GISBORNE, Thomas (1789-1852), of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire; Horwich House, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire and 41 Grosvenor Place, London

‘A man of great talents’, it has been said that Gisborne’s ‘political career was so unsettled that it was hard for him to make any real mark’.1Random recollections of the House of Commons from the year 1830 to the close of 1835 (1837), 285; H.C.G. Matthew, ‘Gisborne, Thomas, the younger (1794-1852)’, www.oxforddnb.com. He was, however, one of the leading reformers of the 1830s, when his speeches in and out of doors seldom failed to cause a stir, but the following decade was spent as a wandering radical, fighting numerous election contests, and even when he was successful his place in Parliament was never less than precarious. Although he was a strident radical, he always retained a ‘deep sense of gratitude to the leading Whigs’ for enacting reform.2T. Gisborne, An address to the electors of Derbyshire on the recent ministerial crisis (1839), 25. ‘A country gentleman of good estate’, from an old Staffordshire family, Gisborne mined limestone on his property, largely for sale to businesses in the north-west.3DNB (1890), xxi. 402; S. Glover, The history and gazetteer of the county of Derby (1833), ii. 246-47; HP Commons, 1820-1832, v. 279-82; PP 1835 (292), xviii. 500-503. His father, the Rev. Thomas Gisborne (1758-1846), was a prominent evangelical cleric.4R. Hole, ‘Gisborne, Thomas (1758–1846)’, www.oxforddnb.com. It was noted that Gisborne, who was ‘rather a tall man’ and largely bald, apparently dressed ‘with great plainness’, and wore trousers that were ‘remarkable for their shortness’.5Random recollections, 286.

Having briefly sat in the unreformed Parliament, Gisborne was elected in second place for North Derbyshire in 1832, when he expressed support for currency reform, the abolition of the Irish church, and removing bishops from the upper house.6HP Commons, 1820-1832, v. 279-81; Derby Mercury, 16 Jan. 1833. He later described himself at this time as ‘generally, not universally’ a supporter of the Whig ministry, but he came to regret his vote in favour of Irish coercion in 1833.7Hansard, 26 Feb. 1835, vol. 26, c.361; The Times, 13 Mar. 1833, 22 June 1833. He did, however, strongly oppose the government’s renewal of the Bank of England’s charter, which he thought the ‘most useless, most expensive, and least defensible’ of all monopolies.8Hansard, 9 Aug. 1833, vol. 20, cc. 453, 455, 468 (qu. at 455); The Times, 7, 10 Aug. 1833. He also served on the inquiry on land revenues of the Crown which ran over the 1833 and 1834 sessions.9PP 1833 (677), xiv. 236; 1834 (579), xv. 460. Stunned by the king’s dismissal of the Whigs in late 1834, Gisborne blamed a conspiracy of Tories, whom he described as ‘a party which has earned, and deserved … the country’s hatred’.10T. Gisborne, On the present crisis: an address to the electors of North Derbyshire (1834), 2.

After his unopposed return in 1835, when his credo was ‘the rights and power of the people’, Gisborne distinguished himself with his baiting of Sir Robert Peel, whom he half-admired, but profoundly disagreed with on most issues.11Derby Mercury, 7 Jan. 1835. For his opinion of Peel see Hansard, 28 Jan. 1840, vol. 51, cc. 719-25; Gisborne, Ministerial crisis, 21-23; idem, Letter to the council of the Anti-Corn Law League (1842), 3. His speech on the address, 26 Feb. 1835, which assailed the new Conservative administration, was described by one newspaper as ‘one of the most brilliant ever delivered within the walls of the House of Commons’.12Hansard, 26 Feb. 1835, vol. 26, cc. 361-72; Morn. Chro., 4 Mar. 1835. A regular speaker, Gisborne had a pithy style, enunciating with a ‘clear yet strong tone’, and, despite his inability to pronounce the letter r, he was highly regarded, not least for his mocking sense of humour.13Random recollections, 285-86, which provides the fullest description of his oratorical style; see also Morn. Chro., 23 July 1852. In 1835, he served on a number of inquiries, including those on the Weights and Measures Act, Orange lodges, colonial military expenditure, and bribery at elections.14PP 1835 (292), xviii. 490; 1835 (377), xv. 2; 1835 (475), xv. 502; 1835 (473), vi. 2; 1835 (547), viii. 2. The following year, Gisborne caused controversy by proposing the abolition of the Lords’ veto, which the Times dismissed as ‘downright stupidity’.15Derby Mercury, 2 Nov. 1836; The Times, 31 Oct. 1836. He supported the Whig measures for the Irish church and Irish corporations, but spoke against the 1836 factories bill, arguing that ‘much more misery’ would be produced by restricting and prohibiting child employment than by allowing it.16The Times, 28 Mar. 1836, 2 Aug. 1836; Hansard, 9 May 1836, cc. 751-52.

