BENTINCK, Lord WILLIAM GEORGE FREDER ICK CAVENDISH ( 1802-48 ) An English states man and sportsman, widely known as Lord George Bentinck. The third son of the fourth Duke of Portland, he was born at \Velbeck Ab bey, February 27, 1802, and entered the army when young. For three years after Canning be came Premier, Lord George was his private sec retary. He was distinguished for his skill in every sport, and became famous for the purifica tion that ensued in the corrupt practices of the turf, through the reforms that he instituted, In 1826 he was elected member of Parliament for Lynn-Regis, and sat for that borough till his death. At first, attached to no party, be voted for Catholic emancipation and for the principle of the Reform Bill. A determined opponent of Sir Robert Peel, on the formation of that states man's Ministry in December, 1834. he and his friend Lord Stanley, afterwards Earl of Derby, with some adherents, formed a separate section in the House of Commons. On the resignation of Sir Robert Peel in April following, Lord George openly joined the great Conservative Party, which acknowledged that statesman as its head, and he adhered to it for nearly eleven years. When Peel introduced his free-trade
measures in 1S45 a large portion of his sup porters seceded, and Lord George became the leader of the Protectionists. Although a poor speaker, he was a master of figures and detail. His acute logic was damaging to the Government of Sir Robert Peel, and contributed in no small degree to hasten its downfall. A champion of religions liberty, Lord George supported the bill for the removal of the Jewish disabilities, and recommended the payment of the Roman Catholic clergy by the landowners of Ireland. He died suddenly from rupture of the heart, September 21, 1848, while crossing the park at Welbeck Abbey. Consult B. Disraeli, Lord George Ben tinck: A Political Biography (London, 1851).