Rt. Hon. Henry Goulburn

See Brian Jenkins, Henry Goulburn, 1784-1856: a political biography (Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 1996); Oxford DNB entry (G. F. R. Barker rev. David Eastwood].

Son of Munbee Goulburn (1756/7-1793) and Susannah (?-1818), daughter of Wm. Chetwynd, 4th Viscount Chetwynd. 'His father habitually overestimated income from his West Indian sugar plantations, and lived comfortably beyond the family's means...'. Died intestate and indebted 1793.

Henry educ. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1801-1805 (MA 1808). While there he was strongly influenced by Charles Simeon, evangelical Anglican clergyman [for whom see ODNB entry], which led to 'a serious, if quietly articulated, evangelicalism, and a firm commitment to the established church'. He also became close friends with F. J. Robinson and Henry Temple (Palmerston).

Took full responsibility for his Jamaica estates in 1805, the most important of which was Amity Hall. Managed estates through agents (as he was unable to visit because of ill health or political commitments). He was 'reconciled to slavery as a social institution and accepted a version of the humanitarians' argument that the most appropriate indicator of slaves' conditions was their ability at least to sustain their numbers. The fluctuating numbers on the Goulburn estates suggests that, even by this narrow humanitarian measure, his management sometimes fell short, but this was not for want of his willingness to invest time in estate administration or capital in improving projects.' (Barker/Eastwood in ODNB)

However, for an assessment of Goulburn's limited embrace of ameliorationist measures in the 1820s - 'Goulburn did not promote the amelioration programme on his estate until his failure to do so was made public' (Turner, p. 248) - see Mary Turner's article.

First elected to the House of Commons as a Tory in 1808 (having stood unsuccessfully in 1807 but 'seated' on petition in 1808. Under-secretary for war and colonies from 1812. [See political legacies for more details of seats and offices.]

By 1818 the income from his Jamaican estates halved to less than £3,000 'although he did console himself that the condition of his slaves had probably improved'. 1821-1827: Chief Secretary for Ireland. His actions included the bill for the suppression of unlawful societies in 1825, directed against the Catholic Association.

1828-30: Chancellor of the Exchequer. Took a providential (evangelical) view of trade cycles; strongly favoured retrenchment in public expenditure.

1832: took a position on reform between that of the reformers and the Tory ultras but after 1832 and strongly committed to following his friend Peel and the Peelites.

Home Secretary in the minority Peel government of December 1834-April 1835.

Chancellor of the Exchequer August 1841-June 1846.

Married Jane Montagu, 20 December 1811. She was the 3rd daughter of Matthew Montagu, close ally of Spencer Perceval, critic of Catholic relief, friend of Goulburn's mother and Goulburn's patron.

G. F. R. Barker, ‘Goulburn, Henry (1784–1856)’, rev. David Eastwood, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 12/08/2012].

Mary Turner, ‘Planter profits and slave rewards: amelioration reconsidered’ in Roderick A. McDonald (ed.), West Indies Accounts. Essays on the history of the British Caribbean and the Atlantic economy in honour of Richard Sheridan (Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies Press, 1996), pp. 232-52.

Kenneth Morgan, 'Guide to the microfilm edition of papers relating to the Jamaica estates of the Goulburn family of Betchworth House' [accessed 04/11/2013].