Second Disraeli ministry

Benjamin Disraeli was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a second time by Queen Victoria after William Ewart Gladstone's government was defeated in the 1874 general election. Disraeli's foreign policy was seen as immoral by Gladstone, and following the latter's Midlothian campaign, the government was heavily defeated in the 1880 general election, whereupon Gladstone formed his second government. The ailing Disraeli, by now created Earl of Beaconsfield, died in April 1881.

Beaconsfield ministry
1874–1880
Disraeli as Lord Beaconsfield (1878)
Date formed	20 February 1874 (1874-02-20)
Date dissolved	21 April 1880 (1880-04-21)
People and organisations
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Lord Beaconsfield
Total no. of members	108 appointments
Member party	Conservative Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Liberal Party
Opposition leaders	William Ewart Gladstone (1874–1875) Lord Hartington (1875–1880) in the House of Commons Lord Granville in the House of Lords
History
Election	1874 general election
Outgoing election	1880 general election
Legislature terms	21st UK Parliament
Predecessor	First Gladstone ministry
Successor	Second Gladstone ministry

Cabinet

February 1874 – April 1880

Office	Name	Term
First Lord of the Treasury	Benjamin Disraeli†	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Cairns§	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord President of the Council	The Duke of Richmond	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Malmesbury	February 1874 – August 1876
	The Earl of Beaconsfield	August 1876 – April 1878
	The Duke of Northumberland	April 1878 – April 1880
Home Secretary	Richard A. Cross	February 1874 – April 1880
Foreign Secretary	The Earl of Derby	February 1874 – April 1878
	The Marquess of Salisbury	April 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Carnarvon	February 1874 – February 1878
	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	February 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for War	Gathorne Hardy‡	February 1874 – April 1878
	Sir Frederick Stanley	April 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for India	The Marquess of Salisbury	February 1874 – April 1878
	The Viscount Cranbrook	April 1878 – April 1880
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	February 1874 – April 1880
First Lord of the Admiralty	George Ward Hunt	February 1874 – August 1877
	William Henry Smith	August 1877 – April 1880
President of the Board of Trade	Viscount Sandon	April 1878 – April 1880
Postmaster General	Lord John Manners	February 1874 – April 1880
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	August 1877 – February 1878
	incumbent not in the cabinet
Leader of the House of Commons	Benjamin Disraeli	February 1874 – August 1876
	Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	August 1876 – April 1880
Leader of the House of Lords	The Duke of Richmond	February 1874 – August 1876
	The Earl of Beaconsfield	August 1876 – April 1880

† The Earl of Beaconsfield from August 1876.
§ The Earl Cairns from September 1878.
‡ The Viscount Cranbrook from May 1878.

Notes

• The Earl of Beaconsfield served as both First Lord of the Treasury and Lord Privy Seal from August 1876 to April 1878.

Changes

• August 1876: Beaconsfield succeeds the Earl of Malmesbury as Lord Privy Seal while remaining First Lord of the Treasury.
• August 1877: George Ward Hunt dies and is succeeded as First Lord of the Admiralty by William Henry Smith. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, enters the cabinet.
• February 1878: Sir Michael Hicks-Beach succeeds the Earl of Carnarvon as Colonial Secretary. Hicks-Beach's successor as Chief Secretary for Ireland is not in the cabinet.
• April 1878: The Duke of Northumberland succeeds Beaconsfield as Lord Privy Seal; the latter remains First Lord of the Treasury. The Marquess of Salisbury succeeds the Earl of Derby as Foreign Secretary. The Viscount Cranbrook succeeds Salisbury at the India Office. Sir Frederick Stanley succeeds Cranbrook at the War Office.

