-^
 
 
 EXPLANATORY. 
 
 
 
 This little book is intended to lead up to the High School His- 
 tory, just as the High School History leads up to Green's Short 
 History of the English People. The language has been made as 
 simple as possible, especially in the earlier portion' of the work, so 
 that no needless obstacle may be placed in the path of the young 
 child's progress. 
 
 The author is largely indebted to Miss Buckley, and Gardiner, 
 Green, Freeman, and Justin McCarthy for facts and suggestions. 
 Nevertheless, he has very freely departed from any or all of these 
 authors, where, in his opinion, circumstances demanded a different 
 line of treatment. 
 
 The Canadian portion of this work is the same as that in the 
 High School History ; the only change being the omission of the 
 indented notes. 
 
 ST. CATHARINES, 
 
 August 30th, 1892.
 
 *"* 
 
 T)/t 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOL. 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BRITAIN BEFORE ENGLAND. 
 
 1. Early Britain. The land we call England is that part of the 
 Island of Great Britain south of the River Tweed, with the excep- 
 tion of a small area on the western side, known as Wales. England 
 covers about 50,000 square miles, and Wales a little over 7,000. 
 Yet a great many people live in this little space, and a great many 
 more have left its shores and settled all over the globe. The in- 
 habitants are called English : but this was not always the case, 
 for long before there were any English in England, the land was 
 inhabited by at least three different races of men. 
 
 A great many years ago, when the surface of the country was 
 very different from what it is now, and lions, tigers, elephants, and 
 elks roamed over its plains and through its forests, a rude people, 
 with little knowledge of tools and weapons, occupied the country. 
 Then came another race with better weapons and some know- 
 ledge of cooking, and the care of domestic animals. Both races, 
 however, made their weapons of stone, and for this reason are 
 called the men of the "Old and New Stone Age." These things 
 we know by the remains found in mounds or barrows of earth, and 
 in caves and river-beds. Then came another race, evidently from 
 the East, near Persia, that had some skill in working metals, such 
 as bronze andjron. These people we call "Celts," and they were 
 the inhabitants found in Britain when written history first tells 
 anything about the island. 
 
 About 600 B.C. the Phoenicians, a trading people from the 
 Mediterranean Sea, visited the country in quest of tin ; then, a
 
 2 HISTORY OF KNGLAND. 
 
 hundred years later, came the Greeks from Massilia or Marseilles, 
 in France. It was about this time that the name " Britannia " 
 was given to the island of Great Britain. 
 
 2. Roman Conquest. At last, in the year 55 B.C., a great 
 Roman general, Julius Caesar, came across the Channel from France 
 (then called Gaul), with an army, and defeated the Britons who 
 had gathered en the coast to keep him from landing. He soon 
 returned to Gaul, but came back the next year, and once more 
 defeated the Britons. Again he left the island this time to return 
 no more. 
 
 When Caesar visited Britain he found the people on the southern 
 coast fairly civilized. They had war-chariots, and fought with 
 spears, axes and pikes. They wore ornaments of gold and silver, 
 and clad themselves in mantles and tunics of cloth such as were 
 worn by the people on the opposite coast of Gaul. In fact, these 
 Britons along the southern coast kept up a trade with their 
 neighbors, the Gauls, who were at this time much more civilized 
 than the people of Britain living inland. The latter were a very 
 savage and rude people, dwelling in wretched huts, or in caves in 
 the earth. They dressed in skins of beasts, their food being milk 
 and meat, and further north, roots, leaves, and nuts. The more 
 savage wore no clothing, but stained their bodies and limbs some- 
 what in the same fashion as the North American Indians do. 
 Their religion was Druidism, and the oak was their sacred tree, 
 under which they worshipped and offered up sacrifices. These 
 sacrifices were often human beings, who were burnt in large cages 
 of wicker work at the command of the Druids, or priests, who had 
 great influence over the people and made their laws. 
 
 The Romans, who were to play an important part in the history 
 of Britain, came from Italy and had for their chief city, Rome. 
 They were a very stern and hard people, and at. the time when 
 Caesar visited Britain, had conquered nearly all the known world. 
 But they made good laws and forced the people they subdued to 
 obey them. 
 
 After Caesar* left Britain, the Romans made no further efforts to 
 conquer it until 43, A.D., when their Emperor Claudius came with 
 an army, and after much fighting took possession of the south of 
 the island. The British chief, Caractacus, fought bravely against
 
 TtfEENGLISH CONQUEST. 7 
 
 settled down Ji families and tribes in their place. The new-comers 
 did not like walled towns and cities but preferred to live in open 
 villages and till the soil, either destroying the towns of the Britons 
 or allowing them to fall into ruins. 
 
 2. Social and Political Condition of the English. The English, 
 as these tribes came to be called, were not a nation as we understand 
 the word ; but were a number of free and independent tribes that 
 under their chiefs had come over to Britain to conquer and plunder. 
 After the Britons were expelled, they settled down from their 
 roving sea-life in separate village communities, and began to till the 
 soil. There were three kinds of people in these communities. 
 First of all, we have the Eorl, a man of higher birth and greater 
 wealth than the rest. Then came the Ceorl or churl, a freeman of 
 lower birth, who nevertheless had his own house and tilled his own 
 piece of land. Last of all we have the slaves, either Britons or men 
 who had sold or lost their freedom, and who might be sold out of 
 the country by their masters. Only freemen were allowed to take 
 part in the village moot or meeting, where all questions in dispute 
 were settled. A man found guilty by his fellows of a crime usually 
 could escape by paying a fine. He could prove his innocence by 
 getting his neighbours to swear he was an honest man. This was 
 called " compurgation. " Otherwise he had to undergo the "ordeal," 
 which consisted in walking blindfold with bare feet over hot plough- 
 shares, or in dipping the hand into boiling hot water. If unhurt 
 after this "ordeal" he was declared innocent. 
 
 The villages were some distance from each other ; but when 
 any important matter of peace or war had to be considered, men 
 from several villages met in what was called the "Folkmoot," or 
 meeting of the tribe. Here they chose their aldermen from the 
 Boris, to lead them to battle, or to speak and act for them in the 
 great meeting of the wise men of the tribes known as the " Witange- 
 mot." After a time the Witangemot began to choose one man 
 from the aldermen to lead and he was the "king." He was 
 always elected, and could not appoint his successor ; but the custom 
 was to choose the king from the same family on account of its sup- 
 posed descent from Woden, their god of war. 
 
 3. The English become Christians. When the Angles, Saxons, 
 and Jutes came to England they were heathens, and believed in
 
 8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 gods, water-spirits, and wood- demons. Their chief god was Woden, 
 who rewarded them after death for their bravery and for the number 
 of their enemies they killed. Heaven was to them a plaee where 
 they could fight and carouse, for these German tribes were very 
 fond of eating and drinking. From the names of their gods we 
 get our names for the days of the week, such as Wednesday or 
 Wodensday, from the god Woden. 
 
 It took some time to get the English to accept Christianity, for 
 being a steadfast race they clung to their own customs and religion. 
 At last, as the story goes, some English slaves were taken to Rome 
 to be sold, and Bishop Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, when 
 a young man, seeing how fair and beautiful they were, asked 
 whence they came, and was told they were Angles. "Not Angles," 
 said he, "but Angels," and when he became bishop he sent, in 
 596, a missionary named Augustine, with forty monks to convert 
 the English. Augustine landed in_Kent, and his first convert was 
 Ethelbert, King of Kent, whose wife was a Christian from France. 
 Afterwards, many oiEthelbert's people were baptized as Christ- 
 ians, and Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 From Kent the Roman missionaries carried the new religion to 
 Northumbria, where King Edwin ruled. Edwin called his Witan 
 together and, after listening to the missionaries, they also accepted 
 Christianity. 
 
 But other Christian missionaries had been busy in the north of 
 England before Augustine came to the country. These came from 
 the small rocky island of lona, on the west coast of Scotland, where 
 a mission station had been planted by Columba, an Irish monk. 
 For the Irish had become Christians under the teaching of St. 
 Patrick more than a hundred years before, and Irish missionaries 
 made their way to the north and middle of England and did much 
 to introduce Christianity among the fierce and heathen English. 
 After a time, in 664, the Irish missionaries and those from 
 Rome having disputed about some trifling matters relating to 
 church services, the King of Northumbria decided in favour 
 of the latter, and the work went on under bishops in 
 sympathy with the Roman usages. The effect of their teach- 
 ing was soon seen, for the rude and restless English settled 
 down, to steady work, began to learn trades, and to build 
 up small towns around the monasteries which now sprang up in
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND DANES. 9 
 
 the land. The English also lost much of their fierceness and love 
 of plunder and fighting, and began to love learning as taught 
 them by the monks. 
 
 4. Supremacy of Wessex. For a long time after 'the English 
 came they remained divided under their several kings. In the 
 north there was a powerful kingdom called Northiimbria ? in the 
 inland another called Mercia. while in the south and west we find 
 another called Wessex. Indeed at one time there were seven of 
 these little kingdoms, known as the "Heptarchy;" but their 
 boundaries were continually changing through the wars waged by 
 one against the other. When one king became stronger than the 
 others he held a kind of supremacy over them, and was known 
 as the " Bretwalda." At first the King of Northumbria was "Bret- 
 walda, " then the King of Mercia, and finally in 827, Egbert, King 
 of Wessex, got the supremacy and was Bretwalda from the south 
 to the Firth of Forth. He was also king of all the English south 
 of the Thames. In these days, a king was not called King of 
 England, but King of the English. So, for over 200 years the kings 
 of Wessex held the chief power over the English people. 
 
 CHAPTEH ..ii. 
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND THE DANES. 
 
 1. The coming of the Danes. But peace did not come to the 
 English when Egbert became king, for new enemies appeared. 
 THese were the Danes, a people of the same blood as the English, 
 but living in Denmark and Norway. They were called North- 
 men or Norsemen, and unlike the English, had remained heathens. 
 They were as fierce and warlike as the English had been before 
 Christianity changed their habits and softened their manners. 
 They came in great numbers in their boats, and landing on the 
 coasts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, plundered the 
 inhabitants, carrying off prisoners, and burning the homes of the 
 defenceless people. They specially delighted in robbing and burn- 
 ing monasteries, partly because they were the homes of the priests
 
 10 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 of the Christian religion, and partly because much wealth was 
 gathered there. Besides the monks could not offer much oppo- 
 sition to them. Egbert and his son and grandsons did their utmost 
 to drive back these robbers. At times the English were successful 
 and defeated the enemy, but they gradually lost ground until a 
 great part of England was subdued by the Danes. Northumbria, 
 Mercia, and East Anglia were thus taken by them, and then they 
 turned their arms against Wessex. Here four grandsons of Egbert 
 reigned in succession and strove to keep back the Danes. The last 
 of these kings was Alfred, who began to reign in 871. He was 
 chosen king over his brother's son, who was a mere lad, because 
 the English wanted a brave leader at this perilous time, and Alfred 
 had shown his courage in many a fierce fight with the invaders. 
 
 2. Alfred the Great. Few kings have been such good rulers as 
 Alfred, and few have had so many difficulties to overcome. When 
 quite a little lad at his mother's knee he was fond of reading and 
 learning, although books at that time were very scarce. He was 
 sent to Rome when four years old, and there learned much which 
 helped him greatly after he became king. He was troubled all his 
 life with a painful disease, and at the very outset of his reign 
 had to do battle against the ravaging Danes. But he bore himself 
 bravely and manfully at all times, although for the first seven years 
 of his reign he met with nothing but defeat in his struggle 
 against the enemy. In 878, so great was his distress, he had to 
 fly in disguise to the marshes and woods of Somersetshire. There, 
 it is said, while hiding in a swineherd's hut, he allowed the good 
 wife's cakes to burn, so intent was he on thinking ouc a plan by 
 means of which he could save his country. At last he gathered his 
 scattered followers together in Athelney, an island in Somerset- 
 shire, and inspiring them with his own hope and courage, attacked 
 and defeated the Danish leader, Guthrum, at Edington. He then 
 made him sign a treaty, called the Treaty of Wedmore, whereby 
 the Danes kept that part of England north of a line from London 
 to Chester, while Alfred kept all south of that line. By this treaty 
 the Danes held Northumbria, East Anglia, and part of Mercia, and 
 this land became known as the Danelagh. Many of the Danes 
 became Christians, and Alfred's supremacy over the Danelagh* was 
 recognized. This treaty gave the land peace for many years, and
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN E 
 
 ISH AND DANES. 
 
 11 
 
 Alfred now tried to improve the condition of his people, and to give 
 them good laws. 
 
 3. Alfred's Government. Among other good things that Alfred 
 did, he collected the old laws of the English and added others from 
 
 the Ten Commandments and the laws of Moses, 
 force. He built monasteries and sch 
 with pupils under wise and learned teac 
 which were then written in 
 to be the Father of English li^era.ture 
 
 Not content with trying 
 care that they should be taugh 
 Danes. He divided his men 
 fight against the Danes 
 homes of the people, 
 from the shore, a#d tl 
 always fully occupied/ 
 to prayer, and a third to work, 
 often ill and troubled by wars 
 
 5 put in 
 11 them 
 d books, 
 said 
 
 great 
 
 against the 
 e to go out to 
 to guard the 
 the Danes away 
 ,vy. His. time was 
 to sleep, another 
 &s that Alfred, although 
 vasions, did more for his 
 
 people and his kingdom than mosFTcings who have ruled in England. 
 
 4. Alfred's successors. Alfred died in 901, and was succeeded 
 by his son Edward (the Elder). Edward, his sons Athelstan, 
 Edmund, Edred, and his grandson Edwy, ^raduaHy butsurely won 
 i>ack the Danelagh from the Danes, until 
 once more ruled over all England, an 
 became subjects of Edgar the RBacea 
 time the Danes and the EuglishWer 
 the same hardy race, and thought tl 
 
 English king 
 ish and Danes 
 brother. By this 
 They were of 
 language? differed some- 
 
 what, they easily Ir-ynftd fn taflBRwul one another. The Danes 
 ^^^^txyvr 
 
 had become Christians . !iilg)6n England, and had lost much of 
 their rudeness and love oi il^hYing and plundering. We, to-day, 
 can tell where they lived by-~rhe names of towns they founded, 
 these nearly always ending in "by." Thus Grimsby, Derby, and 
 Kirkby, are places of Danish origin, while towns whose names end i 
 in "ham" or "ton" are English towns. <% \J $"* *" ^^V 
 
 5. Dunstan. Edgar did not really rule England, that was the 
 work pf a great man in his reign, Archbishop Dunstan. It was 
 Dunstan's task to make the English and Danes live peaceably to- 
 gether, and this he did by allowing the Danes to keep their own
 
 12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 laws and customs. Like Alfred the Great, he loved learning, and 
 sought to educate the people. He brought in from abroad good 
 teachers, and encouraged the monks to write books and lead pure 
 lives and be diligent in teaching and caring for the people. Under 
 Dunstan commerce revived, for fleets guarded the English shores 
 against the attacks of the Northmen, and enabled traders from 
 France and Germany to visit England. Men of the same trade 
 began to xinite in societies or guilds to look after their own inter- 
 ests, while the householders of each burgh or borough claimed the 
 right to manage their own affairs. 
 
 6. Social changes.' A great change had by this time come over 
 the English people since they first came to England. The king 
 had now become much more powerful by reason of the increase in 
 the number of his personal followers or thegns. These thegns got 
 land from the king and became a kind of nobility, and did not 
 recognize any authority except that of the king. Again, many of 
 the ceorls had given up their freedom during the troublous times 
 of the Danes. Not able to defend themselves they became the 
 "men" of rich and powerful nobles, and had to work for them in 
 return for protection. These "villeins" (from "villanus" a hus- 
 bandman), although no longer free, wers not badly treated. They 
 had houses and land of their own; and for food had barley-bread, 
 fish, vegetables, fruit, and buttermilk. Nevertheless they could no 
 longer take part in the village meeting, nor move from place to 
 place without their masters' permission. 
 
 The lower order of freemen, the ancestors of our yeomanry, lived 
 comfortably on their own homesteads. They had an abundance of 
 good food and clothing and were a sturdy, manly class, with a 
 strong love of freedom and independence. It is from this class, 
 living chiefly in the North of England, that so many brave men 
 have come, who on many battlefields have saved England from 
 her enemies, both at home and abroad. 
 
 The nobles having less to do than the ceorls, lived idle and 
 often riotous lives. Their slaves and villeins did all their 
 work, and provided for all their wants. When not engaged in 
 fighting, they passed their time in hawking, hunting, racing, wrest- 
 ling, and other rough out-door sports. In their halls the ladies 
 spun or embroidered, and amused themselves with travelling glee-
 
 STRUGGLE BKTWEEN ENGLISH AND DANES. 13 
 
 men who sang and played ballads to while away the tedious hours. 
 It was from the nobles and bishops that the Witangemot was 
 chosen, which had great power in choosimg the king, in making 
 laws and treaties, and governing the people. In, olden times every 
 freeman had a right to a voice in making the laws ; but now this 
 was impossible, and it fell to theSting and his Witan to do all the 
 governing. 
 
 7. Danish Conquest. This was thi state of the English people 
 in Dunstan's time. Dunstan did nab remain the king's minister 
 long after Edgar died, for a quarrel having arisen in the church 
 about the right of the clergy to marryv Dunstan, who favored an 
 unmarried clergy, retired to Canterbury, and a few years later 
 died. U 
 
 . The next king after Edgar was another Edward, and then came 
 [ Ethelred, rightly called the Unready or " Uncounselled, \ because 
 * he would not take good advice. In Edgar's time the Danes from 
 Denmark and Norway were kept off, but now, Ethelred being a 
 weak king, they landed in <jreat numbers, and once more the land 
 was plundered and thf " * murdered. Ethelred tried to buy 
 them off, but this on. l-Vght them back in greater numbers. 
 Then Ethelred married ^|VV>na of Normandy, hoping that her 
 people would help him a t ~...at the Danes. At last he had a great 
 many of them treacherously murdered on St. Brice's Day, 13th 
 November, 1002. But this only made matters worse, for among 
 the slain was the sister of the Danish king, Swegen or Sweyn. To 
 revenge his sister, Swegen came over with a large army, and Ethel- 
 red fled to Normandy. Sweyn died, but his son Cnut, a still more 
 terrible enemy, continued the war. When Ethelred died in 
 1016, his son Edmund Ironsides fought so bravely and well that 
 Cnut agreed to divide England with him. Edmund, however, 
 died, and then Cnut became king of all the country. 
 
 8. Danish Rule. Cnut, although cruel in his earlier days, ruled 
 justly and mildly after he became king. He governed by the 
 English laws, and tried to stop the trade in slaves that went on 
 between Bristol and Ireland. English and Danes alike obeyed him, 
 and for eighteen years the troubled land had peace. His reign 
 came to an end in 1036. 
 
 Cnut had married Emma of Norman/iy, fithelred's widow, and
 
 14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 by her had two sons, Harold and Harthacnut, who in turn suc- 
 ceeded him. They were wild, vicious, and brutal young men. 
 Fortunately their reigns were soon over, Harthacnut, the last to 
 rule, dying in 1042. The English then sent over to France for 
 Edward, the son of Ethelred and Emma, and once more an English 
 king ruled in England. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE NORMAN CONQUEST 
 
 1. The Normans. Edward, surnamed the Confessor on account 
 of his being placed in the Calendar of Saints, was not wholly an 
 English king, for his mother, Emma, was a Norman ; and Edward 
 himself had been brought up among the Normans, and in tastes 
 and feelings was more Norman than English. We must explain 
 who these Normans were, that now began to interfere in English 
 affairs. 
 
 When England, in the time of Alfred, was troubled with the 
 Northmen landing on her shores, France, too, was suffering from 
 their ravages. Large boat-loads of these pirates sailed up the River 
 Seine, and one band seized Rouen. The French king, being feeble 
 and cowardly, gave a large tract of land along the Seine to Rollo, or 
 Rolf, a famous chief of the Northmen, on condition that Rollo 
 should become a Christian and settle quietly down. The land thus 
 wrested from the French was called Normandy, and was ruled by 
 Rollo and his descendants. After the Normans had been in France 
 a while they became much more polished and civilized by being 
 brought into contact with the French, who were a lively, quick- 
 witted people with refined tastes for music, art, and architecture. 
 Thus it came to pass that the Norsemen in France had a different 
 language and were much more civilized than their kinsmen in Eng- 
 land. It was among these people that Edward had been brought 
 up, while his mother Emma was living in England as the wife of
 
 THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 15 
 
 Cnut. Edward, too, it is said, was a fast friend of his cousin 
 William, the young Duke of Normandy, and it was quite natural 
 that when Edward became king of England he should favour the 
 Normans who followed him into England. To these he gave high 
 offices, much to the displeasure of the English ; and, when William 
 of Normandy later on visited him in England, Edward is said to 
 have promised him the Crown. \ 
 
 v 2. Godwin. Among others who\ were angry with .the king for 
 favouring foreigners was Godwin, Earl of Wessex, whose -flintier 
 Edith, Edward had married. Godwin was a very powerful noble, 
 and during Edward's reign really did most of the ruling, for 
 Edward spent his time in religious duties, and looking after the 
 building of a great abbey called Westminster, on the banks of 
 the Thames. Shortly after Edward's reign began, Godwin and 
 the king became unfriendly towards each other on account of 
 the influence of Edward's Norman favourites in the land. It 
 happened that a quarrel arose between the people of Dover and 
 some Normans in which several Normans were killed, and because 
 Godwin would not punish his own countrymen without a fair trial, 
 Godwin and his sons had to leave England for Flanders. While he 
 was away the Normans did much as they pleased, and there was 
 so much discontent in England that Edward had to permit Godwin 
 to return. The Normans saw that their influence was at an end, 
 and most of them went back to Normandy. Godwin now was the 
 chief man in England, and when he died a few years later, hia 
 son Harold succeeded to his power, and ruled well for Edward, 
 who cared little for aught save his religious duties.) 
 
 . Harold. Edward had no children, and theSEnglish people 
 had begun to look to Harold as their future king. William of 
 Normandy expected to be made king, but Edward invited over, 
 from Hungary, Edward, the son of Edmund Ironsides, to succeed 
 him. This man^ however, died, and left a young son, Edgar, 
 known afterwards as the Atheling. Harold and William were now 
 the rival claimants for the throne. A story is told that once Harold 
 was shipwrecked on the coast of Normandy, and falling into 
 William's hands was forced to take a solemn oath that he would 
 help William to become king of England. To make the oath still 
 more solemn, William, it is said, secretly placed sacred relics under
 
 16 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 the altar. However, when Edward was dying in 1066, he named 
 Harold to succeed him, and the Witan gladly chose him to be their 
 king. 
 
 Jf 4. Norwegian Invasion. Harold was scarcely crowned before 
 he had to do battle for his kingdom. Among his enemies was his 
 own brother Tostig, who, having been exiled some time before, had 
 gone to Norway. He now came back with the Norwegian King 
 Hardrada, and sailing up the Humber landed with a large army in 
 Yorkshire. Harold was watching the southern coast for the army 
 of William of Normandy, who had gathered a large force of des- 
 perate men from different parts of Europe to invade and plunder 
 England. William had sought and obtained the blessing of the 
 Pope on his enterprise, because Harold had broken his solemn oath. 
 As William did not immediately arrive, Harold marched to meet 
 the Norwegian king. A great battle was fought at Stamford Bridge, 
 in Yorkshire, in which Tostig and Hardrada were both killed, and 
 the Norwegian army defeated. 
 
 5. Battle of Hastings. Hardly, however, had Harold's army 
 recovered from the effects of this battle when a messenger came to 
 tell him that William had landed at Pevensey in Sussex. At once 
 Harold hastened to meet this new invader, gathering, as he 
 marched, the men of the south to his side to defend the country 
 He found the Normans encamped at Hastings, and at once began 
 preparations for battle. In this Harold was not wise, for his men 
 were worn out and tired with travel, while the Normans were fresh 
 and strong. Harold was advised to lay the cduntry waste, and 
 starve William out ; but this he would not do. On the 14th October, 
 1066, near a hill called Senlac, a little distance from HastinglJ a 
 famous battle began. It was to decide whether England was to be 
 governed by the English or by the Normans. Both. armies were 
 brave and stubborn, but they fought very differently. The English 
 fought, like their forefathers, on foot, closely ranked together, and 
 defended by a breastwork of shields and palisades. Their weapons 
 were javelins and two-handed axes. The Norman knights were used 
 to fighting on horseback, man and horse being clad in mail. Besides, 
 the Normans brought into battle archers whose arrows did deadly 
 work. The English were posted on the face of the hill, and so long 
 as they refused to stir the Normans could not break their ranks.
 
 THE EARLY NORMANS. 
 
 The Normans in vain strove to break through the firm wall of 
 English shields, and at one time so sturdy and fierce was the resist- 
 ance of Harold's men that the Normans began to give way, and a 
 cry arose that William was slain. But William snatched off his 
 helmet to show his followers that he was unhurt, and then making 
 his warriors pretend to flee, led the English to pursue them. Then, 
 an opening being made among the English shields, the horsemen 
 turned, rode in and cut the English to pieces. Nevertheless, the 
 battle lasted for many hours, for a chosen band of Harold's men 
 gathered round their king, and kept the Normans at bay. Then 
 William ordered his archers to shoot their arrows upwards so that 
 coming down they would strike the English on the head. One of 
 these arrows pierced Harold's eye, and he fell. His men fought 
 stubbornly over his body, seeking to save their king, until they were 
 cut down. At last Harold was slain by four Norman knights, and 
 the battle was won by William. Harold's body was given to his 
 mother by the victor to be buried in its royal robes under a heap ot 
 stones near the battlefield. 
 
 With Harold ended the English kings, for William marched to 
 London, and the Witan not being able to offer him any opposition 
 chose him king. He did not claim the crown as a conqueror, but 
 as the rightful heir of Edward the Confessor. As we shall see in 
 the next chapter, it took William several years to get all 
 to accept him as king. 
 
 THE EARLY NORMANS. 
 
 1. William I., or the Conqueror. William, the son of Robert, 
 Duke of Normandy, and Arlotta, a tanner's daughter, was crowned 
 King of England on Christmas Day. He was a tall, strong man, 
 who loved fighting and hunting. To those who stood in his way 
 and opposed him, he was harsh and cruel ; but in the main he 
 loved order and just government. He made many good laws for
 
 18 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 the English, although in some instances he acted very sternly and 
 tyrannically. But he would not allow any one else to oppress the 
 people, and his strong hand kept his Norman followers under 
 control. 
 
 2. Feudal System^ The men who helped William to gain the 
 Battle of Hastings did so in the hope of gaining rich estates 
 and fine homes in England. They fought for gain, and now that 
 William had become king they looked to him to give them their 
 reward. This William found he would have to do, as the English 
 in the North and West were not fully conquered, and without the 
 aid of his knights he could not keep his hold on the land. On the 
 plea that all those who had fought under Harold were traitors, he 
 took their lands and divided them among his Norman friends. 
 Whenever a rising took place against his rule, he would crush it 
 out with great cruelty, and then would keep the estates of the 
 unfortunate rebels, or give them away to his friends. In this way 
 most of the land of the English passed to the king and his greedy 
 followers. But William did nofc give these lands for nothing. He 
 made each landowner take an oath that whenever called upon he 
 would aid the king with men and money, and under no circum- 
 stances would rebel against him. To prevent these Norman barons 
 from becoming too powerful, he cave them their lands in different 
 counties, so that they could not unite against him, or have too many 
 followers in one place. These barons in turn gave out a portion of 
 their estates to their followers, who also had to give aid to their 
 " lord " when called upon. But William was afraid that his 
 barons might get their men to fighfc against the king, as often 
 happened in France and Germany, and so made each landowner 
 take an oath to obey the king first, urder pain of forfeiting his 
 estates. This was all very different from the English system, by 
 which each freeman held his own land. I^ow all the land was 
 held from the king, directly or indirectly, and the " vassal " had 
 to kneel bareheaded before him and place his bands in the king's 
 hands, and then swear to give faithful service. B e then got from 
 the king his "fief" or "feudum," which was to belong to him 
 and his heirs for ever. This mode of holding land is called the 
 "Feudal System." It was slightly known in England before 
 William became king, for the English kin?? bad been *vo"t to
 
 THE EARLY NORMANS. 19 
 
 give lands in somewhat the samer fashion to their thanes or im- 
 mediate followers. ]f 
 
 3. Risings Against the Normans. It took William more than 
 three years to become master of all England. Shortly after his 
 coronation he had to return to Normandy, and while he was absent 
 the English in the West and North, aided by the Scots and Danes, 
 rose against their oppressors. A massacre of Normans took place 
 at York, and William hastened to take a terrible revenge. York 
 was retaken from the English, and then William, to put a barrier 
 between himself and the Scots, laid desolate the whole country 
 between York and Durham. Everything was destroyed towns, 
 villages, crops, and cattle .and the poor inhabitants were left to 
 starve, or were driven into Scotland. More than 100,000 innocent 
 people lost their lives, and the land ceased to be cultivated for 
 many years. 
 
 The only persons who now held out against William were a few 
 hundred English outlaws under the leadership of Morkere and 
 Hereward-the-Wake. This brave little band of patriots for nearly 
 a year kept William at bay, by taking refuge in the Isle of Ely, 
 where they were protected from attack by streams and fens. But 
 in 1071 William built a causeway across the Fen, and the patriots 
 'were either killed, scattered, or forced to make their submission. 
 
 ;4. New Forest and Domesday Book. There was now a forced 
 peace in the land, and William made many changes, some of which 
 were good, and some very bad. Among many cruel things which 
 William did the worst was the laying waste of 90,000 acres of 
 land in Hampshire to make a forest in which he could keep game 
 and hunt. Much of this land was barren, but some of it was fertile, 
 and the poor people living on it were driven out. William loved 
 the " high deer, "and any man found killing his game was sentenced 
 to have his eyes put out. To William a deer was more valuable 
 than a man. 
 
 Another change of a different kind was the surveying of all Eng- 
 land to find out ho\v much land was cultivated, and how much 
 forest, bog, and fen. In this way William was able to tell what 
 taxes each person should pay. All these tacts were written ID a
 
 20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 book called Domesday Book, because it was the book by which tha 
 Doom or final decision of the judges was given. It is from this 
 book we get most of our knowledge of the condition of England at 
 this time. It was prepared in 1086. 
 
 5. Chief Effects of the Norman Conquest. Besides the New 
 Forest and Domesday Book there were many other important 
 results of bringing the Normans into England. William ruled with 
 a strong hand, and by allowing complaints to be made before the 
 King's Court he kept his barons from oppressing the English. 
 Sheriffs were appointed to look after the royal revenue from the 
 shires where the laws of the English were allowed. He kept the 
 Church under control, but allowed the clergy to have their own 
 courts. Strong castles were built all over the land to keep the 
 English in check. One of these arose on the banks of the Thames, 
 and is called the Tower of London. But most important of all 
 were the changes made in the social habits and customs of the 
 English. The Normans were a courtly, refined people, with a love 
 of music, art, learning, and architecture, while the English were 
 coarse in their habits and tastes, and cared for little except eating, 
 drinking, and brawling. At first the Normans and English did not 
 intermingle, for the Normans despised the English as a rude and con- 
 quered people. After a time the two people came closer together, and 
 then the good results of the Conquest were seen. The English 
 became more refined, with higher and better tastes ; and the Nor- 
 mans gained much from the English, who were a sturdy, honest, 
 freedom-loving people. The language of the nation, too, was 
 affected. For though it remained English many Norman-French 
 words were added, especially words that tell of the social life and 
 habits of the conquerors. With the Normans came also an increased 
 commerce with the rest of Europe, the knowledge of many trades, 
 and skill in many arts. 
 
 6. Death of William I. William's reign was a troubled one. 
 When not putting down revolts in England, he was busy looking 
 after his interests in Normandy, where the French king sought to 
 injure him. Then his son Robert made war against him, and nearly 
 killed him in battle. At last, in 1087, while attacking town in 
 France called Nantes, his horse stumbled and hurt him so severely
 
 THE EARLY NORMANS. 21 
 
 that he died shortly afterwards at Rouen. He was succeeded by 
 his second son, William Rufus. / 
 
 ). Character of William Rufus. The Conqueror left three 
 sons, Robert, the eldest, William, and Henry. To Robert he left 
 Normandy and Maine, but he named William to succeed him in 
 England, because he knew that Robert was too weak and good- 
 natured to keep his unruly barons in check. William Rufus, or 
 the Red King, was as able and fierce as his father, but not so just 
 and wise as a ruler. His one good quality was that he would not 
 allow his barons to rob and oppress the English, that power he 
 kept for himself. For that reason the English came to his aid 
 against his brother Robert, whose cause the Norman barons sup- 
 ported. Robert landed with an army at Pevensey, near where the 
 Battle of Hastings was fought, and William called upon the English 
 to assist him. With their aid he defeated Robert and drove him 
 out of the country. 
 
 8. Anselm and the King. Among the great men who lived at 
 this time was Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a 
 wise and good man, and in che Conqueror's time had been Rufus' 
 tutor. So long as Lanfranc lived, Rufus governed fairly well, but 
 when he died Rufus began to rob and oppress his people. To get 
 money he kepi high offices in the Church, such as bishoprics and 
 abbacies, vacant. The incomes from these offices would then go into 
 the king's treasury. When Lanfranc died the king did not appoint 
 his successor until after many years. Perhaps he would not have 
 appointed any had he not become very ill. He then repented of his 
 sins and forced the learned and gentle Anselm to become Archbishop. 
 Anselm was very unwilling to take the crozier or crook of office, for 
 he knew that the king, as soon as he was better, would forget to 
 carry out the promises made when sick. And so it happened. No 
 sooner had the king recovered than he began again his evil ways, 
 and Anselm, having tried in vain to control him, was glad to leave 
 the country. The king now had no one to restrain him, and from 
 this time to the end of his reign, in every possible way, he robbed 
 and plundered his sub'jects. One of his instruments in this work 
 was Ralph Flambard, his Jmticiar, or chief of the justices, who 
 taxed the people heavily and unj ustly .
 
 22 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The Crusades. During this reign the Crusades began. 
 Peter the Hermit, encouraged by* the Pope, went through Europe 
 preaJiing against the Turks, because they ill-treated Christian pil- 
 grims who visited the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, A multitude of 
 people, sewing a colored cross (crux) on their arms, went forth from 
 Europe to fight against the Turks.* With them went Robert, 
 William's brother, having, however, first pledged his duchy to 
 William for a sum of money with which to goon the expedition. 
 Tfi'.s was in 1096. So while .Robert was absent William governed 
 
 England and Normandy, and took English men and money into 
 France to help him in his wars. 
 
 TO. Death of Eufus, 1100 A.D. The people groaned under their 
 heavy burdens and the famine which now came ; but the end was 
 near. One day Ruf us was hunting in the New Forest, and after a 
 time being missed by his attendants they sought for him, only to 
 find him dead, with an arrow in his breast. Some thought that he 
 had been shot accidentally by Walter Tyrrell, while others, with 
 perhaps good reason, believed that one of the many oppressed by 
 the cruel forest laws had seized the opportunity to take the wicked 
 king's life. Rufus died " in his sr.is," and his body was not given 
 a religious burial. His brother Henry at once hastened to Win- 
 chester and seized the royal treasure, fearing Robert's return from 
 the Crusades. So Henry became king, xlcbert being absent in the 
 Holy Land. 
 
 11. Henry 1. Henry, the youngest son of the Conqueror, was 
 a quiet thoughtful man, with so much learning for his time, that he 
 was called " Beauclerc," or " Fine Scholar." Nevertheless he kept 
 a firm hand on his barons, and as he kuew that his throne depended 
 on the good- will of the English, he gave them a "charter," and 
 restored the laws of Edward the Confessor. He relieved the 
 people from many of their unjust burdens, and, to please the 
 English still more, married Edith, the daughter of Malcolm of 
 Scotland, and grand-daughter of Edmund Ironsides. All these 
 things Henry did because he knew that when Robert returned from 
 the Crusades he would claim the throne and w,ould be supported by 
 most of the barons. After a time Robert came home, and as 
 expected, the barons rose in his favour. Peace, however, was 
 made between the brothers, Robert receiving a pension from Henry.
 
 THE EARLY NORMANS. 23 
 
 But Robert governed his duchy of Normandy so badly, that Henry 
 went over with an army, and defeating him at the battle of Tenche- 
 brai (A.D. 1106), took him prisoner. Robert remained in prison 
 the rest of his life, while Henry ruled over both England and 
 Normandy. 
 
 12. Henry's Good Government. Normans and English were 
 now coming nearer together, and the union was made still closer by 
 Henry's good laws. Bishop Roger, his Justiciar, or chief judge, 
 helped Henry to bring the revenues of the kingdom into order. 
 The people got back their shire-moots, and the sheriffs every year 
 went to the King's Court to pay in the rents and taxes to the royal 
 treasury. The money was paid out on a chequered cloth, and the 
 room where this took place became known as the " Court of Ex- 
 chequer. " The King's justices, too, went from place to place each 
 year to settle disputes, and to see no wrong was done. 
 
 In this reign many towns and cities bought from the king charters 
 giving them the right to manage their own affairs. The Normans 
 were accustomed to settle their disputes by "trial by battle," which 
 was a great public duel, whereas the English used the "ordeal." The 
 citizens of the towns were now not required to use the " trial by 
 battle, " and their trade was freed from tolls. The good laws and 
 good order in the land brought in people from abroad. .Among 
 others were the Flemings, who introduced the art of weaving wool. 
 
 13. Henry and the Church,. Henry, like William Rufus, had 
 a dispute with Anselm, who had returned to England. It was 
 about the right of electing bishops. Rufus had kept the bishoprics 
 vacant, and to prevent this Anselm wanted to have the bishops 
 elected by the clergy. Henry, on the other hand, wished 
 Anselm to do "homage " for the land of his See, or Archbishopric, 
 and this Anselm at first refused to do, as it seemed to give 
 Henry too much power in spiritual matters. Finally the matter 
 was settled by Henry agreeing to the election of bishops by the 
 clergy of the cathedrals, and by the bishops doing homage to the 
 king for their lands. 
 
 14. Death of Henry, 1135 A.D. The last days of Henry were 
 very sad. His only son William was drowned while attempting to 
 cross from Normandy to England. He then wished his daughter
 
 24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Matilda, the wife of the Count of Anjou, to succeed him ; but this 
 did not please the barons, who disliked the thought of being ruled 
 by a woman. Henry, however, made his barons swear to support 
 Matilda and her baby son. Soon after this Henry died, and the 
 land was once more thrown into confusion by the disputes and 
 wars of rivals for the throne. 
 
 15. Civil War. Although the barons had sworn to support 
 Matilda, yet the most of them chose Stephen, the son of Adela, 
 the Conqueror's daughter, to be their king. They did not care to 
 have a woman rule over them, and they knew that Stephen was 
 weak and good-natured, and could not hinder them from having 
 their own way. So Stephen came to England and was crowned 
 king in Matilda's absence. But Matilda's uncle, David of Scotland, 
 with the help of some of the barons, made war against Stephen in 
 her behalf, and fought and lost the famous " Battle of the Stan- 
 dard " at Cowton Moor, in Yorkshire. This battle took place in 
 1138, and its name arose from the fact that the English had as their 
 standard a ship's mast hung with sacred banners. This was, how- 
 ever, only one of many battles fought between the barons who 
 supported Stephen and those who supported Matilda. At one 
 time Matilda was victorious and Stephen was a prisoner ; and then 
 it was Stephen who was victorious and Matilda a prisoner. In 1147 
 Matilda, discouraged, left England for a time. 
 
 16. Misery of the People. In no reign did the people suffer so 
 much from the wickedness and cruelty of their rulers as in the reign 
 of Stephen. The struggle between Stephen and Matilda left the 
 barons to do much as they liked. They built strong castles, coined 
 money, and made war against one another. Their castles were 
 nothing but robbers' dens whence the barons came forth to plunder, 
 slay, and burn. " They burnt houses and sacked towns. If they 
 suspected any one of concealing his wealth, they carried him off to 
 their castle, and there they tortured him to make him confess 
 where his money was. They hanged men up by the feet and 
 smoked them with foul smoke. Some were hanged up by their 
 thumbs, others by their heads, and burning things were hung on to 
 their feet." The people cried to Heaven for help, but for years no 
 help came. " Men said openly that Christ and His saints slept."
 
 THE CROWN, THE CHUBCH AND THB BARONS. 25 
 
 17. Death of Stephen, A.D. 1154. At last, after nineteen years 
 of suffering, relief came. Stephen's son died, and Henry, Matilda's 
 son, landed with an army in England to fight his own battles. 
 Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury, now used his influence 
 with Stephen to put an end to this wretched strife. Stephen saw 
 that he must, sooner or later, yield, now that he had no son to 
 succeed him, and agreed that Henry should have the throne after 
 his death. Not long after Stephen died, and Ifenry became king, 
 peace was once more restored, and as we shall see, with peace and 
 a strong ruler, the miseries of Stephen's reign came to an end. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE CROWN, THE CHUBCH, AND THE BABON8. 
 
 1. Henry II. Henry was only twenty-one years of age when he 
 came to the throne ; but he was already a statesman and an able 
 ruler. He was a stout, strong man, with red hair and grey eyes ; 
 and was so restless find active that he could scarcely find time to 
 eat his meals. He loved order and good government, although his 
 temper which was fiery and passionate, sometimes made him cruel 
 and unjust. He ruled over England, Normandy, and Maine, his 
 grandfather's possessions; and, besides, had Anjou and'Touraine 
 from his father, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou ; Brittany, through Con- 
 stance, wife of his brother Geoffrey; and Poitou, Aquitaine, and 
 Gascony by his wife Eleanor, a woman who had been divorced from 
 Louis VII., King of France. Thus Henry ruled over more French 
 ierritory than the king of France himself. Henry was the first of 
 the Plantagenets, a line of kings whose name arose from the fact 
 that Geoffrey of Anjou, Henry's father, had worn a sprig of broom, 
 planta genista, as his device during the crusades. Another name 
 for the same line of kings is the Angevin, because they had for 
 their family possession, Anjou. 
 
 2. Henry's Reforms. One of the first things Henry did was to 
 make the barons pull down their castles, so that they could no 
 longer use them as strongholds in which to carry their plunder and
 
 26 
 
 BI8TOE7 OF ENGLAND. 
 
 DOMINIONS 
 
 of the House of 
 
 ANJOU.
 
 i*HE CROWN, THE CHURCH, AND THE BARONS. 27 
 
 torture their victims. His grandfather, Henry L, had made a 
 beginning in sending out judges on circuit, and Henry EL followed 
 and extended his plan. Judges now made their circuits more regu- 
 larly, and it was arranged that in each shire there should be four 
 knights, and in each neighbourhood twelve men, who should place 
 before the judges all cases of evil-doing, and should swear to the 
 guik of the accused, or to the facts about any property in dispute. 
 This was the beginning of the Grand Jury of to-day. The "ordeal " 
 was still in use ; but it was abolished forty years later. As the 
 Grand Jury, in many cases, did not know all the facts, the custom 
 was introduced of calling on twelve men, who had the necessary 
 information, to state what they knew about the matters in dispute. 
 This body of twelve was called the "Petty Jury." Its decision 
 as to the guilt or innocence of the accused was called the 
 "verdict," which means "truly said." So we see that at the outset 
 our juries not only heard the evidence but also acted as witnesses. 
 It was not till many years had passed that the jury ceased to do 
 aught except hear the evidence and give the decision. 
 
 Henry also lessened the power of the barons by allowing them to 
 pay money to the king instead of giving military service. By this 
 means, and by allowing the small landowners, or yeomanry, to keep 
 arms and defend themselves, he did much to put a stop to such 
 outrages as took place in the reign of Stephen. 
 
 3. Henry and the Church. Henry's love of order and good 
 government led him to try to make the clergy submit to be judged 
 by the ordinary courts of the land. At this time nearly all the 
 men "of any education were clerks or clergy, or in some way con- 
 nected with the church. William I. had granted the clergy their 
 own courts ; and when a clerk committed a serious crime he could 
 not be put to death, for the church courts had no power to inflict 
 such a punishment. So it came to pass that a great many crimes 
 like theft and murder were not duly punished, and "wicked men 
 escaped very easily, if they in any way belonged to the clergy. 
 Henry tried to change this, and to have but one kind of law for 
 all classes of his subjects. 
 
 4. Becket. As you may think, the clergy were very much against 
 such a step, and Henry thought if Thomas Becket were made 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, his help would enable him to carry
 
 28 HISTORY OP ENOLAIO). 
 
 out this refonu. Becket had been Henry's bosom friend and his 
 chancellor, or man of business. He was gay, reckless, and extrava- 
 gant while Henry's chancellor, and Henry thought that if he 
 made him Archbishop he would use his influence with the clergy 
 in favour of Henry's plans. When, however, Becket became Arch- 
 bishop he changed his habits entirely, and instead of support- 
 ing Henry, he upheld the cause of the clergy. Henry waajvery 
 angry at Becket's conduct, and when Becket refused to be bound 
 by his own signature to the "Constitutions of Clarendon," drawn 
 up in 1164, and making the desired changes, Henry drove him out 
 of the country by the insults and indignities he put upon him. 
 
 5. Becket's Murder. While Becket was absent, Henry per- 
 suaded the Archbishop of York to crown his son Henry. This was 
 a new cause for quarrel, for no sooner had Becket returned to Eng- 
 land, than he suspended the Archbishop of York for crowning the 
 king's son. Then Henry, who was a man of very violent temper, 
 exclaimed, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest ! " Four 
 knights, who were only too well pleased to have such an excuse, left 
 France, where Henry was, crossed over to England, and murdered 
 Becket in his own cathedral at Canterbury. Henry was very sorry 
 for what his foolish passion had brought about, and immediately 
 sent a messenger to the Pope to say that the murder was committed 
 without his consent. Later on, to satisfy the people who thought 
 a great crime and sin had been committed by murdering a bishop in 
 a church, Henry did penance at Becket's tomb, allowing himself to 
 
 be scourged on his bare back by the monks. 
 
 
 
 6. Conquest of Ireland, 1172. Henry was glad to have an 
 excuse, after Becket's murder, to leave England, and a good one 
 was found in the scate of Ireland. This island was inhabited by 
 people of the same race as the Britons, and like England had been 
 troubled with attacks from the Danes, who managed to get a foot- 
 ing on the eastern coast. The Irish people could not wholly drive 
 them out, although they fought many battles with them. These 
 wars had a bad effect on the Irish, for instead of remaining at 
 peace, the Irish chieftains fought against one another with so much 
 ferocity that the civilization and learning that had existed in Ire- 
 land before the time of the Danes began to die out. To save the 
 land from disorder and misrule, the Pope gave Henry permission
 
 THE CROWN, THE CHURCH AND THE BARONS, 29 
 
 to conquer Ireland. The opportunity was given when an Irish 
 king, Dermot of Leinster, came over to England to get help 
 against one of his enemies. Henry allowed Richard de Clare, or 
 " Strongbow, " to go and to take along with him a small army of 
 Norman adventurers. Strongbow soon defeated Dermot's foes, 
 and marrying Dermot's daughter, settled down as his heir. He 
 conquered so much territory in Leinster that Henry thought it wise 
 to cross over and get him to acknowledge the king as his "lord." 
 This Strongbow did, and Henry received homage from some of the 
 Irish chiefs about Dublin, as well as from Strongbow. This was 
 only the beginning of the conquest of Ireland, for Ireland was not 
 wholly subdued until more than four centuries after. 
 
 J7. Death of Henry, 1189. Henry's life was full of trouble. 
 He had trouble with the barons, with the Church, with his wife 
 Eleanor, and with his sons. His wife, who was not kindly treated, 
 stirred up strife and caused his sons to rebel against him. The 
 kings of France and Scotland sought to take advantage of Henry's 
 difficulties to wrest territory from him. But Henry was more than 
 a match for all his enemies. He defeated his sons, took the king 
 of Scotland prisoner, and put Eleanor in confinement during the rest 
 of his life. Two of Henry's sons died, and the remaining two, 
 Richard and John, joined the king of France in an attack on their 
 father's possessions in Touraine. When Henry was shown a list of 
 those trying to injure him, and saw therein the name of his favorite 
 son, John, he cried, "Shame, shaine, on a conquered king," and, 
 heart-broken, two days after, died. 
 
 8. Richard I., The Lion-Hearted. Richard, Henry's elder 
 surviving son, succeeded his father. He can scarcely be called a 
 king of England, for during the ten years he held the throne he 
 was not one year in the country. It is doubtful if he understood 
 the English language, or could speak the English tongue. The 
 only use he had for the English people was to supply him with 
 money for his foreign wars and for his crusading adventures. He 
 was a very strong, brave man, and while abroad in the armies of 
 the crusaders performed many remarkable acts of daring and 
 courage. The English had but little reason to love him as a ruler, 
 yet they were proud of his strength, valour, and fame as a warrior. 
 Nevertheless, in some ways, his neglect of his kingly duties,
 
 30 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 and his greed for his subjects' money, did good. To get money he 
 sold to many towns and cities the right to govern themselves. In 
 this reign London got its first Lord Mayor, Henry Fitz-Alwyn, 
 A.D. 1191. He also sold offices and honors belonging to the 
 Crown and the Church, and would have sold London could he have 
 found a buyer. 
 
 Almost at the beginning of his reign he went to the Holy Land 
 to war against the Turks and to take Jerusalem. He left his mother 
 *nd William Longchamp to govern in his absence. When Long- 
 champ was put aside by" the barons in 1191, Richard's brother John 
 sought to rule in his place but was not permitted. Richard, mean- 
 while, was doing great deeds of valour in the Holy Land, but did not 
 succeed in taking Jerusalem, although once in sight of it. He had 
 for rivals in the crusading armies, Philip of France, and the 
 Duke of Austria, the latter of whom, it is said, he grossly insulted. 
 It happened that Richard, returning from the crusades, fell into the 
 hands of his old-time enemy, and by him was sent a prisoner to the 
 German Emperor. The Emperor would not release him until he 
 had paid a ransom of 100,000, and this large sum (for money was 
 worth a great deal more then than now) the English people had to 
 raise to free their king. John had tried to persuade the Emperor to 
 keep Richard a prisoner, and for this and other acts of treachery 
 Richard, on his return, took away John's castles and lands. Richard 
 now spent a few months in England, collecting all the money he 
 could get to make war against his enemy, Philip of France, and 
 then went to Normandy. He never came back, for while besieging 
 the Castle of Chaluz, an archer took deliberate aim and shot him. 
 Before he died he forgave his slayer, but Richard's followers were 
 more revengeful, and put the poor archer to a very painful death. 
 Thus came to a violent end Richard, Cceur-de-Leon, the hero of 
 many a romantic tale. 
 
 9. John, surnamed Sansterre or Lackland. John, Richard's 
 brother, now came to the throne of England. He is the one king 
 of England about whom no good can be said. Although able, 
 handsome and, when he wished, pleasant and agreeable, he was 
 cruel, licentious, and teacherous. He was chosen king of England 
 over his brother Geoffrey's son, Arthur, a lad twelve years of age ; 
 but his claims to his father's French possessions were disputed.
 
 THE CROWN, THE CHURCH AND THE BARONS. 21 
 
 Arthur was the rightful Count of Anjou, and Anjou and Brit- 
 tany held by him. In the war that followed Arthur was taken 
 prisoner, and no more was heard of him, The rumour spread, 
 and was generally believed, that he was murdered by his uncle ; 
 some say, with John's own hands. Philip of France, as John's 
 feudal lord, called upon him to answer the charge of murdering his 
 nephew ; and as John paid no attention to the summons, Philip 
 made war upon him and took from him all his possessions north of 
 the Loire. John had now only his mother's lands, Gascony and part 
 of Aquitaine. In this way the kings of England lost Normandy, 
 Maine and Anjou. Now that most of their French possessions were 
 gone, the kings of England paid more attention to the wants and 
 wishes of the English people. English men and English money 
 were not, henceforth, so liable to be taken abroad to be used in their 
 king's foreign quarrels. 
 
 10. John quarrels with the Pope. Not content with murder- 
 ing his nephew, John must needs plunder and torture his own 
 subjects. No class of his people was free from his insults and 
 outrages. He kept in his pay a large number of foreigners, who 
 fought his battles and helped him to put at defiance his barons. 
 The Church, too, felt his heavy hand, for clergy and laity alike were 
 victims of his greed and brutality. When Hubert, the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury died, some of the monks of Canterbury secretly 
 chose his successor. John, when it came to his ears, was greatly 
 enraged and had another one chosen. The matter came before 
 Pope Innocent III. and he put both choices aside, and induced the 
 monks to elect Stephen Langton, a man of great learning and 
 worth, at that time living at Borne. But John would not allow 
 Langton to come to England. Then in 1208 the Pope placed the 
 land under an " Interdict," that is he forbade the Clergy to marry 
 the people in the Church, or to bury their dead. For four years 
 the churches were closed, and their dead were buried in ditches 
 and fields. But John cared for none of those things. He took 
 his revenge by robbing and murdering the clergy, using for this 
 purpose his hired foreign troops. One outrage followed another 
 until the Pope called upon Philip of France to invade England and 
 take the throne from John. This Philip proceeded to do; but 
 John, at last greatly alarmed, placed his crown and kingdom at the
 
 32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Pope's feet, promising to be his vassal and pay him a sum of money 
 yearly in token of his supremacy. By this act John put himself 
 under the Pope's protection and Philip had to withdraw. John 
 now felt free to give full vent to all his wicked passions, and the 
 barons were powerless to stop his outrages. Fortunately for them 
 and for England, Langton the new Archbishop, was a true patriot, 
 and determined to do all he could to free the people from John's 
 oppressive rule. The nation now was becoming more united ; 
 English and Norman met at the Universities as equals, and in 
 many other ways the old distinctions between the two peoples were 
 fading away. It was well that this was so, for now all classes had 
 to unite against a cruel and tyrannical king. 
 
 11. Magna Charta, A.D. 1215. Langton now became the leader 
 of the barons. He brought forth the charter containing the laws 
 of Henry I., and urged the barons to demand that John should 
 agree to be bound by them. John delayed his consent, hoping to 
 collect his foreign troops, and then crush his opponents. But the 
 barons were much in earnest, and hearing of John's treachery, took 
 up arms, and forced John,rwho was quite unprepared for a war, to 
 sign the Great Charter, or " Magna Charta." This famous charter 
 was signed at Runnvmede on the Thames, on the 15th June, 1215. 
 Most of its provisions were old, and had been in other charters, 
 such as that of Henry I. But the Great Charter is important 
 because it was wrung from an unwilling king, and because it states 
 very clearly and positively the rights of the people. It contains a 
 great many clauses, of which the principal are : first, that the king 
 could levy no taxes without the consent of the bishops and the 
 barons ; second, that no man could be imprisoned, dispossessed of his 
 land, or otherwise punished, without a fair trial by his peers or 
 
 'equals. Its two great principles are the right of the people to con- 
 trol their own taxation, and the right to be free from the king's 
 arbitrary arrest and punishment. It also maintained the freedom 
 of the English Church, and the right of towns and cities to the 
 management of their own affairs. 
 
 12. Death of John, 1216. The Barons were so anxious to have 
 the Charter carried out, that they appointed twenty-five of their own 
 number to watch the king, and if he refused to do as he had prom- 
 ised, they were authorized to seize the king's castles. But John did 
 not intend to keep his word, and putting off the barons with excuses, 
 he managed to get his paid troops together, and th^n began a civil
 
 DE MONTFORT'S PARLIAMENT. 33 
 
 war. The barons were not able to cope with him, and called upon 
 Louis, the son of the French king, to come to their aid with an army, 
 and to be their king. Louis landed with a large force, and it looked 
 as if England was once more to be ruled by French kings. Fortu- 
 nately, John, sorely vexed at losing his baggage, jewels, and crown 
 while crossing the Wash, took ill and died. His son, Henry, a lad 
 nine years old, was chosen by the barons to succeed him. 
 
 CHAPTER VTL 
 
 DB MONTFORT'S PARLIAMENT. 
 
 1. Henry IIL, A.D. 1216. Henry III. was chosen king by a 
 few of the barons, although only a child. There was, however, 
 no choice, except between him and the French Prince Louis, then 
 in England with an army. The barons preferred Henry, fearing 
 that Louis would give their lands to his French followers; and 
 Louis, finding that the barons had deserted him, returned to France 
 with his army. As Henry was too young to rule unaided, the 
 governing power was given into the hands of William Marshall^" 
 Earl of Pembroke. The Great Charter was again agreed to, but 
 the clause providing for the people's consent to their own taxation 
 was left out. 
 
 The Earl of Pembroke died in 1219, and then Peter des Roches, 
 Hubert de Burgh, and Archbishop Langton governed for Henry. 
 In 1227 Henry began to govern for himself, although he kept 
 advisers, and this, some say, marks the beginning of the English 
 "Privy Council." 
 
 2. State of the Country. We must now see how the country 
 and people had prospered since the Norman Conquest. In the time 
 of William I. and his son Rufus, the people suffered at the hands of 
 their kings, through heavy and unjust taxes. Matters were better 
 in the reign of Henry I., although taxes were still very heavy, but 
 better laws were put in force. The reign of Stephen was full of
 
 34 HISTORY OF ENOLAHB. 
 
 misery and wretchedness ; but fc was followed by the wise and firm 
 rule of Henry II. Henry's sens, Richard and John, governed 
 badly, and the people had to endure heavy taxation and civil war. 
 Highwaymen, like Robin Hood and his companions, infested the 
 woods and roads, robbing and sometimes murdering travellers. 
 Wealthy men, especially abbotts and monks, were the chief victims, 
 for Robin Hood often took money from the rich and gave it to the 
 poor. He thought the rich Normans and monks were oppressing 
 the poor English, so he took this way to make things more equal. 
 
