LORD ACTON

LORD ACTON

n 1859, Sir John Acton settled in England, at his country house, Aldenham, in Shropshire. He returned to the House of Commonsthat same year as member for the Irish Borough of Carlow and became a devoted admirer and adherent of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. However, Acton was not an active MP, and his parliamentary career came to an end after the general election of 1865, when, having headed the poll for Bridgnorth, a scrutiny of the ballot led to his losing his seat. He contested Bridgnorth again in 1868 but to no avail.^[5]

Acton took a great interest in America, considering its Federal structure the perfect guarantor of individual liberties. During the American Civil War, his sympathies lay entirely with the Confederacy, for their defense of States' Rights against a centralized government that, by all historical precedent, would inevitably turn tyrannical. His notes to Gladstone on the subject helped sway many in the British government to sympathize with the South. After the South's surrender, he wrote to Robert E. Lee that "I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo," adding that he "deemed that you were fighting battles for our liberty, our progress, and our civilization."^[6]

In 1869 Acton was raised to the peerage by Queen Victoria and became the first Baron Acton. His elevation came primarily through the intercession of Gladstone.^[7] The two were intimate friends and constant correspondents, and had the very highest regard for one another. Matthew Arnold used to say that "Gladstone influences all round him but Acton; it is Acton who influences Gladstone."^[5]