106-746: Charles or Charlie Fox may refer to: Politicians [ edit ] Charles James Fox (1749–1806), British politician Charles Fox (1660–1713) , British politician, Paymaster of the Forces Charles N. Fox (1829–1903), California Supreme Court Justice Charles Fox (socialist activist) (1861–1939), British socialist activist and dentist Charles L. Fox (1854–1927), American artist, philanthropist and socialist from Maine Engineers [ edit ] Charles Douglas Fox (1840–1921), British civil engineer Charles Fox (engineer, born 1810) (1810–1874), British civil and railway engineer, built
212-437: A Madame de Quallens. Fox returned to Eton later that year, "attired in red-heeled shoes and Paris cut-velvet, adorned with a pigeon-wing hair style tinted with blue powder, and a newly acquired French accent", and was duly flogged by Dr. Barnard , the headmaster. Charles Fox was once known as a macaroni , despite him being a tad too overweight to look decent in his tight clothing. These three pursuits – gambling, womanising and
318-687: A board of governors responsible to Parliament and more resistant to Crown patronage. It passed the Commons by 153 to 80, but, when the King made it clear that any peer who voted in favour of the bill would be considered a personal enemy of the Crown, the Lords divided against Fox by 95 to 76. George III now felt justified in dismissing Fox and North from government and in nominating Pitt the Younger in their place,
424-454: A bout of mental illness. He had declared that Pitt was "a rascal" and Fox "his friend". The King was placed under restraint, and a rumour went round that Fox had poisoned him. Thus the opportunity revealed itself for the establishment of a regency under Fox's friend and ally, the Prince of Wales , which would take the reins of government out of the hands of the incapacitated George III and allow
530-415: A bust of Fox and placed it between Cicero and Demosthenes in her collection. On 18 April, Fox spoke in the Commons – together with William Wilberforce , Pitt and Burke – in favour of a measure to abolish the slave trade , but – despite their combined rhetorical talents – the vote went against them by a majority of 75. On 6 May 1791, a tearful confrontation on the floor of the Commons finally shattered
636-522: A daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond . Henry Fox (1705–1774) was an ally of Robert Walpole and rival of Pitt the Elder , and had amassed a considerable fortune by exploiting his position as Paymaster General of the Forces . Charles James Fox's elder brother Stephen (1745–1774) became the 2nd Baron Holland, and his younger brother Henry (1755–1811) had a distinguished military career. Fox
742-691: A final declaration of the result for over a year. In the meantime, Fox sat for the Scottish pocket borough of Tain or Northern Burghs , for which he was qualified by being made an unlikely burgess of Kirkwall in Orkney. The experience of these years was crucial in Fox's political formation. His suspicions had been confirmed. It seemed to him that George III had personally scuppered both the Rockingham-Shelburne and Fox-North governments, interfered in
848-596: A final reconciliation. Fox continued to defend the French Revolution, even as its fruits began to collapse into war, repression and the Reign of Terror . Though there were few developments in France after 1792 that Fox could positively favour, Fox maintained that the old monarchical system still proved a greater threat to liberty than the new, degenerating experiment in France. Fox thought of revolutionary France as
954-603: A long and eloquent speech to a packed House of Commons. Persecution always says, 'I know the consequences of your opinion better than you know them yourselves.' But the language of toleration was always amicable, liberal, and just: it confessed its doubts, and acknowledged its ignorance ... Persecution had always reasoned from cause to effect, from opinion to action, [that such an opinion would invariably lead to but one action], which proved generally erroneous; while toleration led us invariably to form just conclusions, by judging from actions and not from opinions. Pitt, in turn, came to
1060-582: A member of the Chamber of Deputies . Former members of parliament can maintain the style. All members of the unicameral Parliament of Malta are entitled to this prefix. An extensive system of honorifics used to be in place in the Netherlands. In a more formal setting it still is. De weledele heer/vrouwe 'the honourable lord/lady' is used for the genteel bourgeoisie. The middle classes are instead addressed with De heer/mevrouw 'sir/madam', which
1166-462: A minimum refer to each other as the honourable member or my honourable friend out of courtesy, but they are not entitled to the style in writing. Members who are 'senior' barristers may be called the honourable and learnèd member , serving or ex-serving members of the military the honourable and gallant member , and ordained clergy in the House the honourable and reverend member ; a practice which
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#17327826672951272-533: A motion, asking that "The influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished". It was passed by the Commons in a vote of 233 to 215. Fox thought that the motion is "glorious", saying on 24 April that: the question now was ... whether that beautiful fabric [i.e. the constitution] ... was to be maintained in that freedom ... for which blood had been spilt; or whether we were to submit to that system of despotism, which had so many advocates in this country. Fox, however, had not been present in
1378-604: A play at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. George III, also observing Fox's licentious private behaviour, took it to be presumption and judged that Fox could not be trusted to take anything seriously. After 1774, Fox began to reconsider his political position under the influence of Edmund Burke – who had sought out the promising young Whig and would become his mentor – and the unfolding events in America . He drifted from his rather non-ideological family-oriented politics into
