CECIL, see James Brownlow William (afterwards GASCOYNE CECIL), James Brownlow William, Visct. Cranborne (1791-1868).

Cranborne told the duke of Wellington in 1841 that ‘the object I have sighed after all my life ... has been employment’, but he found no fully satisfying outlet for his energies in politics.Cecils of Hatfield House, 188, 186. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote He retained his seat for Hertford on the family interest without opposition in 1820. On 1 June 1820 he took a month’s leave to attend to his militia duties, which throughout his life compensated him for the thwarted military ambitions of his youth. He beat three other aristocratic suitors for the coveted hand of the Gascoyne heiress, who brought him a substantial income from estates in Essex and Lancashire.The Times, 29 June 1821. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote At the Hertfordshire county meeting called to petition for relief from agricultural distress, 1 Feb. 1822, he had this to say:

He ... should ... disclaim any participation in the sentiments of a petition which went to dictate the mode of relief to Parliament; let the remedy be considered by Parliament. He thought a reform was quite unconnected with the object of the present meeting. Did any man believe that corn would rise a shilling a bushel if there were new elections filled up by men whom he would select for the purpose? He hoped that no man present would recommend a breach of faith with the public creditor ... As to retrenchment and economy, he was of opinion that although a few thousands might be taken from the duke of York’s establishment, from the admiralty, or from some other public office, such reductions would be so trifling as to amount to nothing of general importance to the public. He repeated, that for the sake of unanimity, it would be better to petition Parliament to take the distress of agriculture into consideration in general terms, and not to come to specifics, which could only be productive of disunion.The Times, 13 May 1820, 4 July 1821, 4 June 1822. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote The motion, now endorsed by government, was carried, and a week after presenting the committee’s report, 18 Apr., Cranborne introduced a bill to legalize the sale of game.CJ, lxxviii. 439. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote

As a peer he remained a diehard Tory, who earned the contempt of Edward Littleton* in 1831 for his remark that

the moment the [reform] bill passed he would remove Lady Salisbury and his children, sell as much of his property as he could, invest it in foreign funds, and would stay in England to fight for the remainder.Wellington Pol. Corresp. i. 235; Oman, 147-8. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote Thereafter he largely devoted himself to his local duties and to the rebuilding of the west wing of Hatfield House after the fire in which his mother perished in 1835.Dyott’s Diary, ii. 277. " style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote His second wife, another accomplished woman, outshone and long outlived him and later married the 15th earl of Derby.Oxford DNB. D.R.F." style="color:red;" class="drupal_footnote