S P E S P E 391 fixed for the tournament he was killed by the accidental discharge of his own gun as he was crossing a fence while out shooting. See Speke, Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile, 2 vols., 1863 ; J. A. Grant, A Walk across Africa, 1864. SPENCER, JOHN CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL (1 782- 1845), better known by his courtesy title of Lord Al thorp, had the good fortune to be acquainted, through his father's official position in the ministries of Pitt and Grenville, with both Pitt and Fox, and to be the confidential ally, through his own sound judgment and political honesty, of the leaders of the Whig party immediately before and after the Reform Bill of 1832. His father, the second earl, was well versed in books. His mother, the eldest daughter of Lord Lucan, was conspicuous in London society for her gaiety and brightness. Their eldest son, John Charles, was born at Spencer House, London, on 30th May 1782, and sent to Harrow for his education when less than eight years old. At school he was chiefly remarkable for his love of sports and for a shyness which accompanied him throughout life, but fortunately did not prevent him whilst at Harrow from forming two or three acquaintances which proved useful in parliamentary life. In January 1800 he took up his residence at Trinity College, Cambridge, and for some time applied himself energetically to mathematical studies; but during the last year of his life at college he surrendered himself a captive to the pleasures of hunting and racing. Almost immedi- ately after taking the degree of M.A., in June 1802, he set out on a Continental tour, which was cut short, after he had passed some months in the chief cities of Italy, by the renewal of war. Through the influence of Pitt's Government he was returned to parliament for the borough of Okehampton in Devonshire in April 1804, and, although he vacated his seat in February 1806 to contest the uni- versity of Cambridge against Lord Henry Petty and Lord Palmerston (when he was hopelessly beaten), he was re- elected in the same month for Okehampton, and rewarded with the emoluments of a lord of the treasury. At the general election in November 1806 the freeholders of Northamptonshire selected him as their representative, and he continued to sit for the county until he succeeded to the peerage. His tastes were then, as ever, for country life, but his indignation at the duke of York's conduct at the Horse Guards led him to move a resolution of the House of Commons in 1809 for the duke's removal from his post. For the next few years after this speech Lord Althorp occasionally spoke in debate and always on the side of Liberalism, but from 1813 to 1818 he rarely entered the doors of the House of Commons. His absence was partly due to a feeling that it was hopeless to struggle against the will of the Tory ministry, but more particu- larly to his marriage on 14th April 1814 to Esther, only daughter of Richard Acklom of Wiseton Hall, Notting- hamshire. In 1819, on his return to political life after the death of his wife, and for many years after that date, he pressed upon the attention of the House the necessity of establishing a more efficient bankruptcy court, and of expediting the recovery of small debts ; and, although his name is not associated with the attainment of either of these objects, he saw both accomplished before 1825. During the greater part of the reign of George IV. the Whigs lost their legitimate influence in the state from their want of cohesion, but this defect was soon remedied when Lord Althorp was chosen their leader in the Lower House, and his capacity for the position was proved by experience. When Lord Grey's administration was formed at the close of 1830 the chancellorship of the exchequer combined with the leadership of the House of Commons was naturally entrusted to Lord Althorp, and to him more than to any other man, with the exception of the prime minister and the lord chancellor, may be attributed the success of the Government measures. The budget, it is true, was a failure, but this misfortune was soon forgotten in the struggles over the Reform Bill. The consideration of the preliminaries of this measure was assigned to four ministers, two in the cabinet and two outside that body; but their proposals were, after careful examination, ap- proved or rejected by Lord Grey and Lord Althorp before they were brought under the notice of the cabinet. When the Bill was ready for introduction to the House of Commons its principles were expounded by Lord John Russell ; but from the commencement of the protracted discussion over its details he had the assistance of Lord Althorp, and after some weeks of incessant toil, which the physique of Lord John "Russell could not sustain any longer, the whole responsibility was cast on Lord Althorp. To combat the objections of three such pertinacious oppo- nents as Croker, Sugden, and Wetherell required both skill and courage, and in Lord Althorp these qualities were found. He was constantly on his legs, and on one evening he made as many as twenty speeches. The Reform Bill was carried at last, and popular instinct was right in assigning to the leader of the Hoiise a credit only second to that earned by Lord John Russell. After the dissolution the Whigs returned to power with augmented numbers ; but differences soon showed themselves among both leaders and followers, and their majority crumbled away. Their position was strengthened for a time by triumphantly carrying a new poor law Bill ; and even their keenest critics would now allow that, had the Whig propositions on tithes and church-rates been carried into effect, many years of passionate controversy would have been spared. The ministry of Lord Grey was shattered to pieces by diffi- culties over an Irish coercion Bill, in which O'Connell thought that he had been unfairly treated. Although Lord Melbourne became premier (14th July 1834), the fortunes of the ministry rested on Lord Althorp's presence in the House of Commons. The death of Lord Spencer on 10th November 1834 called his son to the Upper House, and William IV. took advantage of this event to summon a Tory cabinet to his side. The new Lord Spencer abandoned the cares of office and returned to country life with un- alloyed delight. Often as he was urged by his political friends to come to their assistance, he rarely quitted the peaceful pleasures which he loved. He died at Wiseton on 1st October 1845. The Whigs required, to carry the Reform Bill, a leader of unstained character, one to whom party spirit could not attach the suspicion of greed of office, and against Lord Althorp malevolence was powerless. No stronger proof of his pre-eminence could be given than the oft-quoted saying of Lord Hardinge that one of Croker's ablest speeches was demolished by the simple statement of Lord Althorp that he had collected some figures which entirely refuted it, but had lost them. The trust which the House put in him then was never wanting. SPENER, PHILIPP JAKOB (1635-1705), "the father of Pietism," was born 13th January 1635, at Rappoltsweiler in Upper Alsace. He received his earliest education from his subsequent brother-in-law, Joachim Stoll, chaplain to the count of Rappoltstein, whose wife was Spener's god- mother. After a brief stay in the grammar-school of Colmar he entered the university of Strasburg in 1651 as a student of theology, living there with an uncle, and holding quite aloof from the student-life of the place. He devoted him- self to philology, history, and philosophy, and won his degree of master (1653) by a disputation against the phi- losophy of Hobbes. He then became private tutor to the princes Christian and Charles of the Palatinate, and lectured in the university on philology and history. v 1 *a *
