Editing Austen Henry Layard (section)

===Political career===
[[File:Austen Henry Layard, Vanity Fair, 1869-08-28.jpg|thumb|upright|Caricature from [[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]], (Aug 1869) captioned "He combines the love of truth and art with equal devotion and success"]] 
Layard now turned to politics. Elected as a Liberal member for [[Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Aylesbury]], Buckinghamshire in 1852, he was for a few weeks [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs|Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs]], but afterwards freely criticised the government, especially in connection with army administration. He was present in the [[Crimean Peninsula|Crimea]] during the [[Crimean War|war]], and was a member of the committee appointed to inquire into the conduct of the expedition. In 1855 he refused from [[Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]] an office not connected with foreign affairs, was elected [[Rector of the University of Aberdeen|lord rector]] of [[University of Aberdeen|Aberdeen University]], and on 15 June moved a resolution in the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|House of Commons]] (defeated by a 359–46 majority<ref>Briggs, Asa: ''The Age of Improvement, 1783–1867'' (2nd edition), p. 377. Routledge, 2000</ref>) declaring that in public appointments merit had been sacrificed to private influence and an adherence to routine. After being defeated at Aylesbury in 1857, he visited India to investigate the causes of the [[Indian Mutiny]]. He unsuccessfully contested [[York (UK Parliament constituency)|York]] in 1859, but was elected for [[Southwark (UK Parliament constituency)|Southwark]] in 1860, and from 1861 to 1866 was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the successive administrations of Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell.<ref name="EB1911"/> After the Liberals returned to office in 1868 under [[William Ewart Gladstone]], Layard was made [[First Commissioner of Works]] and sworn of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23449 |date=11 December 1868 |page=6581 }}</ref>