^^HBH THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 1 f >u A. \j X 1 1/ * H , THE Parliamentary History ENGLAN D, FROM THE PASSING OF THE REFORM BILL I 8 3 2 BY JOHN RAVEN I -OX DON: ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1SS5. \P^ " Tu- ' KF N0 4PkJS& CJ 54 l " ,L 543 P PREFACE. In the following pages I have endeavoured to give, in a concise and readable form, a history of the legislation of the past half-century, commencing with the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832 in many respects the most important in our history. During this period almost all the great measures which affect our national institutions and social life have been passed, and (whatever some may choose to assert to the contrary) our country has stood prominently before the world as regards her liberties and privileges, both civil and re- ligious. To attempt to record all the debates or con- 2= tcntious questions which have arisen during these ae fifty years would be quite impracticable within the 1 limits of such a volume as the present; but I think it will at least be found to contain the leading features and principles of the various measures that have been passed during the period over which it ranges, together with many incidents of contem- porary history necessary for the elucidation of the text. The plan I have adopted is to give a continuous 4. ' * f i iv Preface. sketch, Session by Session ; so that (if needs be) reference can easily be made to the Statutes them- selves for details of any measure, of which only the outline is given. There will also be found a record of the various divisions in the House of Commons, by which the fates of successive Ministries have been decided. The work has been undertaken in consequence of a long-felt want of a compendious history of the kind ; and also for the purpose of obviating the necessity (at present very considerable) of re- ferring to ponderous volumes, not always easy of access, in order to gain information on many sub- jects of great political importance. That it may prove a useful and acceptable addi- tion to the literature of the day is the earnest wish of the writer. New Southgate, August, 1885. MEMBERS OF CABINETS. 1832 1880. THE CABIN Karl Grey Lord Brougham Viscount Althorp Marquis of Lansdowne Lord Durham Viscount Melbourne Viscount Palmerston Viscount Goderich ... Sir James R. Graham Lord Auckland Mr. Charles Grant ... I Hike of Richmond ... Lord Holland Karl of Carlisle ET OF EARL GREY. 1832. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Chancellor of the Exchequer. President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Secretary for the Colonies. First Lord of the Admiralty. Master of the Mint. President of the Hoard of Trade. Postmaster-General. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Without office. THE CABINET O Sir Robert Peel Lord Lyndhurst Mr. ( foulhurn Duke of Wellington Pari of Aberdeen Mr. I Icrries . . Lord Ellenborough ... Karl de ( irey Mr. Paring ... K SIR ROBERT PEEL. 1834. Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Kxchequer. ord Chancellor. Ionic Secretary. 'oreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. Secretary of War. ndian ( )liicc. 'irst Lord of the Admiralty. loard ol Trade. VI Members of Cabinets. THE CABINET OF LORD MELBOURNE. Lord Melbourne Lord Lansdowne Lord Auckland Lord Holland Lord Duncannon Lord John Russell ... Lord Palmerston Mr. Chas. Grant (afterwards Lord Glenelg) Sir J. C. Hobhouse ... Lord Ho wick Mr. Poulet Thompson Mr. Spring Rice 1835- First Lord of the Treasury. President of the Council. First Lord of the Admiralty. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. . Woods, Works, and Privy Seal. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. India Board. Secretary at War. Board of Trade. Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Great Seal was at first placed in Commission, but afterwards Lord Cottenham was appointed Lord Chancellor. THE CABINET OF SIR ROBERT PEFL. Sir Robert Peel Lord Lvndhurst Lord Wharncliffe Earl of Haddington... Duke of Buckingham Sir James Graham ... F.arl of Aberdeen Lord Stanley... Lord Ellenborough .. Sir Henry Hardinge Earl of Ripon Mr. Goulburn Sir E. Knatchbull Lord Eliot Duke of Wellington 1 84 1. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. President of the Council. First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Privy Seal. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. President of the Board of Control. Secretary at War. President of the Board of Trade. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster-General. Chief Secretary for Ireland. Without office. Members of Cabinets. vn THE CABINET OF Lord John Russell ... Lord Cottenham Marquis of Lansdowne Earl of Minto Sir George Grey Viscount Palmerston Earl Grev Mr. Chas. Wood ... Lord Campbell Mr. Macaulay Viscount Morpeth ... Marquis of Clanricarde Earl of Clarendon ... Sir J. Hobhouse Lord Auckland LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 1 846. . . First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. .. President of the Council. .. Lord Privy Seal. Home Secretary. .. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. Chancellor of the Exchequer. .. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Paymaster-General. .. Woods and Forests. Postmaster-General. Board of Trade. .. Board of Control. .. First Lord of the Admiralty. THE CABINET OF THE EARL OF DERBY Earl of Derby Lord St. Leonards ... Mr. Di>raeli Larl of Lonsdale Marquis ol Salisbury Mr. II. S. Walpole ... Earl of Malmesbury Sir J. Pakington I hike of Buckingham Mr. I ferries ... Lord John Manners... 18: First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Chancellor of the Exchequer. President of the Council. Privy Seal. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. First Lord of the Admiralty. Board of Control. First Commissioner of Works and Buildings. YM1 Members of Cabinets. THE CABINET OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN. Earl of Aberdeen Lord Cranworth Mr. Gladstone Lord Palmerston Lord John Russell ... Duke of Newcastle Sir James Graham ... Earl Granville Duke of Argyll Mr. Sidney Herbert Sir Charles Wood ... Sir William Molesworth Marquis of Lansdowne Mr. Cardwell 1852. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. First Lord of the Admiralty'. President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Secretary at War. I5oard of Control. First Commissioner of Public Works. Without office. Board of Trade. THE CABINET OF LORD PALMERSTON. 18: Lord Palmerston Lord Cranworth Lord Granville Duke of Argyll Mr. Gladstone Sir George Grey Earl of Clarendon . Mr. Sidney Herbert. Lord Panmure Sir Charles Wood . Mr. Cardwell Earl of 1 larrowby Viscount Canning . Sir James Graham . Earl of Carlisle Mr. E. Horsman Sir Benjamin Hall . First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Lord President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. Secretary at War. Board of Control. Indian Secretary. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Postmaster-General. First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Chief Secretary for Ireland. Woods and Forests. Members of Cabinets. IX THE CABINET OF THE EARL OF DERBY Earl of Derby Lord Chelmsford Marquis of Salisbury Earl of Hardwicke .. Mr. Disraeli Mr. Walpole Earl of Malmesbury Lord Stanley General Peel Lord Ellenborough .. Mr. Henley ... Duke of Montrose .. Lord Colchester Sir John Pakington Earl of Eglinton Lord Xaas Lord John Manners 185S. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Lord President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. War Secretary. Board of Control. President of Board of Trade. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I 'ostmaster-General. First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Chief Secretary for Ireland. Woods and Forests. THE CABINET OF LORD PALMERSTON. Viscount Palmerston Lord Campbell Earl Granville Duke of Argyll Mr. Gladstone Sir G. C. Lewis Lord J. Russell Duke of Newcastle .. Mr. Sidney Herbert.. Sir C. Wood ... Mr. M liner Gibson .. Sir ( ;. Grey ... Earl of Elgin Duke of Somerset .. Earl of Carlisle Mr. Cardwcll 1859. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Lord President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Chancellor of the Exchequer. I lome Secretary. foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. War Secretary. Indian Secretary. President of Hoard of Trade. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Postmaster-General. first Lord ot the Admiralty. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Chief Secretary for Ireland. X Members of Cabinets. THE CABINET OF THE EARL OF DERBY. 1866. Note. The changes in this Cabinet, consequent upon the retirement of the Earl of Derby, were the following : Mr. Disraeli succeeded Lord Derby as Prime Minister, Mr. Ward Hunt became Chancellor of the Exchequer in his place, and Lord Cairns became Lord Chancellor in the place of Lord Chelmsford. Earl of Derby Lord Chelmsford Duke of Buckingham Earl of Malmesbury Mr. Disraeli ... Mr. Walpole Lord Stanley... Earl of Carnarvon .. General Peel... Yi-rount Cranbourne Sir S. Northcote Earl of Devon Duke of Montrose . . Sir J. Pakington .Marquis of Abercorn Lord Xaas Lord John Manners.. First Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Lord President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary. Colonial Secretary. War Secretary. Indian Secretary. President of Board of Trade. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Postmaster- General. First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Chief Secretary for Ireland. Woods and Forests. Members of Cabinets. xi THE CABINET OF MR. GLADSTONE. 1868. Mr. W. E. Gladstone ... First Lord of the Treasury. Y*\ ?'1? erley 1 Lord Chancellor. Lord Selborne ... ... ) Earl de Grey and Ripon ... ) T _ , ., . c . ., Lord Aberdare (1873) ... i L rd President of the Co cil. Earl of Kimberley ... ... ) T 1 D c , Lord Halifax J Lord Privy Seal. Mr! (Sdston'e (1873) ''' \ Chance,lor of the Exchequer. Mr. Bruce (now Lord Aber- \ MrTowe (now Lord Sherl [ H me Secretar y- brooke, 1873) ) Earl Clarendon ... ) -r c Earl Granville \ Forei - n Secretary. Earl Granville ... . . ) ^ , . , c . Earl Kimberley S LoXom ^ Secretary. Mr. Cardwell (now Viscount ) r ,. Cardwell) ... [ War Secretary. Duke of Argyll ... ... Indian Secretary. Mr! CFortescue (now Lord I Resident of the Board of Carlingford) j Frade - Lord Dufferin ) n , , . 7 . , . Mr.Childers Chancellor of the Duchy of Mr. Bright J Lancaster. Marquis of Hartington ... Postmaster-General. Mr.Childers... ... ... ) r - . T , r _, . , . , Mr. Goschen ... \ First Lord of the Admiralty. Earl Spencer ... ... Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Mr. Chichester Fortcscuc ... ) ru^c c * r t 1 1 -., f t, . Chief Secretary for Ireland. Marquis of Hartington ... ) Mr. Goschen ... President of the Poor Law Board. Mr. Forster (1870) ... ... Vice-President of the Com- mittee of Council on Education. Mr. Stansfdd (1S71) ... President Local Government Board. Xll Members of Cabinets. THE CABINET OE MR 1874. Mr. Disraeli, Earl of Beacons- DISRAELI. Eirst Lord of the Treasury. Lord Chancellor. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lord President of the Council. Lord Privy Seal. Home Secretary. field (1S76) Earl Cairns ... Sir Stafford Hy. Northcote Duke of Richmond and Gor- don... Earl of Malmesbury Duke of Northumberland (187S) Mr. Richard Assheton Cross MYr l q U f is D f r Salisbur'y'(i878) | Forei S n Secretar >' Earl of Carnarvon ... ...\ Sir Michael Hicks-Beach ; Colonial Secretary (1878) ) Mr. Gathorne Hardy (now ) Lord Cranbrook) ... ( w Secreta Mr. r redenck A. Stanley ( (1878) _ ) Marquis of Salisbury ... } Lord Cranbrook (Gathorne > In Hardy) (1878) Mr. George Ward Hunt (died ) dian Secretary. 877) Mr. Win. Henry Smith(i877) Sir M. Hicks-Beach Mr. James Lowther (1S78) Lord John James Robert Manners ... Sir C. B. Adderley (now Lord Norton) Viscount Sandon( 1878) (now Earl of Harrowby) Mr. G. Sclater-Booth Colonel T. E. Taylor c Lord George Hamilton r First Lord of the Admiralty > Chief Secretary for Ireland Postmasi'jr-General. President of the Board of Trade. President of the Poor-Law (now Local Government) Board. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Vice-President of the Com- mittee of Council on Education. ' Not in Cabinet. PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY. 1832. The Reform Rills of 1832, for England, Scotland, and Ireland. Bill to prevent Bribery at Elections. Irish Grievances. Tithes. Committee of Inquiry. Bill to render Tithe Composition Act Compulsory. Budget. Prorogation of Parliament. Preparations for General Election. Dissolution. The Elections. The Reform Bill of 1832, which was destined to effect such important and beneficial changes, not only in the distribution of political power, but like- wise in the nature and character of the legislation of the country, received the Royal Assent on the 7th of June in that year. Ry it, numerous small boroughs which had hitherto returned two members ceased to return them, others which returned two members were allowed only one, and representation was, instead, given to large, populous, and wealthy towns, and the right to exercise the franchi>e was extended to occupiers of houses of the annual value of \Q. I 2 Parliamentary History. [1832. A Reform Bill for Scotland, likewise one for Ireland, and also a Boundary Bill followed. Lord John Russell afterwards introduced a Bill to prevent bribery at Elections, which passed the House of Commons, but was thrown out in the House of Lords. Next in importance to the changes introduced by the Reform Bill in the representation of the country in Parliament, and intimately connected with the institutions of the country, was the subject of the Irish tithes. The threatened rebellion, by which emancipation had been extorted, had no sooner effected its object than an attack commenced on the revenues of the Irish Protestant Church an Institution odious and tyrannical in the eyes of Roman Catholics, and inconvenient because it involved the payment of money. Indeed, this was one of the chief of the Irish grievances the compulsion to pay tithe and cess in support of a Church in which they did not believe, and which they regarded as a badge of subjection. Both Houses appointed Committees to inquire into the matter, and the state of the law relating thereto. The Committees reported, and pursuant to resolu- tions of both Houses, a Bill was passed to render the Tithe Composition Act compulsory and permanent. Counter-resolutions, moved by Mr. Grattan, were lost. Owing to the foregoing urgent matters, the 1832.] Parliamentary History. Budget was not introduced until the 27th of July. The revenue of the country was now 46,424,000, but this was three millions less than in the preceding year, owing to a considerable falling off in the customs and excise duties. It appeared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had a deficiency, but the financial proposals of the Government, which did not involve any new taxation, were carried without opposition. On the 30th of Jul}-, when the end of the Session the last of the present Parliament was approaching, to be followed by another one of a very different constitution, and which would necessarily produce new voices and new faces, the Speaker, Mr Manners Sutton, announced his intended resigna- tion of the chair, which he had filled for six successive Parliaments. The announcement was received with universal regret, and an address was carried, accompanied by the vote of a pension of 4,000 a year; and on 10th August his Majesty prorogued Parliament in person until the 10th of October. Immediately after the rising of Parliament, public attention was mainly directed to the regis- tration of the new constituencies under the Reform Pill, and the other preparations for a General Election ; these completed, Parliament was dis- solved on 3rd December, and the first General Election under the Reform Act took place. 1 2 1 833- The Result of the Elections. The Radical Party. Favour- able Position of the Government. Re-assembling of Parliament. Opposition to Re-election of Speaker. Affir- mation by a Quaker. Mr. Gladstone's Entry into Parlia- ment. Irish Measures. The Church Establishment. Coercion Bill. Bill for Better Regulation of Irish Church. For Regulating Collection of Arrears of Tithes. Budget. Expiration and Renewal of Bank Charter. The Charter of East India Company. Abolition of Slavery in British Dominions. The First Factory Act. Motion in favour of Vote by Ballot. The result of the elections was an accession of strength to the Government. The Radicals, though in a minority, were scarcely less numerous than the Conservatives, whose ranks had been thinned by two successive dissolutions. The path of the Government seemed smooth, as they could con- fidently rely on the support of one or other of these two parties in any measures they might pro- pose. These two divisions of the Opposition differed more widely from each other than either of them did from the Government, and Ministers felt sure of being joined by one of these parties to overcome the resistance, or to check the fervour, of 1 833.] Parliamentary History the other. The chief danger, however, which the Ministry had to face was one of their own creation. The agitation in favour of Reform had produced extravagant expectations, destined never to be realized, and the cure of everything that could be called an evil was looked for. Parliament reassembled on 29th January. Mr. Manners Sutton, who had not been granted a Peerage according to usual custom, and who had been again returned as one of the Members for the University of Cambridge, was re-elected Speaker, not, however, without opposition on the part of the Reformers, who argued that a Speaker should be in union with the sentiments of the majority of the House ; and that Mr. Sutton having opposed Reform, would, if re-elected, be at variance with the opinion of the majority of its Members. Mr. Pease, who had been elected as one of the Members for Durham, was allowed to take his scat, on making his solemn affirmation as a Quaker, instead of taking the oaths. Mr. Gladstone entered Parliament this year as Member for Newark. The most important subject for the consideration of Parliament this Session was the measure fur the more effective Govern- ment of Ireland. The Irish and some English Members had not concealed their desire to get rid of the Church Establishment as being the heaviest of all the grievances that part of the Parliamentary History. [1833. Empire laboured under; and Lord Althorp an- nounced his intention to bring in measures regard- ing this and the Grand Jury Laws and other matters. The first measure proposed, a Bill for sup- pression of disturbance in Ireland, called ' The Coercion Bill,' was introduced in the House of Lords. Lord Grey explained its provisions and gave a description of the state of Ireland. The Bill passed the Lords without opposition. In the Commons, however, it was strongly opposed as being unnecessary, and after very long debate, and many alterations and amendments, it passed. Mr. Stanley then resigned the Irish Secretaryship, and accepted the more tranquil post of Colonial Secretary, which had become vacant by the appoint- ment of Lord Goderich to the office of Lord Privy Seal, and Sir John Cam Hobhouse was appointed Irish Secretary. Concurrently with the Coercion Act, a Bill was introduced by Lord Althorp, in the House of Commons, for the better regulation of the Irish Church, and, among other things, pro- viding for the abolition of the ecclesiastical tax known as ' First Fruits,' levied exclusively by Protestants on their Catholic brethren for the support of the Protestant Church, and for the suppression of unnecessary Bishoprics. - The second reading was opposed on the ground that, being a Tax Bill, it should have been introduced in a 1 833.] Parliamentary History. 7 Committee of the whole House. The Bill, how- ever, passed; an instruction moved to take away all the temporalities of the Irish Church having been rejected. Next came a Bill regulating the collection of arrears of tithes. On the Budget statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was able to show a surplus of a million and a half; a motion for the repeal of one-half of the Malt Tax was carried against Ministers by a small majority, but was rescinded by its being coupled with the House and Window Duty. Ministers showed that the pledge of economy under which they took office had not been disre- garded, very large reductions having been made in official salaries and annual charges. The approaching expiry of the Charter of the Bank of England, the application of the Bank for a renewal and the terms upon which such renewal should be granted, were debated and settled in Parliament ; Bank of England notes were made a legal tender, and the remuneration to be granted to the Bank for managing the National Debt was settled. A Bill was brought in, and passed, for the continuance of the East India Company, whose Charter was also expiring, and which was modified by the affairs of the Company being brought more directly under the control 0/ the British Government. The restrictions on the 8 Parliamentary History. [1833. entrance of Europeans into the country were swept away, and offices under the Government thrown open to natives and foreigners alike, and distinc- tions based upon race, colour, and religion abolished. Memorable in this Session was the passing of the great measure for the Abolition of Slavery in the British Dominions, and the vote of twenty millions to compensate the planters for the loss of their slaves. The first Factory Bill was also passed this Session, whereby it was enacted that the labour in factories, of children under thirteen, should be limited to eight hours a day, that persons under eighteen should not be compelled to work more than sixty-nine hours in the week ; and the employ- ment of children under nine years of age was rendered illegal. The Bill also contained pro- visions for the introduction of a general system of education among the children in the manufacturing districts. A motion in favour of vote by ballot was made this year by Mr. Grote the historian, and rejected by 21 r votes against 106. The Session, which was one of remarkable activity, was closed by the King in person, on the 29th August. 1 834. Irish Affairs. The Government Policy as to the Irish Church. Resignation of -Mr. Stanley, Sir James Graham, the Duke of Richmond, and Earl of Ripon. The Birthday Levee. Address of Irish Bishops, and the King's Reply. Commission of Inquiry. Bill for Amendment of the Irish Tithe System. Renewal of Irish Coercion Bill. O'Connell. Correspondence with Lord Wellesley. Negotiations with O'Connell. The Clause against Public Meetings. Changes in Opinions of the Government. Resignation of Lord Althorp. Also of Earl Grey. Lord Melbourne Premier. Lord Althorp returns. Abandonment of the Bill. The Modified Bill. The Tithe Bill. The Dis- senters. Petitions in favour of Dis-establishment. Bill to admit Dissenters to Degrees at University of Cambridge. Motion for Abolition of Church Rates. The New Poor- Law Bill. Budget. Bill to Remove the Civil Disabilities of the Jews. Parliament prorogued. Decline in Popu- larity of Government. Lord John Russell becomes Leader of House of Commons on Lord Althorp's removal to House of Lords. The King dismisses Ministers and sends for Sir Robert Peel. Formation of New Ministry. Dis- solution of Parliament. PARLIAMENT was opened by the King in person, on the 4th February. Irish measures, as usual, came to the front. Motions were brought forward for the reduction of the Irish Church Kstablish- ment ; for a Committee to investigate the pro- io Parliamentary History. [1834. priety of a Repeal of the Union ; as to the conduct of the Irish Judges, etc. The discussion of the Irish Church Question involved the necessity, on the part of the Government, of some declaration as to their line of policy with regard to it. Ministers hoped to be able to shelve it by a Commission of Inquiry. Pending the discussion, Lord Althorp had to ask the adjournment of the House, and, on its reassembling, announced that Mr. Stanley, Sir James Graham, the Duke of Rich- mond, and the Earl of Ripon had tendered him their resignation, on the ground that they could not be parties to any act which ceded the principle that any part of the Irish Church revenues should be applied to any other than Protestant eccle- siastical purposes. Their places were, however, filled up, and although the Ministry was consider- ably weakened, Lord Grey, at the earnest soli- citation of his supporters, consented to retain office. On the occasion of the usual birthday levee the Irish Bishops, headed by the Archbishop of Ar- magh, presented to the King an address, numerously signed, against hasty innovations in the Church, to which the King did not return the usual formal answer, but made a long reply, declaring his venera- tion for the Establishment, and his determination to uphold it. Ministers, on the reassembling of Parliament [834-] Parliamentary History. n after the Whitsun recess, announced that a Com- mission of Inquiry would be issued, and an amend- ment to this effect the motion before the House was carried by a large majority. The Government then brought forward, by way of resolution, their scheme for dealing with the Irish Tithe Question, and subsequently introduced a Bill founded upon them for the amendment of the tithe system in Ireland, on principles which should extinguish tithe altogether as a payment exigible in kind, and lay the burden on a different class of persons by substituting a land tax, payable directly to the Crown, of the same amount as the present tithe and redeemable at the end of five years. Very long arguments took place upon the Bill, and among other facts which came to light during the dis- cussion were these that the Irish Tithe amounted to Z"r20 ; ooo a year, that its collection cost .26,000, that there were 176 benefices, ranging from Brougham, might have done in the House of Commons, but in the House of Lords he should always have him under his eye and be able to keep him in order. Lord Campbell, in his ' Lives of the Chancellors,' considers Brougham was very hardly used. The Government, however, as a natural consequence, had to encounter his opposition to their measures in several instances, as will be here- after seen, and it was no slight disadvantage to them at that time, when the House of Lords was of more importance in the eyes of the people than it is now, that their measures should be subjected to the scathing criticism of Lord Lyndhurst on the one side, and of Lord Brougham on the other. The new Ministry confined their measures to Municipal Reform and the Irish Church ; and on the 5th June Lord John Russell introduced his measure relating to Municipal Reform in the House of Commons. It was found that in many boroughs the corporate body did not represent the property, intelligence, or population of the place. In the town of Bedford, for instance, the corporate 1835.] Parliamentary History body, that is the persons electing the corporation, was only one-seventieth of the population. In most of the boroughs the majority of the electors were not rated inhabitants ; consequently bribery and corruption prevailed to an enormous extent ; and instead of the powers of the corporate body being used for the good government of the town, they were in many instances used for influencing and procuring the election of Members of Parlia- ment. In one town Aldborough the regulation price of a vote was ,35 ; and one burgess (a clergyman) estimated the value of his office and influence at .100 per annum. At Oxford, the chief corporators were the Marquis of Hertford, some members of his family, his present and former stewards, the superintendent of his estates, and the Right Honourable John Wilson Croker, and others. To prevent all this in future, it was proposed that the charters of the boroughs should be taken away, and that there should be one uniform system of government, to be styled Mayor, Alder- men, and Burgesses, and one uniform franchise for the purpose of election ; except in some of the larger places, where it was desirable to have a recorder or other magistrate ; and the qualifi- cation of electors was settled to be persons who for three years had been rated to the poor, and had paid their rates. The right of acquiring 24 Parliamentary History. [1835. the freedom of a corporation by birth or appren- ticeship was abolished. Owing to the magnani- mous conduct of Sir Robert Peel, the Bill was read a second time in the House of Commons without a division. When it reached the House of Lords, their Lordships desired to hear the corporations by counsel, and counsel were heard ; then they desired to hear counsel on the evidence in support of the Bill, and counsel were heard accordingly; and, after much skirmishing, the Bill passed. This great measure was the natural sequel to, and in its results second only in importance to, the Reform Bill of 1832. On the 20th of June, Lord Morpeth brought in the Government Bill for regulating the Irish Church. In his speech on introducing the measure he said, in reference to the suspension to presentation to benefices below a certain sum, that if not acceded to, Parliament must be prepared to keep up livings without duties, clergy without flocks, and pay with- out work ; in short, to sanction all the worst gains of the sinecurist on the worst principles of the bigot. The Bill provided for the re-adjustment of the livings and curtailment of the endowments, and then went on to enact that the surplus fund in each year should be applied, by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, to the religious and moral instruction of all classes of the people, 1835.] Parliamentary History. 