Henry Primrose
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry William Primrose K.C.B., C.S.I., I.S.O., P.C.
(22 August 1846 – 17 June 1923) was a Scottish civil servant. He joined the Treasury
in 1869, served as private secretary to the Viceroy of India from 1880 to 1884 and to Gladstone
in 1886. He was secretary of the Office of Works
from 1887 to 1895. He became chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue
from 1899 to 1907.
, near Edinburgh
, the second of the six sons of the Hon. Bouverie Francis Primrose (1813–1898) and his wife, Frederica Sophia Anson (1814–1867). His father was the son of Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery
and Harriett Bouverie. His mother was the daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson
and Lady Anne Margaret Coke.
His brothers included Francis Archibald, (born 1843), Gilbert Edward
(1848–1935), who also made one international football appearance for Scotland, and George Anson Primrose (1849–1930), who became a vice-admiral.
Primrose was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and Balliol College, Oxford
. He obtained second class degrees in classical moderations (1867) and in the final honour school of law and modern history (1869).
. She had been married twice previously: first, to the Hon. Richard Denman, the grandson of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
, who was Lord Chief Justice
from 1832 to 1850 and spent a month in 1834 as interim Chancellor of the Exchequer
. The marriage to Denman lasted from 1871 to 1878 and ended in divorce. There were three children of the marriage:
Her second marriage, to James Montgomery Walker lasted from 1879 to 1888 and was dissolved on the grounds of desertion.
Lady Primrose died in 1919: there was one child of the marriage:
against England; the Scottish team captain, James Kirkpatrick
was a fellow civil servant. Primrose played as one of the forwards with the match ending in a victory for the English by a single goal.
He was selected for further matches but was unavailable; for the February 1872 match, the match report says that "the only change[s] in the list of players previously published was the substitution . . . for Scotland, C. Thompson
for Primrose".
, entering the Treasury
in 1869. From April to June 1880, he was secretary to the Prime Minister
, William Gladstone
before being sent to India as secretary to Lord Ripon
, the newly appointed viceroy. In January 1885, Primrose was appointed a Companion of the "Most Exalted Order of the Star of India
".
At the end of Ripon's term in office in India in 1884, Primrose returned to work with Gladstone until the fall of the Government in June 1885. He again rejoined Gladstone following his return to office in February 1886, becoming head of the Downing Street secretariat. Described as "the least admiring of Gladstone's secretaries" Primrose became "a useful conduit of information" to his cousin, Rosebery
, who was then foreign secretary.
In August 1886, he was appointed Secretary to the Office of Works
. In January 1895, he was appointed a Companion of the "Most Honourable Order of the Bath
".
Primrose was one of several former private secretaries to Gladstone who attended at his funeral at Westminster Abbey
on 28 May 1898.
In January 1899, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of The Bath; shortly afterwards, he was also promoted to become Chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue
, a position he held until he retired from the civil service in 1907, aged sixty-one.
At the Treasury, he had a reputation as "a strict Gladstonian at a time when Treasury attitudes were fast changing". In 1895, he commented that:
His evidence to the select committee on Income Tax in 1906 vigorously defended Victorian precepts. He opposed the scheme to introduce a graduated Income Tax
and expressed the view that death duties could be "regarded as partaking to some extent of the nature of a deferred Income Tax". He disliked the proposal to introduce a higher rate of tax on unearned ("precarious") income than on earned ("permanent") income.
He was Chairman of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company
from 1907 until 1914 and was a director of the Reversionary Interest Society from 1911.
Shortly after his retirement, he was appointed chairman of a royal commission to enquire into the financial relationship between the Supreme Government in India and the various provincial governments, although he resigned the appointment after a month, to be replaced by Sir Charles Hobhouse.
In 1911 he chaired a committee on the financial clauses of the Irish Home Rule Bill, a subject with which he had had experience since 1886. He proposed that an Irish government should have full control over its revenue, with the British government providing some additional funds to meet the deficit. His plan was rejected by Herbert Samuel, who drew up the financial clauses of the Home Rule Bill of 1912, as it was thought to offer excessive financial autonomy to the Irish.
In 1912, he was a member of the MacDonnell royal commission on the civil service and in 1913 of the Loreburn
royal commission on railways. In September 1914, Primrose was appointed chairman of the Welsh church commission consequent on Welsh disestablishment
and of the commission set up to enquire into the supply of sugar after the First World War. In 1918 he was a member of the Bradbury committee on staff retrenchment in government offices.
