Peel, Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet

b. 1788; d. 1850

British statesman, born near Bury, Lancashire, the eldest son of Sir Robert Peel, a rich cotton manufacturer. He went to Harrow, and afterwards to Christ Church, Oxford, where in 1807 he took a double first. He entered Parliament as a Tory in 1809, and in the following year Lord Liverpool appointed him under-secretary for war and the colonies. This office he held until 1812, when he became chief secretary for Ireland for six years, during which period he fought the growing influence of Daniel O'Connell, opposed Catholic Emancipation, and established the Royal Irish Constabulary. Four years later he entered Liverpool's Cabinet as home secretary, which office he retained until the Premier's death in 1827. His reforms included the reduction in the number of capital crimes, prison amelioration, and the foundation of the Metropolitan Police (hence nicknamed 'Peelers' or 'Bobbies').

In the following year he was, under Wellington, home secretary and leader of the House of Commons, and in 1829, being convinced of its necessity for the peace of Ireland, supported Wellington's measure for Catholic emancipation. In 1834 he became prime minister and chancellor of the Exchequer, but he held office only for a few months. In Opposition he set himself the task of organising the Conservative party, and in 1839, when Melbourne resigned, he was invited to form his second government, but abandoned the task in consequence of the 'bedchamber question'.

He became prime minister again in 1841. He held no office save that of the first lord of the Treasury, but he was for all effective purposes chancellor of the Exchequer. As a financier he proved himself extremely capable, and introduced many reforms; he took steps to develop free trade, taxed incomes over £150 per annum, and carried a Bank Charter Act in 1844. In other spheres, Catholic Irish endowments were permitted, and the Canada-Oregon border dispute settled. He was at first opposed to the repeal of the Corn Laws, for which there was strong agitation throughout the country, but after the failure of the harvest in 1845 he became convinced of its necessity. His colleagues would not support him in this, and he resigned; but Lord John Russell failed to form a government, and Peel returned to office and carried his Corn Law Bill. He was bitterly attacked for his change of face on this question, but he had earlier laid down the principle which guided him: 'As minister of the crown I reserve to myself, distinctly and unequivocally, the right of adapting my conduct to the exigency of the moment and the wants of the country'. A few days after this measure became law he was defeated on an Irish Bill and retired from office.

He was thrown from his horse on Constitution Hill on 29 June 1850, and died from his injuries three days later. Peel was one of the leading statesman of his era, distinguished not only for his considerable administrative ability, but also for the intellectual honesty which led his to sacrifice his own interests and those of his party for the sake of measures he considered necessary for the general welfare.

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