Sir Frederick William Richards led a huge shipbuilding and naval works programme under a British Conservative statesman who served as prime minister for over how many years?
Frederick Richards Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick William Richards, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (30 November 1833 – 28 September 1912) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded a paddle-sloop during the Second Opium War in 1860 and, as senior officer on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, he landed on the coast of East Africa with a small naval brigade which he led at the Battle of Gingindlovu and the Siege of Eshowe in April 1879 during the Anglo–Zulu War. He took part in the Battle of Laing's Nek in January 1881 during the First Boer War and, as Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station, he organized and equipped a naval brigade to support the British advance up the Irrawaddy River in November 1885 during the Third Anglo-Burmese War. He went on to be First Naval Lord and in that role led a huge shipbuilding and naval works programme undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Naval Defence Act 1889. The programme was opposed by Prime Minister William Gladstone who was concerned about its vast cost and who resigned after a Cabinet defeat over it in March 1894. The programme continued under the Governments of Lord Rosebery and then Lord Salisbury and Richards remained in office driving the programme throughout the political turmoil.
Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood Henry John Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (26 September 1826 – 15 January 1902), known as Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt, from 1869 to 1892, was a British Conservative politician. He served under Benjamin Disraeli as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department between 1874 and 1878 and as Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 1878 and 1880.