 As a rule the harvests were good and food was plentiful. Even 
 laborers had oaten and wheaten bread, barley boer, herrings, and 
 cheese. The yeomanry wove -vueir own clothing, and made their 
 own tpols in the winter months. They practised wrestling, archery, 
 and other manly games and sports, and for a more serious pastime 
 attended their manor and other courts, where their local affairs were 
 looked after. In the towns, trade increased, although the king too 
 frequently levied heavy tolls. Fairs were held annually, and at these 
 the people met, bargained, and indulged in games and sports, such as 
 archery, which was encouraged by law. As the-king took tolls on all 
 goods sold, he was sometimes tempted, when in want of money, to call 
 a fair when it was not really needed. After Stephen Langton died 
 in 1228, the Pope filled English bishoprics and other good positions 
 in the church with Italian priests. He also sent to England for 
 money to carry on his wars in Italy and elsewhere. The Black 
 Friars and White Friars, men who had made a vow to live a life of 
 poverty, came to England, and went around barefooted and poorly 
 clad, teaching the people. One of these Friars, Roger Bacon, was 
 a great thinker and discoverer in science. % 
 
 3. Simon de Montfort. When Henry began to govern alone, I*- 
 was soon seen how weak he was and how unfitted to rule. Lake 
 many other weak men, without intending it, he succeeded in doing 
 a great deal of harm. He was much like Edward the Ccifessor, 
 fond of architecture and church building, and easily ruled by 
 favourites. Like Edward he brought into the country a host of 
 foreigners who got from his hands the best gifts, lands, houses, 
 offices, and English heiresses. First, he had a swarm of his 
 mother's relations from Poitou ; and then, after his marriage with 
 Eleanor of Provence, another swarm from his wife's native land.
 
 DE MONTFORT'S PARLIAMENT. 35 
 
 Henry was very extravagant^ and to get money had to call together 
 his barons and bishops. These assemblies came to be called 
 Parliaments, from the French Parkr, to speak. The demands 
 for money came so often, that the barons lost patience, especially 
 as most of the money went to foreigners. At last, Simon de 
 Montfort, although the son of foreign parents and married to the 
 king's sister, determined to check the evils of Henry's weak rule. 
 De Montfort was a man of great ability and moral worth, and was 
 known in his time as Sir Simon the Righteous. A good reason for 
 action was given when it was found that Henry had foolishly 
 squandered a large sum of money in a war in Sicily, for the sole 
 benefit of the Pope. In 1258, Parliament was called at Oxford to 
 raise money to pay the Pope, and the barons came to the meeting 
 armed, and prepared to force the king to accept advisers who 
 would reform the Government. By the "Provisions of Oxford," 
 Henry had to accept a council to advise him ; to give back the 
 castles taken from Englishmen ; and to hold three Parliaments a 
 year. The king's son, Edward, agreed to these " Provisions," and 
 De Montfort was among the first to give up his castles. 
 
 4. De Montfort's Parliament. But no real improvement was 
 made in the government of the country. Some of the barons were 
 satisfied to get back the castles, and to have the foreign favourites 
 driven out of England, whilst others were jealous of the power 
 and influence of Earl Simon. So in a little while matters were no 
 better than before the "Provisions" were passed, and Henry had 
 recovered nearly all his lost authority. At last, civil war broke out, 
 and Earl Simon, supported by fifteen thpusand Londoners, defeated 
 the king at the Battle of Lewes, (A.D. 1264), and took him prisoner. 
 Shortly afterwards, Prince Edward, who played a gallant part in the 
 battle, surrendered himself to the Earl. 
 
 De Montfort now ruled for over a year, and in that year made a 
 very important change. Until this time, no one had been sum- 
 moned by the king to grant money in parliament except the barons, 
 bishops, and great landowners. The people of the towns and 
 cities, and the smaller landowners, were taxed without having any 
 representatives in parliament. In fact, all that parliaments were 
 called for was to get grants of money from the people. Now, how- 
 ever, Earl Simon called a parliament, and among others summoned
 
 BISTORT OF ENGLAND. 
 
 two knights from each shire or county, and two citizens from each 
 borough -or town. This was the beginning of our modern Parlia- 
 ment, in which there are representatives of all classes of the people. 
 But in Earl Simon's time, and for many years after, bishops, barons, 
 knights, and burgesses, all sat in the same room and voted together ; 
 whereas now, *they sit in two rooms, or chambers, and vote 
 separately. 
 
 5. Death of De Montfort, A.D. 1265. Not long did Earl Simon 
 hold the reins of power. Simon's sons gave offence, and the 
 barons were jealous of him. Prince Edward, who saw how things 
 were tending, managed to escape from his keepers, and rallying his 
 own and his father's friends around him, was soon at the head of a 
 large force. Simon was not prepared for an attack, and had to take 
 refuge with the Welsh prince Llewellyn. Edward defeated Simon's 
 son at Kenilworth, and then marching 'with young Simon's banners 
 in front of his army, he was able to come very close upon the Earl 
 before he was aware of the danger. From a church tower at 
 Evesham, in Worcestershire, Simon saw the enemy approaching. 
 " Commend your souls to God," he said to his small force of undis- 
 ciplined Welsh, "for our bodies are the prince's." In the battle 
 that followed, Sir Simon the Righteous was slain, and his body 
 sadly mutilated. In another year the civil war was over, and then 
 the peace of Kenilworth gave back to the barons their estates, and 
 restored order in the land. Henry III. died in 1272, after a long 
 reign, in which much harm, and some little good was done. He 
 will be remembered by Westminster Abbey, the rebuilding of 
 which he began, and by the fact that in his reign was the first 
 English parliament. ^ff 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 STRUGGLE WITH WALES AND SCOTLAND. 
 
 1. Edward I. After the death of Earl Simon and the defeat of 
 the barons, Prince Edward went to the Crusades, and did not 
 return until nearly two years after his father's death. Edward was
 
 y 
 
 STRUGGLE WITH WALES AND SCOTLAND. 37 
 
 one of our best kings. He was a tall and powerful man, a great 
 warrior and statesman one who loved his people, although some, 
 times harsh and unjust. lie had been a good son, and was an affec- 
 tionate husband and father. In his reign many wise and good laws 
 were made. From Earl Simon he had learned much, and now when 
 he was made king he put Simon's teachings in force. He began at 
 once to stop the abuses carried on by the barons, who drove the 
 farmers' cattle away without paying for them, and took money from 
 the people unjustly. He had silver halfpennies and farthings made 
 into coins. Before his time the silver penny was made with a deep 
 cut in the shape of a cross, and when a halfpenny or farthing was 
 needed the coin was broken into two or four pieces. 
 
 2. Conquest of Wales. Edward was fond of war, for he was a 
 good general, and loved to do daring deeds and win fame. So we 
 find that he had been king but a short time before he determined 
 to conquer the northern part of Wales. The Britons had by this 
 tune lost nearly all the land they held after the English conquest, 
 and now only North Wales remained to them The kings of England 
 claimed that the Welsh kings should do homage to them, and some- 
 times they did. But Llewellyn, the Welsh prince of Edward's 
 reign, refused to do homage, and Edward marched into Wales with 
 an army to force him to submit. Llewellyn after a sharp struggle 
 agreed to recognize Edward as his feudal lord. Bub after four 
 years of submission, the brave and high-spirited prince once more 
 sought to gain his independence. Edward again marched against 
 him, and took a number of Swiss soldiers accustomed to fighting in 
 a hilly country to contend against and pursue Llewellyn in, his 
 mountain strongholds. How it would have ended we know not, 
 but Llewellyn was killed in a skirmish and then Wales was con- 
 quered. To please the Welsh, Edward gave them his son Edward 
 as their prince. From that time, the eldest son of the sovereign 
 has been called the Prince of Wales. 
 
 3. Reform, in the Laws. For Nothing is Edward's reign more 
 noted than -for its wise laws. The land laws were improved, and 
 a measure was passed to present too much land being held by the 
 church or by religiolis bodies, who gave no feudal service for it. The 
 law courts were now'cljanged. The office of Justiciar was abolished, 
 and instead of on4 court we have now three : the King's Bench, the
 
 38 HISTORY OF ENGLANL. 
 
 Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer. Lastly, as 
 the Chancellor heard cases for the king, his court after a time 
 became known as the Court of Chancery. But a subject could 
 appeal from any of these courts to the king himself, and by him 
 have his wrongs righted. 
 
 4. Expulsion of the Jews. Edward, however, was not always 
 just to his subjects. One cruel thing he did. In England there 
 were many Jews, the first of whom came over in the time of the 
 Conqueror. They were a peaceable, industrious, and money-making 
 people, but they were very unpopular. This was due, partly to 
 their religion and race, and partly to the dislike of their practice of 
 lending money, and charging high rates of interest thereon. Needy 
 nobles were often glad to borrow from the Jews, and as the latter 
 knew that they were disliked and the debts due to them would not 
 be paid, if payment could be avoided, they charged heavy interest 
 in return for the risk they ran. In these days, it must be remem- 
 bered, taking interest, or usury, was looked upon as wrong and 
 sinful by many people. The Jews were also accused of clipping 
 coins and other dishonest practices. Edward knew how unpopular 
 these persecuted people were, and, although it was for his own 
 interest to protect them, he banished them from the land. He 
 allowed them to take away their wealth, and England was much 
 poorer in consequence of this cruel deed. From this time until the 
 rule of Oliver Cromwell, nearly four hundred years later, Jews were 
 not allowed to live in England. 
 
 5. First full Parliament. Edward acted more wisely when, 
 following the example of Simon de Montfort, he called a true 
 English Parliament in 1295. Like Simon, he summoned two 
 knights from each shire, and two burgesses (citizens of a town) 
 from each borough, as well as the nobles, bishops, and higher clergy. 
 The nobles and bishops were summoned by name, and the knights 
 and burgesses by the sheriffs writ or command. Edward thought 
 that when all had to pay taxes, it was only right that all should have 
 a voice in granting these taxes ; or, as he said, " what concerned 
 all should be approved by all." The elections by which knights and 
 burgesses were sent to Parliament were very different from ours of 
 to-day. Every time Parliament met there was a new election. 
 The people that sent the member had to pay his expenses ; and for
 
 STRUGGLE WITH WALES AND SCOTLASIX 
 
 that reason, and also because It was known that Parliaments were 
 called only to get money grants, both members and people had but 
 little love for them. 
 
 6. War with. Scotlas d. From these reforms and changes which 
 concerned England ai<;ne, we must now turn away to Edward's 
 dealings with Scotland. In 1286, Alexander III., king of Scotland, 
 fell over a precipice and was killed His grand-child, Margaret, 
 daughter of the king of Norway, wsis his nearest heir. This little 
 maid was going to Scotland to be mace queen, when she died, and 
 the throne was left vacant. There were many claimants among the 
 late king's relations, those having the best claim being John Balliol 
 and Robert Bruce. The Scotch lords could not agree upon a king, 
 and asked Edward to decide. The English kings always claimed to 
 have the supremacy over the Scotch kings ; but this claim was not 
 always allowed. Before Edward would consent to decide who 
 should be king, he called the Scotch Parliament together at Nor- 
 ham, near the border, and made them promise that whoever should 
 be chosen, should give him homage as the feudal lord of Scotland. 
 He then decided in favor of Balliol, who did homage to Edward, 
 and became king of Scotland. Edward was an exacting lord, and 
 wished to have cases, which had been tried before Scotch courts, 
 taken to English courts for final settlement, and this demand the 
 Scotch resented. Very soon Balliol found his position very 
 unpleasant, and taking advantage of a war going on in France 
 between Edward and the French king, threw off Edward's yoke, 
 crossed the border, and ravaged Cumberland. 
 
 Edward was now very angry, and marching north with a large 
 force, stormed Berwick, and massacred its inhabitants. He then 
 seized Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, and Montrose. At Montrose, he 
 took Balliol prisoner, and then appointed an English Council to 
 govern in his stead. To humble the Scotch still more he carried off 
 to England the crown jewels, and the " sacred stone," on which the 
 Scotch kings were wont to be crowned at Scone. This stone, it was 
 said, was the very stone on which Jacob had rested his head at 
 Bethel, when he saw the angels ascending and descending the ladder 
 from heaven. The stone was put into the seat of the royal chair 
 at Westminster Abbey, and on it kings and queens have been 
 crowned to this day. Wherever this stone went, according to a
 
 40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Scotch prophecy, there would a Scotch king reign ; and, so it 
 happened in England, about three hundred years after. 
 
 For a time the Scotch submitted to Edward's rule ; and then 
 William Wallace, a brave knight, gathered a few faithful and true 
 men together and defeated the English at Lanark, Scone, and other 
 points. His forces having greatly increased, he met the English 
 army at Stirling Bridge, and there won a famous victory. Once 
 more the Scots were free, and Balliol was king, although a prisoner 
 in England. 
 
 While these events were taking place in Scotland, Edward was 
 in Flanders, helping the Flemings against the French king. He 
 had troubles on every side : from Ireland, Wales, France, and 
 Scotland ; and he was much in need of money. He asked for a 
 large sum from the clergy, but at first they would not give it, until 
 he refused them justice and protection. He laid heavy taxes on his 
 people, and in other ways ruled harshly and unjustly, until Parlia- 
 ment complained and resisted, and then Edward acknowledged he 
 was wrong, and promised he would never more levy money without 
 the consent of Parliament, and that he would always right the 
 grievances of his people before a fresh grant of money was made. 
 This new charter was given in 1297, and is very important. 
 
 The next year, having heard what the Scots were doing, he 
 marched north, and defeated Wallace at Falkirk (1298), although 
 the Scots fought bravely against overwhelming numbers. Wallace 
 escaped for the time, but in 1305 was betrayed by his servant into 
 the hands of the English, and was hanged on Tower Hill, in 
 London. 
 
 It was not till near the end of Edward's reign that the Scotch 
 again seriously attempted to recover their lost independence. Then 
 Robert Bruce, the grandson of Balliol's rival, escaped from the 
 English court, and going to Scotland, met and killed in a church at 
 Dumfries, his rival and enemy Comyn. Soon Bruce had a band of 
 desperate Scutch nobles around liim, and a little later he was crowned 
 at Scone. When Edward, now aged and ill, "heard of this new 
 revolt, he hastened to chastise Bruce and the Scotch. Swearing to 
 have his revenge on Comyn's murderer, he travelled slowly north- 
 wards. When near the border he sent an army ahead which 
 drove Bruce back to the Grampian HilK He was busy taking
 
 STRUGGLE WITH WALES AND SCOTLAND. 41 
 
 vengeance on Bruce's supporters when death seized him, at Burgh- 
 on-Sands, A.D., 1307. He was succeeded by his eldst son, Edward 
 Caernarvon, Prince of Wales. 
 
 7. Edward IL The new king had few of his father's great 
 qualities. He was an idle, frivolous youth, fond of gaiety and low 
 companions. He was brave enough when roused ; that, however, 
 seldom happened. His father had left him three commands : to 
 subdue Scotland, to send his heart to the Holy Land, and never to 
 bring back Gaveston, a banished and profligate favourite. Not one 
 of these did he carry out. He left the Scotch war to take care of 
 itself, and so Bruce won back nearly all he had lost to Edward I. 
 He buried his father at Westminster, and he recalled Gaveston. 
 Gaveston soon got Edward into trouble by his insolence and 
 wastefulness. He was twice banished, but Ddward brought him 
 back. Then Parliament put the government into the hands of 
 a number of bishops and peers, called "Ordainers," who tried to 
 control the King. Once more Gaveston was exiled and recalled, 
 and then the barons took the law into their own hands and be- 
 headed him. 
 
 8. Battle of Bannockburn, June 24, 1314. Bruce in the mean- 
 tame had been winning town after town from the English, until 
 near all Scotland was in his hands, save Stirling Castle, which was 
 closely pressed. To save this fortress Edward went into Scotland 
 with an army of 100,000 men. He met Bruce with his army of 
 30,000 Scots at a little stream or burn called the Bannock, near Stir- 
 ling Castla The battle was fought on June 24th, 1314, and was to 
 determine whether Scotland was to be free or not. Everything 
 seemed in favour of the English, with their large army of brave 
 knights and archers. Bruce, however, had dug pits in the spaca 
 between his army and the English, and in them had placed sharp 
 stakes, the whole being covered over with turf. The Bannock 
 flowed between the armies and on each side of it was a low boggy 
 piece of land in which horses sank. Bruce knew he had most to 
 fear from the English horsemen, and made his spearmen in the front 
 rank kneel to meet their charge. When the English knights charged 
 the Scots, after the English bowmen had thinned their ranks, their 
 horses plunged into the concealed pits, and floundered in the oogs, 
 and so became an easy prey to the Scotch archers and spearmen.
 
 42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The English sought a way around this bog and the pits to attack the 
 Scotch ; but at the moment when the Scotch cause was in the 
 greatest danger, a number of camp-followers came over the hills on 
 the Scotch flank, waving their garments and giving utterance to 
 shrill cries. In their confusion the English thought this was a new 
 Scotch army coming to the rescue, and panic-stricken -they turned 
 and fled. The battle was won, and Scotland was free. 
 
 9. Death of Edward n. Edward escaped from the battle-field 
 and retunied to England, but it had been better for him had he been 
 killed then and there. The rest of his reign is a tale of intrigue, 
 misgovernment, and misery. There was famine in the land, and 
 many died. The king took new favourites, and this led to new 
 quarrels with the nobles. The only good thing to be told is that 
 owing to these quarrels Edward gave the Commons a share in 
 making the laws, as well as a share in paying the taxes. So serious 
 did these quarrels become that Edward's queen, Isabella, turned 
 against him, and went to France, where she carried on a shameful 
 intrigue with Lord Mortimer. In 1326 she came back with a small 
 army, and, being joined by the barons, took the king prisoner, put 
 his favourites to death, and made him agree to give up his crown 1 to 
 his son Edward, a lad of fifteen years of age. Then he was removed 
 from prison to prison and finally to Berkeley Castle, where he was 
 barbarously murdered A.D, 1327. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HUNDRED YEARS* WAR THE PEASANTS' REVOLT. 
 
 1. Edward HL For four years young Edward was a king in 
 name only, the power being in the hands of his mother and her 
 favourite, Lord Mortimer. Edward was early married to Philippa 
 of Hainault, a noble and brave woman. In 1330, seeing how 
 Mortimer abused his position, he had him seized and put to death, 
 He then began to rule for himself.
 
 PHE HUNDRED YEARS* WAR THE PEASANTS* REVOLT. 43 
 
 Edward III. like his grandfather, Edward I., was fond of war. 
 and tried to bring Scotland under the control of England ; but' in 
 this he did not succeed, although for a time he placed the son of 
 Balliol on the Scotch throne. His invasion of Scotland led to 
 trouble with Philip VI. of France, who was an ally of the Scotch. 
 Philip attacked Gascony which belonged to Edward, and Edward 
 made this attack, and the French interference with the Flemings, an 
 excuse for beginning a war with France, which lasted on and off 
 nearly one hundred years. The English were very anxious that 
 nothing should stand in the way of their wool trade with Flanders. 
 This trade was a great source of wealth to many English farmers 
 who kept large flocks of sheep and sold their wool to the Flemish 
 manufacturers. 
 
 2. Beginning of Hundred Years' War. Not content with 
 fighting the battles of the Flemings, Edward claimed the crown of 
 France. He said his mother, Isabella, had a better claim to the 
 throne than Philip VI., as she belonged to an elder branch of the 
 French royal family. This claim was worthless, for by French law 
 nd~ person could succeed to the throne through a woman. Edward 
 knew this but he was anxious to win fame and gain territory in 
 France. The English nobles and knights, who were fond of military 
 displays and feats of arms, encouraged Edward in his claims, as it 
 gave them a chance to win renown. It was a sad war for the 
 French peasants and labourers, whose fields and homes were des- 
 troyed and burned without mercy by the gay lords and knights. li 
 was also a bad thing for England whose men and money weve 
 wasted on a war that could never bring any good to her people. 
 
 3. First Campaign. The war began in 1338, and the first 
 campaign ended in 1347. In 1340, the English won a famous naval 
 victory at Sluys, off the Flemish coast, when thirty thousand 
 French were lost. In 1346, a still more important battle was fought 
 at Crecy, in the north of France. Several things make this battle 
 noteworthy. At it Edward, Prince of Wales (called the Black 
 Prince, on account of the colour of his armour), by his daring and 
 skill, won his knightly spurs although only a lad of sixteen years 
 of age. At it, too, the English archers proved that they were more 
 than a match for mounted knights clad in heavy armour. Gun- 
 powder is said to have been first used in this battle. Next earn'
 
 44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. " 
 
 the siege of Calais which lasted nearly a year. When the 
 town was taken in 1347, Edward was so angry at the resistance 
 the inhabitants made that he would have hanged six of the chief 
 citizens who offered themselves with halters around their neck, as 
 a sacrifice for the people, had not Queen Philippa begged their lives, 
 and Edward, to please her, spared them. The French inhabitants 
 were, however, turned out of the city, and English people put in 
 their place, so that the city remained English until retaken by the 
 French in 1558. 
 
 4. Second Campaign. The war began again in 1355. Philip was 
 dead, and John II. was King of France. The Black Prince now 
 led the English, and once more the English archers showed their 
 skill and prowess by defeating a large army, composed of the flower 
 of French chivalry, at the battle of Poitiers in 1356. The English 
 had but 12,000 men to the French 60,000 ; but the Black Prince 
 drew up his men at the end of a narrow lane among the vineyards, 
 and posted his archers so that they could shoot down the French as 
 they came on. Sad havoc was made in the ranks of the knight 
 who fell from their horses, and, cumbered with their armour, could 
 offer but little resistance. King John was taken prisoner and carried 
 to London where he died. To nobles and knights mercy and 
 courtesy were shown ; to the poor peasants there came nothing but 
 the ravages and cruelties of a rude soldiery. At last the peace of 
 Bretigny was made in 1360, and Edward gave up his claim to the 
 French crown, keeping, however, Aquitaine, Poitou, Gascony, and 
 Calais. 
 
 5. Third Campaign. What was gained in the second campaign 
 was lost in the third. The Black Prince foolishly plunged into a 
 war in Spain, and the French king, Charles V., took advantage of it 
 to recover his lost territory. Charles would not come to open 
 battle, but harassed the English in every possible way. The Black 
 Prince was ill, and this made him irritable and cruel, so that people 
 turned from him. Finally, he had to return to England, and then 
 the English gradually lost ground until all Edward's gains were 
 gone except Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne. So ended Edward's 
 attempt to win a French kingdom. 
 
 6. Eise of the People. There were, however, some good results of 
 this foolish and costly war. The barons and knights spent a great
 
 THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR THE PEASANTS* REVOLT. 45 
 
 deal of money abroad, and much of this money was obtained by 
 leasing their lands for long terms of years. The rent paid was 
 called feorm : hence the. name of farm given to the land thus leased. 
 They also allowed their villeins or serfs to buy their freedom. 
 The king himself raised money by selling to his serfs their 
 freedom. 
 
 In this reign an important change took place in the industries of 
 the country. Edward brought over weavers from Flanders, who 
 taught the people to weave their own wool into cloth, instead of 
 sending it abroad to be woven by others and then brought back 
 again to be worn. Trade grew with Normandy, Flanders, and 
 Gascony, in fish and timber, wool and wine, and salt, respectively. 
 Gold coins also came into use, the first being used in 1344. Parlia- 
 ment now began to meet in two separate chambers ; the knights 
 and burgesses in one, and the bishops and barons in the other. 
 
 . 7. Statute of Labourers. In 1348, a great calamity came upon 
 England. This was a dreadful plague, known as the "Black Death," 
 which swept over Europe from the East, and which, it is estimated, 
 destroyed one-half the population of England. The people died so 
 fast that it was difficult for the living to bury the dead. One effect 
 of the plague was that there were not enough people left to till 
 the soil and harvest the crops. Labourers were now in great de- 
 mand, and, naturally, they asked for higher wages. But the owners 
 of the land made the laws, and they passed the " Statute of 
 Labourers," by which wages were nob to be increased. The 
 labourers tried to escape from places where wages were low to 
 where they were high, so it was enacted that a labourer should 
 not leave his own parish. If he did, he was liable to be branded 
 with the letter F (fugitive) on his forehead. If a labourer was 
 found unemployed, any land owner could make him work for him. 
 These unjust laws made the people very unhappy and discontented. 
 
 8. Chaucer, Langland, and Wiclif. We see this by the writ- 
 ings of a great poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, who lived at this time. Also 
 in the poem, The Vision of Piers' Plowman, by Langland, who 
 wrote for the people, we find this discontent voiced in very 
 plain and bitter words. At this time, too, lived John Wiclif a 
 great religious reformer. Wiclif was a learned clergyman who 
 seeing how the priests neglected their duties wrote against their
 
 46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 greed and hypocrisy. He translated the Bible into English, cud 
 sent out "poor priests " to teach the people. His followers were 
 accused of making the people discontented with their condition by 
 pointing out how harshly they were treated. 
 
 9. Statute of Kilkenny 1367. Besides the " Statute of Labour- 
 ers," many other important measures were passed in this reign. It 
 was enacted that the Pope should not give livings in England to 
 foreigners ; that the people should not take questions of law to 
 foreign courts for a decision ; and that the English language instead 
 of the French should be used in the courts of law. 
 
 Ireland, which was only partly conquered, was treated cruelly and 
 unjustly. In 1367, the Statute of Kilkenny was passed. Its pur- 
 pose was to prevent the English in Ireland from becoming Irish in 
 language, dress, and customs, and from intermarrying with the 
 Irish. In those days a price was set on an Irishman's head, just as 
 if he were a wolf or a bear. But these Jaws had very little effect, 
 for most of the descendants of the English that went to Ireland 
 adopted the Irish ways and customs. 
 
 10. Last Days of Edward III. As Edward grew old, his mind 
 gave way, and he passed under the influence of bad advisers and 
 unworthy favourites. Queen Phillipa was dead, and a bold wicked 
 woman, Alice Ferrers, gained great control over him. The Black 
 Prince was dying, and this left the chief power in the hands of 
 Edward's third son, John of Gaunt, or Ghent, Duke of Lancaster. 
 His government was not a good one ; so, in 1376, Parliament met, 
 and the Commons for the first time impeaclied the king's ministers ; 
 that is, had them tried before the House of Lords, who acted as 
 judges. The ministers were removed and Alice Perrers was driven 
 away from the poor old king, but they soon came back again. The 
 Black Prince, who would have governed well had he lived, died 
 in 1376. He left a young son, Richard, a lad of ten years of age, as 
 heir to his grandfather's throne. In 1377, Parliament under the 
 guidance of John of Gaunt, put a poll-tax on the people, that is, a 
 tax of so much a head on every person in the land, over a certain 
 age. Shortly afterwards Edward died (1377) and left his grandson 
 Richard to succeed him. 
 
 11. Richard II. Richard, the son of the Black Prince, came to
 
 THE HUNDRED YEARS* WAR THE PEASANTS* REVOLT. 47 
 
 the throne when eleven years of age. A council was appointed to 
 help him to rule ; and although not on the council, the king's uncle, 
 John of Gaunt, had great influence. The oppressive poll-tax was 
 again placed on the people, and was made so heavy that great dis- 
 content spread among them. Wiclif's followers, the "Lollards," 
 went through the country and helped to make the labourers, 
 villeins, and smaller farmers, more and more restless. 
 
 12. Peasant Revolt, 1381. When a people are in a dissatisfied 
 mood it takes but little to make them do acts of violence. So 
 when a tax collector insulted the daughter of a tiler, her father 
 killed the ruffian. This was a signal for a general rising in York- 
 shire, Kent, Essex, and other counties. Wat Tyler headed the 
 men of Kent, and John Ball, one of Wiclif's priests, preached to 
 the angry multitude at Blackheath, asking them the question : 
 
 ' When Adam delved, and Eve span, 
 Who then was the gentleman ? " 
 
 Under Jack Straw, a thatcher, came the men of Essex, armed 
 with scythes, clubs, and other rude weapons. The mob moved on 
 to London, opened the doors of the prison, and burnt and destroyed 
 many buildings. No one among the nobles and ministers seemed 
 to know how to treat these misguided people. The king alone, 
 although a mere lad of sixteen years, kept cool and undismayed. 
 He rode out to meet one body of the rioters, and asked them what 
 they wanted. They asked to be freed from the hated poll-tax, to 
 have the market dues taken off, to be allowed to pay rent instead 
 of working for their lords, and to have the villeins set fres. When 
 the king promised to do these things, the people, glad at heart, 
 went home. But while Richard was treating with these men, 
 another body broke into the Tower and murdered the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury and the Treasurer ; while a third body remained 
 under Tyler in London. Richard went out to Tyler's men and 
 sought to quiet them. Tyler placed his hand on the rein of the 
 king's horse, and Walworth, Mayor of London, struck him and 
 killed him. The mob would have killed the king and Walworth 
 had not Richard cried out : "I am your Captain, follow me." The 
 king then led the way, and the crowd followed him quietly outside 
 London. He gave the people written promises to remedy their 
 wrongs, and then they went home. But these promises were never
 
 48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 carried out, for the nobles and land owners collected their men, 
 and went through the country putting many to death. Richard's 
 charters, Parliament said, were no good, and the cruel laws against 
 the poor labourers and villeins were once more put in force. It 
 looked as if nothing had been gained by this rising ; nevertheless, 
 shortly after this time the laws were made less severe, and the 
 villeins gradually were given their freedom. 
 
 13. Power of Parliament. The first half of Richard's reign was 
 full of the intrigues of the king's uncles, of whom there were five 
 living, and of the nobles and bishops who made up the king's 
 council. John of Gaunt for awhile had the most influence ; but 
 after the Peasant Revolt which showed the people's dislike of him, 
 he withdrew to Spain for a time. Then another uncle, the Duke of 
 Gloucester, was the chief man. Parliament had much power and 
 could refuse to grant money until grievances were redressed ; but 
 it had no power to appoint the king's advisers. Besides, Parlia- 
 ment was much under the control of great nobles, and was often 
 moved by a spirit of faction. In 1387, a Council of Eleven was 
 appointed to look after the king's affairs, and this made Richard 
 very angry. He was not yet strong enough to throw off the yoke 
 of his uncles and rule alone, and had to look on and see some of 
 his dearest friends put to death by his council. He, however, 
 bided his time. 
 
 14. Richard's Rule. Not long after this, in 1389, Richard sud- 
 denly announced that he himself would rule in the future, and his 
 council, taken by surprise, gave the reins into his hands. For eight 
 years he ruled well, and many good laws were passed. In 1393, it 
 was enacted that all persons bringing bulls or sentences of excom- 
 munication from the Pope into England should lose their property. 
 Richard also visited Ireland, and did something to bring order and 
 good government into that unhappy country. 
 
 Well had it been for Richard if he had thus continued to rule 
 wisely. But, in 1397, he began to take his revenge on his unclet 
 and their friends for their treatment of him years before. Glou- 
 cester was sent to Calais and was there murdered, while others 
 were either put to death or imprisoned. Now that the chief men 
 were removed, Richard made Parliament do as he wished, and for 
 a time he waa an absolute king. He was very fond of dress and
 
 THE BOUSE OP LANCASTER. 49 
 
 show, and wasted the public money by his foolish extravagance. 
 Some good things he did, but they were done by his own will, and 
 without the people's consent. For that reason they began to hate 
 him. 
 
 15. Richard's Fall, 1399. But the end was near. Among those 
 who had been spared by Richard was his cousin, Henry Boling- 
 broke, the son of John of Gaunt. Bolingbroke quarrelled with 
 the Duke of Norfolk, and Richard, instead of allowing them to 
 settle the quarrel by a public combat or trial by battle, banished 
 them both ; Norfolk for life, and Bolingbroke for six years. The 
 next year old John of Gaunt died, and Richard seized his estates, 
 which rightfully belonged to his son Henry. Then Richard, fear- 
 ing no harm, went to Ireland. While he was absent, Bolingbroke 
 landed in Yorkshire to recover his father's estates. He was soon 
 joined by great nobles like the Percies of Northumberland, and 
 when, a little later, Richard returned, he found his kingdom was 
 gone from him. Deserted by the people, Richard fell into the 
 hands of Henry and had to resign his crown. The next day 
 Henry was chosen king by Parliament. Of Richard's end we know 
 nothing with certainty, but his body was shown to the people a year 
 later, and it is supposed he was murdered in one of the prisons by 
 order of Henry. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 
 
 1. Henry IV. Henry, son of John of Gaunt, was the first king 
 of the House of Lancaster, so-called from the duchy of Lancaster 
 which he held through his father. Henry's title to the crown was 
 a parliamentary one, for the Earl of March, a grandson of the Duke 
 of Clarence, Edward III. 's second son, had a better claim by birth. 
 Parliament, however, still claimed the right to say who should rule, 
 although it was fast becoming the custom for the eldest son to 
 succeed his father on the throne.
 
 60 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The early years of Henry's reign were full of plots and rebellions. 
 The great nobles, who made Henry king, were not very obedient, 
 and if Henry displeased them, they took up arms against him. 
 First there was a 'plot to restore Richard, and then O wan Glen- 
 dower rebelled in Wales. While Henry IV. with the aid of his 
 brave son Henry, Prince of Wales, was trying to subdue Glendower, 
 the two Percies (the Duke of Northumberland and his fiery son, 
 Harry Hotspur), angered because the king had not treated them 
 well in the matter of some prisoners taken from the Scotch, joined 
 the Scots and Glendower against him. A great battle was fought 
 at Shrewsbury, in 1403, in which the king defeated his enemies, 
 and Harry Hotspur was killed. Two years later, Northumberland 
 was killed in battle. Glendower, too, was subdued by the Prince 
 of Wales, and peace once more came to England. 
 
 2. Important Measures. Henry knew that he could not depend 
 on his nobles, and therefore tried to keep on good terms with his 
 parliaments, and with the church. This led to some very important 
 measures being passed. So much money had been spent on the 
 French wars, that the people were now unwilling to give large 
 grants, and Parliament took advantage of the weakness of the king's 
 hold on the throne, to make him do much as they wished. They 
 also forced the House of Lords to give them the sole right to 
 make grants of money to the crown. 
 
 This was a step in advance. Not so, however, were the cruel laws 
 against heresy passed to please the church and the great landowners. 
 The church feared the teaching of the Lollards, and the landowners 
 blamed them for stirring up the peasants and villeins to revolt. 
 Both church and landowners were afraid of the people rising and 
 taking away their property. So, in 1401, a law was passed that 
 any one continuing a heretic after due warning should be burnt 
 alive. In February of that year, William Sawtre, a rector of Nor- 
 folk, was taken to the stake, and there gave up his life for his belief. 
 
 3. Henry f V. Henry's reign was a short one. He died in 1413, 
 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, Prince of Wales. 
 He had other sons, all able men, the ablest being John, Duke of 
 Bedford. 
 
 Henry V. was but twenty-five when he came to the throne, and 
 had already earned the reputation of a great general. He is also
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 61 
 
 said to have been notorious for his wild and reckless doings. Once, 
 we are told, he was sent to prison by Judge Gascoigue, because he 
 behaved insolently to the judge in court. Whatever faults he may 
 have had as a prince, we know that he was on the whole a good 
 king, and much loved by his people. He was too fond of war, and 
 he persecuted the Lollards ; these were his chief faults. But he 
 was exceedingly brave, true to his word, and put the good of his 
 people foremost in all his acts. 
 
 One very important change he permitted Parliament to make. 
 Henceforth the petitions of the Commons to the king were not to 
 be altered by him before he gave his assent to them. After a peti- 
 tion or bill had received the king's assent, it became a statute or 
 law. 
 
 4. State of the People. There was but one feeble plot against 
 Henry, so strong was he in the good-will of his people. The nation 
 had recovered somewhat from the Black Death, which again visited 
 it in 1407. Serfs am", labourers were gradually gaining their freedom, 
 and the yeoman could now pay rent for his farm instead of giving 
 labour to his lord. That the condition of the labouring class had 
 greatly improved is shown by the laws against extravagance in 
 dress. Trade with other countries was extending, and this led to 
 an increase in shipbuilding. The coal trade of Newcastle was 
 growing, and many merchants were becoming rich. 
 
 Against this bright side of the picture we must place the rest- 
 lessness among fhe people, the blame of which the Church and the 
 nobles put upon the Lollards. The result was that Henry put in 
 force the laws against heresy, and, among others, Sir John Old- 
 castle, s leading Lollard, was hanged in chains and burnt. 
 
 5. The French War Renewed. To keep his nobles quiet, and 
 to call away the attention of the people from their grievances, 
 Henry renewed the war with France. There was no good reason 
 for attacking France ; but Henry loved war, and his nobles loved 
 plunder. The King of France was insane, and his unhippy 
 country was torn by strife among the great French nobles. The 
 opportunity to recover the lost territory was too good to be ne- 
 glected, so Henry revived Edward Hi's claim to the French 
 crown. 
 
 In August, 1415, Henry landed in Normandy and laid siege to
 
 52 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Harfleur. It was a terrible siege, and the English lost many men 
 through sickness in the army. Having taken Harfleur, Henry 
 marched toward Calais, and in Oct. 1415, on the plains of Agin- 
 court, with nine thousand men he defeated sixty thousand French- 
 men. It was the battle of Crecy over again ; the English archers over- 
 throwing with dreadful slaughter the French knights and nobles. 
 More than one hundred princes and nobles were slain, and eleven 
 thousand men were left dead or dying on the field. 
 
 Henry's army was strong enough to win a victory, but not strong 
 enough to conquer and hold the country. So Henry returned to 
 England, and after two years spent in preparation, once more in- 
 vaded France. He now conquered Normandy, and took Rouen 
 after a siege of six months, in which many women &nd children died 
 through starvation. Everything at this time favored Henry's 
 designs. The Duke of Burgundy, a French prince who ruled over 
 a large territory, was treacherously murdered by some friends of 
 Charles VI., the French king ; and his followers and subjects, in 
 revenge, joined Henry. It was not possible for the French to hold 
 out any longer, and by the Treaty of Troyes, in 1420, Henry mar- 
 ried Catharine, the daughter of Charles, and was appointed Regent 
 of France. On the death of Charles, Henry was to become king. 
 
 Henry now returned to England full of honors, and his people 
 were proud of his victories. But he did not live long to enjoy his 
 conquests, for in 1422, at the early age of thirty -four, he died, 
 leaving a young son, Henry, only ten months old, to succeed him^ 
 
 6. Henry VI. John, Duke of Bedford, was left as guardian of 
 his baby nephew, and was also appointed Regent of France and 
 Protector of England. He was a brave man, and an able general 
 and ruler. He did his work well, and continued his brother's 
 conquests in France. The Duke of- Gloucester, Bedford's brother, 
 was left to rule in England, while Bedford was fighting in 
 France. Gloucester quarrelled at home with his uncle Beaufort, 
 the chancellor, and abroad with the Duke of Burgundy, England's 
 best and strongest ally. Bedford, with much difficulty, managed 
 to keep for a time Burgundy on England's side, but after 
 Bedford's death, in 1433, he returned to his allegiance to the 
 French king. 
 
 7. Jeanne Dare. We must now tell the story of the romantic
 
 THE HOUSe OP LANCASTER. 63 
 
 rescue of France through the efforts of a poor village girL All 
 France, north of the Loire, was in the hands of the English, 
 and Bedford was closely besieging Orleans. The French people 
 were nearly hopeless, and it seemed but a matter of a few days 
 when Orleans must yield, and with its surrender all hope of saving 
 France from complete conquest would vanish. In a little village 
 in Lorraine lived a young girl of eighteen, Jeanne Dare, the 
 daughter of a labourer. She was very ignorant, and knowing little 
 of courts and camps, but pure and pious. She saw the misery of the 
 land and was filled with a great pity for her country. In visions, 
 she seemed to be told to go to Charles, the son of the French 
 king, and to offer to crown him at Rheims. Her parents and 
 friends tried to prevent her from going ; but her "voices" left her 
 no choice. Guided by a knight, she made her way to the French 
 camp, and told Charles her mission. It was his last hope and he 
 gave her her way. Clad in white armour, and mounted astride of 
 her horse like a man, with the French banner waving over her, 
 she led the rude French soldiery to the relief of Orleans, now on 
 the point of surrendering. The effect was magical. Once more hope 
 burned in the hearts- of the French ; and the English soldiers looked 
 on in surprise and awe while Jeanne led her troops through their 
 ranks, and entered Orleans. Soon the siege was raised. The 
 English thought her a witch, who put fear in the hearts of their 
 soldiers ; while the French hailed her as a messenger from. God 
 come to deliver them from their enemies. Jeanne led her soldiers 
 from victory to victory, until her mission was accomplished, and 
 Charles was crowned at Rheims. Then she asked permission to go 
 home ; her " voices " had left her, and her work was done. But 
 Charles would not let her go ; he feared his soldiers would not 
 fight well under any other leader. Some of the French generals 
 were jealous of her, and at the siege of Compiegne, in 1430, let 
 her fall into the hands of the English. Charles made no effort 
 to save her, and she was taken to Rouen, where she was tried for 
 witchcraft. Condemned in 1431 to be burnt alive, her courage 
 And faith never forsook her. Her last word at the stake, while 
 the flames raged fiercely around her, was "Jesus." Her name yet 
 lives green in the memory of the French people. 
 
 8, End of Hundred Years' War. The war lasted some time
 
 54 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 after Jeanne's death, but the English steadily lost ground. Bed- 
 ford died, and Burgundy went over to the side of Charles VII. 
 Year after year saw new conquests by the French until, in 1453, 
 the war came to an end, and of all Henry V's possessions in France 
 nothing remained to the English but Calais. 
 
 9. Weak Rule of Henry VI. Henry was a feeble king ; kind, 
 merciful, and generous ; but so weak in intellect that he was wholly 
 unfitted to rule. In the early years of his reign England was dis- 
 tracted by the quarrels of his uncles, of whom Gloucester was the 
 most mischievous and troublesome. Parliament, too, had not so 
 much power as in the days of the Plantagenets, and the right to 
 vote for members was now taken away from many people. 
 Unseemly quarrels often broke out in Parliament ; so much so 
 that the members of one Parliament brought cudgels up their 
 sleeves. Later on, when Henry began to rule for himself, he 
 was much influenced by his wife, Margaret of Anjou, a strong- 
 minded woman, who loved power and brought her foreign friends 
 with her. The people cared little who ruled so long as their money 
 was not wasted. This, however, Henry's friends did, and the heavy 
 taxes caused a rebellion. 
 
 10. Jack Cade's Rebellion, 1450. The men of Kent, always 
 among the first to resist, led by Jack Cade, and aided by the men 
 of Surrey and Sussex, came down in large numbers to London, and 
 demanded that their grievances should be righted. We hear nothing 
 of serfdom, or of wages, in their complaints, and this shows what a 
 change for the better had taken place since the days of Wat Tyler. 
 Cade's followers asked for free elections, for a change in the king's 
 advisers, and that the king's foreign favourites should be sent out 
 of England. The rising was soon at an end, and Jack Cade was 
 killed shortly afterwards. 
 
 11. Wars of the Roses. People began now to look to Richard, 
 Duke of York, to right the affairs of the country. Richard was 
 descended on his mother's side from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, 
 second son of Edward HI., and on his father's side from Edward, 
 Duke of York, fourth son of the same king. He thus had as 
 good a claim to the crown as Henry VI. When Henry, in 1454, 
 became insane, Richard was made Protector. Henry, however, 
 partially recovered, and then he drove the Duke away from his
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK. 65 
 
 court. This was too much for York to endure, and he took up 
 arms, claiming the crown as his by right of birth. Then followed 
 a dreadful struggle, which lasted for many years. It is known in 
 history as the Wars of the Roses, because the Lancastrians wore a 
 red rose, while the Yorkists chose a white rose. Battle followed 
 battle, sometimes one side being victorous, and sometimes the 
 other. Margaret had to do battle for the rights of her son 
 and husband, for Henry was often insane and always feeble 
 and helpless. In 1454, at St. Albans, the queen's party was 
 defeated by York ; and he was again victorious, in 1460, at 
 Northampton. But at a great battle at Wakefield, in December 
 1460, the Duke of York was killed, and Margaret, in mockery 
 of his claims, had his head, decked with a paper crown, placed 
 on the walls of York city. Then Edward, son of the Duke of 
 York, took up his father's cause. At Mortimer's Cross, in 1461, 
 he defeated the Earl of Pembroke, and marching down to London, 
 was made king. In the same year the rival forces once more met, 
 this time on Towton Field. In this bloody battle 20,000 Lan- 
 castrians, and nearly as many Yorkists, were killed, but victory 
 rested with Edward IV. Benry and Margaret found a refuge in 
 Scotland, and for a time Edward reigned undisturt 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK. 
 
 1. The Wars of the Roses, Continued. The Wars of the 
 Roses were not yet over. For ten years more the wretched 
 struggle went on. In 1463, Margaret, aided by the French and the 
 Scotch, sought to recover the throne for her husband and son, but 
 was defeated at Hedgely Moor and Hexham. Then, in despair, 
 she fled with her son to Flanders, and Henry VI. fell into the 
 hands of Edward IV., who treated him kindly. Perhaps this would 
 have ended the war had not Edward displeased his most powerful 
 supporter, the Earl of Warwick, by marrying Elizabeth Wood- 
 ville, the beautiful widow of Sir John Grey. Warwick wished
 
 56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Edward to marry a French princess, or a daughter of his own- 
 He was angry, also, because Edward began to give good positions 
 to his wife's relations. On the other hand, Warwick's daughter 
 married the Duke of Clarence, Edward's brother, and this dis- 
 pleased Edward. 
 
 About this time a rising took place against Edward, which led to 
 the battle of Edgecote (1469), in which many Yorkists were killed. 
 Edward blamed Warwick and proclaimed him a traitor. Warwick 
 thought it wise to leave the country, and he went to France where 
 he met Margaret. Then an agreement was entered into that Mar- 
 garet's son, Edward, should marry Warwick's daughter, Anne, and 
 that Warwick should aid in placing Henry VI. once more on the 
 throne. 
 
 Warwick and Margaret now returned to England, and Edward 
 IV., finding himself unable to withstand them, fled to Flanders. 
 Henry VL was taken out of the Tower and once more became 
 king. For six months he reigned supported by Warwick the 
 "Kingmaker," then Edward got help from his brother-in-law the 
 Duke of Burgundy, and came back to recover his crown. He met 
 Warwick at Barnet, and defeated and killed him. Then Margaret 
 rallied her friends for the final struggle. At Tewkesbury, in 
 Gloucestershire, she was totally defeated, and her son, Edward, 
 was stabbed on the battlefield by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 
 Edward IV's. brother. This battle was fought in 1471, and two 
 weeks later the old king, Henry, died in the Tower, murdered 
 it is thought by the command of Edward IV. 
 
 2. The New Monarchy. And now England for a time had 
 peace, and order was restored in the land. Edward was a hand- 
 some man, a good general, and a strong ruler ; but he was selfish, 
 cruel, and licentious. His base passions brought shame to many an 
 English household. He loved power, and the people were so well 
 pleased to have a strong government which could keep order, that 
 they let him do much as he liked. Most of the nobles had been 
 killed in the Wars of the Roses, for the war was carried on almost 
 entirely by rival nobles and their personal followers or retainers. 
 The farmers, tradesmen, and merchants had taken no part in the 
 struggle, and went on their way as usual. Nevertheless, the 
 almost constant fighting did much harm to the industries of the
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK. 57 
 
 country, and so all classes were glad to have peace_ restored. This 
 Edward knew, and took advantage of it to demand money from 
 merchants and rich people. This money was at first willingly 
 paid as a " benevolence " or gift, but when the demands became 
 frequent the people began to complain. They, however, could do 
 nothing, as they were without leaders now that most of the nobles 
 were killed, and Edward called his Parliament together only once 
 in eight yea^s. By means of ' ' benevolences " and a pension from 
 France in consideration of not invading that country, together 
 with an income granted early in his reign, Edward could do with- 
 out parliaments, and so rule absolutely. This way of ruling was a 
 new thing in England, and it continued through several reigns. To 
 distinguish it from the rule of the Plantagenets and the House of 
 Lancaster it is known as the " New Monarchy." 
 
 3. Caxton. Edward's love of power andJhis fear of treason led 
 to do many cruel things. He had his brother Clarence im- 
 
 puached and put to death. Clarence was fond of Malmsey wine, 
 and Edward, in mockery of his taste, had him drowned in a butt of 
 his favorite beverage. 
 
 It is pleasant to turn away from these quarrels between the King 
 and his nobles, to Edward's encouragement of William Caxton, tho 
 first English printer. Caxton was a native of Kent, who had gone 
 to Flanders in his youth, where he learned the art of printing. In 
 147G he camo back to England with the first printing press, and 
 opened aJittle shop near Westminster, where- he advertised that he 
 would do printing " right cliepa." Edward, Gloucester, and many 
 nobles patronized him. He printed service books for the clergy, 
 and histories of chivalry for the knights. The first book printed 
 (1477) was the Dides and Sayings of the Philosophers. He not only 
 printed books but translated them from foreign languages. Books 
 before his time we^ very dear and little read, for new copies had 
 all to be written out by hand. Henceforth many could afford to 
 buy books, and this helped to spread education among the people. 
 
 4. Edward V. Edward IV., worn out by his vices, died in 1483, 
 and at once a struggle for power began between the queen and her 
 friends on the onu hand, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his 
 followers on the othfer. Richard &;iid that Edward, Prince of 
 Wales, and Richard, Duke of York, the sons of Edward, were not
 
 58 HISTORY OF ENGLAKD. 
 
 legitimate, because their father had been betrothed to anothei 
 woman before he married their mother, Elizabeth Woodville. But 
 before he put forward his own claim he seized young Edward, and 
 after a short time placed him in the palace in the Tower. Richard 
 was appointed Protector, and the queen and her second son took 
 refuge in the sanctuary at Westminster. Richard forced the 
 queen to give up the Duke of York, and he was placed in the 
 Tower with his brother. Then Richard suddenly turned on hia 
 former friend, Lord Hastings, and charging him in the Council with 
 plotting against him, called in his men, who hurried Hastings out 
 and beheaded him on a log of timber near at hand. A few days 
 later Richard caused himself to be proclaimed King, on the ground 
 that Edward V. and his brother were illegitimate. 
 
 5. Richard HI. Richard began his reign with the execution of 
 Earl Rivers and Sir Richard Grey, uncle and half-brother of Edward 
 V. This he followed up with the murder of his nephews in the 
 Tower. It was said that he caused them to be smothered, while 
 sleeping, with pillows. Richard ITT, was a brave man, a great 
 warrior, and in some respects a good king. His enemies described 
 him as deformed and repulsive, and called him the "Hunchback." 
 His deformity consisted in one shoulder being somewhat higher 
 than the other, and in one arm being partially shrunken. He had 
 a thoughtful, delicate countenance, with good manners and tastes. 
 If one half the stories told about him are true, he must have been 
 very cruel. We must, however, remember that these tales are told 
 by the enemies of his family. 
 
 Richard tried to rule well, passing a law against "benevolences," 
 protecting commerce, and summoning parliaments. Nevertheless 
 he was hated for his murder of his nephews, and his own peace of 
 mind had departed with the cruel deed. Soon plots began to be 
 formed against him, and the Duke of Buckingh*n, for taking part 
 in one of them, was beheaded. Richard continued to rule till 1485, 
 when Henry Tudor, Duke of Richmond, a descendant of John of 
 Gaunt, on his mother's side, and Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman 
 on his father's side, landed at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, 
 and claimed the crown. His title was a very weak one, but the 
 Lancastrians joined him, and so did the Welsh, also many of 
 Richard's most powerful subjects. Richard hastened to meet him,
 
 BOUSE OP YORK. 59 
 
 md the opposing armies met on Bosworth Field When the battle 
 began, Lord Stanley and Earl Percy deserted Richard, who, brave 
 bo the last, rushed into the thickest of the fight, eager to exchange 
 blows with his rival. He was soon stricken down, and died on the 
 field. His crown was found in a hawthorn bush, and placed by 
 Stanley on Henry's head. 
 
 With the Battle of Bosworth Field, in 1485, ended the Wars of 
 the Roses. With it, too, began the famous line of kings and queens 
 known as the House of Tudor. Henry VIL, soon after his coron- 
 ation, married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., and although 
 the marriage was not a happy one, it united in the reigning family 
 the claims of both the Lancastrians and Yorkists, and so helped to 
 bring peace to the distracted nation. 
 
 6. End of Mediaeval History. With the reign of Henry VTL, 
 we pass into modern history. A great change now began to come 
 over the people of Europe. Their knowledge of the earth was 
 greatly increased by the discovery of America by Columbus, and 
 by the many voyages to the new world that followed. Navigators 
 made their way to India by sailing round the Cape of Good Hope. 
 The knowledge of other planets was now extended by great scien- 
 tific discoveries ; and men's minds were aroused by the study of 
 Greek literature, the "New Learning," brought to Italy from 
 Constantinople by exiles from that city. The printing press was 
 doing its work in making books cheap and thus spreading know- 
 ledge. But with all these changes for the better there was also the 
 growth of the power of kingship. Nearly ail the nobles had been 
 killed in the Wars of the Roses, and the middle and lower classes 
 had not yet learned to fight their own political battles. Gun- 
 powder had come into use, and as the king had nearly all the cannon, 
 he could batter down the strong walls of the castles of the nobles, 
 and so keep them in subjection. So for several reigns we shall find 
 that there was very little control over the king.
 
 60 BISTORT OP ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XH. 
 
 HOUSE OP TUDOR, THE REFOKMATJOX. 
 
 / 1. "Henry VIL The first king of the House of Tudor was a 
 cautious, intelligent man, with little love for anything or anybody 
 but himself. In France he had studied the methods of foreign 
 kings in ruling without parliaments, and when he became king of 
 England he tried to get as much power as he could. He saw that 
 the best way to do this was to lessen the power and influence of 
 the few nobles left after the Wars of the Roses, and to gather as 
 much money as possible, so that he could do without parliaments. 
 To break down the power of the nebles, he had a law passed 
 against liveries and maintenance ; that is, a law forbidding nobles to 
 keep more than a certain number of men in livery or uniform 
 He knew that these men would, if occasion arose, take up arms 
 against the king in the interests of their lords. The law was 
 strictly put in force ; and Henry went so far as to have his friend, 
 the Earl of Oxford, fined 10,000, because when Henry visited 
 him, Oxford, to do the King honor when he left his castle, drew up 
 in line a large number of men in livery. Henry had a court 
 formed of some of the leading men in his Privy Council, to punish 
 powerful offenders for breaches of the law. The ordinary courts 
 did not dare to put the law in force against great nobles, who 
 with their retainers, overawed judges and juries. This new court 
 was called the "Court of the Star Chamber," because it met in a 
 room whose ceiling had star-like decorations. For a time it did 
 good service in punishing men for such offences as maintenance, 
 forgery, and breach of the peace. It however, became a very tyran- 
 nical body, and took away from the ordinary courts many of their 
 rightful duties. 
 
 Henry also revived Edward IV. 's practice of raising money by 
 " benevolences " or forced gifts/^Cardinal Morton was the chief 
 instrument he used for this purpose. If a man made a great show of 
 wealth, the Cardinal told him he certainly must be able to give a 
 rich gift to the king. On the other hand, if he lived in a poor 
 house, and kept few servants, he was told that since he lived so 
 frugally he must be hoarding money, and therefore was well able
 
 HOUSE OF TUDOR. THK KEFOBMATIOH. 61 
 
 to grant the king a goodly sum. This artifice was known as 
 "Morton's fork," for if a man escaped one tine of the fork, he 
 would certainly be caught on jtha'oftxer. Henry also took advantage 
 of the confusion due to the <avil wars, and of the defects in titles 
 of property, to seize the estates of landowners, or else make them 
 pay heavily to keep them. By such means and by forcing the 
 French king to pay him a large sum to withdraw his troops from 
 Boulogne, Henry gathered so much wealth that when he died he 
 left nearly 2,000,000 in his treasury. 
 
 2. Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. Although Henry 
 had married Elizabeth of York in the hope of satisfying the York- 
 ists, there were still many who were dissatisfied with his rule. 
 Henry had taken the precaution to put in the Tower the Earl of 
 Warwick, the son of the Duke of\ Clarence, Edward IV's brother. 
 This, however, did not prevent an impostor, Lambert Simnel, from 
 coming forward as the Earl of Warwick, and claiming the throne. 
 He found many Yorkists ready to support him, but in a battle at 
 Stoke, Simnel was defeated, and being taken prisoner was made a 
 scullion in the King's kitchen. 
 
 A more ssrious rebellion arose when Perkin Warbeck, a native 
 of Tournay, claimed tho crown as Richard, Duke of York, second 
 son of Edward IV. The Yorkists said this boy had escaped when 
 his brother Edward V. was murdered in the Tower. A great many 
 believed that Warbeck was the Duke of York. The kings of 
 France and Scotland acknowledged his. claim ; the latter, James IV., 
 going so far as to give him in marriage- nis cousin, the beautiful 
 Catharine Gordon, the "White Rose of Scotland." James, also, 
 helped him to invade England in 1496 j but the invasion failed, and 
 Perkin went to Ireland. Thence he made another attempt to get a 
 footing in England, this time in Cornwall. His courage, however, 
 failed as Henry's army approached, and he tried to escape. He 
 was taken prisoner, put in the Tower, and a few years later, with 
 Warwick, was executed. 
 
 3. Foreign Alliances. Henry saw that the kings of France, 
 Aragon, and other nations had much power pver their subjects, and 
 he sought to secure their support by makingf*alliances with them. 
 His elder daughter, Margaret, he gave in marriage to James IV. of 
 Scotland, to keep that country from molesting his northern frontier.
 
 62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Then to secure the friendship of Ferdinand, the crafty king of 
 Aragon, he arranged that his elder son, /Arthur, should marry 
 Katharine, Ferdinand's daughter. Arthur med a few months after 
 the marriage, and then, Henry and Ferdinand, not to lose the 
 benefit of the alliance, got the Pope's consent to Katharine 
 marrying Henry, Arthur's brother, a lad six years younger than 
 his bride. 
 
