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Buxton (SYDNEY CHARLES VIS- COUNT)

SYDNEY CHARLES, VIS- COUNT, a British statesman; born in 1853. He received his education at Cambridge. From 1876 to 1882 he was a member of the London School Board, and of the Royal Commission on Education from 1886 to 1889. In 1892 he became Under-Secretary for the Colonies, which position he held for three years.

He was member of Parliament from Peterborough in 1883. From 1905 to 1910, he was Postmaster-General, and made his administration notable by the introduction of penny postage to the United States. He was largely instrumental in passing the Insurance, Copyright, and Pilotage Acts (1911-1912). In 1914 he was made High Commissioner and Governor-General of South Africa. He has written a number of works on financial and economic subjects, among which are "Finance and Politics," "Handbook to Death Duties," and "The Fiscal Question."