John Arthur Roebuck (1802-1879) was a politician born in India to Ebenezer Roebuck, an employee of the East India Company. After returning to Britain, he was called to the bar and prepared himself for a political career.
During the time, he met John Stuart Mill, and became for some years his close friend. Through Mill he was introduced to the ideas of Bentham and the writings of James Mill, by which Roebuck was greatly influenced. As Mill wrote in the Autobiography, he became a member of J. S. Mill’s Utilitarian Society, and, although it disbanded in 1826, Roebuck and a small coterie of friends, whom Mill later described as the “philosophic radicals”, continued their regular studies and discussions together. They were also active members of the London Debating Society.
In December 1832, Roebuck was elected as one of the two MPs for Bath, following a fiercely fought campaign against a moderate whig. In the reformed parliament Roebuck was one of the most active and doctrinaire radicals, committed to further reform. In 1833 he unsuccessfully moved a Commons resolution for the introduction of a system of national education which would make education compulsory between the ages of six and twelve. He believed the education and instruction of the working classes to be essential to prevent revolution. Initially critical of the colonial relationship, Roebuck later believed that there could be mutual benefit in colonies based on free trade and self-government. Although more cautious about Britain’s role in Africa and India, he became a strong believer in the union between Britain and Ireland. He was against interference in the affairs of other nations but saw Britain as the guardian of certain principles of international morality and strongly supported the active defence of British interests.
Sources:
“Roebuck, John Arthur”. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-23945
Mill, John Stuart. Autobiography.