 4. Other Important Events of Henry VITs reign. In this 
 reign an important law affecting Ireland was passed. This was 
 Poyning's Act (1497) which said that English laws should have 
 force in Ireland, and that the Irish Parliament should not make 
 any new law without the consent of the King's Council. We 
 must remember that only a small portion of Ireland along the 
 Eastern coast, called the " Pale," was much under the control of 
 the English at this time. The greater portion of Ireland was still 
 unconquered, and was ruled by Irish chieftains. 
 
 In this reign, too, Columbus discovered America (1492) ; and the 
 Cabots, John and Sebastian, sailed from Bristol and discovered 
 Newfoundland and Labrador. About the same time Vasco de 
 Gama, a Portuguese, made the first voyage to India from Europe 
 around the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Not less important than these discoveries was the learning 
 brought to Italy, and thence to England, by the Greeks who fled 
 from Constantinople when that city was taken by the Turks in 
 1453. English students went to Italy to study Greek literature, 
 and returning introduced the study of Greek into the great 
 English Universities, Oxford and Cambridge. The New Testa- 
 ment was now read in Greek, whereas formerly it was read in 
 Latin only. Among the great scholars of this time who loved this 
 "New Learning " were Colet, Erasmus, and Sir Thomas More. \S 
 
 5. Henry VLLL Henry Vll. died in 1509, and was succeeded 
 by his only surviving son, Henry, a young man of eighteen years 
 of age. Besides Henry there were two daughters, Margaret, 
 married to James IV. of Scotland, and Mary, who married, first, 
 Louis XII., the aged king of France, and after his death, the Duke 
 of Suffolk. The descendants of these princesses were to play an 
 important part in English history. 
 
 Henry VIII. was a handsome youth, fond of pleasure and out.
 
 HOUSE OP TUDOB. THK REFORMATION. 63 
 
 <ioor sports, and frank and hearty in his manner. He was well- 
 educated and an excellent musician ; but withal, vain, self-willed, 
 and extravagant. His selfishness grew with his years until all the 
 good qualities of his youth were lost. Nevertheless, outside of his 
 own court, the people loved him and " Bluff King Hal" was to 
 the very last popular in England. Henry's first acts as king 
 were for the good of the country. He encouraged ship-building, 
 established dock-yards, and punished the miserable instruments of 
 his father's exactions. 
 
 6. Foreign Wars. Henry loved display and flattery, and he 
 longed to play a great part in European politics. At that time 
 France and Spain were the most powerful nations in Europe, and a 
 keen rivalry existed between them. Henry was anxious to hold 
 the balance of power, and much of his -reign is taken up with the 
 intrigues of the French and Spanish kings to win his favour. 
 Almost at the beginning of the reign, he joined Spain and 
 Germany in a war to defend the Pope against France. He accom- 
 plished notiiing, however, beyond wasting the treasure his father 
 had so carefully stored up for him. 
 
 A more successful war was carried on against Scotland, whose 
 king, James IV., to help his ally, the King of France, attacked 
 England in 1513. He was met at Flodden Field by the Earl of 
 Surrey, and, with many of his nobles and knights, killed. This was 
 not the only war with Scotland in this reign, for in 1542, James V. 
 the nephew of Henry, attacked England ; but like his father, he 
 met with a disastrous defeaL .^^ 
 
 7. Wolsey. During many years Henry was much guided by 
 .Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey had risen step by step by humoring the 
 king and falling in with his pleasures till he became Chancellor, or 
 chief law officer, Archbishop of York, papal legate, and a Cardinal 
 of the Church. He was a man of great ability and shrewdness, 
 strongly attached to Henry, and desirous of making him all- 
 powerful ; but at tile same time vain, proud, and fond of money 
 and show. Wolsey was a friend of the "New Learning" and 
 showed his interest in education by founding a college at Oxford. 
 He, however, tried to rule without parliaments, and to fill the 
 king's treasury by fines and forced loans. Wolsey himself grew
 
 64 ms-Fcrny OF ENGLAND. 
 
 rich and built great palaces, Whitehall and Hampton Court, vith 
 money given by the king. 
 
 In his dealings with the courts of Spain and France, Wolsey 
 sought to gratify his own ambition. At this time Charles V., 
 Emperor of Germany and King of Spain, was the strongest ruler 
 in Europe. He was the nephew of Henry's queen, Katharine, 
 and Wolsey hoped through his influence to become Pope. For this 
 reason, he for a time kept Henry on the side of Charles in his 
 contests with Francis I. of France, for the '-hief power in Europe. 
 Wolsey, however, was not appointed Pope, and then he encouraged 
 Henry to make friends with Francis against Charlsft. This dis- 
 pleased the English people, fop Charles was the ruler of Flanders, 
 and they did not want their trade with that country injured. 
 
 ^S. Fall of Wolsey. In the meantime, Henry, who had been 
 married eighteen years, grew tired of Katharine and wanted to 
 marry Anne Boleyn, a young and beautiful maid of honour t the 
 court. Henry pretended to think he had done wrong in marrying 
 his brother's widow, and found in this an explanation why all his 
 children had died in infancy except the Princess Mary. He now 
 asked the Pope to grant him a divorce from Katharine, and ex- 
 pected his request would be granted, as he had written in defence 
 of the Roman Catholic religion against the German reformer, 
 Luther, and had received from the Pope the title, " Defender oi 
 the Faith," a title still borne by the monarch? of England. The 
 Pope sent Cardinal Campeggio to England to inquire into the 
 matter, and he tried to persuade Katharine to go into a nunnery. 
 This Katharine would not do, but stood firm for her own rights 
 and those of her child. Wolsey and Campeggio heard Katharine's 
 plea for justice and mercy, but came to no decision. The case was 
 left in the hands of the Pope, who called upon Henry to go to Rome, 
 and there have the case decided. Henry knew what the decision 
 would be and he refused to go to Rome. Wolsey was known to 
 favour a marriage between the King and a French princess, and 
 Anne Boleyn found no difficulty in persuading Henry that the 
 reason why the divorce was not granted was his hostility. Seeing 
 Henry's change of feeling, Wolsey made haste to win his favour 
 by giving him his palaces and by retiring to York. Sir Thomas 
 More now became Chancellor. But Wolsey 's enemies were active,
 
 HOUSE OF TUDOR. THE REFORMATION*. 65 
 
 and induced Henry to have him arrested for high treason, be- 
 cause he had broken a law made in the reign of Edward III. 
 and Richard II., against bringing any foreign authority into 
 tho realm. This Wolsey had done by acting as papal legate, and by 
 holding a court for the Pope in England. BroFen-hearted at the 
 loss of the King's favour, Wolsey began his journey to London. 
 "When he reached Leicester he was so ill that ho had to take shelter 
 in the Abbey there. " Had I served my God as diligently as I 
 have served the King," he. said to the lieutenant of the Tower, 
 "He would not have given me over in my gray hairs." His 
 sickness was unto death, and the man who had served the king 
 BO faithfully, and loved him so truly, only escaped the penalty of 
 treason by dying Nov. 30th, 1530. 
 
 9. Act of Supremacy. Henry found a new and able minister 
 in Thomas Cromwell, one of Wolsey's retainers. He advised the 
 King to make himself Head of the Church, and then procure a 
 divorce from his own courts. At first Henry did not like to act on 
 this advice, but when he found that it was the only way by which 
 he could marry Anne Boleyn, he determined to carry out Cromwell's 
 suggestion. Parliament was called in 1520, and because it was 
 willing to do the king's bidding it lasted for seven years. During 
 its existence many important laws were passed, mostly at the com- 
 mand of Cromwell and Henry. 
 
 Henry's first step in throwing off the Pope's authority over the 
 English Church was to force the clergy to acknowledge him " Head 
 of the Church," by threatening them with the loss of their goods 
 and lives for having recognized the authority of Wolsey as papal 
 legate. The clergy agreed to this with the limitation, "so far as 
 the laws of Christ permit." Then Parliament passed three laws, 
 one of which forbade the clergy from ending "first fruits" to 
 Rome ; a second, forbade the taking of appeals to Rome ; and the 
 third, called the "Act of Supremacy," made Henry "Head of the 
 Church." The latter Act was passed in 1534. 
 
 Before this, however, in 1533, Cranmer, who had been made 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, granted in the council of bishops the 
 coveted divorce, and Henry immediately married Anne Boleyn. 
 In the same year Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, was born. Parlia- 
 ment, to please Henry, declared tae Princess Mary illegitimate, and 
 settled the succession on Anne's children. 
 
 f
 
 66 _ "" lilirMii i nr ENGLAWIX 
 
 10. Cromwell's Role. Cromwell and Cranmer were now 
 Henry's chief advisers. Cromwell was a stem man, and had been 
 employed by Wolsey to suppress some of th'- smaller monasteries 
 on account of the evil lives of their inmates. Now that he was 
 the king's minister ho bent all his energies to make him an 
 absolute ruler in both Church and State. Parliament was forced to 
 pass the most infamous laws. One of these forlwule people accused 
 of treason the right to be heard in their own defence. Cromwell 
 himself was the first to suffer under this wicked law. He also 
 employed spies to let him know what the people were doing 
 and saying ; and by telling the king tales of plots against his 
 life, made him cruel and unjust. None were too good, or too high in 
 rank, to escape Cromwell's vengeance, if he thought by taking their 
 lives the king's power would be increased. He had an Act passed 
 by which any man might be called upon to take an oath that he 
 believed the divorce was right and valid. Among those who were 
 asked to take the oath was Sir Thomas More, the king's Chancellor, 
 and at one time the king's trusted favourite. More was a great 
 and pure-minded man, perhaps the greatest in his day, and had 
 written a book called "Utopia" in which he advocated many 
 reforms, for which the labouring men of England had to wait 
 centuries. Now when asked to swear that he believed that the 
 divorce was right and to accept the Supremacy he refused. He 
 was sent to the Tower, and later on, with Bishop Fisher, was 
 beheaded. He died as he had lived, bravely and cheerfully. 
 
 11. State of the People. These were sad days for the poor of 
 England, and for those who could not make their consciences bend 
 to the king's tyranny. Much land had gone out of cultivation, as 
 landowners had found it more profitable to raise sheep than to till the 
 soiL Landowners, too, were enclosing the common land, and thus 
 taking away from the poor one means of making a livelihood. The 
 retainers of the nobles were now cast adrift, anJ, with other men 
 out of work, took to robbing and plundering. As the punishment 
 for theft and robbery was death, many criminals, to escape detec- 
 tion, murdered their victims. 
 
 The minds of the people were unsettled by the religious changes 
 going on in Europe. Martin Luther, a German priest, had begun 
 to write and preach against some of the practices and doctrines ol
 
 HOUSE OP TUDOR. THE REFORMATION. 67 
 
 the Roman Catholic Church. He soon had many followers in 
 Germany. The movement spread rapidly, and the Protestants (as 
 they were called in 1529) became numerous in Switzerland, 
 Germany, Scotland, France, and other countries. In England they 
 were few in number, until Henry broke away from the Pope ; after 
 that many began to follow Luther's teachings. Henry himself did 
 not believe all that Luther taught : he still clung to many of the 
 beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. With the help of Cranmer 
 and others he drew up the ten Articles of Belief for the English 
 Church which were accepted by the Convocation of the clergy. He 
 also allowed the Bible to be translated into English and read in the 
 churches. Both Cromwell and Cranmer were prepared to go much 
 further than Henry in making religious changes. The monasteries 
 had much wealth, and some of the monks in the smaller ones were 
 ignorant and licentious. Cromwell and the King made this an 
 excuse for destroying many of the monasteries, and for seizing 
 their lajids and money. Henry gave away much of this spoil to his 
 nobles and favourites : the rest he put in his own treasury. One 
 effect of this spoliation was that now there were no places where 
 the poor could be fed and sheltered, or nursed when sick. Another 
 was the arousing of a strong feeling of discontent in the north 
 and west, where the adherents of the Roman Catholic faith were 
 very numerous. A rebellion, known as "The Pilgrimage of Grace," 
 broke out to restore the old religion and to get rid of Cromwell. 
 
 o o 
 
 Henry promised to remove their grievances, and the rebellion 
 came to an end ; but after the rebels had gone home, troops were 
 sent among them, and their leaders were put to death. 
 
 12, Death of Cromwell, Meanwhile, a sad fate had befallen 
 Anne Boleyn. The crown she so eagerly coveted was not long in 
 her possession. Gay, frivolous, fond of pleasure and admiration, 
 her levity excited Henry's jealousy. At last, in 1536, he accused 
 her of unfaithfulness, and had her executed. The next day, Henry 
 married Jane Seymour, a young lady at court. It was now the turn 
 of Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, to be declared 
 illegitimate by Parliament. 
 
 Jane Seymour died in 1537, leaving an infant son, Edward. She 
 had been a Protestant, and her brother, the Earl of Hertford, was 
 also a Protestant. He soon became the leader of the Protestant 
 party at court, while the Duke of Norfolk and his son, Earl Surrey,
 
 68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.' 
 
 were at the head of the Human Catholic . party. Cromwell, to 
 strengthen the Protestant. cause, made a match between Henry and 
 the Princess Anne of Cleves, a German Protestant. In this way 
 he hoped to bring the ProtestelntT&tates of Germany into a closer 
 alliance with England. Anne was very awkward and homely, and 
 Henry, as soon -as he saw her, took a strong dislike to her. In a few 
 months he had put her away. by a divorce, and had made Cromwell 
 feel the fierceness of his disappointment and anger. Cromwell had 
 so many enemies in the King's council, that lie knew his fate was 
 sealed when the King deserted him. . Charged ^vith treason, he 
 flung his cap on the ground, exclaiming, "This,.then, is the guerdon 
 for the services I have done." He was at once attainted, ind 
 without being given a chance of making a defence, was hurried to 
 the block. 
 
 13, Last Days of Henry.- Twice more was Henry married. 
 His fifth wife was a beautiful girl, Catharine Howard, niece of the 
 Duke of Norfolk. In a little while she was shown to have been 
 unchaste before her marriage, and, like Anne Boleyn, she was be- 
 headed. Then he married Katharine Parr, a widow, who by her 
 tact managed to outlive him. 
 
 Meantime, a great change had come over Henry since his 
 accession. The joyous, frank, handsome young king, had become 
 cold, selfish, suspicious, and cruel. His very form had changed ; 
 he was now coarse, unwieldy, and disfigured by a grossness that 
 was repulsive and disgusting. His temper was so uncertain, and he 
 changed his views so often, that his subjects seldom knew what 
 they were expected to do or believe. When th<! Duke of Norfolk 
 was in his favor, laws were passed against Protestants ; and when 
 Cromwell and Cranmer guided him, laws were passed against 
 Roman Catholics. So \ve find in this reign men and women 
 executed, some because they did not believe Henry's Protestant 
 opinions, others because they were opposed to the Roman Catholic 
 creed, part of which Henry retained in his laws. Towards the 
 close of his reign the Earl of Hertford, Jane Seymour's brother, 
 had great influence, and he induced the king to put Norfolk's son, 
 the accomplished Surrey, to death. Norfolk himself was -sent to 
 the Tower and would have lost his head, had not Henry, to the 
 great relief of his court, died in
 
 RELIGIOUS STRUGGLES. 69 
 
 Parliament had given Henry great power, and amon & ' other things 
 allowed him to name in his will who should succeed him. He 
 seemed to have repented of his tinjust treatment of the Princesses 
 Mary and Elizabeth, for while leaving the crown to his son Edward, 
 he named Mar,- as Edward's successor in case he died without 
 heirs ; while Elizabeth in turn ,was to follow Mary. In case all of 
 Henry's children died without heirs, then the descendants of 
 Henry's younger sister Mary Vlihfc^n succeed. Thus we see that 
 the Scotch descendants of Margaret, the elder sister, were left out 
 of the line of succession. 
 
 CHAPTER XTTT. 
 
 RELIGIOUS STRUGGLES- 
 
 1. Edward VI. Edward was a delicate boy of ten years of 
 age when his father left him the crown. He was unusually bright 
 and clever, and had been carefully educated. His mother and his 
 mother's family were Protestants, and Edward himself had been 
 trained under Protestant tutora ; so it is not surprising that he 
 was a very strong believer in the Protestant religion. He is said 
 to have been self-willed, like his father, although he seems to 
 have been also very conscientious. 
 
 Henry had left a Council of Regency to assist Edward in govern- 
 ing, the chief members of which were the king's uncle, Edward Sey- 
 mour, Duke of Somerset, and Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Somerset soon persuaded Edward to make him Protector, and this 
 gave him great power. Somerset was a well-meaning man, who 
 pitied the sad condition of the people ; but at the same time was 
 too anxious to force the Protestant religion on the nation, and too 
 much in haste to grow rich at the public expense. 
 
 Almost the first thing done in this reign was to make changes in 
 the form of worship, and as far as possible in the belief of the 
 people. Images were removed from the churches, mass was 
 abolished, and the Church Service road in English, instead of in 
 Latin. The fierce laws of Henry IV. and V. against the Lollards
 
 70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 were repealed, so also were the laws of Henry Vlll. against Pro- 
 testants. Priests were allowed to marry, churches were despoiled 
 of their lands to satisfy the greed of the nobles, and Acts of 
 Uniformity were passed to force everybody to accept the new form 
 of worship. Most important of all was the drawing up of the 
 " Book of Common Prayer," (much of which was a translation 
 from the older Latin services) which stated how the people were to 
 worship. Articles of Religion were also set forth to guide the 
 teaching of the clergy. With a few slight changes the doctrines 
 and ritual of the English Church of to-day are the same as those 
 prescribed in the days of Cranmer and Edward VL 
 
 2. Popular Discontent. These changes were made before the 
 people were prepared to receive them. In London and some of 
 the large towns there were many Protestants ; but, in the country 
 districts, while many did not wish to have the Pope interfere in 
 the affairs of England, the people wished the Church services and 
 other parts of religion to remain unchanged. So Somerset and 
 Cranmer in their zeal made the people dissatisfied, and this discon- 
 tent was increased by the laws allowing landowners to take the 
 common lands from the poor, and by the want of employment due 
 to changes (already explained) in the method of farming, To these 
 causes must be added the greed for plunder and for Church lands 
 of Somerset and his friends. Somerset began to build a great 
 palace in London, and to make room for it had to pull down 
 churches and houses. The money for this mansion was really 
 taken from the people. Then, we find that in Henry VIII. 's reign, 
 the practice was begun of debasing the public coin, that is, more 
 base metal was put into the silver coin than should be there. 
 By this means the poor were cheated out of their earnings, and 
 the public treasury was filled at their expense. All these evils led 
 to risings in different parts of the country, the most serious of 
 which was one under Ket, a tanner, in Norfolk. With 20,000 men, 
 Ket defeated the King's troops, and asked for a removal of the 
 evils from which the people suffered. Somerset felt for the 
 oppressed and did not like to use harsh means against the rebels ; 
 and so it fell to Lord Warwick to crush the rebellion by hired 
 troops from Germany. Somerset's weakness and his love of power 
 led to his downfall. Warwick was ambitious, and he induced the 
 Council to force Somerset to resign the Protectorship. But War- 
 wick was afraid that Somerset might recover his lost authority, and
 
 RELIGIOUS STRUGGLES. 71 
 
 three years later had him charged with treason and executed. 
 The throng that looked on at his death showed their sympathy 
 with the fallen and well meaning Protector by dipping their hand- 
 kerchiefs in his blood, as that of a martyr. 
 
 Warwick now became Protector, and like Somerset he favoured 
 the Protestants. Gardiner and Bonner, two bishops who were 
 opposed to further religious change, were imprisoned, and Ponet 
 and Ridley, two Protestants, were appointed in their places. 
 Roman Catholics were persecuted* because they would not attend 
 the new form of public worship, although we do not hear of any 
 being put to death. 
 
 3. Last Days of Edward VI. There is, however, one bright 
 spot in the dark picture of this time. A. great interest was begin 
 ning to be felt in education. In this reign eighteen grammar 
 schools were founded, and the Blue Coat School was started by 
 Edward himself in 1553, for orphans and foundlings. 
 
 Edward's reign lasted only six years. Always a delicate lad, his 
 friends saw that as the years passed consumption had seized him, 
 and that his reign would soon be over. Warwick, (now Duke of 
 Northumberland), and Cranmer, dreaded the successsion of Mary, 
 Edward's sister. Mary was so strict a Roman Catholic that she 
 had been kept under watch for some time in Hertfordshire. With 
 Mary on the throne, the Roman Catholic religion would be restored, 
 and Northumberland's power would be gone. To prevent this, 
 Northumberland persuaded Edward to leave the crown to Lady 
 Jane Grey, the granddaughter of Mary, Henry VIII. 's sister. 
 Lady Jane, although only a girl of sixteen, had been married 
 to Guildford Dudley, Northumberland's son, a short time before, 
 and as she was a strong Protestant, Northumberland hoped through 
 her to continue to rule. In July of 1553 Edward died. * 
 
 4. Mary. Immediately on Edward's death Northumberland and 
 his friends offered the crown to Lady Jane Grey, who accepted it 
 very reluctantly. Steps were taken to seize Mary, but, warned by 
 secret friends, she escaped to the Duke of Norfolk. The people 
 were much displefsed at the plot to put Mary aside, and joined her 
 in great numbers. Soon she was strong enough to move on to 
 London, where she received a hearty welcome. So strong was the 
 feeling in her favour, that Northumberland, who had gone to 
 Cambridge, thought it prudent to throw up his cap for her. This
 
 72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 pretence of loyalty deceived no one, and Northumberland 
 arrested and put to death for treason. Lady Jane Grey and her 
 husband were thrown into prison, there to await Mary's decision. 
 Cranmer who had consented to the plot against Mary was also 
 imprisoned. 
 
 Mary was now Queen, with the consent of nearly all her sub- 
 jects. For many years her life had been a bitter one. Her mother 
 had been divorced and she herself disgraced by Act of Parliament. 
 She had been kept under constant watch during Edward's reign 
 because it was known that she loved her mother's people, the 
 Spaniards, and her mother's religion. She thus, true to her 
 Spanish nature, came to hate her mother's enemies, and the 
 enemies of her mother's faith. The bitterness due to ill-treatment 
 was aggravated by ill-health, neglect, and a temper naturally harsh. 
 At her accession she was thirty -s^ven years of age, small of feature 
 and stature, with dark eyes full of fire, and a harsh man-like voj.ce. 
 Like all the Tudors, she was brave and self-willed to a fault. 
 
 5. Wyat's Rebellion. Her first acts were to restore the Roman 
 Catholic religion and form of worship, and throw into prison the 
 Protestant bishops. She released .Gardiner and Bonner, and made 
 the first her Chancellor, and the second, Bishop of London. Most 
 of the people were pleased to have the old form of worship 
 restored, out not so anxious to have the Pope's authority over 
 England brought back. However, she induced Parliament to allow 
 Cardinal Pole, her cousin, to go to Westminster where, in the 
 name of the Pope, he pardoned the nation through its represent- 
 atives in Parliament, for its heresies in the two previous reigns. 
 Parliament was willing to accept the Pope's pardon ; but, when a 
 demand was made for a restoration of Church property, the mem- 
 bers, many of whom had been enriched out of its spoils, promptly 
 declared they would not give up the Church lands held by them. 
 Mary herself did what she could to restore the property taken from 
 the Church by the Crown. 
 
 Mary was anxious to strengthen the Roman Catholic cause in 
 England by the aid of Spain. Partly because she had this end in 
 view, and partly because she loved her cousin Philip, son of Charles 
 V., and now king of Spain, she listened eagerly to a proposal to 
 marry him. When it was rumoured that Mary was going to
 
 RELIGIOUS STRUGGLES. 73 
 
 marry the king of Spain, great alarm was felt by the people. Some 
 were afraid of the Spanish Inquisition, which under Philip was 
 doing terrible work in Flanders, while others were afraid that 
 England, thus brought so close to Spain, would lose her indepen- 
 dence, Spain being at that time the greatest nation in the world. 
 Risings took place in many counties, and the men of Kent, under 
 the brave soldier and accomplished scholar, Sir Thomas Wyat, 
 marched down to seize London, and to put Elizabeth, Mary's sister, 
 on the throne. So strong was the feeling in favour of Wyat, that 
 Mary was urged to escape. Instead of that, however, she rode 
 forth and called upon the people of London to rally round their 
 queen, promising not to marry without her Parliament's consent. 
 Her courage aroused her subjects, and when Wyat, worn out with 
 travel and fatigue, reached Temple Bar, London's gate, he found it 
 closed and London guarded by a large force. His followers were 
 scattered, and with many others he was taken prisoner and executed. 
 
 Mary now thought it unsafe to allow Lady Jane Grey to live. 
 On the 12th Feb., 1554, Lady Jane sat at her window and saw 
 the bleeding body of her husband brought back from the scaffold, 
 and then calmly went forth to the executioner's block. Elizabeth, 
 it is said, had a narrow escape, her life being spared through the 
 influence of Gardiner and Philip of Spain. She was, however, 
 closely watched all through Mary's reign. 
 
 The rebellion being ended and the rebels punished, Mary married 
 Philip. The marriage was not a happy one. Philip remained in 
 England a year hoping to have a son, but was* disappointed. Ho 
 was also annoyed because Parliament under Gardiner's guidance 
 would not allow him to take the title of king, nor would it allow 
 England to take any part in Spanish wars. So Philip left England 
 and did not return till 1557. His coldness grieved Mary and made 
 her still more bitter towards her enemies. 
 
 6. Persecution of the Protestants. Mary, in her mistaken 
 zeal for her religion, now began to put to death those who did not 
 believe as she did. Rowland Taylor, an aged and much loved vicar, 
 was sent to the stake amid the tears ot his parishioners. Then came 
 in rapid succession, Rogers, a canon ; Hooper, a bishop ; Latimer, 
 the bold, outspoken preacher of righteousness ; and Ridley, a gentle 
 and devout man. Latimer and Ridley were burned at Oxford, tied
 
 74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 back to back to the same stake. " Play the man, Master Ridley," 
 said Latimer, " we shall this day light such a candle in England as 
 by the grace of God shall never be put out." Then came the most 
 noted of all the victims, Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Cranmer had taken a leading part in all the changes in religion 
 made in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. , and he had 
 also been party to the plan to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne. 
 He was now called to answer for his deeds, and to save his life, 
 recanted. Then finding his life was not to be given him, he 
 recanted back again. Taken to the stake at Oxford, he thrust his 
 right hand first into the flames, because that hand had basely signed 
 his recantation. Nearly three hundred people it is said perished in 
 three j^ears for religion's sake, most of the burnings taking place at 
 Smithfiera^hear Tffc^pn. Bishop Bonner of London got most of 
 the blame ; but Maryali^Gardiner, Mary most of all, deserve the 
 odium attached to these cruelties. 
 
 7. Loss of Calais. The people were becoming horror-stricken 
 at these burnings, and many fled to Geneva for safety. Mary's 
 health was rapidly failing, and as her disease grew, so did her wrath 
 and bitterness. Her husband visited her in 1557, to get her aid in 
 a war against France, and Mary foolishly consented to join him. 
 England was in no condition to go to war, her treasury was empty, 
 her people discontented, and her army and navy a wreck. \\ hat 
 was looked upon then as a great national disaster and disgrace befell 
 the country. Calais, the last possession of England in France, was 
 surrounded by French troops, and Mary, too intent on punishing 
 heretics, failed to send it relief. In 1558 it surrendered, and Eng- 
 land lost the last remnant of her conquests in France. Mary, like 
 a true Englishwoman, felt the loss keenly, and in the same year 
 died, worn out by sorrow and disease.
 
 THE WISE BULE OF ELIZABETH. 75 
 
 CHAPTER XTV". 
 
 THE WISE BULB OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 A 
 
 1. Elizabeth. When Mary died, her sister Elizabeth oecame 
 queen. At this time she was twenty-five years of age, tall and 
 queenly in figure, with fair hair and blue eyes. As a queen she 
 had few faults ; as a woman she had many. In her council, 
 surrounded by wise and careful advisers, she weighed everything 
 before acting, and as events proved, seldom made a mistake. The 
 good of her subjects was ever before her, and by her tact, caution, 
 and skill in diplomacy, she kept the country out of war and gave it 
 a chance to become rich and great. She was not content to have 
 England at peace with foreign nations : she also sought to unite 
 the various warring sections of her people and to restore peace and 
 order throughout the nation. How she succeeded events will 
 show. As a woman, she was vain, frivolous, fond of flattery and 
 the attention of handsome courtiers. Frugal, even stingy, in all 
 else, she spent large sums of money on dress and finery, leaving, 
 it is said, three thousand dresses in her wardrobe. Her greatest 
 fault was her habit of using deceit and falsehood to bewilder and 
 overreach her enemies. This she did because, as she said, she was 
 "a weak woman "^vith many powerful foes at home and abroad. 
 Her education had been well looked after ; for, not only was she an 
 excellent horsewoman, dancer, shot, and musician, but she was well 
 read in Greek, Latin, and French, and could converse in Italian and 
 Spanish. She was the friend of the great writers who lived in her 
 day, and at her court they found a hearty welcome. 
 
 2. Elizabeth's early difficulties. When Elizabeth began her. 
 reign she found her people discontented, her treasury empty, her 
 army and navy weak, and she had powerful enemies in the persons 
 of Philip II. of Spain, and the King of France. To add to her 
 difficulties, Mary, the daughter of James V. of Scotland, and grand- 
 daughter of Margaret, Henry Vill's elder sister, claimed the 
 crown of England, on the plea that Elizabeth was illegitimate. 
 Mary was married to the Dauphin of France, and Scotland in her 
 absence was ruled by her mother, Mary of Guise, who acted' as 
 Regent, French troops had been brought into Scotland to help
 
 76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the Regent against the "Lords of the Congregation," or Protestant 
 nobles, who were new becoming very powerful, and were much 
 under the influence of John Knox and Earl Murray, Mary's half- 
 brother. 
 
 At this time great struggles were going on in Europe between 
 Roman Catholics and Protestants. Philip IE. of Spain waa 
 the most powerful ruler in Europe, and he was, with great cruelty, 
 trying to crush out a rebellion in the Low Countries for political 
 and religious freedom. In France a fierce struggle was going on 
 between the Huguenots, or French Protestants, and the French 
 king. So when Elizabeth became queen, the eyes of all Europe 
 were upon her to see whether she would be a Protestant or a 
 Roman Catholic. 
 
 At first she would not take the side of either religious party. 
 The Protestants hoped she would be their friend, knowing the 
 religious belief of Anne Boleyn, her mother ; while the Roman 
 Catholics were encouraged by her apparent hesitation. Her first 
 task was to free England and herself from the control of Spain. 
 She made peace with France. Philip, who wished to marry her, and 
 the Pope, who tried to get her to espouse his cause, were put off 
 with e;:cuses. At length, when Parliament met, it was ordered that 
 the Prayer-Book of Edward VI, with some slight changes, should 
 be restored to the Churches, and that the clergy should recognize 
 the Royal Supremacy of Elizabeth. Roman Catholics and people 
 of other creeds were not to be molested, provided they attended 
 the service of the English Church. If any refused to attend they 
 were made to pay a heavy fine. 
 
 The Bishops for the most part refused to take the oath of 
 supremacy, and were, therefore, removed from their offices and 
 moderate Protestants put in their places. Elizabeth did not like the 
 extreme Protestants, and she chose for her chief adviser in Church 
 affairs Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, a man of the 
 same moderate views as her own. In the beginning of her reign, 
 the Roman Catholics were more than half of the population, and 
 Elizabeth had to be very careful, knowing that many of her subjects 
 looked to Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a strong Roman Catholic, 
 as the rightful queen^W 
 v 3. Elizabeth and Scotland. To offset Mary's influence in
 
 /HE W18K. RDLB OF ELIZABETH. 77 
 
 England, Elizabeth aided the Protestant nobles, or 'Lords of the 
 Congregation," in Scotland in their struggle with Mary of Guise, 
 who sought to crush out Protestantism. Lord Grey with 8,000 
 men was sent to help the Scotch against a French force, which the 
 Regent had brought over, and which was now besieged in Leith. 
 While the siege was going on, Mary of Guise died, and the French 
 promised to leave the kingdom. The Scotch Lords also agreed that 
 Elizabeth should be recognized as the queen of England, but Mary, 
 the Scotch queen, would not be bound by this agreement. Shortly 
 after this her husband, Francis II. of France, died, and she returned 
 to rule over her own kingdom. She was warmly welcomed by 
 Protestants and Roman Catholics alike, and her youth, beauty, and 
 winning ways made her a general favourite. Her most powerful 
 subjects and her Parliament were the followers of John Calvin of 
 Geneva, a great Protestant teacher, and Mary did not attempt to 
 force her own religious opinions on her people. 
 
 4. England's Prosperity. Elizabeth's enemies abroad, France 
 and Spain, owing to their jealousy of each other, left her at peace 
 until they could settle their own quarrels. In the meantime the 
 nation prospered greatly. Elizabeth's economy filled the public 
 treasury, and the order and good government she gave the nation 
 encouraged the people to make improvements in tilling the soil, 
 and to engage in trade and commerce. Manufactures increased 
 rapidly, and new industries were introduced through the many 
 people that came to England to escape from the wars and religious 
 persecutions in Flanders and France. Cloth- weaving was greatly 
 improved by the Flemings, while later on, through the French, 
 came a greater skill in silk manufactures. Raw gold and silver 
 were brought from America, gold dust and ivory from Africa, and 
 silks' and cottons from the East. Increase of trade caused an 
 increase in shipping, and Elizabeth encouraged her subjects to build 
 ships for adventures in the far east, west, and north. Frobisher 
 discovered the straits of Hudson's Bay, Sir Humphrey Gilbert tried 
 to colonize Newfoundland, Hawkins opened up a traffic in slaves 
 with the coast of Africa, and Sir Francis Drake, a famous sea- 
 captain, sailed round the world in a little vessel, bringing home a 
 great treasure, which he obtained by plundering Spanish settlements 
 in America. So great was the increase of wealth among all classes
 
 78 fliSTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of the people that many things now considered necessaries, but 
 which then were luxuries, came into general use. Carpets on the 
 floors, abundance of glass in the windows, pillows for the head, 
 chimneys instead of holes in the roof, now became common. 
 Money was spent freely by the gay lords and ladies on fine dresses, 
 jewels, feasts, revels, and pageants. Money was so easily got that it 
 was recklessly spent. Even the poor gained under Elizabeth's rule. 
 An earnest effort was now made to lessen the pauperism that had 
 so long existed. A law was passed making it necessary for each 
 parish to provide for ita own poor, and power was given to the 
 parish to levy taxes for that purpose. Work-houses and poor- 
 houses were to be built, where work, food, and shelter could be 
 given to the needy, aged, and helpless. It was not, however, until 
 near the end of Elizabeth's reign that the " Poor Laws " were 
 completed. 
 
 5. Religious Discord While the country was thus growing in 
 wealth, it unfortunately was not at peace in religious affairs. There 
 were two kinds of people that were not satisfied with the way 
 Elizabeth tried to govern the Church. The Roman Catholics could 
 not take the Oath of Supremacy, and they were forbidden by the 
 Pope to go to the English Church services. On the other hand 
 there was a growing body that thought the English Church was too 
 near the Roman Catholic Church in its form of worship and church 
 government, and that wished to bring the English Church closer to 
 the Churches in Germany and Switzerland. These were the Puritans, 
 who wanted, they said, a purer form of worship. Elizabeth cared 
 little what people believed so long as they all attended the same 
 Church services. She wished to have one law in the Church for all 
 classes of her subjects, just as there was but one law in the State. 
 So Parliament passed an Act in 1563, that no person could hold an 
 office, or be a member of Parliament, unless he would obey the 
 Queen, and deny that the Pope had any authority in England. 
 
 6. Mary, Queen of Scots. We saw that when Mary returned \ 
 to Scotland she received a hearty welcome from her people. She 
 was but nineteen at that time, and so beautiful, fascinating, and 
 clever, that few people, even the sternest, could resist her charms. 
 She had not been long in Scotland before she began to plot against 
 Elizabeth for the English throne. Her subjects were ready to aid
 
 THE WISE RULE OF ELIZABETH. 79 
 
 her ; so was Philip of Spain j and so were some of Elizabeth's 
 subjects. 
 
 Mary was Elizabeth's heir, and this made Elizabeth's friends 
 anxious. They were afraid that some fanatic would murder Eliza- 
 beth to give Mary the crown. So they frequently urged Elizabeth 
 to marry and give them an heir to the throne. She would refuse 
 until sorely pressed by her Parliament, and then would promise to 
 choose a husband. But she never married although she had many 
 lovers and suitors, who, for a time, were encouraged and then 
 quietly rejected. Why she did not marry we do not know. Some 
 think she desired to marry Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 
 who was for many years her favourite. She knew that if she 
 married a Protestant she would displease her Roman Catholic 
 subjects, whereas if she married a Roman Catholic she would 
 anger her Protestant subjects. So she remained a "Virgin Queen " 
 and found in the love and devotion of her peopte a partial recom- 
 pense for the lack of husband and children. 
 
 The anxiety of Elizabeth's subjects was increased when Mary 
 married, in 1565, Lord Darnley her cousin. Darnley, like Mary, was 
 descended from Margaret, Henry Yin's sister, and his family were 
 Roman Catholics. By this marriage Mary strengthened her claim 
 on the throne of England, and had she now acted with prudence, 
 Elizabeth might have been driven from the throne, or else com- 
 pelled to recognize Mary as her successor. But Mary, with all her 
 cleverness, could not control her passions, and by giving way to 
 them she lost not only all chance of becoming queen of England, 
 but also caused herself to be driven into exile. She soon tired of 
 her young husband, who was a foolish youth, and wanted to 
 become king, and by his jealousies and follies gave Mary much 
 annoyance. She had an Italian secretary, David Rizzio, with 
 whom she was so intimate that Darnley grew jealous. Aided 
 by a band of rough Scotch lords he broke into Mary's chamber at 
 Holyrood when she was supping with Rizzio. Rizzio was dragged 
 out and stabbed to death, and his body flung down a staircase near 
 Mary's chamber. Mary tried to save him but was held back 
 by Darnley while the murder took place. After a time she pre- 
 tended to forgive her husband, and three months after the murder, 
 her son, James, was born.- Not long after this event, Darnley being 
 ill, Mary had him removed to an old building, Kirk-O'-Field, not
 
 80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ar from Hclyrood, for quiet and rest. One night when Mary was 
 attending a dance given to her servants in Holyrood, an explosion 
 took place at Kirk-O'-Field, and the next morning Darnley and his 
 page were found dead in an adjoining field. The house had been 
 blown up with gunpowder, and although Darnley and tho page had 
 escaped from the house, they had been overtaken and murdered. 
 No one knew whether Mary had planned the deed or not ; but the 
 servants of the Earl of Bothwell, a bold, profligate noble, were 
 seen near the scene of the tragedy that evening, and a short time 
 after Mary allowed herself to be carried off by Bothwell to one of 
 his castles and there married to him. 
 
 The people of Scotland were horrified at the murder and the 
 marriage, and at once her lords rose against her. She was taken 
 prisoner, and forced to give up her crown to her son. A year later 
 she escaped from Loch Leven Castle, and gathered an army, but 
 she was defeated at Langside, in 1568, by Earl Murray. With diffi- 
 culty Mary escaped into England when she claimed the protection 
 and aid of Elizabeth. 
 
 ^T7. Mary in England. What to do with Mary was more than 
 Elizabeth could decide. Mary asked to be restored to her thone, . 
 and failing that, to be allowed to go to her mother's people 
 France. The Scotch demanded that she should be sent back to 
 tried for the murder of her husband. Elizabeth knew that it was 
 unsafe to allow her to go to France, and she was unwilling to hand 
 her over to her Scotch subjects, as that would look like encouraging 
 rebellion. So she kept Mary a prisoner in England refusing either 
 to send her back or bring her to trial For eighteen years was she 
 thus kept until the numerous plots formed against Elizabeth's life, 
 in the interest of Mary, made it necessary that something should be 
 done. For Mary had not been long in England before the Duke of 
 Norfolk wished to marry her and put her on the throne. This plot 
 was found out in time and Norfolk was warned and sent to the 
 Tower. Then a rebellion broke out in the north, which was put 
 down at tho cost of many lives. Then the Pope excommunicated 
 Elizabeth and released her subjects from their allegiance to her. 
 Parliament answered this by making strict laws against the Roman 
 Catholics ; and then another plot was formed to murder Elizabeth, 
 to marry Mary to Norfolk, and through the aid of Spain to make
 
 THE WISE RITLB OF ELIZABETH. 81 
 
 Mary queen. But Elizabeth had vigilant friends in her council, 
 and this plot becoming known Norfolk was executed. So it went 
 on for many years till, in 1587, Anthony Babington entered into 
 a correspondence with Mary to kill Elizabeth, and make Mary 
 queen. The letters passed through the hands of Walsingham, the 
 Secretary of State, and on the evidence he supplied, Mary was 
 tried before a commission of peers and sentenced to death. Eliza- 
 beth, for a time, would not consent to sign the death warrant, 
 although urged to do so by Parliament and her ministers. At last 
 she signed it, and the sentence was at once carried out. Mary died 
 protesting her innocence, but the people breathed easier because a 
 great danger was removed. 
 
 KB. The Spanish Armada. Meanwhile Elizabeth had been able 
 > keep England out of foreign wars. She was asked to aid the 
 Netherlands against Spain, but refused to do so openly, for 
 \ t many of her subjects did not want to have their trade with the Low 
 Countries stopped. Nevertheless thousands of Englishmen crossed 
 over to the aid of the Netherlanders and. fought in their battles 
 against the Spaniards. Among those- "who left the English shores 
 _ was Sir Philip Sidney, a .brave and^noble man, and an accomplished 
 /courtier, author, and. soldier. ;?Ie was killed at the Battle of 
 Zutphen,.' The hatred *\>orne the Spaniards at this time by the 
 English was shown in many ways. There was no open war between 
 England and Spain ; nevertheless English ships were fitted out to 
 plunder Spanish settlements "in America, and seizd their treasure 
 ships returning from the rich mines of the New "World. We have 
 already mentioned how Drake returned from his voyage round the 
 world laden \vith Spanish treasure. When he reached home Eliza- 
 beth visited his ship, made him a knight, and did not refuse to accept 
 a large portion of his spoil So it is not surprising that Philip of Spain 
 was angry, and only waited till his hands were free to attack Eng- 
 land. Meanwhile new expeditions were going out against Spanish 
 America, and at last Elizabeth sent an army to the Low Countries 
 to aid the Netherlanders. Philip was also angry because Elizabeth 
 had pub to death several priests who came to England from a 
 college at Douay in France to minister to the English Roman 
 Catholics and to persuade them not to attend the English Church 
 ervicea. These priests were accused of preaching disloyalty and
 
 82 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 stirring the people up to rebellion, and for this many of them 
 were executed, as well as for their religion. 
 
 At length Philip's chance came to make the long deferred attack. 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, was dead, and Philip was looked to as the 
 proper person to avenge the wrongs of the Roman Catholics, and to 
 take Elizabeth's place on the throne of England. In 1585 he began 
 his preparations. A great fleet, an "Armada," was to be made 
 ready, and was to take on board 30,000 veteran Spanish troops 
 under the command of the Duke of Parma in the Netherlands. It 
 was then to cross to England, and Philip hoped that when his army 
 landed all the English Roman Catholics would join him. While 
 the "Armada "was getting ready, Drake made a bold attack on 
 Cadiz harbour and burnt many vessels. This he called "singe- 
 ing the Spanish king's beard." Elizabeth was slow to believe that 
 the attack would be really made, and was loath to give money 
 enough to make her fleet and army effective. What she grudged to 
 do, her subjects did at their own expense. Vessels were fitted out 
 by private gentlemen and sent out to do battle for England's 
 freedom. Lord Howard of Effingham was appointed chief Admiral, 
 but he had by his side the great sea-captains, Drake, Hawkins, and 
 Frobisher, who had fought many a successful battle against Spanish 
 ships. At last, on the 12th July, 1588,- the Armada, under the 
 command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, set saiL It consisted of 
 one hundred and twenty-nine ships of great size, with thousands of 
 soldiers and sailors on board. To oppose it was an English fleet of 
 eighty small vessels, made up of a few of the Queen's ships and a 
 number of privateers. Never was England in greater danger, and 
 never were her people more true to their country and sovereign. 
 Roman Catholics were as eager as Protestants to offer their aid and 
 defend England's shores. The Queen's high courage did not fail 
 her, and her appearance among her soldiers was all that was needed 
 to give them hope and confidence. Beacon lights flamed from the 
 English headlands to give news of the Armada's approach. At last 
 the great crescent of huge ships was seen coming up the Channel, and 
 the small English fleet sailed out to damage it as much as possible. 
 They hung on its rear and flanks to cut off any ship that might be 
 found separated from the main body. At night fire-ships were sent 
 adrift into the Spanish fleet, and in the fear and confusion that 
 followed several Spanish ships were captured and destroyed. The
 
 THE WISE RULE OF ELIZABETH. 83 
 
 Spaniards found that their vessels were so large and clumsy that 
 their shot passed over tho English ships, which could sail away 
 or around them at pleasure. In despair the Armada began to 
 retreat, pursued by its active and vengeful enemies. To add to 
 their misfortunes a great storm arose which carried the Spanish 
 vessels past Parma's army, and drove them far north. Rounding 
 the Orkneys to return to Spain the vessels were dashed on the 
 rocks, and the shores of the north of Scotland and Ireland were 
 strewn with corpses. Some reached the shore alive only to be 
 murdered by the savage inhabitants of the coast. Of all that great 
 fleet only fifty-three vessels reached Spain. England was saved : 
 the wind and the waves had fought her battles even more effectively 
 than her sailors or soldiers. With the defeat of the Armada passed 
 away the long dread of a great danger, and the nation's joy and 
 relief found expression in the glorious literature that followed. 
 
 y 9. Elizabethan Literature. Not since Chaucer had England a 
 great poet, until Edmund Spenser wrote in this reign the "Faerie 
 Queen. " Other great writers followed : Sidney, Raleigh, Bacon, 
 Hooker, and greatest of all, William Shakespeare, who born in 1564 
 began to write towards the close of this reign his wonderful plays 
 and dramas. To these men, great in an age of great men, Eliza- 
 beth was a friend and counsellor. Such an era in literature the 
 nation had not hitherto experienced, and it is doubtful if such 
 another era has since come to the English people. The great events 
 and the daring deeds and thoughts of the time seemed to demand a 
 Spenser and a Shakespeare to give them voice. Nor must we for- 
 get the efforts made by Sir Walter Raleigh, at once courtieX author, 
 soldier, and voyager, to colonize Virginia. Though the colony was 
 a failure in his time, he brought back to Europe the potato as well 
 as tobacco, both of which soon came into use. In this reign, 
 too, voyages were undertaken to the northern seas and the East 
 Indies, and Elizabeth gave in 1599 a charter to the East India 
 Company, with the sole right of trading in that fabled land of 
 untold riches. v. 
 
 10. Ireland tinder Elizabeth. It is sad to turn away from this 
 story of brave deeds and growing prosperity to England's treat- 
 ment of Ireland. Henry "VTLL had tried to make Ireland acknow- 
 ledge England's laws and accept her religion, and by so doing had
 
 84 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 given rise to a great bitterness among the Irish people. Edward VI. 
 tried to force Protestantism on them and failed, as the Irish 
 did not want any change in their religion. Then Mary came and 
 restored the old religion, but began English settlements in two 
 counties. When Elizabeth became queen, she followed her f&ther's 
 policy of making Ireland English. Soon there was a rebellion 
 under Shan O'Xeil, which was put down by Sir Henry Sidney in 
 1567. But the rebellion broke out again under Shan's son, Hugh, 
 Earl of Tyrone, in 1595, when the Spaniards gave their aid. He 
 defeated the English, and Essex, the darling of Elizabeth's old age, 
 was sent against him. Essex made an unwise peace with him, 
 and then returned to England for Elizabeth's approval. She was 
 very angry at his folly and ordered him to keep his house for a 
 tune. Essex, in his vain pride, inarched to London to seize the 
 queen ; but was arrested, tried, and executed. Lord Mountjoy, 
 an able man, was sent in his place to Ireland, and succeeded in 
 suppressing the revolt. In the next reign, as we shall find, large 
 tracts of land were taken from the Irish in the north and given to 
 Scotch and English settlers. 
 
 11. Death of Elizabeth. But the end of this great reign was 
 now near. Elizabeth, after the death of Essex, became despondent. 
 She had lost much of the sympathy of her people, although in 
 memory of her great services they bore with her frailties of temper 
 and disposition to rule arbitrarily. Nevertheless she knew when 
 to yield to her Parliament and people. One of her last and most 
 gracious acts was to abolish " monopolies " on a number of articles 
 of common use. The Parliament had grown in power during 
 these years of peace and prosperity, and it only waited Elizabeth's 
 death to begin again the struggle for its lost rights and privileges. 
 
 Elizabeth's end was a sad one. Dejected and wretched, for 
 days she would take no food, nor speak to any one. To the last she 
 refused to name her successor. Asked if James of Scotland, 
 Mary's son, should succeed her, a slight motion of the head was all 
 the sign of approval she gave. On the 24th March, 1603, England's 
 great queen died.
 
 CROWN AND PARLIAMENT. 85 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CROWN AND PARLIAMENT. 
 
 1. James I. Elizabeth was no sooner dead than Cecil, the 
 minister of her old age, sent for James VI. of Scotland, the son 
 of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to be king of England. No one 
 objected, and James came down from Scotland to London and was 
 crowned on the sacred stone of Scone in Westminster. So the 
 old prophecy was fulfilled, and a Scotch king reigned in England 
 under the title of James I. 
 
 James was the first of the Stuart line, and, like all his race in 
 England, was obstinate, self-willed, and filled with the notion that 
 he ruled by "Divine Right" ; that is, he believed he held the 
 throne from God directly, and not from his Parliament and people. 
 To this belief he added another, viz., that bishops were divinely 
 appointed, and that the kingship was not secure unless the Church 
 was governed by bishops. As he said, "No Bishop, no King." 
 Perhaps he got this idea from the fact that when king in Scotland 
 he had to endure a good many restraints and rebukes from the 
 Presbyterian clergy of that nation. At any rate, as soon as he 
 reached England he cast his lot in with the English Church and left 
 the Presbyterian body to which he had formerly belonged. 
 
 James had a few good qualities and a great many bad ones. He 
 was well educated, and had read much on church history and 
 theology. He loved to show his learning, and to that end wrote 
 pamphlets against smoking (which was becoming fashionable) and 
 witchcraft, and in favor of the " Divine Right of.Kings." He had 
 a canny Scotch wit and humour, and said many shrewd and pithy 
 things. Nevertheless, he was a foolish king : ' ' the wisest fool in 
 Christendom," as a French statesman called him. He was easily 
 ruled by favourites, and his court was often the scene of drunken- 
 ness and low debauchery. James himself was given to gluttony 
 and drunkenness, and as in dress he was slovenly, and in person 
 awkward and ungainly, he made himself contemptible and ridi- 
 culous by his actions. The English people had been accustomed 
 to dignified kings and queens, and the change from the queenly 
 Elizabeth to the ricketty James did not tend to make them quietly
 
 86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 submit to James' claim to rule " not by the commcn will but for 
 the common weal. 
 
 2. State of the Nation. At this time, too, the people had be- 
 come so prosperous under Elizabeth's rule that they had recovered 
 much of the old spirit of freedom which forced the Plantagenets 
 to give Parliament the control of taxation. Elizabeth had felt 
 this in the later years of her reign, and had unwillingly conceded 
 many things to her Parliament. So, when James, with his awkward 
 ways and foreign accent, began to dictate to his Parliament and 
 people how they should be governed, they resented it, and soon 
 made him understand that the English people did not want 
 arbitrary rule. 
 
 The nation was in an unsettled condition owing to the different 
 views held by the people on religious questions. The Puritans 
 wanted changes made in the Church services, so as to bring them 
 nearer the form of worship in Scotland and Geneva. They disliked 
 making the sign of the cross in baptism, wearing a surplice, or 
 giving a ring in the marriage service. They, also, were very strict 
 about keeping Sunday, and about indulging in amusements. In 
 questions of state they upheld the liberty of Parliament and the 
 right of the people to make their own laws. Then there was the 
 Church party which wished the Church to remain as Elizabeth had 
 left it, and which was strongly in favour of giving the king a great 
 deal of power. Lastly, there were the Roman Catholics, who wished 
 to restore the Roman Catholic faith. They had been fiercely per- 
 secuted in Elizabeth's reign and now looked to James for relief, 
 because his mother had been a strict Roman Catholic. The hope of 
 the Puritans that he would make changes in the Church services to 
 please them, was soon destroyed. James had been so sternly 
 treated by the Scotch Presbyterians that he hated them and their 
 ways ; and as the Puritans in many respects were like the Presby- 
 terians, he, at a Conference at Hampton Court, roundly abused 
 them when they asked for changes, and said if they would not 
 conform he would "harry them out of the land." The only good 
 result of this conference was the decision to issue a revised 
 translation of the Bible, which was done in 161L This is the 
 version still in use. 
 
 3. The Puritans begin to Emigrate. Now that it was seen
 
 CROWN AND PARLIAMENT. 87 
 
 that James was wedded to the Church as it stood, many Puritans 
 determined to leave their native land and find a home where they 
 could worship God as they pleased. Among others that left was a 
 small congregation under the leadership of their pastor, John 
 Robinson, and an Elder, William Brewster. It first went to 
 Amsterdam and Leyden and then in 1620 came back to England, 
 whence it took passage in a little vessel called the "Mayflower" for 
 the shores of North America. This little band of 120 souls landed 
 at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, and, after suffering great pri- 
 vations for many years, founded a flourishing colony, which was the 
 beginning of the New England States. 
 
 4. Gunpowder Plot. If the Puritans were disappointed in 
 James, much more were the Roman Catholics. The relief that 
 they expected did not come ; on the other hand, Parliament made 
 the laws more severe against them, and James began to banish 
 their priests, and to fine them for not attending the English Church 
 services. The result was that a few desperate men, headed by one 
 Robert Catesby, formed a plot to blow up Parliament while it was 
 being opened, kill the king and members of Parliament, and then 
 seize one of the younger members of the royal family and place 
 him on the throne. To carry out this plot gunpowder was stored 
 in barrels in a vault or cellar under the House of Lords, and a man 
 named Guy Fawkes was entrusted with the task of setting fire to 
 it at the proper time. Fortunately one of the conspirators did not 
 wish his brother-in-law, who was in Parliament, to be killed, and 
 sent him a warning note not to attend. This led to inquiries 
 being made, and a search taking place the evening before Par- 
 liament was to be opened, November 5th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was 
 found concealed in the cellar, and the whole plot was exposed. 
 The conspirators tried to escape, but most of them were seized and 
 put to death. The result of this wicked and foolish plot was that 
 the laws were made still more cruel and oppressive against Roman 
 Catholics. 
 
 5. Crown and Parliament. Very soon James began to disagree 
 with his Parliaments. ' He insisted on his right to collect taxes and 
 place duties on goods without consent of Parliament ; and to please 
 his favourites and put money in his treasury, he revived the 
 monopolies which had been given up by Elizabeth. Nearly every
 
 88 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 article of common use was made the subject of a "monopoly," and in 
 this way the people had to pay for what they used far more than the 
 things were worth. James' expenses were heavy, for he had to keep 
 an army in Ireland. The people there were discontented and rebel- 
 lious, because they had been driven out of their holdings in Ulster 
 and their land given to English and Scotch settlers. Besides, James 
 surrounded himself with profligate favourites who wasted his rev- 
 enue. His first favourite was Robert Carr, a dissolute young 
 Scotchman, who committed a grave crime and in consequence was 
 disgraced. Then came George Villiers, afterwards known as the 
 Duke of Buckingham, who by his beauty and fascinating manners 
 soon became so powerful with James and his son Charles as to be 
 able to influence them to do anything he wished. Villiers was 
 looked upon as an insolent upstart by the great nobles ; but he 
 made the proudest and highest in the land seek his favour. All 
 who wished to obtain anything from the king had to win over 
 Buckingham by gifts and presents. 'In this way, the penniless 
 adventurer, George Villiers, soon became the rich and powerful 
 Buckingham. This man, with his extravagance and insolence, 
 Parliament in vain sought to keep in check. James would not 
 agree to give up his power of imposing taxes, and in 1G14 dissolved 
 Parliament because it would not grant him any money until he 
 abandoned his unjust claims. 
 
 6. The Spanish Match. For seven years after this James ruled 
 without a Parliament, and, to keep his extravagant court supplied 
 with money, he did a great many wicked and foolish things. He 
 levied fines, forced loans, and benevolences, and made himself ridi- 
 culous by compelling people of small means to take titles or else pay 
 a fine for refusing. He created a new title, that of " baronet," which 
 he sold for 100. Buckingham also used the law courts to fill the 
 treasury, and judges took presents from those who brought cases 
 before them for settlement. 
 
 Meanwhile James sought to make friends with Spain, and to this 
 end tried to bring about a match between his son Charles and the 
 daughter of Philip III. This the English people did not want, for 
 they hated the Spaniards and were afraid of having for a queen a 
 Roman Catholic princess. James, however, prided himself on his 
 statecraft and would not listen to the objections of his people. To
 
 CROWN AND PARLIAMENT. 89 
 
 please the Spanish court he did the most cruel and unjust act of his 
 reign. At this time Sir Walter Raleigh was a prisoner in the 
 Tower on a flimsy charge of treason committed in 1603. Thirteen 
 years was he imprisoned, and, to while away his time, wrote his 
 great work The History of the World. Tired of his long confine- 
 ment, he told James he knew of a gold mine in Guiana, up the river 
 Orinoco, and if he would give him his freedom he would go out and 
 bring the king home a great treasure. James released him, but 
 warned him he must not, at the peril of his life, attack any Spanisn 
 settlements. Raleigh set sail, and when he reached the mouth of 
 the Orinoco, he sent an expedition up the river to search for the 
 mine. His men did not find it, but got into a fight with some 
 Spaniards, and Raleigh's son was killed. Raleigh had to return 
 without the expected treasure, and when he reached England he 
 was beheaded, 1618, to please the Spanish king, who complained 
 of Raleigh's attack on one of his settlements. 
 
