Political Career
Baring sat as Member of Parliament for Thetford between 1826 and 1830 and 1841 and 1848, for Callington between 1830 and 1831, for Winchester between 1832 and 1837 and for Staffordshire North between 1837 and 1841. He was elected as a Whig in 1832 and 1835, and from 1837 as a Tory. He served under Sir Robert Peel as Joint Secretary to the Board of Control from 1841 to 1845 and as Paymaster-General, with a seat in the cabinet, from 1845 to 1846. In 1845 he was sworn of the Privy Council. In 1848 he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the House of Lords.
Baring was a commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, awarded for his services to commerce. He served as captain in the Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry and was a Deputy Lieutenant for that county. In 1854 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. One of his on-going legacies is the National Rifle Association's competition for the Ashburton Shield which was donated by Lord Ashburton in 1861.
Read more about this topic: Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton
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