T. E. Ellis
T. E. Ellis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 1894–1895 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | Archibald Primrose |
| Preceded by | Edward Marjoribanks |
| Succeeded by | Sir William Hood Walrond |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 February 1859 |
| Died | 5 April 1899 (aged 40) |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Alma mater | Aberystwyth College New College, Oxford |
Thomas Edward Ellis(16 February 1859 – 5 April 1899), often known asT. E. EllisorTom Ellis,was a Welsh politician who was the leader ofCymru Fydd,a movement aimed at gaining home rule for Wales. Ellis was, for a time, the most prominent of a generation of Liberal politicians who emerged in Wales after 1886, who placed greater emphasis than the previous generation to a Welsh dimension to their politics. His early death in 1899 aged 40 added to the aura that surrounded his name.[1]
Early life
[edit]T. E. Ellis was born atCefnddwysarnnearBala,the son of a tenant farmer, and was brought up among folk memories of the political evictions in Merioneth following the 1859 and 1868 General Elections.[1]Having attendedBala Grammar School,where his fellow pupils includedOwen Morgan Edwards,he progressed to theUniversity of Wales, Aberystwyth,(then Aberystwyth college) from 1875 to 1879, then went toNew College, Oxford,graduating in history in 1884.[2]
On leaving Oxford, Ellis briefly went into journalism and also acted as a private tutor to the son of a South Wales shipping magnate. He then became private secretary toLiberal PartyMP,John Brunner.[2]This took him to London and drew him closer to political life. In 1892, he was one of the founder members of theAberystwyth Old Students' Associationand was president from 1892 to 1898.[3]
Parliamentary career
[edit]In 1886, he was selected as theLiberal Partycandidate for theMerionethshireconstituency, and was elected the same year at thegeneral election.[4][2]
Ellis quickly became prominent as a spokesman for Welsh concerns, and in a speech in Bala in 1890 called for a legislative assembly for Wales.[2]He became the leader of the Cymru Fydd movement which sought to gain home rule for Wales, cooperating closely withDavid Lloyd George,and also played a prominent part in the campaign for Welshdisestablishment.In 1892 whenGladstoneformed a new administration, Ellis accepted the post of the second whip, which meant that he had to withdraw from the movement, whose leadership was taken over by Lloyd George andHerbert Lewis(MP for Flint Boroughs). In 1894 Ellis was appointedChief Whip.[2]
Ellis also published the first volume of the collected works of the 17th century Welsh Puritan writerMorgan Llwyd,[4]a work completed after his death by his brother in law,J. H. Davies.[2]He died inCannesin February 1899.[2]His son, the academicThomas Iorwerth Ellis,wrote a two-volume biography of him, the volumes being published in 1944 and 1948 respectively.
Ellis was a proponent ofPan-Celticism,stating "We must work for bringing together Celtic reformers and Celtic peoples. The interests of Irishmen, Welshmen and [Scottish] Crofters are almost identical. Their past history is very similar, their present oppressors are the same and their immediate wants are the same.[5]: 78
Personal life
[edit]Ellis marriedAnnie Jane,daughter ofRobert J. Daviesand sister ofJohn Humphreys Davies.[2]They had one son, his biographerThomas Iorwerth Ellis,who was born posthumously in December 1899.
Assessment
[edit]Tom Ellis, according toKenneth O. Morgan,was a "nationalist of a complex kind". On the one hand, he was deeply rooted in the Methodist tradition, with a love of Welsh poetry and literature. He regarded himself as a follower ofMazzini,and his support forCymru Fyddmade him a prominent advocate of Home Rule. In contrast, he became an admirer ofCecil Rhodes,whom he had met in Cape Colony and his acceptance of government office attracted criticism from some of his erstwhile supporters.[6]
References
[edit]- ^abMorgan 1981,p. 33.
- ^abcdefghEllis, Thomas Iowerth."Thomas Edward Ellis".Dictionary of Welsh Biography.National Library of Wales.Retrieved3 April2016.
- ^Ellis, E. L. (1972).The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1872-1972.Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 339.ISBN978-0-7083-1930-7.
- ^abRoberts & Williams 1908,p. 90.
- ^De Barra, Caoimhín (2018).The Coming of the Celts, AD 1860: Celtic Nationalism in Ireland and Wales.Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.ISBN9780268103378.
- ^Morgan 1981,pp. 33–4.
Entry byK O MorganinDictionary of National Biography,Oxford, 2004–08
Bibliography
[edit]- Hughes, Dewi Rowland (1997)."O'r Bala i Dde Affrica. Taith Wleidyddol Tom Ellis (1886-1892)"(PDF).Traethodydd(in Welsh).CLII(643): 206–22.Retrieved22 June2020.
- Wyn Jones,Thomas Edward Ellis: 1859-1899(University of Wales Press, 1986)
- Neville Masterman:The Forerunner: The Dilemmas of Tom Ellis, 1859-1899(Christopher Davies, Swansea, 1972)ISBN0-7154-0012-6
- Morgan, Kenneth O.(1981).Rebirth of a Nation. Wales 1880-1980.Cardiff: University of Wales Press.ISBN0-19-821760-9.
- Roberts, Thomas Rowland; Williams, Robert (1908).Eminent Welshmen: a short biographical dictionary of Welshmen who have attained distinction from the earliest times to the present, Volume 1.Educational Publishing Company.ISBN9780788437717.
- Meic Stephens(Editor):The New Companion to the Literature of Wales(University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1998)ISBN0-7083-1383-3