 James was willing to allow others besides Raleigh to suffer, to 
 please Spain. In 1618, a great war broke out in Germany, and 
 lasted thirty years. The Thirty Years' War was due to James' 
 son-in-law, Frederick, the Elector of the Palatinate, accepting the 
 crown of Bohemia, which was claimed by Ferdinand, Emperor 
 of Germany. The war that followed soon became one between 
 Protestants and Roman Catholics, and Spain gave her aid to the 
 Catholic Ferdinand against the Protestant Frederick. Frederick 
 was very unfortunate and lost not only Bohemia, but also his own 
 Electorate on the Rhine. The English people would have gladly 
 gone to war with Spain to restore him to his dominions ; but James 
 was so anxious to keep peace with Spain that he refused to give 
 any aid. He thought he could get Spain to restore Frederick to 
 his possessions by a policy of conciliation. Spain, however, would 
 not interfere in his behalf, and it seemed as if the Spanish king 
 was in no hurry to have the marriage take place. Impatient of 
 delay, Charles and Buckingham went in disguise to the Spanish 
 court, hoping that their presence would hasten the match. They 
 had not been there long before Buckingham got into a quarrel, 
 and Charles found that the Infanta did not like him. One excuse 
 after another was made for delay, and although Charles was pre- 
 pared to promise anything to obtain his end, the marriage was
 
 90 BISTORT OF ENGLAND. 
 
 broken off because Spain would not interfere in the interests o{ 
 Frederick. 
 
 The Parliament of 1621. Before this had taken place, 
 James had called his third Parliament to get supplies. Many 
 famous men came up to this Parliament ; among others, John Pym, 
 John Hampden, Sir John Eliot, Sir Thomas Wentworth, and Coke 
 and Seldon the famous lawyers. They at once began to complain 
 of the fines, taxes, and monopolies with which the king and Buck- 
 ingham had been oppressing the people. They also impeached 
 Lord Bacon, the Lord Chancellor, for taking bribes from suitors. 
 Bacon, who was the greatest thinker of his day, had just written a 
 famous book The Novum Organum on the best way to study 
 science. He acknowledged his guilt, and was fined and driven in 
 disgrace from the bench. Parliament was very much in earnest, 
 and made James give up the monopolies. Besides, it told the king 
 he should break off the proposed match with the Spanish princess 
 and give his aid to Frederick. James thought it impertinent to 
 give him advice on foreign afiairs, and when Parliament^Kmed the 
 right to discuss anything of interest to the people, he tdrte-the pro- 
 testation out of the Journals of the House and dissolved it. It was 
 about this time (1622) the first weekly newspaper appeared. 
 
 J7. Close of James' Reign. Hardly was Parliament dissolved 
 when Charles and Buckingham came back from Spain. They were 
 eager for war and forced James to call another Parliament to get 
 the necessary supplies. A small sum was voted and then Parlia- 
 ment adjourned. Charles had now arranged to marry Henrietta 
 Maria, the daughter of Henry IV. of France, and James was 
 unwilling to call Parliament again because he knew the feeling 
 against the heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic. So he 
 did not wait for Parliament to give a larger grant, but sent 12,000 
 men under Count Mansfield to aid Frederick in the Palatinate. 
 The expedition was a great failure, and most of the men died of 
 disease brought on from want of proper food and clothing. This 
 sad failure hastened the King's end, and he died of ague in 1625, 
 leaving to his son Charles his throne, and a standing quarrel with 
 his Parliament.
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 91 
 
 THE CTVTIi WAR. 
 
 1. Charles I. Unlike his father, Charles was dignified and 
 kingly in manner and appearance, with a grave, intelligent coun- 
 tenance, and a reserved but gracious manner. In his family, he 
 was a faithful husband and an affectionate father. As a man, he 
 was free from many of the vices of princes, and was sincerely 
 attached to the English Church. But it did not take his Par- 
 liament and people long to find out that he was headstrong, 
 obstinate, and insincere ; and, like his father, filled with the notion 
 that he ruled by Divine Right. His great vice was falsehood ; he 
 would make solemn promises to his parliaments when in a strait, 
 and then break them as soon as he thought himself out of danger. 
 So in spite of his kingly manners, and his good private life, he was 
 a much worse king than James I. 
 
 2. Earlj^Troubles. Charles soon got into a quarrel with his 
 Parliament, which disliked the influence Buckingham had over 
 him. Charles asked his first Parliament for a large sum to carry 
 on the war, but instead of giving him what he wanted, it granted 
 him less than half, and besides refused to give him, for more than 
 a year, a tax called "Tonnage and Poundage." It had been the 
 custom to grant this tax (which was so much on every tun of beer 
 and wine, and on every pound of certain other articles) to the king 
 for life, and Charles was so angry at Parliament that he soon after- 
 wards dissolved it, when it began to enquire into Buckingham's 
 conduct. 
 
 Buckingham now thought he would make himself and the king 
 popular by sending a fleet to Spain to attack Cadiz. The expedi- 
 tion was not well equipped, and when it reached Cadiz Bay, the 
 men, who went on shore, got drunk and had to be taken back to 
 their vessels in a helpless condition. The fleet then returned to 
 England, after failing to take some Spanish treasure-ships expected 
 from America. So this expedition, from which the king and 
 Buckinghanl hoped so much, ended in leaving them heavily in debt, 
 and forced Charles to call another Parliament in 1626. 
 
 When Charles' second Parliament met, Sir John Eliot, a noble
 
 92 flISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 patriot, who spoke words which stirred the hearts of nis fellow 
 members, moved to have Buckingham impeached for wasting the 
 king's revenues. The Commons were proceeding with the impeach- 
 ment when Charles, to save his favourite, once more dissolved 
 Parliament. 
 
 3. Forced Loans. Charles now tried to get money without 
 asking his Parliaments consent. He had much need of it, for 
 urged by Buckingham, he had begun a war against France in 
 aid of the French Protestants of La Rochelle. So he began to 
 levy tonnage and poundage, and to force people to lend him money 
 although he had no intention of ever paying it back. In this way 
 he collected a large sum, although many refused to pay and were 
 punished in various ways. Some were fined and imprisoned, others 
 were forced into the army and navy, or had soldiers billeted in 
 their houses. In this way Buckingham got money enough to raise 
 an army and fleet to go to La Rochelle, where the English were so 
 badly defeated and suffered so heavy a loss that they had to return 
 home. 
 
 4. Petition of Right. Parliament now had to be summoned to 
 get supplies, and when it met, it at once began to complain of the 
 way the king had collected money and imprisoned those who had 
 refused to pay his forced loans. Sir John Eliot was again the 
 chief spokesman, and under his guidance Parliament drew up a 
 "Petition of Right," in which they demanded of the king that no 
 man should be asked for a loan without consent of Parliament ; 
 that no man should be sent to prison without cause being shown ; 
 that soldiers should not be billeted in private houses, and that 
 martial law should cease. The king did not want to agree to this 
 petition, but he was so much in need of money that he finally 
 yielded. On June 7, 1628, the Petition of Right became law, and 
 the people were so delighted that they rang the bells and lighted 
 great bonfires. Parliament, too, granted Charles the money he 
 wanted ; but it did not cease its attack on Buckingham, who now 
 began to prepare another expedition for La Rochelle. This 
 disturber of the peace of the nation was, however, to trouble them 
 no longer. When on the point of leaving Portsmouth for France, 
 he was stabbed to the heart by one John Felton, who had a 
 private grudge against him, and blamed him for all England's woes.
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 93 
 
 The king wept at the loss of his favourite, but the people rejoicod 
 and praised Felton for the deed. 
 
 5. Sir John Eliot. Buckingham, whom all thought the cause of 
 the king's bad government, was dead, yet matters did not mend. The 
 king soon ceased to be bound by the Petition of Right, and began 
 once more to raise money by illegal means, just as if he had never 
 promised to wait the consent of his parliament. He also caused 
 his peopLe anxiety by making William Laud, Bishop of London. 
 Laud wished to enforce greater strictness in the observance of 
 forms and ceremonies in church worship, and he taught that 
 Charles ruled by Divine Right, and could do as he wished without 
 asking the concent of his people. What with Laud's efforts to 
 make changes in the Church, and Charles' arbitrary rule, it was 
 feared by the Puritans that England would lose her religion and her 
 freedom. So when Parliament met in 1629, there was great 
 excitement, and Eliot demanded that the custom-house officers who 
 had taken away the goods of a member of Parliament should be 
 punished. Charles sent down an order to Parliament to adjourn. 
 Parliament refused, and to prevent the speaker or chairman from 
 leaving his place, two members held him down while Eliot put a 
 strong resolution to vote, condemning, us a traitor, any one who 
 would make any changes in religion, or who should pay or take 
 custom duties without consent of Parliament. The vote had 
 scarcely been taken when the king's guard appeared and broke up 
 the session. A few days later Charles dissolved Parliament and 
 sent Eliot to the Tower, where three years and a half after he 
 died, killed by the close confinement of prison life. Charles knew 
 that Eliot was dying from the effects of imprisonment ; yet he 
 refused to release him. 
 
 6. Went worth, and Laud. For eleven years Charles now ruled 
 without a parliament. Weston was his Treasurer ; Wentworth, 
 who had deserted his old friends, was his chief adviser ; while 
 Laud, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, ruled the Church. 
 Perhaps Charles did not, at first, intend to go so long without 
 i parliament ; but as the years passed he found it easier to 
 have his own way without a parliament than with one. He had 
 made peace with France, and Weston was a careful treasurer, so his 
 expenses were light. Times, too, were better, and with the revival
 
 94 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of trade came an increased revenue from customs ; and Charles 
 found it not at all difficult to make ends meet now that there 
 was no war. The courtiers thought that the people were content 
 to be governed in this way, and laughed when any one talked of the 
 king's illegal rule. Wentworth, who formerly had stood by Eliot 
 and Hampden for the Petition of Right, now aimed at making the 
 king absolute. He wanted to raise a standing army, and force 
 Parliament to do the king's will. The king was afraid to try such 
 means, so Strafford (as Wentworth was now called) had himself 
 appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, where he proposed to show 
 Charles how a land could be ruled by fear. While Strafford was in 
 Ireland he made the Irish Parliament do whatever he willed, and 
 so ruled that there was peace and order under his heavy hand. He 
 allowed no tyranny but his own, and raised a standing army, which 
 could be used, if necessary, in England against the English. In 
 every possible way he sought to create ill-feeling between the Irish 
 and the English settlers in Ireland, and the fruits of this policy 
 were soon to appear. One good thing he did he introduced the 
 culture of flax and the manufacture of linen, an industry that has 
 been very successful in Ireland. 
 
 In the meantime Laud was emptying the pulpits of Puritans, and 
 filling them with new men who taught the doctrine of the Divine 
 / -P Right of Kings, and who believed in his ideas of public worship. 
 v This made the English people very anxious, for religion was more 
 L to them than civil liberty. Charles greatly increased the power of 
 \tthe Star Chamber Court, which was now used to fine and punish 
 men who would not submit to his tyranny. Laud, to carry out his 
 plans in the Church, used another arbitrary tribunal, the High 
 Commission Court, before which the clergy who would not preach 
 and do as he wished were brought and punished. The Puritans 
 were very strict in keeping Sunday, and would not allow any 
 games or amusements on that day. This gave Laud a chance to 
 annoy them. He induced Charles to order the clergy to announce 
 from the pulpits that games and sports were to be practised on 
 Sunday after the Church service was over, as had been customary 
 some time before. Many honest ministers refused to do 
 his bidding, and were driven from their pulpits. The Puri- 
 tans began to despair of recovering their religious freedom, 
 and thousands during these dark days left England for- 
 ever, and settled in New England. Not Puritans alone, but
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 95 
 
 Roman Catholics found homes in the wilds of North America. 
 In 1634, Lord Baltimore founded the colony of Maryland, where 
 one of the first laws was that religious liberty should be allowed 
 to all. 
 
 7. Ship-money. Charles now found a new way of raising money. 
 A fleet was needed in the English channel to protect English trade, 
 but Charles had no money to equip one. A lawyer told him that 
 it was once the custom for the coast towns to provide ships, and the 
 king saw in the suggestion a means of keeping up a fleet and army 
 without any expense to himself. He, therefore, commanded the 
 people living in the coast towns to provide him with ships. 
 The next step was to get thereto pay him money to equip a fleet, 
 and then as the people living inland were benefited by this fleet 
 protecting England's shores, he called upon them, also, to pay a tax. 
 When John Hampden, who lived in Buckinghamshire, refused to 
 pay, he was brought before the king's judges, who decided by a 
 vote of seven to five, that the king had a right to collect this tax, 
 although the Petition of Right said no tax could be levied without 
 the consent of Parliament. Hampden lost his case, but his refusal 
 to pay roused the people to a sense of their danger. 
 
 8. Laud and Scotland. How long Charles would have ruled 
 without a parliament, we know not, had not Laud by his excessive 
 zeal brought him into conflict with the Scotch. Wentworth, 
 who was in Ireland, and Laud had been writing letters to each 
 other, and laying a plan by which the king was to be made absolute 
 in the State, and the Puritans and Presbyterians were to be forced 
 to submit to Laud's rule in the Church. This scheme which they 
 called "Thorough," proposed that a standing army should be 
 raised, and by it all opposition to the king's will crushed out. 
 Wentworth was carrying out part of this plan in Ireland, and Laud 
 was anxious to try the rest in Scotland. So he persuaded Charles 
 to appoint bishops in Scotland, and to order that a Prayer-Book, 
 much like the English Prayer-Book, should be used in all the Scotch 
 churches. The Scotch did not use any Prayer-book, and when an 
 attempt was made to read the new service in a church in Edinburgh, 
 an old woman, Jenny Geddes, threw her stool at the preacher's 
 head, and there was a riot, which led to the church being cleared. 
 When Charles heard of this he commanded the Scotch to submit ; but,
 
 96 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 instead of that, chey signed the National Covenant, whereby they 
 solemnly swore to defend their religion against all its enemies. Not 
 content with that they gathered an army, and when Charles marched 
 north to punish them, they at once crossed the Border, prepared to 
 give him battle. Charles now found himself in a strait. His army 
 would not fight against the Scotch, and he had to return to London. 
 He sent for Strafford from Ireland to help him, and when Strafford 
 came he advised Charles to call Parliament to get money for an 
 army, and then went back to Ireland for his own troops. 
 
 9. The Short Parliament. When Parliament met in April, 1640, 
 it was in no hurry to give the king the money he wanted. It 
 began to complain of Charles' illega 1 taxes, and refused to make a 
 grant until its grievances were redressed. In the meantime the 
 Scotch were quietly waiting in the north of England to see what 
 was going to be done. Charles was very angry at Parliament and 
 dissolved it, after it had sat three weeks. He then went against 
 the Scotch with all the men he could gather; but his soldiers would 
 not fight, and he had to make terms with the Scotch by promising 
 them a large sum of money. 
 
 10. The Long Parliament. To get this money, he called the 
 famous "Long Parliament," in Nov. 1640, a Parliament which 
 was not legally dissolved until after nineteen years had pass- 
 ed. It immediately began to undo, as far as possible, all the 
 wrongful acts the king, Wentworth, and Laud had committed since 
 the last Parliament had met. By one act it abolished the Star 
 Chamber Court, the High Commission Court, and all other courts 
 that had no right to exist. It then proceeded to punish Strafford 
 and Laud for the bad advice they had given the king and for 
 their tyrannical acts. Strafford was at first impeached by the Com- 
 mons for treason ; and when the impeachment seemed likely 
 to fail, because it was hard to prove he had broken the law 
 of treason, he was attainted, that is, a law was made con- 
 demning him to die, and causing his family to lose his title and 
 property. Charles was asked to sign the bill of attainder, and at 
 first refused, for he had promised Strafford he would not allow a 
 hair of his head to be injured. But when the queen urged him to 
 sign, seeing how the people gathered in angry crowds before the 
 palace, and when Strafford sent word to his master not to spare
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 97 
 
 him, Charles yielded. Strafford was at once executed, and the 
 throngs that came to see the great traitor die went home rejoicing. 
 Laud was not executed till 1045, four years later. 
 
 11. The Grand Remonstrance. Parliament was not content 
 with removing the men who gave the king bad advice. It sought 
 to prevent bad government in the future, and to make sure that 
 Parliaments should be called it passed a " Triennial Act," by which 
 it was ordered that a Parliament should meet, at least once in every 
 three years. But through its fear of being dissolved, it went too 
 far, and made Charles consent to a bill decreeing that Parliament 
 should not be dissolved without its own consent. It passed laws 
 against illegal taxation, and condemned the decision the judges had 
 given in the case of Hampden and stiip-money. The chief leaders in 
 Parliament of those opposed to the king were Pym and Hampden ; 
 but a party arose that thought the king was being harshly treated, 
 and that Parliament was exceeding its rightful authority. Pym 
 and his followers wanted to take the command of the army and 
 navy, and the appointment of great officers in the State, out of 
 the king's hands, as they could 110 longer trust him. These 
 demands caused a great many to go over to the king's side, and 
 such moderate men as Lord Falkland and Edward Hyde became 
 leaders of a party which wished to keep the king from acts of 
 tyranny, and yet leave him his ordinary power and authority. 
 Thus we see that now there were two parties in Parliament, and as 
 time passed the feeling between them became very bitter. This 
 feeling was increased by terrible news from Ireland. When Straf- 
 ford returned to England, he left no one behind strong enough 
 to keep peace, and to prevent the English and Irish from flying 
 at each other's throats. A dreadful massacre took place in 1641, 
 in which the English settlers, being few in number suffered most. 
 The Irish leaders said that they were acting, under Charles' 
 authority. This was not true, but many people believed it. 
 This they did the more readily because Charles was very cool 
 and unconcerned when the news of the rising and massacre 
 reached him. 
 
 Pym and Hampden, seeing what a strong following Charles had 
 in Parliament, determined to rouse the nation by bringing in a 
 bill called the "Grand Remonstrance," in which all the king's
 
 98 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 misrule was recited, and a demand made for parliamentary control 
 of appointments. An excited debate followed and lasted all day, 
 after which, by the small majority of eleven, the " Grand Remon- 
 strance " was passed. 
 
 12. Attempt to Seize the Five Members. Charles was very 
 angry when he heard of what had been done, and urged, it is said, 
 by the queen, went down to Westminster with a company of 
 Guards and armed gentlemen, to seize five of the leading members 
 of the Commons Pym, Hampden, Hollis, Haselrig, and Strode. 
 Fortunately, the news of his coming was brought to Parliament, 
 and when he entered the House he saw that the men he wanted had 
 escaped. They had taken refuge in the City of London, where 
 they were protected by armed train-bands and apprentice boys. 
 The next week they returned to their seats in triumph, escorted 
 by the citizens, who were strongly on the side of Parliament, and 
 against the king, as Charles, some tune before, had fined the 
 city heavily because its people had built outside the limits allowed 
 by law. 
 
 13. Civil War Begins. And now it was clear that war was nigh 
 at hand. Charles left London, and the queen went to Holland to 
 collect arms, and raise money, taking the crown jewels with her for 
 that purpose. In August, 1642, the king raised his standard 
 at Nottingham, and called upon his friends to rally around it. 
 He sent some men to seize the arms and ammunition in Hull, but 
 Pym had given instructions to the governor of that city to close the 
 gates, and so Parliament was able to begin the struggle with a 
 supply of war material ready to hand. 
 
 The king was supported by most of the nobles, gentry, and 
 clergy, while Parliament had the great mass of the middle classes, 
 the small farmers, merchants, and artisans on its side. The north 
 and west were with the king, and the east and south with Parlia- 
 ment. The King's followers were called "Cavaliers," because 
 many of them were skilled horsemen and accustomed to arms. 
 They wore their hair long, whereas the Puritans who fought in the 
 Parliamentary army had theirs cropped close to the head, and 
 so were called "Roundheads." The king had the best soldiers, 
 but Parliament had the most money and the great advantage of 
 having the rich city of London at its back. During the strife
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 99 
 
 (here were two Parliaments : the king's at Oxford, to which most 
 of the peers went, and the Long Parliament at Westminster, com- 
 posed of a majority of the Commons. 
 
 The early battles were favourable to the king ; partly because his 
 troops under his dashing nephew, Prince Rupert, were good horse- 
 men and used to arms ; and partly because the Parliamentary 
 general, Earl Essex, was afraid to push the king too far. Two 
 little skirmishes in 1642, at Powick Bridge and Edgehill, were 
 somewhat against Parliament, and Charles' /forces for a time 
 threatened London. . -\ js&^&\^/ 
 
 . Principal Events of the Wax. The war was carried on in 
 many quarters at the same time. The king was very successful in 
 Cornwall and Devon ; and Fairfax, the parliamentary general in the 
 north, was hard pressed by the royalists. In a skirmish at Chal- 
 grove Field, 1643, Hampden was killed, and in the same year, in a 
 battle at Newbury, Lord Falkland fell, crying, "Peace, peace." 
 Town after town passed into the hands of the king, and great fear 
 was felt for London itself. Pym now sent Sir Henry Vane to 
 Scotland, and by agreeing to accept Presbyterianism as the form of 
 church government in England, obtained the aid of a Scotch army. 
 The " Solemn League and Covenant," as this bargain was called, 
 had scarcely been signed when Pym died. 
 
 And now appeared on the scene one of the greatest men Eng- 
 land ever had. Oliver Cromwell, a stern, brave, Puritan gentleman- 
 farmer of Huntingdonshire, had been for some time in Parliament 
 and had watched the growing evils in the government of the 
 country. When the war broke out he formed a regiment of horse 
 which became known as ' ' Cromwell's Ironsides, " on account of the 
 severe drill through which it passed. They were not common 
 soldiers, but gentlemen farmers and sturdy yeomen who fought 
 for their religion and freedom, and not for pay. Cromwell saw 
 that the only way to fight the king was to match his cavaliers with 
 strong men who knew what they were fighting for, and loved the 
 cause of religion and freedom. It was not long before Cromwell 
 had a chance to show what his "Ironsides" could do. For in 
 1644, at Marston Moor, in Yorkshire, Fairfax, aided by the Scots 
 and Cromwell, met and scattered the king's troops under Prince 
 Rupert. This was the first great battle of the war, and Cromwell
 
 100 
 
 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 proved that his "Ironsides" were more than a match for Rupert's 
 cavalry. 
 
 Cromwell now pressed to have the army reorganized, and suc- 
 ceeded in getting Parliament to pass a " Self -Deny ing Ordinance," 
 by which members of Parliament were not allowed to command in 
 
 BATTLE -Ficuoa 
 
 of the 
 CIVIL WAR. 
 
 SCOT LA 
 
 Philiphau 
 
 1645 
 
 E N G L 1 S H C H AN N E L 
 
 the army. Fairfax was made coinmander-in-chief, and by special 
 permission Cromwell was allowed to remain with him. Strict 
 discipline was now enforced in the army, and the " New Model," as 
 it was called, in a short time, proved how wise was Cromwell's 
 advice and leadership by utterly defeating the king in a decisive
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 101 
 
 battle at Naseby in Northamptonshire. This battle really ended 
 the war, for Charles now fled to Wales, and thence to the Scotch 
 army at Newark, where he hoped to be kindly treated. Parliament 
 would have allowed the king to come back had he been willing to 
 surrender the command of the army for twenty years, and to 
 accept Presbyterianism as the form of religion in England. But 
 Charles would not consent, so the Scotch gave him up to Parlia- 
 ment in return for the payment of 400,000 due them as 
 
 15. Trial and Execution of Charles I. When Charles came 
 back he was well treated, and might have been restored to the 
 throne had he acted with sincerity towards Parliament and the 
 army. He thought that they could not get along without him, and 
 hoped by taking advantage of the quarrels between the officers and 
 Parliament to recover all his lost authority. In consequence of one 
 of these quarrels, the army seized the king, and offered to put 
 him back on the throne, on much more reasonable terms than had 
 been offered by Parliament. Charles pretended to treat with the 
 officers, but at the same time was stirring up another civil war, 
 hoping through the aid of the Scotch and Irish, to be able to make 
 his own terms. Suddenly he escaped from the army and made his 
 way to the Isle of Wight, where he was captured and imprisoned. 
 Several risings took place in his favor, but they were soon crushed. 
 Then the army sternly resolved that it would bring " Charles 
 Stuart, that man of blood" to account for all the misery he had 
 brought on the land. Parliament was purged of the members 
 who would not consent to bring the king to trial ; and then a tri- 
 bunal of sixty-three men was formed, with Bradshaw a famous 
 lawyer at its head, to solemnly impeach the king. Before this 
 stern court, Charles was brought, and called to answer to charges of 
 treason and murder. In these last trying moments Charles main- 
 tained all the dignity of a king, and refused to defend himself before 
 judges having no legal authority. Nevertheless the trial went on, 
 and having heard the evidence, the court condemned the king to die. 
 Nine days later, on a scaffold outside a window of Whitehall Palace. 
 Charles Stuart, calmly and bravely laid his head on the fatal block, 
 Jan. 30, 1649.
 
 102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 1. England becomes a Republic. England was now without a 
 king, and, as the House of Lords was soon after abolished, the only 
 authority left to govern was a part of the Long Parliament, com- 
 posed of not more then eighty men. This "Rump Parliament," 
 as it was coarsely called, promptly undertook the task of ruling, 
 and elected a council of State of forty members, to manage the 
 affairs of the nation. England was declared a "Commonwealth," 
 and Parliament set to work to meet the dangers that threatened 
 the young Republic. At foreign courts the execution of Charles 
 was looked upon as a terrible crime. None of the European 
 nations would recognize the "Commonwealth" and its council of 
 State, for they thought Charles Stuart, Charles I's eldest son, 
 was the rightful ruler of England. There was also much discon- 
 tent at home, for many, now that the king was dead, began to 
 look upon him as a martyr. This feeling was increased by the 
 publication of a book, the "Royal Image," which professed to be 
 an account by the king himself of his sayings and doings while a 
 prisoner. It painted Charles in very flattering colours, and made 
 him appear little less than a saint. The book was a forgery by a Pres- 
 byterian clergyman, Dr. Gauden ; nevertheless it had a large sale, 
 and made many regret that the king had been treated so harshly. 
 In Ireland, too, there was danger to the Commonwealth. There the 
 Duke of Ormond had united all classes of the population in favor 
 of Charles II., who was invited to go to Ireland and become king. 
 Prince Rupert was in the channel preying on English commerce 
 with a number of ships which had taken refuge in Dutch harbours. 
 Scotland was growing daily more discontented and was begin- 
 ning to look for the restoration of Charles II. All the Scotch 
 waited for was Charles' assent to the Covenant, after which they 
 were ready to make him their king, and to aid him in recovering 
 the English throne. 
 
 2. Cromwell in Ireland. The most pressing danger was in 
 Ireland, and to that unhappy land an English army was sent in 
 1649, with Cromwell as leader. Time was precious, and much
 
 THE COMMONWEALTH. 103 
 
 had to be done before Cromwell could restore peace and English 
 supremacy in the island. He and his men thought the Irish de- 
 served little mercy on account of the massacre of 1641. The work 
 of re-conquest began with the siege of Drogheda, and Cromwell 
 ordered that no one bearing arms should be spared. The city 
 was taken by storm and 2000 men were put to the sword ; while 
 of those who surrendered, every tenth man was knocked on 
 the head, the rest being sent as slaves to the Barbadoes. A month 
 later a similar massacre took place at Wexford, though not by 
 Cromwell's orders. The effect of this terrible severity was soon 
 seen, the other towns offering but little opposition to Cromwell's 
 army. After nine months spent in Ireland Cromwell returned to 
 England, leaving the task of completing the conquest to others. 
 Sad was the fate of the poor Irish who had taken part in the strife. 
 Many were put to death or exiled, and thousands were turned out 
 of their homes and banished to the dreary wilds of Connaught, 
 their lands being given to English settlers. The bitterest curse an 
 Irishman can use to-day is the " Curse of Cromwell." 
 
 3. Cromwell in Scotland. While Cromwell was thus subduing 
 the enemies of the Commonwealth in Ireland, in England its affairs 
 were being managed by men like Vane, who was at the head of the 
 navy, with Admiral Blake as his chief officer. John Milton, the 
 great Puritan poet, was Latin Secretary of the Council, and Brad- 
 shaw was its president. These were able and honest men ; but 
 many of the members of Parliament and the Council were selfish 
 and corrupt, and used their positions to put their friends into fat 
 offices, and to satisfy their own ambition and greed. They were 
 unwilling to have a Parliament elected that represented the people, 
 and were suspicious and jealous of the army and of all who had the 
 interests of the country at heart. But any discontent with Parlia- 
 ment had to be put aside until a new danger which had arisen was 
 removed. For Charles II. had agreed to become a Presbyterian, 
 and to uphold the Covenant, and the Scotch had recalled him as 
 their king. It would not do to allow Charles to march into 
 England with a Scotch army, so Cromwell marched north with an 
 English army into Scotland. The people fled at his approach, 
 having heard of his doings in Ireland, and Cromwell found himself, 
 when near Edinburgh, hemmed in between the hills and the sea
 
 104 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 with no supplies for his army, save what could be brought from his 
 ships which followed along the coast. When he reached Dunbar, 
 it seemed as if he would have to put his men on board his ships 
 and return, for David Leslie, the crafty Scotch general, had en- 
 trenched himself in the Lammermuir Hills, and cut off Cromwell's 
 escape by land. Leslie for several days refused to come down 
 from the hills and fight, preferring to starve his enemy out. At 
 last, overborne by the urgent demands of some Presbyterian minis- 
 ters in his camp, he left his vantage ground and moved down into 
 the plain to give Cromwell battle. Cromwell was delighted, and 
 early the following morning, September 3rd, 1650, before the Scotch 
 were well awake, he flung himself on the Covenanters with the cry, 
 "The Lord of Hosts, the Lord ol Hosts." In one short hour the 
 victory was won ; 3,000 men were killed, 10,000 were taken prison- 
 ers, and Leslie's army was a thing of the past. The war lingered for 
 another year, for Charles had found support in the north, and 
 Cromwell found it difficult to bring him to a decisive conflict. 
 Finally, he left the way open into England, and at once Charle s 
 began to march southwards, hoping the Royalists would rise in his 
 favour. But though Charles had many friends in England, they 
 were afraid to give him any help, and so, when he reached Worcester, 
 he found himself surrounded by 30,000 men, with only 16,000 at his 
 back. Cromwell had pursued and overtaken him, and once more 
 the terrible Puritan army dealt out death and destruction to their 
 enemies. The battle was fought on the anniversary of that of 
 Dunbar, and Charles' troops, after a desperate defence, were 
 totally defeated. It was, as Cromwell said, "a crowning mercy," 
 for no more risings against the Commonwealth took place as long 
 as Cromwell lived. With great difficulty, Charles escaped to 
 France, in a little collier vessel. 
 
 4. The Dutch War. Foreign nations now saw that the Com- 
 monwealth could hold its own against its enemies, and began to 
 treat it with respect. Blake had driven Rupert from the seas, and 
 Sir Harry Vane determined to build up the English navy at the 
 expense of the Dutch, who had aided Charles. So, in 1651, a 
 "Navigation Act" was passed which forbade foreign vessels from 
 bringing into England any goods other than the products of their 
 own country. This Act was aimed at the Dutch who did a large
 
 THE COMMONWEALTH. 105 
 
 Carrying trade for other nations. So much ill-feeling was created 
 by this measure that a war broke out, in which Van Tromp for 
 the Dutch, and Blake for the English, fought several fierce naval 
 battles. Van Tromp was killed in 1653, and the supremacy of the 
 seas passed over to England, where it has remained ever since. 
 
 5. Expulsion of the Long Parliament. One object of the 
 Dutch war was to make the fleet strong at the expense of the army. 
 The army was dissatisfied with Parliament, partly because it had 
 not been paid, but, chiefly because its officers saw that the mem- 
 bers were unwilling to have parliament dissolved and a new one, 
 representing the people, elected. When it was clear that Parlia- 
 ment was not going to allow a new election except on terms that 
 would give the old members the right to say who should sit with 
 them, Cromwell decided to take prompt measures. Marching down 
 to Westminster with a regiment of musketeers, he turned the mem- 
 bers out, locked the doors, and put the key in his pocket. "Not a 
 dog barked," as Cromwell said afterwards, at this daring deed ; and 
 the nation felt that what Cromwell had done was necessary and 
 right. 
 
 6. Instrument of Government. And now England had neither 
 king nor parliament, and order had to be maintained by Cromwell 
 and his army, until some form of government could be agreed 
 upon. An assembly, chosen by the congregations of the Inde- 
 pendents, was convened at Westminister by Cromwell, and it pro- 
 ceeded to arrange for a real Parliament. This assembly got the 
 nick-name of "Barebone's Parliament" from Praise-God Barebones, 
 one of its members. Its members were honest, zealous men, who 
 tried to do much in the way of removing long standing evils, and 
 so made many enemies. Finding that it could not carry out its 
 good intentions, Barebone's Parliament resigned its power into 
 the hands of Cromwell. Before doing so, however, it drew up a 
 new Constitution called the "Instrument of Government," and 
 made Cromwell Lord Protector. For the next ten months Crom- 
 well ruled alone, and on his own authority made many good laws. 
 He ended the war with Holland, and made treaties, favourable 
 to English trade, with other countries. He was tolerant to all 
 religious bodies, although he would not let the royalist clergy 
 preach in the churches, nor allow the Book of Common 
 Prayer to be used. He united Scotland to England, and the
 
 106 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 Scotch said that his eight years of rule were " years of peace and 
 prosperity." 
 
 In 1654 a new Parliament was elected, with members in it 
 from Scotland and Ireland, and so was the first united Parliament 
 of Great Britain and Ireland. This Parliament was chosen more 
 fairly than most Parliaments, but Roman Catholics and royalists 
 were shut out. It at once began to settle the affairs of the nation, 
 and to muke Cromwell's laws legal. Had it been left to carry out 
 its will, England might have been spared many troubles ; but 
 Cromwell began to fear it would interfere with his authority, and. 
 unwisely, dissolved it. 
 
 7. Cromwell Kules Alone. Cromwell now ruled for a time 
 without a Parliament, and though this rule was a tyranny, yet it 
 was a wise and merciful tyranny. He knew many were discon- 
 tented, and, to prevent risings, he divided England into military 
 districts, over which he placed major-generals who were responsible 
 for their order and good government. Cromwell would allow no 
 persecution, and even the Quaker and the Jew found in him a 
 protector and friend. It was at this time the Jews were allowed 
 to return to England. 
 
 : ' 
 
 8. Petition and Advice. 1 Although Cromwell ruled by force, 
 he did not wish to be a mere tyrant. He longed to see England 
 once more contented and well governed ; but he feared the royalists 
 would take advantage of the quarrels in Parliament to bring about 
 a restoration of the Stuarts. Nevertheless, he called a second 
 Parliament, in 16.~i6, but excluded all who had not a certificate 
 from his Council. This Parliament offered to make Cromwell king, 
 and Cromwell would have taken the title had not the army been so 
 strongly opposed. Cromwell contented himself with the power of 
 a king, which was given by a new Constitution, the " Petition and 
 Advice," drawn up by Parliament. This Constitution provided for 
 a House of Lords to be named by Cromwell, and Cromwell was 
 given the right to choose his successor. For a short time there 
 was peace, and then it was found that the Commons would not 
 work with the Lords, and the republicans in the Parliament began 
 to plot against Cromwell himself. Once more he dissolved Parlia- 
 ment, and for the rest of his life ruled alone, although he was 
 planning to call a third Parliament when death came to him.
 
 
 THE COMMONWEALTH. 107 
 
 Never, except in the time of Elizabeth, had England been so 
 respected abroad as in these years. Jamaica was taken from 
 Spain, 1655, and France gave up Dunkirk as the price of Crom- 
 well's aid against Spain. The Duke of Savoy, at Cromwell's com- 
 mand, was forced to cease persecuting the Vaudois, and in him 
 oppressed Protestants everywhere found a powerful protector. 
 
 9. State of the Country. But peace and power, while it 
 brought prosperity, did not bring content. The Puritan rule was 
 hard, cold, and joyless. Innocent, as well as harmful, amuse- 
 ments were suppressed. Cock-fighting and bear-baiting, to the 
 Puritans, were no worse than dancing round the Maypole, and 
 eating mince pies. Theatres were closed, and Christmas revels 
 were forbidden. The Puritans tried to make everybody religious, 
 earnest, and sober. This they could not do, and people began to 
 long for the return of the good old days, and some began to wish for 
 the death of Cromwell. Plots were formed to kill him, and in his 
 latter days he wore armour constantly under his clothing. 
 
 10. Death of Cromwell. But the end was near. Cromwell's 
 health suffered much from his fear of assassination, and from his 
 anxiety about the future of the nation. Then his favourite 
 daughter, Elizabeth, died, and this broke the strong man's heart. 
 Ague seized him, and although prayers went up everywhere for his 
 recovery, he passed away on the anniversary of his great victories 
 at Dunbar and Worcester, Sept. 3rd, 1658. He was buried with 
 royal honors in Westminster Abbey, and no greater ruler was there 
 laid to rest than the " uncrowned King of England." 
 
 11. Restoration of Charles II. So great was the fear of Crom- 
 well, even in death, that his eldest son, Richard, was allowed to 
 succeed him as quietly as if he had been the rightful heir to a crown. 
 Richard was a weak, good-natured, worthless man, and soon lost 
 the respect of the army, which forced him to dissolve the Parlia- 
 ment which had just been elected, and to recall the fragment of the 
 Long Parliament that Cromwell had driven out. But, as the 
 Long Parliament could not agree with the army, it was again ex- 
 pelled. In the meantime, Richard, after holding office ten months, 
 had to resign the Protectorship, and he gladly retired into private 
 life. It was evident that England was drifting into anarchy, and
 
 108 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 that something must be done to save her from strife and civil war. 
 General Monk, who commanded an army in Scotland, saw what 
 was taking place and marched down into England. He kept his 
 own counsel, and everywhere he went proclaimed his loyalty to 
 the Commonwealth, but demanded a "free Parliament." General 
 Lambert tried to stop his march but failed, and Monk entered 
 London. The Rump now dissolved itself, and a Convention Parlia- 
 ment (one called without a king's writ), met, which immediately 
 sent for Charles II. to come and rule. Monk had prepared every- 
 thing, and Charles was waiting for the invitation. H had issued 
 a proclamation from Breda promising religious freedom and a 
 general pardon ; but he was allowed to return without any pledges 
 for his future good conduct. 
 
 On the 25th May, 1600, he landed, and on the 29th he entered 
 London amid the rejoicings of a great multitude. Cromwell's 
 veterans looked on with sad hearts, remembering the cause for 
 which they suffered so much, and then, a few months later, went 
 quietly back to their farms and shops. 
 
 CHAPTER XVHI. 
 
 THE RESTORATION. 
 
 1. Charles II. The English people were glad to have kingship 
 restored, for they were tired of the hard, stern rule of the Puritans. 
 Charles II. was also glad to get back to England, where he could 
 get money to spend on his wicked pleasures. When on "his 
 travels," as he humorously called his exile, his life had been full 
 of hardship, for he was driven from court to court, and had to 
 depend for support on his devoted adherents in England. Now 
 when he came back, it was with the resolve never to leave England 
 again. He loved pleasure above all things, and surrounded himself 
 with a court that for open profligacy has no equal in English 
 history. Beautiful and abandoned women were his chosen com- 
 panions, and to gratify their whims and tastes the public money was 
 lavishly spent. Charles was a shrewd, witty, talkative, easy-going
 
 THE RESTORATION. 
 
 109 
 
 man, who cared little for Church or State, so long as he had his own 
 way, and meddlesome people did not pry into how he squandered 
 his subjects' money. His policy was to keep on the throne at all 
 hazards, and never to allow public feeling to run so high as to im- 
 peril his position. Yet like all the Stuarts he loved power, and by 
 occasionally yielding to great waves of popular indignation, he 
 managed to do much as he pleased in spite of the efforts made to 
 keep him in check. In religion, he professed to belong to the 
 English Church, but he was secretly, if anything, a Roman Catholic, 
 and used his position to favour that cause. 
 
 2. Clarendon's Adminstration. Charles' first chief adviser was 
 Edward Hyde, Lord Clarendon, a faithful follower who had been 
 his tutor and companion in exile. He was a moderate royalist, and 
 strongly attached to the Church. The Parliament that recalled 
 Charles had in it many Presbyterians and moderate royalists, and 
 was not disposed to go to extremes. It contented itself with 
 putting to death thirteen of the men who had taken part in the 
 execution of Charles 1., and with taking from their graves in 
 Westminster Abbey the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton and Bradshaw, 
 and hanging them in chains. It then passed an Act of Indemnity, 
 pardoning all offenders except Vane and Lambert. The king had 
 promised Vane his life, but afterwards had him executed, coolly 
 remarking that he was too dangerous to be allowed to live. The 
 king's income was fixed for life at 1,200,000 a year, and he agreed 
 to give up certain feudal rights which were vexatious to the land- 
 owners. The army was disbanded, but Charles, to make sure of his 
 safety, kept 5000 men in his pay, and this was the beginning of a 
 standing army in England. Then the Convention Parliament was 
 dissolved, and a regular Parliament elected. 
 
 The new Parliament was composed mainly of Cavaliers, whose 
 loyalty was so great that even the king found it troublesome. It 
 was eager to avenge Charles I's. death, and many that were spared 
 by the Convention Parliament were now punished. 
 
 3. State of the Nation. A period of revelry and wickedness 
 now began at the court and among those who were brought into 
 contact with it. Theatres were again opened, and the most licen- 
 tious plays were acted in the presence of the king and his friends, 
 who applauded and rewarded the playwriters and actors. The old
 
 110 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 amusements of the people were restored, and once more the village 
 green was the scene of mirth and jollity. It seemed as if Puritan- 
 ism was dead, so great was the change from the days of Cromwell. 
 Nevertheless, the sober middle class of England was still Puritan, 
 and the earnestness and strong sense of duty which marked 
 Puritan teaching left a lasting impression on the English people. 
 Meanwhile many improvements had been introduced during the 
 preceding fifty years. In James I's. reign, the post office for 
 foreign letters had been established ; silk-weaving had been en- 
 couraged; low-lying lands had been drained; and improvements 
 had been made in agriculture. A little later, stage-coaches began 
 to run between the chief towns, and letters were carried more 
 frequently from place to place. The north of England was thinly 
 inhabited, and highwaymen levied toll at pleasure from travellers 
 over the lonely moors. Even judges had to be protected while 
 going on circuit. 
 
 4. Religious Persecution. And now the Puritans and Presby- 
 terians were to find out how much truth there was in Charles' 
 promise of religious freedom. In Scotland, where Charles had 
 signed the Covenant, bishops were forced upon the people, and 
 the Covenanters were fiercely persecuted and hunted down. The 
 Cavalier Parliament was resolved that no form of religious worship 
 should be allowed except that of the English Church in the time of 
 Laud ; so it passed, in 1661, a "Corporation Act " which compelled 
 all officials in the towns and cities to take an oath of non-resistance 
 to the king, and to receive the sacrament in the English Church. 
 The next year, 1662, an "Act of Uniformity" was passed, which 
 allowed no minister to preach or act as pastor unless he was 
 ordained by a bishop, and used the Prayer-Book. So, on St. Bar- 
 tholomew's Day, Aug. 24th, 1662, nearly 2,000 of the Puritan and 
 Presbyterian clergy then in the English Church gave up their 
 livings rather than comply with these conditions. They formed 
 congregations of their own, which became known as "Dissenters," 
 the name yet given to all Protestants in England who do not be- 
 long to the English Church. 
 
 Not content with these cruel laws, a Conventicle Act" was 
 passed in 1664, forbidding the Dissenters from worshipping in 
 chapels or conventicles ; and in 1665, the " Five Mile Act" forbade 
 their ministers from preaching or teaching within five miles of any
 
 THE RESTORATION. Ill 
 
 town or village. This was done because most of the Dissenters 
 lived in the towns and villages. Soon the prisons were filled with 
 men who refused to stop preaching and ministering to their flocks. 
 Among others who thus suffered was John Bunyan, the famous 
 author of "Pilgrim's Progress." Bunyan spent twelve years in 
 Bedford jail, earning a living for himself and family by making 
 metal tags for laces, and employing his spare moments in writing 
 books. It was in this reign, when old, poor, and blind, that John 
 Milton, the great Puritan poet, wrote his " Paradise Lost." 
 Bunyan and Milton are among the greatest writers of the 17th 
 century, and both truly represent the best types of Puritanism. 
 The fierce persecution of this time drove many to America, and 
 among other colonies founded was that by William Penn, the 
 Quaker, who bought from the Indians the right to settle in 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 5, Dutch War. At the beginning of his reign Charles married 
 Katharine of Portugal, and received as her dowry Bombay in India, 
 and the fortress of Tangier in Morocco. This marriage displeased 
 the English, as the queen was a Roman Catholic. In another way 
 Charles angered his people : he sold the fortress of Dunkirk, which 
 Cromwell had gained, to Louis XIV of France for money to spend 
 on his low pleasures. 
 
 Not long after this, in 1665, a war broke out between England 
 and Holland. These two nations were keen rivals for the supre- 
 macy of the sea, and Charles disliked the Dutch because they had 
 dri /en him from their capital when h was in exile. One dispute 
 led to another, until the vessels of the two nations came into con- 
 flict. A battle was fought off" Lowestoft in Suffolk, in which the 
 English won a victory ; but they gained little by it, for the victory 
 was not followed up by the Admiral, the Duke of York. The fleet 
 was not kept in good condition for war ; much of the money voted 
 by Parliament being spent by Charles on unworthy favourites. 
 
 6. The Plague and the Fire of London. And now a terrible 
 calamity came upon London. The summer of 1665 was very hot, 
 and the streets of London were very narrow and filthy. So when 
 the plague travelled from the East to England, it found in London 
 plenty of material on which to work. It broke out in May and 
 raged till winter, during which time more than 100,000 people
 
 112 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 died. Every person that could get away fled from London in terror. 
 leaving but few to care for the sick and dying. To add to her mis- 
 fortunes, a great fire broke out in London the following year, 1666, 
 in which over 13,000 houses and public buildings were destroyed, 
 among others St. Paul's Cathedral. The fire was a blessing in 
 disguise, for it burnt down many old wooden houses, and helped to 
 clear away the remains of the plague. After this better houses 
 were built, the streets were made wider, and purer water was 
 brought into the city. 
 
 Meanwhile the Dutch war went on. Charles neglected his fleet 
 and spent the public money on his court, and when Clarendon 
 asked for a grant to carry on the war, Parliament insisted on know- 
 ing what had become of former grants. Charles now thought it 
 best to make peace with the Dutch, but while arranging the terms 
 the Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway and burnt three men-of-war. 
 This was looked upon as a national disgrace, and Clarendon became 
 so unpopular that he had to leave the country. 
 
 . The Cabal. Charles now took for his chief advisers five men, 
 the initials of whose names made the word " cabal." These were 
 Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale, and 
 as their intrigues and base actions made them hateful to the 
 people, the word "cabal" has ever since had a bad meaning. 
 They were made the tools of the king, and many of their mis- 
 deeds were due to the secret intrigues of Charles with Louis 
 XIV. of France. Louis fra.s the most powerful king in Eu- 
 rope, and he had cast covetous eyes on the Netherlands which 
 belonged to Spain. He wanted Charles to help him to get this rich 
 territory, and to prevent England and Holland from interfering 
 with his plans. Holland became alarmed at Louis' encroachments, 
 and succeeded in 1668 in getting England and Sweden to join her 
 in a " Triple Alliance," which for the time forced Louis to keep the 
 peace. And now a most shameful thing was done by the king. 
 Charles, in spite of the "Triple Alliance" treaty, made a secret 
 treaty with Louis at Dover, in 1670, by which he agreed to help 
 Louis against Holland and to declare himself a Roman Catholic, 
 in return for a large pension from Louis and the aid of French 
 troops in case the English people should rebel Clifford and 
 Arlington, who were secretly Roman Catholics, knew of this
 
 THE RESTORATION. 113 
 
 treaty ; but the other members of the Cabal were kept in ignor- 
 ance. Then followed another disgraceful act. The goldsmiths 
 and bankers of London had lent the king about 1,300,000, ex- 
 pecting to be repaid out of the revenue. Charles now refused 
 to pay back this money, and so brought ruin on the lenders, who 
 had borrowed the money from others. This money was not repaid 
 till William III. came to the throne. 
 
 8. Declaration of Indulgence and the Test Act. To carry 
 out part of his agreement with Louis, Charles, in 1672, declared 
 war with Holland, and issued a " Declaration of Indulgence," 
 which allowed all Dissenters and Roman Catholics to worship as 
 they pleased, and released from prison thousands of the victims of 
 religious persecution. Bunyan was released at this time from his 
 long imprisonment in Bedford jail. The war with Holland was 
 not successful, for William of Orange, the brave young leader of 
 the Dutch, opened the dykes of his native land, and let in the 
 water from the sea. In this way he succeeded in forcing his 
 enemies to retire. 
 
 Charles now had to summon his Parliament to get more money. 
 The Commons were very angry that Charles should suspend the 
 laws against Dissenters and Roman Catholics, and they forced him 
 to withdraw his ' ' Declaration of Indulgence, " and to give his assent 
 to a " Test Act" which compelled every man holding office to take 
 an oath against transubstantiation, and to receive the sacrament 
 according to the rites of the English Church. The Duke of York 
 avowed himself a Roman Catholic, and had to give up his com- 
 mand of the fleet. Clifford and Arlington, also, had to leave 
 the king's service. Ashley, now Earl of Shaftesbury, became the 
 leader of the " country party " in Parliament, and sought to compel 
 the king to give religious freedom to the Protestant Dissenters, 
 but not to Roman Catholics. 
 
 9, Danby Administration. Charles now thought it prudent to 
 please the Church party, and therefore chose the Earl of Danby as 
 his minister. He made peace with Holland, and allowed Danby to 
 arrange, much against Louis XIVs wishes, a marriage between 
 Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, and William of Orange, 
 her cousin. This pleased the people, for as Charles had no legit- 
 imate children, and James had no son, it was expected that Mary,
 
 114 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 who was a Protestant, would become Queen of England. Never 
 theless, Charles continued to intrigue with Louis, and made the 
 marriage a means of getting a larger grant from the French king. 
 He even persuaded Danby to write to Louis a letter asking for 
 money, and promising to prevent his Parliament from going to war 
 with France. 
 
 10. The " Popish Plot," 1678. Although these intrigues were 
 kept secret, the people became uneasy and felt they were betrayed. 
 While they were in this humour, a low scoundrel, called Titus 
 Gates, who had been a Jesuit but had left that body, came for- 
 ward with a strange tale. He said there was a plot to kill Charles 
 and make the Duke of York king. . Gates told his story to Sir 
 Edmund Bury Godfrey, a London magistrate, and soon afterwards 
 Godfrey was found dead in a ditch. How he came to his death no 
 one ever knew ; but people said that he was killed by the Roman 
 Catholics to prevent the "Popish Plot" from coming out. This 
 caused great excitement, which was increased by the discovery of 
 some papers belonging to Coleman, the secretary of the Duchess of 
 York, in which references were made to some hope of the Roman 
 Catholics. Parliament, in its alarm, passed an act preventing 
 Roman Catholics from becoming members ; and Gates, Bedloe, and 
 other perjured witnesses swore away the lives of many innocent 
 victims. Judges and juries believed the most ridiculous tales of 
 plots, and condemned the accused on the most trivial and contra- 
 dictory evidence. The most illustrious victim was Lord Stafford, 
 who perished in 1681. Charles did not believe these tales, but 
 laughed at the whole matter, and allowed the popular frenzy to 
 spend itself in putting to death men of his own creed. Shaftesbury 
 helped the plot along for his own ends, and when, in 1679, Danby's 
 letter to Louis XIV., asking for a pension for Charles, was laid on 
 the table of the House of Commons, he had his revenge. Danby 
 was impeached and driven from office, Parliament was dissolved for 
 the first time in seventeen years, and Shaftesbury became chiei 
 minister. 
 
 11. Exclusion Bill. Amidst this excitement A new Parliament 
 was elected in 1679. Under Shaftesbury's leadership it brought in 
 a bill to exclude James, Duke of York, from the throne. But 
 Charles, to save James, dissolved Parliament, not, however, before
 
 THE RESTORATION. 115 
 
 if had passed the famous "Habeas Corpus Act." This act, next in 
 importance to Magna Charta, prevents people from being arrested 
 without a proper warrant, and compels gaolers to show on what 
 authority a person is detained in prison. Prisoners must be 
 brought to trial within a reasonable time, and if their offences are 
 bailable, they must be allowed their freedom. 
 
 Parliament met again in 1679, more determined than ever to 
 exclude James from the throne. An "Exclusion Bill" was passed 
 in the Commons, but thrown out of the House of Lords through the 
 influence of Lord Halifax. Shaftesbury had made the great mistake 
 of selecting the Duke of Monmouth, a natural son of Charles, as 
 the king's successor. Monmouth was popular, but honest people 
 thought it a shameful thing to exclude from the throne, Mary, 
 Princess of Orange, for an illegitimate son of the king. Then 
 began a great struggle, in which for the first time Charles stood 
 firm against his Parliament. He refused to abandon James, 
 although it looked, at times, as if there would be another civil war. 
 
 Men now divided into two great parties; one in favor of the 
 exclusion of James, and the other opposed to it. The first became 
 known as "Whigs," and the second as "Tories." Whig means 
 whey or sour milk, and was a name given to some rebels in Ayrshire 
 in Scotland. Tory means a bog-robber, and was the name applied to 
 some outlaws in Ireland. These names, at first given in hatred and 
 contempt, for a long time were used to denote the two great political 
 parties in England ; the one supposed to favour the People, the other 
 the Crown. At last, Charles called a Parliament at Oxford, in 
 1681, and many of the Whigs went to it armed. This created 
 alarm, and people began to ask if there was to be another civil war. 
 Charles offered to make the Princess of Orange regent after his 
 death, and this seemed so reasonable that many went over to the 
 side of Charles and James. He now dissolved Parliament, and 
 it met no more in his reign. 
 
 12. Rye-House Plot. From this time onward Charles did much 
 as he pleased. Shaftesbury was charged with treason, but the 
 Grand Jury of Middlesex would not bring in a bill against him. 
 Then Charles took away the charter of London, and appointed the 
 Lord Mayor and sheriffs himself. Shaftesbury knew that the 
 king's sheriffs would pack the jury against him, and he fled from
 
 116 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the country. After he had gone a number of his friends formed a 
 plot in favour of Monmouth ; but, while they were arranging their 
 plans, a band of desperate men formed another plot to murder the 
 king and the Duke of York at the Rye House, a lonely spot in 
 Hertfordshire. This latter plot was discovered, and the crown 
 lawyers tried to make it appear that the Whig leaders were con- 
 nected with it. They were innocent, but they knew the judges and 
 juries would be chosen so as to convict them. Monmouth escaped 
 to Holland, Essex killed himself, and Lord Russell and Algernon 
 Sidney were executed. In those days a prisoner was not allowed to 
 have a lawyer to defend him, and so Russell, aided by his devoted 
 wife, who sat beside him at the trial and took notes, conducted his 
 own defence. 
 
 13. Death of Charles H. All opposition to James was now at 
 an end, and he returned to England from Scotland where he had 
 been hunting down and torturing the poor Covenanters. The 
 charters of many towns were taken away, and this put the power of 
 life and death, and the choice of members of parliament into the 
 hands of the officers chosen by the king. Charles was again in 
 the pay of Louis, and besides kept several thousand men as a stand- 
 ing army. The clergy preached the duty of "passive obedience" 
 to the king, and it seemed as if English liberty was near its end. 
 In this hour of her great peril England was saved by the death 
 of Charles, in 1685. When near his end he received the rites of 
 the Roman Catholic Church at the hands of a priest. His last 
 words were an apology for " being so unconscionably long in 
 dying," and a request not to let his favourite mistress, Nell 
 Gwynne, starve. 
 
 So ended the reign of the "merry monarch" who 
 
 "Never said a foolish thing 
 And never did a wise one," 
 
 unless we except the encouragement he gave to science by helping 
 to found the Royal Society of England.
 
 
 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 1. James II. James, Duke of York, now became king. He 
 promised to support the English Church, and people thought that as 
 he had honestly acknowledged he was a Roman Catholic when the 
 Test Act was passed he would be as good as his word. He was known 
 to be stubborn and narrow-minded, but at the same time he was be- 
 lieved to be sincere and well meaning. lt is first Parliament was as 
 loyal as he could wish, for it was elected at a time when the tide of 
 public opinion had turned against [his opponents, and had been 
 chosen under the control of sheriffs appointed by the Crown in the 
 towns and cities from which charters had been taken. 
 
 It was soon seen that James did not intend to support the 
 Established Church, for before he was crowned he went publicly to 
 mass in his own chapel. He told the Bishops they must stop the 
 English Church clergy from preaching against the Roman Catholic 
 religion, and he opened the prison doors to all who were confined 
 for religion's sake. This last act was good in itself, but it was done 
 against the law of the land, and proved that James did not intend 
 the laws. 
 
 [onmouth's Rebellion. When Parliament met it voted the 
 frig an income of two million pounds a year for life. It was 
 'anxious to show James how loyal it was, for a rebellion had just 
 broken out to make Monmouth king. Monmouth and the Duke 
 of Argyle had escaped to Holland toward the close of the reign of 
 Charles II., and were now urged by their friends in England and 
 Scotland to return. They were led to believe that most of the 
 English and Scotch people would gladly join them in driving 
 James from the throne. Finally, Argyle crossed over to Scotland, 
 and a little later Monmouth landed in England. Argyle's clan, the 
 Campbells, rose at his call, but the Covenanters were afraid to 
 rebel, and the rising was soon crushed. Argyle was taken prisoner 
 and executed ; and his followers were cruelly punished, many 
 being sold into slavery in America. 
 
