After graduation, Acland became a lecturer and tutor at Keble College, Oxford. He became a deacon in the Church of England in 1872 and a priest in 1874. He retired from holy orders in 1879 to pursue a political career. He served in various posts at colleges at Oxford from 1877 to 1885, most notably his administration, from 1878 onwards, of the Oxford Extension Lectures, which both furthered his grounding in the education field and brought him into contact with the industrial classes in the North of England, who would become his political base. In 1886, he served as President of the second day of the Co-operative Congress. In 1879, Acland sat on the committee to create an Oxford women's college "in which no distinction will be made between students on the ground of their belonging to different religious denominations." This resulted in the founding of Somerville Hall.
Parliamentary career
Though a wealthy aristocrat, Acland became the Liberal candidate for the industrial constituency of Rotherham. The incongruity was increased by the fact that the Yorkshire town was several hundred miles from Acland's home in Devon. Nonetheless, he was easily elected in 1885 and remained Member of Parliament for Rotherham until the end of his political career in 1899. Acland became one of the principal sponsors of the 1889 Welsh Intermediate Education Act, making the County Councils in Wales responsible for education – a reform not introduced in England until 1902. In 1892, William Ewart Gladstone appointed Acland Vice-President of the Council of Education, with a seat in the cabinet. His cabinet status gave him effective control of the educational authorities. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. Acland's principal legislative achievements were both enacted in 1893: The Elementary Education Act, and the Elementary Education Act. The same year, he promulgated the Evening Continuation School Code, which laid the foundation for adult education, and issued Circular 321, which required inspectors to submit a report to the Education Department about the condition of buildings and apparatus in each public elementary school. Acland's physical and mental health were not equal to the tasks he undertook, and his ill health continued after he left office after the Liberals' defeat in the General Election of 1895. Although re-elected, he effectively resigned from Parliament in 1899 by requesting appointment to the position of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, a nominal office of profit under the Crown.
Later life and other honours
After his retirement, Acland served on several government commissions. In 1908, he declined a peerage. He worked on revised editions of his Handbook in Outline of the Political History of England, a longtime standard in the field.
Family
Acland married Alice Sophia Cunningham, daughter of Reverend Francis Macaulay Cunningham, in 1873. In 1919, at the age of 71, he succeeded his brother as ninth Baronet of Columb-John of the 1644 creation and thirteenth Baronet of Columb-John of the 1678 creation. He died in October 1926, aged 78, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Francis. Lady Acland died in July 1935.