25 without distinction of religious persuasion. The Bill passed the House of Commons ; but when it reached the Upper House, the Lords struck out so many of the material portions that the Ministry- abandoned the Bill. The Budget was not introduced until the 14th of August. The Chancellor of the Exchequer found himself with a surplus of ;8/0,ooo. Some minor matters of taxation only were dealt with, but it may interest the reader to state that ,69,000 was voted to the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, which had been destroyed by fire. This long Session was not brought to a close until the 10th of September. i8 3 6. Grievances of Dissenters. Bills for Commutation of Tithes. Celebration of Dissenters' Marriages. Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Church Reform. Ap- pointment of Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England and Wales. Bill for the Suppression of Cathedral and Collegiate Preferments and Sinecure Benefices. Law Reforms. Counsel for Felons. Extension of Time of Murderers after Sentence. Payment of Medical Witnesses on Coroners' Juries. Admission of Ladies to hear Debates. The leading measures of this Session were singu- larly enough all connected with, or intended to relieve, the grievances of Dissenters, and were the following : ist. A Bill for the Commutation of Tithes. 2nd. A Bill for the Celebration of Marriage by persons not belonging to the Com- munion of the Church of England. 3rd. For the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, and to a certain extent changing the existing state of the Church of England itself. The first, that of the Tithes, was by no means 1836.] Parliamentary History. 27 new, Sir Robert Peel having introduced a measure on the subject. Lord John Russell, as we have seen, brought in the Bill in February. It con- tained an elaborate scheme for commuting tithes, which would thereafter become a rent- charge, payable by the landowner according to the value of grain in a certain specified manner, and a central board was appointed for the purpose of arranging any questions that might arise in the process. The next measure, that of Church Reform, was also introduced by Lord John Russell in the House of Commons. Hitherto the Church of England had enjoyed the monopoly of the performance of the marriage service, and for some time the Dissenters had claimed to be allowed to have their marriages celebrated with such religious rites as they preferred. Accordingly the Bill provided that Dissenters might be married in their own places of worship, with such forms and ceremonies as they might think fit, or before a registrar appointed by the Act for that purpose, after due notice ; the marriages of members of the Church of England being left under the same regulations as heretofore. The important matter of Registration was also dealt with ; hitherto, there was no register of the birth, but merely of the baptism of such children as were baptized in the Church of England, some of Parliamentary History. [1836. whom were not baptized in infancy. The Bill pro- vided for a uniform system of registration of births, deaths and marriages, to be collected in a central place, for easy reference in case of need, to establish claims to property or for other purposes. These invaluable measures were met in a fair spirit by Sir Robert Peel, and consequently passed without opposition or division, except upon matters of detail. A very important measure also passed this Ses- sion, for the appointment of Ecclesiastical Com- missioners for England, who were to inquire into and report as to the state of the Established Church in England and Wales, with reference to Ecclesiastical duties and revenues, so far as they related to Episcopal dioceses, revenues and patron- age. Another Bill was introduced, providing for the suppression of cathedral and collegiate preferments and sinecure benefices, but it met with so much opposition that it had to be dropped. Legal matters also occupied attention this Ses- sion. A Bill was brought in and passed, to allow felons' counsel to address the jury on their behalf. Until now, on a trial for felony the barbarous prac- tice existed, that whilst the most able counsel might be engaged for the prosecution, the prisoner, often unlettered and ignorant, was required to state his own defence, and not allowed the assistance of 1836.] Parliamentary History. 29 counsel to cross-examine the witnesses, and so to elicit the truth, or to address to the Court any argu- ments on his behalf. Another Bill was introduced to lengthen the time for the execution of murderers after their sentence. As the law then stood, anyone con- victed of murder was directed to be executed on the day next but one after that on which he was convicted, unless it should happen to be on a Sunday, in which case the execution was to take place on the following Monday, and meantime to be fed on bread and water (except in case of illness). As the execution of the sentence of death could not be recalled, and there would be no room left for further inquiry or investigation, the new Act provided, that sentence of death should be pronounced after conviction for murder in the same way, and the Judge should have the same power, as after conviction for other capital offences. And a third measure to recompense medical men as witnesses before coroners' juries was brought in and passed. This year, ladies were for the first time admitted to listen to debates in the House of Commons ; but singularly enough the House rejected the vote of ,400 asked for by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the expense of fitting up ;i gallery for their reception. i837- Irish Measures. Bill for Abolition of Church Rates. Death of the King. Message from Her Present Majesty.- Wind up of Session. Budget. Mitigation of the Penal Code. Punishment of Death abolished in certain Cases. Close of Session by Her Majesty. Address of Speaker of the House of Commons. General Election. The Result. Tories in Despair. Re-assembling of Parliament. Civil List and Allowances to Her Majesty.- Prorogation of Parliament. Outbreak in Canada. Mr. Disraeli's En- trance into Parliament. The Session of 1837 was opened by Commission on the 29th January. Irish matters exclusively occupied the early part of the Session. The principal measure, however, was that introduced by the Government for the abolition of Church rates. It was violently opposed in both Houses, and caused endless discussion ; but as it failed to become law, it need not be further mentioned. The Session was brought to a premature close, by the death of the King, which happened on the 20th of June, at Windsor. Hitherto the Session had been entirely barren ; no single measure of importance having, as Lord John Russell ob- served in the House of Commons, been passed. 1837.] Parliamentary History. 31 On the 22nd June, a message from her present Majesty who had been awakened from her youth- ful slumbers at Kensington Palace at two o'clock on the previous morning, by Lord Melbourne coming to announce the demise of the King and her ac- cession to the throne was brought down announc- ing the facts, and that according to law a new Parliament would be summoned to meet at an early day. It remained for the Ministers to wind up the Session as soon as possible, and to pass only those measures before Parliament on which both sides were in agreement. On the Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer found himself with a small surplus of about /"384,00c), which did not admit of remission of taxation. Valuable measures were, however, passed, miti- gating the severity of the Penal Code, and with which the name of Sir Samuel Romilly is asso- ciated. One was an Act for the abolition of the punishment of death in cases of forgery, and sub- stituting transportation for life, or for a term of years ; another was to abolish the punishment of death in certain other cases, and substituting im- prisonment with or without hard labour; and ;i third simplifying the rules relating to the execu- tion of wills. On the 17th of Jul)-, her Majesty went in State to the House of Lords to elose the Session. The youth and sex of the Sovereign gave a 32 Parliamentary History. [1837. touching interest to the scene. The Speaker of the House of Commons, on behalf of that House, delivered an address to her Majesty, assuring her of their cordial participation in that strong and universal attachment which prevailed among the free and loyal people, of which, they were the representatives. In the General Election, which followed as a matter of course, the balance of parties was not materially altered. Ministers felt that the change of Sovereign would be an advantage to them, as they would no longer fear summary dismissal as in 1835, nor resistance to their recommendations. The Tories, on the other hand, were in despair. The Duke of Wellington regarded the accession of a female Sovereign as a bar to the return of his party to power. ' I have no small-talk, and Peel has no manners,' he remarked to a friend. Parliament reassembled on 30th November, and was opened by the Queen in person. In the de- bate on the address, Lord John Russell declared his dissent from the views and doctrines of the Radical party. The first subject discussed, and, indeed, the one for which Parliament was reassembled thus early, was the arrangement of the Civil List, and the allow- ances to her Majesty, who would be deprived of the revenues of Hanover, enjoyed by her pre- decessor, but which through the operation of the 1837.] Parliamentary History. 33 Salic Law had now become a separate king- dom. The proposals of the Government, especially as to pensions granted by the Monarch and others, underwent considerable discussion on the part of the Radical Members of the House of Commons, and also at the hands of Lord Brougham in the House of Lords. Ultimately 385,000 per annum was voted for the support of her Majesty's House- hold and of the honour and dignity of the Crown, and r,200 a year to defray the charge of pensions to be granted by her Majesty. On the 23rd December, Parliament was pro- rogued, but only until the 16th of January, news having been received from Canada, the day before, of a revolt having broken out there. It may interest man)- to state that Mr. Disraeli entered Parliament this year, for the first time, as Member for Maidstone. i8 3 8. Annuity to the Duchess of Kent. Affairs of Lower Canada. Suspension of Constitution. Causes of Disaffection Canadians defended by Mr. Roebuck at Bar. Lord Durham sent out. Election Petitions. Slave Trade. Irish Measures. Tithe Bill. Poor Law. Queen's Coro- nation. Motions for Repeal of the Corn Laws, and in favour of Compulsory Education. Abolition of Imprison- ment for Debt. Pluralities. Ox the reassembling of Parliament, the first subject which occupied its attention was the provision for her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Queen's mother ; and an Act was speedily passed granting her Royal Highness an annuity of .30,000 per annum. In the House of Commons, Lord John Russell brought forward a proposal, to suspend, for a certain period, the existing constitution of Lower Canada, and, at the same time, moved an Address to the Throne, pledging the House to assist her Majesty in restoring tranquillity to her Canadian subjects. The causes which led to the outbreak, were some- what similar to the causes of the disaffection in Ireland. The great majority of the Lower Cana- dians were of French extraction, and strongly 1838.] Parliamentary History OD objected to a nationality and constitution being forced upon them, out of sympathy with their race, language, and traditions. The movement culminated in the refusal of the House of Assembly in 1835-7 to grant the supplies. The conduct of the Canadian insurgents, how- ever, found defenders in the House of Commons, especially amongst the Radicals, and Mr. Roebuck was heard at the Bar on their behalf. A Hill to suspend the constitution of Lower Canada until November, 1840, and to enable the Governor-General and Council to frame, and pass, any laws they might consider necessary during the suspension of the Legislature, was brought in and passed ; but in the House of Lords it afforded Lord Brougham the opportunity of making a bitter attack on Ministers, and caused much acri- monious discussion. Lord Durham was sent out as Governor, with supreme authority to suppress the insurrection. The House of Commons was much occupied by matters personal, or otherwise, arising out of election petitions and speeches. Mr. Smith O'Brien, for charging Tory committees on election petitions with foul perjury, was reprimanded by the Speaker. further measures were passed with the view of more effectually putting down the slave-trade, in the advocacy of which measures Lord Brougham greatly distinguished himself. 36 Parliamentary History. [1838. Strenuous efforts were also made, this Session, to dispose of the three remaining subjects connected with Ireland, for which, many attempts had been made in previous Sessions, viz. : The Poor Law ; The Corporations ; The Tithes. The Tithe Bill, owing to concessions made on both sides of the House, was passed ; Sir Robert Peel and Lord John Russell having come to terms on the difficult question of arrears, and Ministers having abandoned their appropriation clause. The Poor Law Bill was next passed ; but the Municipal Bill remained for a future Session. The Queen's coronation took place on the 28th June, for the expenses of which ,170,000 was voted by Parliament. The ceremony went off with great eclat, the feature, however, being the omission of the customary banquet in Westminster Hall. A motion by Mr. Villiers for the Repeal of the Corn Laws was rejected. A Bill by Lord Brougham for establishing a system of compulsory education also failed. Among the other measures of the Session, may be mentioned, the Act for the Abolition of Im- prisonment for Debt, on mesne process in civil actions, and for extending the remedies of creditors against the property of their debtors ; and an Act to i S38.] Parliamentary History. 37 abridge the holding of benefices in plurality, and to make better provision for the residence of the clergy. Parliament was prorogued, after a most arduous Session, by the Queen in person, on the 16th August. s , ) "< * * 1839. Chartism. Corn-Law Agitation. Irish Municipal Corpora- tions. National Education. Appointment of Committee of Council on Education. Opposition of Tories. Speech of Mr. Shiel. Budget. Penny Postage introduced. Slavery in Jamaica. Bill to Suspend Constitution of the Island for Five Years. Resignation of Ministers. Duke of Wellington sent for. Sir Robert Peel attempts to form a New Administration. The Affair of the Ladies of the Bed-chamber. Lord Melbourne resumes Office. Lord Brougham's Invective.- Retirement of Mr. Abercromby as Speaker. Election of Mr. Shaw Lefevre. New Bill for Jamaica. Publication of Proceedings in Parliament. The Stockdale Incident. On the opening' of this Session, two most important subjects presented themselves for consideration : 1. The progress of Chartism ; 2. The agitation in the towns for the repeal of the Corn-Laws. Both subjects were indirectly mentioned in the Speech from the Throne, and were referred to in the debates on the Address. Petitions were presented to Parliament for the repeal of the Corn Laws. Motions on the subject, were made by Lord Brougham in the House of Lords, by Mr. Villiers in the House of Commons, 1 839.] Parliamentary History. 39 and were rejected in both Houses by a large majority. Tne Irish Municipal Corporations Bill, brought in by the Government, passed the House of Com- mons ; in the Lords, however, amendments were made in it, which the Government were unable to accept, among others, a franchise qualification of ,10. Lord John Russell postponed the further con- sideration of the measure until next Session. The great subject of National Education was brought forward this year by the Government in the House of Commons. Since the year 1832, /~20,ooo had been annually granted by Parlia- ment for educational purposes, and had been received in equitable proportions by the National Society and the British and Foreign School Society, and was dispensed by them in aid of private charity and benevolence. The Govern- ment were dissatisfied with this course, and, whilst proposing an increase of the grant, desired to change entirely the mode of its distribution. Lord John Russell, on the 17th of February, moved the appointment of a Committee of Council on Educa- tion, who were to appoint inspectors to visit schools, to dispense the grants annually made by Parliament for the purposes of education, and enable tliem to establish schools in poor and populous places, not necessarily connected with either of the two societies. The measure which 40 Parliamentary History. [1839. was the harbinger of the great Act of 1870 met with the most determined opposition of the Tories and Churchmen, who cried out that the Church was in danger, and predicted the most direful results from its introduction, and it was carried by a majority of 2 only. Mr. Shiel, addressing himself to the Conservative opposition, said : 'Why are you ever crying out that your Church is in danger, and giving way to the most fantastic fears ? What in the world makes you so much afraid ? Your Church is incorporated with the State, supported by the interests of the higher orders, and by the faith of the humbler classes. It lifts its mitred head amidst Courts and Parliaments; it possesses vast revenues ; it rules over the two most famous universities of the world ; it presides ever the great patrician seminaries of the land ; it has retained all the pomp, pride, and glorious cir- cumstance of the Establishment, of which it is a perpetuation archbishops, bishops, deans, cathe- drals, golden stalls. It is distinguished by a prelacy eminent for learning, and a clergy dis- tinguished for energy, activity, and an organized spirit of confederacy. Such is your Establishment. Can you bring yourself to believe that such a fabric, based on national belief, and towering amongst aristocratic sustainments, can be prostrated on the rock of truth on which you believe it to be raised, not by foreign invasion, not by intestine commo- 1 839.] Parliamentary History. 41 tion, not by great moral concussion, but by a dis- charge of Douay Testaments and Popish missals from the hands of a set of shoeless, shirtless, Popish paupers, gathered under the command of the Privy Council from the lanes of Liverpool, the alleys of Manchester, or the receptacles of St. Giles ?' [Allusion is here made to the power given to extend assistance to schools where the Roman Catholic version of the Scriptures was read.] The feature of the Budget this year was the introduction of the penny postage, and the abolition of the system of franking letters by Members of Parliament. Up to this time, the rates of postage on letters were heavy and various. A letter from one part of town to another cost 2d. s. d. One fr om Reading to Lo ndon .. 7 )> Brighton >> .. 8 )> Aberdeen j> .. I 1 3 3> Belfast !) I 4 The idea was suggested by Mr. Rowland Hill, in a pamphlet published in i impose additional penalties on bribery, as to en- deavour to bring to light, by more efficacious means than had hitherto been proposed, bribery which had actuallv been committed, instead of leaving it 62 Parliamentary History. [184: to the chance of exposure afforded by the pro- ceedings of parties, which was passed. Parliament was prorogued on August 12th. The first Afghan War broke out this year, arising from our withholding payment of a portion of the sum we had stipulated to pay the Ghilzies for keeping open the Khoord Cabul Pass, which lay between Cabul and British India. Note. The sliding scale was thus : If the average price of Corn was 50s. a quarter, the duty was 36s. 8d., decreasing is., as the average price increased is. a quarter; so that when the price was 65s., the duty was 22s. 8d. It then decreased 2s. a quarter until the price became 68s.; then 3s. a quarter until it became 71s.: and then 4s. a quarter until it reached 735., when the duty was only is. The effect of this rapid reduction, was a temptation to fraud, by holding back supplies, to force up the prices, and thus benefit the farmer at the expense of the consumer and the revenue. 1 843. Depression of Trade and Industry. Committee of Inquiry. Canadian Corn Treaty. Corn Laws. State of Ireland. Irish Arms Bill. Budget. Visit of Her .Majesty and Prince Albert to Sir Robert Peel. TllK year opened with a gloomy aspect. Every branch of trade and industry was suffering from depression. The value of agricultural produce was reduced, and the revenue was declining. Parliament met on the 2nd February. Lord 1 lowick moved for the appointment of a Com- mittee to inquire into the causes of the distress ; the discussion chiefly turned on the question of Free Trade, and it was remarkable with what frankness Sir Robert Peel, Sir James Graham, and Mr. Gladstone admitted the general soundness of its principles, whilst they pleaded for the continu- ance of Protection to agriculture, by reason of the interests which had grown up under it. The motion was lost by a majority of 115. Lord Stanley, the Colonial Minister, brought in a Bill to can - )' into effect an .arrangement which had been entered into with the Canadian Govern- ()4 Parliamentary History. [1843. ment for the admission of corn and wheatcn meal into this country at diminished fixed duties, which passed both Houses, although opposed by Pro- tectionists and Free Traders on opposite grounds. This was in reality the first blow given to Pro- tection. Long and animated debates took place, during the Session, on the Corn Laws generally, and on the question of a fixed duty in place of the sliding scale ; but they led to no result. The state of Ireland under the Repeal agitation was such that the Government were compelled to bring in an Irish Arms Bill, which created long and angry discussion, but which eventually passed. The Budget showed a surplus of ^762,000, which did not admit of any remission of taxation ; but the Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed a hope, that the time was not distant, when he might sub- mit to the House a proposal for easing the industry of the country by important remissions. But for the imposition of the Income Tax, there would have been a serious deficiency. Parliament was prorogued by the Queen in person on the 24th August. Sir Robert Peel's position, both in the country and in Parliament, was strengthened by a visit her Majesty and Prince Albert paid to him in the autumn after their visit to the King and Queen of the PYcnch. 1844. Prospects of Session. State of Ireland. Irish Measures. Bill for Better Regulation of Moneys Settled upon Charit- able and Religious Trusts. Penal Acts against Roman Catholics. Labour in Factories. Conversion of 3 J , per Cents, into 3 per Cents. Budget. Renewal of Bank Charter. Relief of Dissenters. Lady llowley's Charities. Imprisonment for Debts under ^20. Mr. Gladstone's Bill for Better Regulation of Railways, and tr provide better accommodation for Third Class Pas- sengers. Irish Agitation. O'Connell. Meeting at Clon- tarf. The Pritchard Affair in the Island of Tahiti. The Session of 1844 opened auspiciously. Scinde had been annexed to our Indian possessions. The financial measures of the Government had answered their expectations, and had converted a deficiency into an increasing surplus. Trade and manu- factures had improved ; Ireland alone presented an exception to the general contentment. A richly endowed Kstablished Church at variance with the religious opinions of the great majority of the Irish people, and upheld against their wishes by the Kngli.sh Parliament and Government, was re- garded by them as a badge ol conquest, and lay at the root of the evils and di-o ntents of the Irish pe' -pie. 5 66 Parliamentary History. [1844. Parliament reassembled on February the 1st, and measures for the pacification of Ireland were an- nounced in the Speech from the Throne. Lord John Russell moved for a Committee of the whole House to inquire into the state of Ire- land. It was opposed by Government, and after a debate of many nights was rejected by a majority of 99. The Government early in the Session brought in a Bill, to amend and simplify the law relating to the Registration of Electors in Ireland, and another to amend the Irish Municipal Corporations Act, which was intended to assimilate the English and Irish law upon the subject, but neither were passed this Session. A Bill introduced by the Government, of con- siderable importance to the Roman Catholic com- munity, the object of which was to make provision for the better security and regulation of moneys settled upon charitable and religious trusts, shared a better fate, and passed both Houses ; as also did another Bill brought in by Lord Beaumont to afford relief to the Roman Catholic body, the object of which was to abolish a number of Penal Acts which though obsolete still remained on the Statute Book. They were chiefly Acts passed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, imposing punishment by fine and imprisonment, in several cases, as e.g. reconcilement to the Church of Rome denial of the Sovereign's iS44-] Parliamentary History. 