Sapped by his exertions, Gisborne proposed retiring at the next election if he could be succeeded by someone of similar opinions and if the Conservatives undertook to provide no opposition, an offer they did not take up.17Derby Mercury, 2 Nov. 1836, 12 July 1837. He retired anyway at the 1837 election, in favour of his brother-in-law, William Evans. This proved to be a mistake, as he had given up a safe seat, and was soon ‘most anxious’ to return to Parliament.18Joseph Parkes to E.J. Stanley, 27 Dec. 1838, MS Kingsland. After receiving Daniel O’Connell’s endorsement, he stood at Carlow, 27 Feb. 1839, losing by three votes, but was returned on petition, 11 July.19McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, ed. J. Vincent and M. Stenton (8th edn., 1971), 48; The Times, 9, 12, 19, 20, 22, 28 Feb. 1839, 1, 2, 6 Mar. 1839, 12 July 1839; PP 1839 (414), vi. 3, 36; CJ xciv. 428; R. Malcolmson, The Carlow parliamentary roll (1872), 85-86. He immediately joined with O’Connell in leading the opposition to the charter for the bank of Ireland.20Hansard, 1 Aug. 1839, vol. 49, cc. 1104-05; ibid., 14, 17 Aug. 1839, vol. 50, cc. 272-73, 371. The following year he pressed for non-issuing banks to be included in the inquiry into banks of issue, arguing that their actions had an indirect effect on circulation, and he served on the committee, which produced no substantial recommendations.21Hansard, 10 Mar. 1840, vol. 52, cc. 1119-21; PP 1840 (602), iv. 2; 1841 session 1 (366), v. 2; 1841 session 1 (410), v. 6. The last report, which again deferred giving an opinion on the topic, admitted that this would cause ‘some disappointment’ given the ‘protracted’ nature of the inquiry: ibid., 8. By now there were indications that his oratorical powers were on the wane. According to Disraeli, who followed him in the debate on Buller’s motion of no confidence in the government, 31 Jan. 1840:

He began very well, but after some little time, regularly broke down, was silent for some moments, sent for oranges, coughed, stuck again and again and again, and finally, pleading “some physical disability” which had suddenly deprived him of his voice, sunk overwhelmed … We thought he was drunk, but the Whigs say the fault was he was not – and that when he is tipsy and is not prepared he is very good.22Benjamin Disraeli to his sister, 31 Jan. 1840, Benjamin Disraeli letters, ed. J. Gunn and M. Wiebe (1987), iii. 254; Hansard, 31 Jan. 1840, vol. 51, cc. 719-25.

Gisborne had no wish to remain at Carlow, and endeavoured to be returned instead for Totnes, where he was defeated by seven votes, 21 Apr. 1840.23McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, 342; The Times, 17, 23 Apr. 1840. At the general election the following year he sought election at Newport (Isle of Wight) where he finished third, before going down to a more comprehensive defeat at South Leicestershire a fortnight later.24McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, 167, 212; The Times, 9 June 1841, 12 July 1841. Linked with numerous constituencies during this time, Gisborne again finished third behind two Conservatives at Ipswich, 3 June 1842.25McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, 147; Ipswich Journal, 28 May 1842; Morn. Chro., 1 June 1842. This election was subsequently declared void, but rumours of a Gisborne candidature for the second Ipswich by-election of 1842 came to nothing. He was also linked with Leicester, Newark, and Montrose: The Times, 18 May 1841, 9, 10, 13, 15 Sept. 1841, 9, 15 Aug. 1842. During his stint out of Parliament, he penned a number of free trade pamphlets, in one describing Peel as a ‘people-starving, trade-denying minister’, and also spoke at Anti-Corn Law League meetings.26T. Gisborne, Essays on several branches of the political struggle now at hand (1841), no.1, 5; see also ibid., no.2; idem, Letter to the council of the Anti-Corn Law League (1842); idem, A second letter to the council of the Anti-Corn Law League (1842); Morn. Chro., 19 Nov. 1842.