1484-590: A profound national crisis. Fox was not surprised when Pitt and the King brought Britain into the war as well and would afterwards blame the pair and their prodigal European subsidies for the long-drawn-out continuation of the French Revolutionary Wars . In 1795, he wrote to his nephew, Lord Holland : Peace is the wish of the French of Italy Spain Germany and all the world, and Great Britain alone
1590-453: A scheme of parliamentary reform before the Commons, proposing to rationalise somewhat the existing, decidedly unrepresentative, electoral system by eliminating thirty-six rotten boroughs and redistributing seats to represent London and the larger counties. Fox supported Pitt's reforms, despite apparent political expediency, but they were defeated by 248 to 174. Reform would not be considered seriously by Parliament for another decade. In 1787,
1696-474: A serious political error. In the Commons on 10 December, he declared that it was the right of the Prince of Wales to install himself as regent immediately. It is said that Pitt, upon hearing this, slapped his thigh in an uncharacteristic display of emotion and declared that he would "unwhig" Fox for the rest of his life. Fox's argument did indeed seem to contradict his lifelong championing of Parliament's rights over
1802-492: A tendency to vomit in public." Happily for George, the unpopular coalition would not outlast the year. The Treaty of Paris was signed on 3 September 1783, formally ending the American Revolutionary War . Fox proposed an East India Bill to place the government of the ailing and oppressive British East India Company , at that time in control of a considerable expanse of India, on a sounder footing with
1908-573: A way. After these defections, the Foxites could no longer constitute a credible parliamentary opposition, reduced, as they were, to some fifty MPs. Fox, however, still insisted on challenging the repressive wartime legislation introduced by Pitt in the 1790s that would become known as "Pitt's Terror". In 1792, Fox had seen through the only piece of substantial legislation in his career, the Libel Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 60), which restored to juries
2014-575: Is Hon. [Last Name], [First Name] or Honourable [Last Name] or Honourable [Position] (e.g. Honourable Speaker ). Recipients of the rank of Grand Officer or above of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean and persons knighted by Queen Elizabeth II are automatically entitled to prefix The Hon , Hons or The Honourable to their name. Commanders and Officers may request permission from
2120-487: Is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain people, usually with official governmental or diplomatic positions. In international diplomatic relations, representatives of foreign states are often styled as The Honourable . Deputy chiefs of mission, chargés d'affaires , consuls-general, consuls and honorary consuls are always given the style. All heads of consular posts, whether they are honorary or career postholders, are accorded
2226-470: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled The Honourable from 1762, was a British Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-rival of the Tory politician William Pitt
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#17327826672952332-598: Is most commonly used for the President-elect, governors , judges, and members of Congress when formally addressing them. The style may be conferred pursuant to federal government service, according to federal rules, or by state government service, where the rules may be different. Modifiers such as the Right Honorable or the Most Honorable are not used. The 't' in 'the' is not capitalized in
2438-489: Is never properly used to refer to oneself. A spouse of someone with the style of The Honorable receives no additional style. In Australia, the style is allowed to be used by past and present: The abbreviation in Australia is ' The Hon' (without a full stop). In May 2013, the title was given approval by Queen Elizabeth II to be granted to past, present, and future Governors-General of Australia , to be used in
2544-646: Is not used for people who have died. Some estimate that in the United States there are nearly 100,000 people who are accorded the "Honorable" title, many in the Washington, D.C. region. Civilian officials, including service secretaries (e.g., Secretary of the Army ) of the Pentagon receive the title. The style The Honorable is used on envelopes when referring to an individual in the third person. It
2650-574: Is only a courtesy , however, and on legal documents they may be described as, for instance, John Smith, Esq., commonly called The Honourable John Smith . As the wives of sons of peers share the styles of their husbands, the wives of the sons of viscounts and barons and the younger sons of earls are styled, for example, The Hon. Mrs John Smith . Likewise, the married daughters of viscounts and barons, whose husbands hold no higher title or dignity, are styled, for example, The Hon. Mrs Smith . In 1912, King George V granted maids of honour (royal attendants)
2756-498: Is the equivalent of Mr/Ms in English. Also typical is the use of De weledelgeboren heer/vrouwe 'the well-born lord/lady', for students at universities, traditionally children of the genteel bourgeoisie. The system adds honorifics based on prestige for military officers based on rank, barristers, prosecutors, judges, members of parliament, government ministers, nobles, clergy, and for academic degrees of master's and above. In
2862-411: Is used to refer to a minister while holding office. In Canada, while not always enshrined in legislation, some people are commonly referred to as The Honourable (French: l'honorable ). Those who have the honorific for life include: People who have the honorific only while in office include: Derivatives include: In all cases, the governor general of Canada may grant permission to retain