In June 1912, he was sworn into the privy council
, an unusual honour for a civil servant.
, Primrose was a chronic insomnia
c which led to depression. On the morning of 17 June 1923, he was found in Kensington Gardens
(near his home at Ennismore Gardens), having shot himself; he was taken to St. George's Hospital, where he died almost immediately.
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...
(22 August 1846 – 17 June 1923) was a Scottish civil servant. He joined the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
in 1869, served as private secretary to the Viceroy of India from 1880 to 1884 and to 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...
in 1886. He was secretary of the Office of Works
Office of Works
The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
from 1887 to 1895. He became chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
from 1899 to 1907.
Family and education
Primrose was born at DalmenyDalmeny House
Dalmeny House is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817.Dalmeny House is the home of the Earl and Countess of Rosebery. The house was the first in...
, near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
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...
, the second of the six sons of the Hon. Bouverie Francis Primrose (1813–1898) and his wife, Frederica Sophia Anson (1814–1867). His father was the son of Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery
Sir Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery KT, PC, FRS was a British Member of Parliament.Archibald Primrose was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, gaining his MA in 1804...
and Harriett Bouverie. His mother was the daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson was a British politician and peer.Anson was the son of George Adams, who later changed the family name to Anson in 1773, after inheriting Shugborough Hall from his maternal uncle, Lord Anson...
and Lady Anne Margaret Coke.
His brothers included Francis Archibald, (born 1843), Gilbert Edward
Gilbert E. Primrose
Gilbert Edward Primrose was a Scottish amateur sportsman who made one appearance for the Scottish football XI against England in the representative match played in February 1871...
(1848–1935), who also made one international football appearance for Scotland, and George Anson Primrose (1849–1930), who became a vice-admiral.
Primrose was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He obtained second class degrees in classical moderations (1867) and in the final honour school of law and modern history (1869).
Wife and children
On 2 November 1888, he married Mrs. Helen Mary Walker, the daughter of Gilbert McMicking of Miltonise, WigtownshireWigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...
. She had been married twice previously: first, to the Hon. Richard Denman, the grandson of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.-Background and education:Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman...
, who was Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
from 1832 to 1850 and spent a month in 1834 as interim Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. The marriage to Denman lasted from 1871 to 1878 and ended in divorce. There were three children of the marriage:
- Hon. Anna Maria Heywood Denman (c. 1874–1965) who married Sir John Emmott Barlow, 1st Baronet (1857–1932), M.P.Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for FromeFrome (UK Parliament constituency)Frome was a constituency centred on the town of Frome in Somerset. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832, until it was abolished for the 1950 general election...
from 1892 to 1895 and from 1896 to 1918. - Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 3rd Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman GCMG, KCVO, PC was a British Liberal politician and the fifth Governor-General of Australia.-Early years:...
of Dovedale (1874–1954), who became Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
from 1911 to 1914. - Sir Richard Douglas Denman, 1st Baronet (1876–1957), who became M.P. for CarlisleCarlisle (UK Parliament constituency)Carlisle is a 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. It was a Labour seat from 1964 until 2010, although the Conservatives came close to victory in the elections in...
from 1910 to 1918 and for Leeds CentralLeeds Central (UK Parliament constituency)Leeds Central is a borough 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.- Boundaries :...
from 1929 to 1945.
Her second marriage, to James Montgomery Walker lasted from 1879 to 1888 and was dissolved on the grounds of desertion.
Lady Primrose died in 1919: there was one child of the marriage:
- Archibald Henry Reginald Primrose, born 14 December 1889.
Football career
In his youth, Primrose was a member of the Civil Service Football Club. In November 1870, he was selected to represent Scotland in the second of a series of international representative matchesEngland v Scotland representative matches (1870–1872)
Between 1870 and 1872, the Football Association organised five representative association football matches between teams from England and Scotland, all held in London. The first of these matches was held at The Oval on 5 March 1870, and the fifth was on 21 February 1872. The matches, which were...
against England; the Scottish team captain, James Kirkpatrick
James Kirkpatrick, 8th Baronet
Sir James Kirkpatrick was the 8th Kirkpatrick Baronet of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire. In his youth he was a keen sportsman, and helped organise the Scottish football team in the representative matches between March 1870 and February 1872...
was a fellow civil servant. Primrose played as one of the forwards with the match ending in a victory for the English by a single goal.
He was selected for further matches but was unavailable; for the February 1872 match, the match report says that "the only change[s] in the list of players previously published was the substitution . . . for Scotland, C. Thompson
Charles Meysey-Thompson
Revd. Charles Maude Meysey-Thompson was an English clergyman who, as an amateur footballer, won the FA Cup in 1873 with the Wanderers...
for Primrose".
