from the army, he became involved in politics, serving as the private secretary to his uncle, the Duke of Westminster from 1892 to 1896, after which he was appointed secretary to Earl Grey, who went to administer Rhodesia after the Jameson Raid. Administrator of Matabeleland When Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, was sent to Salisbury to replace Sir Leander Starr Jameson, Lawley was in due course appointed the acting administrator of Matabeleland representing the British South Africa Company. In November 1896 he was appointed Deputy Administrator for Matabeleland. He served as Administrator of Matabeleland from 1897 to 1901. In 1898, Lawley led a mission to the court of Lewanika, the king of Barotseland. Lawley later wrote a detailed account and a diary of his journey to Barotseland and his experiences. An agreement was signed at the Victoria Falls on 21 June 1898 between King Lewanika and Captain Arthur Lawley with Robert Coryndon, the resident in Barotseland as witness. The ivory seal with its gold handle used by Lawley to endorse the Treaty is in The National Trust Collection at Tyntesfield. The Second Matabele War, which began after the failure of the Jameson Raid in January 1896, concluded during Lawley's residence in Bulawayo with a victory for British settlers and a Peace Agreement on 13 October 1896, reached by Cecil Rhodes meeting with the Matabele Chiefs in the Matopos Hills. On the departure of Earl Grey in July 1897, Lawley succeeded Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, as the Administrator of Matabeleland and served from 1897 to 24 January 1901. As Deputy-administrator, Lawley participated in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria. As Cecil Rhodes was unwell, Captain Arthur Lawley gave the speech opening the Railway from Mafeking to Bulawayo on 4 November 1897. Captain Lawley sent half the force which relieved Mafeking under the command of Colonel Plumer in May 1900. He was in close contact with Colonel Robert Baden Powell, who later served under him as Chief of Police in the Transvaal. Governor of Western Australia Lawley was knighted and appointed Governor of Western Australia in February 1901, and arrived in Albany aboard the ship Ophir, along with the Duke and Duchess of York (about to commence a royal tour). Lawley's official term as Governor of Western Australia ran from 1 May 1901 to 14 August 1902. One of his first duties was to represent Western Australia at the opening