67 supremacy in ecclesiastical and religious matters non-attendance at parish church to conform, etc. Sir James Graham brought in a Bill to regulate the hours of labour in factories. A motion by- Lord Ashley further to limit the hours of labour was carried against the Government by a majority of 9. The Bill, when in Committee, became in- extricably confused by two divisions which took place. On the twelve hours question there was a majority of 3 against the Government, whilst Lord Ashley's amendment for the ten hours clause was lost by a majority of 7. The Bill was then with- drawn, and another introduced and passed, limiting the hours of labour to twelve daily. Consols, which then bore 3^ per cent, interest, stood at 102 ; and Mr. Goulbourn, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed and carried the con- version into the present 3 per Cents., which involved a saving to the country of ,1,250,000 annually. On introducing his Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer found himself with a surplus of .2,360,000. The revenue had largely increased, but this was on account of the income tax, and it could not therefore be considered permanent ; ,387,000 was applied to the reduction of duty on certain articles of consumption, and the remainder went in augmentation of exchequer balances in the Bank of England. Sir Robert reel brought in and carried a Bill for 68 Parliamentary History. [1844. the renewal of the Bank Charter, and regulating the Bank of England, and the administration of banking concerns in general. He detailed his plan in a speech of great ability, and evincing a com- plete mastery of the whole subject, and his pro- positions were carried in their integrity. A Bill was brought in and passed, for confirming the possession of religious endowments in the hands of Dissenters, and arresting such litigation as had taken place in the case of Lady Howley's Charities, which were endowed by her for Calvin- istic Independents, but gradually passed to another persuasion, the Unitarians, whose occupancy was successfully contested. The Bill terminated all further legal controversy, respecting the right to voluntary endowments connected with Dissenting chapels, by vesting the property in the religious bodies in whose hands it had been for the preced- ing twenty years. A Bill was passed for the abolition of imprison- ment for debts under 20. The only remaining Act calling for notice, which was passed this Session, is one introduced by Mr. Gladstone for the better regulation of railways, and for providing improved accommodation for third- class passengers, founded on the report of a Com- mittee appointed to inquire into the subject. Up to this time very inferior third-class accommo- dation had been provided by the Railway Com- 1844.] Parliamentary History. 69 panies. The carriages were without seats, or roofs to protect from the rain, passengers were crowded together like cattle, and the trains stopped at every station, so that persons who wished to go long journeys were compelled, either to travel in other classes at a greater expense, or to subject them- selves to delays, often requiring them to find lodgings for the night, when the distance was such as might have been travelled in a few hours. Mr. Gladstone's Bill dealt with these, and other evils in the railway system as then carried out. It was strongly opposed by the railway interest, but con- cessions were made in details not impairing the efficiency of the Bill or the necessary discretion of the Directors of the Railway Companies, and the Bill finally passed both Houses. The Irish agitation was now assuming alarming dimensions under O'Connell's leadership. Their demands were the substitution of imperial for local legislation, that if the union was to continue England and Ireland should have the same rights and immunities, and that there should be one law for both. An immense meeting proposed to be held at Clontarf, near Dublin, was suppressed by the Government, and O'Connell and his adherents were prosecuted for inciting to conspiracy. At the trial, Catholics were struck out of the jury panel, which consequently consisted of 1'rotestants only, yo Parliamentary History. [1844. and did not, therefore, command respect. O'Connell was sentenced to be imprisoned, and fined .2,000, and the other prisoners received lesser sentences in proportion. An appeal was made to the House of Lords, who reversed the judgment, and O'Connell, who had been imprisoned for a few weeks, was set at liberty. A collapse of the agitation followed, and good service was thereby done to the Government and the country. The incident known as ' the Pritchard affair ' occurred in the Island of Tahiti, in the autumn. The French Admiral had violently removed the British flag, thereby outraging Mr. Pritchard, the British Consul. By the friendly offices of Louis Philippe, Guizot, and Soult, the French Government made reparation, and the affair terminated, and a probable war with France was avoided. Louis Philippe returned the visit of her Majesty, and the good feeling between the two countries was thus restored. 1 845. Improved Aspect of Affairs. Anti-Corn-Law League Agita- tion. The Protectionists, rival Society. Secession of Mr. Gladstone from the Ministry. His Work on Church and State. Budget. Export Duties. Raw Materials. Financial Changes. The Young England Party. Pro- gramme of the Whigs. Maynooth College. Increase of Grant. Higher Education in Ireland. Jewish Civil Disabilities Relief. Juvenile Labour and Care of Lunatics. Famine in Ireland. Gradual Reduction and Final Re- peal of Corn Laws agreed upon by Government. Resigna- tion of Cabinet. Lord John Russell sent for. Sir Robert Peel resumes Office. Mr. Gladstone. The Edinburgh Letter. Political Sensation. BY the commencement of this year affairs had assumed a tranquil aspect. The harvest had been a good one, trade was reviving, the agitation in Ireland had subsided, and the fiscal measures of Sir Robert Peel had given a stimulus to the manu- facturing industry. The Corn Laws was still the great subject of debate. Some notice must here be taken of the extra- ordinary efforts of the organization known as the Anti-Corn- Law League, the result of whose labours were shortly to be accomplished. The 7 2 Parliamentary History. [1845. strenuous exertions it made by lectures, publica- tions, and other means to advocate the cause of Free Trade, aided to a very considerable extent the final triumph of the cause. The funds raised by the League were enormous. ,10,000 was realized by a bazaar held at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, and ,25,000 by one held at Covent Garden Theatre altogether ever a quarter of a million was raised. The magnificent building known as the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, was erected out of the subscrip- tions. Extremely able men advocated the cause on the platform. Their arguments were unanswer- able the great point being that legislative Pro- tection was in reality a taxation of the whole community for the benefit of one particular industry, and the one, from which the aristocracy and landed gentry obtained their incomes. The Protectionists, it is true, tried hard to start an opposition agitation under the title of the Central Agricultural Society of Great Britain and Ireland ; but in truth this proved rather a help than a hindrance to the cause, as all their defenders could put forward was declamation, prophecy, and prediction of the evils which would follow if Protec- tion were withdrawn. The Free-Traders, likewise, had great hopes in Sir Robert Peel, from the large and enlightened views he took upon all financial questions. The Session opened on the 4th of February. The [845-] Parliamentary History. J$ first incident to be recorded, was the surprise occa- sioned by the secession of Air. Gladstone from the Ministry. In his celebrated work on the relations between the Church and the State, he had ad- vanced opinions at variance with the course the Government determined to take in dealing with the endowment of Maynooth College ; and although he no longer held those opinions, he feared that the change might be attributed to interested motives, if he remained in the Ministry. He accordingly resigned, expressing at the same time his regret at doing so, and great respect for his colleagues. A feeling of regret was expressed in the House that an over-sensitive scrupulousness should have de- prived the Government and country of an able and upright Minister. On the proposal for the endow- ment of Maynooth, Mr. Shield amused the House by ' regretting that the statesman should have been sacrificed to the author, and that Sir Robert Peel should have reason to say, " O that my friend should have written a book !" ' The financial statement was brought forward on the 15th February. In a luminous and compre- hensive speech, Sir Robert Peel detailed his plans for the retention of the income tax and reduction of the Export duties, his view being, that it was advisable that the income-tax should be continued in order to repeal oilier taxes pressing upon the industry and commercial enterprise of the country. 74 Parliamentary History. [1845. The Budget showed a surplus of three and a half millions, and with this he proposed to make a great experiment in taxation in the hope of giving new scope to commercial enterprise and occasioning an increased demand for labour. He proposed, first, to reduce the sugar duties. Next the re- duction of all export duties, including the duty on coal. Next, as to raw materials used in manu- factures, out of 813 such articles, he proposed to remove the duties on 430, such as fibrous materials and silk, hemp, flax, yarn, dye-stuffs, ores, minerals, drugs of a noxious character, etc. Next to abolish the duty on cotton-wool, involving a loss of revenue of ,680,000, and to relieve glass of all excise duty, which was then over 300 per cent, on its manufacture, and amounted to almost as much as the duty on cotton-wool, and would, moreover, enable the trade to compete with the foreign manufacturers. The Opposition criticisms were mainly directed to the continuance of the income tax, but after very long discussion, the Ministerial proposals were carried by large majorities. Next came a motion by Mr. Cobden on behalf of Free Trade, and another by Mr. Miles for relief to the agricultural interests, both of which were re- jected. Mr. Villiers's annual motion for a Committee on the Corn Laws was this year lost by 264 to 122. 1 845 -J Parliamentary History. 75 The financial changes of Sir Robert Peel had a direct and inevitable tendency to Free Trade, and consequently caused dissatisfaction in the ranks of the extreme members of his party, among whom were a few clever young men called the Young England Party, prominent among whom was Mr. Disraeli, who had now gained the ear of the House, and who, attacking the Government, declared, amongst the cheers of the ultra-Protectionists, that ' under existing circumstances a Conservative Government was an organized hypocrisy.' On the other hand, Lord John Russell formulated the programme of the Whigs in a series of resolu- tions which he submitted to the House, and which embraced the abolition of all protective duties, especially that on corn, a revision of the law of parochial settlement, a systematic plan of coloniza- tion, and a further extension of religious and moral education. This combined with the agitation of the Anti- Corn-Law League brought the question of the Repeal of the Corn Laws to the front, and it thus became the question of the day. The great Parliamentary conflict of the Session was in the Bill introduced by Sir Robert Peel for improving and increasing the grant to the College of Maynooth, and no measure excited more stir and controversy in the public mind. Meet- ings were held, and petitions were presented in 76 Parliamentary History. [1845. great numbers against the measure. The Dis- senters in particular viewed it with abhorrence, as fraught with danger to Protestant institutions. It was, however, simply a matter of justice, and a recognition of the principle of the impartial regard by the State of all classes of religionists. The scheme on the part of the Government was to enable the College to hold real property to the extent of .3,000 a year, should persons be desirous of leaving property to the College, to increase the stipends of the president and professors, and to make provision for free students, etc., involving a total annual outlay of 26,360, besides a vote of .30,000 for putting the College into repair. The measure was, however, regarded as a repudiation on the part of the Conservative leaders of the claim of the Protestants of Ireland to ascendency. The second reading, after a very long debate, was carried by 323 against 176. Following on the Maynooth Improvement Bill, Sir James Graham introduced the Government Bill for promoting academical education in Ireland, by the establishment of new colleges without religious distinctions, further in adoption of an equal policy as regards the different religious com- munities in Ireland. It was strongly opposed on account of its disconnection with religion, and a protracted debate took place on the second reading, which was twice adjourned. It however passed 1 845.] Parliamentary History. 77 the third reading by a majority of 151, and was carried without division in the House of Lords. A Bill was passed this Session for the relief of persons of the Jewish persuasion from certain tests which had previously been required from them upon their election to the offices of Mayor, Alder- men and Common Councilmen, by the exclusion from the words of the oath 'on the true faith of a Christian! Lord Ashley's Bills for the regulation of juvenile labour in calico print-works, and for the better care of lunatics in asylums, were adopted with some modification by the Government, and were carried. The Session closed on the 9th August. It had been an unusually laborious one, by reason of the rapid development of private enterprise in extend- ing the railway communications of the kingdom, more than two hundred schemes having been sub- mitted to Parliament during the Session. Until now the Government had steered a middle course between the two extreme parties, alternately receiving support from each, and it had triumphed in every division. Their general policy was a quicsced in, and it seemed that they would retain office for a long time, notwithstanding the vigour with which they were assailed both by kree-Traders and Protectionists ; but ' L //< nunc / v himself and his family any title or 86 Parliamentary History. \ 1846. other public acknowledgment of his great ser- vices. The formation of a new administration was con- fided to Lord J. Russell, who became Prime Minister, with Lord Palmerston as Foreign Minister and Sir George Grey as Home Secretary. Parliament reassembled on 16th July. The first question Ministers had to handle was that of the sugar duties, which had only been pro- visionally dealt with by the late Government, and which would expire on 5th September. A Bill was introduced providing for the continuation of the differential duties until 185 1, when they were to cease altogether, and to compensate the West Indian planters in some degree by free labour from Sierra Leone, for the loss they would incur. The measure received Sir Robert Peel's support, and was passed by a majority of 130. Meanwhile, distress and crime were increasing in Ireland, and Ministers actually re-introduced the Bill of the late Government which they had op- posed, and upon the failure of which they came into office. Owing to considerable opposition to the Bill on all sides, more especially amongst the supporters of the Government, it was withdrawn. A debate took place in the House of Commons on the subject of flogging in the Army, and the Commander-in-Chief issued an order limiting the sentence of courts-martial to fifty lashes ; but a 1846.] Parliamentary History. Sy subsequent motion by Dr. Bowring in favour of its total abolition was rejected by a large majority. Parliament was prorogued on 28th August, and thus terminated a Session the results of which were almost unparalleled in importance, and the proceedings of which may be summed up in the words ' Free Trade.' 1 847. Sir Robert Peel an Independent Member. Leadership of the Party. Starvation and Disease in Ireland. Measures of Relief. Suspension of Corn and Navigation Laws. Budget. Fielden's Factory Act. Public Education, Grant in Aid of. Dissolution of Parliament. General Election. Autumn Session. Commercial Distress. Bill for Repression of Crime (Ireland). Support by Sir Robert Peel. Baron Rothschild. Death of O'Connell. The Session of 1847 opened on the 19th of January. Sir Robert Peel appeared as an indepen- dent Member, giving a general support to Ministers ; and on the left of the Speaker sat the new Oppo- sition under the leadership of Lord George Ben- tinck and his able lieutenant, Mr. Disraeli. The most harrowing details were received from Ireland of starvation and disease, ravaging whole districts, and utterly defying all the efforts of local authorities ; the responsibility thereby cast upon Ministers of proposing measures of relief was assumed by them with a courage worthy of their station ; and accordingly, on 25th January, Lord John Russell introduced into the House of Commons the proposed measure. After 1847.] Parliamentary History. 89 stating what had been done there during the recess, in pursuance of an Act of last Session, he indicated the further measures proposed, which were : the expenditure of large sums in giving employment a Poor Law similar to that in England, and power to make advances to Irish Railway Com- panies ; and the necessary Bills to effect these objects speedily passed both Houses. The expenditure thus entailed upon the nation amounted to no less a sum than ten millions, eight of which, as will afterwards be seen, were to be raised by loan. A 33 ill was next brought in by Lord John Russell for the suspension of the Corn and Navi- gation Laws, with a view to the alleviation of the existing scarcity, by giving the utmost facility to the importation of food from abroad, and was passed by both Houses with great rapidity. The Budget was introduced on the 22nd Feb- ruary ; there was to be no increase of taxation, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer laid before the House his plans for raising by loan eight millions towards meeting the great outlay in Ireland. The principal legislative enactment of the Session was an Act introduced by Mr. Ficldcn, and known as Fielden's Factory Act, to limit the labour of young persons in factories. It enacted that the actual work per day of persons between 90 Parliamentary History. [1847. the ages of thirteen and eighteen should be ten hours for five days in the week and eight hours on Saturdays, and that the Act should apply to females above eighteen. It was strongly opposed in both Houses, but the Government supporting it, the Act eventually passed. The subject of Public Education was brought prominently before Parliament on minutes emanat- ing from the Educational Committee of the Privy Council. The alterations proposed were : to extend the system of inspection, so that every school should be inspected once a year ; to raise the standard of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, with liberty for them to select from promising pupils, apprentices who should be trained to take charge of schools as pupil-teachers ; and to improve the condition of workhouse schools. The Govern- ment had come to terms with the Wesleyan body for the inspection of their schools, but the exclusion of the Roman Catholic schools had to be continued until the difficulties attendant upon it could be removed. The grant asked for was ,100,000 ; much discussion ensued, but eventually the Govern- ment proposals were adopted. A Bill was passed for the creation of the Bishopric of Manchester. Parliament was dissolved on the 23rd July, and a general election ensued. The elections passed off very quietly, there being iS-t.;-] Parliamentary History. 91 no great question on which an appeal to the people could be based, owing to the adoption of Free Trade. The remnant of the Conservative party ranged themselves under the leadership of Lord Stanley, Lord George Bentinck, and Mr. Disraeli. They had nothing to offer the public beyond vague and general attachment to ancient institu- tions, and as a natural consequence the Govern- ment gained at the elections. Parliament reassembled on 1 8th November. Mr. Shaw-Lcfevre was unanimously re-elected Speaker. The commercial distress, which was the main object of the autumn Session, was the first subject discussed, and a Committee of both Houses was appointed to consider the matter. A Bill for the Repression of Crime in Ireland next followed ; though little mere than a year had elapsed since the Government had obtained office by opposing the Arms Bill of their predecessors, they were now compelled to ask for powers as great or greater than those the}- had previously refused. Sir Robert Peel, casting aside all per- sonal considerations, supported the measure ; and on a suggestion that some reparation was due to him for being turned out of office, generously replied that the best reparation which could be made to the la-,t Government, would be to assist the present Government in passing this law. 92 Parliamentary History. [1847. Baron Rothschild having been returned as one of the Members for the City of London, as also the Premier Lord John Russell, the latter intro- duced a measure to abolish the Civil Disabilities of the Jews in the same way as provided for the Roman Catholics ; but though passed in the House of Commons by a considerable majority, it was rejected by the House of Lords. The special business for which Parliament was summoned having been transacted, both Houses were adjourned on the 20th of December until the 3rd of February. Daniel O'Connell died at Genoa, on his way to Rome, in the autumn of this year. 1848. West Indian Colonies. Vote for Immigration of Free Labourers. National Defences. Budget. Income Tax. State of Ireland. Mr. Smith O'Brien. Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Act. Public Health Act. Commissioners of Sewers. Removal of Nuisances Act. Jewish Disa- bilities. The French Revolution. Chartist Agitation. Huge Petition to Parliament. Influence of Free Trade. New Poor Law. Death of Lord George Bentinck. Mr. Disraeli succeeds him in Leadership of Party. Till two Houses resumed business on the 3rd of February. The first measure which occupied the attention of Parliament was the condition of our West Indian sugar-producing colonies, in which great distress prevailed. A Select Committee was appointed to inquire into the matter, and 170,000 was voted on the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to promote the immigration of free labourers into British Guiana and Trinidad. It appeared, however, that the money had already been spent on the authority of the Colonial Minister. Pad accounts continuing to arrive from the colonies, it became evident that some: measure of relict must be proposed to save them from insolvency and ruin, and accordingly Lord John Russell pre -posed to grant a loan of a 94 Parliamentary History. [1848. further sum of 500,000 upon the security of the colonial revenues, to meet the expense of immi- gration ; and he also proposed to lower the sugar duties and the differential duty on rum. The proposals of the Government gave rise to very long discussions, but being supported by Sir Robert Peel, they passed both Houses. Finance occupied an important part in the debates of this Session. The state of our national defences was much discussed at the time, and in many quarters they were thought to be totally inadequate in case of an invasion. The Budget showed a deficiency of over two millions, which it was proposed to raise by adding 5 per cent, to the income tax, and continuing it for another three years. Great agitation was caused both in the House and in the country by this pro- posal, and the resolution for increasing the tax was abandoned. Numerous discussions arose upon the subject ; Mr, Hume moved that the tax be continued for one year, but his motion was lost. At length the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to raise the deficiency by a loan. It was strongly objected to raise a loan in times of peace, and Mr. Hume moved to this effect. The motion was lost, and so late in the Session as the 25th of August the proposals of the Chancellor of the Exchequer were sanctioned. The state of Ireland compelled Ministers to 1848.] Parliamentary History. 95 introduce a Bill for the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, which was speedily passed. Since O'Connell's death the Irish party had been led by Mr. Smith O'Brien with more violence, but with less ability, and the entire separation of the two countries and civil war were avowedly advocated. The country, as a matter of course, was held down very tightly, and O'Brien, McManus, O'Donoghue, and Meagher, the leaders of the malcontents, though sentenced to death, were banished for life, and so rendered incapable of further mischief. An important Act was passed this Session, which conferred a great benefit upon Ireland ' The Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Act.' Many estates were so loaded with mortgages and other charges that the owners, whilst receiving little or nothing from them, had not the means of improv- ing them ; and this Act, by facilitating the sales of these properties, transferred them to persons who were able to spend money on improvements. Three very important Acts, which created very little stir in their passage through Parliament, but which have proved of very great benefit to tin; public, were passed this Session: I. The Public Health Act, founded on the recommendations of Mr. I'dwin Chad- wick and Dr. Southwood Smith, under which a General Board of Health was 96 Parliamentary History. [1848. established, consisting of Lord Carlisle, Lord Ashley, Mr. E. Chadwick, and Dr. S. Smith, with a view to inquiry as to sewerage, drainage, water-supply, etc., of towns and parishes, with power to apply a remedy where deficient. II. The Commissioners of Sewers Act, providing for the construction and maintenance of a proper system of sewerage and im- proved drainage of the metropolis. III. An Act for the speedy Removal of certain Nuisances, and for the Prevention of Contagious and Epidemic Diseases. These Acts, which were supplemented by the Metropolitan Interment Act of 1850, and the application of that Act in 1852 to the whole kingdom, have been followed by a host of sanitary Acts, containing very valuable provisions, with a view to the health and comfort of the people, and are amongst the greatest boons Parliament has conferred. The Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill again passed the House of Commons this Session ; but was again rejected by the House of Lords. The Session was closed on the 3rd of September. Mr. Disraeli, shortly before, reviewed the events of the Session in an animated and humorous speech. in which he satirized the failures and disappoint- 1848.] Parliamentary History. 