DILKE, Sir CHARLES WENTWORTH (1S43—).
An English politician and author, horn at Chel sea. the grandson of Charles Wentworth Dilke (q.v.). He graduated at Cambridge in 1566, traveled extensively in the United States, Canada. and the British countries in the East ; and em bodied his observations in Greater Britain: .4 Record of Travel in English-Spea•ing Countries 1566-67 (1s1;81. lie represented Chelsea in Parliament from 1865 to 1586, was Under-Sec retary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1530 to and was president of the Local Government Board from 1852 to 1585. Always a radical in politics. he was fiercely attacked in the seventies because of his avowed republicanism. Among the reform measures carried by him was the one secur ing the municipal franchise for women. In 1554 he was prominent as chairman of the Royal Conn mission on the Housing of the Working Classes. In February, a Mr. Crawford secured a divorce from his wife, naming Sir Charles Dilke as co-respondent; the ease was spoken of and kno‘tn as the Crawford Scandal. Pending the
trial and after it was known that Sir Charles was implicated, he Was elected member of Parliament for Chelsea, it being understood that he would resign if the final outcome of the trial seemed to his constituents to warrant it. Ile did not rt. sign. At the trial the charges against him acre sustained and the divorce was granted. Ile re tired from public life, but reentered it in 1392, since which time he has sat in Parliament for the Forest of Dean. it Charles Nike succeeded his father and grandfather as proprietor of the :like wenn?, and became the owner of .\ otc• and Que ries. Besides the works already mentioned, he published The !'resent Position of European Poli ties (18s7 I ; Problems of Grcattr Britain (1390), and The British Empire (1893).