Edward Shortt-The Daily Ledger

Edward Shortt, KC (10 March 1862 – 10 November 1935) was a British lawyer and Liberal Party politician. He served as a member of David Lloyd George's cabinet, most significantly as Home Secretary from 1919 to 1922.

Background and education

Shortt was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and was the son of the Church of England vicar Rev. Edward Shortt of Woodhorn, Northumberland. Though born and bred in England, Shortt came from a family with roots in County Tyrone. Shortt was educated at Durham School, where he was a King's scholar and competed for the school boat club. He continued his education at the neighbouring Durham University, where he was Lindsay scholar at University College and for two years competed for Durham University Boat Club. He did not excel academically, taking a gentleman's degree in Classics in 1884.

Edward Shortt

Shortt had three brothers. One, Dr William Rushton Shortt, was a surgeon who acted as a Civil Surgeon to the Natal Field Force during the Second Boer War and was present at the Relief of Ladysmith. However, his health having declined in South Africa, he was forced to retire early, and died in November 1913. An older brother, the Rev. Joseph Rushton Shortt (1860–1919), having previously attended Exeter College, Oxford, joined the Durham University staff as a lecturer in Classics and was Bursar of Hatfield College from 1889–1898.

Edward Shortt

Legal career

He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1890 and practised on the North Eastern Circuit. He soon acquired a large junior practice in both civil and criminal cases, with his 'breezy personality' making him an effective advocate in front of juries. His business being mostly in the North East, he was little known in London at this time. He was appointed as Recorder (part-time judge) of Sunderland in 1907 and took silk in 1910.

Edward Shortt

Political career

Shortt became active in politics for the Liberal Party. In 1908, Shortt was an unsuccessful candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne in a by-election, losing a seat previously held by the party when the Social Democratic Federation put up a candidate against him. However, in the January 1910 election he was elected, and remained an MP until 1922, transferring in 1918 to the new Newcastle upon Tyne West constituency. Within the Liberal Party, Shortt allied with David Lloyd George in the party split which occurred between him and H. H. Asquith. When Lloyd George came to power in 1916, Shortt was soon appointed to the government.

Chief Secretary of Ireland

Shortt took an active interest in Irish affairs and became known for his frequent interventions during the debates over the Third Home Rule Bill. His appointment to chair a Select committee to review the operation of the Military Service Acts proved to be the turning-point in his political career. The public hearings of this committee, with witness after witness coming forward to tell stories of medical and administrative chaos, caused a major political storm and sounded the end of the old system. In August 1917 the committee produced a report whose main recommendation was the transfer of medical examinations of recruits from the War Office to a civilian authority. This apparently impressed Lloyd George, and would lead to the advancement of Shortt's career after several years of relative obscurity in public life. In May 1918, Lloyd George appointed him as Chief Secretary for Ireland, at a pivotal stage in the First World War and when Irish Republicanism was on the increase. Taking to this new role with great energy and, suspicious of any alleged German intrigue to encourage sedition, he had 150 members of Sinn Féin arrested as a precaution.

The government had also decided to introduce conscription in Ireland to provide more soldiers for the Western Front, linked to support for Irish home rule, but still found that opposition to the British increased. Shortt gave his support to an unusual plan to encourage Irish soldiers to join the French army, while persuading the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Ireland to support conscription. However, both parts of the plan collapsed due to infighting within the government and the military establishment. Conscription was never implemented in Ireland.