Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth, KT, PC (8 July 1849 – 15 September 1909), was a moderate[1] British Liberal Party statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1894 when he inherited his peerage and then sat in the House of Lords. He served in various capacities in the Liberal governments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
After ten years in opposition, the Liberals again came to power in December 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who appointed Tweedmouth First Lord of the Admiralty,[11] with a seat in the cabinet. In early 1908 he was criticised for corresponding with German emperor William II on the British naval programme. The matter was referred to the House of Commons. Chancellor of the ExchequerH. H. Asquith eventually stated that the correspondence was "a purely personal and private communication, conceived in an entirely friendly spirit" and no action was taken.[12] However, when Asquith succeeded Campbell-Bannerman as prime minister in April 1908 Tweedmouth was removed as head of the Admiralty and became Lord President of the Council.[8] He suffered a nervous breakdown in June 1908, a condition which was said to partly explain his indiscretion in communicating with the German Emperor on naval matters. Although his health later recovered, he resigned in October 1908.[13] He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1908.[14]
An advocate of workers' rights[15] and social legislation,[16][17][18] Tweedmouth was supportive of the Liberal Party's alliance with the Labour Party in the lead-up to the 1906 general election, believing that the Liberals could not win without it, and regarded as "humbug" the view that such an alliance meant class legislation.[19]
Lord Tweedmouth's parliamentary career saw him reported as being the Laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric who was, on occasions, "in a fighting mood".[22] Following Lady Tweedmouth's death, Lord Tweedmouth sold the Lairdship of Glen Affric, the property including the Guisachan Estate and deer park that his family had owned since the 1850s.[23][24] He was reported as being a "generous laird", who, like his father, "did much for the people" of his estate; the "ties which united the people of Glen Affric with the Laird and his lady were close".[25][26]
Lord Tweedmouth survived his wife by five years and died in September 1909, aged 60. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Dudley.
^"Knights of the Thistle". leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"THE ABERDEEN JOURNAL, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1898". Aberdeen Press and Journal Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 22 November 1898. Retrieved 13 January 2015. The laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric was in a fighting mood last night, and he devoted the main part of his address to an attack on Mr Chamberlain's Manchester speeches. Lord Tweedmouth does not affect the most...
^"ISHBEL LADY ABERDEEN AT INVERNESS". The Scotsman Midlothian, Scotland. 14 December 1934. Retrieved 29 January 2013. ....presided, spoke of Lady Aberdeen's connection with the Highlands and to the many happy days she spent in Glen Affric, which was then the property of her father. (i.e. Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, died 1894)
^Pepper, Jeffrey G. (2012). Golden Retriever. i5 Publishing. p. 27. ISBN9781621870340.
^"The late Dowager Lady Tweedmouth". The Berwickshire News. 14 April 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 15 April 2007. Close were the ties which united the people of Glen Affric with the Laird and his lady. Secluded from the world...(subscription required)
^"ISHBEL, LADY ABERDEEN — The Home of Her Youth Revisited - A HIGHLAND WELCOME". The Scotsman Midlothian, Scotland. 15 December 1934. Retrieved 13 January 2014. Many present remembered Lady Aberdeen as the lovely daughter of Lord Tweedmouth, who, like his son who succeeded him, was a generous laird and did much for the estate.....and especially for the people of Guisachan