97 mcnts of the Government ; and Lord John Russell parried the attack with great dexterity. Two great events make this year memorable in history : 1st. The French Revolution which swept Louis Philippe from his throne, and gave a shock to every throne in Lurope, and spread consternation far and wide ; and 2nd. The Chartist agitation, which had for its objects the adoption of universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and shortening the dura- tion of Parliaments ; the movement, aided by the French Revolution, culminated in a great meet- ing at Kennington Common on the 6th April this year, under O'Connor, O'Brien, Vincent, and other leaders ; great military preparations were made, and although the meeting was permitted, any procession was forbidden ; the meeting, however, was not so large as was expected, and all passed off quietly; a petition was adopted and presented to Parliament, said to contain over five millions of signatures, but on a careful examination by the orders of the House of Commons, it was found to contain less than two millions, many of them fictitious, and numbers of them in the same hand- writing ; the failure of the meeting and the con- tempt which the revelations regarding the signatures to the petition brought upon the cause soon caused its collapse, and discontent and recrimination en- sued amongst its leaders and followers. It is noticeable, however, that the three main 7 98 Parliamentary History. [1848. points in the Charter before mentioned were in effect proposed to the House of Commons this Session by Mr. Hume, but after considerable dis- cussion were rejected by a very large majority. The beneficial effects which followed the adoption of Free Trade, combined with the operation of the new Poor Law, tended much to the alleviation of the existing distress, and relaxed the sinews of war ; and the movement, the result of many years' agitation, died out. In the autumn of this year Lord George Bentinck died. His death was a great loss to his political friends ; although among them were men of more shining ability, yet his great Parliamentary experience and his aristocratic connections gave him a position which would not readily have been accorded to any other leader. Only a few days before his death, he showed his superiority to party by acknowledging the conduct of Lord John Russell with regard to Ireland, saying that ' the brightest page in the history of the present Government is that which records the firmness and determination with which it put down rebellion, maintained peace, and brought criminals to justice in Ireland.' It seemed doubtful for some time whether his position as Leader of the Conservative party in the House of Commons would be assigned to the Marquis of Granby or to Mr. Disraeli, who was with- out doubt the most able man of the two, and had been the trusted associate and coadjutor of the deceased. 1849. Amendment to Address. Resolutions to accelerate Public Business. Repeal of Navigation Laws. Policy of Con- servative Party. Local Taxation. State of Ireland. Measures of Relief. Foreign and Colonial Affairs. Budget. Parliamentary Reform. International Arbitra- tion. Admission of Jews to Parliament. Marriage with Deceased \Vife : s Sister. Motion attacking Free Trade rejected by large Majority. TllE Session was opened by the Queen in person, on February 1st. In the House of Peers, Lord Stanley moved an amendment to the Address, expressing the dissatisfaction of the House with the state of foreign relations, and alluding to the depression of agriculture. It was opposed by the Marquis of Westminster, and lost by 52 votes against 50. A similar motion by Mr. Disraeli in the House of Commons was also defeated. Lord John Russell brought forward a scries of resolutions with a view to accelerate public busi- ness, founded on a report of the Select Committee appointed last Session to inquire into the matter and to devise some improvements in Parliamentary pro- cedure, the necessity for which was to be found in the ioo Parliamentary History. [1849. obstruction and delays which too frequently arose in the progress of legislation. As their object was merely to abridge and simplify the technical rules of Parliamentary practice, they need not be detailed here. After some verbal criticism, they were adopted by general concurrence. Mr. Milner Gib- son then moved to limit speeches (with certain exceptions) to the hour, which was negatived. The first legislative measure proposed was the Repeal of the Navigation Laws, to remove the restrictions which prevented the free carriage of goods by sea to and from the United Kingdom and its possessions, and to amend the laws relating to the coasting trade of the kingdom. It was strongly opposed in the Commons by Mr. Disraeli and the Protectionists, but the second reading was carried by 266 to 210. In the Lords the second reading was carried by a majority of 10 only, and on the third reading it was again opposed ; but on the division the adverse Peers walked out of the House without voting, and the Bill passed, a great triumph being thereby obtained of the principles of Free Trade. Mr. Disraeli, having now become the Leader of the Conservative party in the House of Commons, was forced to declare his policy, which he did in this way. Without venturing to propose a return to Protection (although he had frequently stated Free Trade measures to be failures), he declared that 1 849.] Parliamentary History. 101 the owners of real property were unduly charged with the burdens of local taxation, and conceived the idea of alleviating their difficulties by throwing a portion of the rates then assessed upon their pro- perty into the general taxation of the country ; and he moved a resolution to that effect, which was negatived by 280 to 189. The distracted state of Ireland, and the distress from the renewed effects of the potato blight de- manded a large share of the attention of Parlia- ment. The Bill for the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act had to be renewed. A grant of ,50,000 in aid of the distressed Unions, proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was voted. A Bill for the alteration of the Irish Poor Laws, limiting the amount of rates to be levied on land, and a Rate in Aid Bill were brought in by Lord John Russell and passed ; an advance of ,{Tioo ; ooo, in anticipation of the rate in aid, was proposed and carried ; and an Encumbered Estates Bill, to relieve the extreme embarrassments of the Irish landowners, and a Bill for allowing advances of public money for drainage and other improve- ments and for the encouragement of emigration, were brought in and carried. Eorcign and Colonial affairs occupied a considerable place this Session the war in Hungary, French intervention in the affairs of Rome, as to Canada, on the alarming intelligence received from Montreal of insurrection 102 Parliamentary History. [1849. and the destruction of the Parliament House by the populace. The policy of this country in all these matters was very ably expounded and de- fended by Lord Palmerston. The financial statement of the year was made on June 29th. The estimates showed a probable surplus of a small amount, and small reductions were made in several departments of expendi- ture. The subject of Parliamentary Reform was brought forward by Mr. Hume, who introduced a Bill for household suffrage, ballot, triennial Parliaments, and for a more equal proportion of representatives to population, but it was rejected by 268 to 82. Mr. Cobden brought forward his celebrated motion for adjusting international disputes by arbitration instead of by war, which was respect- fully opposed by Lord Palmerston moving the previous question, which was carried by a majority of 57- A Bill for the admission of the Jews to Parlia- ment was again passed in the House of Commons, where Mr. F. Peel, the present Speaker, made his maiden speech in favour of it ; but it was again rejected by the House of Lords. Marriage with a deceased wife's sister was for the first time brought before the House of Com- mons this Session. A Bill to legalize such 1849.] Parliamentary History. 103 marriages was brought in by Mr. Stuart Wortley, but it had to be withdrawn, notwithstanding it had passed the second reading by a majority of 34. A motion by Mr. Disraeli, attacking the Free Trade and financial measures of the Govern- ment, and intended as a final trial of strength of the part)', was, after long debate, rejected by the large majority of 140. In its terms the motion was, ' That this House views with deep concern the state of the nation,' etc., etc. A witty member thus paraphrased it : ' That the nation views with deep concern the state of the House.' Parliament was prorogued on the 1st of August. 1 850. Poor- Law Burdens on Land. Colonial Affairs.- 1 - Bill for granting Constitutions to Colonies. Foreign Affairs. The Piraeus. Irish Affairs. Irish Parliamentary Fran- chise Bill. Budget. Rev. Mr. Gorham and the Bap- tismal Controversy. Marriage with Deceased Wife's Sister. Death of Sir Robert Peel. Case of Baron Rothschild. Papal Aggression. Cardinal Wiseman. Excitement thereupon. TlIE opening of the year 1850 was marked by an improvement of trade and revenue and diminution of pauperism ; but there was at the same time a continued depression in the agricultural interest, arising from reduced prices occasioned by unfet- tered imports, which alone furnished an exception to the general well-being. Parliament was opened by Commission on 31st January. On the 19th February Mr. Disraeli moved for a Committee of the whole House to consider a revision of the Poor-Law burdens on the land. After a protracted debate the motion was negatived by 2 1 votes, which was regarded by the Protectionists somewhat in the light of a triumph. [850.] Parliamentary History. 105 Colonial affairs occupied a considerable portion of the time of the Session. It was felt by persons competent to judge, that the vast communities which England had planted in distant regions of the world could neither attain their full develop- ment nor be held in permanent attachment to the Mother Country without a larger measure of self- government being afforded to them, combined with a more complete representative system. A Bill embodying these views applicable to the British Australian Settlements was introduced by Lord John Russell in an able and comprehensive speech, and, after much discussion, passed both Houses. Foreign affairs cropped up. In the House of Lords, Lord Stanley gave notice of an adverse motion relative to the affairs of Greece and the measures adopted by Admiral Parker in the Piraeus. The resolution was carried against the Government by a majority of 37. In the House of Commons, Lord John Russell was questioned respecting the position of Ministers. Viewing the question in its constitutional light, he declined to be dictated to or to surrender the reins of Government in consequence of an adverse vote of the House of Lords. Mr. Roebuck, coining in this instance to the relief of Ministers, moved a resolution directly the contrary to that of Lord Stanley, which, after much debate, was carried 106 Parliamentary History. [1850. by a majority of 46 in favour of the Govern- ment. In this debate Sir Robert Peel made his last speech in Parliament. Irish affairs again came on for their full share of attention. The measures of the Government respect- ing Irish distress and the proposed method of dealing with the distressed Unions and repayments of advances were well received, and soon passed. The Irish Parliamentary Franchise Bill was brought in and passed ; the question of the standard of the franchise was settled by com- promise at 12, Lord John Russell moved and obtained leave to bring in a Bill to abolish the office of Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland ; but although the second reading was carried by a large majority, the measure was placed on one side. The Budget was introduced March 13. The condition of the revenue was favourable ; there was a surplus of one and a half millions ; one half of which was applied to the reduction of the debt, which in the last twenty years had increased by twenty-seven millions, and the other half in the reduction of the stamp duties, and the repeal of the duty on bricks, with a view to increase the comforts of the labouring classes by improving their dwellings and to facilitate agricultural im- provements. Motions were brought forward on a variety of subjects relating to finance, and also in 1S50.] Parliamentary History. 107 favour of economy and retrenchment, but only to be negatived. In consequence of a decision of the Privy Council upon the baptismal controversy on the appeal of the Rev. Mr. Gorham against the Bishop of Exeter, which gave great offence to the High Church party, and from the circumstance that vital questions of doctrine might be decided by persons not even professing to be members of the Church of England, the Bishop of London introduced in the House of Lords a Bill for the Establishment of a new Tribunal for Ecclesiastical Appeals. The proposal was to substitute a Court of Bishops in the place of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, but being opposed by the Government, was thrown out on the second reading. A Commission was issued to inquire into the state of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Lublin, at the instance of Mr. Hey wood, the Government not opposing it. Mr. Stuart Worthy's Bill for Legalizing Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister again passed a second read- ing in the House of Commons by a majority of 58, but was withdrawn in the House of Lords at the end of the Session. A motion by Lord Ashley to diminish Sunday labour in the Post Office succeeded, and the altera- tion was carried into effect ; but the inconvenience and dissatisfaction caused was such that in a few io8 Parliamentary History. [1850. weeks the resolution and the order of the Post- master-General under it were rescinded. On the 2nd July this year occurred the death of Sir Robert Peel, which was occasioned by a fall from his horse on Constitution Hill. Universal regret was expressed at the loss of so distinguished and sagacious a statesman. On the House of Commons meeting the following day, Mr. Hume, who had been a Member almost as long as Sir Robert, and in the eventful struggles of those days had been his political opponent, in feeling terms moved the adjournment of the House. Mr. Glad- stone and other Members in eloquent speeches concurred, and the motion was carried nem. con. In the House of Lords also suitable encomiums on his character were passed. Lord John Russell, in the House of Commons, referred to the great loss the country had sustained, and offered the sanction of the Crown to a public funeral, which was respectfully declined by the family, in deference to the expressed wish of the deceased. A pro- position to erect a monument in Westminster Abbey to his memory was carried nem. con. The old Duke of Cambridge also died this year, and an annuity of .12,000 a year was granted to his successor. The case of Baron Rothschild and the question of the'admission of the Jews to Parliament came before the House of Commons again this Session. 1850.] Parliamentary History. 109 The Baron came to the table of the House to take the oath, desiring to be sworn on the Old Testa- ment. This was opposed, and the Baron withdrew. A resolution was proposed against altering the form of the oath. Mr. Hume moved an amend- ment to allow the Baron to be sworn on the Old Testament, which was carried by a majority of 54, the former resolution being negatived. Next day 011 the oaths being so administered to him, the Baron omitted the words ' On the true faith of a Christian,' and he was thereupon ordered to with- draw. A new writ for the City was moved for, but after much discussion two resolutions moved by the Attorney- General were carried. I. Denying the right of the Baron to sit with- out taking the oaths in the prescribed form. II. Pledging the House to a measure for the relief of the Jews at the commencement of the next Session. rail lament was prorogued by the Queen in person on the 1 8th of August. In the autumn of this year an event occurred which produced great excitement from one end of the kingdom to the other the arrival of a Papal Bull from Rome constituting an Kpiscopal Hier- archy in Kngland and Wales in place of Vicars Apostolic ; in other words, dividing Kngland into no Parliamentary History. [1850. dioceses which were to be governed by Bishops named after English towns, and appointing Cardinal Wiseman first Archbishop of Westminster, which was followed by a pastoral of the Cardinal, the style and tenour of which greatly increased the feeling of resentment. In the midst of the excite- ment there appeared in the public papers a letter from the Prime Minister to the Bishop of Durham, expressing his indignation and protesting against the proceedings. The clergy met and addressed their bishops. The laity were not idle ; in fact, all classes participated in the common impulse. Meetings without number were called and the proceedings universally condemned. Cardinal Wiseman addressed a mollifying letter to the people of England, affirming that the step was taken at the instance of English Roman Catholics for the purpose of Church discipline, and not aggressively. 1 85 1- Territorial Titles Bill. Agricultural Distress. The County Franchise. Budget received with Dissatisfaction. Resignation of Ministers. Ministers retain their Places. Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Vote by Ballot, Marriage with Deceased Wife's Sister. Admission of Jews to Parliament. Debate and Division. New House of Commons. Creat Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in Hyde Park.. At the opening of this Session the subject of Papal Aggression was the all-absorbing topic, as also the measures likely to be adopted to counteract it. Parliament met on 4th February, and on the 12th Lord John Russell brought in a measure to main- tain the rights of the Crown in this matter, and prohibiting the assumption of territorial titles by Roman Catholics, which was read a first time in the House of Commons by a very large majority. Next came a motion by Mr. Disraeli in favour of relief for agricultural distress, which was defeated by a majority of 14 only. On a motion by Mr. Locke-King to assimilate the count) - to the borough franchise, Government were beaten by a majority of 4S. A few days afterwards the 112 Parliamentary History. [1851. Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced his financial statement ; there was a surplus of ;i ,800,000, and it was proposed to apply 1,000,000 to reduction of debt, and out of the surplus practically to repeal the window duty, and to continue the income tax. The proposals were received with great dissatisfaction, and Ministers, feeling that they no longer commanded the con- fidence of the House, determined to resign. Lord Stanley was sent for, but he found it impossible to form a Protectionist Ministry ; and Lord Aberdeen declining to assist Lord John Russell, owing to his action against the Catholics, the Queen requested Ministers to retain their offices, which they accord- ingly did. The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill was again brought forward, but shorn of its most important provisions, and was carried by a large majority. A new Budget was brought in, the leading features in which were the continuation of the income tax and the introduction of a fixed house duty in the place of the window tax. Mr. Grantley Berkeley's motion in favour of vote by ballot was carried against Ministers by S 1 / votes to 50, but it led to no further result. The Bill to Legalize Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister was this year introduced in the House of Lords, and was lost. Lord John Russell again brought in a Bill for the Admission of Jews to Parliament, and the j Parliamentary History. 1 1 second reading was carried by 25 ; but in the House of Lords the Bill was lost on a division by 144 to 108. The matter, however, did not end here. Alderman Salomons, a member of the Jewish community, who had lately been elected Member of Parliament for Greenwich, determined to take his seat : he repeated the Oath of Abjuration at the table of the Mouse, but omitted the words, ' On tJic true faith of a CJiristian! Being directed by the Speaker to withdraw, he at first took his scat in the House, but afterwards retired below the Bar. A discussion ensued, which was postponed to a future day. Meantime Mr. Salomons again entered the House, and seated himself on the Ministerial side. A stormy discussion ensued, and three divisions were taken ; on two of which Mr. Salomons himself voted. Mr. Bcthcll (afterwards Lord Westbury) expressed his opinion in favour of Mr. Salomons' competency to sit upon taking the oath, as he had done. Sir F. Thesiger expressed a contrary opinion. Mr. Salomons was called upon, and delivered a short speech. The House then affirmed by 251 votes against Si that Mr. Salomons should withdraw. lie refused to do so unless compelled. The Sergeant - at - Arms was then directed to remove him, and he retired. Next day Lord John Russell moved a resolution denying the right of Mr. Salomons to sit until he had taken the usual oath. The question was debated at con- K ii4 Parliamentary History. [1851. -siderable length, and, after several amendments and divisions, the motion was carried by 183 to 63. Some useful measures of land reform were carried this Session, and also a Bill for the removal of Smithfield Market. Parliament was prorogued on the 8th of August by the Queen in person. The occasion was sig- nalized by the circumstance that the Members of the House of Commons for the first time occupied their new chamber, which, after many experimental sittings and alterations, had been made ready for their reception, and proceeded thence to the presence of their Sovereign. The Session was almost a barren one ; the fact being that the attention of the country was drawn from political questions by the interest excited by the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, in Hyde Park, which had been fostered .and inaugurated by Prince Albert. I8 5 2. Lord Palmerston's Dismissal as Foreign Minister. Defence against Invasion. Defeat of Government. Lord John Russell resigns. Acceptance of Office by Lord Derby. His Cabinet. His Policy. Motion to appropriate Vacant Seats. Defeat of Government. Budget. Law Reform. Dissolution of Parliament. General Election. Death of Duke of Wellington. Commercial and Fiscal Policy. -Free Trade, Resolution in favour of. Difficulties of Ministers. Amended Resolution accepted by Ministers. Final Settlement of the Question. Mr. Sidney Herbert's Reflections on Ministers. Mr. Disraeli's Financial Pro- posals opposed by Mr. Gladstone. Defeat of Govern- ment.- Resignation of Ministers. Lord Aberdeen's Coali- tion Government. Parliament was opened by the Oueen in person on the 3rd of February. Interest was at the commence- ment centred in the dismissal of Lord Palmerston from the office of Foreign Minister, for having made statements to the French Ambassador with- out previous consultation with the Cabinet. Long discussions and explanations followed. Lord John Russell gave notice of his intention to introduce a Reform Rill, which, however, never saw light. Fearing that Napoleon would endeavour to 8- 2 116 Parliamentary History. [1852. improve his position by fostering the war feeling against England, to avenge Waterloo, Ministers determined to strengthen the defences of the country, and Lord John Russell accordingly pro- posed a scheme for raising a body of men on the footing of a local Militia. Lord Palmerston ex- pressed his preference for the regular Militia, and moved to omit the word ' local,' from the Bill. Lord John strongly opposed this ; but on a division the amendment was carried against Government by 135 to 126 votes. Lord John thereupon threw up the measure, and stated that he regarded the decision of the House as a vote of withdrawal of confidence; and, in answer to Sir Benjamin Hall, stated his intention to abandon the reins of office. On the resignation of the Cabinet, Lord Stanley, who had now become Earl of Derby, was sent for by her Majesty to form an Administration ; and now occurred one of the most important situations presented in recent political history. All the best men of Sir Robert Peel's Cabinet, indeed all the leading members of it, except Lord Stanley, had hung together ; Mr. Disraeli had become the Leader of the Tory party in the House of Commons, and as such still advocated Protection. Lord Derby had therefore to choose between Disraeli and the Peelites, and feeling he could not possibly abandon his old party, he was forced to accept Mr. Disraeli, and thus to form a Cabinet with scarce a single 1852.] Parliamentary History. 117 member in it who had previously held office. Mr. Disraeli became Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Lord Malmsbury Foreign Secretary ; Mr. Walpole, O.C., a barrister practising in the Rolls Court, Home Secretary; and Sir Edward Sugden, at that time a lawyer of great renown, and who in Sir Robert Peel's last Administration had been Lord Chancellor of Ireland, became Lord Chan- cellor. Both Houses reassembled on March 12th. The Leaders in each stated their principles, which, though they had not much opportunity of carrying them into effect, arc nevertheless interesting to record. They were, with regard to foreign affairs, non-inter- vention. As to defences, the maintenance of the present forces, aided by the organization of the Militia. As to finances, there was vagueness. They would not take up the franchise question, nor would they return to Protection unless a majority of that opinion were returned to the House of Commons. They would uphold the Established Church, and extend religious education, based on the study of the Scriptures. A Militia Bill was brought in and passed. On a motion by Mr. Disraeli for the appropriation of the four seats vacant by the dis- franchisement of Sudbury and St. Albans, Ministers were defeated by 234 to 148. On the 30th May Mr. Disraeli introduced his Budget, and pleading that he had not had time to 1 1 S Parliamentary History. [1852. examine fully into the finances, merely proposed to continue the system he found on taking office, and renew the income tax for one year. His speech and proposals were, however, favourably received. Three very important Bills were passed to amend the administration of the law, which were intended to lessen the previous delays and expense to which suitors in the Court of Chancery were put. Amongst other things the old Masters in Chancery were abolished, and a cheaper and speedier tribunal appointed in their place. It was obvious that the sense of the country on the new Administration should be taken as quickly as possible ; and as soon as the necessary business could be transacted, Parliament was dissolved and a General Election followed. Parliament reassembled November 4th. The balance of parties had not been altered by the election, and Ministers were still in a helpless minority. Mr. Charles Shaw - Lefevre was re-elected Speaker, nem. con. On the 11th her Majesty delivered her Speech from the Throne. The establishment of the Empire in France was communicated to the two Houses. The first business of Parliament was to decree a public funeral to the Duke of Wellington, who had just died. It was felt that the continuance of the Derby 1852.] Parliamentary History. 