George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen

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George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen bigraphy, stories - Member of the United Kingdom Parliament

George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen : biography

15 October 1866 – 24 July 1952

George Joachim Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen GCSI GCIE CBE VD PC (15 October 1866 – 24 July 1952) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for East Grinstead from 1895 to 1906 and as Governor of Madras from 1924 to 1929.

George Joachim Goschen, 2nd Viscount was the son of prominent Conservative politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen. He had his early education in the United Kingdom and served as Secretary to Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, the Governor of New South Wales in Australia from 1890 to 1892. In 1895 and 1900, he was elected to the House of Commons from East Grinstead and served as a Member of Parliament from 1895 to 1906 and as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries from March to June 1918. In 1924, he was appointed Governor of Madras, India and served as the Governor of Madras from 1924 to 1929 and acted as the Viceroy of India from 1929 to 1931. George Goschen died in 1952 at the age of 85.

Goschen was knighted in 1921 and made a GCSI in March 1924. He was also a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

Tenure as Governor of Madras

Goschen was appointed Governor of Madras in 1924 and he arrived at Madras in May 1924 to take charge. Goschen was awarded the GCSI in March 1924.

The Madras Presidency Radio Club started a radio transmission service in Madras, the first in the city, in 1924, under Goschen’s patronage. This service lasted from 1924 to 1927. Goschen was also involved in the early stages of the Loyola College, Chennai and presided over its first college day in 1928. The Children’s Hospital at Mangalore was refurbished and renamed as Lady Goschen Hospital while the SPG College, Trichinopoly was renamed as Bishop Heber College and Goschen presided over its diamond jubilee celebrations in 1926.

In November 1926, the Pykara hydroelectric project across the Moyar river was conceived by Lord Goschen.

Goschen maintained friendly relations with the Raja of Panagal who was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency. However, in the 1926 elections to the Madras Legislative Assembly, the Justice Party, to which the Raja belonged, was reduced to a minority winning only 21 out of 98 seats in the assembly.Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 189 The Raja stepped down as Chief Minister and handed over his resignation to the Governor. Goschen invited S. Srinivasa Iyengar, the leader of the Swarajya Party which had won a majority, to form the government, but he refused as the acceptance of public posts would defeat the very purpose of the Swarajists to disrupt the working of the dyarchy. Goschen, therefore, made an independent, P. Subbarayan, the Chief Minister, and nominated 34 members to the council to support him.Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 190 As the government was set up by Goschen and all the members nominated by him, it functioned more or less like a puppet government.

Subbarayan’s government was the subject of much controversy and survived a no-confidence motion on 23 August 1927.Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 191 Its position became more precarious when the Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. The Swarajya Party moved a resolution exhorting a boycott of the commission and the Justice Party supported them. The motion was passed 65 to 50 with both of Subbarayan’s ministers in favor of a boycott.Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 192 Subbarayan responded by resigning his post. Goschen, however, mediated a settlement with the Raja of Panagal and appointed a Justice Party nominee, Krishnan Nair to the Executive Council. The Justice Party, immediately, withdrew their support to the resolution and welcomed the commission.Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 194 Just before his retirement from active politics in 1925, the Justice Party insisted upon a gift of land to their leader Theagaroya Chetty from the Madras government but Goschen stuanchly refused to make the grant. A block named "Goschen Block" was constructed in the Govt Estate (presently Omandurar Estate) in Mount Road. This had a number of houses allotted to Govt officials and later to MLAs (Mr P Kakkan, Minister in the Kamaraj Govt lived in one). Goschen Block was demolished when the new Assembly building Now a hospital) construction started.