 Monmouth landed at Lyme, in Dorset, and thousands flocked to
 
 118 HISTORY OF ENOLA 
 
 greet the popular and handsome young Duke. He marched to 
 Exeter, and thence to Taunton, where he was received with rejoic- 
 
 /ings by the lower classes. The gentry, nobles, and clergy were 
 against him, for they hoped that when James died he would be suc- 
 ceeded by his daughter Mary, the Princess of Orange. Soon 
 James' troops under Lord Feversham, and Captain Churchill, were 
 moving against the poorly-armed followers of Monmouth. On 
 the night of July 5th, 1685, Monmouth endeavored to surprise 
 the royal troops at Sedgemoor. When he reached their lines he 
 found they were protected by a deep trench, full of water, and 
 although he had some success at first, James' soldiers soon rallied 
 and easily routed his brave peasants and colliers. Two days 
 after Monmouth was found concealed in a ditch, half-starved. 
 He was brought to London, and, although he begged his uncle 
 to spare him, his plea for mercy was not listened to, and he was 
 executed. 
 
 3. The Bloody Assizes. Perhaps nothing gives us a better idea 
 of James' revengeful disposition than the events which followed 
 the Battle of Sedgemoor. Colonel Kirke was left in command of 
 some troops in the neighbourhood of the battle, and he at once 
 began to hang whole batches of prisoners, without troubling himself 
 to find out their share in the rebellion. To add to their miseries, 
 the people of the western counties had Judge Jeffreys sent among 
 them. His mission was to convict as many as possible, and to 
 sentence them to death. In the "Bloody Assizes" which followed, 
 320 people were hanged, and over 800 sold into slavery in the West 
 Indies. This brutal judge browbeat witnesses and juries to secure 
 sentences against the prisoners, and made the unfortunate, and 
 often innocent victims, the butts of his coarse jokes and his savage 
 
 \ insolence. Among those who suffered at his hands was Alice Lisle, 
 
 VI an aged lady, whose only crime was hiding two fugitives from the 
 
 A battle-field, thinking they were persecuted puritan preachers 
 
 \ fleeing from their enemies. Some were spared through their 
 
 > \ friends bribing the judge and the queen's "maids of honor ;" 
 
 \others were given to the courtiers to be sold into slavery. 
 
 4. James violates the Test Act. Jeffreys was rewarded for 
 his infamous conduct with the position of Lord Chancellor ; and 
 James thought it a favourable occasion to increase his standing
 
 THE REVOLUTION. 119 
 
 army, and to put Roman Catholic officers in command. This was 
 against the Test Act; but James cared nothing for the law, and 
 replaced those advisers who found fault with his actions by men 
 like Sunderland and Jeffreys. This made the English people un- 
 easy, and when in October, 1685, Louis XIV. revoked the Edict of 
 Nantes, and took away from his Protestant subjects their right to 
 religious freedom, James' subjects became very much alarmed. 
 Louis' persecution of the Huguenots was a good thing for Eng- 
 land, for many of them found refuge there, and brought with them 
 their skill in silk -weaving and other industries. When Parliament 
 met it complained of the violation of the Test Act, but James, 
 now grown bold, prorogued Parliament, and two years after dis- 
 solved it. This was the last Parliament that met in his reign. In 
 this way he managed to get rid of an unpleasant opposition ; but 
 he could not prevent people from talking about the way the law 
 was being broken to please Roman Catholics. 
 
 After Parliament was dissolved he asked his judges if he had the 
 right to dispense with the Test Act, and when four of them said 
 he had not, he dismissed them from the bench, and appointed 
 others in their stead. He then had a test case brought before the 
 judges, and they decided that James could, if he wished, do away 
 with laws against Roman Catholics. James now felt free to make 
 all the appointments he wished, and began to turn leading Pro- 
 testants out of oifice, and to put Roman Catholics in their places. 
 His own brothers-in-law, the sons of Clarendon, were dismissed 
 because they would not change their religion to please him. Lord 
 Tyrconnel was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in place of the 
 elder Clarendon, and the younger Clarendon was dismissed from 
 his post of High Treasurer. 
 
 A new court was now called into existence to control the Church. 
 This was the Ecclesiastical Commission, which had for its head 
 Judge Jeffreys, and concerned itself with the acts of the English 
 Church clergy. The king built Roman Catholic chapels in London, 
 and expected his lords to attend him when he went to service ; but 
 most of them refused. Orders of monks began to settle in London, 
 and a Jesuit school was opened. All these things made James 1 
 subjects angry, and to overawe the people of London, James placed 
 an army of 13,000 men in a camp at Hounslow. He next published
 
 120 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 a "Declaration of Indulgence," in 1687, hoping to get, by his liber- 
 ality, the support of the persecuted Dissenters. Some were glad to 
 get their freedom, and praised James for his kindness and justice ; 
 but the more thoughtful saw that if the king could do away 
 with one law, then he could do away with all laws, and this would 
 make the government of England a despotism. 
 
 5. Attack on the Universities. James' own friends saw that 
 in his zeal for his church he was doing it harm, and advised him to 
 be more prudent and cautious. But James thought he was right 
 and would take no advice. His next step was an attack on the 
 Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, about the only places in 
 England where a good education could be obtained. The clergy 
 and the sons of the nobles and gentry were educated there, but no 
 student could take a degree or hold an office in these colleges unless 
 he belonged to the English Church. James wished to open the 
 Universities to Roman Catholics, and so placed at the head of one 
 college a Roman Catholic, and when a vacancy occured in the head- 
 ship of Magdalen College, he told the Fellows to elect Dr. Parker, 
 also a Roman Catholic. The Fellows refused, and James drove 
 them forth from the college walls. Cambridge University was also 
 attacked, and men began to fear that the chief seats of learning 
 would soon be under the control of the Roman Catholics. 
 
 6. Birth of James the Pretender. It was at this time, in 
 1687, that Parliament was dissolved, and James began his prepara- 
 tions for a new election. He asked the Lord-Lieutenants and 
 sherifls in the counties to send up members who would vote to 
 repeal the Test Act ; and when he met with a general refusal, he 
 dismissed them from their offices, and replaced them by others. 
 
 Many were disposed to bear patiently James* tyranny, in the 
 hope that his reign would soon be at an end, and then his 
 daughter Mary would undo all his tyrannical acts. But this hope 
 disappeared when it was given forth that a son was born to James, 
 in June 1688. It was now felt there was likely to be a succession 
 of Roman Catholic kings, and in that event, there was great danger 
 England would lose her reb'gion and freedom. It was then resolved 
 that William of Orange should be invited to come over with an army 
 to help to drive James from the throne. The nation was afraid 
 tp rise against the king, for it remembered the terrible vengeance
 
 THE REVOLUTION, 121 
 
 that followed Monmouth's rebellion. So messengers were sent to 
 William to ask for his aid, and he promised to go to England ii 
 Louis XIV. did not invade his country. Louis, as it happened 
 sent his army against Germany, and this left the way open fo\ 
 William to go to England. 
 
 7. Declaration of Indulgence. In the meantime James had 
 resolved on issuing another "Declaration of Indulgence," and, as 
 his former " declaration " had been little heeded, he ordered that 
 the clergy should read it from their pulpits. Most of the clergy 
 refused, and seven bishops, with Archbishop Sancroft at their head, 
 drew up a respectful petition to James asking him to withdraw his 
 order to the clergy. When James read this petition he was so angry 
 that he had the bishops charged with libel and sent to the Tower. 
 
 8. Trial of the Bishops. The bishops were in due time brought 
 to trial, and thousands came flocking to London to see they suf- 
 fered no wrong. So great was the anxiety to hear the trial that 
 crowds stood for miles around the court. Able lawyers, like 
 Somers, defended the bishops, and showed that the petition was 
 not a libel at all ; and the jury, after a night's discussion, at last 
 agreed upon a verdict of "Not Guilty." Such a scene of excite- 
 ment as followed is seldom witnessed. Bells rang, bonfires blazed, 
 the people thronged the churches, and returned thanks in sobs of 
 joy. James' own soldiers in Hounslow camp took up the cheers 
 of the multitude, greatly to James' dismay and chagrin. 
 
 9. The Revolution. And now Admiral Herbert went in disguise 
 to Holland with an invitation from Whigs and Tories, Churchmen 
 and Dissenters, the Army and Navy, Peers and Commoners. 
 William h^gan to prepare an army and fleet, and issued a proclama- 
 tion to the nation that he was coming to restore its rights and 
 liberties. James was now thoroughly alarmed, and hastily began 
 to undo his illegal acts ; but it was too late. William landed, No- 
 vember 5th, 1688, at Torbay, with 13,000 men, and though, at 
 first, coldly received, he was soon joined by the leading men of 
 England. James thought his forces were strong enough to defeat 
 his opponent ; but, as the armies approached each other, Churchill 
 took his troops over to William, and James saw he was deserted. 
 Even his daughter Anne and her husband left him, and nothing 
 remained for James but to send his wife and child to France, and
 
 122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 make his own way there as best he could. William was glad t 
 have him go, and left the way open for his eseape. So, on Dec. 
 23rd, 1688, James found his way to the court of Louis XIV., and 
 England saw him no more. 
 
 10. Declaration of Bights. Before William reached London 
 some rioting took place, and an assembly formed of some members 
 of the Commons in the time of Charles II., the Aldermen of 
 London, and a few others, joined the House of Lords in asking 
 him to take charge of affairs and keep order until a Parliament 
 could decide what was best to be done. William then called a 
 Convention Parliament in January, 1689, which, after considerable 
 discussion, agreed that William and Mary should be joint King and 
 Queen, and that William only should rule. It was now thought 
 wise to make the new king and queen agree to certain principles 
 before they were crowned ; and so Somers drew up for Parlia- 
 ment a "Declaration of Rights," which after William became 
 king was changed into a law. This " Declaration," after reciting 
 the misdeeds of James, declared that the king had no power to 
 r dispense with t.ha laws, nor raisft mnncy A nor Vopp .1 
 
 standing army without ppnaftnt. nf Parliament 
 
 petition the king ; that elections of members roust be free, and 
 that free speech in Parliament must be allowed ; and thafr Pfl r lia- 
 ui^lilH aftQuid meet frequently to redress grievances. The Bill of 
 Rights afterwards added "that no Papist should ever again hold 
 the Crown of England." 
 
 William and Mary agreed to be bound by these conditions, and 
 were crowned April llth, 1689. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 RETURN TO PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 1. William III. The " New Monarchy" was now at an end, and 
 government by Parliament, as in the days of the Plantagenets, 
 was at last restored. The Bill of Rights gave the crown to William 
 and Mary, and their children (if they had any), failing which it was
 
 RETURN TO PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 123 
 
 to go to the Princess Anne and her children. So we see that 
 William's right to the crown was given by Parliament, and hence- 
 forth no sovereign ruled by any other title than a parliamentary 
 one. 
 
 William III. was in every respect a remarkable man. He was 
 an unfortunate general, yet one who succeeded by his calmness and 
 courage in the hour of defeat in wresting gain out of his losses. 
 He had been brought up in a land which had suffered greatly 
 from religious persecution, and so had learned to be liberal and 
 tolerant to people of all creeds. When quite young he had been 
 surrounded by enemies who watched his words and actions, and he 
 had formed the habit of keeping his own counsel and trusting but 
 few. This, added to a disposition naturally distrustful, caused him 
 to appear to the English people sullen and morose. When it is 
 remembered that William suffered almost continually from ill- 
 health, and that when in England he was living among men who 
 constantly sought to betray him, we have an explanation of his 
 being so unsociable and suspicious, and why he was so unpopular 
 with his English subjects. Yet, while the English did not like his 
 foreign ways and his foreign favorites, they knew that he alone 
 stood between them and the loss of their religion and their political 
 rights, and this caused them to give him their support in the days 
 when he was most disliked. 
 
 2. Early Difficulties. But William was not accepted as king by 
 all his subjects. In England, some of the clergy who believed in 
 the Divine Right of kings refused to take the oath of allegiance to 
 him, and, in consequence, were turned out of their offices. They 
 then formed themselves into a party called the " Non- Jurors," and 
 for a century elected their own bishops. The "Non- Jurors" 
 caused a good deal of trouble, for they joined with the friends of 
 James, or Jacobites (from Jacobus, Latin for James), in plots to 
 have the Stuarts restored. - 
 
 In Scotland, Parliament agreed to accept William as king on the 
 condition that Presbyterianism should be restored. The English 
 Church clergy in Scotland would now have been severely treated by 
 the Covenanters, had not William interfered to stop the "rabbling" 
 that began with the downfall of James. In the Highlands, the 
 people were mostly Roman Catholics, and there an old follower of
 
 124 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 James and fierce persecutor of the Covenanters, Graham of Claver 
 house, now Viscount Dundee, raised an army, which at the Pass of 
 Killiecrankie, in July 1689, swept before it William's troops under 
 General Mackay. But in the hour of victory, Claverhouse was 
 killed, and then, the Highlanders collecting all the booty they 
 could, separated for their homes. Troops were now stationed at 
 different posts in the Highlands and order was once more restored. 
 
 l. Massacre of Glencoe. The Highland chiefs were gradually 
 won over to take the oath of allegiance, and were promised a full 
 pardon if their submission was made before the 1st January, 1692. 
 When that time came, it was found all had taken the oath of 
 allegiance except chief Ian Macdonald, of the Macdonalds of Glen- 
 coe. He was too proud to yield till the last moment, and then he 
 went to the wrong place to take the oath. So it was after the 1st of 
 January when he made his submission ; nevertheless he was as- 
 sured that he would not be molested. But Dalrymple, Master (or 
 Lord) of Stair, who ruled Scotland for William, thought it an excel- 
 lent opportunity to make an example of this unruly clan, Macdonald. 
 He got William to agree to send troops into the valley of Glencoe, 
 to "extirpate this band of thieves." To make sure work, Dal- 
 rymple sent the foemen of the Macdonalds, the Campbells of 
 Argyle. When the soldiers reached Glencoe they were treated 
 with true Highland kindness and hospitality by the Macdonalds. 
 Days were passed in feasting and dancing ; and then, early one 
 morning, in the depth of winter, the soldiers surrounded the huts 
 of their hosts and began the work of murder. Soon thirty lay 
 dead on the snow, and of those that escaped half-clad to the hills, 
 the greater number perished of cold and htlnger. This terrible 
 deed has never been forgotten by the people of the Highlands, and 
 William's fair fame received a lasting stain by his share in this 
 cruel and teacherous massacre. 
 
 4. Civil War in Ireland. Before James was driven out of Eng- 
 land he had put Ireland under the control of Tyrconnel, who 
 raised an army of 20,000 men to aid James in case his English 
 subjects grew rebellious. Now that he was exiled, James crossed 
 over from France to Ireland with money and officers lent him by 
 Louis XIV. The Irish, as a people, gave him a hearty welcome, 
 and he was at once recognized as king throughout the greater part
 
 RETURN TO PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 125 
 
 of Ireland. The small body of English and Scotch settlers in the 
 island was much alarmed at James' landing, for they feared another 
 massacre such as had taken place in 1641. As many as could 
 escaped to England ; but in the north, they gathered together for 
 mutual aid at Enniskillen, and at Londonderry on Lough Foyle. 
 James proceeded to attack Londonderry, which was in a wretched 
 condition to stand a siege. Nevertheless the people of the city, 
 under the leadership of the Rev. Geo. Walker and Major Baker, 
 were so brave and resolute in its defence that James had to fall 
 back on the plan of cutting off its food supply. To prevent aid 
 coming from England by sea, a boom made of logs of timber 
 fastened end to end was stretched across the mouth of the Foyle. 
 English vessels sailed up to the boom, within sight of the starving 
 garrison, and then retreated. For one hundred and five days the 
 siege lasted, until the garrison was reduced to eating hides and 
 leather. At last, an order was sent from England that the 
 vessels must make an effort to relieve the garrison. On the 30th 
 July, 1689, two ships sailed straight for the boom which gave way, 
 and then sailing up to the starving city, they threw in a supply 
 of provisions. James now saw it would be of no use to continue the 
 siege and retreated with his army. Almost at the same time, 
 Colonel Wolseley defeated an Irish army at Newton Butler, and 
 this freed the north of Ireland from James' troops. 
 
 James now went to Dublin, where he set up his government. 
 As money was scarce he met his expenses with brass money, which 
 was to be changed for gold when he once more became king of 
 England. In the meantime William was busy elsewhere, and had 
 to leave the war in Ireland to his general Marshal Schomberg. 
 Early in 1690, Louis sent a large force to help James, and then 
 William saw he would have to go to Ireland himself, and take an 
 army with him. He crossed over in June, and on the 1st July, met 
 James at the famous Battle of the Boyne, where William's daring 
 and courage won him a great victory. James watched from a dis- 
 tance the battle going against his followers and then fled in terror 
 to Dublin. Thence he crossed over to France, leaving his brave 
 Irish soldiers to fight his battles for another year. 
 
 Led by French officers, the Irish were again defeated at 
 Aughrim by General Ginkell, after which, under General Patrick 
 Sarsfield, they took refuge behind the old battered and ruined walla
 
 126 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 of Limerick, which were so weak that the French general said they 
 could be "battered down with roasted apples." Here for months 
 the English strove in vain to capture the last stronghold of James in 
 Ireland. At last General Ginkell agreed to allow Sarsfield to go out 
 with all the honours of war, and to take his soldiers abroad wher- 
 ever he wished. He also promised that the Irish should have the 
 same freedom of religious worship they enjoyed in the time of 
 Charles II. So Sarsfield took 14,000 men to France, and the Irish 
 were left to become "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for 
 their English masters. Parliament refused to be bound by Ginkell's 
 promise to give the Irish religious freedom, and the Treaty of 
 Limerick, in 3691, is looked upon by the people of Ireland as a 
 glaring instance of English perfidy. 
 
 5. Some Important Laws. While these wars were going on, 
 important changes were taking place in England. In 1689, the 
 Dissenters were permitted by the "Toleration Act" to worship in 
 their own chapels ; but they were not given the right to hold offices 
 in the army and navy or to become members of Parliament. The 
 Roman Catholics were left under cruel and unjust laws, which, how- 
 ever, were not fully enforced. A revenue of 1,200,000 a year was 
 voted William and Mary, but instead of voting it for life, as in the 
 days of Charles II. and James I., only a part was granted, the rest 
 being kept under the control of parliament. It was in this reign 
 that the money needed for the public service began to be voted 
 annually, and this made it necessary that Parliament should meet 
 every year. 
 
 Another very important Act in 1689 was the "Mutiny Bill," 
 which gave the officers of the army and navy power to form courts 
 for the trial and punishment of offenders against discipline. This 
 power was given at first for six months and then for a year at a 
 time. This law also makes it necessary that Parliament should 
 meet every year, otherwise there would be no means of maintaining 
 order in the army and of paying the soldiers. 
 
 6. War with France. For the first eight years of William's 
 reign war was going on against France. A Grand Alliance was 
 formed in 1690, of England, Holland, Germany, Spain, and some 
 smaller states, to keep Louis XIV. in check. For a time little was 
 done by the Allies, and Louis ^ad everything much his own way.
 
 RETURN TO PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 127 
 
 The day before the Battle of the Boyne, England was/disgraced by 
 her admiral, Lord Torrington, standing aloof while a French fleet 
 defeated the Dutch off Beachy Head. The French then sailed 
 along the coast of England, and, landing, burned the little village 
 of Teignmouth. Although there were many people in England who 
 were discontented with William's rule, nevertheless, the thought 
 of Frenchmen landing on England's shores roused a fierce indig- 
 nation against the Jacobites, and made William much stronger in 
 England than he was before. He now crossed over to the Nether- 
 lands to take command of the allied army which was fighting there 
 against Louis' forces. William was not very successful, and he lost 
 many battles. His losses encouraged the numerous traitors at that 
 tune in England to carry on plots against him, and to treat with 
 James for his return. Churchill was one of the basest of these 
 traitors, and Lord Russell, the admiral of the fleet, was known at 
 the court of James to be unfaithful. Yet, when Admiral Tourville 
 tried to cross the channel with a French army, Russell rather than 
 allow the French to triumph in English waters, met him at Cape 
 La Hague, in 1692, and inflicted so heavy a loss on the French fleet 
 that France made no further attempts to invade England. 
 
 7. The National Debt and Bank of England. But all this 
 fighting made heavy taxes for the English people, who had to bear 
 the heaviest portion of the expenses of the Allies. To lighten their 
 burdens, William's Treasurer, Charles Montague, introduced the 
 plan of borrowing what was needed from rich people, who received 
 in return each year from the government interest on what they lent. 
 It was not easy to borrow much at first, for there were no banks 
 which could receive the savings of many people, and then lend them 
 to the government. But in 1694, Patterson, a Scotchman, suggested 
 the founding of a bank, and his plan \ras carried out by Montague. 
 In this way the Bank of England, perhaps the strongest bank in 
 the world, had its beginning. Montague carried out another 
 reform, very much needed at that time. The coin of the realm had 
 become so worn and clipped by dishonest men, that a shilling was 
 often worth no more than sixpence. The rich people did not feel 
 this much for they took the coins at what they were really worth ; 
 but poor men had little choice, and their wages were often paid in 
 this debased coin at its face value, while the coins they gave for 
 what they bought were taken by dealers at sometimes less than
 
 128 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 their true value. Montague determined to give the nation good 
 coin, and, at a great loss to the Treasury, he called in all the worn 
 and clipped coins and gave coins of full weight in exchange. He 
 also had the coins made with "milled" or ribbed edges, so that 
 it could be easily seen whether a coin had been cut or clipped. 
 
 8. Else of Party Government. When William came to the 
 throne he wished to have both Tories and Whigs among his 
 advisers. He could not understand why they could not work to- 
 gether for the public interest ; but he soon found out that the 
 feeling between the two parties was too bitter to permit common 
 action. So much trouble arose through their quarrels, that at 
 length he listened to the advice of Earl Sunderland to choose his 
 advisers from the party having the greatest number of supporters 
 in Parliament. In this way our system of Party Government 
 began, although it must not be supposed that it was carried out 
 very thoroughly in William's reign, or in that of his successor. 
 
 9. Useful Laws. With the introduction of Party Government 
 began the passage of many useful measures. A "Triennial Act," 
 which decreed that a new Parliament must be elected at least every 
 three years became law in 1694 ; and the law which made it 
 necessary that all books, newspapers, and pamphlets, should be 
 licensed by a committee of the King's Council, was allowed to drop. 
 Henceforth any man could publish what he wished, without asking 
 for permission. This led to better newspapers being published, 
 although it was a long time before it was safe to publish anything 
 against the government of the day. In 1695 the law of treason was 
 made more just and merciful, and for the future a man charged with 
 treason could have a lawyer to defend him, and a copy of the 
 charges brought against hin^ 
 
 10. Peace of Ryswick. While England was thus improving 
 her laws, William had to endure many sorrows and disappointments. 
 In 1694, Queen Mary died of small-pox, and William was almost 
 heart-broken. Their early married life had been unhappy, 
 through William's sullenness and bad temper ; and he had treated 
 her with coldness and neglect. She bore all his harshness and 
 unfaithfulness with patience, and after a time -her truth, constancy, 
 and loving disposition so melted his coldness and drove away hi? 
 suspicious, that he became one of the most loyal and devoted of
 
 /IETUBN TO PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 129 
 
 ftusbands. It is said he never recovered from the shock of her 
 death. Then a plot was formed in 1696 to murder him ; but its 
 discovery had the effect of making his subjects more loyal. The 
 war against Louis had been generally unsuccessful, until 1695, when 
 William won a great victory by taking the strong fortress of Namur. 
 At last Louis was tired of war, and he agreed to a peace in 1G97- 
 The Treaty of Ryswick was signed, and by it Louis gave up most of 
 his conquests and consented to acknowledge William as king of 
 England. The nation was glad to have the war ended, and Parlia- 
 ment began at once to reduce the number of men in the army and 
 navy. It even went so far as to send William's Dutch Guards back 
 to Holland, an act that William felt to be both ungrateful and 
 insulting. Besides he thought a strong army was still needed, for 
 he foresaw in the near future a new danger to the peace of Europe. 
 
 11. Spanish Succession. This danger arose out of the sickly 
 condition of Charles II. King of Spain, who was not expected to 
 live many years. He had no children, and his great possessions in 
 Spain, Italy, the Low Countries, and America, were coveted by his 
 near relations. Louis XIV. had married Charles' eldest sister, but 
 he had solemnly renounced all claim to the Spanish throne on behalf 
 of himself and his children. The Elector of Bavaria had a good 
 claim to the throne of Spain, so also had the German Emperor 
 Leopold. William considered it dangerous for the Emperor or 
 one of the French royal family to become king of Spain ; and so he 
 entered into a treaty with Louis by which the greater portion of the 
 Spanish possessions should go to the Elector of Bavaria. The 
 Elector, however, died, and a second Partition Treaty was framed, 
 which gave the Spanish crown and most of the Spanish territory to 
 the Archduke Charles, the second son of the Emperor. In all these 
 arrangements the Spanish people were not consulted ; and when 
 the facts came to light, they were very angry, and Charles II., 
 acting under the advice of his friends, made a will and left all his 
 dominions to Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, The 
 temptation to break the Partition Treaty was too strong for Louis, 
 and he accepted the Spanish crown on behalf of his grandson, and 
 put garrisons in the Spanish fortresses in the Low Countries. 
 William was indignant, but for the time being he was powerless. 
 His troops were few, and England refused to go to war ; and so, 
 very unwillingly, he had to assent to Louis' breach of faith.
 
 130 HISTORY Of EN6LAK6. 
 
 12. The Act of Settlement. The English were more concerned 
 about who should reign after Anne, than who should be king of 
 Spain. William had no children, and the last of Anne's nineteen 
 children had just died. The fear was strong that James II. 's son 
 would be hosen if the succession was not settled in time. So, in 
 1701, an " Act of Settlement " was passed, which arranged that the 
 throne after Anne's death should go to the Princess Sophia of 
 Hanover and her heirs. Sophia was the grand-daughter of James 
 I., and daughter of Elizabeth, the wife of the unfortunate Elector 
 Palatine. Her claim by birth was not very strong, but she was the 
 nearest Protestant relation of the royal family. 
 
 The Act of Settlement also enacted, among other things, that in 
 future judges should hold office for life or good conduct. Hence- 
 forth judges could not be dismissed at the king's whim or pleasure, 
 as in the days of the Tudors and the Stuarts. 
 
 13. Death of William. And now an event took place which 
 made the English people as eager for war as a few months before 
 they had been anxious for peace. James IL was visited on his 
 death-bed by Louis XTV., and Louis promised to recognize his son 
 James as the king of England. The English could not endure that 
 the French king should choose a ruler for them, and at once they 
 cried out for war. William now found no trouble in getting Parlia- 
 men to vote all the men and money he wanted. But the war was 
 not to be waged under William's command. His life was near its 
 close, and an accident, by which he broke his collar bone, hastened 
 his end. He knew no one fit to lead the armies of the Allies against 
 Louis' generals save Churchill, the Earl of Marll xrough ; and 
 Churchill had been banished from his court some time before for his 
 base treachery to William. He was now recalled, and trusting to hia 
 ambition to keep him faithful, William named him Captain-General 
 of the allied armies. Then, on the 20th February, 1702, passed 
 away one of England's greatest kings and truest friends. He had his 
 faults both as a man and as a ruler. He did not fully understand 
 the English people and the English form of government, and he often 
 acted without the consent of his Parliament in matters of grave 
 importance. But his prudence, foresight, tolerance, and courage, 
 saved England from the loss of her religious and political freedom 
 at a time when England seemed powerless to save herself.
 
 THE LAST OF THE STUARTS. 131 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE STUARTS. 
 
 1. Queen Anne. William was succeeded by Anne, the second 
 daughter of James II. The nation was glad to have once more 
 an English sovereign, and "Good Queen Anne" was, through- 
 out her reign, popular with all classes of her subjects. She was 
 a dull but kind-hearted woman, who had won the pity and sym- 
 pathy of her people by losing all her many children. Her 
 inclinations and feelings were on the side of the Stuarts and 
 against the line of Hanover, which was to come after her. It 
 would have pleased her much if her brother James, the Pretender 
 (as he was called), had consented to give up his Roman Catholic 
 faith and become a supporter of the English Church. This James 
 refused to do, and Anne felt compelled, through her love for the 
 Church, to refuse her assent to his claim to the throne. 
 
 Anne was- much under the influence of Sarah, the Duchess of 
 Maryborough, a beautiful but violent-tempered woman, who had 
 been Anne's friend from early years. They were on very familiar 
 terms, and called each other "Mrs. Morley" and " Mrs. Freeman." 
 This friendship had a great deal to do with the politics of the time, 
 for in consequence of it Anne, though a Tory at heart, kept a Whig 
 government in office for many years, because the Whigs supported 
 the war in which the Duke of Maryborough was the chief com- 
 mander. Marlborough himself, and Godolphin, the High Trea- 
 surer, were Tories, but they had to join the Whigs as the Tories 
 were bitterly opposed to the war against France. 
 
 2. War of the Spanish Succession. This war was to prevent 
 Louis XIV. from placing his grandson on the throne of Spain. 
 William had formed a Grand Alliance, the principal members of 
 which were England, Holland, Portugal, Savoy, Prussia, Austria, 
 and a small portion of Spain. Louis had Bavaria and nearly all 
 Spain on his side. The chief leaders among the Allies were Marl- 
 borough, Prince Eugene of Savoy, and Heinsius of Holland, while 
 the Earl of Peterborough during the early years of the war did 
 good service for them in Spain. Louis, on the other hand, had
 
 132 HISTORY OF ENGLAND*. 
 
 large armies and great generals, and his troops had been successful 
 in many battles during the preceding half century. 
 
 Marlborough had many difficulties to overcome abroad and at 
 home. The Allies Were not always willing to do as he wished, and 
 the Tories in England put obstacles in his way. Yet he never lost 
 patience, and by his tact and winning manners gradually succeeded 
 in getting the Allies to follow his advice and leadership. His ability 
 as a commander was not fully known until this war began ; but he 
 soon proved himself to be one of the greatest generals in all history. 
 He was calm and heedless of danger on the battlefield, and his 
 readiness of resource was equal to every occasion. He was great, 
 also, as a statesman and diplomatist ; but he was faithless and cold- 
 hearted, and his love for money amounted to avarice. The pleas- 
 antest feature of his character and career was his love for his wife. 
 
 Marlborough could not do much during the first two years of the 
 war, on account of the timidity of the Allies, and the hindrances 
 their quarrels placed in the way. Meanwhile the Tories in England 
 were trying to prevent, by an "Occasional Conformity Bill," the 
 Dissenters from holding any office. Some of the Dissenters, in order 
 to get into parliament, would take the sacrament in the English 
 church, and then attend worship in their own chapel. This the 
 Tories sought to stop ; but the Bill they brought in was defeated by 
 the Whigs in the House of Lords. 
 
 Not until 1704 was the war carried on with much vigor. A large. 
 French army was then sent by Louis to Bavaria to attack Austria. 
 Marlborough saw the danger, and, by a stratagem, managed to get 
 his Dutch allies away from their own frontier. He then marched 
 straight to Bavaria, where he joined Prince Eugene near the little 
 village of Blenheim. Then was fought one of the most important 
 battles of modern times. With an army not so numerous as that 
 opposed to him, Marlborough defeated, with terrible loss, en the 
 13th of August, 1704, a veteran French force commanded by one .of 
 France's best generals. Henceforth the French soldiers were no 
 longer thought to be invincible. The same year the great rock 
 fortress, Gibraltar, was taken by Admiral Rooke, and it has 
 remained in England's possession ever since. Marlborough's great 
 victory made the Whigs very popular in England, and Marlborough 
 himself became the idol of the people. 
 
 In 1706, the Allies under Marlborough won another great victory
 
 THE LAST OF THE STUAKTS. 133 
 
 over the French at Ramillies in Flanders, and took nine strong 
 fortresses along the Flemish frontiers. While these victories were 
 being won in Flanders, Peterborough was carrying on a spirited 
 campaign in Spain. By a clever stratagem he took Barcelona, and 
 succeeded in proclaiming the Archduke Charles king at Madrid. 
 All these losses made Louis anxious for peace, but the Allies were 
 so elated with their successes that they would not listen to the fair 
 terms he offered. Maryborough and the Whigs knew that their 
 power depended on the continuance of the war. 
 
 3. State of the Nation. It so happened that England was very 
 prosperous at this time, and her people did not feel the heavy 
 expense of the war. Money was borrowed freely to pay the Allies, 
 and the debt of the nation grew to over 50,000,000. This debt 
 was useful in keeping the Pretender off the throne, for those who 
 had lent money to the government were afraid if he became king 
 their money would not be repaid. The Bank of England was doing 
 a good work in helping trade and commerce ; large towns like Man- 
 chester and Leeds were springing up, and Liverpool was fast 
 becoming a great city. But the growth of large towns was at the 
 expense of the country districts. The yeomanry of England began 
 to disappear, as the small farmers found it paid better to sell their 
 farms to rich men and put their money into trade in the towns than 
 to till the soil. 
 
 4. Union of England and Scotland. Much more important 
 than all Marlborough's victories was the Union of England and 
 Scotland, which took place in 1707. The two nations had never 
 been on very friendly terms, although, since the time of James I., 
 they had been ruled by the same sovereign. The Act of Settle- 
 ment had said that Anne was to be succeeded in England by the 
 House of Hanover ; but the Scotch Parliament had not agreed that 
 it should reign in Scotland. The Scotch were angry with the 
 English because they would not allow Scotland to trade freely 
 with England, or in English foreign ports. So, when a Scotch 
 colony on the Isthmus of Darien failed, the Scotch blamed the 
 English laws, and the Scotch Parliament, in 1703, passed a Bill 
 that when Anne died Scotland should not have the same 
 sovereign as England. English statesmen foresaw this would 
 lead to war, and they offered Scotland good terms if she would
 
 134 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 agree to unite with England. The Scotch people did not like 
 to give up their independence ; but their Parliament was bribed, 
 it is said, to consent, and Scotland and England became one 
 nation with a common flag and a common Parliament. The 
 terms were that Scotland was to keep her own Established Church 
 the Presbyterian and her own peculiar laws and courts. She 
 was to send forty-five members to the House of Commons and six- 
 teen elected peers to the House of Lords. Trade was to be free at 
 home and abroad between the two peoples, and Scotland was to get 
 a sum of money to make her coinage as good as that of England. 
 The Union proved a great boon to both nations, although, for many 
 years, the Scotch and English did not understand each other, and 
 this led occasionally to bitter feelings. 
 
 5. Party Struggles. While England and Scotland were settling 
 their difficulties, the war against France was going on. In 1708, 
 Marlborough defeated the French at Oudenarde and Lille ; but 
 the Allies lost ground in Spain after Peterborough was recalled. 
 France was now greatly exhausted, and Louis again offered fair 
 terms of peace, which the Allies would not accept, because Louis 
 would not agree to help to drive his grandson out of Spain. The 
 war again went on, and France at a great sacrifice put another 
 large army in the field. In 1709, the Allies under Marlborough 
 once more met the French and defeated them, this time at Mal- 
 plaquet, in the north of France. The loss was very heavy on both 
 sides ; but the Allies suffered more than the French, and gained 
 little by their victory. 
 
 The English had now become tired of the war, and they began, 
 to think that it was carried on to please Marlborough and the 
 Whigs. What the people thought was shown very clearly when 
 the Whig Government impeached Dr. Sacheverell for preaching a 
 foolish sermon on "Divine Bight" and the sin of resisting a 
 rightful king. Had the Whigs been wise they would have paid no 
 attention to Sacheverell ; but they thought his sermon was an open 
 attack on the right of Parliament to choose the sovereign, and so 
 had Sacheverell tried before the Lords, who ordered his sermon to 
 be burnt, and condemned him to cease preaching for three years. 
 This made him a popular hero, and great crowds after the trial 
 cheered him, rang the bells, and lit bonfires, to show their approval 
 of his conduct, and their dislike of the Whigs.
 
 g 
 
 THE LAST OF THE STUARTS. 135 
 
 The queen, who was in sympathy with the Tories, had just 
 quarrelled with the Duchess of Marlborough, and had taken a new 
 favourite, a Mrs. Masham, tho cousin of Harley, a leading Tory 
 statesman. Through Mrs. Masham's influence, Anne now dismissed 
 her Whig ministers and chose in their stead Tories, the chief of 
 which were Harley and Bolingbroke, the latter a brilliant speaker 
 and writer. A general election followed, which resulted in the 
 Tory party gaining a large majority in the House of Commons. 
 Marlborough was dismissed from his command of the army, and 
 charged with taking wrongfully some of the public money given for 
 the army. He was forced to leave England, and never again held 
 any high position. So ended the career of England's greatest 
 general one who never lost a battle nor besieged a fortress he did 
 not take. 
 
 6. Peace of Utrecht (1713). The new Tory ministry was very 
 anxious for peace, for it knew that the war could not succeed with- 
 out Marlborough. So it offered, secretly, good terms to Louis, and 
 peace was agreed upon without the knowledge of England's allies. 
 It was a disgraceful act, although there was nothing to be gained 
 by continuing the war. Louis gave up all his conquests in the Low 
 Countries and Germany ; Austria obtained Naples, Milan, and the 
 Netherlands ; while Philip of Anjou kept Spain and her possessions 
 in America. England obtained Gibraltar, Minorca, Hudson's 
 Bay and Straits, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Louis, further, 
 promised to acknowledge Anne and her Hanoverian successors, and 
 never again to help the Pretender. But after all this bloodshed to 
 drive Philip from Spain, he was allowed to remain king. 
 
 7. Death of Anne (1714). The Peace of Utrecht was scarcely 
 concluded when Anne died. The Princess Sophia died a few 
 months before her, and George, Sophia's son, was Anne's successor. 
 George was not in England at the time of the queen's death : 
 Anne's dislike of her successor being so great that she would not 
 allow him to visit England. A short time before Anne died, 
 Bolingbroke, Harley (now Earl of Oxford), Ormond, and other 
 Jacobites began to intrigue to restore the Pretender. Bolingbroke 
 thought he had everything in readiness to place the Pretender on 
 the throne; but the sudden death of the queen, and the prompt 
 action of the Whigs and the Duke of Shrewsbury ruined his plans, 
 and George I. became king without any opposition.
 
 136 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 8. Literature of the Age of Anne. The latter part of the 17th 
 century, and the beginning of the 18th, are rich in great poets and 
 prose writers. We have already mentioned Milton and Bunyan ; 
 but, besides these, there were Addison, Steele, and Swift, satirists 
 and essayists ; Bishop Burnet, the historian of his own times ; 
 Locke and Hobbes, great writers on philosophy and politics ; the 
 poets Cowley, Dryden, Pope, and Butler ; De Foe, the author of 
 Robinson Crusoe ; and Pepys, the author of a Diary, which tells us 
 what was going on in London at the court and among the people. 
 These writers, excepting Milton, were not so great as those of the 
 age of Elizabeth ; but they wrote in simpler language and in plainer 
 sentences, because their writings were read by people many of 
 whom were not scholars, whereas, in the time of Elizabeth, few 
 read much except educated men and women. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 
 
 1. George I. The first king of the line of Hanover, was past 
 middle age when he came to the throne, and cared much more for 
 Hanover and its people than for his English crown. As a man he 
 had few good and no great qualities ; but as a king he did fairly 
 well, because he left the government of the country much in the 
 hands of his ministers. He knew little or no English, and brought 
 his companions and associates with him from Germany ; some of 
 them as gross and licentious as the favourites of Charles II. 
 
 Almost his first act was to dismiss the Tory ministers, and 
 appoint Whigs in their stead. Bolingbroke, Oxford, and Ormond 
 were impeached for treason, and for their share in the Treaty of 
 Utrecht. Bolingbroke and Ormond fled to France ; Oxford stood 
 his ground, and after an imprisonment of two years was released. 
 
 2. The Rebellion of 1715. The year after George's accession, the 
 Jacobites in Scotland and in the north of England rose in rebellion. 
 The Earl of Mar raised an army in the Highlands, but he was 
 defeated by the Duke of Argyle at Sheriffmuir, on the same day that
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 137 
 
 the Jacobites in England were compelled to surrender at Preston in 
 Lancashire. The Pretender landed after the rebellion was over and, 
 finding his cause was lost, returned to France with the Earl of Mar. 
 Several persons were put to death after this rising, among whom 
 was the Earl of Derwentwater, a leader of the Jacobites in the 
 north of England. 
 
 The rebellion led to an important change in the time a Parliament 
 can last. The Whigs were afraid that if an election took place at 
 this time they might be defeated, and they changed the law so that 
 a Parliament could remain in existence seven years instead of three ; 
 and the Septennial Act, as the new measure was called, has 
 remained law to the present. The worst feature of this change 
 was that the Parliament which made it continued to sit for the 
 new term, although it was elected for but three years. 
 
 In 1715 Louis XIV. died, and was succeeded by his great-grand- 
 son Louis XV. The new king was a mere lad, and the Duke of 
 Orleans acted as Regent. Orleans was friendly to England, and 
 when Spain tried, in 1718, to recover a portion of her lost territory 
 in Italy, France and England united to force her to keep the peace. 
 
 3. South Sea Bubble. The National Debt had now grown so 
 large that Aislabie, the Treasurer, proposed to Parliament a 
 scheme for its easy payment. This was to accept the offer of 
 the South Sea Company, which promised, if given the sole right of 
 trading with South America in slaves and other commodities, to pay 
 off a large share of the public debt. When the proposal was made 
 the Bank of England also made an offer, and then the two com- 
 panies began to bid against each other, until, at last, the South Sea 
 Company offered to give 7,500,000 to the Government, in addition 
 to what it had first proposed. The offer was accepted in 1720, in 
 spite of the warnings of Robert Walpole, a rough but shrewd Nor- 
 folk squire, who showed clearly that the Company could not carry 
 out its agreement. No sooner was the scheme adopted than every 
 person who had any money to invest rushed to buy the shares of 
 the Company. In a short time shares rose from 100 to 1000 ; 
 and then almost as quickly the public lost confidence in the 
 Company, and the anxiety to sell caused the shares to fall in 
 price until they were nearly worthless. Thousands of people 
 of all classes were ruined, and public wrath was turned against the
 
 138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 King's ministers, some of whom were found to have taken bribes 
 from the Company to further its scheme. They had to resign, 
 and Walpole, who had spoken against the scheme, was now called 
 upon to lessen the evil effects of the failure and panic. 
 
 4. Walpole. Walpole became chief minister in 1721, and con- 
 tinued in office till 1742. He was the first to be called "Prime 
 Minister," and held that post longer than any other man in Eng- 
 lish history. He was a rough, coarse man, who enjoyed foul talk, 
 eating, drinking, and fox hunting. He lived a licentious life, such 
 as was very common in the 18th century among men in high posi- 
 tions. He kept himself in office by buying the support of members 
 of Parliament, and by paying great attention to trade and commerce, 
 of which matters he knew more than most men of his time. He 
 did good service to Britain by keeping the country at peace, and by 
 the steady support he gave to the House of Hanover. In his day the 
 nation made great progress in extending its trade, increasing its 
 manufactures, and in employing better methods of tilling the soil. 
 He was tolerant to the Dissenters, but was too much afraid of the 
 Church party to repeal the Test and Corporation Acts, which pre- 
 vented them from having their rights as citizens. 
 
 All through the reigns of George I. and George II. the Whigs 
 were in office, and when one Government went out, it was 
 replaced by another of the same political opinions. The Whig 
 nobles were very powerful in the country where they owned large 
 estates, and they banded themselves together to keep in power. 
 They bought up the right to send members from boroughs where 
 there were few voters, and by this means always had many 
 supporters in Parliament. Then, again, the Tories were suspected 
 of being Jacobites, and of wishing to bring back the Pretender, 
 and so every man that had lent money to the Government sup- 
 ported the Whigs fearing, if the Tories got into office, he would 
 never be repaid. By such means as these the Whig nobles managed 
 to have things all their own way for nearly fifty years. 
 
 5. George II. Beyond a slight plot, in 1722, by Bishop Atter- 
 bury, in the interest of the Pretender, and a brief excitement in 
 Ireland over the coinage of some half -pence, nothing of interest took 
 place in the last six years of George I.'s reign. George died, while 
 abroad in Hanover, in 1727, and was succeeded by his son, George
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 139 
 
 H. The new king had been opposed to Walpole while his father, 
 George L, was living, and Walpole expected to be turned 
 out of office as soon as he came to the throne. Perhaps he would, 
 had not Queen Caroline, a shrewd and wise woman, used her influ- 
 ence with her husband to keep him in his post. George II. was a 
 thorough German, and knew very little more about the English 
 language and the English people than his father. He was a stub- 
 born man, and too fond of war, for he was a brave soldier and a 
 good general. Fortunately his queen had great influence over him, 
 and through her Walpole was able to get the king to do much as 
 he wished. 
 
 6. Walpole's Policy The first ten years of George II. 's reign 
 had few stirring events. The nation was kept at peace, and Wal- 
 pole gave his attention to helping trade and commerce, and to 
 lessening the public debt. He took the duties off a great many 
 articles that came into the country as well as off many that were 
 sent out of it. He allowed the colonies in America to trade with 
 other countries, and by so doing Georgia and Carolina were able to 
 sell their rice in foreign markets. He saw that he could prevent a 
 great deal of smuggling by making goods pay duty when they were 
 sold in the country instead of when they were brought into ports of 
 entry. So in 1733, he brought in an Excise Bill, which aimed at 
 collecting the duties on certain kinds of goods by making them pay 
 a tax when they were sold, instead of when they were brought into 
 the sea-ports. The first duty is called excise, and the second 
 customs. But Walpole was too much ahead of his time. People 
 were afraid of his scheme, and so great an outcry was raised against 
 the Excise Bill that Walpole, rather than have any bloodshed, 
 abandoned it. 
 
 Walpole had one weakness which helped to bring about his down- 
 fall. He wanted to have all the power of the government in his 
 own hands, and was so jealous of other able men, that he forced 
 them one by one to leave his ministry, until he had for associates 
 none but inferior men who would do his bidding. In this way there 
 grew up gradually a strong "Opposition" composed of men who 
 had formerly supported him, the leaders of which were Pulteney, 
 Carteret, Chesterfield, and, later on, William Pitt, the grandson of 
 a former governor of Madras. The younger members of this party
 
 140 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 grew tired of Walpole's method of ruling, and of his peace policy, 
 and in their speeches talked a good deal about "Patriotism," or 
 love of country. Hence they were, in derision, called the 
 "Patriots," and Walpole sneered at them, and said that when they 
 grew older they would become wiser. 
 
 7. The Family Compact. In spite of all the "Patriots" could 
 do, Walpole continued to hold his ground, until a war with Spain 
 broke out in 1739. This was caused by France and Spain forming 
 a secret "Family Compact" (they both had members of the Bour- 
 bon family on their thrones) against England. Spain was to get the 
 aid of France in recovering Gibraltar from England, in return for 
 her giving France the sole right to trade with her colonies in 
 America. English merchants, after the Treaty of Utrecht, had 
 been permitted to trade slightly in the South Seas, and finding the . 
 trade profitable, had managed to increase it a good deal by smug- 
 gling. When the smugglers were caught by the Spanish authorities, 
 they were imprisoned and otherwise punished. Tales of Spanish 
 cruelty were spread abroad throughout England, and Parliament 
 and the people began to clamour for war. Walpole was very much 
 against going to war, as he knew that England was not prepared, 
 and besides, feared a Jacobite rising, aided by France and Spain. 
 But the feeling of the nation for war was so strong, that Walpole 
 unwillingly gave way, and declared war in ] 739. When the bells 
 began to ring at the news, Walpole said, "They may ring their 
 bells now, but they will soon be wringing their hands." 
 
 8. Fall of Walpole. It did not take long for Walpole's words 
 to come true. The war was badly managed, and England had little 
 success. Walpole was blamed for this, and perhaps he deserved 
 the blame, as he was not fitted for the duties of a war minister. 
 To make matters worse, crops failed, and bread became dear. 
 People began to cry out against Walpole, and he was forced to re- 
 sign, in 1742. He was made Earl of Orford, and given a pension. 
 He never again held office, but for years had influence enough 
 with the king to say who should be the king's ministers. 
 
 9. War of the Austrian Succession. And now another war 
 sprang up in which England, rather unwisely, took part. The 
 German Emperor, Charles VI. (the Archduke Charles of the 
 war of the Spanish Succession) had no son, and desiring to leave his
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 141 
 
 hereditary dominions in Austria and Hungary to his daughter 
 Maria Theresa, persuaded the strong nations of Europe to sign an 
 agreement, called the "Pragmatic Sanction," by which the crown of 
 Austria and Hungary should go to his daughter. When he died 
 in 1740, it was soon seen that there was a plot to rob Maria 
 Theresa of her dominions. Frederick II. of Prussia seized Silesia, 
 the Elector of Bavaria claimed the Imperial Crown, and was sup- 
 ported by France and Spain in his claim. England and Holland 
 alone remained true to their promises, and George II. put himselt 
 at the head of an army and defeated the Frech at Dettingen on 
 the Maine, in 1743. The French, to draw off the English troops, 
 sent Charles Edward, son of James the Pretender, into Scotland, to 
 claim the crown of Great Britain and Ireland. Fifteen thousand 
 men were to assist him, but a storm wrecked the French fleet, and 
 the French troops never landed. The French were, however, more 
 fortunate at Fontenoy, in 1745, where under Marshal Saxe they 
 defeated the English with heavy loss. 
 
 10. The Rebellion of 1745. Charles Edward landed, July 1745, 
 in the Highlands, and soon was at the head of a large number of 
 clansmen, who were eager to fight against the Duke of Argyle, and 
 the king he supported. A little later, " Prince Charlie " was in 
 Edinburgh, where he proclaimed his father king. On September 
 21, his Highlanders met and defeated Sir John Cope at Prestonpans. 
 Had he now marched into England he might have had a chance to 
 recover the throne for the Stuarts, for just then there were few 
 troops in England to oppose him. But he lingered at Edinburgh 
 enjoying the smiles and favours of the ladies of the gay Scotch 
 capital, for the Young Pretender was a handsome, daring young 
 fellow, who won many hearts by his pleasant ways. At last he 
 started south with 6,000 men, mostly Highlanders, expecting to 
 get aid on his march from the Jacobites in England. The people 
 turned out to look at his army as it passed by, but did not give 
 him much help in either men or money. At Derby he was advised 
 to return to Scotland, as the king's troops were on the march to 
 meet him. At Falkirk, 1746, he defeated General Hawley, and 
 then many of his men deserted him and returned home. With a 
 brave remnant of his followers, he made a stand at Culloden, in 
 Invernesshire, against a large and well-armed force under the Duke 
 of Cumberland, but his men were cut to pieces, April, 1746. For
 
 142 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 five months Charles Edward wandered through the Highlands, 
 seeking a way of escape, and carefully concealed from his enemies 
 by his few faithful friends, the most famous of whom WHS the 
 heroine Flora Macdonald. Then, in September, he left Scotland's 
 shores for ever, and went back to France. 
 
 The Jacobites made no further attempts to restore the Stuarts. 
 The Duke of Cumberland earned the title of "Butcher" Cumber- 
 land, by his cruelty to the Highlanders after the Battle of Culloden, 
 and three Scotch nobles were put to death for treason. Efforts 
 were now made to prevent further risings in the Highlands, and 
 laws were made forbidding the chiefs of clans from exercising then- 
 ancient rights over their clansmen. The Highlanders were not 
 allowed to carry arms or wear their tartans, and roads were made 
 through the Highlands so that troops could easily march from point 
 to point. All these changes made the proud Highlanders very un- 
 happy and restless, and it was not till 1758, when William Pitt 
 allowed Highland regiments to be formed under the command of 
 their own chiefs, with their own peculiar uniform and music, that 
 peace was restored among these brave and high-spirited people. 
 
 11. Religious Revival .Meanwhile, England had sunk into a 
 condition in which it seemed as if all religion and morality were 
 dead. The lower classes were ignorant and brutal, and no one 
 seemed to care for their moral and spiritual welfare. The middle 
 classes were given up to money-making, and had lost nearly all 
 interest in religious matters. The upper classes were steeped 
 in vice, profanity, and infidelity ; while the clergy, as a rule, 
 neglected their duties. The country vicars were the boon com- 
 panions of the squires in their sports and revels. Bishops often paid 
 more attention to winning the favour of the king's German 
 mistresses, through whom they expected promotion, than to looking 
 after their dioceses. In fact, all classes seemed stricken with moral 
 deadnes-s, and with a desire to enjoy merely eartlily pleasures. 
 
 The "darkest hour before the dawn "had been reached in Eng- 
 lish social life, when three English Church clergymen, John Wesley, 
 Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, and a few others, began a 
 religious movement which has gone on, with almost undiminished 
 vigor, to the present day. The movement began at Oxford among 
 a few earnest students, and after a few years spread throughout 
 the land. The Wesleys and Whitfield went through the length
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 143 
 
 and breadth of England, preaching in the open air to great throngs 
 of colliers, and to the neglected poor among the people, and 
 arousing earnest and deep resolves among them to lead better 
 lives. For a time fierce persecution from those opposed to the 
 movement was met with by the preachers ; but in the end the value 
 of their great work was recognized, and all classes and Churches 
 reaped the benefit of this remarkable revival. A new and power- 
 ful denomination, the ."Methodists," arose out of John Wesley's 
 preaching and wonderful power of organization, a denomination 
 which now has its adherents all over the -world. Among other 
 important results of this revival was the new intesest aroused in 
 moral reforms, and the beginning of earnest efforts to lessen the 
 misery and ignorance of the poor and the oppressed. 
 
 12. East India Company. The war of the Austrian Succession 
 came to an end by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, when 
 Henry Pelham was Prime Minister. England gained nothing 
 beyond an increase in her national debt, and Maria Theresa lost 
 Silesia to Frederick II. of Prussia. 
 
 In 1751, Frederick, Prince of Wales, died, and this left his son, 
 George, as the heir to the throne. In the same year, the time of 
 the nation was put right, by taking eleven days out of the year, the 
 3rd of September being henceforth counted the 14th. This was 
 owing to the year having been hitherto too long, and this made the 
 clock of the nation too slow. After this the year was made 
 shorter, and no change in the time has since taken place. 
 
 And now England was on the eve of wars which were to greatlsr 
 increase her territory and her influence in Asia and America. JM 
 the year 1599 Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to a company to 
 trade in the East Indies. This was the East India Company which 
 gradually founded factories and small trading posts on the coasts 
 of India. In this way Fort St. George, or Madras, was established. 
 Bombay was acquired by the marriage of Charles II. to "Katharine 
 of Portugal, and Fort William (now Calcutta) was founded by 
 another English trading company in the reign of William III. In 
 1702, the two companies united. They kept at each trading post a 
 small body of native soldiers, or sepoys, and they paid rent to the 
 neighbouring native prince or ruler for the land they occupied. 
 These rulers of small districts owed allegiance to a higher ruler, 
 who in turn was supposed to obey the Great Moghul of India.
 
 144 HIStORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 The French also had a company in India which had built a fort 
 at Pondicheny. The English and French traders were very jealous 
 of each other, and sometimes their mutual dislike led to fighting, 
 even when England and France were at peace. At last, Dupleix, 
 the Governor of Pondicherry, formed a scheme of driving the IJng- 
 lish out of India, and of obtaining for France the control of Indian 
 affairs. His plan was to take advantage of the frequent quarrels 
 among the many native rulers of India, to play off one ruler 
 against the other, and so, in the end, get the control of Southern 
 India. To carry out his plans, it was necessary that the English 
 should be driven out of the country, and this he proceeded to do by 
 attacking and capturing Madras. For a time it seemed as if the 
 English must submit, when the whole aspect of affairs was changed 
 by the skill in war and vigor of a young man in the East India Com- 
 pany's service, Robert Olive. Clive had been sent to India as a 
 clerk, his friends in England in this way hoping to rid them- 
 selves of a wild and troublesome youth. He now gave up his 
 clerkship, and putting himself at the head of a few English and 
 native troops defeated the French at Arcot, in 1751, and held the 
 fort until assistance came. From that time onwards the French 
 were driven back until Dupleix was recalled, and peace was made in 
 1754. 
 
 13. French and English in America. A similar struggle for 
 power and supremacy had been going on for many years in 
 America between the English and French. Though there were 
 intervals of peace between the French colonies in Canada and 
 Acadia, and the English colonies to the south of them, yet an 
 almost constant border warfare was carried on in which the North 
 American Indians took an active part. The English and French 
 colonists both wanted the sole right to trade in furs with the 
 Indians, and often when England and France were at peace their 
 colonies were keeping up a cruel warfare, and making attacks 
 on each other's settlements. The French settlements were 
 in what we now call Quebec and Nova Scotia, and in Louisiana, at 
 the mouth of the Mississippi ; while the English had thirteen 
 colonies scattered along the eastern coast of North America. The 
 French claimed the right to all the land west of the Alleghanies, 
 and as that would have shut out the English fur-traders from a 
 profitable trade with the numerous tribes of Indiana in the north*
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 145 
 
 west, the French claim was dispute*! by the English colonists. The 
 French established themselves at Fort Duquesne, in a fork of the 
 Ohio river, and the English sent George Washington to build 
 another fort near at hand. By mistake Washington fired into a 
 party of French soldiers sent to warn him off French soil, and this 
 led to a general war which did not end till the French were driven 
 out of Canada. These events occurred in 1754, and the next year 
 General Braddock, who was sent with a large force to take Fort 
 Duquesne, through his own obstinacy and rashness, was surprised in 
 a narrow pass in the woods, when near the fort, by a party of 
 French and Indians, and most of his army destroyed. Braddock 
 was killed, and for a time the French had matters all their own way. 
 