119 Cabinet in office depended upon their commercial and fiscal policy. The Free -Traders, however, dissatisfied with the ambiguous statements of Ministers on the subject, determined to bring the matter to an issue at once and for ever, and for this purpose Mr. Villiers gave notice of a resolu- tion 'That in the opinion of the House the im- proved condition of the country, and particularly of the industrial classes, was mainly the result of the legislation of KS46 establishing the free ad- mission of foreign corn, and that the extension of Free Trade, as against Protection, would best enable the nation to bear its burdens, and to contribute to the general prosperity, welfare, and contentment, and the 1 louse was ready to take into its considera- tion any measures consistent with these prin- ciples.' It was generally admitted that one of the chief objects of Parliament meeting then was to settle the basis of their commercial legislation ; accordingly, a most important debate ensued, and Ministers were compelled to throw off the mask - they were, in fact, in a most uncomfortable situa- tion. In their utterances in and out ot Parliament the one theme they had adopted was abuse of Free Trade, and prediction of the ruin it would bring upon the country ; and here the) - were in office, and called upon to decide whether they should pursue the course the) - had so long and so persistently denounced _ The debate was commenced by Mr. Villiers, on Nov- 120 Parliamentary History. [1852. ember 23rd, in an able and energetic speech, in which he showed the great benefits to the country which had been caused by Free Trade, and cited, as did also Mr. Bright, a long extract of speeches delivered by Protectionist members. The Protectionist Party had appealed to the country, and lost. Should the verdict be drawn up by one who had repudiated Free Trade, or by one who had consistently sup- ported it ? Mr. Disraeli met the motion by an amendment, and argued that the Government had done nothing to disturb the Act of 1846. Lord Palmerston moved a resolution in broader terms than Mr. Villiers, observing that it would be unwise, if not unjust, to compel persons to go down on their knees and express opinions they did not entertain, or reconcile retention of office with a character for consistency. After Lord Palmerston's speech the debate was adjourned to the 25th. Sir James Graham suggested the addition of a few words to Lord Palmerston's motion, undertaking, if they were agreed to, that he would use his influence to procure the withdrawal of the resolution of Mr. Villiers ; and now commenced the recantations. Sir E. B. Lytton recommended the resolution of Lord Palmerston to the favourable consideration of his friends. The Marquis of Granby declared that he could not agree to any of the resolutions. Mr. Disraeli announced his acceptance of Lord Palmerston's. 1852.] Parliamentary History. 121 Mr. Villiers, with Mr. Cobden's concurrence, de- clined to withdraw his resolution. Mr. Disraeli then withdrew his amendment. Lord Palmcrston finally moved, in lieu of it, a re- solution that the improved condition of the country, especially the industrious classes, was mainly the result of recent legislation, which has established the principle of unrestricted competition, has abo- lished taxes imposed for the purposes of Protection, and has thereby diminished the cost and increased the abundance of the principal articles of the food of the people. Mr. B. Osborne made a felicitous speech, whip- ping the Protectionists, and amusing the House with recitals of their speeches. Sir John Packington and Lord Granby reverted to the conduct pursued towards Sir R. Peel by members of the Government, and tried to atone. Mr. Sidney I lerbcrt in a forcible speech, described the posture of affairs ; he said Mr. Disraeli, doubt- less, never was a Protectionist, but he wished it to be understood that he was ; and read Protectionist speeches of Lord Derby, Lord George Pcntinck, and Mi'. Disraeli, not for the purpose of taunting them with change of opinion ; for, said he, ' I, like others, have changed my convictions on the subject, but 1 thought it was not my duty to hold one set (f opinions and act upon another! Hut to hold opinionSj and not attempt to give eltect to them 122 Parliamentary History. [1852. when I was in authority, I felt to be inconsistent with my character as a man of honour.' As to the terms of Mr. Villiers's motion, he confessed they cast a censure on honourable gentlemen opposite, and, after all, generosity was the best policy. We are all anxious to make proselytes, and therefore we ought not to repel a man or body of men, when they come over to our side, with hard words and terms of humiliation.' Alluding to the vindication of the character of Sir Robert Peel, he carried the House with him, when he exclaimed, ' As to the memory of Sir Robert Peel, it was too loudly pedestalled to need the tribute of any resolution of that House. I knew Sir Robert Peel during my whole life almost. I admired him as a politician ; I followed him as a leader. I loved him as a man. He was a man, mind you, susceptible of attachment, proud and justly proud of the purity of his motives, and jealous of his honour. I sat by him on that bench when he was attacked by the foulest language and accused of the meanest crimes. But Sir Robert Peel was a man of a generous nature ; he never rejoiced in the humiliation of an adversary. I say- that the memory of Sir Robert Peel needs no vin- dication ; his memory is embalmed in the grateful recollections of the people of this country, and if even retribution is wanting for it is not words that humiliate, but deeds if a man wants to see humili- ation which, God knows, is always a painful sight 1852.] Parliamentary History. 123 he need but look there ' (pointing to the Treasury bench, and the Opposition seconded the application of the words with a burst of cheers). Mr. Walpole sought to show that changes of opinion had not been confined to members of the Derby party. On the division Mr. Villiers's resolution was re- jected by 336 against 256, and Lord Palmerston's adopted almost unanimously. A similar resolution was accepted after some slight discussion in the House of Peers, and thus was terminated for ever the contest between Free Trade and Protection. The resolution as finally passed ran thus : 'That it is the opinion of this House that the improved condition of the country, and especially of the industrious classes, is mainly the result of recent legislation, which has established the prin- ciple of unrestricted competition, has abolished taxes imposed for the purpose of Protection, and has thereby diminished the cost and increased the abundance of the principal articles of the food ol the people. That it is the opinion of this I louse that tin's policy, firmly maintained and prudently extended, will, without inflicting injury on any important interest, best enable the Ministry of the country to bear its burdens, and will thereby most surely pro- mote the welfare and contentment of the people, and that this House will be ready to take into 124 Parliamentary History. [1852. consideration any measures consistent with these principles.' On December 3rd, Mr. Disraeli, in a comprehen- sive speech of five hours' duration, developed his views on financial affairs ; the leading feature of his proposals consisted of alterations affecting the income tax, malt tax, tea duties, house tax, hop duty, and other minor branches of revenue. His speech was much applauded, but no definite opinion was at first expressed. A few days after- wards, Mr. Gladstone announced his decided hosti- lity to the proposed readjustment of the income tax (the chief objection being addressed to the proposal to estimate the profits of the farmers at one-third instead of one-half of their rents). Mr. Goulbourn expressed similar views, and Lord John Russell intimated his apprehension of the financial security of the country, if the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer's schemes should be adopted. A very long discussion took place, in which most of the leading members of the House took part, and on the divi- sion the Government were defeated by 305 to 286. The Cabinet at once resigned, and the Queen thereupon sent for Lord Aberdeen and Lord Lansdowne. The short-lived Administration of Lord Derby was followed by the Coalition Ministry of Lord Aberdeen, consisting of Whigs and Peelites, which was destined, with modifications, to be the ruling 1852.] Parliamentary History. 125 power of the country for many years. There is no doubt that if, at this critical juncture, Lord Derby could have secured the adhesion of the Peelites, containing- amongst them some of the most able politicians of the day, the party so formed might have held the reins of Government for a long period ; but with Mr. Disraeli at the head of the Protectionist party this was impossible, and, as a consequence, Mr. Disraeli and the Tory Party were destined to political oblivion for a very long time. In the new Administration, Mr. Gladstone held the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord John Russell Foreign Secretary, and Lord Palmcr- ston, Home Secretary. They announced as their programme their desire to secure the peace of Europe, to extend Free Trade principles, and to continue the policy inaugurated by Sir Robert Peel. i853- Committee on Jewish Disabilities. National Education. The National Debt, and the Funds. Budget. Income Tax Exemptions. Succession Duty. Advertisement Duty. Monastic Establishments. Ecclesiastical Re- venues in Ireland. Government of India. Transportation and Ticket-of- Leave System. The Crimean War. Resig- nation of Lord Palmerston. The Session opened on the ioth February. In enumerating the measures which the Government in- tended to bring forward, Lord John Russell men- tioned that it was not the intention of the Govern- ment to send any more criminals to Australia, and that on the question of Secondary Punishments he should have a proposal to make. Lord John Russell moved for a Committee of the whole House to consider the Jewish Disabilities, which was carried, and a Bill brought in to remove them, which again passed the House of Commons, but was lost in the House of Lords by 164 to 115. Lord John Russell next laid before the House, the views and intentions of the Government re- lating to National Education, which embraced an extension of the then existing system, a plan for deal- i853-] Parliamentary History. 127 ing with Educational Charities, and an outline of University Reform and empowering Town Coun- cils to levy a rate for educational purposes in aid of the voluntary efforts of individuals and of school-pence. Leave was given to bring in a Bill, but the Government did not proceed with it. On the 9th April the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer introduced his resolutions on the subject of the National Debt, which consisted of three divisions : 1. The liquidation of certain minor stocks, e.g., the South Sea Stock, Old and New South Sea Annuities, and other Stock amounting to about nine and a half millions, to be converted into New Stock or paid off at par. 2. The issue of Exchequer Bonds, not exceeding thirty millions, at 2 1 os. per cent., which, compared with Ex- chequer Bills, would save 1 per cent. 3. The voluntary commutation of the Three per Cent, and Reduced into one or other of two new stocks to be created a scheme which would effect a saving of interest to a large amount ; too complicated, how- ever, to be here discussed. The resolutions were agreed to, and on the 18th the Budget, which was the main achievement of the Session, was introduced by .Mr. Gladstone in a lucid and able address, occupying five hours. There was a small surplus not admitting of any substantial relief in taxation. The income tax was to be continued for two years more at its 128 Parliamentary History. [1853.. present rate of yd. ; two years at 6d., and three years at 5d., with a view to its extinction in i860. Incomes between ,100 and .150 would pay at 5d. in the pound, and the tax would be extended to Ireland ; and id. stamp on receipt of sums amounting to 40s. and upwards was introduced. The Chancellor of the Exchequer having with extraordinary power and ability reviewed the whole financial system of the country, his propositions were carried by a majority of 71. Mr. Gladstone next introduced his Bill dealing with Succession Duty, which was to make the succession to real property, which had hitherto been exempt from death duty, liable to duty in the same way that personal property was liable to Legacy Duty ; and it also made the properties of corporate bodies liable to the tax. The Bill, after strong opposition, passed both Houses. The Chancellor of the Exchequer next proposed to reduce the advertisement stamp to 6d., which was also opposed ; but Mr. Crawford moved a reso- lution to efface the duty altogether, which was carried against Government by a majority of 3. Mr. T. Chambers moved and obtained leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate the recovery of personal liberty in the case of persons confined in monastic establishments, but the second reading was nega- tived by 207 against 178. In the debate on a motion for inquiry into 1853.] Parliamentary History. 129 ecclesiastical revenues in Ireland, Lord John Russell made some observations on the Romish clergy which occasioned an angry feeling among the Roman Catholic Members, and in consequence Mr. Keogh, Mr. Mansell, and Mr. Sadlier resigned their offices. An explanatory letter from Lord Aberdeen, however, resulted in the resignations being withdrawn. A Bill was brought in and passed, for the future Government of India, and also one altering the law of transportation by limiting it to sentences of transportation for life or for a term of fourteen years. Persons sentenced to less than fourteen years were to be kept in penal servitude for such terms as prescribed by the Act, and the ticket-of- leave system or license to be at large was intro- duced. At the close of the Session the condition and prospects of the country were most satisfactory trade and manufactures were flourishing, the finances were in a prosperous condition, and the Government commanded general confidence; but a dark cloud was rising in the Last, destined to interfere very materially with our prospects, and which culminated in a war with Russia known as the ('rim can War. It is no part of this history to give an account of the origin or objects of this terrible disaster ; suffice it to say, that indignation against Russian 9 130 Parliamentary History. [1853. ambition and Russian insolence largely prevailed in this country, and that we were induced, under the influence of panic, to join with France in a war nominally for other purposes, but in reality to check Russian ambition. Lord Palmerston, in view of the coming Reform Bill, tendered his resignation ; but it is said that the real reason was, that he had urged his colleagues to a more decided course against Russia than they were disposed to adopt. He was succeeded by Lord Clarendon. i854. The Reform Bill. Prince Albert. War with Russia.-- Budget. University of Oxford. Nunneries. Changes in the Cabinet. Autumn Session. Foreigners' Enlistment Bill. The Militia Bill. By the commencement of this year the hopes of peace had almost entirely vanished. The massacre at Sinope, and the entrance of the allied fleets into the Baltic, indicated the certainty of hostilities. The Session was opened by the Queen in person on the 30th January. The Speech from the Throne referred to the impending war, and announced that an augmentation of the naval and military forces would be required, and, among other matters, that a Reform Bill would be introduced. Accordingly, on the 13th February Lord John Russell introduced his Reform Bill in the House of Commons. Its main features were to lower the County Franchise to .10, and that in the Boroughs to 6 to disfranchise \<) boroughs containing 29 Members that certain boroughs then returning 2 .Members should thence- forth return 1, thus saving ^ ; and to distribute the seats thu^ saved amongst the counties and 92 132 Parliamentary History. [1854. large towns. Though carefully prepared and in- troduced with much ability, the House of Com- mons evinced an indisposition to deal with a matter of organic change, at a time when the country was entering upon a great war, and Lord John Russell, to his great mortification, was com- pelled to withdraw the measure. Prince Albert's conduct was vindicated in both Houses of Parliament from the charge of undue interference with the patronage of the army. War was declared against Russia on the 22nd March, all efforts to avert it having failed, amongst which may be mentioned a deputation from the Society of Friends, who travelled to St. Petersburg, waited upon the Emperor, and besought him to avert war, but though he received them courteously their efforts did not avail. Mr. Gladstone introduced his Budget, but although the state of the finances was most satisfactory, and a surplus of two millions shown, it was thought necessary to propose war estimates amounting to ten millions, which were to be raised by doubling the income tax and increase of spirit and sugar duties, thus paying the annual cost of the war out of the annual income instead of by loans as in former times. A Bill was brought in and passed to make further provision for the good government and the extension of the University of Oxford and 1854.] Parliamentary History. the colleges therein. Lord John Russell gracefully acknowledged the assistance he had received in the matter from Mr. Gladstone, who had drafted the Bill for him. The exciting topic of Roman Catholic Nunneries was again brought before Parliament by Mr. T. Chambers, and after a debate of considerable length the motion for the appointment of a Select Com- mittee was carried by 186 to 110. So violent and persistent, however, was the resistance offered to the nomination of the committee that it was never constituted. Mr. Whiteside took up the subject again, and obtained leave to bring in a Bill to secure to persons under religious vows the free exercise of their rights in the disposal of property, but after much discus- sion it was withdrawn. During the Session some changes were made in the Cabinet; Lord John Russell became President of the Council in the place of Lord Granville. Hitherto the duties of War Minister had been discharged by the Secretary of State for the Colonics. This being now found to be incompatible, a fourth Secretary of State that for War was created, which was conferred upon the Luke of Newcastle, and Sir George Grey was appointed to the Secretaryship of the Colonies thus vacated. Parliament was prorogued on the 12th August, and on the 1 2th December both I louses reassembled. 134 Parliamentary History. [1854. The Ministerial management of the war was im- pugned and defended. The thanks of both Houses were voted to the forces in the East, and to the French generals and admirals. The Foreign Enlistment Bill, the object of which was to raise a force of 15,000 foreigners, to be drilled in this country, was after much discussion passed by both Houses. The Militia Bill was passed, and on the 23rd December Parliament adjourned to January 23rd. 1 855- The War with Russia. Conclusion of the Campaign. Resignation of Lord John Russell. Mr. Roebuck's Motion. Lord Palmerston Premier. Changes in the Ministry. Congress at Vienna. Death of Emperor of Russia.- Budget. Mr. Disraeli's Motion. Terms of Peace. Sun- day Trading. Local Management. Limited Liability. By the opening of this year we had been at war nine months; the progress and conduct of the campaign engrossed universal attention, to the ex- clusion of all other topics. Serious news continued to arrive of incompetence and neglect on the part of the authorities, insomuch that our soldiers were dying from the effects of the want of ordinary cal- culation and forethought. The nation was greatly excited, and it was in the midst of this excitement that Parliament reassembled on January 23rd. Amongst several notices of motion to bring the conduct of the war under review, the most important was that of Mr. Roebuck, who demanded a formal inquiry into the whole administration of the war. This motion was to have been discussed on January 2phet, a charact :r to which I have no claim ; for how was it possible that I, who was 1 12 212 Parliamentary History. [1867. daily in confidential communication with honour- able gentlemen opposite when they held widely different opinions, could ever have believed that after their declarations last year, and accepting from us help they could not have done without, they would have done what they have done ? Was it in human foresight to have imagined such a thing was it to be conceived that right honourable gentlemen who had given no indications of the extreme facility of changing their opinions, and lending themselves to the arts of treachery, would, for the sake of keeping a few of them in office for a short time, have been prepared to sacrifice all the principles, all the convictions, and all the traditions of their lives ?' These and other taunts which Mr. Disraeli had to listen to, and as severe or more so than he had heaped upon Sir Robert Peel, were parried with his usual dexterity, and as well as he could, he defended the conduct of Ministers ; and thus was passed by a Conservative Government a Reform Bill which Mr. Bright himself might have introduced, and which, if not satisfying to the Reform League, at least ex- ceeded their expectations. The Conservative party loudly complained of their betrayal, as well they might, when they saw their so-called securities swept away one after another, and aptly termed by Mr. Bright 'the Conservative surrender.' The Bill then came before the House of Lords, 1867.] Parliamentary History. 213 and the principal amendment they made was a provision (known as the Minority Clause) which enacted that electors in constituencies which returned three Members should only have two votes, thus providing for the representation of minorities, and the clause was maintained on a division in the House of Commons. Lord Derby, who, in spite of the strong advice of his medical attendant, was present at the third reading in the House of Lords, acknowledged that the measure was a great experiment, that they had taken a leap in the dark, but expressed confidence in the sound sense of his countrymen. Whilst the measure was in Committee in the House of Commons, the Reform League deter- mined to hold a meeting in Hyde Park. Mr. Walpole, with the concurrence of his colleagues, forbade the meeting, which it was found they had no right to do. The Council of the League held their meeting, which, though watched by a large body of soldiers, led to no more serious result than the pulling down of a (c\v of the Lark railings. Mr. Walpole however resigned in consequence, and Mr. Gathornc Hardy became Home Secretary in his place. The- Budget was introduced on the 4th of April ; there was a surplus of ,1,200,000, which was applied in extinction of debt. This plan, although approved by Mr. Gladstone, was adversely criticized 214 Parliamentary History. [1S67. by the representatives of the agricultural interest, who naturally looked for relief at the hands of a Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer in the malt duties, or in some other way to their advantage. Mr. Hardcastle's Bill for the Abolition of Church Rates, and Mr. Coleridge's Bill for Abolishing Religious Tests in the Universities, were both re- jected by the Lords after second reading in the Commons. Parliament was prorogued on the 21st August, and met again on the 19th November ; an autumn Session being rendered necessary, war having been declared against the King of Abyssinia, to obtain the release of the Englishmen accredited to him by the English Government, whom he obstinately detained as prisoners, and to defray the expenses of which id. was added to the income tax. Parliament was adjourned to the 10th of Eebruary. The Fenian movement had now attained danger- ous proportions. The trial of King and Deasey, two officers of the Fenian army ; the murder of Police Constable Brett, who was in charge of the van which conveyed the prisoners to the gaol ; and the attempt to blow up Clerkenwell prison by some of their agents to release Fenians who were incar- cerated there, produced a profound sensation, and no doubt paved the way for much of the legislation which followed during the next six or eight years. 1 868. Corrupt Practices Bill. Retirement of Lord Derby. Mr. Disraeli Premier. Fenian Agitation. Disestablishment of the Irish Church. Union of the Liberal Party. Mr. Gladstone's Resolutions as to the Irish Church. Defeat of Ministers. Advice to the Queen. Dissolution. May- nooth Grant and Regium Donum. Scotch and Irish Reform Pills. Bribery Pill. Mr. Gladstone's Suspensory Pill. The Electric Telegraphs. Budget. The Foreign Cattle Pill. General Flection. Result. Resignation of Ministers. Mr. Gladstone Premier. THE Session of 186S being by adjournment from the autumn Session of 1867, business was taken up where it was then left. Ministers were still face to face with an opposition far outnumbering their supporters, but divided, and the anomaly of _ ivcrnment by a minority still continued. The first measure announced in the 1 louse of Commons was a Dill to prevent corrupt practices at Parlia- mentary elections, and a proposal to create a Court consisting of three paid Judges to hear petitions and appeals from Revising Barristers. The resignation of Lord Derby from failing 2i6 Parliamentary History. [1868. health, which had been long expected, at last took place, and was announced on the 12th of February in the Upper House by Lord Malmesbury, and in the Lower House by Lord Stanley. Mr. Disraeli was sent for, and commanded to form a new Administration. With the exception of Lord Chelmsford, who was succeeded in the Chancellor- ship by Lord Cairns, the members of the old Cabinet remained in office ; Mr. Disraeli, of course, became Prime Minister, and Mr. Ward Hunt the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. Disraeli, who had now become the recognised, as he had been the real chief of the Cabinet, in addressing the House for the first time after his appointment, said he had succeeded to the place and policy of the Earl of Derby, and added that he would pursue a liberal policy, when the House laughed. He then said emphatically, ' a truly liberal policy,' at which the House laughed still more loudly. He then explained that f by liberal policy he meant one that would not shrink from any changes required by the wants of the age, and he would never forget that it was our happy lot to dwell in an ancient and historic country, rich in traditionary influences that are the best security for order and liberty, and the most valuable element of our national character and strength.' Vague phrases that might just as well have been used by the Leader of the Opposition. i86s.] Parliamentary History. 