Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet

Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet (13 October 1847 – 9 October 1926) was a Liberal Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister and political author. He was a Privy Counsellor. [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p3118.htm ThePeerage.com - Person Page 3118 ] at www.thepeerage.com]

Early life

Born at Holmite, near Porlock, Somerset, he was educated at Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford University. After receiving his degree, he remained at Oxford and became a lecturer and tutor at Keble College. He became a deacon in the Church of England in 1872 and a priest in 1874. However, to take up a political career, Acland retired from holy orders in 1879.

Early career

Acland served in a number of posts at various colleges at Oxford from 1877-1885. Most notable, perhaps, was his administration, from 1878 onwards, of the Oxford Extension Lectures, which both furthered his grounding in the education field and brought him into close contact with the industrial classes in the North of England, who would become his political base.

Parliamentary career

The son of one of the wealthiest landowners in England, Acland was adopted as the Liberal candidate for the industrial constituency of Rotherham. The incongruity of the adoption was increased by the fact that the Yorkshire town was several hundred miles from Acland's home in Devon. Nonetheless, he was easily elected in 1885 and remained Member of Parliament for Rotherham until the end of Acland's political career in 1899.

Upon entering Parliament, Acland continued to interest himself in the educational field, becoming one of the principal sponsors of the 1889 Welsh Intermediate Education Act, making the County Councils in Wales responsible for education--a reform not introduced in England until 1902.

In 1892, Gladstone, taking office as Prime Minister for the fourth time appointed Acland as Vice President of the Council of Education, with a seat in the Cabinet. Acland's Cabinet status gave him effective control of the educational authorities. (The Council President, drawn from the House of Lords, was a figurehead).

Acland's principal legislative achievements were both enacted in 1893: The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act, and the Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act (which made education compulsory up to the age of 11). The same year, he promulgated the Evening Continuation School Code, which laid the foundation for adult education, and issued Circular 321, which required inspectors to submit a report to the Education Department about the condition of buildings and apparatus in each public elementary school.

Acland's health was not equal to the tasks he undertook, and he experienced increasing physical and mental difficulties, which continued even after he left office after the Liberals' defeat in the General Election of 1895. Although re-elected himself, he continued to experience difficulties and effectively resigned from Parliament in 1899 by requesting appointment to, and being appointed Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a nominal office of profit under the Crown.

Later life and other honours

After his retirement from parliamentary politics, Acland continued to interest himself in politics, and served on several government commissions. In 1908, he declined a peerage. He worked on revised editions of his "Handbook in Outline of the Political History of England" (co-authored with Cyril Ransome), a longtime standard in the field. He succeeded his brother as 13th Baronet in 1919 and died in 1926.

He served as President of the second day of the 1886 Co-operative Congress.Citation | title = Congress Presidents 1869-2002| url =http://archive.co-op.ac.uk/downloadFiles/congressPresidentstable.pdf|date=February 2002| accessdate =2008-05-10]

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*NRA|P84