1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 24… (1911)
“ He was called to the bar in 1860, went the northern circuit, and took silk in 1877. In 1880 and 1885 he unsuccessfully contested Whitehaven as a Liberal, but was elected for Carlisle in 1886, and continued to represent that constituency until his elevation to the peerage. In April 1895 he was elected Speaker by a majority of eleven votes over Sir Matthew White Ridley (cr. Viscount Ridley, 1900) , the Unionist nominee. In 1905 he resigned and was raised to the peerage with the title of Viscount Selby, the name being that of his wife, Miss Elizabeth Selby (d. 1906) , whom he married in 1865. ”