217 The Fenian agitation was felt to be the outward symptom of a deep-seated political cancer in Ire- land, which would have to be eradicated. The subject was brought before the House by Mr. Maguirc in a speech of great force, moving for a Committee to take into immediate consideration the affairs of Ireland. Ministers, whilst opposing the motion, although admitting the existence of the evil, showed plainly they had no adequate remedies to propose. Mr. Gladstone announced his policy of disestablishing the Irish Church ; the thunders of applause which followed showed that the measure thus indicated was the necessary pre- liminary to other needful remedies for the pacifi- cation of the sister country, and it was evident that if he would propose it, he would obtain the support of the whole Liberal party. Mr. Disraeli, who followed him, announced his determination to resist to the uttermost the overthrow of the Irish Church. The debate, it may be said, was the most important of the generation. The resolution was withdrawn, but Mr. Gladstone immediately gave notice of resolutions to the effect that the Irish Church as an establishment should cease to exist, and that, pending the decision of Parliament, no new interests should be created. Lord Stanley gave notice of an amendment to the effect that, whilst modifications were expedient, any proposition tending to Disestablishment or Dis- 2i8 Parliamentary History. [1868. endowment should be reserved for the new Parlia- ment. At the close of the debate two divisions took place, and Ministers were defeated by majorities of 60 and 56. Mr. Disraeli at once declared that the decision was fatal to his Ministry, and proposed a short adjournment. On reassembling, the Premier stated that he had waited on the Queen, and laid before her the position of the Government and the country, and he had concluded by telling her that the advice which Ministers were prepared to offer her was, that she should dissolve Parliament and take the opinion of the country on the conduct of the Government and on the question at issue. At the same time, he had represented to her Majesty that there were important occasions on which it was desirable that the Sovereign should not be embarrassed by personal claims ; and that if she was of opinion that the question at issue could be more satisfactorily settled, and the interests of the country better promoted, by the immediate retire- ment of the present Government from office, they were prepared to quit her service. He had then tendered his resignation to her Majesty, who took a day to consider what had been said to her, and then announced that it was her pleasure not to accept the resignation of her Ministers, and de- clared her readiness to dissolve Parliament as soon 56S.] Parliamentary History. 219 as the state of public business would permit. Under these circumstances, he advised her Majesty that, although the representatives of the existing constituencies were no doubt as morally competent to decide on the question of the Disestablishment of the Irish Church as the representatives of the new constituencies, still it was the opinion of Ministers that every effort should be made for appealing, if possible, to the new constituencies ; and he stated that if the Government had the cordial co-operation of Parliament, he was advised by those who were experienced in this matter that it would be possible to make arrangements by which the dissolution might take place in the coming autumn. With regard to the second and third resolutions on the Irish Church, having dis- approved of the first, he of course disapproved the second and third, which he looked upon as corollaries to the first. With a view to the despatch of business, however, he would not enter into pro- tracted and formal discussions upon them, though he should offer them a hearty negative ; but he would be happy to devote the earliest possible day at the disposal of the Government for their con- sideration. Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Lowe, and Air. Uright all condemned the course pursued by the Government as unconstitutional, and contended that, after the severe defeats they had sustained, they had no 220 Parliamentary History. [1868. right to recommend a dissolution, but ought at once to have given in their resignations. The subject was brought up on the following day, owing to a discrepancy between the statement made in the House of Lords by the Duke of Rich- mond and that made in the House of Commons by Mr. Disraeli, who replied that, as he was the Minister who had audience of her Majesty, his state- ment ought to be taken; but if any of his colleagues elsewhere had made a different one, that colleague should be called upon to explain the discrepancy. The matter so passed off; and thus Mr. Disraeli, although in a considerable minority, had the House of Commons completely under his control, as if he had been the Leader of a great majority; for if they did not accept the measures which he proposed, he could appeal to the existing constituencies, in which case it would be necessary to appeal to the new constituencies created by the Act, at a very early period, and so put members to the inconvenience and expense of two elections. Such was the rod which circumstances and his own dexterity had placed within his power, and he used it with great effect. A motion by Mr. Aytoun, a Scotch Member, to add a rider to Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, that the Maynooth Grant and Regium Donum should be discontinued, led to strong controversy, and a very discreditable scene took place: the matter 1 868.] Parliamentary History. 221 ended in a rider being added to the effect that the grants should be discontinued in the proposed legis- lation, regard being had to personal interests. During the discussion, which showed a difference of opinion in the Liberal ranks, Ministers walked out of the House, leaving the discussion entirely to their opponents. On his return to the House Mr. Disraeli quietly observed that his expectations had been realized, and that gentlemen opposite were now quarrelling over 'their booty.' On the Scotch Reform Bill coming on for dis- cussion, Mr. Baxter moved as an instruction to the Committtcc that the ten new Members required should be obtained by disfranchising boroughs in England having less than 5,000 inhabitants ; but as this, if carried, would have ruthlessly swept away the boast of the Prime Minister that he had not disfranchised a single borough, Sir Reginald Knightley moved a counter instruction, that the ten Members required should be taken from those boroughs in Scotland whose population was below 12,000. Mr. Disraeli warmly supported the latter, and Mr. Gladstone the former proposition. On division, Ministers were defeated by a majority of 21. Mr. Bouverie next moved that the ratepaying clauses of the Bill should be struck out, which was likewise carried against Ministers by a majority of 22. This beiiU' fatal to what was regarded as a vital 222 Parliamentary Histoiy. [1868. principle of the Bill, another Ministerial crisis occurred, but it passed over as others had done. Mr. Disraeli moved to report progress, and a com- promise was effected. The Irish Reform Bill, the Boundary Bill, the Registration Bill, the Bribery Bill whereby the jurisdiction of the House of Commons to try election petitions was transferred to the Judges, in spite of the protest of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, in the name of the Bench were brought in and carried with the utmost despatch, it being necessary that these measures should pass before the dissolu- tion took place. Mr. Gladstone's Suspensory Bill passed the House of Commons without much further discus- sion ; but though assailed in the House of Lords, was carried by 192 against 97 votes. The Budget this year showed a considerable deficiency, which was raised by the addition of 2d. to the Income Tax. A Bill enabling the Government to purchase the electric telegraphs from the private companies who owned them was likewise brought in and passed. The Foreign Cattle Bill, though introduced early in the Session, was opposed in almost every quarter, and was at length talked out for want of sufficient time to discuss its provisions. Parliament was dissolved on July 31st. i868.] Parliamentary History. And now commenced a General Election which in the interest it excited had not been surpassed by any in recent years. The proclamation was issued on the nth November. In the contest which ensued casualties took place. Mr. Gladstone, while the contest in South-West Lancashire, in which he was unsuccessful, was still undecided, was returned for Greenwich without expense or solicitation on his part. Baron Rothschild was rejected in the City of London, Mr. J. S. Mill at Westminster, and Mr. Roebuck at Sheffield. The result, however, on the whole was a decided victory for the Opposition. A remarkable feature in the result was the falsification of the prediction that the working-men now enfranchised would return members of their own class to Parliament. Al- though several were proposed, and amongst them some very able men likely to throw much light on the matters which would come up for dis- cussion, not one of them was returned. The de- cision of the country was beyond doubt against Ministers, and it was calculated that they would be in a minority of 120. The)- thought it their duty to tender their resignation to her Majesty b< f re the < pening of Parliament, and accordingly before its meeting the Disraeli Cabinet had ceased to exist. Mr. Gladstone was sent for to form a ; \v Administratii n, v.hieh he had little difficulty in doiiv/, Lor' < L r< Ln Secre- 224 Parliamentary History. [1868. tary and Lord Granville Colonial Secretary. Few Governments were more popular than the one now formed, owing mainly to the presence in it of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright, who held the office of President of the Board of Trade, and great expec- tations were formed of what it was destined to accomplish. Parliament reassembled on the nth December, and proceeded to elect a Speaker, in which there was no contest ; and the necessary formal business being concluded, both Houses adjourned until the 1 6th February. 1869. The Irish Church Bill. The Budget. The Irish Church Bill in the Lords. The Lords' Amendments. Compro- mise. Mr. Gladstone's Health. Other Measures of the Session. In the Speech from the Throne, the forthcoming Irish Church Bill was referred to, and various other important items of legislation promised, amongst them Poor Law Bills, an Endowed School Bill, a University Tests Bill, and a Bankruptcy Bill. The Irish Church Bill, which was of course the measure of the Session, was promised on the 1st of March, on which day Mr. Gladstone intro- duced it in a speech of three hours' duration, which Mr. Disraeli described as eloquent, full, adequate, and n< it containing one unnecessary word. The plan unfolded by the Premier was to the following effect : That on the 1st of January, 1S71, the Irish Church should cease to be recognised by the Slate. On the second reading of the measure, the technical disenduwment was to commence. 1 ; 226 Parliamentary History. [1869. On the passing of the Bill, the Irish Ecclesi- astical Commission was to come to an end, and be succeeded by a new Commission, which was to carry out the transition from the present Church to that of a free Episcopal Church. During the transitional period no new interests were to be created. The Crown was to resign the right of appointing Irish Bishops, and Irish Bishops were to lose their seats in the House of Lords. A governing body, representing clergy and laity, was to be elected and approved by the Queen in Council. The Irish Ecclesiastical Courts were to be abol- ished, and the Ecclesiastical Law was to remain provisionally in force, on a voluntary compact, until it should be altered by the Church itself. A more able and eloquent debate than that which ensued probably never took place in the House of Commons. Mr. Disraeli declared that the opinion of the Opposition remained unchanged, but that under the circumstances Mr. Gladstone ought to be at liberty to introduce the measure ; and on his advice its introduction was not op- posed. On the second reading, which was fixed for the 1 8th March, Mr. Disraeli delivered a very forcible and eloquent speech in moving that the Bill be 1869.] Parliamentary History. 227 read a second time that day six months. Mr. Bright surpassed himself in the sincerity and earnestness with which he supported the Bill, and which made as great an impression as anything that was ever heard in the House, and concluded by claiming for it the support of the Supreme Being, as being in accordance with His glorious attributes of truth, justice, and mercy. Sir Roundell Palmer, who had refused the Chancellorship owing to difference of opinion on this question between him and the rest of the Cabinet, gained the atten- tion which his high character and great abilities commanded, and urged that the grievance which he fully admitted might be met without confisca- tion of the property of the Church. lie was answered by Sir John Coleridge, the Solicitor- General ; then followed Dr. Ball, Mr. Lowe, and others. Mr. Gathornc Hardy's speech, which was one of great eloquence and force, and which was more loudly applauded by his party than that of any other Member of the Opposition, had the fault which was common to the rest of his party, namely, that they had no alternative remedy to offer. Mr. Glad- stone wound up the debate, and on a division, Ministers were supported by a majority of 118 in a full House. The numbers were decisive, but they likewise showed a recognition by the whole Liberal party of Mr. Gladstone's leadership and their entire confidence in their leaders. 1; 2 228 Parliamentary History. [1869. On the House re-assembling after the Easter recess, Mr. Lowe introduced his first Budget, the feature of which was a change in the time and manner of collecting the taxes, which enabled him to increase a surplus of ^"32,000 only into one of more than three millions, out of which he proposed to pay off the expenses of the Abyssinian War, which had cost nine millions ; to remove id. from the income tax, the is. Protective duty on corn, and some of the assessed taxes. It did not, although admitted to be an excellent Budget, excite nearly the same amount of interest as the previous ones of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli. The third reading of the Irish Church Bill took place on 1st Ma}', after a somewhat dreary debate, and was carried by a majority of I [4 ; it was then sent to the House of Lords, and it fell to the lot of Lord Granville to explain its provisions to their lordships. The interest which attached to its passage through that House was augmented by the presence of the Irish prelates, who, if it passed into law, would lose their seats. The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his opinion with a dignity and moderation which did him honour, and although not approving of the Bill in its present shape hoped that it might be fairly considered, and so amended as to be made a good measure. In the debate which followed, Lord Derby addressed for the last time the House of which he was so con- 1869.] Parliamentary History. 229 spicuous an ornament, and even those who differed most from him did homage to his talents, sincerity, and consistency. ' My lords,' said he, with the feeble remnants of a voice which once resounded through that House, ' I am an old man past the allotted space of threescore years and ten, and if it be for the last time that I have the honour of addressing your lordships, I declare that it will be to my dying day a satisfaction that I have been able to lift up my voice against a measure, the political impolicy of which is equalled only by its moral iniquity.' He lived to witness the passing of the Bill, but not to watch its operation, and died on the 23rd October following, in the seventy-second year of his age. The discussion was carried on with great ability. The two English Archbishops stood near the Throne, and looked on while the division took place. The Archbishop of Dublin with 13 English and 2 Irish bishops voted against it ; one prelate only, the Bishop of St. David's, voting in its favour. The division took place 19th June, and was carried by a majority of ^^. In Committee the Bill was freely amended, the amendments in the main being designed to give better terms to the disestablished and disendowed Church, and relegating the dis- posal of the surplus until another Session. In the opinion of the Archbishop of Canterbury it was made a good Bill ; but it was hardly to be expected 230 Parliamentary History. [1869. that the House of Commons would accept the whole or many of the amendments introduced by their lordships, and the chances of the Bill passing were still uncertain. On the third reading, Lord Redesdale handed in a protest from Lord Derby. Meantime considerable agitation was got up in the country in favour of the Bill as it originally stood, and against the action of the House of Lords ; and meetings condemnatory of the action of their lord- ships were held at Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield, and other places. On the 15th July the Bill came back to the House of Commons, and Mr. Gladstone announced which of the Lords' amendments the Government would agree to, and the Government propositions were maintained in division by considerable ma- jorities. The consideration by the Lords of the Commons' amendments was charactererized by much warmth of discussion, and culminated in a speech from Lord Winchelsea, who spoke nonsense till his friends pulled him down ; and in the division the amendments made in the preamble, and dis- agreed to by the Commons, were restored by a majority of 78. Lord Granville at once moved the adjournment of the debate, to consider the course the Government would adopt ; but two days afterwards he announced that a conference had been held by Lord Cairns and himself, and that 1869.] Parliamentary History. 231 terms of compromise had been agreed to. In truth, more to save the honour of the Upper House than to alter the measure, the proposed terms were gladly accepted by the Lords, who were only too anxious to escape from the responsibility which the rejection of the measure would have entailed on them ; and thus the Bill passed, not, however, without a formal protest by the Bishop of Tuam on the part of the Protestants of Ireland. In the House of Commons Mr. Gladstone ex- plained the nature of the compromise come to, the effect of which would be that an additional charge of a quarter of a million would be thrown on the fund at the disposal of the Commissioners. He congratulated all parties, especially Lords Gran- ville and Cairns, on the way in which they had negotiated the compromise, and expressed an earnest hope that the new Disestablished Church would develop qualities which it had not previ- ously displayed, that a new career would be open before her, and that God would speed heron in her high mission. Sir Roundell Palmer expressed his satisfaction that the question was settled, and Mr- Disraeli silenced the murmurs of his part}' by declaring that the compromise come to was wise, well considered, and conciliator) - ; and on the 26th of July the Bill received the Royal Assent. Thus passed probably the largest and most im- portant measure which was ever introduced into 232 Parliamentary History. [1869. the British Legislature. The enormous labour attached to such a measure, devolving chiefly upon the Premier, was the cause of a break-down in his health, and consequent absence from the House of Commons. Nevertheless other measures passed this Session, as, for instance, the Assessed Rating Act, which did away with an irritating grievance ; a new Bankruptcy Bill ; and an Act for the aboli- tion of imprisonment for debt, coupled with im- prisonment for fraud ; an Endowed School Bill, the vanguard of a larger measure of education which was shortly to come ; a Cattle Disease Bill ; and a Bill for the repeal of the fire insurance duties. It was the occasion of much comment that the first Parliament elected after so large an extension of the franchise, described by its author as a leap in the dark, should, in its first Session, have laboured so diligently as to falsify all predictions of its revolu- tionary character. Parliament was prorogued on the nth August. 1870. The Irish Land Bill. The Education Bill. Religious Teaching. War between France and Germany. The Budget. Competitive Examination for the Civil Service. The Army and the Royal Prerogative. IT was well understood that the Government intended to follow up their Irish Church Bill with one even more difficult, namely, the Irish Land Question. Parliament met on the 10th of February, and it was announced in the Speech from the Throne that a proposal would be made to the Legislature to amend the laws relating' to the occupation and acquisition of land in Ireland, in a manner adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the country, and calculated to bring about im- proved relations between the classes concerned in Irish agriculture, which, collectively, constituted tiie great bulk of the nation. A .Bill for an en- largement on u comprehensive scale of the means oi national education, and various other measures of difficulty and importance were also promised, which caused Mr. Bright humorously to describe the task undertaken by Ministers as an attempt to drive six (minibuses abreast through Temple Bar ; but his 234 Parliamentary History. [1870. colleague, Mr. Forster, suggested that the six omni- buses might safely follow one another, though events showed that Mr. Bright was the truer prophet of the two. The Land Bill was introduced on the 15th of February, and the following is a summary of its main provisions : The enlargement of the power of limited owners in regard to both lease and rate. Assistance by means of loans of public money to occupiers disposed to purchase cultivated lands in their possession, were landlords willing to sell. Facilities to landlords by means of loans to pre- pare waste land for cultivation, by making roads and necessary buildings, and to assist purchasers of reclaimed lands upon security of buyer and seller. These transactions to be managed by a Board of Works in Dublin. As to occupation, the new law to be admin- istered by a Court of Arbitration and a Civil Bill Court, with an appellate jurisdiction consisting of three judges of assize. The Ulster custom, where it existed, to be con- verted into Law Holdings, under other customs to be legalized subject to the restriction that the tenant might claim the benefit of them only when disturbed by his landlord, or if he had not been evicted 1S70.] Parliamentary History. 235 for non-payment of rent, or had not sublet without his landlord's consent. Arrears of rent and damages done by tenants might be pleaded by the landlord as a set-off, and the landlord might bar the pleading of such custom by granting a lease for not less than 3 1 years. A scale was fixed of damages for evictions where buildings were not connected with any custom. If above ^o a year, parties might contract themselves out of scale of damages on the landlord granting a 31 years' lease and undertaking to execute necessary improvements. For the purpose of promoting improvements, advances were to be made to landlords to enable them to defray charges raised against them, in case of tenants retiring by any act of their own. As to lands under lease, a landlord might exempt his lands from being subject to any custom except the Ulster, provided he agreed to give his tenant a lease for 31 years. Notice to quit was to be for twelve months instead of six, and date from last day of current year, and have a 2s. 6d. stamp. The county cess to be assimilated to the poor rate, and in every new tenancy to be paid by landlord and tenant in moieties. 236 Parliamentary History. [1870. Mr. Gladstone freely admitted that they were far from believing it to be a perfect measure, and in good faith cordially invited all parties to concur in making it so that it should be a great gift to Ire- land, and that it might be a means of putting an end to grievances and sufferings so long associated with the tenure of land in that country. Mr. G. Hardy, who, in the absence of Mr. Disraeli, acted as Conservative Leader, promised that his party would approach the measure with the single object of making it just, practical, and conciliatory ; and it was generally considered that the Bill grappled with the Irish difficulty in a bold and statesman- like manner. The Bill was read a second time without opposition. To give time for the con- sideration of amendments in Committee, which numbered 300, morning sittings were taken, but no material alteration was made in the Bill. In the House of Lords it was read a first and second time without opposition. Several amend- ments were made in Committee, to which, with one exception, the Government and the House of Com- mons acceded, and so the Bill became law. The Education Bill was introduced by Mr. Forster, and by it it was proposed to secure that efficient school provision should be provided in every district in England, the districts to be the civil parishes, and so long as it was found that there was sufficient primary secular education 1870.] Parliamentary History. 237 the district would be let alone. Government aid to be granted according to the standard which Parliament should set up. Inspection to be com- pulsory and without any denominational conditions and with provisions for compulsory attendance of children; and a conscience clause to be attached to every school as a condition of a grant. The measure was very favourably received, and the clvef struggle that occurred in its passage through the House was on the subject of religious teaching in rate-supported schools. Three different opinions prevailed : 1. That distinct dogmatic teaching should be al- lowed. 2. The reading of the Bible only. 3. That instruction should be exclusively secular. The argument of those who held the latter view was that the duty of imparting religious instruc- tion was with the parents of the children, who could impart what religious views they thought fit to their children. After a long discussion, Government accepted the motion of Mr. Cowper Temple to exclude all hi-ms and distinctive dogmatic formularies from schools supported by rates, and to pi, ice voluntary schools under the Committee of Council, making an increase in their grants ; and grants towards the erection of new schools were to cease 238 Parliamentary History. [1870. after a certain time. By the adoption of the motion, which was carried, the denominational system was continued, but not extended. Religious inspection was withdrawn, and religious instruc- tion permitted under certain regulations, but was not in any case to be enforced on the child of an objecting parent. These two great measures occupied nearly the whole of the attention of Parliament ; but the latter part of the Session was almost exclusively devoted to the efforts of Ministers to avert the war which had now broken out between France and Germany, and which brought upon the former country such unparalleled disaster. On the 15th July, when war was declared, Lord Granville had been but a few months in office, and had been told by the permanent Under- Secretary on taking office that the world had never been so profoundly at peace a statement as to the mutability of human institutions oft quoted. The revenue of the past year was over ^75,000,000, the largest amount ever raised. Owing to re- ductions in the Army, Navy and Civil Service estimates, there was a surplus shown for the coming year of over ,4,000,000, which Mr. Lowe applied in the reduction of stamp duties connected with agriculture, insurance and bills of exchange ; to the abolition of the impressed stamp upon news- papers, reducing the inland postage of newspapers 1870.] Parliamentary History. 239 to ?.d. ; reduction of the passenger tax on railways ; id. in the pound off the income tax ; and by a reduction of the sugar duties, giving effect to Mr. Bright's scheme of a free breakfast-table. By an order in Council dated 9th June this year, it was directed that all appointments on entering situations in all civil departments of the State, except the Foreign Office and posts requiring professional knowledge, should be filled by open competition ; thus the system of competitive ex- amination reached its full development, the whole Civil Service was thrown open, and candidates stripped of every adventitious advantage. Another change also took place with regard to the army. Ministers recommended that the Royal prerogative whereby tradition governed the army- should be abolished, and the General Commanding- in-Chief be declared to be a subordinate of the Minister of War. Her Majesty, who has always shown herself loyally in accordance with the wishes of her Parliament, thus proved herself as ready to adopt concessions on this as on other occasions. 