 14. Seven Years' War, 1756-63 The year after Braddock's de- 
 feat, a great war broke out in Europe and lasted seven years. 
 This war was caused by Maria Theresa's determination to recover 
 Silesia from Frederick II. called the Great, of Prussia. In this she 
 was aided by France, Russia and Saxony, while Frederick had no 
 ally save England. When England entered into this war, she found 
 herself without either army or general fit to take the field. The 
 Duke of Newcastle, a weak, corrupt man, was now Prime Minister, 
 and for a time nothing but disaster followed every effort of the Eng- 
 lish army and navy. France seized Minorca, and when Admiral 
 Byng, who was sent to retake it with a weak fleet, retreated without 
 striking a blow, the people were so angry that Newcastle, to 
 save himself, had Byng tried by court-martial and shot. Soon 
 after this terrible news came from India. Suraj-ud-Daula, the 
 ruler of Bengal, marched on Calcutta, and taking the English 
 inhabitants prisoners thrust them, 146 in number, into a small 
 room not more than twenty feet square. There, in the "Black 
 Hole of Calcutta," with but one small opening to admit air, 
 they spent the hot sultry night, enduring the agonies of thirst 
 and suffocation. When morning dawned, only twenty-three were 
 found alive. In Europe, the Duke of Cumberland made an agree- 
 ment with the French, allowing them to occupy Hanover, and 
 disbanding his army. These were dark days for England. Despair 
 settled on the nation, and men exclaimed, "We are no longer a 
 nation.'' 
 
 15. William Pitt, the Great Commoner, And now England 
 
 10
 
 146 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 was to learn what a great man could do in rousing the nation by 
 giving it his own courage and confidence; for it was now that 
 William Pitt, the leader of the " Patriots," came forward to save 
 his country. Pitt believed in himself, and his self-confidence was so 
 great that he said he could save the country, and no one else could. 
 He was a great parliamentary orator, and very outspoken and 
 vehement in his attacks on wrong-doing in any form, caring little 
 whom he pleased or offended. The Duke of Newcastle tried to rule 
 without him by means of bribery and family influence ; but the 
 people asked for Pitt. Finally Pitt and Newcastle ruled together, 
 Pitt as Secretary of State and War Minister, and Newcastle as 
 Prime Minister. By this division of power the government had a 
 strong support, for Pitt was popular with the people, and New- 
 castle kept Parliament faithful by bribery, which Pitt himself 
 scorned to use. Pitt came into office in 1757, and in a short time a 
 great change took place. The army was organized, the navy 
 equipped, good officers were put at the head of English troops, and, 
 best of all, hope and courage brought back to soldiers and citizens. 
 The Duke of Cumberland was recalled, and Ferdinand of Brunswick 
 put at the head of the army in Germany. Frederick the Great, now 
 supported strongly by Pitt, defeated the French at Rossbach, in 
 1757> and won victory after victory in face of heavy odds. 
 
 16. Conquest of Canada. If we now turn to America, we will 
 find that there also Pitt's wise and vigorous policy was bearing good 
 fruit. He roused the English colonists to fresh endeavours, and 
 formed a plan for driving the French out of America. Men, 
 (including Highland regiments), arms, and money, were freely 
 sent to the aid of the colonists, and never was Pitt's knowledge ot 
 men better shown than in choosing the officers who were sent to 
 command. 
 
 Abercromby was for a time Commander-in-Chief , but he was soon 
 replaced by an abler man, General Amherst, who had under him, 
 Wolfe, the hero of Quebec, Townshend, Murray, and others. The 
 first great success was won at Louisbourg in Cape Breton, where 
 Wolfe greatly distinguished himself in taking that strong fortress. 
 Step by step the French were driven back, until they made their 
 last stand at Quebec under General Montcalm, a brave and skilful 
 officer. It fell to the lot of Wolfe to make the effort to cap- 
 ture this Gibraltar of America, in the summer of 1759. The
 
 THE WHIG NOBLES RULE ENGLAND. 147 
 
 French had fortified Quebec and the steep banks of the St. Law- 
 rence so well, that Wolfe, who was seriously ill, almost 
 despaired of success. At last on the night of Sept. 12, Wolfe and 
 his men climbed up a narrow path, on the face of the cliff above 
 Quebec, unobserved save by a small French outpost. There on the 
 Plains of Abraham the early dawn found him with his troops drawn 
 up in order of battle. Montcalm, who was below Quebec when the 
 news of Wolfe's landing reached him, in great haste marched to 
 meet the enemy. Passing through Quebec, he at once attacked 
 the English, who quietly waited until the French were close at 
 hand, and then poured a deadly volley into their ranks. This was 
 followed by a fierce charge of bayonets before which the French 
 troops gave way. In the hour of victory Wolfe was mortally 
 wounded, but he lived long enough to know that his task was 
 successfully accomplished. The brave Montcalm also fell, and the 
 following night died within the walls of Quebec. Five days after 
 Quebec surrendered. 
 
 The war went on another year, and then Montreal surrendered, 
 and with it, in 1760, passed all Canada into the hands of England. 
 
 17. Olive and India. In these days news of victories won on 
 land and sea came thick and fast to cheer the hearts of the English. 
 At Minden, in Westphalia, Duke Ferdinand won a great victory 
 over the French, while Admiral Hawke and Admiral Boscawen won 
 victories at sea over the French fleet, the first at Quiberon Bay, and 
 the second at Lagos. 
 
 But equally important with Quebec and Minden, was Olive's 
 great victory at Plassy, in Bengal. Olive had just returned to 
 Madras from England, when news came of the horrible tragedy at 
 Calcutta. He at once proceeded to retake Calcutta, and meeting 
 Suraj-ud-Daula on the Plains of Plassy, he, with 3,000 men, routed 
 an army of 60,000 natives, with little loss to his troops. Suraj-ud- 
 Daula was now dethroned, and a ruler more friendly to the English 
 put in his place. This was the beginning of the English conquest 
 of Bengal, and one step led to another, until the East India 
 Company, in 1765, held the chief power In the most important 
 provinces of Hindostan. 
 
 18. Close of Seven Years' War. In 1760 George n. died, and 
 was succeeded by his grandson, George III. The young king did
 
 148 HISTORY OP ENGLAN1X 
 
 not like the Whigs and Pitt, and to get rid of them he used hie 
 influence to bring the war to a close. Pitt was opposed to peace, 
 for he knew Spain had secretly promised to aid France ; but 
 George managed to get Parliament on his side, and Pitt resigned. 
 Newcastle, too, was driven by slights and insults from office, and 
 Lord Bute, the king's tutor, took his place as Prime Minister. 
 Nevertheless the war with Spain took place, as Pitt had foreseen, 
 and lasted a year. England now refused to help Frederick the 
 Great further, and he made a peace with his enemies, by which he 
 kept Silesia. A general peace was signed at Paris, in 1763, be- 
 tween France, England, Spain and Portugal, and the " Seven 
 Years' War" came to an end. England kept Canada and Florida ; 
 Minorca was restored by France ; while, in India, English influ- 
 ence and power was henceforth fully recognized. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OF THE KINO. 
 
 1. George III. George III. began his reign with the resolve to 
 allow the king's ministers to rule no longer for the king, as was the 
 custom in the days of George I. and II. His mother had early and 
 constantly taught him to "Be a King;" and his tutor, Lord Bute, 
 had strengthened the impressions his mother's teachings had made 
 on his naturally narrow mind and stubborn disposition. Few 
 English kings were so unfit to rule as George HI., and few did so 
 much injury to England at home and abroad. Yet he came to the 
 throne with many things in his favour. He had been born and 
 educated in England, and so was the first English king who reigned 
 since the Revolution of 1688. It pleased the people to have once 
 more an Englishman on the throne, and it pleased the Scotch when 
 he said he was not merely an Englishman, but was also a "Briton." 
 With these advantages on his side he was at first popular, and so he 
 might have remained had he not used his position to recover the 
 authority lost by his predecessors George I. and George H. Instead 
 of ruling by the advice of his ministers he sought to make them
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OF THE KING. 149 
 
 the mere instruments of his will. In spite of his many faults as 
 a ruler the people respected him for his pure domestic life, and 
 for his frugal and simple habits. Old "Farmer George" was 
 always, even in the days when his stubbornness and ignorant telf- 
 will were injuring the nation, a king that many people loved and 
 revered. 
 
 2. Growth of Industry. The latter part of the 18th century 
 was a time when Great Britain made great strides in wealth and 
 population. This was due, mainly, to the invention of many labor- 
 saving machines, such as the "spinning-jenny" and "mule," for 
 spinning yarn, by Hargreaves and Crompton, and the steam-engine 
 by Watt. During this time it became known that pit-coal could 
 be used to smelt iron ore, and this, taken with the discovery 
 of the steam-engine, soon led to large iron-works being founded in 
 the north of England. Goods could now be manufactured in great 
 quantities ; and the difficulty of taking them to market was overcome 
 by improving the roads, and especially by building numerous canals. 
 The first canal, from Worsley to Manchester, was proposed in 1758 
 by the Duke of Bridgewater, and was successfully completed by the 
 great engineer Brindley, The population of the towns and cities 
 now increased very rapidly, so that with more people to feed, and 
 heavy duties on wheat and other articles of food, bread became 
 much dearer. This led to more land being tilled, and much that 
 had hitherto been considered waste and worthless was now enclosed 
 
 . and made to give good crops. Between 1760 and 1774 numerous 
 Enclosure Bills were passed by the British Parliament in favour of 
 the large landowners, who had a great deal of power in Parliament. 
 The fencing in of so much waste land was very hard on poor people, 
 many of whom had been wont to use these commons for pasturing a 
 horse or cow. Pauperism was fast becoming a great evil, and a 
 burden on the working portion of the community. 
 
 3. Wilkes. George III., as has been stated, v/as anxious to rule 
 himself, through his ministers, and that was why he got rid of Pitt 
 and Newcastle at the beginning of his reign, and made Lord Bute 
 Prime Minister. It was the king's policy to break down the power 
 of the Whig nobles, for he knew that he could not have his own 
 way so long as the great Whig families were kept in office. His 
 plan was to form a party of his own, the "King's friends," neither
 
 150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Whig nor Tory, which would look to the king for guidance and sup- 
 port. In this he succeeded very well, for the Tories, who had long 
 been out of office, and the Jacobites, who had given up all hope 
 of restoring the Stuarts, were glad, to be taken into the young 
 king's favour. Besides the Tories and Jacobites, he managed by 
 means of bribes in the shape of money, titles, and offices, to win 
 over many of the supporters of the Whigs. Nevertheless, it is 
 doubtful if he could have carried out his policy, had not the Whigs 
 been split into factions which made war upon 'each other. Their 
 quarrels gave the king the chance he desired, and he soon became 
 so powerful that he made and unmade governments at his pleasure. 
 
 Lord Bute, who succeeded Pitt and Newcastle, did not hold his 
 position very long. He was a Scotchman, and a great favourite of 
 the king's mother, and these things made him hated by the people. 
 Besides he had no experience in politics, and the people knew he 
 was a mere puppet in the king's hands. He became so thoroughly 
 hated, that he had to keep a bodyguard of prize fighters about him 
 when he walked through the streets of London. Frightened 
 at last by the evidences on every side of popular hatred, he 
 resigned, and George III. had again to take a Whig for his minister. 
 This was George Grenville, a conscientious, hardworking man, 
 who made himself disliked by both king and people by his 
 narrowness and obstinacy. His first trouble was with a news- 
 paper, the ' ' North Briton, " which very violently attacked the 
 king and his ministers. The editor of this paper was John 
 Wilkes, a member of Parliament. He was a clever, witty, but 
 profligate man, who by a strange fate had a great deal to do 
 in bringing in some much-needed reforms. Grenville, acting under 
 instructions from the king, issued a "general warrant," that is 
 a warrant in which the name of no person was given, for the 
 arrest of the publishers and editors of the offending paper. Wilkes, 
 along with several others, was arrested and put in prison ; but by 
 appealing to the courts, he got his release, and then proceeded 
 against the Government for arresting a member of Parliamemt con- 
 trary to law. The courts decided in his favour, gave him dam- 
 ages, and condemned "general warrants'' as illegal. Parliament 
 now charged him with libel, and \Vilkes seeing that he had little 
 chance of fair play tied to France, and was outlawed for not
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OF THE KIN*. 151 
 
 standing his trial. Nevertheless, no more "general warrant*" 
 have been issued since his time. 
 
 4. Stamp Act, 1765. And now Grenville's meddlesome dispo- 
 sition led to a more serious difficulty than that with Wilkes. The 
 English colonies in America had long felt that the Mother Country, 
 by her trade policy, was injuring them for her own benefit. The 
 colonies were not allowed to trade freely with other countries, but 
 were expected to buy the manufactures they needed from England, 
 and in return were given special privileges in the sale of their raw 
 proc uce in England. The colonists had found it profitable to 
 evade this law, and to carry on a trade with the Spanish colonies 
 in America. This Grenville now tried to stop, and at the same 
 time put a tax on the colonies to lessen the burden of the British 
 taxpayers. The British Parliament said that much of the expense 
 of the war in America was for the benefit of the colonies and, 
 therefore, they should help to bear the burden. The tax was to be 
 levied by making the colonists use stamped paper for notes, leases, 
 and other legal documents. These stamps had to be bought from 
 the British Government, which got a profit from their sale, 
 although the money thus raised was spent in the colonies. 
 The colonies were angry at this attempt to tax them without 
 their own consent, and said that while they were willing to 
 tax themselves for the good of the Mother Country, they were 
 not willing that a Parliament in which they had no represen- 
 tatives should force them to pay taxes. They sent a petition 
 against the "Stamp Act," but at first, their remonstrance met 
 with no attention. They then refused to buy any English manu- 
 factures, and this caused the English merchants and manufacturers 
 to ask for the repeal of the Act. Meanwhile Grenville had dis- 
 pleased George III., and had been forced to give way to Lord 
 Rockingham, the leader of the other section of the Whigs. Rock- 
 ingham, aided by Pitt, did away with the Stamp Act, but Parlia- 
 ment, while removing it, took the opportunity of asserting its right 
 to tax the colonies at pleasure. 
 
 A short time after this there was another change in the Govern- 
 ment, and Pitt, with the title of " Earl of Chatham," came back as 
 chief member of the Graftoii Ministry. But ill-health forced him 
 to leave the management of colonial affairs in other hands, and
 
 152 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Parliament, In 1767, placed duties on tea, painters' colours, glass, 
 8nd a few other articles going into America. This aroused the 
 colonies once more, who were now more than ever determined that 
 they would not submit to arbitrary taxation, and began to take 
 steps to defend their rights. 
 
 5. The Middlesex Elections. The same obstinacy and love of 
 power which caused George HI. to drive his American subjects to 
 revolt, led him to use his influence with the House of Commons to 
 invade the rights of the electors of Middlesex. In 1769, Wilkes 
 returned from France and was elected member for Middlesex, a 
 county in which there were more electors than in most constituencies. 
 George was angry, and through his Government had Wilkes arrested 
 for his old offence, libel, and put in prison. The House of Com- 
 mons was induced to expel him on account of the libel; but 
 Wilkes was again elected by the people of Middlesex. Three times 
 was Wilkes elected and expelled, and then the House of Commons 
 declared Wilkes incapable of being elected, and persuaded Colonel 
 Luttrell to oppose him in Middlesex. Wilkes received 1,143 votes 
 and Luttrell only 296, nevertheless the Commons declared Luttreli 
 elected. This high-handed and unjust act, by which the people 
 were deprived of their right of election, caused great indignation, 
 and when Wilkes came out of prison, the people of London showed 
 their sympathy by electing him an alderman of the city. 
 
 6. Liberty of the Press. The following year, 1771, Wilkes was 
 engaged in another contest with Parliament, in the interest of the 
 people. Although the press had now a right to publish without 
 asking permission from any one, nevertheless it was against the rules 
 to report the debates in Parliament. In spite of a "standing order" 
 to the contrary, garbled reports were published, and at last, the 
 Speaker of the Commons, ordered the arrest of a number of printers. 
 Two of them appealed to the law, and Wilkes and another London 
 alderman acting as magistrates, freed them as being guilty of no 
 offence. The Speaker's messenger was arrested for trying to carry 
 out the will of the Commons, and so serious was the quarrel that the 
 Mayor of London was sent to the Tower while the session lasted. 
 Meanwhile the printers were left at liberty, and though no decision 
 was reached as to the right to publish debates, the press has ever 
 since been permitted to report Parliamentary proceedings. This led
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OP THE KING. 
 
 153 
 
 to better newspapers being published, and more interest in public 
 affairs being taken, and it helped to put a stop to the practice of 
 bribing members of Parliament. Wilkes was allowed to take his 
 seat in 1774, and in 1732 the House of Commons admitted that it 
 was wrong in seating Colonel Luttrell in 1769. 
 
 7. The American Colonies Win Their Independence. In 
 1770, George III. succeeded in getting a Prime Minister to his 
 
 / MAPOPTHE 
 
 THIRTEEN 
 
 ORIGINAL AMERICAN 3 
 STATES 
 
 taste. This was Lord North, an easy-going, good-natured Tory, 
 who was quite content to take his orders from the king. Now that 
 George was "king" as he wished to be, he resolved to make his 
 American subjects feel his authority. In 1770, Lord North took 
 off all the obnoxious taxes, except that on tea, and this George III,
 
 154 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 retained, for the purpose of asserting his right of taxation over the 
 colonies. Meanwhile, the feeling in America was growing stronger 
 every year, and the colonists resolved not to buy any tea until the 
 tax was removed. This resolve was carried out, and the East 
 India Company began to suffer. In 1773 some ship-loads of tea 
 entered Boston harbour, and an effort was made to land the cargo. 
 A number of colonists resolved to prevent this, and dressed as 
 Indians went on board the ships and threw the chests of tea into 
 the water. For this act of violence Parliament closed the port of 
 Boston, took away from Massachusetts its charter, and demanded 
 that the offenders should be sent to England for trial. 
 
 War was now near at hand. In 1774, all the colonies, except 
 Georgia, ser.t delegates to Philadelphia, where a congress was held to 
 decide on what action should be taken for the protection of their 
 rights and liberties. They resolved to trade no more with England 
 until the charter of Massachusetts was restored, and they made 
 preparations for resistance, if such should be needful. In 1775, at 
 Lexington, near Boston, the first encounter took place between the 
 British troops and the farmers and mechanics of Massachusetts. The 
 following month, a more serious encounter took place at Bunker's 
 Hill, also near Boston, and there the American militia showed 
 George III. that the Yankees could fight. In the meantime George 
 Washington, of Virginia, had been chosen commander-in-chief of 
 the American forces, and at once began to make such preparations as 
 he could to meet the coming storm. No better choice could have 
 been made. Calm, patient, devoted to his country, for eight years 
 he bore the heavy burden of what at times seemed an almost hope- 
 less struggle, and finally secured the independence of the colonies, 
 an independence largely due to his unflinching courage and endur- 
 ance, and to his power to cheer and animate his followers. 
 
 Early in the war the British troops were forced to leave Boston 
 and retire to New T ork, where the feeling in favour of the Mother 
 Country was strong. Canada was invaded in 1775 by American 
 armies, under Generals Montgomery and Arnold, in the hope of 
 inducing the people to rebel. Montreal was easily .taken, but 
 Quebec resisted all attacks, and Montgomery was killed in an assault 
 upon its defences. The Americans shortly afterwards retreated, and 
 Canada was troubled no more The colonists now finally decided to 
 separate from the Mother Country, and Thomas Jefferson, on behalf
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OP THE KING. 155 
 
 of Congress, drew up a solemn "Declaration of Independence," 
 which was approved and accepted July 4th, 1776. Hitherto, the war 
 had gone against the colonists, and a large British army under 
 General Burgoyne, in 1777, marched from Canada down to the 
 Hudson River, to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. 
 Great alarm was felt at this movement, and the American militia 
 flocked in from all quarters to check Burgoyne's march. Soon Bur- 
 goyne found himself hemmed in, and to save his army from utter 
 destruction, surrendered with six thousand men. This v.-as the 
 turning-point in the fortunes of the colonies. The next year, 1778, 
 France came to the aid of the young Republic, and sent men, money, 
 and a fleet, all of which were sorely needed. The war went on for 
 several years after this with varying results. Washington had been 
 defeated at Brandywine River, 1777, and forced to give up Philadel- 
 phia to the British, and British generals won many victories in the 
 Southern States. Nothing but the heroic courage and patience of 
 Washington saved the colonies at this time from yielding in despair. 
 The war was carried on with extreme bitterness, arising from the 
 employment by England of hired German soldiers and North 
 American Indians. In 1781, the fortunes of war changed in 
 favour of the Americans, until the crowning victory was won 
 at Torktown, where Lord Cornwallis, cut off from supplies by 
 an American army and a French fleet, surrendered with several 
 thousand men, After this the British people saw that all hope of 
 keeping the colonies was gone. Britain was now at war with Spain, 
 which, in 1770, joined France against her, and made a desperate 
 effort to retake Gibraltar. The fortress was defended for three 
 years by General Eliot, who drove the besiegers back by pouring 
 red-hot shot into their fleet. Russia, Sweden, and Denmark were 
 also hostile, having banded themselves together against Britain, to 
 prevent her from searching their ships. So, when the news of the 
 surrender of Cornwallis came to England, people began to despair. 
 Lord North, now thoroughly unpopular, resigned in 1782, and was 
 succeeded by Rockingham. Pitt had died in 1778, his last speech 
 being a plea against giving up the colonies, and a defiance to his old 
 enemy, France. Nothing now remained but to make the best terms 
 possible with France, Spain, and the colonies. Fortunately, a great 
 victory won by Admiral Rodney over the French fleet enabled 
 Britain to conclude an honorable peace. By the Treaty of Ver-
 
 156 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 sallies, in 1783, the independence of the United States was 
 recognized, France gained nothing, while Spain had to be content 
 with Minorca and Florida. To Britain there remained in America, 
 Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. 
 
 8. Home Rule in Ireland. While England had her troubles 
 abroad, she* was not without them at home. In 1780, a great riot 
 took place in London, because Parliament removed some of the 
 harsh laws against Roman Catholics. Lord George Gordon was 
 the leader of a mob of 60,000 men, who came to Parliament with 
 a petition against the measure. Not content with presenting their 
 petition, the excited people broke out into acts of violence, burning 
 Roman Catholic chapels, and destroying public and private 'pro- 
 perty. Finally 10,000 troops had to be called out to restore order 
 in the city. 
 
 A much more serious trouble was the demand made by the Pro- 
 testants in Ireland for the right to manage their own affairs by an 
 Irish Parliament. While the war with the colonies was going on, all 
 the troops in Ireland were taken to America, and as France threat- 
 ened an invasion, a large Protestant volunteer force, 100,000 in 
 number, was raised to defend the country. This was Ireland's 
 opportunity, and the Protestant leaders in the Irish Parliament, of 
 whom the chief was Henry Grattan, demanded that Ireland should 
 have the right to control her own trade and commerce, and that 
 Poyning's law, which gave the English Parliament the right to 
 prevent Bills passed in the Irish Parliament from becoming law, 
 should be repealed. Lord Rockingham had no choice but to sub- 
 mit, and so, in 1782, Ireland got "Home Rule." Nevertheless, 
 only a very small portion of the people of Ireland governed her, 
 as Roman Catholics and Dissenters could not be members of 
 Parliament, and this gave all the power into the hands of a few 
 Protestant families belonging to the English Church, in Ireland. 
 
 .9. Warren Hastings. Though England had lost ground in 
 America, she was extending her possessions in Asia and Australia. 
 In the latter country a convict settlement was formed in 1788 at 
 Sydney, in New South Wales. For many years none but convicts 
 were sent out, but, as we shall find, these were the pioneers of 
 what promises to be a great Anglo-Saxon nation. In India, Clive 
 did much to bring about a better treatment of the natives, who were
 
 PERSONAL INFLUENCE OF THE KING. 157 
 
 oppressed and robbed by English traders after the East India 
 Company had gained so much control in the land. Clive returned 
 to England and through his influence Warren Hastings, the 
 Governor of Bengal, was made, in 1773, Governor-General of 
 Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. When Hastings went to India he 
 made great changes in the administration of affairs, in spite of 
 a very bitter opposition from some members of his own Council. 
 He had to wage a war against the Mahrattas, the roving free- 
 booters of Central India, and against Hyder All, a military 
 adventurer who had desolated the Carnatic with fire and sword. 
 In spite of all the difficulties which his Council, the native princes, 
 and the French put in his way, Hastings held for England all 
 she had won, and laid the foundations of her present great Indian 
 Empire. He returned to England in 1784, expecting to be re- 
 warded for his services, but instead was impeached before the 
 House of Lords by the Commons, for his cruel and unjust treat- 
 ment of the natives. He was charged with selling the services of his 
 English troops to a native prince, who used them to conquer and 
 enslave the Rohillas, an Afghan tribe. He was also accused of ex- 
 torting money from native rulers, and for putting a native to death 
 illegally. Hastings did not think he had done anything wrong, for 
 he knew that the offences he was charged with had been committed 
 in the interest of the East India Company. His trial lasted eight 
 years, and ended in his acquittal in 1795, although the three greatest 
 orators of his time, Burke, Fox, and Sheridan, were employed to 
 press the charges against him. Although acquitted, the trial had the 
 result of making the English in India more just and merciful to the 
 natives, and led to the better government of the country. 
 
 10. The Coalition Government and Its Overthrow. When 
 Lord Bockingham died, Lord Shelburne became Prime Minister. 
 Among the followers of Rockingham was Charles James Fox, an able 
 orator and statesman, who for years had spoken strongly against 
 Lord North's government. Fox was a very amiable, liberal-minded 
 man ; but he was very much given to gambling and other vices. 
 King George hated him, because he was the boon companion of 
 George, Prince of Wales, and the king blamed him for corrupting 
 his son and heir. Fox quarrelled with Shelburne, and to drive him 
 from office united with Lord North in what was called a Coalition,
 
 158 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 that is a union of people holding different opinions. The followers 
 of Fox and North together were now more numerous than those 
 of Shelburne, and they succeeded in turning him out of office. 
 What is known in history as the "Coalition" government of Fox 
 and North was now formed. It had a large following in Parliament, 
 but people outside thought it was wrong that Tories and Whigs, 
 who had been abusing each other so bitterly for so many years, 
 should go into the same government. The king, too, was displeased, 
 partly because he hated Fox, and partly because the ministry 
 was too well supported. At first he could do nothing ; but 
 when Fox brought in a Bill for the better government of India, 
 the king induced his friends in the Lords to throw it out, and then 
 made this an excuse for forcing his ministers to resign. He now 
 called on William Pitt, a young man of twenty four years of age, to 
 become Prime Minister. Pitt was the second son of William Pitt, 
 the great Commoner, and although young in years was old in 
 knowledge, ability, and self-confidence. In vain, Fox and North 
 outvoted him in Parliament, and tried to force him to resign. The 
 king gave him his influence and support, and when, a few months 
 later, the king dissolved Parliament, and called upon the people to 
 elect their representatives, it was found that the nation was so 
 strongly with Pitt that few of the followers of Fox and North were 
 able to keep their seats. Pitt was now Prime Minister with a 
 large following in Parliament and in the country, and the king was 
 content to let him rule. For seventeen years without a break, 
 from December 1783 to February 1801, he remained in power, 
 guiding and controlling the affairs of the nation as no man had done 
 since the days of Walpole. 
 
 CHAPTER XXTV. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 
 
 1. William Pitt the Younger. One of Pitt's first acts was to 
 pass an India Bill, in 1784, which gave the Government control 
 over the political acts of the East India Company. This was don*
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 159 
 
 by appointing a Board of Control, the president of which was to be 
 a member of the Government. But Pitt had a great many other 
 reforms in view. He saw that Parliament did not represent the 
 people, and he tried to do away with some of the small and rotten 
 boroughs, and give more members to large cities and towns, and 
 to populous counties. In this he failed, as too many powerful 
 persons wished to keep things as they were. He also sought fco 
 make trade freer between England and other countries. Pitt had 
 studied and accepted the views of a famous book called the "Wealth 
 of Nations," published in 1776, the author of which was Adam 
 Smith, a Professor in a Scotch University. Pitt partly carried out 
 Smith's doctrines by lowering the export and import duties on 
 many articles. In this way he checked smuggling, and the public 
 revenue was increased. He saw that Ireland was suffering from 
 poverty, because she had no markets for her products, and he 
 offered to admit Irish goods into English markets if the Irish 
 Parliament would allow England to send her goods into Ireland. 
 This the Irish Parliament refused to do because England did not 
 propose to give to Ireland the right to trade in all her ports at home 
 and abroad. Pitt was much disappointed at the refusal of his offer, 
 but he succeeded in making trade freer with France. Pitt also 
 put a stop to the practice of borrowing money from political friends 
 at high rates of interest, and of giving them the privilege of doing 
 work for the Government at their own prices. So, in many ways, 
 he saved the public money, and began to lessen the public debt. 
 
 2. French. Revolution. Under such a wise and careful minister, 
 who kept the country at peace and encourged trade and commerce, 
 the people were very prosperous, and the population and wealth of 
 the nation grew rapidly. But in 1783 it looked as if Pitt's power 
 would soon be at an end. George HI. had an attack of insanity 
 which lasted so long that Parliament began to take steps to have 
 his son George, the Prince of Wales, appointed Pvegent. The 
 Prince of Wales was a great friend of Fox, and Pitt and Fox both 
 expected that when the Prince became Regent, Pitt would go out of 
 office, and Fox would come in. So when a Regency Bill was brought 
 in which proposed to state what the power of the Regent should be, 
 Fox wanted the Prince to become Regent at once with all the 
 power of the king, but this Pitt would not allow. While the two 
 parties were disputing the old king recovered, and then the Bill was
 
 160 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 no longer needed. The next year saw the beginning of the French 
 Revolution, and from this time onward Pitt's plans for lessening 
 the debt and carrying out great reforms at home had to be dropped. 
 The causes of this Revolution may be traced a long way back. For 
 many years the French people had been very badly governed, the 
 poor and the working classes having to pay all the taxes, while the 
 nobles and clergy did nothing but spend the earnings of the pea- 
 sants, labourers, and artisans. But the time came when the heavy 
 expenses of the French court could not be paid out of the taxes of 
 the poor, and then the French king, Louis XVI., called together 
 the French Parliament, or ' ' States-General, " to get money from the 
 nobles and clergy. There were three branches of this States-Gen- 
 eral ; for the nobles, the clergy, and the commons, sat and voted in 
 separate chambers. When the Parliament met the commons would 
 do no business until the nobles and clergy consented to meet and 
 vote in the same assembly with them. The new assembly thus 
 formed became known as the "National Assembly." The National 
 Assembly soon began to make many changes giving the people more 
 freedom, and taking away much of the power of the king, nobles, 
 and clergy. In July, 1789, the Paris mob attacked and took the 
 Bastille, a great stone fortress and prison on the Seine, where many 
 innocent people had met a mysterious fate. A little later the king 
 was forced by the mob to leave his palace at Versailles and take up 
 his abode in Paris, where he was kept a kind of prisoner. Once he 
 tried to escape, but his flight was discovered and he was brought 
 back. Then Austria and Prussia made war upon France to put 
 Louis in his old position, and this so enraged the Paris mob that it 
 broke into the prisons and murdered a great number of royalist 
 prisoners. This was in September, 1792. A few months after- 
 wards, Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were put to death 
 for plotting the invasion of France by Austria and Prussia. While 
 these events were taking place in France the English people looked 
 on quietly. Pitt, at first, was pleased with the Revolution, as he 
 thought the French were trying to get the same kind of government 
 as existed in England. Fox was delighted ; but Edmund Burke 
 spoke and wrote against the revolutionists with all his great, 
 genius and eloquence. Burke's speeches had little effect for a 
 time, but when the French went from one excess to another, 
 'then Burke's writings began to be widely read, and people grew
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 161 
 
 alarmed lest a revolution should break out in England. War with 
 France now became popular. Austria and Prussia had not been 
 successful in their invasion of France, for after the first fear had 
 passed away the French Republicans drove their enemies back, and 
 in their turn invaded the Austrian dominions in the Netherlands. 
 The French now wanted all other nations to become republics, and 
 when they began to take steps to invade Holland, which was under 
 the protection of England, peace could no longer be maintained, 
 and in Feb. 1793, France declared war against England, Holland, 
 and Spain. 
 
 3. War with France. In the war that followed England had, 
 at first, as allies, Spain, Holland, Austria, and Prussia. England 
 had to provide much of the money for the war, which owing to bad 
 generalship and lack of energy was full of disasters for the Allies. 
 The French drove the English out of Toulon, captured Amsterdam, 
 and seized the Dutch fleet. Prussia soon made peace, while Spain 
 cast in her lot with France against England. Against these 
 reverses, we must place a victory by Lord Howe over the French 
 fleet at Brest, and the seizure of the Dutch colonies at the Cape of 
 Good Hope, in Ceylon, and in Malacca. So unsuccessful was the 
 war, arid so heavy the burden placed upon the English taxpayer, 
 that Pitt was anxious to bring about an honorable peace. But the 
 French were so elated with their victories, that no reasonable terms 
 could be made, and in spite of bad harvests and great distress 
 among the poor and the working classes, the war had to go on. 
 To make matters worse, a foolish terror had seized upon the ruling 
 and middle classes, who imagined they saw plots and conspiracies 
 in every meeting held, and society formed, to obtain better govern- 
 ment and a better representation in Parliament. Cruel and unjust 
 laws were passed to prevent public gatherings and political writings. 
 The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and innocent men on the 
 most trivial evidence were imprisoned and banished. 
 
 4. Trouble in Ireland. In the meantime affairs in Ireland were 
 growing worse and worse. The Irish Parliament did not represent 
 the Irish people, and all offices and places of trust were given tc 
 the friends of a few ruling families. Shut in to Ireland by heavy 
 duties against their products in English markets, the Irish were 
 growing restless under the combined forces of grinding poverty and
 
 162 HISTORY OP ENOLAVD. 
 
 political injustice. Pitt had tried to remedy some of their vrongs, 
 but between the Irish Parliament and George III. he had failed. 
 In 1790, Orange lodges (so called from William, Prince of Orange), 
 were formed in the North of Ireland, and in 1791, a body of Roman 
 Catholics and Protestants, known as the " United Irishmen," began 
 to agitate for their civil and religious rights. Some of the leaders 
 of this body, Wolf Tone, Hamilton Rowan, and others, asked 
 the French for help, and the request was answered by sending a 
 body of French troops under General Hoche, who attempted to 
 land, but failed owing to a great storm at sea. At last the Irish 
 rose in open rebellion, and formed a camp at Vinegar Hill, in 
 Wexford, where they were attacked and defeated by General Lake, 
 in June, 1798. A French force, under General Humbert, landed 
 after the battle, and had a brief success, but was soon hemmed in 
 and defeated. This rising was attended by horrible acts of cruelty, 
 committed by both the Orangemen and the rebels, and by the 
 different secret societies that sprang up over the land. 
 
 5. Naval Victories. While Ireland was in this troubled con- 
 dition, France, under its republican rulers, the "Directory," was 
 extending her conquests in Italy and elsewhere. Her great success 
 was largely due to the wonderful genius for war of a youjig and 
 rising general, Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of Corsica. He had 
 helped to drive the English out of France, had saved the French 
 Directory from the Paris mob, and had been given command of an 
 army which won victory after victory over the Austrians in Italy, 
 and forced them to yield up their Italian possessions. France 
 now planned to invade England, with the aid of the fleets of 
 Holland and Spain, but Admiral Jervis defeated the Spanish fleet 
 off Cape St. Vincent, in 1797, and drove it into Cadiz Harbor. 
 Nelson, who was to win such great renown on the sea, was in this 
 battle, and displayed great daring and skill. It was fortunate 
 for England that this victory was won, for now the sailors, 
 goaded to desperation by bad pay, bad food, and cruel treatment, 
 mutinied, first at Spithead and then at the Nore. Their grievances 
 were partially righted, a few of the ringleaders were punished, and 
 then the men returned to their duty. They soon afterwards proved 
 their loyalty and courage by defeating, under Admiral Duncan, the 
 Dutch fleet at Camperdown, October, 1797. 
 
 But the British navy was now to win a still more famous victory,
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 163 
 
 under her greatest naval ooiumander. Bonaparte, having humbled 
 the Austrians, got permission to take a fleet and an army to Egypt. 
 Admiral Horatio Nelson was sent with an English fleet to overtake 
 him, but failed for some time to find his whereabouts. At length 
 he got the necessary information, and sailed at once for Egypt, 
 where he found Napoleon had landed, and had won a great victory 
 over the Mamelukes, at the Battle of the Pyramids. But 
 Napoleon's fleet lay anchored in the Bay of Aboukir, and, 
 though it was six o'clock in the evening, Nelson sent some of 
 his ships between the French fleet and the shore, and began 
 a battle which raged nearly all night. The morning found most of 
 the French fleet destroyed, and Napoleon's army without the means 
 of return. The Battle of the Nile, which was fought August 1, 
 1798, brought great joy and relief to England, for France was now 
 without a fleet. From Egypt, Bonaparte crossed over to Syria, 
 besieged and took Jaffa, but was repulsed at Acre by the Turks and 
 the English, and then returned to Egypt. Hearing that his interests 
 could be best served by his return, he escaped in a vessel back to 
 France, leaving his army behind him. He was now made First 
 Consul, and once more led a French army against the Austrians in 
 Italy, defeating them at Marengo in 1801. The same year his army 
 in Egypt was defeated by Sir Ralph Abercromby, and his soldiers 
 made prisoners. 
 
 6. Union of Great Britain and Ireland. After the rebellion 
 of 1798 in Ireland, Pitt saw that the only way to save the island 
 from anarchy was to bring about a Union between Great Britain 
 and Ireland. This he succeeded in carrying out in 1800, by 
 bribing the Irish members of Parliament, and by promising the 
 Irish Catholics to repeal the laws which deprived them of their 
 rights as citizens. So, on January 1st, 1801, the Irish Parlia- 
 ment ceased to exist, and Ireland became represented in the 
 United Parliament at London, by one hundred members of 
 the House of Commons, and by twenty-eight peers. But Pitt's pro- 
 mise of civil and religious freedom for the Roman Catholics could 
 not be carried out. When George HI. heard that Pitt was pre- 
 paring a Bill to give Roman Catholics their rights, he declared he 
 would resign his crown rather than assent to it, and, Pitt who had 
 pledged him1f to this act of justice, felt it hia duty to resign 
 inlSOL
 
 164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 7. Peace of Amiens. Addington, the Speaker of the Commons, 
 mow became Prime Minister, and was supported by Pitt. In April 
 of the same year, the English attacked the Danish fleet at Copen- 
 hagen,- the Danes having shown signs of hostility. Sir Hyde 
 Parker was the English Admiral, but Nelson did the fighting and 
 won a hard-fought battle. Once during the struggle Parker signal 
 led Nelson to retire, but Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye, 
 and said he could see no signal, and went on fighting. Bonaparte, 
 to serve his own ends, was now ready to make a truce, and so in 
 March, 1802, the Peace of Amiens was signed. England gave up 
 most of her conquests, and France restored the south of Italy to 
 Austria. 
 
 8. Trafalgar. The Peace of Amiens was but a hollow peace and 
 Napoleon soon found a pretext for renewing the war. In defiance of 
 the treaty he seized Parma and Piedmont, and placed an army in 
 Switzerland. He found fault with England for not restoring the 
 island of Malta to the Knights of St. John, and for harbouring 
 French refugees. In 1804, his ambition was gratified by being made 
 Emperor of France, and he was now eager to extend his empire, and 
 dictate to Europe. To do this he saw he must first crush England, 
 and to this end he began to gather a large army at Bolougne which 
 was to be carried across the Channel in flat-bottomed boats. When 
 news of Napoleon's designs reached England, nearly 400,000 
 volunteers offered their services to defend their country, and form- 
 ed themselves into companies and regiments for purposes of drill 
 and discipline. But Pitt who had been called back to his old post, 
 in 1804, depended on England's navy, and it did not fail her in this 
 hour of danger. Napoleon hoped to draw the English fleet away 
 from the Channel, by sending it in pursuit of the French and 
 Spanish fleets which sailed, apparently, for the West Indies. The 
 plan partially succeeded, for Nelson went in pursuit of them, but 
 after a while found that they had turned back, for the purpose of 
 escorting Napoleon's army across the Channel. The Spanish fleet 
 was, however, met by an English fleet at Cape Finisterre and driven 
 into Cadiz, and Nelson having found out his mistake, returned in 
 great haste, and coming up with the French fleet at Cape Trafalgar, 
 October 21st, 1805, fought and won the greatest naval battle of the 
 war. When the action was about to begin, Nelson gave the signal, 
 " This day England expects every man to do his duty," and nothing
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 165 
 
 more was needed. Nelson, against the advice of hie friend*, 
 exposed himself fearlessly to the French marksmen, one of whom 
 shot him down while standing on the deck of his own ship, the 
 Victory. He lived long enough to know that the battle was won, 
 and that all danger of a French invasion of England's shores was at 
 an end. The English people rejoiced at Nelson's last and greatest 
 victory, although the price at which it was bought brought sorrow 
 and mourning into every household. 
 
 Soon after this, Napoleon, who had turned away from England 
 to attack Austria, met and defeated the armies of Austria and 
 Russia at Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, and the news of this dis- 
 aster " killed Pitt." At the early age of forty-seven, in January 
 1806, this worthy son of a noble sire passed away, full of sorrow 
 and anxiety for the country he had served so well. 
 
 9. Abolition of the Slave Trade. It had been Pitt's wish, 
 when he returned to office in 1804, to have the aid of Fox in his 
 Government, but George III. would not hear of it. Now, after 
 Pitt's death, Fox was taken in, for all parties were united in fighting 
 England's battles against Napoleon. It was hoped that Fox would, 
 on account of his known friendliness to France, be able to bring 
 about a peace, but this was not realized, and Fox soon followed his 
 great rival to the grave, dying in 1806. It was at this time, 1807, 
 that England took her first step in ridding herself of the curse of 
 slavery. Ever since the revival under the Wesleys and Whitfield, 
 a deep interest had been taken in the poor, the ignorant, and the 
 oppressed. In 1773, John Howard was drawn into the work of 
 visiting English jails and prisons, and his reports of their wretched 
 and filthy condition, and of the vice and misery that prevailed in 
 them, led Parliament to take steps to reform some of the more 
 glaring abuses. In 1788, Clarkson, Wilberforce, and Zachary 
 Macaulay, began a crusade against the slave trade between Africa 
 and America, and against slavery itself. Pitt and Fox sympathized 
 with the movement and lent it their aid, but the strong opposition of 
 the merchants of Liverpool and others who made gain by the wrongs 
 and sufferings of the poor negroes, prevented Parliament from 
 doing justice until 1807, when the slave-trade was made piracy, and 
 abolished. 
 
 10. The Berlin Decree. The Battle of Trafalgar had taught
 
 166 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Napoleon thit England could defend her own shores against all 
 attempts at invasion. He next sought to ruin England through her 
 trade and commerce. In 1806, he defeated Russia and Prussia at 
 Jena, and he was now the dictator of continental Europe. He used 
 his power in an endeavor to close the ports of the continent against 
 English ships. By a decree issued from Berlin, he forbade all 
 European nations to trade with England. This was a severe blow 
 to British merchants, and the British Government retaliated by 
 forbidding other nations to trade with France, and ordering foreign 
 vessels to touch at British ports on pain of seizure. Between these 
 two decrees, the vessels of neutral nations found it impossible to 
 carry on their commerce, and the United States of America, which 
 had hitherto a large carrying trade, was so vexed at England's 
 harshness and obstinacy that it declared war against her in 1812. 
 The Americans complained, also, of English vessels claiming the 
 right to search American vessels for deserting seamen. The war 
 that followed was waged principally in Canada, and ended in 1815, 
 by the matters in dispute being left unsettled. Nothing was gained 
 by either nation in this unnatural and foolish war. 
 
 11. Peninsular War. Napoleon had become so puffed up with 
 his successes, that he began to make and unmake kings at pleasure. 
 His brothers and relations had kingdoms carved out for them 
 in different parts of Europe, at the expense of the old ruling 
 families. His pride and arrogance carried him so far that at last 
 he dethroned the King of Spain and put his own brother Joseph in 
 his place. This was more than the Spaniards could endure and they 
 called on England for aid. The rising man at this time in English 
 politics was George Canning. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 and he determined to help the Spanish people. Sir Arthur Wel- 
 lesley, who had distinguished himself in wars in India, and Sir 
 John Moore were sent with a small force to Portugal. Wellesley 
 defeated Marshal Junot at Vimiero in Aug. 1808, but a foolish 
 "Convention," or agreement, was made at Cintra without his consent, 
 by which the French were permitted to leave Portugal. Wellesley 
 was recalled to England, and Sir John Moore advanced into Spain. 
 He found the Spanfsh troops that he was sent to aid utterly 
 unreliable, although they would fight well enough in small "guerilla" 
 bands. Moore learned that Bonaparte himself was marching on 
 Madrid with 70,000 men, and as he had only 25,000 he prudently
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPAHTE. 
 
 167 
 
 retreated towards the coast where he expected to find his ships. He 
 was pursued at first by Napoleon, and afterwards by Marshal Soult, 
 with a large army, in the hope of overtaking him before he reached 
 the coast. When Moore arrived at Corunna the vessels in which he 
 meant to embark his men were nowhere to be seen, and while 
 waiting for them, the French army attacked his small force. On the 
 
 16th Jan. 1809, was fought the famous battle of Corunna, in which 
 Moore, perhaps the most promising general in the British army, was 
 killed. The French were defeated with a loss of 3,000 men, and 
 Moore's army was allowed to embark without molestation. Moore 
 himself was buried by his sorrowing comrades on the battlefield. 
 So ended England's first effort to drive the French out of Spain. 
 
 But Canning was not dismayed. He sent Wellesley back again, 
 but with an army altogether too small, and too badly supplied, for 
 such a campaign as he had to carry on. For four years did Wellesley 
 struggle against large French armies, with little support from his 
 friends in England, or from his Spanish allies. In spite of tremen- 
 dous difficulties he drove the French out of Portugal, and won
 
 168 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 victory after victory over them in Spain. In 1809, he defeated 
 Marshal Soult at Oporto, and Marshal Victor at Talavera. He then 
 retreated before a large army under Marshal Massena, and con- 
 structed a strong line of defences at Torres Vedras, near Lisbon, 
 arid on the coast of Portugal. Massena found he could not pass 
 Wellesley's fortifications, and he had to retreat with great loss, for 
 Wellesley had caused the whole country to be laid bare of cattle and 
 food, and when Massena's army began to retreat the stragglers were 
 cut off in great numbers by the enraged Spanish guerilla bands. 
 Wellesley, now Viscount Wellington, followed up the French 
 retreat and won many battles. He took by storm the two strong 
 fortresses of Cuidad Rodrigo and Badajos in 1812, defeated the 
 French at Salamanca and Vittoria in 1812 and 1813, and drove 
 Joseph Bonaparte out of Spain. The successful siege of St. Sebas- 
 tian in 1813, was followed in 1814 by the battle of Toulouse, the 
 last battle of the Peninsular War. 
 
 12. Russian Campaign. In 1812, Napoleon started with an 
 army of half a million into Russia, to conquer that country. The 
 Russian emperor had been un friendly terms with Napoleon for a 
 few years, but Napoleon's Berlin decree, by which Russia was not 
 permitted to trade with England, proved a great hardship to the 
 Russian people, and they soon began to import English manufac- 
 tures, against Napoleon's orders. This led to the breaking up of 
 the alliance between Russia and France, and to Napoleon's invasion. 
 At the battle of Borodino, in September 1812, the Russians were 
 defeated after a fierce struggle, and then Napoleon pressed on to 
 Moscow, the chief city in Russia. Rather than permit the French 
 army to winter there, the Russians set fire to the city, and 
 . Napoleon, without food or shelter for his troops, had to begin a 
 retreat. Winter now came on, and the retreating French, without 
 'proper clothing and food, died daily by the thousand. The Russians 
 hung on the rear, cutting off the weary stragglers as they fell behind 
 the main body of the army. So out of the great host that went 
 with light hearts to an easy conquest, only 20,000 returned. 
 Encouraged by Napoleon s misfortunes, Austria and Prussia now 
 rose against the tyrant, and joining their forces with those of 
 Russia, met and defeated him after three days of fighting, at 
 Leipzig, in October, 1813. Step by step Nnj<>lfi>n was now driven 
 back, until the armies of the allies entered Paris in 1814. Napoleon
 
 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NAPOLEON BONAPABTE. 169 
 
 ftad to give up his throne, and be content with ruling ovei the little 
 island of Elba, which was given him as his kingdom by his victorious 
 foes. 
 
 13. Waterloo, 1815. Louis XVIII., the brother of Louis XVI., 
 was now made King of France, and the Allies began to re-arrange 
 the map of Europe, which had been thrown into sad confusion by 
 Napoleon's conquests. Before they had made much progress, they 
 were startled by the news that Napoleon had, after eleven months 
 absence, returned to France, and was making his way towards Paris. 
 His old soldiers gladly rallied around him, Louis XVIII. fled from 
 Paris, and Napoleon was once more on the French throne. The 
 Allies hastened to gather their forces to crush him, and England 
 and Prussia soon had armies in the field. Napoleon saw that his 
 only chance was to defeat the English and Prussians separately, 
 before they could unite their forces. He marched north into 
 Belgium, and on June 16, 1815, met and defeated the Prussians at 
 Ligny. The same day the English and Belgians under Wellington 
 were attacked at Quatre Bras by Marshal Ney. Wellington re- 
 pulsed Ney, but hearing of the Prussian defeat at Ligny, he fell 
 back to the field of Waterloo, nine miles from Brussels, to keep up 
 his line of communication with Blucher, the Prussian general. 
 There, on the 18th of June, 1815, Wellington and Napoleon met 
 for the first and only time on the battlefield. Wellington's army 
 was largely made up of Belgians and Germans, while his English 
 troops were, many of them, raw levies and untried in battle. In 
 numbers the armies were nearly equal, but Napoleon had with him 
 the veterans of his army, besides being much superior to Wellington 
 in cavalry and artillery. Wellington's hope was to hold the French 
 at bay until Blucher and the Prussians could arrive in the early 
 afternoon. Napoleon, on the other hand, hoped by the deadly play 
 of his artillery, and the fierce charges of his cavalry to break the 
 British ranks. As the day wore on, and Wellington saw his thin 
 lines growing thinner under the desperate charges of the French 
 cavalry and the fire of their artillery, he began to long for " Night 
 or Blucher." At last, about five in the afternoon, the sound of 
 distant firing was heard, and a little later it was seen that the 
 Prussians hud arrived, and were attacking the flank of the French 
 army. Napoleon saw that but one chance remained, and that was 
 by a desperate charge of his Old Guard to break the British lines
 
 170 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 before help from the Prussians could reach them. These trusted 
 veterans came gallantly forward, but when near the British lines 
 they met with such a deadly volley of musketry, followed by such 
 a fierce bayonet charge of the British infantry, that they wavered, 
 turned, and fled. The victory was won, Napoleon's career was 
 ended, and Europe was saved. The Prussians pursued the fleeing 
 French far into the night, cutting down the fugitives without 
 mercy. Napoleon himself fled to Paris, and a little later surren- 
 dered to the captain of a British man-of-war. He was banished to 
 the lonely and rocky island of St. Helena, where six years after he 
 died, May 5, 1821. Louis XVIII. came back to the French throne, 
 and the great struggle for European freedom was over. 
 
 14. Condition of the Nation. The long war was ended, and 
 the nation found itself with over 800 millions of debt, much of it 
 contracted in paying great sums to the Allies to keep their armies 
 in the field. No nation had suffered so little from this desperate 
 struggle as England, partly because she was free from invasion, and 
 partly because she was the mistress of the sea, and controlled the 
 carrying trade of the world. Her manufactures were sold in every 
 European market and her industries suffered little check, until the 
 poverty of other nations became so great as to prevent them from 
 buying. But now that the war was over thousands of men were 
 thrown out of employment, and when the crops failed in 1816, the 
 high duty on wheat made food so dear as to cause a famine. The 
 labour-saving machines were blamed for taking away employment 
 from starving workingmen, and riots followed in which organized 
 efforts were made to destroy the new and hated machinery. 
 
 The war had so fully taken the attention of the king's ministers 
 and of Parliament, that all political reforms had ceased. George 
 III. had become permanently insane in 1810, and his son George 
 was appointed Regent. The Regent was a worthless profligate, and 
 his base actions made him unpopular with the people. So, for some 
 years after the war, there was great distress and much political dis- 
 content among the people, which was increased by the harsh laws 
 passed by Parliament against freedom of speech. 
 
 15. Literature and Inventions. George in. died in 1820, after 
 the longest reign in our history, and was succeeded by his son 
 George IV. The chief features of this eventful reign have been
 
 A PERIOD OF REFORM. 171 
 
 sketched ; bat no mention has been made of the great men who 
 made England famous by their writings and scientific discoveries. 
 For it was during this time that Robertson wrote his histories of 
 Scotland, Spain, and America, that Gibbon composed his Decline and 
 Fall of the Roman Empire, and that Adam Smith gave to the world 
 his Wealth of Nations. Samuel Johnson wrote essays, criticisms, 
 and poems, but he is best remembered by his Dictionary, published 
 in the reign of George II. Goldsmith, who talked like "Poor 
 Poll," wrote charming tales and essays. His name will never be 
 forgotten while the Vicar of Wakefield retains its well deserved 
 popularity. But the most remarkable feature of all this literary 
 activity is the long list of great poets who lived and wrote during 
 the latter half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. 
 For this literary outburst we must give some credit to the hopes 
 and fears aroused by the great upheaval in the social and political 
 life of France. Cowper, Burns, Shelley, Keats, Byron, Campbell, 
 Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth, Moore, and Scott, are names of 
 poets second only to those of Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton. 
 But Scott (Sir Walter) ranks higher as a novelist than as a poet, 
 and the author of the Waverley Novels, still holds the first place 
 among the novelists of all climes and ages. 
 
 Towards the close of the reign, in 1807, two Americans, Fulton 
 and Livingston, moved a vessel up the Hudson River by steam, and 
 a little later, in 1813, steam-navigation was tried on a small scale 
 on the Clyde. Scientific discoveries were made by such men as 
 Herschel, Davey, and Priestly, while Josiah Wedgewood taught the 
 people of Staffordshire the art of making beautiful and graceful 
 pottery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A PERIOD OF REFORM. 
 
 1. George IV. The last of the four Georges had been the acting 
 king for ten years before his father's death, and the nation knew 
 him too well to expect much in the way of good from his hands. His 
 admirers called him " The First Gentleman in Europe," by which
 
 172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 they meant that in polish of manner and external grace he wa t 
 very fine gentleman. Nevertheless, he was, all through his life, a 
 cowardly, licentious man, who would stoop to any act of meannesa 
 and treachery. Fortunately, his personal influence was small, and 
 beyond raising a storm of national indignation at the beginning of 
 his reign by trying in vain to force a Bill through Parliament to 
 secure a divorce from his wife, Queen Caroline, his occupancy of 
 the throne made little difference in English affairs. 
 
 2. Holy Alliance. There was considerable unrest and discon- 
 tent at the beginning of this reign, arising almost entirely from 
 hard times, and the harsh laws passed by the Government against 
 the right of the people to meefc and discuss public affairs. One 
 outcome of this feeling was an attempt, called the Cato Street Con- 
 spiracy, to murder the ministry, in 1820. The conspirators, were 
 seized, some were put to death, and others banished for life. 
 
 Abroad, the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and the Kings of 
 Prussia, France, and Spain, formed an alliance, called the "Holy 
 Alliance," to crush out any efforts that might be made by their sub- 
 jects to increase their freedom, or secure their rights. This alliance 
 was the result of the fear aroused by the French Revolution, and 
 of the growing feeling in Europe in favour of liberty. The British 
 Government, and Lord Castlereagh, the Foreign Secretary, in par- 
 ticular, were charged with being too friendly to the Holy Alliance, 
 and too hostile to the oppressed people of other nations. But 
 Castlereagh's suicide, in 1822, removed one obstacle to a more 
 liberal policy, and henceforth the tide of Reform began to flow more 
 strongly, and with fewer interruptions. 
 
 3. Canning, Peel, and Huskisson. After Castlereagh's death, 
 George Canning, a brilliant and liberal-minded statesman, became 
 Foreign Secretary. Unlike Castlereagh, he was a friend of the 
 oppressed everywhere, and while he managed England's foreign 
 affairs, her influence was thrown into the scale of freedom. He 
 would not aid the Turks, who were trying to crush out a revolt in 
 Greece, nor the Spanish, when their colonies in America rose to 
 gain their independence. He saved Portugal from an attack from 
 France and Spain, when Portugal sought to introduce Parliamentary 
 Government. Nor was Canning indifferent to wrongs nearer
 
 A PERIOD OF REFORM. 173 
 
 home. He was an earnest advocate of the rights of Dissenters and 
 Roman Catholics, as well as <>f the slaves in the West Indies. 
 
 While Canning was using his influence abroad and at home in 
 the interests of the wronged and oppressed, Robert Peel, the Home 
 Secretary, was busy reforming the Criminal Laws. Sir Samuel 
 Romilly, in the early part of this century, had tried earnestly to get 
 Parliament to lessen the number of crimes punishable with death, 
 and had succeeded in getting pocket-picking removed from the list 
 of capital offences. There was, it is said, over 200 crimes for which 
 a person could be hanged. To steal five shillings from a shop or a 
 fish from a pond, to injure Westminster Bridge, was to incur the 
 death penalty, and to be put into the same list with the forger and 
 murderer. At last men saw the folly and cruelty of the Criminal 
 Law, and Peel, in 1824, managed to get Parliament to consent to 
 remove more than 100 of the smaller offences from the list to 
 which the death penalty was attached. 
 
