was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies when Lord Carnarvon resigned in March 1867 over the Reform Bill and served from 8 March 1867 to 1 December 1868. During this period, he was also appointed Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. As Secretary of State for the Colonies. Buckingham had to deal with the British North America Act. He also attracted controversy over his dispute with Bishop Colenso of Natal. Buckingham's tenure ended in December 1868 when the Conservative Party ministry of Benjamin Disraeli resigned. He was succeeded as Colonial Secretary by Lord Granville. On 21 July 1868, the House of Lords recognised him as the 10th Lord Kinloss in the Peerage of Scotland, which had been dormant since the death of the 6th Lord Kinloss, his three-times great-grandfather Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin, in 1747. Through the House of Lords ruling, Buckingham's father was recognised posthumously as de jure 9th Lord Kinloss, his maternal grandmother Lady Anna Brydges as de jure 8th Lady Kinloss, and his great-grandfather James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos as de jure 7th Lord Kinloss. Though the lordship was the most minor of Buckingham's many titles, it was the only one that could be inherited by his daughters, and he established his right to it at a time when the likelihood emerged that he would leave no male heir. Governor of Madras When the Conservative Party was re-elected to power in the United Kingdom in 1874 and Disraeli became the Prime Minister once again, Buckingham was appointed Governor of the Madras Presidency, British India. Buckingham moved to Madras and took his seat on 23 November 1875. Buckingham served as the Governor of Madras from 1875 to 1880. His tenure was plagued by deteriorating socio-economic and health conditions. In 1876, the Great Famine of 1876–78 broke out in Madras Presidency. By August 1877, the famine had spread all over the Presidency and over 18 million people were affected. To make matters worse, the rains failed in parts of Madras and Mysore. Large quantities of grain were shipped from Bengal to Madras port, and through his efforts, famine relief was distributed to 839,000 people in the Madras districts, besides 160,000 in the Bombay Districts and 151,000 in the Mysore districts. The Governor appealed to the principal cities of England, Scotland, Ireland and India for assistance. At Buckingham's suggestion, the Lord Mayor of London collected relief funds of