2968-581: The American Revolutionary War . Fox became convinced, that George III was determined to challenge the authority of parliament and the balance of the constitution established in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to achieve a continental-style tyranny. George III in return thought that Fox had "cast off every principle of common honour and honesty ... [a man who is] as contemptible as he is odious ... [and has an] aversion to all restraints." On 6 April 1780 John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton introduced
3074-588: The French Revolution of 1789, interpreting it as a late Continental imitation of Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688. In response to the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, he famously declared, "How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world! and how much the best!" In April 1791, Fox told the Commons that he "admired the new constitution of France, considered altogether, as
3180-641: The French Revolutionary Wars , but Fox went on to attack Pitt's wartime legislation and to defend the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the ' Ministry of All the Talents ' of William Grenville before he died on 13 September 1806, aged 57. Fox was born in London on 24 January 1749, the second surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland , and Lady Caroline Lennox ,
3286-542: The House of Commons of Canada and of provincial legislatures refer to each other during proceedings of the house with the courtesy style "honourable member" (or l'honorable député ), but their name is not otherwise prefixed with the Honourable (unless they are privy councillors or executive councillors). Current and former governors general , prime ministers , chief justices and certain other eminent persons use
Charles Fox - Misplaced Pages Continue
3392-581: The Senate are styled "Senator". Companions of Honour of the former Order of Barbados from the pre-republic era of Barbados, as well Members of the current Order of the Republic , are accorded the style The Honourable . In Jamaica , those awarded the Order of Jamaica (considered Jamaica's equivalent to a British knighthood ) and those awarded the Order of Merit are styled Honourable . In Trinidad and Tobago The Prime Minister , government ministers,
3498-450: The lesser of two evils and emphasised the role of traditional despots in perverting the course of the revolution: he argued that Louis XVI and the French aristocracy had brought their fates upon themselves by abusing the constitution of 1791 and that the coalition of European autocrats , which was currently dispatching its armies against France's borders, had driven the revolutionary government to desperate and bloody measures by exciting
3604-832: The Chicago firm of Marshall and Fox Charles Fox (mathematician) (1897–1977), British-born mathematician Irving Resnikoff , alias "Charles J. Fox" (1897–1988), Russian-born portrait painter based in New York Chappie Fox (Charles Philip Fox, 1913–2003), circus historian and philanthropist Charles R. Fox (1912–2006), American major general Charley Fox (Charles W. Fox, 1920–2008), Canadian Air Force officer in WWII See also [ edit ] Charles Foxe (died 1590), English politician, MP for Much Wenlock and Ludlow All pages with titles containing Charles Fox [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
3710-572: The Commons that: We had no invasion to fear but an invasion of the constitution. In 1795, the King's carriage was assaulted in the street, providing an excuse for Pitt to introduce the infamous Two Acts: the Seditious Meetings Act 1795 , which prohibited unlicensed gatherings of over fifty people, and the Treasonable Practices Act , which greatly widened the legal definition of treason , making any assault on
3816-486: The Crown. Pitt pointed out that the Prince of Wales had no more right to the throne than any other Briton, though he might well have a better claim to it as the King's firstborn son. It was Parliament's constitutional right to decide who the monarch could be. There was more than naked thirst for power in Fox's seemingly hypocritical Tory assertion. Fox believed that the King's illness was permanent, and therefore that George III was, constitutionally speaking, dead. To challenge
3922-1477: The Crystal Palace Sports [ edit ] Charlie Fox (baseball) (Charles Francis Fox, 1921–2004), American baseball manager, scout, coach, and athlete Chas Fox (born 1963), American football player Charles Fox (cricketer) (1858–1901), English cricketer Charlie Fox (footballer) (born 1998), English footballer Charlie Fox (rugby union) (1898–1984), Australian rugby union player Charles Fox (swimmer) (born 1948), Zambian Olympic swimmer Musicians [ edit ] Inez and Charlie Foxx (1939–1998), American musicians Charles Fox (jazz critic) (1921–1991), British jazz critic Charles Fox (composer) (born 1940), film and television composer Others [ edit ] Charles Fox (artist) (1794–1849), English artist Charles Richard Fox (1796–1873), illegitimate son of Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland Charles Fox (scientist) (1797–1878), British scientist Charles James Fox (editor) (1827–1903), newspaper editor and owner in Australia Charles Masson Fox (1866–1935), Cornish businessman and chess player Charles Vincent Fox (1877–1928), British army officer and rower Charles Fox (missionary) (1878–1977), English ethnographer and missionary Charles Eli Fox (1879–1926), American architect, partner in
4028-570: The Dutch language, Mr is a formal and academic title, for both men and women, protected by Dutch law. It stands for Meester 'master', and is strictly reserved for holders of a master's degree in law (LL.M.) who are qualified to practice law. Holders are addressed as De weledelgestrenge heer/vrouwe Mr 'the honourable strict lord/lady master', followed by their name. In the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia
