Wilts Obituary. 119 



1904. The eldest son, Viscount Trafalgar, died 1905 ; the second, 

 Charles Horatio, in 1900 ; the third, Thomas Horatio Viscount Merton, 

 succeeds to the title and is unmarried. The fourth son, the Hon. Edward 

 Agar Horatio Nelson, was born 1860. He was a strong Conservative in 

 politics, but before all things from his Cambridge days onwards he was 

 a churchman, much interested in the Tractarian movement, a member 

 of the Camden Society, an ardent advocate of free and open Churches, 

 and of the cause of Home Be-union, which was very near to his heart 

 all his life, contributing many articles on the subject to the Guardian. 

 From 1865 onwards he was a regular attendant and speaker at the 

 annual Church Congresses. A strong High Churchman himself, the 

 good relations of Church and Dissent and the possibility of working 

 with Nonconformists was one of the things that appealed to him most. 

 He was especially interested in the Foreign Missions of the Church 

 and often acted as a " Deputation " at meetings, in earlier days. In the 

 Diocese of Salisbury he was undoubtedly the leading lay churchman. 

 In 1857 he, in association with Keble, compiled a Hymn Book for use 

 in the Diocese, '* The Salisbury Hymn Book," which in many ways 

 anticipated Hymns Ancient and Modern. From the institution of the 

 Diocesan Synod by Bishop Moberly, in 1871, he was a constant atten- 

 dant and speaker, his strong voice even in the Synod of last year being 

 heard in the difficult Chapter House as that of very few younger 

 speakers could be. He long acted as Chairman of the organising 

 committee which fixes the agenda. He was a very active supporter 

 of Church schools, of the Queen Victoria Clergy Fund, and of many 

 other diocesan organizations. The Guardian says of him : " The 

 Diocese of Salisbury has long been conspicuous for unity of feeling and 

 co-operation. . . . Few, if any, have done more than Lord Nelson 

 in promoting this — by his loyal support of Bishop after Bishop, and the 

 manifest singleness of all his aims. For his position he was far from 

 wealthy, but his standard of generosity was very high. He was most 

 liberal as a landlord and anxious almost to excess — if that were possible 

 — to promote the well-being of all upon his estate. In private life he 

 was thoroughly consistent with the principles he publicly advocated. 

 . . . His private charity was great." He read the lessons regularly 

 at both the Sunday services and sat with the choir in his parish Church. 

 " Earl Nelson," says the Wiltshire Gazette, " will be generally remem- 

 bered for his long and close connection with the Wiltshire Friendly 

 Society," of which he was the president from 1876 until his death. He 

 had been a J.P. for Wilts since 1845. He retained his vigour of mind 

 and voice in a wonderful degree to the end of his life. The large 

 assemblage at his funeral testified to the widespread esteem in which 

 he was held. 



Obit, notices. The Gua.rdian, Feb. 28th, had a three column notice 

 with portraits ; Times, Feb. 26th ; Wiltshire Gazette, Feb. 27th ; 

 Salisbury Journal, March 1st & 8th ; Salisbury Diocesan Gazette, April, 

 1913. Small photo portraits, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, and Daily 

 Sketch, Feb. 26th ; Sphere, March Hth, 1913. 



