LORD GEORGE BENTINCK
The Library of Conservative Thought
Milton Hindus, Series Editor
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Collected Letters of John Randolph of Roanoke to John Brockenbrough, 1812-1833, edited by Kenneth Shorey
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Edmund Burke: The Enlightenment and Revolution, by Peter J. Stanlis
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Lord George Bentinck, by Benjamin Disraeli
The Moral Foundations of Civil Society, by Wilhelm Roepke
Natural Law, by Alexander Passerin dEntrves
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Originally published in 1905 by Archibald Constable and Company, Limited.
Published 1998 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Catalog Number: 89-34108
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, 18041881.
Lord George Bentinck: a political biography / Benjamin
Disraeli; with a new introduction by Robert W. Kamphuis, Jr.
p. cm. (The library of conservative thought)
Originally published: London: Archibald Constable and Co., 1905.
Bibliography: p.
ISBN 1-56000-947-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Bentinck, George, Lord, 1802-1848. 2. PoliticiansGreat BritainBiography. 3. Great BritainPolitics and government18371901. I. Kamphuis, Robert W. n. Title. HI. Series.
DA541.B3D57 1997
941.08T092 [B]DC20
89-34108
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-1-56000-947-4 (pbk)
TO
LORD HENRY BENTINCK
IS INSCRIBED
THIS POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY
OF
ONE FOR WHOM HE ENTERTAINED A DEEP AFFECTION
AND WHOSE TALENTS AND VIRTCES
HE SHARES
Lord George Bentinck is an account of high political drama among the best ever written. Lord George Bentinck, Benjamin Disraeli, and Sir Robert Peel are the stars, with Peel as the antagonist and Bentinck the subject and Disraeli the author as the protagonist team. Although of perfectly different natures, they pulled together without any difficulty, a contemporary observed. By temperament, skills, background, and resources, they were ideally matched and necessary to one another. Disraeli wrote this biography as a tribute to his colleague, whose untimely death in 1848 left Disraeli alone to lead the Conservative party in the House of Commons.
Lord George Bentinck was well known in his day, even if most history books pass him by. From the 1820s to the mid- 1840s he was a dominant figure in English horse racing, acknowledged by many as king of the turf. In 1845 alone, his horses won 82 races. Victories came about in part thanks to Bentincks close attention to every detail of the diet, care, and training of his horses. As demonstrated in the events of this book, he had a phenomenal capacity for facts and their relations, and he was willing to put in as much effort as necessary to master them. He was a winner because he worked.
He was also known for his relentless integrity. Once, in a storyline worthy of Dick Francis, he became convinced that one of his own jockeys had thrown a race, and he pursued the matter, and the hapless jockey, regardless of cost until the Jockey Club was convinced and disqualified the rider. At a time when racing was a passion of the ruling class, Lord George Bentinck was one of the patricians.
Aside from his renown on the turf, family and fortune were enough to secure his standing in societys highest elite. Bentincks father was the Duke of Portland, and both his grandfather and his uncle had been prime ministers. Bentinck himself was immensely rich. His contemporaries report that more than once he stood to gain or lose 150,000 on a race (he was proud to back his judgment), and in the fashion-conscious age of Beau Brummell, he never wore the same cravat twice. In short, a vehement and imperious spirit, unflinching courage, a mind of great native vigor directed by a will that never knew submission, and the reputation for unbending rectitude that wins the confidence of men.
Lord George was also a long-standing member of the House of Commons. Though a member of Parliament for 18 years prior to the start of the events in this book, he spoke only infrequently in debates. During his first eight years he said nothing at all. Viewing himself as nothing but a good judge of men and horses, he admitted that he had little attraction to politics, and was known to put in appearances at Westminster in a topcoat pulled over hunting regalia.
Disraelis biography brings to life matters bigger than Bentincks personality: enduring issues and principles by which to govern and to live. We really meet Bentinck only in flashes. Yet since his pride did not demand sycophancy, he would have applauded Disraelis treatment. It took extreme provocationbeing sold was Bentincks termat the hands of his partys leader, Sir Robert Peel, to move him off the back bench and track, into the forefront of national controversy and leadership. In 1845 he had clout, ability, indignation, and a determination to do something about it. What he and like-minded men needed was (and is) rare: an imagination powerful enough in depth and breadth to bring the full range of their convictions into focus and devise an effective program of action.
