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 Cardwell done for the department of science and art. To railway legislation also Cardwell's contribution was important. In the opinion of those most competent to judge, the work of many years was accomplished in two. From the ministry of Lord Aberdeen Cardwell passed, after the reconstruction, into that of Lord Palmerston; and when the other leading Peelites resigned, he was pressed by the premier to accept the chancellorship of the exchequer, but he chose not to separate himself from his friends. Two years later, with the dislike of violence and injustice which was strong in him, he voted against Lord Palmerston's government on the question of the Chinese war, and, upon the appeal to the country which followed, lost his seat for Oxford, but shortly afterwards regained it on petition. In 1858 he was the most active member of a commission appointed to inquire into the manning of the navy, respecting which great anxiety was then felt. Here his knowledge of the mercantile marine stood him in good stead. The report was adopted, and the system, principal features of which are the training of boys and the maintenance of a strong navy reserve, remains in force, and continues to be successful to this day. When, upon the defeat of the Derby ministry in 1859, Palmerston again became minister, Cardwell become secretary for Ireland with a seat in the cabinet. In that office he showed his usual industry, equity, patience, and courtesy; but the sphere was uncongenial, and in 1861 he exchanged it for the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster. An Irish land act, framed by him, and the object of which was to base the relation of landlord and tenant solely on contract, has had no practical effect. In 1864 he was transferred to the secretaryship for the colonies. In that office he inaugurated the new policy of withdrawing from the colonies in time of peace all imperial troops for which the colonies would not undertake to pay, thereby promoting colonial self-defence and self-government, as well as economising the forces of the empire and relieving the British taxpayer of an expense which in the case of the wars with the Maori had amounted to a million a year. Canadian confederation was set on foot, and its outline was determined during his secretaryship, though the act was the work of his successor. To him fell the difficult duty of dealing, amidst a storm of public excitement, with the case of the disturbances in Jamaica and of Governor Eyre, which he did by promptly sending out a commission of inquiry, and, when the legislative assembly of Jamaica had been abolished with its own consent, appointing Sir Peter Grant as governor to arbitrate between the conflicting races. He also put an end to transportation. Under Mr. Gladstone, in 1868, Cardwell became secretary for war, and in that capacity was called upon to undertake the reorganisation of the British army, to the necessity for which the nation had been awakened by the great European wars, at the same time redeeming the pledge given for largely reduced estimates. For this, which was his most important and difficult work, the foundation had been laid by the concentration of the troops which as colonial secretary he had effected. The principal feature of his reorganisation was the abolition of purchase, for which were substituted admission by tests of fitness and promotion by selection. This reform, together with the provision made for the retirement of officers, rendered the British army professional and scientific, relieved it of incapacity and ingratitude, animated it with a hope of advancement by merit, and made it fit to cope with the highly trained armies of the continent. Other parts of the new system were the introduction of a short term of service, the formation of a veteran reserve, and the localisation of the regiments, which was adopted with a double purpose of taking advantage of local attachment in recruiting and of linking the militia and volunteers to the regular forces. The department of the commander-in-chief was brought under the more effective control of the war office. Provision was also made for the improvement of the military education of officers and soldiers. In carrying these changes into effect the secretary for war had to encounter the most obstinate resistance on the part of military men of the old school, and his coadjutors have borne their testimony to the unfailing patience, command of temper, and courtesy, by which, combined with firmness, their resistance was overcome, as well as to the thoroughness with which a civilian mastered all the details of the department of war. The labour and anxiety, however, undermined Cardwell's health. On the resignation of the Gladstone ministry in 1874 he was called to the House of Lords as Viscount Cardwell of Ellerbeck. After this he continued for some time to take part in public affairs; he presided ably over the commission on vivisection, and on one important occasion stood forth as the friend of the slave; but he never again became a minister of state. He died, after a very lingering illness, at Villa Como, Torquay, on 15 Feb. 1886, and was buried in the cemetery of Highgate. He married, in 1838, Annie, youngest daughter of Charles Stuart Parker of Fairlie, Ayrshire, but he left no children and his peerage became extinct. Cardwell