"Bob's your uncle"

[Gerald Cohen]

      As mentioned here already (not original on my part), "Bob's your
uncle" seems to derive from the 1887 selection by Robert Cecil (Lord
Salisbury) of his nephew Arthur Balfour to be chief secretary for
Ireland.

      I have been looking for specific confirmation of this but
haven't yet found it. The Encyclopedia Britannica (my copy: 1966),
under "Balfour, Arthur James," presents relevant information but
nothing directly about "Bob's your uncle."  The article cites three
books about Balfour, but a check of them turns  up no mention of
"Bob's your uncle."

     Interestingly, Balfour turned out to be a better choice for the
Irish position than anticipated by the public. Still, the initial
surprise at his appointment (with the assumption of nepotism) and his
resistance to Irish Home Rule could have provided fertile ground for
the start of "Bob's your uncle," especially among the Irish. Maybe
the search for early attestations of "Bob's your uncle" should turn
to Irish writings.

     Here (below my signoff) is what the Encyclopedia Britannica says:

--Gerald Cohen

>      'In 1887 he became private secretary to his uncle, Lord
>Salisbury [Robert Cecil], who had recently been appointed foreign
>secretary, and whom he accompanied to the congress of Berlin. ...'
>'In June 1885 the Liberal government fell. Lord Salisbury became
>prime minister and appointed his nephew president of the local
>government board.  In the general election later that year Balfour
>won the seat of East Manchester which he continued to represent
>until 1906.  In the country as a whole, however, the Liberals were
>victorious, but Gladstone, by announcing a policy of Home Rule for
>Ireland, split his party and in the summer of 1886 was defeated
>first in the house of commons, then in the country.  On the
>formation of Lord Salisbury's second administration (July 1886)
>Balfour held the post of secretary for Scotland.  In March 1887 he
>was made chief secretary for Ireland with a seat in the cabinet.  TO
>THE OUTSIDE WORLD THE PROMOTION OF A DILETTANTE MAN OF FASHION TO
>THE MOST DIFFICULT ADMINISTRATION POST APPEARED INCREDIBLE [caps.
>added]. In fact it was very successful. Balfour was an implacable
>opponent of Home Rule and he suppressed Irish insurrection with
>great efficiency, earning the soubriquet in Ireland of "Bloody
>Balfour."
>At the same time he strongly opposed the evils of absentee
>landlordism, and by his Light Railways, Congested Districts, and
>Land Purchase acts pursued a policy of "killing Home Rule by
>kindness," which, though failing in its ultimate purpose, did much
>to improve conditions in Ireland.'
>
>