 Not less useful than Canning and Peel in carrying out reforms 
 was Huskisson, the President of the Board of Trade. He saw that 
 England was suffering from her trade and navigation laws, and 
 from the unwise restrictions placed upon workingmen. He suc- 
 ceeded in reducing the duties on silk and wool, and had the laws 
 repealed which prevented workingmen from travelling to seek em- 
 ployment in other parts of the country, as well as the law which 
 gave a magistrate the power to fix the wages of labouring men. 
 Besides, he paved the way for freer trade by offering foreign vessels 
 special advantages in English ports, on the condition that the same 
 privileges were given by foreign nations to English vessels. 
 
 The years 1825-6 were years of scarcity, and following as they 
 did a commercial panic arising out of foolish speculation, there was 
 much distress, and some rioting. The high duties on food had now 
 to give way for a time, and Huskisson passed a law by which the 
 duty on wheat fell as the price rose, and rose as the price fell. This 
 was the famous "sliding scale" of duties, which lasted till free 
 trade came in. The distress and lack of employment led to a 
 large emigration to Canada, Australia, the Cape of Good Hope, and 
 the United States. 
 
 4. The Australian Colonies. New South Wales in Australia 
 was now a flourishing colony, and although at first settled by convicts
 
 174 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 it began about this time to receive a different kind of settlers. 
 Many of the well-behaved convicts were given their freedom, and 
 they and their descendants became good citizens. Other colonies 
 were gradually founded, such as Queensland, Western Australia, 
 and South Australia. Victoria now one of the most important 
 colonies was once a part of New South Wales, and became a separ- 
 ate province in 1851. Large cities, in time, grew up, such as 
 Sydney and Melbourne, the Htter being founded in 1835. 
 
 5. Repeal of Test and Corporation Acts, 1828. Lord Liverpool, 
 the Prime Minister, died in 1827, and Canning was chosen to 
 succeed him. Much was expected from such a liberal and clear- 
 sighted man, but Canning died a few months after taking office, 
 and shortly afterwards the Duke of Wellington became Prime 
 Minister with Sir Robert Peel as the leader in the House of 
 Commons. Wellington was not a liberal or far-seeing statesman, 
 but he was thoroughly honest and unselfish. And now after a 
 century and a half of injustice, Roman Catholics and Dissenters 
 were to have their wrongs righted. The Test and Corporation Acts 
 had prevented Dissenters from holding offices in the towns and cities. 
 In 1828 Lord John Russell brought in a Bill to do away with these 
 laws and the measure was carried. Although willing to relieve 
 Protestant Dissenters, the Government would not consent to repeal 
 the laws shutting Roman Catholics out of Parliament. The laws 
 against Roman Catholics were not so severe as they had been, for 
 in 1817 they were allowed to enter the army and navy, and they 
 had the right to vote for members of Parliament. Perhaps at 
 this time the majority of the English people were as unwilling as 
 Parliament and the Government to do justice to the Roman 
 Catholics. But what a sense of justice would not do, necessity 
 forced on the nation. Daniel O'Connell, an exceedingly clever 
 and eloquent Irish barrister, persuaded the people of Clare County, 
 Ireland, to elect him as a member of Parliament, although he knew 
 he could not take his seat. In the meantime a large "Catholic 
 Association" had been formed in Ireland, to agitate for the rights of 
 the Catholics, and this Association became so powerful under 
 O'ConnelTs guidance, that the Government began to fear another 
 civil war in Ireland, if measures were not taken to quiet the 
 excitement.
 
 A PERIOD OF REFORM. 176 
 
 6. Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill, 1829. The Go? eminent, 
 Parliament, and the majority of English people were all opposed to 
 giving Roman Catholics their rights, but Wellington, who knew 
 what war was, saw it was his duty to yield. The House of Lords, 
 on more than one occasion had prevented justice being done, and 
 now Wellington used his great influencewith that body to have a 
 Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill passed in 1829. Wellington 
 and Peel had done their duty, but in so doing had made themselves 
 unpopular with the English people. In 1833, the Quakers were 
 allowed to become members of Parliament, and in 1858 the same 
 measure of justice was meted out to the Jews. 
 
 7. William IV. In June, 1830, George IV. died. His only 
 daughter, the Princess Charlotte, had died in 1817, and this left 
 William, Duke of Clarence, as his successor. William IV. had 
 been a commander in the navy, and hence was called the " Sailor 
 King." He was a frank, hearty, well-intentioned man, who, in 
 spite of the fact that his private life was none too pure, was popular 
 with the people. He came to the throne at a time of great excite- 
 ment in Europe. Revolution was in the air. The French drove 
 out Charles X., and put Louis Philippe on the throne, and Belgium 
 separated from Holland and became an independent nation. Had 
 there been an unwise or unpopular king in England at this time, the 
 excitement in favour of political reform might have led to another 
 revolution. 
 
 8. Reform Bill of 1832. While the war with Napoleon was 
 going on, the English people had too much to think about to pay 
 much attention to Parliamentary Reform. Now, however, that the 
 war was over, a more liberal government in office, and the dread of 
 i revolution passed away, intelligent people began to see how 
 injust it was that large cities like Manchester, Birmingham, and 
 Leeds should have no representatives in Parliament, while many 
 small towns had the privilege of sending one or two. Still worse, 
 }uite a number of places that once had a population, but had lost 
 it, continued to send members. In some cases there were only a 
 iozen or a score of voters, and it is stated that in a county in 
 Scotland, only one man voted, and he elected himself. Then there 
 were a great number of small villages that sent members at the 
 jommand of the land-owners, on whose estate the villages were
 
 176 a urn).:. u* ENGLAND. 
 
 built. If the land-owner wag in need of money, he sold the right 
 to the seat to some man who wished to be a member of Parliament, 
 and these ' ' nomination " boroughs soon came to have a regular 
 market value. In other boroughs, the voters were so few that a rich 
 candidate could easily buy their votes. So it can easily be seen that 
 the British Parliament did, not really represent the British people. 
 Yet many men, some of them intelligent and honest, dreaded any 
 change, fearing that it would be the beginning of a revolution, or 
 that good and able men would find it difficult to be elected, if votes 
 were given to the people. One of these was Wellington, who 
 thought that everything was just right, and that the system in 
 use could not be improved. 
 
 It was the custom then to have a general election soon after a 
 new sovereign came to the throne, and the election that took place 
 in 1830, showed that Wellington and Peel had lost their popularity 
 on account of the Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill. Soon after 
 the new Parliament met the Government had to resign and Lord 
 Grey became Prime Minister, with Lord John Russell as leader in 
 the Commons. Russell lost no time in bringing in a Reform Bill, 
 but it made so many changes that it passed its second reading by a 
 majority of only one, and a little later an important change was 
 made in it, when it came up again for discussion. The ministers 
 now persuaded the king to dissolve Parliament, and have a new 
 election. Although very few people had votes, yet the feeling was 
 so strong throughout the country among the merchants, manufac- 
 turers, artisans, and workingmen that the election resulted in 
 giving the Bill a large majority. A second Reform Bill was now 
 introduced in the Commons and carried by a majority of 109, but 
 when it went before the House of Lords it was thrown out. This 
 caused intense indignation, and great meetings were held in different 
 parts of the country to denounce the Lords and to encourage the 
 supporters of the measure. In some places there were riots and 
 burnings, and people began to fear that a revolution was near at 
 hand. Once more did the Government bring in the measure, and 
 once more it was carried by a large majority in the Commons, and 
 rejected in the Lords. Lord Grey and his colleagues now resigned, 
 and Wellington tried to form a Government, but failed. Grey was 
 recalled, not, however, before he had secured a pledge from the king, 
 that he would, if necessary, create sufficient new peers to carry the
 
 A PERIOD OF REFORM. 177 
 
 Bill through the Lords. This alarmed the Lords and when the 
 measure came before them in June, 1832, many stayed away from 
 the House and in this manner the Reform Bill became law. 
 
 The changes made by this celebrated Bill were two-fold. First, it 
 took away from many (56) small boroughs the right to send members 
 to Parliament and it reduced the members of thirty other boroughs 
 from two each to one. The members thus taken from small 
 boroughs were given to large towns, cities, and counties in England, 
 Scotland and Ireland. Secondly, the number of voters was greatly 
 increased, for those who paid 10 a year rental in towns, and 50 
 a year in counties were given votes. Besides these, votes were 
 given to copy-holders and lease-holders. The class that benefitted 
 most by this change was the middle class, the labouring classes 
 having to wait many years before the franchise was given to them. 
 After the Reform Bill the old political parties changed their names, 
 taking now the titles of Conservative and Liberal, instead of Tory 
 and Whig. 
 
 9. Other Reforms. -Now that a reformed Parliament was elected, 
 a great many much needed reforms were carried out. In 1833, after 
 a struggle of fifty years, against slavery in the West Indies, Wilber- 
 force died, bub not before he saw it practically abolished, at a 
 cost of 20,000,000 to the British nation. The same year laws 
 were passed to protect children from over-work in factories, and a 
 grant of money was made to schools for the poor. In 1834, the 
 Poor-Law, which had become a great burden on the industrious 
 portion of the population, was amended by compelling those who 
 could not work or support their families to go to places called 
 work-houses, where work was given them if they were able to do it. 
 The change from out-door to in-door relief soon had a great effect 
 in reducing pauperism. 
 
 Other important changes at this time were the Municipal Act 
 (1835) providing for the election of the mayor and aldermen of 
 towns and cities by the ratepayers, and a Bill (1836) permitting 
 Dissenters to be married in their own chapels. 
 
 Nor must we forget improvements and reforms of another kind 
 that were taking place. The need of better means to carry goods 
 to market led to the making of Macadamized roads, that is roads 
 made of broken stone, and introduced by a Scotchman called Mac- 
 
 12
 
 178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Adam, Nevertheless, good roads and canals were not sufficient to 
 meet the demands of English industry, and it was not till George 
 Stephenson, the son of a poor collier, had overcome the difficulties 
 of moving waggons along iron rails by means of a locomotive or 
 steam-engine, that English products could find easy conveyance to 
 their markets. The first railroad was built in 1830, from Manchester 
 to Liverpool, and the train travelled at the rate of thirty-five miles 
 an hour. 
 
 Besides these, other improvements were going on, such as founding 
 Mechanics' Institutes, reducing the price of newspapers, building 
 schools and colleges, and providing asylums for the insane. It is 
 sad to think that, while so many things were being done to improve 
 the lot of the poor, a great many were suffering from want, part of 
 which was caused by the many improvements in labour-saving 
 machines. So, in the year 1837, when William IV. died, there 
 were many families in England that could scarcely afford to buy the 
 coarsest food and clothing. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES. 
 
 1. Victoria. William IV., like George IV., left no child as 
 heir to the throne. He was succeeded by Victoria, the daughter of 
 the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. The young queen at 
 the time of her accession was but eighteen years of age, neverthe- 
 less, she had been so carefully trained and educated under her 
 mother's watchful eye that, when she came to the throne, it was 
 with a deep sense of the duties she had to discharge, and with a 
 fixed resolve to keep the good of her people always before her. 
 During the fifty-five years of her rule, she has earned the love 
 and respect not of her subjects alone, but of the people of all 
 nations, by her pure domestic life, and by her faithful discharge of 
 every private and public duty. 
 
 Her accession to the throne made it necessary to separate Hanover 
 from the Crown of England, the laws of Hanover not permitting a
 
 HISTORY OF OUE OW TIMES. 179 
 
 woman to rule. The queen's uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, now 
 became King of Hanover, and England was no longer in danger of 
 being drawn into European wars on account of this German 
 kingdom. 
 
 2. Rebellion in Canada. One of the first difficulties to be dealt 
 with in this reign was a rebellion in Lower Canada. Canada had 
 been divided into two Provinces, in 1791 , by a measure known as 
 the Constitutional Act. This Act also gave each Province a Parlia- 
 ment, composed of a Governor, a Legislative Council, and a Legisla- 
 tive Assembly. As Fox foresaw and pointed out at the time, the 
 Act was full of defects, for it did not give the elected Assembly the 
 full control of the revenue, and it did not make the Legislative 
 Council and the Executive responsible to the people. The Act had 
 many other defects besides these mentioned, and resulted in so 
 much bad government in Lower and Upper Canada that some of the 
 more hot-headed and impulsive of the people began a rebellion. 
 The first risings were in Lower Canada, and thence the rebellion 
 spread into Upper Canada in 1837. Lord Durham was sent out to 
 inquire into the cause of the trouble, and he gave a report which 
 pointed out very clearly the evils under which Canada was suffering, 
 and outlined the proper method of dealing with the colony. Dur- 
 ham's report became, soon after, the basis of a new and better policy 
 towards the colonies. The rebellion did not last long, but its fruits 
 were the union of Upper and Lower Canada in one province in 1840, 
 and the beginning of true responsible government in Canada. The 
 two Provinces remained united till 1867, when owing to a dead- 
 lock between the two great political parties of the colony, the 
 British North America Act was passed, which established a Federal 
 form of government in British North America, leaving the different 
 Provinces the control of their own local affairs, and establishing a 
 Federal Parliament for the management of the general business of 
 the Dominion of Canada. Beyond appointing the Governor-General 
 and arranging treaties of commerce England now leaves Canada to 
 look after her own interests, and interferes as little as possible 
 with her affairs. 
 
 3. Else of the Chartists. The early years of this reign are 
 marked by the introduction of the electric telegraph, Morse in 
 America, and Wheatstone and Cooke in England, dividing the
 
 180 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 honour of the invention between them in 1837. In 1838 steamships 
 crossed the Atlantic, and in 1839 Sir Rowland Hill succeeded in 
 getting the Government to carry letters to any part of Great Britain 
 and Ireland for a penny. All these changes were in the interest of 
 trade and commerce, and cheap postage was a great boon to the 
 poor ; nevertheless, work was scarce, food was dear, and there was 
 much distress among the working classes. The Reform Bill had 
 given political power to the middle classes, but had left the great 
 mass of workingmen without any voice in the affairs of the nation. 
 They began to think that their troubles were mainly due to the bad 
 laws made without their consent, and an agitation began for further 
 reforms. In 1838, at a great meeting in Birmingham, a formal 
 demand was made for the " People's Charter." This charter asked 
 (1) that all men should have votes ; (2) for annual Parliaments ; 
 (3) for voting by ballot ; (4) that a man might be a member of 
 Parliament without owning any land ; (5) that members of Parlia- 
 ment should be paid ; (6) that the country should be divided into 
 equal electoral districts. Most of these demands have since been 
 granted, but at that time the upper and middle classes felt no 
 inclination to share their power with their less fortunate country- 
 men. 
 
 4. Anti-Corn Law League. Meanwhile it was beginning to be 
 felt that one cause of the poverty of the working classes was to be 
 found in the laws which placed a high tax on food and the raw 
 material of manufactures coming into this country. We have seen 
 that Walpole, Pitt, and Huskisson had each done something to 
 lessen duties and make trade freer. The landowners, however, 
 were very powerful in Parliament, and to keep up their rents they 
 had heavy duties placed on wheat coming into the country. When- 
 ever crops failed, bread became dear, and the poor were often on 
 the verge of starvation. At last, Richard Cobden, a cotton printer, 
 took the lead in forming a league which had for its object the re- 
 moval of the taxes on food, and the lowering of duties on other 
 imports. This league was formed in 1838, and under the guidance of 
 Richard Cobden, and John Bright, a carpet manufacturer, it soon 
 made its influence felt all over the land. Cobden and Bright were 
 very clear-headed, able men, and by their speeches and writings they 
 convinced the people that the taxes on food were unjust to the poor
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES. 181 
 
 and the cause of most of the distress that prevailed so frequently. 
 Nevertheless the landowners and farmers bitterly opposed the 
 movement, and it took eight years to convince the government 
 that a change would be in the interests of the nation. 
 
 5. Troubles at Home and Abroad. The Liberal party, which 
 carried out so many reforms between 1832 and 1837, gradually lost 
 its popularity ; many people growing tired of, and others being 
 offended by, so many changes. The Government at the beginning 
 of the queen's reign had, as its head, Lord Melbourne, an easy- 
 going, good-natured man, who proved a good friend to the young 
 queen, although he was but an indifferent statesman. In 1841 
 his ministry had become so weak that it was obliged to resign, 
 and give way to a Conservative government under Sir Robert 
 Peel. In 1840 the queen was married to her cousin Prince Albert 
 of Saxe-Coburg, a prince who proved a devoted husband, and a 
 true friend to the people among whom he cast his lot. 
 
 Meanwhile, in 1839, a war had started with China, because English 
 traders insisted on selling opium to the Chinese against the order 
 of the Chinese government. The war came to an end in 1842, by 
 the Chinese being compelled to open their ports to this wicked 
 traffic. 
 
 At home, there was trouble in Ireland, and a religious agitation 
 in Scotland. In Ireland O'Connell had begun to agitate for a 
 Repeal of the Union, and so dangerous seemed the movement that 
 O'Connell was at length arrested and tried for sedition in 1843-44. 
 In Scotland the Presbyterian Church was rent by an agitation 
 against the State controlling the Church, an agitation which ended 
 in the "Free Church" being founded in 1843. Nor was England 
 free from excitement and unrest. The Chartists were busy trying to 
 make converts to their views, and the Anti-Corn Law League was 
 equally zealous in showing the evils of the Corn Laws. 
 
 But all these troubles seemed small compared with a dreadful 
 disaster which, in 1841, befell British troops in Afghanistan. The 
 English had been gradually extending their territory in India 
 towards the Indus and Afghanistan. This country lies between 
 India and the Russian possessions in Asia, and the English were 
 afraid that its ruler, Dost Mohammed, was too friendly to wards- 
 Russia. Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India, therefore
 
 182 HISTOET OP ENGLAKD. 
 
 sent an army to Cabul, the capital of Afghanistan, dethroned Dost 
 Mohammed and put another chief in his place. This led to the 
 fierce and treacherous Afghans murdering the English ambassador, 
 and to a rising under Akbar Khan against the British troops. 
 General Elphinstone, who commanded the army, resolved to retreat 
 to India, and was promised protection for himself and his men, 
 and for the women and children they were forced to leave behind. 
 But when the army, in the depth of winter, tried to go through the 
 rocky and narrow Cabul Pass, the Afghans attacked them so savagely 
 and continuously, firing into and cutting down the wretched and 
 weary soldiers, that only one man succeeded in reaching India 
 alive. Dr. Brydon, the sole survivor of 4,500 soldiers, and 12,000 
 camp followers, told the sad tale to Sir Robert Sale at Jellala- 
 bad, and at once vengeance was determined upon. General Pollock 
 and Sir Robert Sale marched into Afghanistan, retook Cabul, and 
 rescued the women and children that had been left behind. 
 
 6. Repeal of the Corn Laws. Let us now see what success 
 Cobden and Bright were having in their crusade against the Corn 
 Laws. For a time the speeches and pamphlets of the leaders of 
 the League produced little effect, but the distress among the poor, 
 and the failure of the harvest in 1845 helped along the movement for 
 cheap food. Peel was gradually being convinced that Cobden was 
 right, and when, in 1845, the crops failed so seriously in England 
 and Scotland, and the potato blight destroyed the chief article of food 
 of the Irish, he saw that he had to choose between leaving thou- 
 sands of people to die of starvation, and taking off the duty on food. 
 Peel had now become fully convinced that the corn laws should be 
 repealed, and as his Ministry did not agree with him, he resigned 
 his post, and advised the queen to call in Lord John Russell. 
 Russell could not form a strong Government, and Peel had to return 
 to office. Aided by the Liberals, and a portion of the Conserva- 
 tives, he brought in a Bill, in 1846, to repeal the Corn Laws, which 
 was carried in both Houses. The Corn Laws were repealed, but 
 Peel's political career was ended. He had made bitter enemies of 
 many of his old supporters, who looked upon him as a deserter, and 
 they took their revenge by joining the Liberals to defeat him in 
 1846, on a " Coercion " Bill for Ireland. Lord John Russell now 
 became Prime Minister.
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIME*. 183 
 
 7. End of the Chartist Agitation. The duties on food wer 
 gradually reduced, and, in 1849, the Navigation laws were repealed. 
 Step by step England removed the duties on nearly all the articles 
 brought into the country, until now her revenue from that source 
 is raised on a few luxuries such as tea, tobacco, and liquors of all 
 kinds. 
 
 The repeal of the Corn Laws helped to make the poor more 
 contented with their lot, and gave a great impulse to British manu- 
 factures and commerce. It was well that it did for, from 1846 to 
 1849, stirring events were taking place abroad and at home. In 
 1847 there was a dreadful famine in Ireland and millions died or 
 emigrated to America. The poverty and misery of the Irish led to 
 a rising under Smith O'Brien, but it was soon put down. In 
 England, the Chartists drew up a monster petition to be presented to 
 Parliament. It was said to be signed by five millions of people. 
 Fergus O'Connor, the weak-headed leader of the Chartists, called a 
 great meeting to be held on Kensington Common, and proposed 
 that the people should go to the House of Commons to back up the 
 petition. So loud were the Chartists in their boasts of what they 
 would do, that all London grew alarmed, and 200,000 men were 
 sworn in as special constables for the occasion. Wellington posted 
 soldiers at various points to defend the city, and everybody awaited 
 the great procession. But when the day came only 25,000 as- 
 sembled, and the procession did not take place. The petition 
 when presented was found to have less than two million names 
 attached, and of these many were forged. This ended the Chartist 
 agitation, although many of the reforms demanded were after- 
 wards granted. Cheap food had killed the Chartist movement. 
 
 8. Extension of Territory. Meanwhile, in India, Britain was 
 extending her empire. Sir Charles Napier conquered Scinde in 
 1843, and in 1845 a war began with the brave Sikhs of the Punjaub, 
 which ended in the annexation of that fine territory in 1849. 
 
 The discovery of gold, in 1851, in Victoria, Australia, led to a 
 large emigration to tliat colony, which greatly increased its popu- 
 lation and resources. In Africa, too, British territory was extending, 
 and Natal and Cape Colony became important colonies. New 
 Zealand began to be colonized in 1839, and in spite of fierce wars 
 with the Maori chiefs the whole island became a British possession.
 
 184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In 1850 a Bill was passed giving self-government to the Australian 
 colonies, and, in 1852, New Zealand was given the same boon. 
 
 9. The Eastern Question. The year 1851 was noted for the 
 first great Exhibition of the industries of all nations. It was very 
 largely an idea of Prince Albert, who, with others, thought it would 
 bring about an age of peace and good-will among all peoples. It 
 vas held in London, and although many greater Exhibitions have 
 since been held, yet none aroused so great curiosity and so much 
 hope for the future. 
 
 The same year Prince Louis Napoleon, the President of the 
 French Republic, by a treacherous massacre of his opponents in 
 the streets of Paris, succeeded in obtaining the control of French 
 affairs, and a year later made himself Emperor. He was the 
 nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the British naturally feared 
 that this second Napoleon might try to imitate the policy of his 
 uncle, and plunge Europe into another reat war. Their fears led 
 to regiments of volunteers being formed in 1852, and so we have 
 the beginning of the volunteer system now so popular and useful. 
 
 Napoleon, however, was friendly to England, and it was not long 
 before France and England were figh ing side by side to save 
 Turkey from the ambition of Russia. Russia had for many years 
 looked with longing eyes on Constantinople, and when a quarrel 
 broke out, in 1852, about the rights of the Greek and Latin Churches 
 over the Holy Places in Jerusalem, the Emperor Nicholas of 
 Russia, thought it a good opportunity to demand the right to 
 protect the Greek Christians that lived in the Sultan's dominions. 
 Nicholas wished England to join Russia in making a division of 
 Turkey's possessions, but this England would not do. Then, when 
 Turkey refused to admit Russia's claim to protect the Sultan's 
 Christian subjects, Nicholas took the law into his own hands, and 
 sent troops into the Turkish provinces on the Danube. 
 
 10. The Crimean War. War now began and the Turks, who 
 when aroused are brave soldiers, defeated the Russians near the 
 Danube. France and England, in 1854, came to the aid of the 
 Turks, for England feared Russia's influence in Asia, and the 
 Emperor Napoleon thought a successful war would make the 
 French forget the loss of their freedom. England had not taken 
 part in great war for nearly forty years, and she was wholly
 
 HISTORY OF OUE OWN TIMRS. 185 
 
 unprepared for such a conflict as she was now entering upon. Lord 
 Aberdeen, the Prime Minister, was a lover of peace, and not fitted 
 to manage afialrs at such a time. The chief seat of the war was the 
 Crimea, on the Black Sea, although the Baltic, the White Sea, and 
 Russian Armenia were the scenes of strife. Kars, a fortress in 
 Armenia, was bravely defended by the Turks under General 
 Williams (afterwards the commander of the British troops in 
 Canada), but at last surrendered with honorable terms near the 
 close of the war. 
 
 It was the beginning of September when the Allies reached the 
 Crimea, and not long after, September 20, they defeated the 
 Russians at the River Alma. The Russians now retreated to 
 Sebastopol, a strong fortress in the Crimea, and the delay of the 
 Allies gave them time to strengthen its defences. The French were 
 commanded by Marshal St. Arnaud, and the English by Lord 
 Raglan. Both commanders died before the war ended, and were 
 replaced by G eneral Pe"lissier and General Simpson. The siege of 
 Sebastopol began, but it was found that the Russian engineer, 
 Todleben, had done his work well, and the Allies were for nearly a 
 year held at bay. At times the Russians strove to drive the Allies 
 back, and at Balaclava a fierce contest took place, which served to 
 bring out the heroic qualities of the British soldier. Lord Cardigan, 
 the commander of the Light Brigade, was ordered to charge the 
 enemy and retake some guns which had fallen into their hands, but 
 he mistook the order, and, instead, commanded his men to charge 
 the main body of the Russian army. His men knew it was almost 
 certain death, but not a man hesitated. Six hundred men rode head- 
 long into the midst of the Russian army, cutting down the Russian 
 gunners on their way, and then rode back amid a deadly hail from 
 Russian muskets and artillery. Six hundred went into that ' ' valley 
 of death," less than two hundred returned to the ranks of the 
 British army. This was on the 25th October, and on the 5th 
 November a bloody battle was fought at Inkermann, in which the 
 British private showed that his intelligence was more than a match 
 for the brute force of the brave but ignorant Russian soldiery. 
 
 The siege of Sebastopol went on throughout the winter in spite of 
 the terrible sufferings of the British soldiers. Mismanagement at 
 home and in fehe Crimea left the soldiers without proper clothing
 
 186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 shelter, and food. Shiploads of food were sent, which never reached 
 the men. A cargo of boots did reach the half -shod men, but the 
 boots were found to be all for one foot. These are but illustrations 
 of the management of the war. The soldiers fell sick and could 
 not be properly nursed and cared for. The result was that many 
 died whose lives might have been saved under proper care. At 
 last, Miss Florence Nightingale and a band of devoted women went 
 out to nurse the sick and wounded. Very soon there was a marked 
 change for the better in the condition of the patients, and from 
 that time the value of women in army hospitals has been fully 
 recognized. As time passed the war was better managed ; there 
 was less sickness among the soldiers, and better means were found 
 of providing them with the necessary food, clothing, and shelter. 
 In England, the discontent with the way things were going on led 
 to Lord Aberdeen resigning, and to Lord Palmerston becoming Prime 
 Minister. The siege of Sebastopol still went on, and at length 
 attempts were made to carry it by storm. The first assault failed ; 
 the second was more successful. The French carried the Malakoff 
 Tower, and although the English were repulsed at the Redan, the 
 Russians blew up the forts, and left Sebastopol to the Allies, Sep- 
 tember, 1855. Soon after, in March, 1856, peace was made, and 
 Russia, in the Treaty of Paris, agreed not to rebuild the fortifica- 
 tions of Sebastopol, and not to keep a fleet on the Black Sea. 
 
 11. The Indian Mutiny. Scarcely was the Russian war ended, 
 when a more serious trouble arose in India. The natives of India 
 were not kindly treated by the English, and the discontent aroused 
 was such that some fresh grievance was all that was needed to 
 cause an outbreak. This grievance was found in the introduction of 
 greased cartridges for the rifles of the Sepoys or native soldiers. The 
 Sepoys thought it a great sin to use grease in any way, and when the 
 Government found how much they were excited, they changed the 
 greased for smooth paper. It was of no avail, the feeling grew 
 that the English sought to make the soldiers lose their caste. 
 Gradually the discontent increased, until three Sepoy regiments 
 mutinied at Meerut near Delhi, and marched to Delhi, where an 
 aged native king lived. Him they took out of his palace and made 
 emperor. The rebellion now spread rapidly through Upper India, 
 and the few thousand Englishmen in the country had to defend 
 themselves against a host of enraged natives. Lord Canning, the
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES. 187 
 
 Governor-General, was a brave, capable man, and he was supported 
 by able officers and brave soldiers. Sir John Lawrence sent his 
 Sikhs and a few British troops to besiege Delhi, and Sir Henry 
 Lawrence the Governor of Oude, gathered the British residents into 
 the Governor's residence at Lucknow, where it was hoped they 
 could hold out till relief came. 
 
 At Cawnpore, Nana Sahib, a native prince, when he heard Sir 
 Henry Havelock was coming to the rescue, massacred the men, 
 women, and children of the Europeans, July 15, 1857, The news 
 of the horrible cruelties of Nana Sahib filled the British troops 
 with a burning desire for revenge, which was with difficulty re- 
 strained by Canning. Soon the tide of war changed against the 
 Sepoys. Delhi was taken, and Lucknow was relieved by Havelock, 
 after a four months' siege. Highland regiments came on the scene 
 under Sir James Outram and Sir Colin Campbell, and gradually 
 the rebellion was crushed. The brutal massacre at Cawnpore was 
 avenged by blowing from the cannon's mouth several of those who 
 had taken an active part in that dreadful tragedy. 
 
 12. India under the Crown. The Mutiny had some important 
 results. Havelock, the brave Christian soldier, and the hero of 
 the war, died of the hardships of the .campaign. The British Gov- 
 ernment now resolved to take away from the East India Company 
 its right of governing India. In 1858 India was placed under the 
 Crown, and from that time has been governed by a Viceroy and 
 Council under a Secretary for India, who is a member of the British 
 Cabinet. The result is better government, and greater attention is 
 paid to the feelings and prejudices of the natives, who are an 
 intelligent and sensitive people. 
 
 13. Recent Wars. Since the Indian Mutiny, Britain has been 
 engaged in no great war. Several minor wars have, however, 
 taken place, of which the following are the most important : (I) a 
 war with China in 1855, and another in 1860, which led to opening 
 up more of the Chinese ports to foreign trade ; (2) an invasion of 
 Afghanistan in 1879-80 to avenge the murder of an English envoy, 
 Sir Louis Cavagnari ; (3) two wars against the Zulus and Boers in 
 South Africa in 1879-81 in which there was great loss of life ; 
 (4) a war in the Soudan in 1884-5 to support the Khedive, or ruler 
 et Egypt, against the Arabs. It was in this war that General
 
 188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Gordon lost his life while defending Khartoum, and that Canadian 
 
 e a British army up the Nile Jn 1 boate^ 
 
 f o I ^t,<^i. CTV , il 4 4fl n^^ 1 -Mb^Vm^C 
 
 -Let us now turn from these events in other 
 lands and see what changes were taking place at home. While 
 Lord Palmerston lived great reforms were not encouraged, but after 
 his death the question of giving more political power to the working 
 classes came to the front. Lord John Russell tried to pass a 
 Reform Bill in 1866, and failed. Then Mr. Disraeli took office and, 
 under his leadership, the Conservatives helped in carrying through 
 a Reform Bill much more radical than that of Lord John Russell. 
 The Reform Bill of 1867 gave votes to householders and lodgers 
 in boroughs who paid rates and 10 rent, while in counties those 
 who paid 12 rates were allowed to vote. Voting by ballot was 
 made law in 1872, and a third Reform Bill was passed in 1884, 
 by Mr. Gladstone, which gave votes to nearly every man, whether 
 in town or county, and added 2,500,000 voters to the roll of 
 electors. In 1885 a Redistribution Bill divided the country into 
 more equal electoral districts, and increased the number of members 
 for Scotland. In 1858 the volunteers were more thoroughly organ- 
 ized, and, in 1860, Cobden succeeded in making a treaty with France 
 which encouraged freer trade between the two countries. 
 
 14. American Civil War. In 1861 a civil war broke out in the 
 United States of America, which led to great suffering among the 
 operatives in the cotton factories of Lancashire. Most of the raw 
 cotton used by England was brought from the Southern States, and 
 as the war closed the ports of the South, its cotton could not find 
 its way to the English markets. Thousands of workers were, in 
 consequence, thrown out of employment when the mills were closed 
 for want of raw cotton, and large sums of money had to be raised to 
 keep the families of the operatives from starving. Nor was this 
 the only bad effect of the war. Some of the British people were in 
 sympathy with the South, and their desire to see the revolt success- 
 ful led to allowing the Southerners to have ships built in British 
 dockyards. One of these, the Alabama, did a great deal of injury 
 to the merchant vessels of the North, and when the war was over 
 England had to pay a heavy bill of damages for allowing the 
 Alabama to escape from British ports. 
 
 15. Important Acts. The year 1861 is memorable for th&
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES. 189 
 
 death of Prince Albert, and 1863, for the marriage of the Prince 
 of Wales to Alexandra, daughter of the King of Denmark. In 
 1869, a long delayed measure of justice was meted out to Ireland. 
 The English Church in Ireland was disestablished and its revenues, 
 after making due provision for the existing clergy, were set aside for 
 the relief of the poor in Ireland. This Act was followed in 1870 by 
 an Irish Land Act, which gave the tenants a more secure hold on 
 their land, and did not leave them so much at the mercy of their 
 landlords. They had henceforth a right to compensation for im- 
 provements they might make, in case they were turned out of their 
 holdings. 
 
 A very important measure was the Education Act of 1870, which 
 was brought into Parliament by Mr. Foster. It provided for the 
 building and support of schools at the expense of the ratepayers, 
 where there were not enough schools to educate all the children of 
 the parish. Before this Act was passed, the masses had to depend 
 for their education on private schools, and on schools under the con- 
 trol of the different Churches. To carry out this law School Board? 
 were formed, the members of which were elected by the people. A 
 few years later, parents were compelled by law to send their children 
 to school ; and, very recently, steps have been taken to make the 
 education of a child in the Public Schools nearly as free as in 
 Ontario. Religious tests, too, were done away with, in 1871, in the 
 Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, so that all classes 
 and creeds can attend these great seats of learning and get the 
 advantage of a university education. Quite recently, in 1888, a 
 measure was passed which gave the people of England a greater 
 control over their own local affairs. These are perhaps the most 
 important measures that have been passed in recent years, most 
 of them under the leadership of Mr. Gladstone. In May, 1886, 
 this great statesman joined Mr. Parnell, the leader of the Irish 
 members, in a demand for Irish " Home Rule," that is, a demand 
 for a Parliament in Dublin to look after Irish affairs. A " Home 
 Rule " Bill was introduced into Parliament, but it failed to carry, 
 and in the general election that followed Mr. Gladstone was 
 defeated and gave way to Lord Salisbury. Mr. Parnell, the Irish 
 leader, died in 1891, but " Home Rule " is to-day the great 
 question in British politics. 
 
 16. Advances in the Last Fifty Years. The history of the
 
 190 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 reign of Victoria is the history of great advances in art and science, 
 and of remarkable inventions of .time and labour-saving machines 
 Ships now cross the Atlantic ocean in less than six days, and trains 
 travel at marvellous rates of speed. By the aid of the electric 
 telegraph messages are carried across oceans and continents with 
 the speed of lightning, while the more recent invention of the 
 telephone enables us to carry on a conversation with friends many 
 miles away. The phonograph keeps a record of the voices of the 
 living and the dead, while the photograph keeps fresh in our 
 memory the features of the absent. Electricity is now extensively 
 used as a motive power to drive machinery, to propel trains, and 
 to furnish light for our homes, shops, and streets. Science has 
 made wonderful progress in nearly every department of human 
 knowledge. Geology, biology, chemistry, history, political econ- 
 omy, language, medicine, theology, and politics, have each and all 
 felt the influence of the scientific spirit and its methods of discovery 
 and investigation. The age has been particularly great in writers 
 of history, such as Hallam, Macaulay, Grote, Green, Froude, 
 Freeman, Gardiner Lecky, and Carlyle. In fiction, we have had 
 Thackeray, Dickens, George Eliot (Mrs. Cross), Charlotte Bronte", 
 and a host of others only second to these great names. Tennyson 
 (still living), the poet Laureate, and Robert Browning are great 
 names in the realm of poetry, while Matthew Arnold has taught us 
 the art of a true and lofty criticism of life and literature. 
 
 17. Conclusion. These are a few, and only a few, of the names 
 of English writers of the present century. So widespread has 
 education become, and so numerous the fields of human activity, 
 that where, a century ago, ten men distinguished themselves in art, 
 science, or literature, a thousand now can be found. 
 
 We have followed the stream of English history down from its 
 small beginnings in the first century to the present day. We have 
 seen the gradual rise of parliamentary government and the steady 
 growth of political freedom under the Plantagenets and the Lancas- 
 trians. We have seen, also, the struggle against despotism and 
 tyranny under the Tudors and Stuarts, and the recovery of lost 
 liberties by the Revolution of 1688. We have watched the steady 
 increase in wealth and material prosperity under the Georges, and 
 we have rejoiced at the success of the great moral movement in the 
 18th century, which roused England from spiritual deadness, and
 
 HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES. 191 
 
 gave her strength to free herself from the shackles of political and 
 social corruption. We have seen England standing almost alone 
 against the giant power of Napoleon, fighting the battles of the 
 world's freedom, undaunted by reverses, and gloriously successful 
 through ;he courage and steadfastness of her sons. Not less 
 interesting to us has been the marvellous growth of Britain's empire 
 in the last hundred years. Her colonies and possessions are found 
 on ever; continent, and her flag floats on every sea. She is still 
 "Mistress of the Sea," and her navy carries British goods and 
 manufa;tures to every land. Her commerce is great beyond 
 compaison, and her language and civilization are finding a sure 
 foothod in every nation. But better than all, England's influence 
 for trith, justice, and righteousness, is greater than ever. She still 
 leads ill peoples in the struggle against vice, ignorance, and tyranny. 
 Her shores are still a safe refuge for the oppressed of all nations, 
 and from her the patriots of all lands derive Kope and encourage- 
 ment At no period in her history have her people been so earnest 
 in tie pursuit of great moral reforms, and in removing the wrongs 
 of centuries of misrule, as at the present day. After nineteen 
 ceituries of strife and struggle, England stands in the fore-front 
 of nations, fresh and vigorous, every pulse throbbing with a healthy 
 mtional life, her "eyea not diiu and her natural strength not 
 abated. "
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOL 
 
 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY SETTLEMENT OF CANADA. 
 
 1. Dominion of Canada. If we take a map of North America 
 we shall find that by far the greater part of its northern half is 
 named the Dominion of Canada. On the east there is the Atlantic 
 Ocean, on the west the Pacific, on the south the Great Lakes, and 
 on the north the Arctic Sea. The only parts of this vast territory 
 not in Canada are Alaska, a portion of Labrador, and the Island of 
 Newfoundland. Its area is about 3,500,000 square miles, and is 
 somewhat larger than the United States lying south of it. But the 
 name Canada, has only very recently been applied to this territory, 
 for less than twenty-five years ago that name was used to point out 
 the Provinces marked Quebec and Ontario on the map. Then the 
 Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, 
 Manitoba, and British Columbia were from time to time added, and 
 these with the great North- West Territories makeup the present 
 Dominion of Canada. 
 
 2. Early Inhabitants. Who the first inhabitants of America 
 were, we do not know, but we do know that they were not English, 
 French, or the ancestors of any of the white or black people now 
 living in Canada and the United States. Nor were the people now 
 known as North American Indians the first to inhabit this Continent, 
 as many remains exist of a more civilized race. Heaps of earth of 
 curious shapes are found all over North America, (many of them in 
 the neighborhood of Lake Superior) and these "mounds," as they 
 are called, contain the bones of men and other animals, stone axes, 
 copper tools, well shaped pottery and a variety of other articles, 
 made with a great deal of skill and. taste. Then on the shores ol 
 
 13
 
 194 HISTORY OP CANADA. ' 
 
 Lake Superior we find old mines where copper has been taken out 
 in large quantities a great many years ago. Large trees have grown 
 over the rubbish that fill these mines, and this shows that a long 
 time has passed since the miners were at work. Whence these 
 clever and industrious people came we do not know, but it is thought 
 they were originally from the south of Asia. 
 
 3. North American Indians. The "Mound Builders'- were 
 followed by a fiercer and ruder people that cared for little except 
 hunting ;md fishing, making war and roaming the forests. Very 
 little interest was taken by them in tilling the soil, a few tribes 
 growing small quantities of maize or Indian corn in clearings in the 
 dense forests which covered most of the country. The principal 
 tribes were the Algonquins, inhabiting the region from the Atlantic 
 to Lake Superior ; the Hurons, principally found in the Georgian 
 Bay District, and the Five Nation Indians or Iroquois, occupying 
 the middle and wescern part of the State of New York. These 
 tribes were much alike in their appearance, manners and customs. 
 Tall, sinewy, copper-colored, with straight black hair, black eyes, 
 high cheek bones they were keen of sight and hearing, swift of 
 foot, fond of war, cruel to their enemies and generally true to their 
 friends. The Algonquins lived almost entirely by fishing and hunt- 
 ing, dwelt in wretched tents called wigwams, and were often on the 
 verge of starvation. The Hurons and Iroquois tilled the soil to 
 some extent, and laid up stores of corn for the seasons when game 
 was scarce. They often lived in villages, in large bark houses occu- 
 pied by several families, and were much more comfortable and 
 prosperous than the Algonquins. Indian women did all the work 
 and drudgery ; the men when not hunting, fishing, or fighting, lived 
 a lazy life, and spent their spare hours sleeping, gambling, and 
 story-telling. Such were the people the first European settlers 
 found in the greater part of North America. 
 
 4. Discovery of America. Little was known of America, until 
 Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa in Italy, persuaded 
 Isabella, the Queen of Castile in Spain, to give him ships to find 
 his way to India, by sailing westward instead of round the Cape of 
 Good Hope. This was in 1492, A.D. Long before this, in the 
 tenth century, the people of Iceland had made their way to the 
 north-eastern coast of America, and seemed to have sailed south as
 
 EAKLY SETTLEMENT OF CANADA. 195 
 
 far as Massachusetts. These visits did not lead to any settlement** 
 being made, and were very soon forgotten, so that Columbus is the 
 real discoverer of America. After a long voyage he came to an 
 island and thought he had reached India. This mistake led to the 
 group, of which this island is one, being called the West Indies. 
 But Columbus did not reach the mainland as soon as John and 
 Sebastian Cabot, two navigators sent out by Henry VII. of England, 
 who explored the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland in 1497-98. 
 A little later a Florentine named Amerigo Vespucci visited the New 
 World and wrote an account of his travels. This led to the new 
 continent being called America. 
 
 5. Jacques Cartier. France, unlike Spain and England, did 
 not take much interest in the work of exploring America until 
 1534, when Francis I. sent out from the sea-port of St. Malo, the 
 famous sea captain, Jacques Cartier. Cartier sailed to Newfound- 
 land, entered the straits of Belle Isle and passed into the Gulf of 
 St. Lawrence. He landed at Gaspe 1 , and erected a cross bearing 
 the arms of France, to indicate that he had taken possession of the 
 country for the French King. The next year he made another visit 
 and entered the Gulf on St. Lawrence's Day, and for this reason he 
 named the Gulf and the great river which empties into it the St. 
 Lawrence. Sailing up the river he came to an Indian village, 
 Stadacona, situated near where now the city of Quebec stands. 
 Continuing his voyage he reached another Indian village, called 
 Hochelaga. This village was situated at the foot of a beautiful 
 mountain covered with trees, and he named it Mont Royal hence 
 the name of our great commercial city Montreal. After a short 
 stay Cartier returned to Stadacona, and spent the winter there. 
 His men suffered terribly from cold and scurvy, but were treated 
 with the utmost kindness by the Indians. In the spring he returned 
 to France, taking with him by force a number of Indian chiefs who 
 were never permitted to go back to their own people a base reward 
 for their hospitality. Six years after, Cartier and Sieur de Roberval 
 made an attempt to colonize Canada, but their efforts were fruitless ; 
 and France, occupied with matters of greater interest at home, 
 sent out no other expedition for nearly fifty years. 
 
 6. Cfcamplain. At last in 1603, Samuel De Champlain, a 
 distinguished naval officer, and Pontgrave", a merchant of St. Malo,
 
 196 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 ri ,vere sent out to open up a trade in furs with the Indians and at the 
 same time to attempt to civilize them and convert them to Christi- 
 anity. They found no traces of the Indian villages Stadacona and 
 Hochelaga and after a short stay, having reached the rapids of St. 
 Louis, returned to France with a cargo of furs. For the next few 
 years the efforts of the French were directed to establishing a 
 colony in Acadia (now Nova Scotia), at Port Royal. Failing in 
 this attempt, Champlain and Pontgrav^ were despatched to the St. 
 Lawrence to build a fort at a suitable point for trade with the 
 Indians. This led to the founding of the city of Quebec at the foot 
 of the cliff Cape Diamond, in 1608. Champlain then proceeded 
 westward, and meeting a war party of Algonquins and Hurons, was 
 induced by promises of profitable trade to join an expedition against 
 the Iroquois. He ascended the Richelieu river and discovered Lake 
 Champlain, and near Lake George had his first encounter with the 
 Iroquois. Again in 1615, he joined a war party of Hurons against 
 the Iroquois ; but was unsuccessful in the attack, notwithstanding 
 the advantage of fire-arms. These unprovoked assaults taught the 
 Iroquois to hate and distrust the French. Later on, when the 
 Iroquois obtained possession of guns and were skilled in their use, 
 a terrible revenge was taken on the weak Canadian colony. In 
 nearly all the wars that followed between the English and French 
 settlers in America, the brave and adroit Iroquois were found fight- 
 ing on the side of the English. Champlain spent much time in 
 exploring the country to the north and west, making his way up 
 the Ottawa across to Georgian Bay, and thence down to Lake 
 Ontario. 
 
 7- Company of One Hundred Associates. So many com- 
 panies were anxious to engage in the profitable fur trade of Canada, 
 and so much rivalry and ill-feeling existed among them, that Cardinal 
 Richelieu, the principal minister of Louis XIII, decided in 1627 to 
 give the sole right to engage in the trade to a company known as that 
 of the " One Hundred Associates." Besides the fur trade, this 
 Company was given the control of the coast and inland fishing. In 
 return for these grants, the Company bound itself to bring out six 
 thousand colonists and settle them in Canada, at the same time 
 making provision for the support of a Roman Catholic clergy who 
 were to look after the religious welfare of the colonists, and to
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 197 
 
 labor to convert the Indians. Tradesmen and mechanics were to 
 be taken out to Canada to build houses/^and make all necessary 
 articles for the use of the settlers. Champlain was made governor 
 of the young colony, but did not keei/his position long ; for war 
 broke out between England and Fr/nce, and England sent Sir 
 David Kirke with a fleet to take Qimbec. Twice Kirke appeared 
 before the fort, and on the second^ccasion, in 1029, captured it. 
 For three years England held Canada, and then, peace being 
 restored, gave it back to France; not considering the country of 
 much value. Champlain again took charge of the colony, and 
 labored unceasingly to make it prosperous, and to bring the Indians 
 to a knowledge of Christianity. In this he was partially successful, 
 but his work was cut short by death, A. D. 1635. Champlain is 
 rightly considered the Founder of the colony of New France or 
 Canada*. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 
 
 1. Indian Missions. To understand the history of Canada 
 during the greater part of the seventeenth century, we must bear in 
 mind that a two-fold object was constantly kept in view by the French 
 kings : first, the establishment and extension of the colony at the 
 expense of the English settlers in America : and secondly, the 
 conversion of the Indians to the Roman Catholic faith. The 
 French kings and their ministers wished to profit not only by the 
 fur-trade of America, but to build up on this continent a colony 
 where the religion of the Roman Catholic Church should be held 
 and practised by the whole population, Indian as well as French. 
 
 By far the most interesting portion of the history of French 
 Canada is the story of the Jesuit missions among the Indians. 
 Full of holy zeal for the salvation of the Red men, missionary after 
 missionary of the religious society called Jesuits, made his way to 
 the Hurons in the Georgian Bay district, to the Algonquins to the 
 
 * Canada, is a word of Indian origin, and is supposed to mean "a collection of huts."
 
 198 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 north and up the Ottawa, and to the fierce Iroquois in the Mohawk 
 Valley. 
 
 Among the Algonquins they suffered want and hardship, dwelling 
 in wretched tents full of smoke and filth and often ill-treated 
 and despised by the people they were trying to benefit. At first 
 their efforts were of little avail ; even the Hurons, the most intel- 
 ligent, kindly, and well-to-do of the Indian tribes thought the 
 missionaries brought them trouble in the shape of drought, sick- 
 ness, and ill-success in hunting and war. But no amount of failure 
 could discourage these patient and unselfish men. After a while 
 the Indians began to respect them, and then came a general 
 willingness to be baptized and to accept the religion taught by the 
 missionaries. It was not long before nearly all the Hurons became 
 converted to Christianity, and left off their heathen practices and 
 habits. Two names will always be remembered in connection with 
 these Huron missions, those of Father de Breboeuf and Father 
 Lalement ; the first strong in frame, brave of heart, and capable of 
 enduring any amount of hardship ; the second, delicate, refined, 
 loving, and unselfish. Other missionaries took their lives in their 
 hands and went among the cruel and treacherous Iroquois, hoping 
 to do some good to the fiercest enemies of the colony. But little, 
 however, came of these missions. The Iroquois did not trust the 
 French, arid the missionaries after a brief stay were either murdered 
 or compelled to escape for their lives. The name of Father Jogues, 
 who suffered first, mutilation, and later on, death, at the hands of 
 the Iroquois, is one that shines bright on the roll of Martyr 
 missionaries. 
 
 2. Indian Wars. The story of Indian missions is also a part of 
 the story of Indian Wars. The Algonquins and the Hurons were 
 the friends of the French, while the Iroquois were bent on the 
 destruction of the feeble colony and its allies. The Hurons lived 
 in populous villages between the Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, 
 and were said to number thirty thousand people, most of whom 
 accepted Christianity through the labors of Jesuit missionaries. 
 St. Ignace, St. Louis, St. Joseph, and St. Marie, were among the 
 most important of these missions. In 1648, St. Joseph was suprised 
 by the Iroquois, while most of the Huron hunters and warriors 
 were absent. Seven persons were captured and killed, the
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 199 
 
 missionary, Father Daniel, meeting his fate while ministering to 
 the dying. The next place to fall was St. Ignace ; then St. Louis 
 was attacked. Here Fathers Jean de Bre"boeuf and Gabriel Lale- 
 inent, refusing to leave their helpless flocks, were made prisoners and 
 put to the most cruel tortures. Bre"boeuf 's nails were torn from his 
 fingers, his body hacked with knives, red hot hatchets hung round 
 his neck, his gums seared, and finally his heart cut out, no word 
 or token of pain escaping from his lips. His tortures lasted four 
 hours. Lalement, so delicate, sensitive, and frail, was tortured for 
 seventeen hours before his sufferings were ended in deatn. St. 
 Marie was the next object of attack. It was manfully defended by 
 a few Frenchmen and Hurons, and after a fierce conflict the 
 Iroquois retreated. 
 
 The Huron missions were destroyed, and the people were scatter- 
 ed. An effort to transfer the missions to Isle St. Joseph or 
 Christian Island, near Collingwood, and gather the terror-stricken 
 Hurons together again, ended the following spring in another 
 dreadful massacre on the mainland, by the Iroquois, where the 
 Hurons had come in search of food for their starving families. 
 Ten thousand Hurons had perished, a few came to Quebec with the 
 missionaries, the rest were scattered far and wide among other 
 tribes in the north, east and west. The once powerful, brave and 
 intelligent Hurons, as a nation, ceased to exist ; and with them 
 perished the principal fruits of the Jesuit Missions. 
 
 3. Growth, of New France. Let us now return to what was 
 going on in the colony, during this period of Indian strife and 
 bloodshed. The Company of One Hundred Associates did not 
 carry out what it had promised to do ; very few settlers were 
 brought out by it, and its attention was almost entirely taken up 
 with the trade in furs. It sent out scarcely one thousand colonists, 
 much less the six thousand it had promised. The population grew 
 very slowly, so slowly that in 1662, it had less then two thousand 
 souls. But a great interest was taken in the spiritual welfare of 
 the colony, and out of this interest came the founding of Montreal 
 as a mission, in 1642, by a number of devoted men and women, 
 who came from France for that purpose. Here, the little band 
 prayed and fought, for the Iroquois lay in wait, night and day, 
 right under the guns of the rude fort to kill and scalp the unwary.
 
 200 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 Many a sad and heroic tale comes down to us of this troublous time. 
 The story of Dulac des Ormeaux and his sixteen companions recalls 
 the bravest deeds of the best days of the ancient Greeks and 
 Romans. In the year 1660, hearing that a large number of 
 Iroquois were coming down the lakes and rivers to attack the feeble 
 garrison on the St. Lawrence, these young men determined to 
 sacrifice their lives and save the colony. They made their wills, 
 confessed their sins, received the sacrament, and took a sad farewell 
 of their friends in Montreal. Then, with a few Christian Hurons 
 and Algonquins they took possession of an old fort near the Long 
 Sault Rapids, on the Ottawa. Here they awaited the descent of 
 the Iroquois, prepared to sell their lives dearly. Soon two hundred 
 came down in their boats, and landing, attacked the little band in 
 their hastily constructed breastwork of logs. For days the unequal 
 struggle lasted. The Hurons deserted to the Iroquois in dismay. 
 Dulac and his companions fought on until worn out with want of 
 sleep and nourishment, the four that were left alive fell into the 
 hands of the enraged savages. Three were mortally wounded and 
 were burnt alive, the fourth was saved for Indian tortures. 
 The Hurons who so basely deserted to the enemy found no mercy 
 at the hands of the Iroquois, and were put to death. Thus perished 
 Dulac and his companions, but not without saving the colony. The 
 Iroquois were checked and disheartened and for a time the settle- 
 ment had peace. 
 
 The colony, as already stated, made slow progress. Governor 
 after Governor was appointed to no purpose ; the Company of One 
 Hundred Associates was doing nothing to further its interests, and 
 Indian raids threatened the very existence of the settlement. Iii 
 1669, the Abbe Laval came to Canada. His arrival marks a new 
 era in the life of the colony. Zealous, devoted, able and enthusias- 
 tic, for many years he laboured in the interest of the Church, and 
 his influence did much to mould the future of Canada. His first 
 stay was a brief one ; he was anxious to prevent the sale of brandy 
 or " fire water " to the Indians, but the traders found it too profitable 
 to be given up, although its effects on the Indians were frightful. 
 Finally, Laval sailed to France to get the French King to stop the 
 wretched traffic, and to have the Governor who refused to put the 
 law in force against the offenders recalled. 
 
 4. Royal Government. Up to this time fur companies aided by
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 201 
 
 the leading clergy, had governed the colony. Now a change was 
 decided upon. The ONE HUNDRED ASSOCIATES lost their charter, 
 and Canada was placed under the government of the French Bong. 
 This change was due largely to the influence of Laval at the French 
 Court, and took place in 1663. A Governor, Intendant, and Bishop 
 were appointed, and these aided by a Supreme Council, acted under 
 the instructions of the King. The Governor was at the head of 
 military affairs ; the Bishop, of Church aflairs ; and the Intendant, 
 of legal and money affairs. The Governor and the Bishop appointed 
 the members of the Council, at first four, but afterwards increased 
 to twelve, in number. The Intendant made laws for the people, 
 and published them at the church doors or from the pulpit. Even 
 such small matters as pew rents, stray hogs, fast driving, family 
 quarrels, were dealt with by him. The Bishop, too, took an active 
 part in the affairs of the colony, and because the duties of the 
 Governor, Bishop, and Inteudant, were not very clearly stated, 
 frequent quarrels took place between these, the chief officers of the 
 King. The law in force was very different from the law of England, 
 and is known as the CUSTOM OF PARIS, the same law that prevailed 
 at that time in France. It is still in force in Quebec Province and 
 suits the French people better than our English laws. The colonists 
 had nothing to say in making their own laws, they had no Parlia- 
 ments or Municipal Councils, everything was managed for them by 
 the King, through the Governor, Bishop, Intendant, and Supreme 
 Council. To hear complaints and settle disputes, courts were 
 established at Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal; these courts 
 being under the control of the Supreme Council, and presided over 
 by the "seigneurs " or holders of large tracts of land from the King 
 by Feudal or Military tenure. These seigneurs were gentlemen who 
 came out to Canada from France, enticed by the offer of large grants 
 of land for which they paid by bringing out settlers and giving their 
 services in time of war, in defence of the colony. They generally 
 settled near Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, along the banks 
 of the St. Lawrence, so as to have the river always near at hand to 
 bring in and take out what they bought and sold. Besides, when 
 attacked by the Iroquois, they could more easily escape to one of 
 the forts by water than by land. 
 
 5. Talon. M. de Mzy, was the first Governor, Laval the first'
 
 202 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 Bishop, and Talon the first Intendant. Talon was a very able man 
 and used his power and talents in the interests of the colony. But, 
 unfortunately Laval and the Governor could not agree, and De 
 Mezy was recalled. A new Governor, De Courcelles, took his place ; 
 and about the same time the Marquis de Tracy was sent out with 
 the famous Carignan regiment to help the colony in its struggles 
 against the Iroquois. A number of settlers also came, bringing 
 sheep, cattle, farm implements, and a few horses, so that the popu- 
 lation was increased by two thousand persons. This new strength 
 enabled the settlers to attack their enemies, the Iroquois, and two 
 expeditions, the one in the winter, and the other the following 
 summer, invaded the Mohawk territory, fired the villages of the 
 Indians, and destroyed the stores of grain kept by them for a 
 winter supply of food. 
 