Civil service
On leaving Oxford, he joined the civil serviceCivil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, entering the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
in 1869. From April to June 1880, he was secretary to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, William 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...
before being sent to India as secretary to Lord Ripon
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon KG, GCSI, CIE, PC , known as Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British politician who served in every Liberal cabinet from 1861 until his death forty-eight years later.-Background...
, the newly appointed viceroy. In January 1885, Primrose was appointed a Companion of the "Most Exalted Order of the Star of India
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
".
At the end of Ripon's term in office in India in 1884, Primrose returned to work with Gladstone until the fall of the Government in June 1885. He again rejoined Gladstone following his return to office in February 1886, becoming head of the Downing Street secretariat. Described as "the least admiring of Gladstone's secretaries" Primrose became "a useful conduit of information" to his cousin, Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
, who was then foreign secretary.
In August 1886, he was appointed Secretary to the Office of Works
Office of Works
The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
. In January 1895, he was appointed a Companion of the "Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
".
Treasury
In May 1895, Primrose returned to the Treasury when he was appointed a Commissioner of Her Majesty's Customs, becoming chairman.Primrose was one of several former private secretaries to Gladstone who attended at his funeral at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 28 May 1898.
In January 1899, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of The Bath; shortly afterwards, he was also promoted to become Chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
, a position he held until he retired from the civil service in 1907, aged sixty-one.
At the Treasury, he had a reputation as "a strict Gladstonian at a time when Treasury attitudes were fast changing". In 1895, he commented that:
responsible politicians on the Liberal side would be glad to see the area of indirect taxation widened, and would not undo what had been done in that way. On occasions of great emergency, when large demands are to be made on the people, I think you must have a partial resort to indirect taxation; and on occasions when demands less large are to be made on the people, if those demands have a character of apparent permanence, then also, I think, you ought to call in the aid of indirect taxation.
His evidence to the select committee on Income Tax in 1906 vigorously defended Victorian precepts. He opposed the scheme to introduce a graduated Income Tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
and expressed the view that death duties could be "regarded as partaking to some extent of the nature of a deferred Income Tax". He disliked the proposal to introduce a higher rate of tax on unearned ("precarious") income than on earned ("permanent") income.
I have indicated that my opinion is against charging a higher rate upon the income that is derived from savings as long as those savings are in the hands of those persons which have made the savings.
Later career
After his retirement, he remained active in public life, serving on several public bodies and commissions. Primrose was described as "a distinguished and valuable public servant, especially known for the clarity of his minutes and reports".He was Chairman of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company
Commercial Pacific Cable Company
Commercial Pacific Cable Company was founded in 1901, and ceased operations in October, 1951. It provided the first direct telegraph route from America to the Philippines, China, and Japan....
from 1907 until 1914 and was a director of the Reversionary Interest Society from 1911.
Shortly after his retirement, he was appointed chairman of a royal commission to enquire into the financial relationship between the Supreme Government in India and the various provincial governments, although he resigned the appointment after a month, to be replaced by Sir Charles Hobhouse.
In 1911 he chaired a committee on the financial clauses of the Irish Home Rule Bill, a subject with which he had had experience since 1886. He proposed that an Irish government should have full control over its revenue, with the British government providing some additional funds to meet the deficit. His plan was rejected by Herbert Samuel, who drew up the financial clauses of the Home Rule Bill of 1912, as it was thought to offer excessive financial autonomy to the Irish.
In 1912, he was a member of the MacDonnell royal commission on the civil service and in 1913 of the Loreburn
Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn
Robert Threshie Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn GCMG, PC, QC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord Chancellor between 1905 and 1912.-Background and education:...
royal commission on railways. In September 1914, Primrose was appointed chairman of the Welsh church commission consequent on Welsh disestablishment
Welsh Church Act 1914
The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom under which the Welsh part of the Church of England was separated and disestablished, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales...
and of the commission set up to enquire into the supply of sugar after the First World War. In 1918 he was a member of the Bradbury committee on staff retrenchment in government offices.
In June 1912, he was sworn into the privy council
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...
, an unusual honour for a civil servant.
Death
Like his cousin, Lord RoseberyArchibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
, Primrose was a chronic insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
c which led to depression. On the morning of 17 June 1923, he was found in Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
(near his home at Ennismore Gardens), having shot himself; he was taken to St. George's Hospital, where he died almost immediately.