Arthur Otway
Encyclopedia
Sir Arthur John Otway, 3rd Baronet PC (8 August 1822 – 8 June 1912) was a British
barrister
and Liberal
politician as well as a champion of administrative reform regarding India
.
, Scotland
, the fourth son of Admiral
Sir Robert Otway, 1st Baronet. He was brought up along with the rest of his family in Kemp Town
, an estate of Brighton
, England
. At the age of six, he began his education at Marlborough Place. Following that, he travelled to France
and Germany
, and eventually began education at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Naturally, his first career was in the military. In 1839, he signed on as an ensign
of the 51st Yorkshire Light Infantry, which was then stationed in Australia
. After two years' service, he was promored to the 2nd Queen's Regiment, stationed in India
. He served with that regiment for approximately five more years, until 1846, at which time he retired from the Army. After his time in the military, he began to study law at the Middle Temple
, one of London
's four Inns of Court
; in 1850 he was called to the Bar
.
, however, he began to perceive a need for reform in government, especially regarding the handling of the administration of India. He joined other notables of the time such as John Bright
in forming the India Reform Society. Subsequently, he entered public office as a Liberal
MP for Stafford
. He represented that borough from 1852 to 1857. Later, he sat for Chatham
from 1865 to 1874 and Rochester
from 1878 to 1885.
At the end of 1868, three years into his term as MP of Chatham, Otway was appointed to William Ewart Gladstone
's first Government in the post of Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
. He served for three years in that post. His chief was Lord Clarendon
, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Lord Clarendon died on 19 July 1870, the eve of the Franco-Prussian War
and was succeeded by Lord Granville
. The months that followed were filled with anxiety for all representatives of the Foreign Office, until the war's end in 1871. Otway retired from said post in that year over matters of opinion connected to Russia's treatment of the Black Sea Treaty in the Crimean War
.
In 1878, Otway was elected as the MP for Rochester. In 1881, he succeeded his brother as third baronet. Five years later, in 1883, he was appointed Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means
. He held his post as Chairman until 1885, the year he retired from Parliamentary life entirely. In that same year, he became a Privy Councillor
.
, London
, in June 1912, aged 89. The baronetcy became extinct on his death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician as well as a champion of administrative reform regarding India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Background, education and early life
Otway was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the fourth son of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Robert Otway, 1st Baronet. He was brought up along with the rest of his family in Kemp Town
Kemp Town
Kemp Town is a 19th Century residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. Kemp Town was conceived and financed by Thomas Read Kemp. It has given its name to the larger Kemptown region of Brighton....
, an estate of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the age of six, he began his education at Marlborough Place. Following that, he travelled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and eventually began education at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Naturally, his first career was in the military. In 1839, he signed on as an ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
of the 51st Yorkshire Light Infantry, which was then stationed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. After two years' service, he was promored to the 2nd Queen's Regiment, stationed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He served with that regiment for approximately five more years, until 1846, at which time he retired from the Army. After his time in the military, he began to study law at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, one of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's four Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
; in 1850 he was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
.
Political career
Before Otway had held his first briefBrief (law)
A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why the party to the case should prevail....
, however, he began to perceive a need for reform in government, especially regarding the handling of the administration of India. He joined other notables of the time such as John Bright
John Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
in forming the India Reform Society. Subsequently, he entered public office as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP for Stafford
Stafford (UK Parliament constituency)
Stafford is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The sitting MP is the Conservative Jeremy Lefroy....
. He represented that borough from 1852 to 1857. Later, he sat for Chatham
Chatham (UK Parliament constituency)
Chatham was a parliamentary constituency in Kent which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
from 1865 to 1874 and Rochester
Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochester was a parliamentary constituency in Kent. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
from 1878 to 1885.
At the end of 1868, three years into his term as MP of Chatham, Otway was appointed to William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's first Government in the post of Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
|The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been a junior position in the British government since 1782, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs...
. He served for three years in that post. His chief was Lord Clarendon
George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon KG, GCB, PC , was an English diplomat and statesman.-Background and education:...
, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Lord Clarendon died on 19 July 1870, the eve of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
and was succeeded by Lord Granville
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
Granville George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville KG, PC FRS , styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman...
. The months that followed were filled with anxiety for all representatives of the Foreign Office, until the war's end in 1871. Otway retired from said post in that year over matters of opinion connected to Russia's treatment of the Black Sea Treaty in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
.
In 1878, Otway was elected as the MP for Rochester. In 1881, he succeeded his brother as third baronet. Five years later, in 1883, he was appointed Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
. He held his post as Chairman until 1885, the year he retired from Parliamentary life entirely. In that same year, he became a Privy Councillor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
.
Family
Otway married Henrietta Langham, daughter of Sir James Langham, on 13 September 1851. They had three children, Henrietta Evelyn Marianne Otway, Phoebe Eleanora Otway and Waller Angelo Otway. His only son, Waller, died unmarried in 1884. His wife died in 1909. Otway survived her by three years and died at 34 Eaton SquareEaton Square
Eaton Square is a residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is one of the three garden squares built by the Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century, and is named after Eaton Hall, the Grosvenor country house in Cheshire...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in June 1912, aged 89. The baronetcy became extinct on his death.