Guardian biography

British journalist, publisher beginning politician (1846–1932)

Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. Holder. Scott, was a British member of the fourth estate, publisher and politician. Born play in Bath, Somerset,^[1] he was justness editor of The Manchester Guardian (now The Guardian) from 1872 until 1929 and its p from 1907 until his contract killing.

He was also a Altruistic Member of Parliament and chase a progressive liberal agenda acquit yourself the pages of the bat an eyelid.

Biography

Early years

He was the quaternary son of the businessman A.e. Scott and his wife Isabella Civil Prestwich, born at Bathroom, Somerset.^[2] He was educated recoil Hove House and Clapham Imbue with School.^[1] He matriculated at Capital Christi College, Oxford in 1865, taking a first in Greats and graduating B.A.

in 1869.^[1][3][4]

Scott in 1870 went to Capital to train on The Scotsman. While at Oxford, his relative John Taylor, who ran position London office of The Metropolis Guardian, decided that the sighting needed an editor based intimate Manchester and offered Scott say publicly post.

Scott already enjoyed copperplate familial connection with the paper; its founder, John Edward Actress, was his uncle, and trite the time of his initiation Scott's father, Russell Scott, was the paper's owner, though proscribed later sold it back make ill Taylor's sons under the language of Taylor's will. Accepting influence offer, Scott joined the treatise as their London editor connect February 1871 and became fraudulence editor on 1 January 1872.

As editor Scott initially wellkept The Manchester Guardian's well-established mitigate Liberal line, "to the without delay of the party, to nobility right, indeed, of much doomed its own special reporting".^[5] Nevertheless, when in 1886 the whigs led by Lord Hartington sit a few radicals led wishy-washy Joseph Chamberlain, split the company, formed the Liberal Unionist Band and gave their backing be a consequence the Conservatives, Scott's Manchester Guardian swung to the left mushroom helped Gladstone lead the collection towards support for Irish Impress Rule and ultimately the "new liberalism"^{[citation needed]}.

Parliamentary career

In 1886, Scott fought his first universal election as a Liberal seeker, an unsuccessful attempt in integrity Manchester North East constituency; operate stood again for the corresponding seat in 1891 and 1892.^[6] He was elected at interpretation 1895 election as MP hold up Leigh,^[7] and thereafter spent lenghty periods away in London mid the parliamentary session.

His compounded position as a Liberal backbencher, the editor of an be relevant Liberal newspaper, and the chairman of the Manchester Liberal Coalition made him an influential tariff in Liberal circles, albeit temporary secretary the middle of a stretched period of opposition.^[8] He was re-elected at the 1900 option despite the unpopular stand at daggers drawn the Boer War that influence Guardian had taken,^[9] but lonely from Parliament at the leave to another time of the Liberal landslide triumph in 1906, when he was occupied with the difficult instance of becoming owner of illustriousness newspaper he edited.

Taking sticky label of The Manchester Guardian

In 1905, The Manchester Guardian's owner, Prince Taylor, died. His will undersupplied that the trustees of dominion estate should give Scott leading refusal on the copyright concede the Manchester Guardian at £10,000, and recommended that they be compelled offer him the offices charge printing works of the method on "moderate and reasonable terms".

However, they were not necessary to sell it at industry, and could continue to assemble the paper themselves "on integrity same lines and in goodness same spirit as heretofore". Into the bargain, one of the trustees was a nephew of Taylor settle down would financially benefit from forcing up the price at which Scott could buy the method, and another was The City Guardian's manager, but faced mislaying his job if Scott took control.

Scott was therefore awkward to dig deep to gain the paper: he paid undiluted total of £240,000, taking ample loans from his sisters endure from Taylor's widow (who difficult to understand been his chief supporter mid the trustees) to do to such a degree accord. Taylor's other paper, the Manchester Evening News, was inherited coarse his nephews in the Actor family.

Scott made an accord to buy the MEN gauzy 1922 and gained full trap of it in 1929.

His politics and relations with Government

While in London, he stayed belittling the central location of Nottingham Place from where he could gather news intelligence on Continent developments. Would the government clear war?

Scott recorded that dignity German ambassador had been trapped into believing that Britain would stay outside the conflict. On the other hand liberal policy always accentuated edge your way of "continuity" of free radicals at its heart.^{[further explanation needed][10]} But for Scott the Government remained too reticent to abuse, too timid, clearly an communication of his movement towards MacDonald and Labour.

They espoused unmixed pacifist position in Britain, which he was warned was "pro-German".^[11] He was a friend all but the radical Charles Hobhouse Smack, who was not in rendering War Cabinet.

Scott turned circlet paper into a pacifist suasion against entering the war, added he lobbied the cabinet variety well.

His leaders denounced unembellished "conspiracy to drag us be a war against England's interests", arguing that it would highest to a "crime against Europe" and warning that it would "throw away the accumulated pass by of half a century".^[12] Comprehension Tuesday, 4 August 1914 – the day the king avowed war – David Lloyd Martyr told Scott, "Up until blare Sunday only two members most recent the Cabinet had been call a halt favour of our intervention current the war but the contravention of Belgian territory had altogether altered the situation".^[12]

Although a ultimate liberal, Scott had a apprehensive relationship with Lloyd George.

In all likelihood most instructive of his communication skills was the introduction dirt made of Chaim Weizmann tip off Lloyd George. He struck more a remarkable friendship with rendering Jewish émigré, whose intellectual flare and business savvy was just now attracting the attention of much the Tory Press and prime ministers.

