elect William Rann Kennedy as their MP in 1885 despite his valiant efforts. Hamley won the seat.
The results were :
Hamley 5733 votes
Kennedy 4560 votes
Therefore a Conservative Majority of 1173
The Liberals nationally had the most seats but not an overall majority, meaning that the Irish MPs once again could bring their votes to bear on Parliament.
Liberals 319 seats
Conservative 247 seats
Irish Party 86 seats
After the election, the Irish Nationalists referred specifically to William Rann Kennedy, saying that they had deliberately prevented him from winning by exhorting Irish voters in Birkenhead to vote for the Tories. This they said was due to his being close to Gladstone. It was an unmistakeable message to the Grand Old Man that he had better listen to them.
Next year Kennedy was to stand again in Birkenhead as is described
here.