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

Office	Name	Date
Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury	Benjamin Disraeli[a]	20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt[b]	21 February 1874
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	William Hart Dyke[c]	21 February 1874
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	W. H. Smith	21 February 1874
	Frederick Stanley	14 August 1877
	Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt	2 April 1878
Junior Lords of the Treasury	Viscount Mahon	4 March 1874 – 16 February 1876
	Rowland Winn	4 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	Sir James Dalrymple-Horne-Elphinstone, Bt	4 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	Viscount Crichton	16 February 1876 – 21 April 1880
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Cairns[d]	21 February 1874
Lord President of the Council	The Duke of Richmond[e]	21 February 1874
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Malmesbury	21 February 1874
	Benjamin Disraeli[f]	12 August 1876
	The Duke of Northumberland	4 February 1878
Secretary of State for the Home Department	R. A. Cross	21 February 1874
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt	25 February 1874
	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt	6 April 1878
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	The Earl of Derby	21 February 1874
	The Marquess of Salisbury	2 April 1878
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Robert Bourke	23 February 1874
Secretary of State for War	Gathorne Hardy	21 February 1874
	Frederick Stanley	2 April 1878
Under-Secretary of State for War	The Earl of Pembroke	2 March 1874
	The Earl Cadogan	24 May 1875
	Viscount Bury	4 March 1878
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Frederick Stanley	26 February 1874
	Robert Loyd-Lindsay	13 August 1877
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance	Lord Eustace Cecil	26 February 1874
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Carnarvon	21 February 1874
	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	4 February 1878
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	James Lowther	25 February 1874
	The Earl Cadogan	2 March 1878
Secretary of State for India	The Marquess of Salisbury	21 February 1874
	The Viscount Cranbrook	2 April 1878
Under-Secretary of State for India	Lord George Hamilton	22 February 1874
	Edward Stanhope	6 April 1878
First Lord of the Admiralty	George Ward Hunt	21 February 1874
	W. H. Smith	14 August 1877
Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty	Algernon Egerton	21 February 1874
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Massey Lopes, Bt	4 March 1874
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt[g]	27 February 1874
	James Lowther	15 February 1878
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Duke of Abercorn	2 March 1874
	The Duke of Marlborough	11 December 1876
Postmaster-General	Lord John Manners	21 February 1874
President of the Board of Trade	Sir Charles Adderley	21 February 1874
	Viscount Sandon	4 April 1878
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	George Cavendish-Bentinck	2 March 1874
	Edward Stanhope	18 November 1875
	John Gilbert Talbot	4 April 1878
Vice-President of the Committee on Education	Viscount Sandon	2 March 1874
	Lord George Hamilton	4 April 1878
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Thomas Edward Taylor	2 March 1874
President of the Local Government Board	George Sclater-Booth	21 February 1874
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board	Clare Sewell Read	21 February 1874
	Thomas Salt	January 1876
Paymaster General	Stephen Cave	20 April 1874
	David Plunket	24 March 1880
First Commissioner of Works	Lord Henry Lennox	21 March 1874
	Gerard Noel	14 August 1876
Attorney General	Sir John Burgess Karslake	27 February 1874
	Sir Richard Baggallay	20 April 1874
	Sir John Holker	25 November 1875
Solicitor General	Sir Richard Baggallay	27 February 1874
	Sir John Holker	20 April 1874
	Sir Hardinge Giffard	25 November 1875
Judge Advocate General	Stephen Cave	7 March 1874
	George Cavendish-Bentinck	24 November 1875
Lord Advocate	Edward Gordon	26 February 1874
	William Watson	21 July 1874
Solicitor General for Scotland	John Millar	4 March 1874
	William Watson	21 July 1874
	John Macdonald	5 December 1876
Attorney General for Ireland	John Thomas Ball	12 March 1874
	Henry Ormsby	21 January 1875
	George Augustus Chichester May	27 November 1875
	Edward Gibson	15 February 1877
Solicitor General for Ireland	Henry Ormsby	12 March 1874
	David Plunkett	29 January 1875
	Gerald Fitzgibbon	3 March 1877
	Hugh Holmes	14 December 1878
Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl Beauchamp	21 February 1874
Lord Chamberlain of the Household	The Marquess of Hertford	21 February 1874
	The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe	7 May 1879
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	The Viscount Barrington	2 March 1874
Master of the Horse	The Earl of Bradford	7 March 1874
Treasurer of the Household	Earl Percy	2 March 1874
	Lord Henry Thynne	14 December 1875
Comptroller of the Household	Lord Henry Somerset	2 March 1874
	Earl of Yarmouth	4 February 1879
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Marquess of Exeter	2 March 1874
	The Earl of Shrewsbury	4 February 1875
	The Earl of Coventry	28 May 1877
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Lord Skelmersdale	2 March 1874
Master of the Buckhounds	The Earl of Hardwicke	2 March 1874
Mistress of the Robes	The Duchess of Wellington	2 March 1874
Lords in Waiting	The Earl of Dunmore	2 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	The Earl of Roden	2 March 1874 – 6 January 1880
	The Viscount Hawarden	2 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	The Lord Bagot	2 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	The Lord de Ros	2 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	The Lord Elphinstone	2 March 1874 – 21 April 1880
	The Lord Walsingham	2 March 1874 – 29 May 1875
	The Earl of Jersey	29 May 1875 – 4 July 1877
	The Lord Henniker	4 July 1877 – 21 April 1880
	The Earl of Onslow	17 February 1880 – 21 April 1880
Extra Lord in Waiting	The Lord Sackville	1 October 1876 – 1 October 1888

Notes

1. Created Earl of Beaconsfield 21 August 1876; also Leader of the House of Commons 1874–1876 and Leader of the House of Lords 21 August 1876 – 21 April 1880.
2. Also Leader of the House of Commons 1876–1880.
3. Inherited a baronetcy 1875.
4. Created Earl Cairns on 27 September 1878.
5. Also Leader of the House of Lords 21 February 1874 – 21 August 1876.
6. Created Earl of Beaconsfield on 21 August 1876.
7. Entered the Cabinet 12 August 1876.

References

C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900

Preceded by First Gladstone ministry	Government of the United Kingdom 1874–1880	Succeeded by Second Gladstone ministry