Home > William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne

The son of the 1st Earl, he was educated at Winchester and University College, Oxford, where he took a first class in history. In 1883, while still Viscount Wolmer, he married Lady Beatrix Cecil, third daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He served a political apprenticeship as assistant private secretary to the chancellor of the exchequer ( Hugh Childers) from 1882 to 1885, when he was elected Liberal member of parliament for East Hampshire. Like his father, he became a Liberal Unionist when in 1886 Gladstone proposed Irish Home Rule, and he retained his seat till 1892, when he was elected for West Edinburgh. From 1895 to 1900 he was under-secretary for the colonies, under Joseph Chamberlain, and during the difficult period before the outbreak of the Boer War he progressed rapidly.

In 1900 he entered the cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty, and held this office till 1905, when he succeeded Lord Milner as high commissioner for South Africa and governor of the Transvaal and Orange RiverThe Orange River is the largest river of South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains along the border between South Africa and Lesotho, and runs westward along the southern boundary of the Free State area, and finally Atlantic Ocean at Alexander B colonies. He assumed office at PretoriaPretoria is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) capital; it is situated in the province of Gauteng. Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital. It is a very pleasant and cos in May of that year. He had gone out with the intention of guiding the destinies of South AfricaSouth Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa. South Africa is one o during a period when the ex- Boer republics would be in a transitional state between crown colony government and self-government, and letters patentLetters patent are a type of legal document which is an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation. The opposite of letters patent is letters close which are p were issued granting the Transvaal representative institutions.

But the LiberalIn terms of politics, the word liberal (or Liberal can refer to: an adherent of the ideology of liberalism or something in accordance to this ideology. Note: the words "liberal" or "liberalism" can be different in various countries and can be related to t party came into office in Britain the following December, before the new constitution had been established, and, the decision was now taken to give both the Transvaal and Orange River colonies self-government without delay. Lord Selborne accepted the changed situation, and the experiment proved successful. He ceased to be governor of the Orange River Colony on its assumption of self-government in June 1907, but retained his other posts until May 1910, retiring on the eve of the establishment of the Union of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa came into being on May 31, 1910 when the old Cape Colony and Natal Colony were combined with the defeated South African Republic and Orange Free State (renamed the Orange River Colony) after the Boer War. The various parts were t.

The despatch, dated January 7January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 358 days remaining (359 in leap years). The day is Jinjitsu , in Japan. Events 1325 Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 France takes Calais, the last continental possession of, 1907, in which he reviewed the situation in its economic and political aspects, was a masterly and comprehensive statement of the dangers inherent in the existing system and of the advantages likely to attend union. The force of its appeal had a marked influence on the course of events, while the loyalty with which Lord Selborne co-operated with the Botha administration was an additional factor in. reconciling the Dutch and British communities.

He returned to England with his reputation as a statesman enhanced by the respect of all parties, and with a practical experience, second only to that of Lord Milner, of British imperialism in successful operation. This experience made him a valuable ally in the movement among the Unionist party at home for Tariff Reform and Colonial Preference, to which he could now give his whole-hearted support.