The Right Honourable Sir William Hayter QC |
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Judge Advocate General | |
In office 30 December 1847 – 30 May 1849 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | Lord John Russell |
Preceded by | Charles Buller |
Succeeded by | Sir David Dundas |
Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
In office 30 May 1849 – 9 July 1850 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | Lord John Russell |
Preceded by | John Parker |
Succeeded by | George Cornewall Lewis |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury |
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In office July 1850 – 21 February 1852 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | Lord John Russell |
Preceded by | Henry Tufnell |
Succeeded by | William Forbes Mackenzie |
In office 5 January 1853 – 21 February 1858 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister |
The Earl of Aberdeen The Viscount Palmerston |
Preceded by | William Forbes Mackenzie |
Succeeded by | Sir William Jolliffe, Bt |
Personal details | |
Born |
28 January 1792 Winterbourne Stoke, Wiltshire |
Died |
26 December 1878 (aged 86) South Hill Park, Easthampstead, Berkshire |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Whig |
Spouse(s) | Anne Pulsford (d. 1889) |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
Sir William Goodenough Hayter, 1st Baronet PC, QC (28 January 1792 – 26 December 1878) was a British barrister and Whig politician. He is best remembered for his two tenures as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (government chief whip) between 1850 and 1852 and 1853 and 1858.
Born at Winterbourne Stoke, Wiltshire, Hayter was the youngest son of John Hayter and Grace, daughter of Stephen Goodenough, of Codford, Wiltshire. He entered at Winchester College in 1804 and matriculated from Trinity College, Oxford, on 24 October 1810, and took his BA in 1814.
Hayter was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, on 23 November 1819, and became an equity draftsman and conveyancer. He attended the Wiltshire sessions, but retired from practice on being made a Queen's Counsel on 21 Feb 1839. He was, however, bencher of his inn on 15 April 1839, and treasurer in 1853.
On 24 July 1837 Hayter was returned to parliament for Wells, and sat for that constituency till 6 July 1865. In 1839 he voted for the repeal of the Corn Laws alongside Charles Pelham Villiers, and was present at all the divisions in favour of free trade. He served under Lord John Russell as Judge Advocate General from 30 December 1847 to 30 May 1849, when he was made Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In July 1850 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (chief government whip) by Russell, a post he held until March 1852, and again under Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston from December 1852 to March 1858. The Dictionary of National Biography states that "When Lord Derby came into power in 1852, Hayter marshalled the disorderly ranks of the liberal party with great success, and in the following governments of Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston his powers developed, and his reputation steadily increased".