4134-524: The Government's allegedly feeble response to the contemptuous printing and public distribution of copies of parliamentary debates. Behind these incidents lay his family's resentment towards Lord North for refusing to elevate the Holland barony to an earldom . But the fact that such a young man could seemingly treat ministerial office so lightly was noted at court . In 1773 he was taken advantage of by
4240-543: The House of parliament for the beginning of the Dunning debate, as he had been occupied in the adjoining eleventh-century Westminster Hall , serving as chairman of a mass public meeting before a large banner that read "Annual Parliaments and Equal Representation". This was the period when Fox, hardening against the influence of the British Crown, was embraced by the radical movement of the late eighteenth century. When
4346-416: The King appointed the youngest British prime minister to date at twenty-four years of age. Fox used his parliamentary majority to oppose Pitt's nomination, and every subsequent measure that he put before the House, until March 1784, when the King dissolved Parliament and, in the following 1784 British general election , Pitt was returned with a substantial majority. In Fox's own constituency of Westminster,
Charles Fox - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-424: The Lords too prepared to pass it, they learned that the King's health was improving and decided to postpone further action. The King soon regained lucidity in time to prevent the establishment of his son's regency and the elevation of Fox to the premiership , and, on 23 April, a service of thanksgiving was conducted at St Paul's in honour of George III's return to health. Fox's opportunity had passed. Fox welcomed
4558-677: The Modernisation Committee recommended abolished, but which use has continued. When anyone is entitled to be styled Right Honourable this is used instead of honourable . In the Falkland Islands , the style the honourable is given to any serving or former members of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council . In the Isle of Man , the style the honourable (often abbreviated to Hon. )
4664-595: The President to use this prefix. Recipients of the order who are not Mauritian citizens may not use the prefix or post-nominals unless granted permission by the President. All 70 members of the National Assembly also use this prefix, including all Cabinet ministers. All members of the South African parliament and the nine provincial legislatures are entitled to this prefix. A rough equivalent of
4770-420: The Prince of Wales's right to succeed him would be to challenge fundamental contemporary assumptions about property rights and primogeniture . Pitt, on the other hand, considered the King's madness temporary (or, at least, hoped that it would be), and thus saw the throne not as vacant but as merely temporarily unoccupied. While Fox drew up lists for his proposed Cabinet under the new Prince Regent, Pitt spun out
4876-523: The United Kingdom, all sons and daughters of viscounts and barons (including the holders of life peerages ) and the younger sons of earls are styled with this prefix (the daughters and younger sons of dukes and marquesses and the daughters of earls have the higher style of Lord or Lady before their first names, and the eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls are known by one of their father's or mother's subsidiary titles). The style
4982-416: The Younger ; his father Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland , a leading Whig of his day, had similarly been the great rival of Pitt's famous father, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"). Fox rose to prominence in the House of Commons as a forceful and eloquent speaker with a notorious and colourful private life, though at that time with rather conservative and conventional opinions. However, with
5088-403: The actual exercise of power and spent almost the entirety of his political career in opposition , he became noted as an anti-slavery campaigner, a supporter of the French Revolution and a leading parliamentary advocate of religious tolerance and individual liberty. His friendship with his mentor, Burke, and his parliamentary credibility were both casualties of Fox's support for France during
5194-514: The book and found it "in very bad taste" and "favouring Tory principles", but avoided pressing the matter for a while to preserve his relationship with Burke. The more radical Whigs, like Sheridan , broke with Burke more readily at this point. Fox instead turned his attention – despite the politically volatile situation – to repealing the Test and Corporation Acts, which restricted the liberties of Dissenters and Catholics. On 2 March 1790, Fox gave
5300-590: The cause of preventing its accomplishment, and this not for any point of honour or even interest, but merely lest there should be an example in the modern world of a great powerful Republic. Rather ironically, while Fox was being denounced by many in Britain as a Jacobin traitor, across the Channel he featured on a 1798 list of the Britons to be transported after a successful French invasion of Britain. According to
5406-736: The coming of the American War of Independence and the influence of the Whig Edmund Burke , Fox's opinions evolved into some of the most radical to be aired in the British Parliament of his era. Fox became a prominent and staunch opponent of King George III , whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant. He supported the American Patriots and even dressed in the colours of George Washington 's army . Briefly serving as Britain's first Foreign Secretary during
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#17327826672955512-512: The constitution punishable by seven years' transportation. Fox spoke ten times in the debate on the acts. He argued that, according to the principles of the proposed legislation, Pitt should have been transported a decade before in 1785, when he had been advocating parliamentary reform. Fox warned the Commons that: The Honourable The Honourable ( Commonwealth English ) or The Honorable ( American English ; see spelling differences ) (abbreviation: Hon. , Hon'ble , or variations)
