In August 1914 Asquith's government faced a crisis when several
Pacifist members of his cabinet announced they would rather resign
than agree to war with Germany. All of these were, I believe, members
of the House of Commons. I was wondering whether this view had backing
in the Lords, and whether any Liberal peers spoke out against the war
? Later several of the Pacifist Liberal MPs joined the Union of
Democratic Control - did any from the Lords ? I have found a reference
to a UDC pamphlet called the speech by Lords Ponsonby and Courtenay
but without reference to what they said and whether they were members
of the UDC speaking against the war ? Given that most peers of the
realm would have had some kind of military upbringing, were there any
artistocratic dukes and earls of a long lineage who were Liberal and
of a pacifist bent ?

I really don't know how much this question is worth. I will set a
basic fee, and then pay out any extra on the analysis of the response
- ie a full and long answer would expect the same over as a tip

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Request for Question Clarification by leli-ga on 18 Nov 2002 06:25 PST

Hello wolvies

Can you help us with any more clues? 
There are too many Ponsonbys here:
http://www.hmc.gov.uk/nra/browser/person/page/personPO.htm

Is it possible that the Ponsonby you've found a reference to was
actually Arthur Ponsonby, the Liberal M.P., who later became the 1st.
Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede? He was a leading figure in the UDC but
just an ordinary M.P. till at least 1918.
http://www.hmc.gov.uk/NRA/searches/PIdocs.asp?P=23150

Or have you found a reference to a speech by the Ponsonby who would
have been entitled to sit in the Lords at the time of the first world
war, the Earl of Bessborough?
http://www.hmc.gov.uk/NRA/searches/PIdocs.asp?P=23152

Can you tell us any more about the pamphlet you mention? It's not
included in a list of "most of the pamphlets and leaflets published by
the UDC during the First World War and its aftermath" in the Working
Class Movement Library.

Thanks - Leli

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Clarification of Question by wolvies-ga on 18 Nov 2002 06:49 PST

http://www.wcml.org.uk/udctitles.html
- I think I was a bit muddled, Lord Loreburn and Lord Courtney, just
next to one from Ponsonby. He appears as Lord Ponsonby elsewhere in
searches, but I see what you mean, he wasn't a Lord for most of the
war. Sorry to have confused you! Am really trying to find pacifist
voices amongst the hereditary nobility- Courtney might be a good one
to find more on if he is connected to the earls/dukes of
Devon/Devonshire (can never remember which is which !). Thanks so far
!

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Clarification of Question by wolvies-ga on 18 Nov 2002 10:49 PST

Leli thanks - I had had a look at Russell, but as you say he wasn't in
the House of Lords till a lot later. Very interesting though, and
thanks for the background on Courtney and Loreburn.

Its difficult pitching some of these questions - just because I
completely failed to find any reference to the Lords doesn't mean its
not there, I could be using completely incorrect search terms. I did
wonder if there was any website on the debates that I assume took
place in the Lords as well as the Commons around the time of the
declaration of war, but couldn't think how to search for them.

I'll up the price, then close the question if no one seems close to an
answer by the morning.

Wolvies

I don't know if Bertrand Russell is any good to you as an example. He
was a vigorously committed pacifist from an aristocratic family
(details below), though he didn't become Lord Russell until much later
in the century when his brother died.

Lord Courtney was a reform-minded politician campaigning for PR and
women's suffrage, but he was over 80 (and blind) by the time of the
First World War. He only got his title (Baron) in 1906. He was the son
of a banker.

I've found no evidence that Lord Loreburn came from an aristocratic
family and no information on his views about the war except that he
lent his car to help carry wounded soldiers from Dover to hospital. He
became Lord Chancellor in 1906.

 
RUSSELL

"Russell's external career has been chequered. The descendant of one
of the great families of the Whig aristocracy, he has always delighted
in standing up for his radical convictions with wilful stubbornness.
In 1916, he was deprived of his lectureship at Trinity College,
Cambridge, after his pacifist activities had brought him into conflict
with the government, but in 1946 he was reelected a Fellow. In 1918,
he even went to prison for six months, where he wrote his Introduction
to Mathematical Philosophy (1919)."

http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1950/russell-bio.html

He was great-grandson of the 6th Duke of Bedford. Here's his
grandfather, John Russell (whose widow stepped in when Bertrand's
parents died.):

"Russell, John Russell, 1st Earl
b. 1792; d. 1878
British statesman, born in London, the third son of John Russell, 6th
Duke of Bedford;.............He was created Earl Russell in 1861, and
four years later, on the death of Palmerston, again became prime
minister, with Gladstone as leader of the House of Commons, but held
office for only a few months, resigning when his reform bill failed."

http://www.historybookshop.com/articles/people/politicians-courtiers/russell-lord-john.asp

COURTNEY 

The politician was Leonard Henry Courtney. There's also a William
Leonard Courtney, a writer, around at that period.

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp01056

biography
http://24.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CO/COURTNEY_BARON.htm

"His secretarial duties were as congenial to Unwin as any outside job
could possibly have been. Courtney by then was virtually blind; in the
mornings Unwin read The Times, journal articles and official papers to
him and helped with correspondence.
When his chief went off to Westminster (he was made Lord Courtney in
1906) or to other meetings, Unwin had the remainder of the day to
himself."

://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:507RwlaXYUcC:www.rdg.ac.uk/Econ/Econ/workingpapers/emdp435.pdf+%22lord+courtney+OR+loreburn%22+genealogy+OR+biography&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

LOREBURN

"Robert Threshie Reid
Born: 3 April 1846, Kerkira, Corfu, Ionian Isles
Died: 30 November 1923, Kings Down House, Walmer, Dover, Kent
Major Teams: Oxford University.
Known As: Robert Reid
Also Known As: created 1st Earl Loreburn in 1906
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Other: Wicket-Keeper"

http://www.cricket.org/link_to_database/PLAYERS/ENG/R/REID_RT_01032665/
 
sent car for wounded soldiers
http://www.bobbrookes.co.uk/DiaryCH6.htm

Lord Chancellor
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:Od_KS_T2C3IC:www.btinternet.com/~old.whig/freelife/fl16ball.htm+loreburn+family+OR+ancestor+OR+descendant+OR+title&hl=en&ie=UT

Good luck! I'm afraid I'm signing off at this point. Maybe another
researcher will come up with an aristocratic pacifist for you.