GEORGE JOHN DOUGLAS CAMPBELL

george john douglas campbell, 8th duke (1823-1900), the second son of the 7th duke, was born on the 30th of april 1823, and succeeded his father in april 1847. he had already obtained notice as a writer of pamphlets on the disruption of the church of scotland, which he strove to avert, and he rapidly became prominent on the liberal side in parliamentary politics. he was a frequent and eloquent speaker in the house of lords, and sat as lord privy seal (1852) and postmaster-general (1855) in the cabinets of lord aberdeen and lord palmerston. in mr gladstone's cabinet of 1868 he was secretary of state for india, and somewhat infelicitously signalized his term of office by his refusal, against the advice of the indian government, to promise the amir of afghanistan support against russian aggression, a course which threw that ruler into the arms of russia and was followed by the second afghan war. his eminence alike as a great scottish noble, and as a british statesman, was accentuated in 1871 when his son, the marquess of lorne, married princess louise, the fourth daughter of queen victoria; but in the political world few memorable acts on his part call for record except his resignation of the office of lord privy seal, which he held in mr gladstone's administration of 1880, from his inability to assent to the irish land legislation of 1881. he opposed the home rule bill with equal vigour, though mr gladstone subsequently stated that, among all the old colleagues who dissented from his course, the duke was the only one whose personal relations with him remained entirely unchanged. detached from party, the duke took an independent position, and for many years spoke his mind with great freedom in letters to _the times_ on public questions, especially such as concerned the rights or interests of landowners. he was no less active on scientific questions in their relation to religion, which he earnestly strove to reconcile with the progress of discovery. with this aim he published _the reign of law_ (1866), _primeval man_ (1869), _the unity of nature_ (1884), _the unseen foundations of society_ (1893), and other essays. he also wrote on the eastern question, with especial reference to india, the history and antiquities of iona, patronage in the church of scotland, and many other subjects. the duke (to whose scottish title was added a dukedom of the united kingdom in 1892) died on the 24th of april 1900. he was thrice married: first (1844) to a daughter of the second duke of sutherland (d. 1878); secondly (1881) to a daughter of bishop claughton of st albans (d. 1894); and thirdly (1895) to ina erskine m'neill. few men of the duke's era displayed more versatility of intellect, and he was remarkable among the men of his time for his lofty eloquence. he was succeeded as 9th duke by his eldest son john douglas sutherland campbell (1845- ), whose marriage in 1871 to h.r.h. princess louise gave him a special prominence in english public life. he was governor-general of canada from 1878 to 1883; member of parliament for south manchester, in the unionist interest, 1895 to 1900; and he also became known as a writer both in prose and verse. in 1907 he published his reminiscences, _pages from the past_. see the _autobiography and memoirs_ of the 8th duke, edited by his widow (1906), which is full of interesting historical and personal detail. (p. c. y.; h. ch.) footnote: [1] the date of 1598, previously accepted, is shown by willcock to be incorrect.