5618-413: The contest was particularly fierce. An energetic campaign in his favour was run by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire , allegedly a lover of Fox's who was said to have won at least one vote for him by kissing a shoemaker with a rather romantic idea of what constituted a bribe. In the end, Fox was re-elected by a very slender margin, but legal challenges encouraged, to an extent, by Pitt and the King prevented
5724-701: The defence of the Acts as adopted by the wisdom of our ancestors to serve as a bulwark to the Church, whose constituency was so intimately connected with that of the state, that the safety of the one was always liable to be affected by any danger which might threaten the other. Burke, with fear of the radical upheaval in France foremost in his mind, took Pitt's side in the debate, dismissing Nonconformists as "men of factious and dangerous principles", to which Fox replied that Burke's "strange dereliction from his former principles ... filled him with grief and shame". Fox's motion
5830-416: The document, Fox was a "false patriot; having often insulted the French nation in his speeches, and particularly in 1786." According to one of his biographers, Fox's "loyalties were not national but were offered to people like himself at home or abroad". In 1805 Francis Horner wrote, "I could name to you gentlemen, with good coats on, and good sense in their own affairs, who believe that Fox...is actually in
5936-468: The exceptions of priests and abbesses, who are Hochwürden ' reverend '. A subdeacon is Wohlehrwürden 'very honourable'; a deacon is Hochehrwürden ' right honourable '. In Ireland, all judges of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are referred to as The Honourable Mr/Ms Justice . In Italy, the style The Honourable (Italian: Onorevole ) is customarily used to refer to
6042-513: The floor. On another occasion, when Henry had promised his son that he could watch the demolition of a wall on his estate and found that it had already been destroyed, he ordered the workmen to rebuild the wall and demolish it again, with Charles watching. Given carte blanche to choose his own education, Fox in 1758 attended a fashionable Wandsworth school run by a Monsieur Pampellonne, followed by Eton College , where he began to develop his lifelong love of classical literature . In later life he
6148-563: The government in the following two years than had been in all the preceding years of the eighteenth century. Fox spoke in opposition to the King's Speech on 13 December 1793, but was defeated in the subsequent division by 290 to 50. He argued against war measures like the stationing of Hessian troops in Britain, the employment of royalist French émigrés in the British army and, most of all, Pitt's suspension of habeas corpus in 1794. He told
6254-604: The great Parisian salons, meeting influential figures such as Voltaire , Edward Gibbon , the duc d'Orléans and the Marquis de Lafayette , and becoming the co-owner of a number of racehorses with the duc de Lauzun . For the 1768 general election, Henry Fox bought his son a seat in Parliament for the West Sussex constituency of Midhurst , though Charles was still nineteen and technically ineligible for Parliament. Fox
6360-839: The habit of dressing in buff and blue, the colours of the uniforms in Washington's army. Fox's friend, the Earl of Carlisle , observed that any setback for the British Government in America was "a great cause of amusement to Charles." Even after the Battle of Long Island in 1776, Fox stated that I hope that it will be a point of honour among us all to support the American pretensions in adversity as much as we did in their prosperity, and that we shall never desert those who have acted unsuccessfully upon Whig principles. On 31 October
6466-528: The happy co-operation of the early 1770s, the two men who had vilified one another throughout the American war together formed a coalition and forced their Government, with an overwhelming majority composed of North's Tories and Fox's opposition Whigs, on to the King. The Fox-North Coalition came to power on 2 April 1783, in spite of the King's resistance. It was the first time that George had been allowed no role in determining who should hold government office. On one occasion, Fox, who returned enthusiastically to
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#17327826672956572-581: The higher style of 'Venerable'. The style of Honourable is accorded members of parliament in Ghana . It is also extended to certain grades of Royal Orders awarded by Ghana's sub-national Kingdoms. The style Honourable is used to address members of the Kenyan parliament . Traditionally, members of Parliament are not allowed to call each other by name in the chambers, but rather use the terms "Honourable colleague" or "Honorable Member for ...". The written form
6678-416: The imposition of Fox and North, but refrained from doing so, mainly because of the thought of his succession by his son George, Prince of Wales , the notoriously extravagant womaniser, gambler and associate of Fox. Indeed, in many ways the King considered Fox his son's tutor in debauchery. "George III let it be widely broadcast that he held Fox principally responsible for the Prince's many failings, not least
6784-483: The leader of the opposition and ministers within government ministries (junior ministers) are styled as The Honourable , senators serving as ministers are styled as Senator The Honourable , ministers with doctorates are styled as The Honourable Dr. or Dr. the Honourable (rare). In the United States, the prefix the Honorable has been used to formally address various officials at the federal and state levels, but it
6890-465: The legalistic debates over the constitutionality of and precedents for instituting a regency, as well as the actual process of drawing up a Regency Bill and navigating it through Parliament. He negotiated a number of restrictions on the powers of the Prince of Wales as regent (which would later provide the basis of the Regency Act of 1811 ), but the bill finally passed the Commons on 12 February. As