He finally secured a seat at a by-election at Nottingham, 5 Apr. 1843, but his victory over a Conservative owed much to the influence of the Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor, who pronounced himself ‘satisfied’ with Gisborne’s pledges at the nomination.27The Times, 10 Apr. 1843; McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, 224; Northern Star, 15 Apr. 1843. A petition against his return was rejected but not before Gisborne made a scathing riposte in the chamber, accusing Lord Lincoln, who presented the petition, of past acts of bribery.28Hansard, 30 June 1843, vol. 70, cc. 484-95. However, a Liberal wirepuller later informed Hobhouse and Gisborne that the victory ‘had been won by bribing one hundred and fifty voters’.29Lord Broughton, Recollections of a long life (1911), vi. 198.

Gisborne staunchly supported repeal of the Corn Laws, and in 1844 argued for the ‘utter removal’ of the Irish church.30The Times, 21 Feb. 1844; Hansard, 10 May 1843, vol. 69, cc. 142-53; House of Commons Division Lists, 1843 session, 15 May 1843; ibid., 1844 session, 1 Feb. 1844, 26 June 1844; ibid., 1846 session, 27 Mar. 1846, 15 May 1846. He described the 1844 Bank charter and railway bills as ‘quack medicines’.31Hansard, 11 July 1844, vol. 76, c.663, see also ibid., 13 June 1844, vol. 75, cc. 853, 856 for his opposition to the Bank charter bill. He opposed the latter as he held that private competition was always a better guarantee of the public interest than state regulation, but had to deny claims that he was acting as the mouthpiece of the railway interest.32Hansard, 8, 11 July 1844, vol. 76, cc. 465-67, 666; ibid., 11 Feb. 1845, vol. 77, c.268; ibid., 21 Apr. 1845, vol. 79, cc. 1066-68; House of Commons Division Lists, 1844 session, 11 July 1844. He also unsuccessfully proposed changing the standing orders relating to railway bills, to ‘relieve the House from the mire of railway legislation in which it had been floundering’.33Hansard, 10 June 1847, vol. 93, c.296; ibid., 28 Jan. 1846, vol. 83, cc. 329-32. Gisborne’s hostility to any form of interference with working hours, which he argued would ‘destroy self-reliance’, antagonised many of his constituents, as did his opposition to bills to regulate the lace and hosiery industries, which employed many people in Nottingham.34Hansard, 5 May 1847, vol. 92, cc. 418-21 (at 420); ibid., 13 Mar. 1846, vol. 84, c.1036; ibid., 20 May 1846, vol. 86, cc. 937-38; House of Commons Division Lists, 1844 session, 18, 22 Mar. 1844, 3, 13 May 1844; ibid., 1846 session, 20, 22 May 1846; ibid., 1847 session, 3 May 1847; Northern Star, 13 Apr. 1844; The Times, 17 May 1847.

Gisborne was beaten at the subsequent election in 1847, trailing in third behind a Chartist and a Conservative.35McCalmont’s parliamentary poll book, 225; The Times, 31 July 1847. Looking ‘extremely ill’, he suffered another agonising by-election defeat at Kidderminster, 5 Sept. 1849, and after a lengthy process, his petition was rejected, 25 Apr. 1850.36Northern Star, 8 Sept. 1849; CJ cv. 73-74, 276; PP 1850 (286), xiii. 361; The Times, 13 Aug. 1849, 3, 5 Sept. 1849, 15, 19, 22, 24, 25 Apr. 1850. He wrote a few articles on agriculture for the Quarterly Review at this time, which were reprinted posthumously in a book.37T. Gisborne, ‘Stephens’ Book of the farm – cattle and sheep’, Quarterly Review (1849), lxxxiv. 389-424; idem, ‘Agriculture – draining’, ibid., lxxxvi. 79-126; idem, ‘Ancient agricultural literature’, ibid., lxxxviii. 141-89; idem, Essays on agriculture (1854). The last contained an additional essay on high farming. In January 1852, he issued an address to Nottingham’s electors and received the endorsement of local Liberals as one of their candidates.38The Times, 23 Jan. 1852, 3, 12, 17 Apr. 1852, 26 May 1852. However, he was forced to withdraw from the election contest in July due to illness, and he died barely two weeks afterwards from heart disease.39The Times, 8 July 1852; Morn. Chro., 23 July 1852. He was succeeded by his first-born and only surviving son, Thomas Guy Gisborne (1812-69).40Burke’s landed gentry (1855), 447; ibid., (1877), i. 507.