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Bishop Thomas Grant as a Government Negotiator
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2015
Extract
Thomas Grant was born at Ligny-Les-Aires near Arras in France on November 25th 1816. His father was a sergeant in the British army and had just fought at Waterloo. He was at the time serving in the army of occupation following Napoleon’s defeat. For the first twelve years of his life Thomas followed his family to many assignments with the army. He grew accustomed to army life and this would serve him well when later he became a bishop. In 1829 he entered Ushaw seminary and from there was sent to the English College in Rome in 1836. He was ordained in 1841 and was created Doctor of Divinity immediately after his ordination. Already acclaimed for his great learning, he was named as secretary to Cardinal Acton. In his service he became proficient in canon law and the workings of the Roman curia. He became Rector of the English College in 1844 and was nominated to the see of Southwark in 1851. At that time he had not been in England since he left for Rome in 1836. Indeed he had only lived ten years in England altogether.
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References
1 For the early life of Bishop Grant see ‘Negotiator’ chapters 1 and 2.
2 October 24th 1854, but not addressed.
3 AAS Grant Military Papers (Foolscap) and Crimean Papers.
4 ‘Sword’, page 6. The authors inform us that chaplains were not sent to the Crimea until after the reports of Russell were made public. Nightingale had started her work out there by then, although the nuns followed later.
5 For more details about the early Indian chaplains see ‘Sword’, page 7.
6 ‘Negotiator’, p. 97.
7 AAS Indian Mutiny Papers.
8 ‘Negotiator’, Page 98.
9 ‘Negotiator’, Page 99ff.
10 AAS Grant Papers (Military Large Size) These papers are not indexed. They contain papers from various government departments.
11 Letter to Packington, Feb 8th 1867.
12 AAS Grant, Falkland Papers. A full account is given on pp. 127 and 128 in ‘Negotiator’.
13 AAS Mauritius Papers. Labouchère to Grant 3rd May 1852.
14 AAS Grant Mauritius Papers contain a collection of letters from Bishop Collier on general points while a copy of the resignation letter he sent to the Government is preserved in the Military Large size papers.
15 ‘Negotiator’, pp. 130–137 gives a full account of Grant’s negotiations with Jebb over prisons. Jebb is best remembered as the person responsible for building convict prisons to replace the practice of transportation to Australia. He designed prisons with a central control tower and wings branching off like spokes on a bicycle. This system enables greater security.
There are evident traces of anti-Catholic bias in Jebb’s dealings with Grant. Perhaps this is why full justice for Catholic prisoners in their access to chaplains was not achieved until after Jebb’s death.
16 Further interesting statistics can be found in ‘Negotiator’ pp. 135–136.
17 ‘Negotiator’ pp. 138 and 139. Grant always retained great affection for soldiers, remembering his own childhood days moving from garrison to garrison with his family.