1871. The Franco-German War. Russia and the Black Sea Treaty. Increase of Armaments. Promotion by Pur- chase. Measure of Mr. Card well. Opposition in the Lords. Royal Warrant cancelled. Budget. The Match Tax Excitement. Withdrawal. University Tests Bill. Trades Union Bill. Local Government Bill. Ballot. Illness of the Prince of Wales. Parliament re-assembled on the 9th February. By this time an armistice had been agreed upon between the French and the Germans, who had completely invested Paris, and the conduct of the Government in reference to the dispute gave rise to much criticism. Sir Robert Peel dwelt, amidst the loud laughter of the House, upon the frequency with which the word ' venture ' was to be found in the despatches of the Government, and contrasted their deferential tone to the spirited one adopted by Lord Palmerston in his foreign despatches. The case with which the Germans had overcome the armies of France had no doubt created an uneasy feeling, and a general desire was expressed in Parliament that our forces, if inferior in numbers, should at least be equal in efficiency to those of Continental nations. 1 871.] Parliamentary History. 241 Meantime Russia availed herself of the oppor- tunity presented by the conflict between France and Germany to declare herself free from the obligation forced upon her by the Treaty of 1S56, not to have more than six ships of war in the Black Sea, and those of small size. The matter was referred to a Conference of European Powers in London, by whom the question, which created some stir at the time, was quietly settled, by abrogating the stipulation in the treaty, and allow- ing Turkey to open the Dardanelles and the Bos- phorus to ships of friendly Powers. Ministers, finding themselves unable to withstand the prevalent feeling in favour of an increase of our armaments, announced their intention to propose an addition to the army estimates of nearly three millions, and availed themselves of the opportunity thus offered to carry out a much- needed military reform, the first step in which was the abolition of the system of promotion by pur- chase, by means of which the longest purse would avail against the most brilliant genius. On the 16th February Mr. Card well brought in his measure, which provided for the substitution of promotion by merit for that of purchase, and for a reorganization of our forces, including the regular army, the militia, the reserves, and the volunteers. The opposition with which the measure was met made it evident that the whole scheme could not 16 242 Parliamentary History. [1871. be carried in the Session, and it was accordingly confined to the abolition of purchase. Mr. Card- well reminded his military obstructionists that the over-regulation prices paid for commissions were illegal, and that if their opposition was carried much further the law would be enforced ; this hint had the desired effect, and the measure soon after passed by a majority of 231. Notwithstanding this, it was decided at a meeting held at the Carlton Club that the measure should be opposed in the House of Lords, and the Duke of Richmond there moved to postpone the Bill till the whole scheme of the Government was before them, thus requiring Ministers to pass the Bill in the form in which it was first introduced, and the resolution was carried by a majority of 23. The joy with which this was received by the military opponents of the Bill was but short-lived ; for two days afterwards, both Houses being crowded to hear the course Ministers would take, Lord Gran- ville in the Upper House, and Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons, pointed out that the success of the Duke of Richmond's resolution did not necessitate the loss of the Bill, but only its postponement, and that any peer might still move the second reading of it ; but that purchase being legalized not by statute but by Royal warrant, the Government had advised the Queen to cancel the warrant, and consequently purchase would be abolished on the 1st November. A triumphant 1 8- 1.] Parliamentary History. 243 cheer rang through the House of Commons on this announcement. The chief object of the Bill had been effected purchase created by one exercise of the Royal prerogative was abolished by another and the Bill now became one for compensating officers for their losses. The House of Lords were placed in a most ridiculous situation. They cen- sured the Ministers by a majority of 80, which most people laughed at, but quietly passed the Bill. The Budget proposed by Mr. Lowe this year was very unacceptable to the House. After stating that he had a deficiency to pro\ ide for of over ,2,000,000, he proposed to raise it by altering and increasing the death duties, i.e., probate, legacy, and succession, by assessing the income tax by a per- centage instead of a fixed number of pence in the pound as heretofore, and by a tax on lucifer matches. Each of the propositions raised a storm of opposition, especially the last ; thousands of poor persons from the cast of London, principally girls,came to Westminster and importuned Members not to interfere with their small and precarious in- comes, and presented a petition to the House to the same effect, which was favourably received. In deference to the general feeling of the I louse, the proposed tax was withdrawn, also the proposal to deal with the death duties and the income tax, and the deficiency was raised by the addition of another id. to the ino line tax. 162 244 Parliamentary History. [1871. Among the other measures passed this Session must be noted the University Tests Bill, notwith- standing an effort on the part of Lord Salisbury to substitute a new test in the place of the one pro- posed to be abrogated. The Trades' Union Act, based on the recommendations of the Commis- sioners appointed to inquire into the questions in dispute between employers and employed, and the Local Government Act, which extended to small towns and villages the advantages possessed by the cities and boroughs having municipal corpora- tions, also became law. A Bill to provide for vote by ballot was passed in the House of Commons ; but it was rejected by the House of Lords on the ground that it was brought before them at a period of the Session too late to admit of its being duly considered by them. An Act was passed this Session to protect the goods of lodgers against distress for rent due to the superior landlord. The very serious illness of the Prince of Wales occurred in the autumn of this year, and the thanks- giving service on his recovery was held at St. Paul's Cathedral on the 27th February, 1872, at which the Queen and Prince and the rest of the Royal family attended. An annuity of 6,000 a year and a dowry of 30,000 were granted to the Princess Louise on her marriage with the Marquis of Lome. 1872. Sir Robert Collier. Ewelme Rectory. Mr. Dixon's Resolu- tions on the Education Act. Sir C. Dilke's Motion on the Civil List. Mr. Hruce's Mines Regulation Act. liudget. Sir M. Lopes' Motion as to Local Taxation. Ballot. Publicans. Alabama Claims. Treaty of Washington. Changes in Cabinet. Ox Parliament reassembling, Mr. William Henry Bouverie Brand was elected Speaker in the place of Mr. Evelyn Denison, who was raised to the peer- age under the title of Viscount Ossington. One of the first matters to which attention was directed was the appointment of Sir Robert Collier, the Attorney-General, to be one of the judges of the new Court of Appeal of the Privy Council: excep- tion was taken to the manner of his appointment. The statute provided that the judges should be selected from the ordinary judges of the Court, and to give Sir Robert Collier the necessary qualifica- tion he was appointed first to a vacant judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas and then transferred to the Privy Council. It was urged on the part of the Government that the appointment in question 246 Parliamentary History. [1872. had been offered to two of the judges and had been refused by them, and that to hawk it about further would be to degrade the office. No objection was taken on the ground of the unfitness of Sir Robert. Votes of censure were proposed in both Houses : in the Commons Ministers obtained a majority of 27, and in the Upper House a majority of 2 only. A similar charge of evasion of statutory law was brought against Mr. Gladstone in reference to his appointment of the Rev. Mr. Harvey to the Rectory of Ewelme. The statute provided that the rector of the parish should be a member of the Oxford Convocation ; Mr. Harvey, who was educated at Cambridge, was made a member of the Oxford Con- vocation to satisfy the statute. There was no doubt that the framers of the statute intended that an Oxford man should be appointed, but it was evident that the letter of the requirements of the statute had been complied with ; after much angry discussion, however, the matter dropped. Mr. Dixon moved a vote of censure on the Ele- mentary Education Act in a series of resolutions, complaining of the failure of the Act to secure the general election of School Boards, and censuring the use of public money for teaching denominational religion. Mr. Forster met the motion by an amendment that sufficient time had not elapsed since the pass- ing of the Act to allow of a judgment being passed 1872.] Parliamentary History. 247 on it, pointing out that, if the resolutions were carried, it would be necessary to pass a new Act this year, and that the whole system would be thereby thrown into confusion. The motion was negatived by 355 to 94 votes. Mr. Forster's amend- ment thus became a substantive question, and was carried by 323 to 98. A discreditable scene occurred in the House of Commons on a motion by Sir Charles Dilke, seconded by Mr. Auberon Herbert, for inquiry into the civil list. Lord Bury rose to put a ques- tion of privilege, and referring to a speech by Sir Charles at Newcastle, wherein he declared he was a Republican, asked whether his oath of allegiance did not require from him a repudiation of this declaration. The Speaker ruled that it was no part of his duty to say what was consistent with a member's oath, and Sir Charles proceeded with his motion. Mr. Gladstone immediately rose and answered him, and reproaching him with some warmth for his careless investigation into his facts, asked the 1 louse to divide without further discussion. Mr. Herbert, rising to second the motion, was met with ceaseless interruptions. Members left the House, attempts to count the 1 louse and motions for adjournment were made, strangers were excluded, cock-crowing and dis- order ensued. Ultimately the House divided 248 Parliamentary History. [1872. on the motion, which found two supporters only, besides the two tellers. A very useful Act was brought in by Mr. Bruce and passed, for the regulation of mines, which pro- vided for an increase in the number of inspectors and an enlargement of their powers, and, in accord- ance with the precedent of the Merchant Shipping Act, managers were required to obtain from a public department a certificate of competency ; and it likewise provided that, as wages were dependent on the quantity of output, it should be computed by weight and not by measure. On the Budget, Mr. Lowe was able to show a surplus of nearly ,4,000,000, out of which 2d. in the pound was taken off the income tax, and the duty on coffee reduced one-half. Ministers suffered a decisive defeat on a motion by Sir Massey Lopes on the subject of local taxa- tion, which this year took the form of a resolution, declaring that, in remedying the grievance of im- posing taxation for national objects on one de- scription of property, the ratepayers in counties and boroughs ought to be relieved in whole or in part from the charges for administration of justice, police, and lunatics. On the division the resolution was carried against the Government by 259 to 159, or by a majority of 100. Next came the question of the ballot or secret 1S72.] Parliamentary History. 249 voting a subject that had been continually brought forward since 18 15, and even as early as 1798 was discussed in the House of Commons, and, as we have seen, was the subject of a long series of resolutions moved successively by Mr. Grote the historian, and afterwards by Mr. Berkeley, and was one of the main points of the people's charter. Both Lord John Russell and Mr. Glad- stone had opposed it, but the evidence brought out before a Committee of the House of Commons, of which Lord Hartington was chairman, convinced many of its opponents of its necessity, and it was this year passed by both Houses, the Lords insert- ing a provision that it should expire in 1880, unless renewed. The Bill likewise abolished public nomi- nation of candidates, and declarations of the result of the polling formalities fruitful of riot and dis- order, and admittedly utterly useless. The publicans were also dealt with this Session. The agitation of the United Kingdom Alliance had been so successful that a Bill was passed whereby the power of granting or refusing licenses was under certain regulations left to the magistracy, and while protecting publicans from vexatious appeals, it directed that a register should be kept of offences committed in public-houses, increased the penalties fir drunkenness, provided securities against the adulteration of intoxicating liquors, and shortened the hour.-, during which public-houses were 250 Parliamentary History. [1872. to be open both on Sundays and week-days. The resentment of the publicans against Ministers for passing this useful measure was conspicuously manifested at the next General Election, and was no doubt a factor in placing the Conservatives in office. The claims of the United States Government arising under the Treaty of Washington had been the subject of negotiations between the two countries, and the questions arising out of the negotiations having been satisfactorily arranged, arbitrators were appointed, according to the stipu- lations of the treaty, who were to be governed by certain rules of international duty laid down and defined, and which in future were to be held bind- ing between the two countries. This country was represented by Lord Chief Justice Cockburn. The decision of the tribunal thus appointed was against this country. It was held that Great Britain had failed in the duties prescribed by the rules laid down in the cases of the Alabama and the Florida, but that in the cases of five other ships she had not failed, and Si 5,000,000, or about ,3,000,000 sterling, was awarded to the United States as compensation in satisfaction of all claims, the result being duly communicated to Parliament. Changes in the Ministry took place this year: Mr. Childers became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the place of Lord Dufferin, who was 1S72.] Parliamentary History. 251 appointed Governor-General of Canada, and Sir Roundell Palmer, under the title of Lord Selborne, was appointed Lord Chancellor, on Lord Hatherley resigning the Great Seal in consequence of an in- firmity of eyesight. 1 8 7 o- The Judicature Act. University Education in Ireland. Rejection of the Government Measure. Resignation of Ministers. Mr. Disraeli declines to form an Administra- tion. The Gladstone Cabinet resumes Office. Mr. Faw- cett's Tests Bill. Budget. Marriage of Duke of Edin- burgh. Changes in Cabinet. Re-elections. The Bath Letter. Discontent with the Government was now prevalent, and displayed itself in the result of several electoral contests occurring at this time, and which resulted in Conservative ' victories,' notably that of Liverpool, shortly before the meeting of Parliament, where Mr. Torr, a Conservative, was elected by a majority of 1,912 votes over his Liberal opponent, Mr. Caine. The Session, the fifth of the Gladstone Ministry, was opened on the 6th February, and in the speech from the Throne two leading measures were announced : one being for the settlement of the question of University Education in Ireland ; the other the formation of a Supreme Court of Judica- ture, involving a revision of our entire judicial system ; and as the latter became law and the iS73-] Parliamentary History. 253 former did not, a brief notice of its leading features must here be given. It was based on the report of a Commission moved for by Sir Roundcll Palmer in 1869, and it proposed to unite in one great tribunal all the higher Courts of Justice in the country ; to economize and distribute, without regard to artificial and antiquated divisions, the whole judicial business, and to put an end to the distinction between law and equity, so productive of vexatious delay and extravagant expense, and whereby suitors were sent from court to court without being able to obtain a decision in their cases. The office of Lord Chief Justice was to continue, but those of Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer were not to be filled up when next vacant. The Bill also aimed at the reform of the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords ; but as this portion of the mea- sure was not carried, it need not be here further noticed. The other measure, though not carried, requires a more lengthy notice. It was the sequel to the great measures passed for the disestablishment of the Irish Church and for the settlement of the Irish land question, and being deemed by Ministers to be the last of the social and religious grievances of Ireland, the Government .staked their existence upon the measure. As the title of the Bill in- dicated, it was only intended to deal with the 254 Parliamentary History. [1873. highest kind of education that imparted at the Universities and its object was thus described on its introduction, viz., to create a new University in Dublin, no longer, as at present, identified with Trinity College, but of which that college, together with others already in existence or thereafter to be brought into existence, should form a part; each standing in reference to the new University on a footing similar to that on which the Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge stood to their respective Universities, except so far as the peculiar circum- stances of Ireland and the preponderance of the Roman Catholic religion would render special safeguards necessary e.g., a provision for excluding from the new University the teaching of theology and of mental and moral philosophy, but the holding of voluntary examinations on those subjects. Mr. Gladstone's speech on the first reading of the Bill was so able and argumentative that it was almost supposed that the Bill would receive universal support. When, however, its provisions came to be considered, it was seen that it would encounter the opposition of the Irish Roman Catholic hierarchy on the one hand, and that of the Protestants on the other. Amongst the spokesmen of the latter was Mr. Horsman, who again embarrassed his party by opposing the measure on the ground that the Protes- tants did not want it, and that the Catholics 1 87 3. J Parliamentary History. 255 refused to accept it. When the House divided on the second reading-, the numbers were : For the second reading . . . 284 Against ...... 287 Majority against the Government . 3 It having been distinctly stated that the Govern- ment would stand or fall by their measure, they at once resigned their offices, and Mr. Disraeli was sent for to form an Administration, but he declined to do so. There was something almost pathetic in Mr. Disraeli's reasons for not attempting to form an Administration. ' I know well/ said he, ' and those around me know well, what will occur when a Ministry takes office and attempts to carry on Government with a minority during the Session, with the view of ultimately appealing to the people. A right hon. gentleman will come down and arrange his thumbscrews and instruments of torture, and we shall never ask" for a vote without a lecture, and we shall never perform the most routine office of Government without there being annexed to it some pedantic and ignominious condition.' (' Xo, no, 'and cheers.; ' I wish to express nothing but what I know from painful personal experience. Xo observation of the kind I have encountered could divest me of the painful memory; I wish it could.' 256 Parliamentary History. [1873. Mr. Gladstone, though weary with the labours of an office the conscientious discharge of the duties of which had seriously impaired his health, out of a feeling of loyalty to the Queen, consented to remain in office. The Irish Government University Bill being thus set aside, a measure introduced by Mr. Fawcett for the abolition of tests in the existing University was carried. The Budget was not of an ambitious character. There had been a deficient harvest, yet such was the marvellous prosperity of the country at this time that there was a surplus of .4,746,000 There were the damages in which we had been cast by the arbitrators at Geneva to provide for, amounting to ,3,200,000, which had to be paid by October 1st in gold at Washington. Mr. Lowe proposed to pay half of this, "1,600,000, out of this year's surplus ; to take off half the duty on sugar which the Chancellor of the Exchequer described as the delight of children and the solace of age requiring another "1,600,000 ; and to take id. off the income tax. His propositions were accepted. The Public Debt, he told his audience, on the 1st April, 1869, amounted to ,805,480,000; on the 1st April, 1873, it was ,785,800,0000. On the 1st April, 1869, the Exchequer balance at the Bank of England was "4,707,000 ; on the 1st April, 1873, it was "11,992.000. The income tax, when 1 873.] Parliamentary History. : D/ imposed by Sir Robert Peel in 1842, yielded for every penny 728,000 ; it now yielded for every penny 1,750,000. Threepence in the pound now would yield as much as a tax of yhd. in the days of Sir Robert Peel. On the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh with the only daughter of the Czar of Russia, Parlia- ment voted an annual grant of 10,000, to be settled on the Duke and Duchess during the life of his Royal Highness, and 6,000 a year to the Duchess in the event of her surviving her husband ; the 10,000 making, with the 15,000 granted to the ] J uke on his coming of age, 25,000 a year. The grant was opposed at the instance of Mr. P. A. Taylor, who found only seventeen supporters. The loss of prestige and influence which the Government had suffered owing to their defeat on the Irish Education Bill severely paralyzed its action. Mr. Gladstone, with the view of obtaining a more united band of supporters, took upon him- self, in addition to the office of First Lord of the Treasury, that of Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Mr. Lowe was transferred to the I tome Office ; Mr. Bright re-entered the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; and Dr. Lyon Playfair and Mr. Vernon 1 larcourt (the ' 1 fistoricus' of the Times) also became members of the Government supplying the vacancies consequent upon the acceptance by Sir John Coleridge of the Chief Justiceship of the '7 258 Parliamentary History. [1873. Common Picas and of the Mastership of the Rolls by Sir George Jessel. Several by-elections had gone against the Government, noticeably those where appointments to the Peerage or Judicial offices had been made. Against these, some fifteen in number, the Govern- ment could only set victories at Bath and Taunton ; the success at the former place being said to be the result of the celebrated Bath letter of Mr. Disraeli to Lord Grey and Wilton, who had expressed to him his confidence in another Conservative success. The letter was as follows : 'My dear Grey, ' I am much obliged to you for your Bath news. It is most interesting. It is rare a constituency has the opportunity of not only leading but sustaining public opinion at a critical period. This has been the high fortune of the people of Bath, and they have proved themselves worthy of it by their spirit and constancy. I cannot doubt they will continue their patriotic course by support- ing Mr. Forsyth, an able and accomplished man, who will do honour to his constituents. For nearly five years the present Ministers have harassed every trade, worried every profession, and assailed or menaced every class institution and species of property in the country. Occasionally they have varied this state of civil warfare by perpetrating 1 873.] Parliamentary History. 259 some job which outraged public opinion, or by stumbling into mistakes which have been always discreditable and sometimes ruinous. All this they call a policy, and seem quite proud of it ; but the country has, I think, made up its mind to close this career of plundering and blundering. ' Ever yours sincerely, 'B. Disraeli.' The measures carried by the Government had been frequently designated by the Opposition as ' harassing legislation/ until Mr. Bright on one occasion told the Conservative party that if they had been in the Desert they would have called the Ten Commandments a piece of ' harassing legisla- tion ;' from which time the use of the phrase ceased. 17 1 1 874- Dissolution. General Election. Result. Meeting of Parlia- ment. Bengal Famine. Mr. Gladstone. Withdrawal. Budget. Mr. Ward Hunt. Licensing Amendment Bill. Scotch Patronage Bill. Endowed Schools Amendment Act. Public Worship Regulation Act. Suffrage in the Counties. Indian Council. Rating Bill. Factory Act. Prince Arthur. IT was announced that the Session would be opened by the Queen in person on the 5th of February. It was known that a General Election would take place in the course of the year, but most persons were unprepared for the sudden announcement which was flashed through the country that Ministers had recommended an im- mediate dissolution, and that their advice had been accepted by her Majesty. It was felt by the Government that it was necessary to test the opinion of the country as to whether they still retained its confidence, owing to the results of the by-elections. Members and candidates forthwith fled to their constituencies. Mr. Gladstone, in his election address, made the important announcement that 1 874.] Parliamentary History. 