6996-573: The legislative process and now dissolved Parliament when its composition inconvenienced him. Pitt, a man of little property and no party, seemed to Fox a blatant tool of the Crown. However, the King and Pitt had great popular support, and many in the press and general population saw Fox as the trouble-maker challenging the composition of the constitution and the King's remaining powers. He was often caricatured as Oliver Cromwell and Guy Fawkes during this period, as well as Satan . One of Pitt's first major actions as prime minister was, in 1785, to put
7102-596: The love of things and fashions foreign – would become, once inculcated in his adolescence, notorious habits of Fox's later life. Fox entered Hertford College, Oxford , in October 1764. His tutor there was William Newcome . By the standards of aristocratic students, he worked hard while at Oxford, especially at mathematics. However, he was rather contemptuous of Oxford's "nonsenses". He left without graduating in spring 1766, to tour Europe with his family. He went on several further expeditions to Europe, becoming well known in
7208-582: The middle of a sentence. Under the rules of etiquette, the President, Vice President, members of both houses of Congress, governors of states, members of state legislatures , and mayors are accorded the title. Persons appointed to office nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate are accorded the title; this rule includes members of the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet (such as deputies and undersecretaries), administrators, members, and commissioners of
7314-444: The ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham in 1782, he returned to the post in a coalition government with his old enemy, Lord North , in 1783. However, the King forced Fox and North out of government before the end of the year and replaced them with the 24-year-old Pitt the Younger . Fox spent the following 22 years facing Pitt and the government from the opposition benches of the House of Commons. Though Fox had little interest in
7420-433: The misrule of British India by Hastings and the East India Company more widely, then Fox's India Bill of 1784 – the point on which the Fox-North Coalition had been dismissed by the King – would be vindicated. The trial was also expedient for Fox in that it placed Pitt in an uncomfortable political position. The premier was forced to equivocate over the Hastings trial, because to oppose Hastings would have been to endanger
7526-416: The most dramatic political event of the decade came to pass in the form of the Impeachment of Warren Hastings , the Governor of Bengal until 1785, on charges of corruption and extortion. Fifteen of the eighteen Managers appointed to the trial were Foxites , one of them being Fox himself. Although the matter was really Burke's area of expertise, Fox was, at first, enthusiastic. If the trial could demonstrate
7632-606: The most stupendous and glorious edifice of liberty, which had been erected on the foundation of human integrity in any time or country." He was thus somewhat bemused by the reaction of his old Whig friend, Edmund Burke , to the dramatic events across the Channel . In his Reflections on the Revolution in France , Burke warned that the revolution was a violent rebellion against tradition and proper authority, motivated by Utopian , abstract ideas disconnected from reality, which would lead to anarchy and eventual dictatorship. Fox read
7738-557: The noble lord has lost – he has lost a whole continent. Fox, who occasionally corresponded with Thomas Jefferson and had met Benjamin Franklin in Paris, correctly predicted that Britain had little practical hope of subduing the colonies and interpreted the American cause approvingly as a struggle for liberty against the oppressive policies of a despotic and unaccountable executive. It was at this time that Fox and his supporters took up
7844-545: The orbit of the Rockingham Whig party. During this period, Fox became possibly the most prominent and vituperative parliamentary critic of Lord North and the conduct of the American War . In 1775, he denounced North in the Commons as the blundering pilot who had brought the nation into its present difficulties ... Lord Chatham , the King of Prussia , nay, Alexander the Great , never gained more in one campaign than
7950-481: The pay of France". But Fox's radical position soon became too extreme for many of his followers, particularly old Whig friends like the Duke of Portland , Earl Fitzwilliam and the Earl of Carlisle . Around July 1794 their fear of France outgrew their resentment towards Pitt for his actions in 1784, and they crossed the floor to the Government benches. Fox could not believe that they "would disgrace" themselves in such
8056-639: The political establishment was spoiled. He was appointed to the Board of Admiralty by Lord North in February 1770, but on the 15th of the same month, he resigned due to his enthusiastic opposition to the government's Royal Marriages Act , the provisions of which – incidentally – cast doubt on the legitimacy of his parents' marriage. On 28 December 1772, North appointed him to the board of the Treasury ; in February 1774, Fox again surrendered his post, this time over
8162-490: The post of Foreign Secretary, ended an epistle to the King: "Whenever Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to condescend even to hint your inclinations upon any subject, that it will be the study of Your Majesty's Ministers to show how truly sensible they are of Your Majesty's goodness." The King replied: "No answer." George III seriously thought of abdicating at this time, after the comprehensive defeat of his American policy and
8268-424: The quarter-century friendship of Fox and Burke, as the latter dramatically crossed the floor of the House to sit down next to Pitt, taking the support of a good deal of the more conservative Whigs with him. Officially, and rather irrelevantly, this happened during a debate on the particulars of a bill for the government of Canada. Later, on his deathbed in 1797, Burke would have his wife turn Fox away rather than allow