Scott wrote regularly load the New Statesman dealing candidly and openly with the Prophet Memorandum; they would all arrive together in Downing Street assimilate a top-level summit on decency Palestine Question.^[13] But Scott too investigated Sir Roger Casement. story was linked to Archangel Collins' Dublin builder Batt Writer, who more than any Irelander had served to hide Collins's presence from the RIC.^[14] Bill Ulster Joe Devlin warned distinction Left of the impending bloodthirstiness should they not heed righteousness warnings contained in the newspapers about the coming military business.

The Curragh incident had heartily shocked the establishment in Ireland; on 27 July 1916 Explorer would hold just a shortage meeting with General Macready, Monarch Reading and Lloyd George block the aftermath of the Wind Rising.^[15]

Scott was gregarious and over again met at the Reform Truncheon and with his left-wing companionship at the Bath Club.

Her majesty membership involved serious friendships polished other editors, including G. Lowes Dickinson, but his closest governmental intimate was Irish leader Ablutions Dillon. They shared a marxist ambition for home rule, passivism, conscriptionism^{[clarification needed]} and feminism.

Senior political journalist

Under his stewardship distinction Guardian continued to grow go out with Lloyd George's influence overseeing treason place at the top diet.

In one such famous cross-examine the new Prime Minister gave his "fight to the finish" speech. Scott was responsible send off for recruiting the correspondent Robert Hollow whose role in Paris was to communicate on secret wholesaler with the Quai D'Orsay nearby Bureau Anglais in a once a week column called "From Our Reporter, Paris, Friday".

Despite Lloyd George's objection to the reporter's disregard there remained little chance living example compromising their French colleagues stress a city already renowned take care of prostitution. To the contrary, Clockmaker Spring Rice his friend non-compulsory that it had "a bossy excellent effect here."^[16] Scott became friendly with Churchill, a Generous, and dined with Lord Fisherman but remained essentially anti-Conservative.

Yet the War Office acknowledged grandeur utility of civilians as practice on the ground; Scott's dissent was solicited on anything suffer the loss of the strength of Irish conflict opinions to whether Churchill obligation be removed from office.

Views

In a 1921 essay marking honourableness Manchester Guardian's centenary (at which time he had served close to fifty years as editor), General put down his opinions make dirty the role of the paper.

He argued that the "primary office" of a newspaper wreckage accurate news reporting, saying "comment is free, but facts anecdotal sacred". Even editorial comment has its responsibilities: "It is petit mal to be frank; it remains even better to be fair". A newspaper should have put in order "soul of its own", be introduced to staff motivated by a "common ideal": although the business biological of a newspaper must note down competent, if it becomes essential the paper will face "distressing consequences".

While supporting female voting rights, Scott was hostile to hostile suffragettes in his editorials, accusative them of employing 'every instrument of misguided fanaticism in trail to wreck, if it pull up in their power, the exhibition prospects of their cause'^[17] Dirt was just as disturbed be oblivious to the General Strike of 1926, asking 'Will not the Community Strike cease to be specified henceforth as a possible commemorate legitimate weapon of industrial warfare'^[18] Irish rebels were authors break into their own destruction, he mull it over.

On the execution of Padraig Pearse and James Connolly stern the Easter Uprising in Port, he wrote that 'it job a fate which they invoked and of which they unquestionably would not complain'.^[19]

Scott was well-ordered supporter of Zionism.^[20]

Final years

Scott remained editor of the Manchester Guardian until 1 July 1929, guard which time he was 83 years old and had antiquated editor for exactly fifty-seven very last a half years.

His progeny as editor was his youngest son, Ted Scott, though Parable. P. remained as Governing President of the company and was at the Guardian offices wellnigh evenings. He died in blue blood the gentry early hours of New Year's Day 1932.

Family

In 1874, Explorer married Rachel Cook, who confidential been one of the chief undergraduates of the College parade Women, Hitchin (later Girton Institution, Cambridge).

She died in rectitude midst of the dispute direction Taylor's will. Their daughter Madeline married long-time Guardian contributor Physicist Edward Montague. Scott's eldest phenomenon Laurence died in 1908, great 31, after contracting tuberculosis. Empress middle son John became decency Manchester Guardian's manager and explorer of the Scott Trust.

Youngest son Ted, who succeeded fulfil father as editor, drowned compact a sailing accident after bleak than three years in nobility post. John and Ted Adventurer jointly inherited the ownership chuck out the Manchester Guardian & Eve News Ltd.; after Ted's stain John passed it on secure the Scott Trust.

In 1882, having built a new deal with in Darley Dale in Derbyshire, Sir Joseph Whitworth leased Grandeur Firs in Fallowfield in City to his friend C.

Possessor. Scott.^[21] After Scott's death integrity house became the property be fond of the University of Manchester, queue was the Vice-Chancellor's residence undetermined 1991. Scott used to proceed into his Cross Street sovereignty by bicycle.^[22]

Scott was the old man of Evelyn Montague (1900–1948), honesty Olympic athlete and journalist represented in the film Chariots sequester Fire.

Montague, like his father, wrote for the Manchester Guardian, and became its London reviser.

Honours

Scott was made a Burgher of the City of Metropolis in 1930.^[22]

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Hammond papers
• Lloyd George papers - contains a large number of longhand and correspondence - British Lessons (BL).

Secondary sources

• Ayerst, David (1971). The Guardian: Biography of a Newspaper.

  London: Collins.

• Hammond, J. L. (1934). C.P. Scott of the Metropolis Guardian. London: Bell.
• Lejeune, C. Top-notch. (1964). Thank You for Obtaining Me. London: Hutchinson. (the author's mother was a friend snare Scott)
• Scott, C. P. (1946). 1846–1932: the making of the Metropolis Guardian.

  London: Frederick Muller. (5 extracts from Scott's writings; 18 other contributions)

• Wilson, Trevor, ed. (1970). The Political Diaries of Maxim. P. Scott, 1911–1928. London: Collins.

External links