261 the Government had at their disposal a surplus of ^5,000,000, and that he intended, if in office, to submit to Parliament a plan involving the total repeal of the income tax, and improved local administration, and a substantial boon to the con- sumer. The battle was immediately commenced and speedily terminated. Mr. Gladstone was returned for Greenwich, although a local distiller of Tory principles headed the poll. Mr. bright with his two Liberal colleagues were returned for Birmingham ; but, without going into further details,sufficc it to say that Ministers suffered a substantial defeat, and that their majority of sixty-five was turned into a minority of about sixty. Xo election probably ever created so much astonishment, no less to one side than to the other; nor could any valid reason be assigned for it. The Ministry had faithfully carried out the will of the nation, clearly expressed at the elections of 1868, and had fully redeemed the pledges then given. There is no doubt that the Liberals relied too confidently on their long series of successes at previous elections, and were apathetic, and that many who voted against the Ministry did so from no other motive than the love of change. Again, all legislation must necessarily affect certain classes and interests, and the resentment thereby occa- sioned is certain to be felt ; but that a Ministry which had done so much should be thus summarily 262 Parliamentary History. [1874. dismissed in favour of one which had nothing to promise the country, and which consequently came into power unfettered by a single pledge, is cer- tainly one of the most remarkable incidents in English political history. Fault was found by many members of the Liberal party at the course taken by Mr. Gladstone in dissolving Parliament. Had he, said they, chosen to meet Parliament, and turning his thoughts from his recent defeat on his Irish Education measure, had brought forward his proposed Budget with its tempting remissions of taxation, any temporary discontent would have vanished, and his actual majority in the House would have rallied round him ; but that to make such a venture when the tide of his popularity was not at its height was nothing less than courting defeat. Leave, however, cannot be taken of this epoch and Administration without reference to Mr. Gladstone's leadership of the House of Commons. A modern writer of eminence thus describes it : ' Amidst all the manifold questions which engaged the attention of Parliament during this Session, Mr. Gladstone's quality as Leader of the House was fully tried. Like Lord Palmerston, he generally remained in the House from the com- mencement of the sittings to the close of them, however late the hour of adjournment might be. But he did not, like him, slumber during the greater i874-] Parliamentary History. 26 o part of the sittings ; on the contrary, he listened attentively to every speaker, answered fully every question put to him, spoke on every subject, and exhibited a sensitive and conscientious anxiety to discharge his functions as Leader of the House, which his friends feared would soon disable him from the performance of the responsible duties which belonged to him, and with his fall precipitate that of the Government of which he was the main- stay.' On the reassembling of Parliament on the 9th February, Mr. Brand, whose fairness and ability were conspicuous, was re-elected Speaker without opposition. Rather more than 200 new faces pre- sented themselves in the assembly. The only new name in the list of Ministers was that of Mr. Cross, who was a Lancashire magistrate and a friend of Lord Derby's, and in whom Mr. Disraeli believed he had discovered the true material fur statesman- ship. After the preliminary meeting, Parliament was adjourned for the re-election of new Ministers, and on the 19th March it reassembled. In the Speech from the Throne, measures were promised dealing with the transfer of land, the extension of the Judicature Act to Ireland, Scotch appeals, the sale of intoxicating liquors ; and it was announced that a Royal Commission had been appointed to inquire into the state and working of the laws cf 264 Parliamentary History. [1874. master and servant, and offences connected with trade. Beyond the Army Estimates and the annual statement consequent thereon, and the discussion of the means to alleviate the distress occasioned by the Bengal famine, in which the conduct of Lord Northbrook, the Viceroy, was warmly praised by both parties, although his policy was thwarted by Sir George Campbell and other of his subordinates in India, and written against in the Times, little was done in the House of Commons before Easter. On reassembling after Easter, the Opposition was found to be without a Leader. Mr. Gladstone, in a letter to Lord Granville, desired to avail him- self of the opportunity now afforded him to seek rest, intimating retirement from political life at no distant date, but still offering his services to the party if they were willing to accept them on these terms an offer at once accepted by the Liberal party, who had to marshal themselves on the Opposition benches as best they could. The adverse party made merry with the idea of a Leadership put in Commission, and suggested that the office should be put up to competitive examina- tion. An important circumstance, however, which made it less difficult and anomalous for the Opposition to be without a Leader, was that the Government iS;4-] Parliamentary History. 265 to which they were opposed was without a policy; for after all the invectives in which the Conservatives, and especially their chief, had indulged against the late Government, it was manifest that itwas their one idea to tread in the footsteps of their predecessors, and not to strike out on any lines of their own, and for the present to go neither backwards nor forwards. All recent sarcasms, such as ' plundering and blundering,' were laid aside, and a conciliatory tone adopted ; thus, when one of the speakers on the Address attacked Mr. Gladstone on the unex- pected dissolution, Mr. Disraeli immediately an- nounced that the attack had been made without consultation, and complimented the late Premier in the warmest terms on what had been successful in his long career. The Irish officials were pro- fuse in commendation of the late Viceroy, and Lord Salisbury vigorously endorsed Lord North- brook's administration in India ; and Chancellors past and present took cordial counsel as to legal changes. Even Mr. Gathorne Hardy ac- cepted Lord Cardwcll's army arrangements, and withdrew his determined opposition against making Oxford a military centre. Nowhere, however, was this course more noticeable than in the Ludgct proposals, which, owing to the large surplus at the disposal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, created unusual interest. On introducing them, .Sir Stafford Northcote, after 266 Parliamentary History. [1874. many complimentary expressions to his eminent predecessor, announced that Mr. Gladstone's calculations had proved correct, and that the surplus really amounted to five and a half millions, to which Sir Stafford added half a million for interest on advances, which it was suggested should be added to revenue, and so raising the surplus to six millions, which he proceeded to deal with as follows : Not knowing Mr. Gladstone's scheme for aboli- tion of the income tax, he could not follow it, and first applied the ,500,000 of interest, with advances repaid for terminable annuities, to the extinction by 1885 of ^7,300,000 of the National Debt ; to reduce the income tax id., from 3d. to 2d. ; and the abolition of the sugar duties. These reduced the surplus to ,940,000 ; and on a cry being raised as to the malt tax from his side, said the sum left was too small to deal with that, and finally preferred to abolish the horse duty, the horse-dealer's duty, and the race-horse duty, leaving nearly ,500,000 of margin for available purposes. The Budget was passed without opposition, and was regarded as a workable, though not a brilliant, scheme. Mr. Gladstone, after giving his assent to it, retired to his seat in Wales. Mr. Ward Hunt, in introducing the Navy Estimates, produced a scare which the Government had some difficulty in allaying, and which the i874-] Parliamentary History. 267 Opposition declared perfectly baseless by very depreciatory remarks on the state of the Navy, and by using the expressions ' paper fleet ' and ' dummy ships/ However, he seemed to know very little about the matter, and sheltered himself, even to the very words he used, on his naval advisers, and had to retreat from the position he had taken up. The first legislative measure introduced by the new Government was the Licensing Amendment Bill, in redemption of their promises made at the hustings, where the cry of the Licensed Victuallers had been a powerful element in their favour, and, along with the sticklers in favour of religious education in Board Schools, had given their adversaries occasion to remark that the Conserva- tive programme was Beer and Bible. The measure was introduced by the Home Secretary, but it gave little or no satisfaction to the 'bungs,' as it turned out to be one, if not of further restriction, at least of no extension of freedom in the sale of strong drinks. When it became law it enacted that out of London eleven should be the hour of closing, and this only in populous places, and the point to be left to the decision of the magistrates ; and else- where, ten. Tin's was the only measure foreshadowed in the Queen's Speech which passed into law. A Hill was introduced and passed postponing the operation of Lord Selborne's Judicature Act for 2 68 Parliamentary History. [1874. twelve months, with the view of dealing differently with the House of Lords' appeals. The Scotch Patronage Bill, having for its object to abolish the system of lay patronage in the Established Kirk, and to make it over to the congregation, was next brought in, and passed. The only other measures of importance which were introduced during the Session were the En- dowed Schools Amendment Bill and the Public Worship Regulation Bill. The object of the latter, as defined by the Prime Minister, was to put down Ritualism, and was brought about mainly in conse- quence of the decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the cases of Mr. Mackono- chie and of Mr. Purchas in matters pertaining to the administration of the Holy Communion. Ori- ginally it was not a Government measure, and was introduced in the House of Lords by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury. It provoked prolonged discussion in both Houses, and the widest differ- ences of opinion prevailed in regard to it. Having passed the House of Lords, it was introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Russell Gurncy, the Recorder of London. It was opposed by Mr. Gladstone and Mr. G. Hardy, whilst Sir V. Har- court supported it. The main provision of the Bill was the establishment of a court, to be presided over by a judge, by which all such disputes should be determined. Mr. Gladstone proposed a series 1 874.] Parliamentary History. 269 of resolutions bearing on the subject, which he submitted to the House ; but on the Bill being read there a second time without a division he did not press them, and the Bill was now taken pos- session of by the Government, and became a Government measure. Considerable interest was excited by a passage of arms between Mr. Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. On the third reading in the House of Commons a motion was made by Mr. Holt, and carried by a majority of 3 to 1, giving persons making com- plaint against an officiating minister a right of appeal to the Archbishop against the refusal of a Bishop to institute proceedings. The Lords, by a small majority, refused to accept the amendment. The Lord Chancellor, fearing a collision between the two Houses, which would have been fatal to the Bill, proposed a temporizing amendment ; where- upon Lord Salisbury made a vehement speech, referring to the 'blustering majority in the other House.' Mr. Disraeli, on the Bill coming back, accepted the Lords' refusal ; and, referring to Lord Salisbury's speech, said ' that he was long a mem- ber of this House, and was well known to many members of the present Parliament. lie is not a man who measures his phrases. lie is one who is a great master of gibes and flouts and jeers ; but I don't suppose there is anyone who is prejudiced a.ainst a Member of Parliament on account of such 270 Parliamentary History. [1874. qualifications. My noble friend knows the House of Commons well ; and he is not, perhaps, superior to the consideration that, by making a speech of that kind, and taunting respectable men like our- selves as being a " blustering majority," he probably mightstimulate the avwtir propre of some individuals to take the course which he wants, and defeat the Bill.' Lord Salisbury, referring to the matter a few days afterwards in the House of Lords, made an explanation, denying he had used the words in the sense imputed. The Bill was then read a third time, and passed. Lord Penzance accepted the new judgeship, at a salary fixed in Committee of ,3,000 a year. The Endowed Schools Act Amendment Bill was introduced in the House of Commons by Lord Sandon, and was the only instance during the Session in which the new Government sought to depart from the principles of the legislation of their predecessors ; and was occasioned possibly by the taunts in the Liberal press that they were tamely walking in the steps of their opponents, and were afraid to originate any measures indicative of a reactionary policy on Conservative principles such as befitted men who had so loudly denounced their late adversaries. The measure, as will be seen very nearly caused the shipwreck of the Ministry, and loaded them with opprobrium. The Bill proposed to transfer to the Charity 1 874.] Parliamentary History. 271 Commissioners the powers then held by the En- dowed School Commissioners appointed by the Act of 1869 (the period granted for their exercise being about to expire), and to alter the definitions con- tained in the former Act, so as to restore to the Church of England the administration of schools in cases where the founder had recognised the authority of a Bishop, or had directed attendance on the service of the Church, or had required that the master should be in holy orders ; and Lord Sandon frankly admitted that the intention of the measure was to reverse the policy sanctioned by Parliament when the Conservative party had been temporarily reduced to a state of helpless panic ; and his speech, which was directed against the Nonconformists, stirred up a considerable amount of sectarian animosity on the subject of founders' wills and the character of religious education to be given in schools. It was strongly opposed by Mr. Eorster, Mr. Gladstone, and others ; firstly, on the broad ground that it was retrograde in its character that it had never been the practice of the British Parliament (wherein it bore a striking contrast to the Parlia- ments of other countries; for one Government coming into power to reverse the policy of its predecessors, but, on the contrary, loyally to accept its actsthat when the previous Act was being discussed the objections now raised were never even 272 Parliamentary History. [1874- mooted, much less protested or divided against ; the principle then discussed and acquiesced in being that in times when Nonconformity did not exist, and the Church of the country practically covered the whole ground of religious opinion, the founder of any institution in which religion was to be main- tained had no course but to commit it to the established authorities ; but had such founder lived in days when different religious persuasions divided the land, he might have sympathized with some of the number, and out of many founders some would have been dissenters from the doctrines of the Established Church ; and on this ground the late Parliament had thrown open all foundations where statutes had been created up to the date ot the Toleration Act.* The divisions in favour of the Government upon the measure as it proceeded in its different stages became smaller and smaller, till at length the Chancellor of the Exchequer declared that it was not intended to exclude Nonconformists from the governing bodies, and that words by which this could be done could be inserted in Committee. It now became evident that the Bill could not pass in its present shape, and the differences between the supporters of the Government became more and more declared, and at length Mr. Disraeli announced that the Eoundation Clauses (the pith * I. \Y. and M. 1874.] Parliamentary History. 273 and marrow of the Bill) would be withdrawn, and the measure restricted to the abolition of the Endowed School Commissioners, and the transfer of their powers to the Charity Commissioners, de- claring to the astonishment of the House that, though the confession might seem to prove his in- capacity to fill the position he occupied, he must confess that after hours of anxious consideration the clauses were unintelligible to him ; that he had accepted them on the faith of the ' adepts and experts ' to whom he had looked for instruction on such matters : they had failed him, and the mean- ing of these clauses in his own Bill was obscure and hidden from his comprehension, and that they would, therefore, be withdrawn. And a few days afterwards he failed to improve his position when, in giving the names of the three Commissioners who were to take the business of the Endowed Schools upon them, he took occasion to announce that Lord Sandon was not alone responsible for the Bill, but that it had been prepared by Ministers in common, and that it was a Bill of the Cabinet ; and that Lord Sandon had only introduced it as representing the department, at his request, from his desire ' to i^ive a chance' to the ' rising states- men of the day.' The triumph of the Liberal part)- was complete, all the legislation comprised in the Ouecn's Speech having, it was said, been set aside ; that the only 18 274 Parliamentary History. [1874. act of the Session was to consist in the dismissal of three Endowed School Commissioners, who were alleged to be friends of the late Government, and the appointment in their place of three friends of the present Ministry ; and that the country would have an opportunity of judging of the Con- servative policy. Mr. Trevelyan's motion for extension of house- hold suffrage to the counties was rejected by 287 votes to 173. Mr. Disraeli, whilst opposing the measure, reiterated his old profession of unbounded confidence in the loyalty and political capacity of the working classes. A measure to add an additional member to the Council of the Governor-General of India, possess- ing special qualifications as a surveyor of public works, and to be invested with special powers for carrying them out, was, with Lord Northbrook's approval, passed ; as also was Mr. Stansfeld's Rating Bill of last Session, under the guidance of Mr. Sclater Booth ; and Mr. Mundella's late Factory Bill, limiting the hours of labour for women and children in textile factories to 56^ hours in the week. During the Session Prince Arthur took his seat as a Peer of the Realm in the House of Lords, as Duke of Connaught, and an allowance of ,15,000 a year was granted to Prince Leopold. i875- Mr. Gladstone's Retirement. Leadership of the Liberal Party. .Member for Tipperary. Dr. Kenealy. Ireland. Peace Preservation Act. Regimental Exchanges. Budget. Judicature Act. Agricultural Holdings Act. Peace of Europe. Artisans' Dwellings Act. Adulteration Act. Nature of Measures. Mr. Gladstone's threatened withdrawal from public life now took a definite form. In a letter to Lord Granville, dated January 13th, he announced his abdication of the Leadership of theLiberal party, and claiming for himself, at the age of sixty-five, and after forty-two years of arduous political life, to spend the rest of his days in such way as should be most congenial to himself, but offering his continual and cordial support to the Liberal party. Parliament reassembled on February 6th. The Queen's Speech contained no announcement of any measure of first-class importance, and the Session was one of the dullest on record. Lord Ilartington was chosen as Leader of the Liberal party in the House of Commons in the place of Mr. Gladstone, Lord Granville leading in the House of Lords as heretofore. 182 276 Parliamentary History. [1875. John Mitchell, sentenced to transportation for his share in the rebellion of 1848, had broken his parole, and had escaped to America. He was elected mem- ber for Tipperary, and next day returned to Queens- town. After a long discussion of the subject in the House of Commons, he was declared incapable of taking his seat, and a new writ ordered. Mit- chell was again re-elected ; but on this occasion he had a Conservative opponent, who was declared entitled to the seat, the votes given to Mitchell counting for nothing. Dr. Kenealy, of Tichborne reputation, having been returned for Stoke-upon-Trent, sought to make himself notorious by motions on a variety of subjects, but ignominiously failed, and fell into oblivion. On March 6th Sir M. H. Beach introduced the Peace Preservation Act for Ireland, on account of the continued disturbances in that country, in- volving long debates and numerous divisions, occu- pying several weeks of the Session. The only organized attack on the Government was on the Bill brought in by them, founded on the Report of a Committee of Inquiry, to facilitate Regi- mental Exchanges, so as to render legal the pay- ment of money between officers, who, on account of health, or for other reasons, might wish to make exchanges of regiment or station amongst them- selves. It was strongly opposed, in both Houses, 1875.] Parliamentary History. 277 on the ground that the mode of exchange which the Bill proposed to set up differed only in degree, but not in principle, from purchase, which the country had made such a sacrifice to get rid of. That the merit of the present system was that it afforded just sufficient scope for all the legitimate causes for exchange which the needs of the service required, but that this Bill gave undue facilities to the possessors of wealth to evade irk- some service, and of thus creating an inequality founded upon money alone. Irksome work, it was urged, was the inevitable condition in the British army, and it was not a good thing that it should fail to be equally shared, and an advantage given to wealth over capacity, education, and industry. The measure, notwithstanding, passed both Houses. The Budget contained no feature of interest. There being no surplus, there was nothing to give away ; and the only alteration was an adjustment of brewers' licenses. The treatment by the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer of the sinking fund for reduction of the National Debt was adversely criti- cized by Mr. Gladstone, as also was the Savings Banks Bill, which was withdrawn. The Judicature Act Amendment Bill next came, which was a re-enactment of Lord Selborne's Act of i; ; Ann. A. 1. 64 Bishops, 10 Church of, f. 9, 10, 21, 22, 24, 65, I . ". 1 ,.). 2] j Churcli A. t. 225 < erci .i) ('.ills, ''. ti. - :, ,1 I >i-tr. . -.,.!: Kdu< ..! : n Act, 253, 1 1'amine, 7 . Fenianisin, 206, 21 (, 217, 284 Habeas Corpus Suspension, 95, I O T , I 09 Home rule, 284 Jn. umbered Instates Acts, I ,and Act, 1 Landlord and tenant, 194 Lord Lieutenant, k 6 Maynooth, 7 ;, 75, 1., ;, 147, 156, " ' >77, ' - Muni, ipal ( orpuratiuns, .. - r.6 I'. a. e I'r, nervation Act, 276 Poor Law, ;6, 89, r.ji K< i:i-t rati, n of voters, r,. ( , '.', St. a-- .!',",' , ... Siispen-ory Jiill, 2 1 I Tipperary .!,-, tin. 276 Till.. ...7. :-;. Lniwi itj Hill. Labour Laws, 279 Ladies, admission of, to House of Commons, 29 Lancashire famine, 177, 1S6 Land registry, 179 Leopold, Prince, 274 Lewis, Sir G. C, 169 Limited Liability, 139 Lincoln. President. 196 Liquor Traffic, 192 Littleton, Mr., 12 Local Government Act, 244 ,. Management, 139 Locke King. Mr.. 1 1 1 London. Corporation of, 169 nderry, Marquis of, 20, ' 1 Louis Philippe, 7 >, 7 Lowe, Mr. Robert (now Lord Sher- brooke), 190, 196, 211, 22S, 23 . '43, 248, 256, "10 Lubbock, Sir John, 292 I .ynuhurM. Lord, iS Lytton, Sir K. 1!. (afterwards I rd Lytton), 120. 139 M. Maguire, Mr., 1 : Main Drainage, '156 Malmesbury, Lord, 153 Malt tax, 7, 194 Manchester 1'ishopri. . , > Maimers, Sutton, Mr.. ... I . ./. : ' uith I >ccea-ed Wife 102, 107, 112. 156, 173, 177 Melbourne, Lord, 14. .7. 2 : . j Merchant Shipping, . < . \ Metropolitan Interim I I Minority Clause, 213 Monk, Mr., :-.-, Moore, Mr., .4. M. rpetli, I ord, 24, ,4, 7 , Muni, ipal R. form, 2.- Murderers' evii ution, . ) Mutiny A< t. .1 V J.-wi 1, ,!i ;d : K- SI v. -ii \\, 1 ,1 . Dr.. 7' I i K Naa . I rd. , Napoleon 111., i,'. ,-. : u.-i t, 1 ,, 1. - . I'm I !.\pi nditure, ' : -, I :. , , .. .-;..; ip . Nolthbrool . Lord, ;< , I. , Sir S I Nui an. r . R. V :: ;4Q Index. o. Obstruction, 297, 319 O'Connell, IVIr. D., 11, 12, 57, 69, 92 O'Conor Don, 322 Osborne, .Mr. B., 121, 185 Overdid, Gurney & Co., 205 J'. Pakington (afterwards Lord Hampton), 121 Palmer, Sir R. (now Lord Selborne), 186, 231, 253 Palmerston, Lord, 21, 86, 102, 115, 118, 130, 137, 161, 169, 181, 197 Papal aggression, 109, in, 112 Paper duties, 172 Parke, Sir James (afterwards Lord Wensleydale), 141 Parliamentary procedure, 99 ,, reform, 102 Pease, .Mr., 5 Peel, Sir Robert, 18, 19, 24, 27, 28, 36, 42, 46, 50, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 64, 67, 72, 73, 80, 83, 86, 91, 93, 106, 108. Peel, Mr. F., 102 ,, General, 211 Penal Code, 31, 54 Penny Postage, 41 Permissive Bill, 320 Peto, Sir M., 183 Plimsoll, Mr., 329 Poles, the, 20, 186 Poor Laws, 16, 104, 196 Pope Hennessy, Mr., 194 Post Office Savings Bank, 173 Princess Royal, 146 Prisons, 300 Pritchard, Mr., 70 Public Funds, 17, 67, 127 ,, Health, 95 ,, Houses, 249, 267 , , Works Loans, 323 ,, Worship, 268 Purchase in Army, 241 R. Railway reform, 68, 189 Raw materials, 60 Reform Bills, 1832, 1 ,, 1854, 131 1, 1859, I57 ,, ,, i860, 167 ,, ,, l866, 20I ,, ,, 1867, 207 ,, League, 213 Regimental exchanges, 276 Registration, Births, Heaths and Mar- riages, 26 Richmond, Duke of. to, 242, 299 Rinderpest, 199 Ripon, Lord, 10 Roebuck, Mr., 35, 105. 134. 138, 153 Roman Catholic trusts, 66 ,, ,, chaplains in Prisons, 183 Roman Catholic oaths, 200 Romilly, Sir S., 31 Rothschild, Baron, 92, 108, 156 Royal Prerogative, 239 Russell, Lord John (afterwards Earl), 2, 17, 21, 22, 27, 32, 34, 36, 39, 45, 54, 56-59, 61, 66, 75, 78, 82, 86, 93, 97, 99, 101, 105, 106, 108, in, 112, 113, 115, 126, 138, 142, 153, 167, 278 Ry lands, Mr., 320 S. Sadlier, James and John, 144 Salisbury, Lord: see Cranbourne, Lord Salomons, Alderman, 113 Sandon, Lord, 55, 273, 285 Schleswig-Holstein, 191 Scinde, 65 Scotch Patronage, 268 Sewers Act, 96 Shaw Lefevre, Mr. (now Lord Evers- ley), 43, 57, 9 1 , Il8 > T 45 Sheridan, Mr., 178, 195 Shiel, Mr., 40, 73 Sibthorp, Colonel, 45 Slavery, Abolition of, 8, 35 Sliding scale on corn, 62 Smith, Dr. E., 96 Smith O'Brien, Mr., 35, 95 Smithfield Market, 114 Sound dues, 149 South Africa, 296, 326 Spring Rice, Mr. (afterwards Lord Monteagle), 50 Stansfeld, Mr., 189, 274 Stanley, Mr. (afterwards Lord Stanley, afterwards Lord Derby), 6, 10, 12, 18, 53, 54, 63, 78, 91, 98, 105, 112, 117, 152, 189, 194, 203, 213, 215, 228 Stanley, Lord (now Lord Derby), 217, 203 Stanley, Colonel, 322 Stock Exchange, 292 Succession duty, 128 Suez Canal, 281 Sugar duties, 86, 94, 183, 189, 238, 256, 266 Sugden, Sir E. (afterwards Lord St. Leonards), 56, 117 Sunday labour, 107, 139 Syria, 53 T. Tea duty, 182 195 Thames Embankment, 179 Thesiger, Sir V. (afterwards Lord Chelmsford), 113 Timber duty, 201 Tithes, 20, 36 Trades Unions, 244 Index. 341 Transp rtation, 31 W. Transvaal, 206, :i3 ,,. , n <- m o 1. i>- 1 \\ al^-.. lrinco of, Marriage, 132 1 l.i.hapric, !i2 111 ,, ,, Illness, 244 Walpole, Mr., 123, 176, 213 U. Washington Treaty, 250 University Reform, 15, 107, 132, 143, Water Works Purchase, 214. -'44. V. Wellington, Duke of, 16, iS, 32, 42, West Indies, 13 Westminster, Duke of, 99 Whiteside, Mr. Via ria. Queen, Accession, 31 | William, King, Death of, 30 Coronation, 3d J Wills, ;i Marriage, 51 I Wolff. Sir 11. I)., 294 Villier-, Mr. C. P., 36, j3, 59, 74, 32, , Women and children, Kmployment if, Volunteer-, the. 172 W ,rtlev, Mr. S.. 103, 107 Till: KNI>. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. JK Raven - -543 F a rli * L 006 022 698 2 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACIL A A 000 124 344 543 R19p