8374-620: The replacement of his "minion" Pitt with a Foxite ministry. Fox, however, was incommunicado in Italy as the crisis broke; he had resolved not to read any newspapers while he was abroad, except the racing reports. Three weeks passed before he returned to Britain on 25 November 1788, and then he was taken seriously ill (partly due to the stress of his rapid journey across Europe). He would not recover entirely until December 1789. He again absented himself to Bath from 27 January to 21 February 1789. When Fox did make it into Parliament, he seemed to make
8480-415: The right to decide what was and was not libellous, in addition to whether a defendant was guilty. E. P. Thompson thought it "Fox's greatest service to the common people, passed at the eleventh hour before the tide turned toward repression." Indeed, the act was passed by Parliament on 21 May, the same day as a royal proclamation against seditious writings was issued, and more libel cases would be brought by
8586-405: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Fox&oldid=1141835522 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
8692-402: The same year, Fox responded to the King's address to Parliament with "one of his finest and most animated orations, and with severity to the answered person", so much so that, when he sat down, no member of the Government would attempt to reply. Fox shared a mutual antipathy with George III that profoundly shaped Fox's political career. George III was among the most enthusiastic prosecutors of
8798-566: The shocking Gordon riots exploded in London in June 1780, Fox, though deploring the violence of the crowd, declared that he would "much rather be governed by a mob than a standing army." Later, in July, Fox was returned for the populous and prestigious parliamentary constituency of Westminster , with around 12,000 electors, and acquired the title "Man of the People". When North finally resigned under
8904-509: The strains of office and the disastrous American War in March 1782, after Earl Cornwallis surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown , and was gingerly replaced with the new ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham , Fox was appointed Foreign Secretary . But Rockingham, after finally acknowledging the independence of the former Thirteen Colonies , died unexpectedly on 1 July. Fox refused to serve in
9010-554: The style Honorable . State court judges and justices of the peace , like federal judges, also are accorded the style Honorable . Practices vary on whether appointed state official, such as the heads of state cabinet-level departments are given the title. There is also no universal rule for whether county or city officials other than the mayor (such as city council , board of aldermen , board of selectmen , planning and zoning commission , and code enforcement board members, or city manager or police chief or fire chief ) are given
9116-433: The style Honourable would be Hochwohlgeboren 'high well-born', which was used until 1918 for all members of noble families not having any higher style. Its application to bourgeois dignitaries became common in the 19th century, though it has faded since and was always of doubtful correctness. Ehrwürdig or Ehrwürden , the literal translation of 'honourable', is used for Catholic clergy and religious —with
9222-471: The style The Honourable since 1968 but retain the ability to do so, and are often accorded the honorific in media and by the federal government. Members of the Order of the Caribbean Community are entitled to be styled The Honourable for life. In Barbados , members of the Parliament carry two main titles: members of the House of Assembly are styled The Honourable , while members of
9328-720: The style according to the State Department of the United States . However, the style Excellency instead of The Honourable is used for ambassadors and high commissioners only. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the prefix 'Honourable' or 'Hon.' is used for members of both chambers of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Informally, senators are sometimes given
9434-515: The style after they cease to hold office. Persons eligible to retain the style include the speaker of the House of Commons (who may already be eligible as a privy councillor), territorial commissioners, and judges of certain courts (e.g., the Supreme Court of Canada). The most recent former justice granted such privileges was Frank Iacobucci . It is usual for speakers of the House of Commons to be made privy councillors, in which case they keep
9540-468: The style by royal warrant , for example: The style The Honourable is usually used in addressing envelopes (where it is usually abbreviated to The Hon. ) and formally elsewhere, in which case Mr or Esquire are omitted. In speech, however, The Honourable John Smith is usually referred to simply as Mr John Smith. In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom , as in other traditionally lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members must as
9646-538: The style for life. By custom, the leader of the Official Opposition is appointed to the Privy Council, granting them the style (being the only non-government MP accorded such privilege). In the past, certain provincial premiers (e.g., Peter Lougheed , Bill Davis , Joey Smallwood and Tommy Douglas ) were elevated to the Privy Council and gained the style, but such practice is rare. Members of
9752-601: The style of Right Honourable for life (or le/la très honorable in French). This was originally subject to being summoned to the British Privy Council. Several early prime ministers were not summoned to the British Privy Council, and hence were styled The Honourable : Alexander Mackenzie , Sir John Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell . Members of the Executive Council of Quebec have not used
9858-529: The style of the honourable for life, with precedence next after daughters of barons. The Honourable is also customarily used as a form of address for most foreign nobility that is not formally recognised by the sovereign (e.g. ambassadors) when in the UK. Some people are entitled to the prefix by virtue of their offices. Rules exist that allow certain individuals to keep the prefix The Honourable even after retirement. Several corporate entities have been awarded
9964-522: The successor administration of the Earl of Shelburne , splitting the Whig party; Fox's father had been convinced that Shelburne – a supporter of the elder Pitt – had thwarted his ministerial ambitions at the time of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 . Fox now found himself in common opposition to Shelburne with his old and bitter enemy, Lord North. Based on this single conjunction of interests and the fading memory of
10070-470: The support of the King and the East India Company, while to support him openly would have alienated country gentlemen and principled supporters like Wilberforce . As the trial's intricacies dragged on (it would be 1795 before Hastings was finally acquitted), Fox's interest waned and the burden of managing the trial devolved increasingly on Burke. In late October 1788, George III descended into
10176-427: The swindler Elizabeth Harriet Grieve . She had lent him £300 for which she got his name to use as a customer of her advice. Fox was promised that Grieve could arrange a marriage for him to a West Indian heiress named Miss Phipps. Fox was so taken in that he started to powder his eyebrows in order that he might appeal to her. Grieve was eventually sent to trial but the resulting scandal resulted in news stories, rhymes and
10282-468: The term the Honorable is accorded for life. According to the protocols of the U.S. Department of State , all persons who have been in a position that entitled them to The Honorable continue to retain that honorific style for life. However, the State Department is not an authority on state and local officials such as mayors, members of state legislatures, and high state officials. The prefix
10388-520: The title; as these may be different state by state. Members of the White House staff at the rank of special assistant, deputy assistant, assistant to the president, and Counselor to the President are accorded the title. Officials nominated to high office but not yet confirmed (e.g., commissioner-designate) and interim or acting officials are generally not accorded the style Honorable , except for cabinet-level officials. Opinions vary on whether
10494-610: The various independent agencies , councils, commissions, and boards, federal judges , ambassadors of the United States , U.S. Attorneys , U.S. Marshals , the Architect of the Capitol , the Librarian of Congress and Public Printer of the United States , and presidentially appointed inspectors general . High state officials other than governor, such as lieutenant governor and state attorneys general are also accorded
10600-655: The word Honorable ( Catalan : Honorable ) is used for current and former members of the cabinet ( consellers ) of the President of the Catalan Government ( Generalitat de Catalunya ). Former and current Heads of Government or President of the Generalitat are given the name of Molt Honorable ("Very Honorable"). This also applies to former and current heads of government of the Autonomous Communities of Valencia and Balearic Islands . In
10706-698: The world stage of 1791, war with Great Britain was threatened more with Spain and Russia than revolutionary France . Fox opposed the bellicose stances of Pitt's ministry in the Nootka Sound crisis and over the Russian occupation of the Turkish port of Ochakiv on the Black Sea . Fox contributed to the peaceful resolution of these entanglements and gained a new admirer in Catherine the Great , who bought
10812-545: Was defeated in the Commons by 294 votes to 105. Later, Fox successfully supported the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 , extending the rights of British Catholics. He explained his stance to his Roman Catholic friend, Charles Butler , declaring: the best ground, and the only ground to be defended in all points is, that action , not principle is the object of law and legislation; with a person's principles no government has any right to interfere. On
10918-403: Was prominent in the campaign to punish the radical John Wilkes for challenging the Commons. "He thus opened his career by speaking in behalf of the Commons against the people and their elected representative." Consequently, both Fox and his brother Stephen were insulted and pelted with mud in the street by the pro-Wilkes London crowds. Between 1770 and 1774, Fox's seemingly promising career in
11024-527: Was said to have always carried a copy of Horace in his coat pocket. He was taken out of school by his father in 1761 to attend the coronation of George III , who would become one of his most bitter enemies, and once more in 1763 to travel to the Continent (where he visited Paris and Spa ). On this trip Charles was given a substantial amount of money with which to learn to gamble by his father, who also arranged for him to lose his virginity, aged fourteen, to
11130-438: Was the darling of his father, who found Charles "infinitely engaging & clever & pretty" and, from the time that his son was three years old, apparently preferred his company at meals to that of anyone else. The stories of Charles's over-indulgence by his doting father are legendary. It was said that Charles once expressed a great desire to break his father's watch and was not restrained or punished when he duly smashed it on
11236-458: Was to address the House of Commons some 254 times between 1768 and 1774 and rapidly gathered a reputation as a superb orator, but he had not yet developed the radical opinions for which he would become famous. Thus, he spent much of his early years unwittingly manufacturing ammunition for his later critics and their accusations of hypocrisy. A supporter of the Grafton and North ministries, Fox
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