 These attacks annoyed the Governor of New York, who thought 
 it an invasion of English territory but they had the effect of giving 
 the colony peace for eighteen years. The Iroquois allowed mission- 
 aries to go to them, and some of them accepted their teachings, and 
 became less barbarous. Canada now made better progress. Talon 
 did his utmost to utilize the natural resources of the country and to 
 promote trade with the West Indies. He also sent out exploring 
 expeditions to Hudson's Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi 
 of which he had heard from the Indians. He induced many of the 
 soldiers to settle in the colony, and gave grants of land to the officers 
 and men. As women were few in number, the French Govern- 
 ment sent out a large number of young women to become wives for 
 the soldiers and settlers. As soon as these ship-loads of women 
 arrived, the men who wanted wives came down to the vessels, and 
 chose their partners. These curious marriages generally turned out 
 well the couples thus brought together living fairly happy and 
 contented lives. Some serious drawbacks to the success of the 
 colony must be noted. One was the sale of "fire-water" to the 
 Indians and settlers, although Laval did his best to have it stopped. 
 Another was the tendency of young men to take to the woods, to 
 live and trade with the Indians. These ' ' Courews du Bois," as they 
 were called, often became more savage than the Indians themselves, 
 dressed in Indian fashion, and took Indian wives. Once used to 
 this mode of life, it was found impossible to bring them to settle 
 down and till the soil. The trade in furs was too profitable to be
 
 CANADA UWDER PRENCH RULE. 203 
 
 abandoned for civilized life. Then again, the colony suffered by ibs 
 trade being placed in the hands of a few men, who enriched them- 
 selves at the expense of the people. So it happened that Canada 
 did not grow as fast as the English colonies to the south of it, 
 simply because the government did not allow the settlers sufficient 
 freedom in managing their own affairs. 
 
 6. Discoveries in the Great West. The Jesuit missionaries 
 were the first explorers of the far West. They united the work of 
 discovery with their mission labors, just as Livingstone and Moffat 
 in recent years have done in Africa. Talon was anxious to prevent 
 the English from extending their trade westward, and with this in 
 view, he established trading-posts and missions at Sault Ste. Marie 
 and other points. Before, however, his great plans could be carried 
 out, he returned to France, and left to his successors the task of 
 discovering and exploring the Mississippi. 
 
 Talon returned to France in 1672, and about the same time 
 Courcelles the Governor also asked to be recalled. The new Gover- 
 nor, Louis de Buade Count de Frontenac, is the most striking figure 
 in the history of New France. No Governor was so successful in 
 his dealings with the Iroquois ; they feared and respected him, at 
 the same time giving him their regard and confidence. He treated 
 them as children, threatening them with punishment if unruly, and 
 rewarding and encouraging them if they behaved well. He made a 
 great display of force when treating with them, and managed to 
 impress them with the greatness and power of the French King, the 
 " Great Father, " across the Big Waters. He was not so successful 
 with his COUNCIL, for his hasty temper and haughty bearing, together 
 with his attempts to control everything and everybody, led to many 
 a scene in the Council Chamber, and caused bitter quarrels in the 
 colony. His rule however, will be always remembered with grati- 
 tude for, as long as he was Governor, Canada was safe from Indian 
 attacks. More important still were the discoveries in the west in 
 his time by Joliet, a merchant, Marquette, a missionary, and Robert 
 Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. Father Marquette, who lived and labor- 
 ed among the Indians on the shores of Lake Superior and Michigan, 
 was joined by Joliet, and these two brave men, in 1673, in bark 
 canoes, with five men, went down the mighty Mississippi, until they 
 reached the Arkansas river. Fearing to fall into the hands of the
 
 204 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 Spaniards, they returned and Joliet brought the news of his dis- 
 coveries to Quebec. The story of his exploit filled La Salle, who 
 had obtained a grant of land at Lachine (so-called it is said because 
 La Salle thought the St. Lawrence led to China), with the desire to 
 explore the West. Before Joliet made his great discovery, La Salle 
 had found his way to the Ohio, although his doings at this time 
 are not very well known. Courcelles had planned building a fort at 
 the foot of Lake Ontario, where Kingston now stands, and his suc- 
 cessor in office carried out his plan and founded Fort Frontenac. 
 This fort served as a trading-post, and also as a check on the Iroquois 
 in time of war. At first the fort was of wood afterwards La Salle, 
 jn 1674, built it of stone and promised to keep it up, if he were 
 granted the privilege of engaging in the fur trade. It was from this 
 point that he set out to find his way to the Mississippi. After years 
 spent in braving the dangers of the wilderness, and overcoming 
 obstacles which would have daunted most men, he succeeded in 
 1682 in launching his canoes on the Father of Waters the broad 
 Mississippi. In the month of April he reached the Gulf of Mexico,' 
 and took possession of the Great South and West in the name of 
 Louis XIV. under the title of Louisiana. 
 
 Five years after, La Salle was basely murdered by some treacher- 
 ous followers, while engaged in a venture to found a colony at the ' 
 mouth of the Mississippi. 
 
 7. Frontenac. Let us now turn to what was going on in Onada 
 under Frontenac's rule. The colony was at peace with the Indians ; 
 but Frontenac quarrelled with his Intendant, with the Governor 
 of Montreal, with Laval and the Jesuits, in fact with everybody that 
 would not do as he wished. His conduct was so violent and unjust, 
 that many complaints were made to the King. Laval and the mis- 
 sionaries were anxious to stop the sale of liquor to the Indians, but 
 Frontenac was too greedy of gain to forbid it. At last, after ten 
 years of disputing and wrangling, the King grew wearied and Fron- 
 tenac was recalled (1682). 
 
 But net for long. The Iroquois were soon on the war-path again, 
 incited by the Governor of New York, Colonel Dongan. The English 
 colonists were anxious to take away from the French the trade with 
 the Indians, and they generally succeeded in keeping on good terms 
 with the Iroquois, who saw that the English colonies were growing
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 205 
 
 much more rapidly than the French settlement. It needed but the 
 treachery of Denonville, one of Frontenac's successors, to bring on 
 the colony a terrible calamity. To gratify a whim of the King, he 
 seized at Fort Frontenac fifty Iroquois chiefs, who had come to a 
 friendly meeting, and sent them in chains to France to work at the 
 galleys. He followed up this outrage by leading two thousand men 
 into the country of the Senecas, one of the five nations of the 
 Iroquois. For several days he pillaged and burned their villages, 
 destroying their food supplies, and putting many to death. 
 
 The Five Nations soon united to punish the French. Fort Niagara 
 at the mouth of the Niagara River, and but recently built, was level- 
 led to the ground. Fort Frontenac had to be abandoned and burnt, 
 with all its stores and trading vessels. The Island of Montreal was 
 surprised and more than a thousand of its inhabitants were killed or 
 carried off prisoners for further torture. This is the Massacre of 
 Lachine, 1689. The colony was in despair, and its people had to take 
 shelter in the' forts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. 
 
 To save the colony from perishing Frontenac was again despatch- 
 ed to Canada as Governor. He brought with him the chiefs seized 
 by Denonville, and sent them back to their tribes to act as peace- 
 makers. At this time a war arising out of the English Revolution 
 of 1688 was going on in Europe between England and France. 
 Frontenuc determined to punish the English colonists for the part 
 they had taken in stirring up the Iroquois to attack the French 
 settlements. Bands of French and their Indian allies made frequent 
 raids into New York, New Hampshire, and other border colonies, 
 scalping and murdering the defenceless people. Schenectady in 
 New York, and Salmon Falls in New Hampshire were burned to the 
 ground, and their inhabitants butchered. For years this cruel 
 border warfare lasted, leaving a dark stain on the early history of 
 the American settlements. 
 
 In 1690 an effort was made by the British colonists to drive the 
 French out of Canada. Sir Wm. Phips was sent by Massachusetts 
 to capture Port P-^oyal in Acadia (Nova Scotia). This he accomplish- 
 ed, and then sailed up the St. Lawrence to take Quebec. Before 
 this, however, an expedition under the command of Colonel Win- 
 throp had been sent to take Montreal. Sickness and a lack of 
 supplies led to its failure and it returned to Albany. But Phips
 
 206 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 reached Quebec and demanded its surrender. The demand met with 
 a haughty and indignant refusal from Frontenae, who had piv|>:tr.-<l 
 for a spirited defence. In vain Phips opened a furious fire on the 
 town and landed his raw soldiers on the Beauport shore. H; \\as 
 driven back with heavy loss by the French and their Indian allies, 
 and compelled to beat a retreat to Boston. Thus ended the second 
 attempt by the English to capture Quebec. Meanwhile the savage 
 border warfare went on unchecked. The Abenaquis Indians aided 
 the French in the work of murder the Iroquois, the English. A 
 single incident will give us a glimpse of the savage nature of this 
 warfare. Hannah Dustin of Haverhill, taken prisoner in one of 
 these border raids, avenged the milrder of her week-old child by 
 skying ten out of twelve of her sleeping Indian captors, and then 
 succeeded in escaping to the British settlements. These were the 
 days when both French and English offered prizes to the Indians 
 for human scalps. Little wonder that the border settlements did 
 not prosper. The Treaty of Ryswick (1697) put an end for a short 
 time to the war between England and France, and each country 
 restored to the other its conquests. The next year saw the death of 
 Frontenac in his 78th year. His memory was cherished as the one 
 man whose energy saved Canada when on the verge of ruin. 
 
 8. State of the Colony. The war of the Spanish Succession in 
 Europe, which broke out in 1702, was the signal for a renewal of 
 the horrors of warfare between Canada and the English colonies in 
 America. Not until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, did the settlers 
 along the frontier again breathe freely. This treaty gave Acadia, 
 Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay Territory to England, while 
 France kept Canada, Cape Breton, and Louisiana. For over thirty 
 years the colony had rest, and a chance to grow and prosper. The 
 principal Governor of this time was Vaudreuil, whose term of office 
 began in 1703. He forsesaw that a fierce struggle must take place 
 between the French and the English for control of the North 
 American continent, and he laid his plans accordingly. The fortress 
 of Louisburg in Cape Breton was begun ; Quebec, Montreal and Fort 
 Frontenac were strengthened, and a new stone fort was built at 
 Niagara. Trade, ship-building, and manufactures were encouraged, 
 and we find even woollen and linen goods among the home produc- 
 tions. Canada, at this time, exported largely to France and the
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 207 
 
 West Indies such products as staves, tar, tobacco, flour, pease, and 
 pork. She brought in rum, sugar, molasses, and most of the manu- 
 factured goods she needed. Kbads were opened up between the 
 parishes, and a letter-post established. Law was better administered 
 than in the earlier days of the colony. With all these improve- 
 ments it made but slow progress. The feudal system of land tenure, 
 while good for military purposes, did not encourage the peasants who 
 held the land from their seigneurs, to make many improvements. 
 The people had no say in making their own laws, and the general 
 want of education kept the colony in a dull and lifeless state. Young 
 men tired of the quiet home-life of the farm took to the woods, and 
 lived and traded with the Indians. In 1702-22, Quebec had a 
 population of seven thousand, and an agreeable society, whose 
 principal element was the military class, Montreal had about two 
 thousand inhabitants, and the whole of Canada about twenty-five 
 thousand. The whole country to the west was a forest with a few 
 trading posts and forts at Kingston, Niagara, and Detroit. 
 
 9. Braddock's Expedition. Vaudreuil died in 1725, and was 
 succeeded by the Marquis de Beauharnois. In his time Fort 
 Frederic, at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain was built, and soon 
 became an important post in the wars between the rival colonies. 
 No new stirring events took place until the outbreak of the War of 
 the Austrian Succession, which brought England and France once 
 more into conflict. It was not long before their colonies were 
 engaged in a deadly struggle, a struggle that lasted, with a brief 
 intermission, until the flag of England floated over the walls of 
 Quebec. In 1745, Louisburg was taken after a brave defence, by an 
 army of New England farmers and fishermen under Sir William 
 Pepperell. The French tried to retake this the second strongest for- 
 tress of the New World, but without success. Peace was for a short 
 time restored in 1748, and Louisburg, to the great annoyance of the 
 people of New England, was given back to France. In these days, 
 it often happened that while the mother countries, France and 
 England, were at peace, their children in India and America carried 
 on a bitter strife. Not until 1756 was war once more declared in 
 Europe ; yet, in 1754, hostilities broke out in the valley of the Ohio. 
 The French claimed the Great West, and sought to shut in the 
 English to the strip of territory between the Atlantic and the 
 411eghany Mountains. To carry out this plan, a fort was construct-
 
 208 
 
 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 ed at a point where two branches of the Ohio River meet, the 
 Monongahela and the Allegheny. This fort got the name, Du 
 Quesne, from the French Governor of Canada at that time. The 
 English colonists of Virginia sent George Washington, a young officer 
 and surveyor, to build another fort near at hand. Unfortunately 
 
 enango 
 'Xf Ou Quesne 
 
 Ottwores I'j (* ha ""'X i 8utt>y fiun 
 Necessity 
 
 LAKE COUNTRY AND WESTERN FORTS. 
 
 Washington fired upon a party of French and Indians who came to 
 warn him that he was encroaching on French territory. This act was 
 the beginning of the final struggle for the mastery of the New World. 
 General Braddock was sent out from England with two regiments 
 of regular troops and was placed in command of the militia of the 
 colonies. He thought he knew more about bush warfare than such 
 men as Washington, and would take no advice. He was so stubborn 
 and arrogant that many of the best militia officers would not serve 
 under him. The French too, made preparations for the conflict. 
 Baron Dieskau brought to Canada a strong military force, and was 
 accompanied by the last French Governor of Canada, De Vaudreuil, 
 a son of the former Governor of that name.
 
 CANADA UNDER FEENCH RULE. 209 
 
 In the spring of 1755, Braddock began his march from Virginia 
 bo Fort Du Quesne, He had a force of two thousand men, regulars 
 and colonial militia, but his movements were hampered by taking a 
 train of baggage-waggons and artillery. One hundred men with 
 axes went before to cut down trees and make a road for these to 
 pass over. The journey was a slow and weary one, and the French 
 garrison at Fort Du Quesne was well aware of Braddock's movements. 
 As he neared the fort, an ambuscade of French and Indians was 
 formed, with the hope of checking his march. In spite of repeated 
 warnings from Washington and others, Braddock neglected to take 
 the most ordinary percautions against surprise. Passing through a 
 thickly wooded defile, a sudden hail of bullets was poured into the 
 astonished and dismayed ranks of the British regulars. On all sides 
 was heard the terrible war-whoop of the Indians, and the work of 
 destruction began. The British soldiers huddled together and fired 
 their muskets into the air or into their own ranks. They were 
 mown down by the bullets of the concealed French and Indians 
 without being able to offer any defence. Braddock had five horses 
 shot under him, and was mortally wounded. Fotunately for the 
 regulars, the colonial forces, used to Indian modes of fighting, took 
 shelter behind the trees and fought the enemy in their own fashion, 
 and kept them at bay. This enabled the terror-stricken soldiers who 
 survived, to escape from the defile. More than one-half had fallen 
 the remainder, panic-stricken, fled, and paused not till they had 
 put forty miles between them and the dreaded enemy. Braddock 
 was carried in a dying condition on a litter from the field, and that 
 night with his life paid the penalty of his folly. 
 
 Fort Niagara, the forts on Lake Champlain, and Beausdjour in 
 Acadia, were also marked out for attack by the English. The 
 expedition against Niagara never reached its destination ; Beause"- 
 jour was not able to make any defence and was easily taken ; and 
 Baron Dieskau was defeated and made prisoner near Lake George 
 by Colonel William Johnson, at the head of a body of colonial militia 
 and Mohawk Indians. This Colonel Johnson was a remarkable 
 man in many respects. He had acquired a wonderful influence over 
 the Mohawks, and was made one of their great chiefs. He built 
 two great strongly fortified houses in the Mohawk valley, and made 
 them headquarters for the surrounding Indians one of whose 
 daughters, the famous Molly Brant, sister of Joseph Brant, ha
 
 310 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 married in Indian fashion. Johnson was made a knight for his 
 victory over Dieskau, and received a large grant of money from the 
 Crown. 
 
 10. Capture of Quebec. The next year (1756) war was formally 
 declared between England and France, and the struggle went on 
 with increasing bitterness in America. This war is known as the 
 Seven Years' War, and was carried on in Asia, America, and Europe 
 simultaneously. The French sent out as Commander-in-Chief, the 
 famous Marquis de Montcalm, an officer of great skill, courage and 
 energy. The English had by far the greater number of men, and 
 the greater wealth and resources, but for a time they were badly 
 officered and led. Their first Commander-in-Chief was the Earl of 
 Loudon, who proved a wretched failure. Another general, almost 
 equally unfit, was Abercrombie, who allowed Oswego to fall into the 
 hands of Montcalm. A still greater disaster befell the English at 
 Fort William Henry, on Lake George, in August 1757. After a 
 spirited defence the garrison was allowed to go out with the honors 
 of war, engaging not to serve against the French for eighteen 
 months. Montcalm promised them protection against attacks by 
 his Indian allies, who sought victims to scalp and torture. The 
 Indians crazed by liquor, fell upon the retreating garrison with 
 their women and children, and in spite of the efforts of Montcalm 
 and his officers, murdered or carried off prisoners the most of them. 
 Almost equally disastrous was the attempt made by Loudon, aided 
 by a large fleet and force, to take Louisburg. 
 
 These repeated failures, added to a general want of success in 
 other parts of the world where the war was carried on, led to a 
 change in the British government, and William Pitt, was placed in 
 charge of England's foreign affairs. Very soon a change was noted. 
 Pitt had determined he would drive the French out of Canada, and 
 he made his preparations accordingly. He chose good men to com- 
 mand, and gave them an energetic support. Amherst was made the 
 Commander-in-chief, and Boscawen was put at the head of the fleet 
 in America. Under Amherst were placed Wolfe, Lawrence, and 
 Whitmore, officers young in years, but full of energy and courage. 
 One mistake Pitt did make : he left Abercrombie in charge of the 
 army intended to operate along Lake George and Lake Champlain. 
 
 The first fruits of Pitt's policy was the capture of Louisburg.
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RtTLK. 211 
 
 Against this strong fortress was sent a fleet of over one hundred and 
 fifty vessels, and an army of twelve thousand men, under the com- 
 mand of Amhersfc and Wolfe. After a siege of seven weeks, in 
 which Wolfe greatly distinguished himself, the garrison of five 
 thousand men surrendered, and were sent prisoners to England. 
 
 But victories were not all on the side of the English. A large 
 force under General Abercrombie was repulsed with heavy loss in 
 1 758, while trying to take Ticonderoga, or Carillon, on Lake Cham- 
 plain. The defeat was due to the death in the early part of the 
 fight of young Lord Howe, and to the utter folly and rashness of 
 Abercrombie, in ordering his brave troops to attack the French, 
 protected as they were by felled trees and a breastwork of timber, 
 with sharpened stakes pointing outward. In this battle Montcalm 
 proved his skill as a general, and the English lost two thousand men, 
 many of them Highlanders, who for the first time in their history, 
 served in the foreign wars of Britain. The campaign of 1758 closed 
 with the easy capture of Fort Du Quesne, by a force sent against 
 '.b under General Forbes. Forbes, falling sick, was borne on a litter 
 across the Alleghanies with his army. Finding winter approaching, 
 he sent Washington ahead with a smaller force, to take the fort 
 before it could get help. On the 25th of November, without a blow 
 being struck, Du Quesne was taken possession of by Washington, 
 and named Fort Pitt, in honor of England's greatest War Minister. 
 
 The year 1759 opened with great efforts put forth by Montcalm 
 to save Canada to the French, The prospects of the colony were 
 gloomy enough. The mother country gave but little assistance ; 
 in fact, she was not able to give much. So many men in Canada 
 were drawn into the army, that the farms were only half -tilled, and 
 the crops were scanty and poor. To add to the miseries of the 
 people, the internal affairs of Canada were under the control of the 
 worst official of French Rule. This was the Intendant Bigot, 
 whose whole career was one of extortion, fraud and lewdness. 
 Monopolists plundered the poverty-stricken people ; grain, cattle, 
 and horses were seized and sold abroad, and the money put into the 
 pockets of Bigot and his tools. Every man between the age of 
 sixteen and sixty was drafted into the army to defend the colony. 
 Montcalm labored ceaselessly to put Quebec and the other fortresses 
 in the best possible condition for defence, but he was hampered by 
 the Governor and the Intendant. Meanwhile a plan of campaign
 
 212 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 had been arranged by the British, which was to bring the war to a 
 close by one great and united effort. Amherst was to proceed along 
 the line of Lakes George and Champlain, and take Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point. General Prideaux, aided by Sir William Johnson 
 and his Indians, was to attack Niagara, while to Wolfe was given 
 the heavy task of assaulting Quebec. Amherst and Prideaux having 
 performed their allotted tasks were to join Wolfe at Quebec. Pri- 
 deaux was killed while besieging Niagara, and the honor of taking 
 the fort fell to Sir William Johnson. Amherst found little 
 opposition at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the French falling 
 back on Quebec for the final defence. Amherst, however, lingered 
 at these points, building and strengthening forts to secure the line 
 of Lakes George and Champlain. 
 
 Early in 1759, Wolfe sailed from Louisburg to Quebec with his 
 army of less than nine thousand men. Saunders and Holmes 
 commanded the fleet, while Wolfe was assisted by an able staff of 
 officers, Townshend, Monckton and Murray. Landing at the Island 
 of Orleans, Wolfe anxiously viewed for the first time the rock fort- 
 ress, Quebec, the greatest stronghold of France in the New World. 
 For miles on both the east and west of Quebec, Montcalm had 
 fortified the banks of the St. Lawrence. Between the St. Charles 
 and the Montmorency were more than thirteen thousand men of all 
 ages, and the walls of Quebec itself bristled with guns. Who could 
 hope to capture this Gibraltar of America, with such a small force 
 as Wolfe had at his command ? Yet, Wolfe, weakened as he was by 
 a fatal disease, did not shrink from the effort. Soon he seized a 
 strong position opposite Quebec, Point Levi, and their Monckton 
 fixed his batteries. The French made fruitless efforts to dislodge 
 the British fleet, by sending fire-ships down the river, but these 
 were taken in tow by the sailors and did little harm. The batteries 
 from Point Levi began to play upon .the doomed fortress, and soon 
 a great part of Quebec was in ruins. Nevertheless, Montcalm 
 strong in his position on the north shore, with entrenchments from 
 Quebec to the river Montmorency, defied every effort of Wolfe 
 to land his troops. On the 31st of July, a desperate attempt was 
 made to gain a footing and storm the heights near the Mont- 
 morency ; but to no purpose, Wolfe was compelled to retire with 
 heavy loss, and his chagrin and grief brought on a fever. 
 
 It looked as if Quebec could not be taken, and winter was
 
 CANADA UNDER FRENCH RULE. 
 
 213 
 
 approaching which would bring relief to the garrison. Then it was 
 that one of Wolfe's staff, Townshend, proposed to climb the steep 
 banks of the St. Lawrence, at a point some three miles above 
 Quebec. The plan was adopted, and steps were at once taken to 
 carry it into effect. Early in September, Wolfe managed, under 
 cover of a pretended attack on the opposite (Beauport) shore, to 
 have the main part of his army and fleet moved above Quebec. 
 Taking advantage of a dark night, and knowing that a small body 
 of French soldiers were coming down to Quebec from Montreal 
 
 f 
 
 .-. :- " ""-" ; .~-"-i Gen M "u \ 
 ^^<; 
 
 SIEGE OF (jtEUBu. 
 
 with a supply of provisions, Wolfe's fleet dropped silently down 
 the river, escorting thirty barges laden with sixteen hundred men. 
 With muffled oars they glided down the stream, hugging the north 
 shore. The sentries along the bank were deceived, their challenges 
 being correctly answered (a French deserter having given the 
 English the proper countersign), and they thought it was the con- 
 voy expected from Montreal. As the boats glided on, Wolfe, weak 
 with his recent illness, and filled with hope and anxiety, softly 
 repeated several stanzas of Gray's " Elegy " written but a year 
 before. Pausing on the words 
 
 "The paths ot glory lead bub to tbe grove^"
 
 214 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 he exclaimed 1 "I would rather be the author of that poem than 
 take Quebec." In the early morning, of the 13th September, he 
 landed at what is now known as Wolfe's Cove. His active High- 
 landers were soon at the top of the path leading up the cliff. The 
 French guard was quickly overpowered, and at daybreak Wolfe 
 and his little army stood ready for battle on the Plains of Abra- 
 ham. Montcalm, who had been expecting an attack below the city 
 on his lines at Beauport, as soon as the news was brought him- 
 broke up his camp, and without waiting for reinforcements hurried 
 to meet Wolfe. Had he remained in the city it is doubtful if 
 Wolfe could have taken it before the coming winter. But his 
 impetuous temper led him astray, and marching through Quebec he 
 flung himself on Wolfe's veterans, who stood calmly awaiting their 
 gallant leader's orders. Not until the French were within forty 
 paces did Wolfe give the command to fire ; then, at the given signal, 
 a well-directed volley of musketry, followed by a fierce charge of 
 bayonets, caused the Frencch to give way, and the victory of the 
 Plains of Abraham was won. .It was a dear victory to both 
 English and French, for their brave leaders both fell in the conflict. 
 Wolfe, wounded first in the wrist, then in the chest, lived long 
 enough to know that the victory was won, and his heroic task done. 
 "They run, they run," said an officer holding in his arms the 
 dying general. "Who run?" asked Wolfe ; and when he heard, 
 "Now God be praised" said he, "I die happy." Montcalm was 
 carried fatally wounded into Quebec, and when told his fate mur- 
 mured sadly, "So much the better, I shall not live to see the 
 surrender of Quebec." He died before midnight, and was buried 
 in a grave made by the bursting of a shell, a fitting close to the 
 career of a brave soldier and a true patriot. Five days after, on 
 the 18th September, Quebec surrendered, and Canada practically 
 ceased to be a French possession.
 
 FOUNDATIONS OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. 215 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. 
 
 1. Peace of Paris, 1763. General Murray took the command 
 of the British army after the death of Wolfe, and De Le"vis suc- 
 ceeded Montcalm. Though Quebec had fallen, the Governor, Vau- 
 dreuil, and De Le"vis, were not willing to surrender Canada to the 
 English without a struggle. The walls of Quebec had been partly 
 beaten down, and a great portion of the city had become a mass of 
 ruins by the cannonading of the British, and Murray, fully expect- 
 ing an assault from the French, at once began to put the fortress 
 into as good a condition as possible. His army, especially the 
 Highlanders, suffered much from the cold, which was very severe 
 that winter. The French in Quebec and the British army were on 
 very friendly terms, and much kindness was shown to the suffering 
 soldiers by the inhabitants, the nuns knitting long hose to protect 
 the unfortunate Highlanders from the effects of the fros^< and cold. 
 Towards spring De L^vis advanced with an army of seven thousand 
 men to re-take Quebec, and Murray was foolhardy enough to march 
 out of the city against him. The British numbered but three 
 thousand men, (so much- had they suffered during the winter) and 
 in the second battle of Plains of Abraham, they were defeated and 
 compelled to retreat, in haste, within the walls of Quebec. The 
 siege lasted some time longer, until the St. Lawrence becoming 
 free of ice, a British fleet sailed up the river, and De Le*vis, in 
 despair, returned to Montreal. In September, Murray and Am- 
 herst united their forces before Montreal, and Vaudreuil and 
 Le'vis feeling the impossibility of defending the city with the few 
 weary and disheartened men at their disposal, surrendered all 
 Canada to England, on the 8th of September, 1760. 
 
 Three years later the Seven Years' War was brought to a close, 
 and Canada was formally given to England ; France ceding all her 
 possessions in America east of the Mississippi except New Orleans, 
 and the island of St. Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland. 
 Besides these great territories England gained largely in India and 
 other parts of the world. The treaty that closed this war is known 
 as the Peace of Paris.
 
 216 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 2. Conspiracy of Pontiac. About the time this treaty was made, 
 a very strange and remarkable plot took place. Its object was the 
 seizure of all the British forts along the Upper Lakes and in the 
 Great West, and the holding them for the French. A famous 
 Indian chief, Pontiac, who did not want the British to rule in 
 Canada, and who did not know that the French had given up all 
 hope of recovering it, stirred up the Indian warriors in the valley 
 of the Ohio, and along the line of the Great Lakes, to seize the rude 
 forts in the West recently handed over by the French to the British. 
 A short* time after the Peace of Paris was signed, a sudden and 
 almost simultaneous attack was made on these forts, and in nearly 
 every instance they fell into the hands of the Indians, their 
 garrisons being murdered or made prisoners. Detroit vas besiegjd 
 for over a year by thousands of Indians, who managed to prevent 
 supplies and assistance coming to the garrison. At last a strong 
 force came to the relief of the brave defenders of the fort, and the 
 Indians sullenly withdrew. Fort Pitt and Niagara also were abk 
 to hold their own against the dusky warriors, and the Indians 
 finding that French power was at an end in America, ceased 
 hostilities. Pontiac, a few years later, while drunk, fell oy the 
 hands of a treacherous Illinois Indian. 
 
 Two things make this conspiracy remarkable in Indian history. 
 One is the vastness of the scheme planned and carried out by 
 Pontiac with so much skill and success ; the other is the determina- 
 tion shown by the Indians in the siege of Detroit, their usual mode 
 of warfare being to capture forts, if at all, by surprise, and nofc by 
 a long siege. 
 
 3. Military Role. There was an interval of more than two years 
 between the surrender of Canada by the last French Governor and 
 the Peace of Paris, and during that period the colony was governed 
 by Military Rule. General Murray ruled over the district of 
 Quebec ; General Gage, that of Montreal ; and Colonel Burton, that 
 of Three Rivers. A Council of officers met twice a week, and 
 settled all disputes. The people were allowed the free use of their 
 religion, and were treated justly and kindly. The French militia, 
 who had been called from their homes to defend the colony against 
 the British were allowed to go back to their farms and occupations, 
 and the regular soldiers were sent to France. Canada was in a sad
 
 FOUNDATIONS OP THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. 217 
 
 condition at this time. The people had been taken from their usual 
 occupations to defend the country, and their farms had gone 
 untilled, except by the women and the feeble men and boys who 
 >vere unfit to carry a musket. Bigot, the last Intendant, and a 
 host of greedy followers had plundered the people of the little they 
 had, and the colony was flooded with a worthless paper money. 
 Not many more than sixty thousand inhabitants were scattered 
 along the line of the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec. 
 Peace brought Canada a measure of prosperity. Farms could now 
 be tilled without fear of interruption from enemies, English or 
 Indian. Many of the principal inhabitants returned to France, 
 some of them like Bigot, to answer for their misdeeds to the French 
 King, and to receive merited punishment. Gradually the colony 
 settled down to steady industry, and the mild rule of Murray and 
 his brother officers lessened any feeling of soreness arising from 
 passing under the government of their old-time enemies. 
 
 4. The Quebec Act. After the Peace of Paris, King George ** 
 III. proclaimed Canada a British province, and promised the 
 French inhabitants the right of free worship, and the "free 
 exercise" of their religion. They were also left in undisturbed 
 possession of their property, and were given in every way the 
 same rights and privileges as the King's subjects of British 
 birth, except that they were excluded from holding public office, 
 because the laws of Great Britain at that time did not allow a 
 Roman Catholic to hold offices in the gift of the State. An 
 effort was made to induce British people to settle in Canada by 
 offering them land grants, and the protection of British laws. A 
 promise, also, made was of British parliamentary institutions as 
 soon as the circumstances of the country would permit ; that is, the 
 people of Canada would be allowed to have their own Parliaments, 
 and make most of their own laws. In the meantime the country 
 was governed by a Governor and Council the latter composed 
 entirely of men of British birth, many of them military officers. 
 The British settlers for many years were few in number, yet 
 they had all the power, and the French had no voice in managing 
 the affairs of the colony. Again, English law was introduced into 
 the courts, and the English language used. Trial by jury was 
 unknown to the French, and they did not like the system. They
 
 218 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 preferred to be tried directly by a Judge, in a language they under- 
 stood. On the other hand the English settlers wanted British 
 law in both criminal and civil cases. They did not like the French 
 way of buying and selling land, and settling disputes about property. 
 General Murray the first Governor after 1763, and his successor, 
 Sir Guy Carleton, both, tried to befriend the French, and in so 
 doing displeased the English settlers. To please the former they 
 allowed French civil law that is the law relating to property and 
 inheritance to prevail ; while the demands of British settlers were 
 met by giving them English criminal law, which includes trial by 
 jury. The consequence was both 2nglish and French were dis- 
 satisfied, and after considerable delay and many complaints, the 
 British parliament tried to remedy the evil by passing in 1774 what 
 is known as the Quebec Act. This Act extended the boundaries of 
 Canada from Labrador to the Mississippi, and from the Ohio river 
 to the watershed of Hudson's Bay. It gav the French the same 
 political rights as the British, regardless of their religion. It gave 
 the Roman Catholic clergy the right to collect tithes (the tenth part 
 of the produce) and their " accustomed dues " from their own 
 people. The French law or Custom of Paris was made the law in 
 civil cases and English law, the law in criminal cases. The 
 Government was to consist of a Governor and Council appointed by 
 the Crown. The Council was to consist of not less than seventeen 
 and not more than twenty-three members, the majority being of 
 British birth. 
 
 5. Canada invaded by the Americans. Another reason 101 
 passing this law must now be mentioned. The English colonies in 
 America had for many years felt it a grievance that Britain should 
 endeavor to force them to trade exclusively with her. Nearly 
 everything they sold had to go first to England, and they had also 
 to buy the most of their manufactures from the people of the 
 mother country. At that time all European nations thought that 
 their colonies existed for the good of the mother countries, and so 
 they tried to keep the colonial markets for their own trade. So 
 long as the French held Canada the English colonies had to depend 
 upon Britain for aid against the French and their Indian allies ; but 
 when Canada became a British possession their fear of attack from 
 the north and west was removed, and the colonies felt more inde-
 
 FOUNDATION'S OP THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. 219 
 
 pendent of England, and more inclined to resent any interference 
 with their freedom. Not long after the conquest of Canada, Eng- 
 land tried to tax the American colonies, claiming that as the war in 
 America was for their special benefit they should bear a portion of 
 the expense. The colonies thought the tax unjust, because they 
 were not represented in the British Parliament. After several 
 efforts had been made to settle the difficulty the colonies revolted, 
 and declared themselves independent of Great Britain. Sir Guy 
 Carleton saw what was coming, and he also knew the American 
 colonies would tiy to get Canada to join in the revolt against Eng- 
 land. There was a fear lest the new French subjects of the King 
 should take sides with the discontented English colonies. To pre- 
 vent this, the Quebec Act was passed, giving the French so many 
 rights and privileges. A few months after this Act was passed the 
 people of Canada were invited by the American colonists to send 
 representatives to a Congress at Philadelphia, to protest against the 
 invasion of their liberties. The Canadians of British birth were 
 known to be discontented with the Quebec Act, because it gave 
 them the French civil law, and did not secure them the protection 
 (if the Habeas Corpus Act, which all British subjects highly valued. 
 Nevertheless, very few of the English in Canada were willing to 
 aid in the revolt against Britain, so the invitation to the Congress 
 was refused, and Canada remained loyal to the British Crown. 
 
 War began between the colonies and the mother country in 1775, 
 and the Americans sent troops into Canada, with the hope that the 
 Canadians would rise in arms and aid them in throwing off the yoke 
 of England. But they were disappointed, for while the French 
 would do nothing to defend Canada, they would do but little to help 
 the Americans. Two expeditions were sent against Canada one, 
 by way of Lake Champlain, to take Montreal ; the other, under 
 General Benedict Arnold, by way of Maine, to capture Quebec. 
 Governor Carleton could not defend Montreal, and escaped to 
 Quebec, there to make a final stand. The Americans united their 
 forces under Generals Montgomery and Arnold, and advanced 
 against the famous old fortress ; but Carleton had taken wise pre- 
 cautions to defend the city. On the last day of the year, at four 
 o'clock in the morning, in a blinding snowstorm, an attack was 
 made on the Lower Town. But it was of no avail ; Montgomery 
 was killed, and four hundred of the Americans were hemmed in
 
 220 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 and taken prisoners. Arnold remained near Quebec throughout 
 the winter, and then, with his forces terribly reduced by sickness 
 and disease, retreated. Thus ended the fifth and last siege of 
 Quebec. Soon after, the arrival of a strong body of British troops, 
 under General Burgoyne, forced the Americans to leave Canada, 
 which was troubled no more by invaders during the Revolutionary 
 war. This war came to an end in 1783, by England acknowledging 
 the Independence of the United States (as they were now called) in 
 the Treaty of Versailles. By this treaty the boundaries of Canada 
 as far west as the Lake of the Woods were fixed. Canada lost the 
 fertile territory lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi, and 
 received as her southern boundary the middle of the Great Lakes, 
 the St. Lawrence, the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude, and the 
 St. Croix River in New Brunswick. The boundary between the 
 present State of Maine and New Brunswick was left very vague, 
 and this gave rise to serious trouble at a later date. 
 
 6. United Empire Loyalists. The close of the Revolutionary 
 War brought a large increase of population to Canada. Many of 
 the American colonists remained loyal to England during the struggle 
 for independence, and when the war was over, these people found 
 themselves looked upon with dislike and suspicion by their re- 
 publican neighbors. So harsh was the treatment they received 
 that the British Parliament took pity upon them, and voted them a 
 large stun of money (over 3,000,000) in consideration of the losses 
 they had borne by remaining loyal to the British Crown. Besides 
 this grant of money they were given large and valuable tracts of 
 land in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and in Western Canada, (now 
 Ontario). It is said that over twenty-five thousand left the United 
 States in 1784, and settled in the British colonies, and of these ten 
 thousand came to Upper Canada, settling chiefly around the Bay of 
 Quinte", along the Niagara River, and the St. Clair. Each U. E. 
 Loyalist received two hundred acres of land free ; so did each of his 
 sons on coining of age, and each daughter when she married. They 
 were given provisions for three years, in addition to clothing, tools, 
 and farming implements. Disabled soldiers and half-pay officers 
 also came to Canada, and received grants of land and aid for a time 
 
 the Government. 
 
 7. The Constitutional Act of 1791. All these years the people
 
 FOUNDATIONS OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION. 221 
 
 of Canada had been without a Parliament, although George 
 III,, in 1763, had promised them that as soon as possible they 
 would be given the same rights of self-government as enjoyed by 
 other British subjects. The French portion of the population had 
 never known any other form of government than that of a Gov- 
 ernor and Council, and therefore did not feel the need of a change. 
 But the British population were discontented with the Quebec Act, 
 and its French law of buying, selling and holding property, es- 
 pecially land. This discontent rapidly grew greater when British 
 settlers began to take up land in Western Canada. These wanted 
 the British law of "freehold," that is, the right of every man hold- 
 ing land to have it as his own. According to the French system, 
 the farmers held the land as tenants from their "seigneurs," and 
 had to give for its use, money and work, besides being subject to a 
 great many petty exactions and services. They could not freely 
 sell the land without paying the "seigneur" or getting his consent. 
 On the other hand, they could not be turned out of their holdings 
 by being unable or unwilling to pay their debts. Again, the 
 British settlers wanted the protection of the Habeas Corpus Act, 
 Trial by Jury, and other British laws ; and the need of these was 
 felt during the harsh and tyrannical rule of Governor Haldimand, 
 who succeeded Carleton in 1778. The complaints from Canada be- 
 came so pressing and frequent, that William Pitt (a son of the 
 great war minister of that name), who was the Prime Minister of 
 England at that time, brought in a Bill to give Canada represent- 
 ative institutions. The Bill also aimed at settling the difficulties 
 that had arisen out of the difference of the language, Jaws, religion 
 and customs of the two races in Canada. It proposed to divide 
 Canada into two Provinces, Lower Canada and Upper Canada. 
 The former was French Canada, while the latter was settled mainly 
 by a British population. The boundary line between the two 
 Provinces began at Point-au-Baudet, on Lake St. Francis, extend- 
 ed north to Point Fortune on the Ottawa, and then continued 
 along that river to its head waters and Hudson's Bay Territory. 
 Roughly speaking, it made the Ottawa River the dividing line. Each 
 Province was to have a Governor, an Executive Council, a Legisla- 
 tive Council and a Legislative Assembly. The Governor and the 
 two Councils were appointed by the Crown, but the Legislative 
 Assembly was elected for four years by the people.
 
 222 BISTORT OP CANADA. 
 
 In Lower Canada the Legislative Assembly was to have not less 
 than fifty members, and the Legislative Council fifteen. In Uppor 
 Canada the former was to have not less than sjxteen members, and 
 the latter seven. The Executive Council was chosen to advise the 
 Governor, and the Legislative Council corresponded in a measure 
 to our Dominion Senate, or the British House of Lords. Both 
 Councils were independent of th^ people, and could not be re- 
 moved, if they did wrong, by the people's representatives, the 
 members of the Legislative Assembly. The British parliament 
 kept the right to impose taxes or duties for the regulation of com- 
 merce ; but the Canadian parliaments had the right to collect 
 them. They could also impose taxes for public purposes, such as 
 building roads, bridges, public buildings, and providing education 
 for the people, Unfortunately, the money arising from the sale of 
 wild lands, from timber and mining dues, and from taxes on goods 
 coming in the country was under the control of the Governor and 
 his Executive Council, and this left the people of Canada witli very 
 little power to get rid of a bad Government. The Quebec Act was 
 to remain law until repealed by the Provinces ; but in Upper Can- 
 ada all land was to be held by "freehold tenure," and English crim- 
 inal law was to be the law for both Upper and Lowei Canada. 
 Provision was made for founding a Canadian nobility and an 
 Established Church. One-seventh of the Crown lands were set 
 aside for the support of a "Protestant clergy" in both Provinces ; 
 but the Roman Catholic clergy in Lower Canada were left with the 
 power given them by the Quebec Act, to collect tithes "and their 
 accustomed dues" from their own people in support of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 The Bill did not become law without strong objections being 
 made by leading men of British birth in Lower Canada. It was also 
 strongly opposed by Charles James Fox, Pitt s great political rival, 
 who foresaw very clearly the result of attempting to govern Can- 
 ada by Councils not responsible to the peepie. He also objected 
 to the clauses relating to titles of nobility and granting Crown 
 lands for the support of a Protestant clergy ; and he pointed out 
 what would be the effect ot dividing Canada into separate Pro- 
 vinces, one French and the other British. Nevertheless, in spite 
 of these and ether objections, the Bill was passed by large
 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 223 
 
 majorities in the British Parliament., and became law in 1791. 
 The nr\v Constitution went into force in Canada the following 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 1. The Beginning of Parliamentary Government. When the 
 (Constitutional Act was passed Canada had a population of one 
 hundred and fifty thousand, of which about twenty thousand 
 belonged to the Western Province. There were few villages or 
 towns then in Upper Canada, the more important being Kingston 
 and Newark (now Niagara). Newark was chosen as the place of 
 meeting for the first Parliament of Upper Canada ; but a few years 
 after, in 1797, Parliament was moved to the village of York, or 
 Toronto, because Newark being situated at the mouth of the 
 Niagara river, and just opposite an American fort, it was not con- 
 sidered safe for the seat of Government to be so near the guns of a 
 possible enemy. On the 17th September 1792, twenty-three men 
 came, mostly from farm and store, to Newark to form a Legislative 
 Council and Assembly ; seven belonging to the Council and sixteen 
 to the Assembly. They were busy men, and time was precious, so 
 they set to work in earnest. The Governor Sir John Graves 
 Simcoe was equally sturdy and energetic, and equally anxious to 
 build up the Western Province. The first session saw English 
 Civil Law and Trial by Jury introduced, and bills passed to collect 
 small debts, to regulate tolls for millers, and to erect jails and 
 court-houses in the four districts in which the Province was 
 divided. These districts were the Eastern or Johnstown ; the 
 Midland or Kingston ; the Home or Niagara ; and the Western or 
 Detroit. The session lasted less than two months. Parliament 
 met the next year in May, and passed bills offering rewards for 
 wolves' and bears' heads ; and what was more important, provided 
 for the doing away with slavery in Upper Canada. There were not 
 many slaves in the province, but the Act passed in 1793, forbade 
 the bringing of any more slaves into the country, and made all
 
 224 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 children, who were slaves, free at the age of twenty-five. During 
 the time Parliament met at Newark, a government newspaper, the 
 Gazette, was started the first newspaper in Upper Canada. 
 
 The Parliament in Lower Canada met in December, 1792, at 
 Quebec, and was composed of fifteen members of the Legislative 
 Council and fifty of the Legislative Assembly. Of the latter, fif- 
 teen were of British origin, the rest were French. It was soon found 
 that there were two languages used by the members, so it was 
 decided that a member could speak in either language ; but all 
 notices, bills, laws and other papers must be printed in both 
 English and French, and thus the law has remained ever since. 
 Too soon, jealousies and ill-feeling arose bewteen the two races, 
 and the newspapers on both sides helped to increase the mutual 
 dislike. The Lower Canadian Parliament did not pass any law 
 against slavery, but in 1803, Chief Justice Osgoode gave a decision 
 to the effect that slavery was against the laws of England, and this 
 led to the few slaves (about three hundred) in the Province being 
 set free. 
 
 2. Founding of Upper Canada. As already stated, there were 
 only twenty thousand people in Upper Canada in 1791, and 
 this small population was scattered along the St. Lawrence, around 
 the Bay of Quint and along the Niagara and St. Glair rivers. 
 Settlers preferred to take up farms near the rivers and lakes, 
 because it was very difficult to get in or out of the settlements 
 except by water. The land was covered with forests, and every 
 farm was a bush farm. The settler had to chop down the 
 trees before he could plant or sow a crop of any kind. The fallen 
 trees had to be burnt, and among the blackened stumps, with a 
 rude "drag," drawn generally by oxen, he covered up the "seed." 
 Sometimes his crop was planted and tended with the spade and 
 hoe. His dwelling place was a log-hut or "shanty," often built in 
 a small "clearing" in the heart of the forest, and covered with 
 bark or "troughs." There, sheltered by the trees from the rude 
 winter, his family lived, every member able to work doing some- 
 thing to lighten the settler's toil, and improve the common lot. 
 Fortunately, the soil was fertile, and for the amount of seed sown 
 the crop was plentiful. Mills for grinding grain of any kind were 
 very scarce, and often the settler had to make his own flour or
 
 THE WAR OF 1812, 225 
 
 by pounding the grain in the hollow of a hard-wood stump, or by 
 using a steel hand-mill, provided in these days by the Government. 
 Instances were not rare of a man trudging forty miles to get a 
 bushel of wheat ground by a grist-mill, and then trudging home 
 again with his load lightened by the miller's toll. Roads were fe\y 
 and rough, made, as they were, through the woods. Frequently 
 there was nothing more than a "blazed" path for the foot-traveller 
 or the solitary horseman. In other places swampy and low ground 
 was bridged over by logs laid side by side, forming the famous 
 "corduroy roads" our fathers and grandfathers tell about, and the 
 remains of which are to be found in many localities to-day. The 
 daily life of these hardy people (for they usually had good health 
 and strong frames) was very simple and free from luxury of any 
 kind, unless the abundance of game and fish may be called such. 
 They wore home-made clothing, had very rude furniture, often, 
 also, home-made, and rode in carts and sleds drawn by oxen. Yet, 
 notwithstanding these hardships, they lived happy, contented lives. 
 They were very sociable with their few neighbours, helped each 
 other in their "logging bees," and their house and barn "raisings," 
 which gatherings were sometimes marred by the rather free use of 
 distilled liquors. Once in a long time, they were visited by a 
 travelling preacher, who, by almost incredible toil, made his way to 
 the "sheep" scattered in the "wilderness." Then, in some rude 
 log-cabin, the few settlers gathered together to listen to a sermon, 
 have their children baptized, and perchance, other solemn religious 
 rites performed. Of education, there was little or none. Not that 
 the settlers despised it, but the inhabitants were too few, too busy, 
 and too poor to employ competent teachers and send their children 
 to school after they could help on the farm. Later on, as we shall 
 find, the Government tried to help the people in this respect, but 
 the aid they got for many years was of little value. Old and worn- 
 out pensioners took to teaching to get a scanty livelihood, and paid 
 for their "board" and small salary by giving the youths of the 
 school district a very imperfect knowledge of reading, writing and 
 arithmetic. The salary of the teacher was too small to enable him 
 to pay for his board, so it was arranged that he should'^ board 
 around" among the different families sending their children to the 
 school. The prudent teacher usually managed to spend the most of 
 
 his time in the homes where the most comfort prevailed. 
 15
 
 226 HISTORF OF f-ANADA. 
 
 3. Political Discontent. The early settlers cared little foi 
 politics, aside from the aid the Government could give in the way 
 of building roads, bridges, and opening up the country for settle- 
 ment. Nevertheless the defects of the Constitutional Act were 
 soon so apparent and hurtful, that the people of both Upper and 
 Lower Canada began to complain. In both provinces, the Execu- 
 tive Council and the Legislative Council did not consider they were 
 responsible to the people, and used their power to further the in- 
 terests of themselves and their friends. Judges and other salaried 
 officials were often members of these councils, and the union of 
 law-making and law-interpreting did not work well. The Governors, 
 as a rule, took the advice of their Executive Councils and paid no 
 attention to the remonstrances of the Legislative Assembly. There 
 was no way of getting rid of these men who abused their trust by 
 putting their needy friends into government offices and by granting 
 wild lands to speculators, who hoped by holding the lands until the 
 neighbouring settlers made improvements, to be able to sell at a good 
 profit. They were also accused of spending corruptly the money 
 intended for the U. E. Loyalists and other settlers, and for the 
 Indian tribes. In our day, the people's representatives would 
 refuse to vote any money for the public expenditure, until their 
 wrongs were righted ; but, at that time, such a course was impossible, 
 for nearly all the revenue was under the control of the Governor and 
 his Executive Council. In Lower Canada, besides these abuses, 
 they had to contend against race jealousies and religious animos- 
 ities. The British in that province usually were on the side of the 
 Governor and the Councils while the French supported the Legis- 
 lative Assembly, the majority of which was French. The Assembly 
 demanded that judges should not sit in Parliament, and after a 
 struggle the Governor and the Legislative Council yielded. An- 
 other demand was that the revenue of the Province should be 
 expended by the Assembly. This, however, was not granted for 
 many years. But the quarrels between the Assemblies and the 
 Governors were, iu 1812, dropped to meet a pressing common 
 dangei^x 
 
 4. Cause of the War of 1812. To explain this danger we must 
 refer to what had been going on in Europe for nearly twenty years. 
 In 1793 Engknd was drawn into a war with France, and, except
 
 THE WAR OP 1812. 227 
 
 lor a brief period in 1802-3, there had been a, continuous struggle 
 against the power of the French General and Emperor, Napoleon 
 Bonaparte. In 180(, when Napoleon had conquered the most of 
 Europe, he issued a "decree" from Berlin in Prussia to the effect 
 that English goods Avere not to be bought or sold on the Continent 
 of Europe, and that other nations should not trade with England. 
 England, who had been for many years the mistress of the sea, retali- 
 ated by forbidding all neutral nations to trade with France, and 
 threatening their vessels with seizure if they did not call at English 
 ports. These ' ' Orders-in-Council,'' as they were called, pressed very 
 hard on American vessel owners as they could not trade with either 
 England or France without their vessels being liable to seizure. 
 Besides, England, anxious to secure men for her navy, stopped 
 American vessels on the seas, and searched them for runaway sailors 
 and British subjects. It was said that this was often a mere pre- 
 text to take Ajnerican sailors to man British war-ships. The 
 American Congress complained loudly against England's abuse of 
 power, but got no redress. At last the United States, which just 
 then was governed by the Democratic party a party, from the 
 time of the Revolution, always hostile to England and friendly to 
 France -declared war, although the hateful "Orders-in-Council" 
 were repealed within a few days of the declaration. 
 
 - 5. The Campaign of 1812. The declaration of war was made on 
 the 18th of June, and was very much against the wishes of a con- 
 siderable portion of the American people. The New England 
 States were anxious for peace, for war to them meant loss of trade and 
 injury to their commerce. Consequently they refused to give any 
 active aid, and thus, although the population of the United States 
 was eight millions, and that of Canada only about one quarter of a 
 million, the difference in numbers did not really show the difference 
 in military strength of the two countries. The United States hoped 
 to take Canada with very little effort ; for it was known that only 
 4,500 regular soldiers were in the colony, and a few militia scattered 
 along a frontier of fifteen hundred miles. It was also known 
 that England was too busy fighting Napoleon in Spain to be able to 
 give Canada any immediate help. When the war broke out, Sir 
 George Prevost was the Governor-General of Canada, and General 
 Sir Isaac Brock the acting Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 
 in ihe absence of Mr. Francis Gore then in England.
 
 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 The American plan of campaign was to invade Canada with thret 
 armies. One was to cross at Detroit, a second at the Niagara 
 frontier, and the third by the way of Lake Champlain. These were 
 the armies of the West, the Centre, and the North respectively, 
 General Dearborn being the Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 The first blow was struck at Fort Michillimackinac at the entrance 
 of Lake Michigan. This post was held by the Americans, and waa 
 important on account of its trade with the western Indians. Acting 
 under orders from General Brock, Captain Roberts with a small 
 body of men from St. Joseph, took the fort by surprise, and by so 
 doing secured the support and confidence of the Indian tribes of 
 the West and North-west. On the 12th of July, the American 
 general, Hull, crossed over from Detroit, and by a proclamation 
 invited the Canadians to throw off the yoke of England ; bub the 
 invitation met with no response. General Brock immediately 
 sent Colonel Proctor with a few regulars to Fort Maiden, near 
 Amherstburg. Here Proctor was joined by the famous Indian 
 chief, Tecumseh, who brought a number of warriors to help the 
 English in the struggle against the Americans. Tecumseh was a 
 Shawnee, and for years had sought to unite the various Indian 
 tribes against the Americans, for he saw very clearly that the 
 Indians were being pushed back, farther and farther, by the steady 
 encroachments of the white people. At this time, Tecumseh was 
 in the prime of his noble manhood, and wielded a great influence 
 over the Indian tribes, who believed him to be of supernatural 
 birth. 
 
 For a short time, Hull remained in Canada, and then getting 
 afraid of Indian attacks, returned to Detroit and shut himself up 
 in that strong fort. On the 6th of August, Brock set out for Detroit 
 with a small force of regulars and York militia. A week later he 
 reached Amherstburg, and there met Tecumseh with seven hundred 
 warriors. Tecumseh sketched for Brock, on a piece of birch bark, 
 the plan of Detroit, and it was resolved to attempt its capture, 
 although Brock had only fourteen hundred men, half of them 
 Indians, while Detroit was defended by over two thousand. Brock 
 demanded the surrender of the fort, and the demand being refused, 
 crossed the river and made preparations for an attack. Greatly to 
 the surprise of the English and the Indians, and to the garrison itself,
 
 THE WAR OP 1812. 229 
 
 Hull surrendered the fort and the territory of Michigan without a 
 shot being fired, he and all his men being made prisoners. Brock 
 sent the regulars of Hull's army to Montreal as prisoners of war ; 
 the militia were allowed to return home. A large quantity of 
 military supplies, ammunition and cannon, fell into the hands of 
 the English, which proved a very timely aid to Brock in carrying on 
 the war. Brock then returned to Toronto, and found that General 
 Prevost had agreed to an armistice,by which the war was stopped 
 for a time on Lake Champlain and |Wiagara frontier. This gave 
 the Americans an opportunity to rouect their armies and carry 
 supplies along Lake Ontario to Niagara. Before the month of 
 August ended, war was renewed, and the Americans gathered six 
 thousand men under General Van Rensselaer at Lewiston, opposite 
 Queenston, on the Niagara river, with the intention of invading 
 Canada. To oppose this force, Brock had only fifteen hundred 
 men, mostly militia and Indians. Brock's troops were scattered all 
 along the Niagara river from Fort George, at its mouth, to Queens- 
 ton, seven miles up the stream. His men were kept on a constant 
 watch against attempts of the A mericans to cross. 
 
 On the 13th of October, in the early morning, the American army 
 began crossing the river at a point below Queenston Heights. The 
 few regulars and militia stationed there poured a destructive fire 
 into the boats of the Americans as they approached the shore, many 
 of which were sunk, and their occupants killed or taken prisoners. 
 The Canadians thought they had driven back the invaders, when it 
 was discovered that a large force of Americans had, under cover of 
 the night, made their way to the top of Queenston Heights. Hear- 
 ing the sound of firing, Brock, who was at Fort George, galloped in 
 hot haste for the scene of conflict, leaving his aides to follow him, 
 and hurrying forward the troops as he sped past them. When he 
 reached Queenston and saw that the Americans had succeeded 
 in getting a footing on the Heights, he put himself at the head 
 of a small body of men and rushed up the mountain side eager 
 to dislodge the enemy. While cheering his followers on, he was 
 struck in the breast by a musket ball and fell, mortally wounded. 
 His tall figure and bright uniform had made him a mark, all too 
 good, for the American riflemen. His brave soldiers, though few 
 in number, were anxious to avenge his death, and again made an 
 attempt to dislodge the foe but only to be driven back with heavy
 
 230 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 loss. Among those who fell in this second attempt was Brock's 
 aide-de-camp , Colonel MacDonnell of Glengarry, a noble young 
 man only twenty-five years of age, whose life was full of promise. 
 Soon after General Sheaffe arrived from Fort George with three 
 hundred men and some artillery. All the men that could be mus- 
 tered were now marched through the fields back of Queenston, 
 and unperceived they ascended the Heights, and concealed them- 
 selves among the trees.^ The Americans in the meantime were 
 landing fresh troops, *i^^^f m o on their dead and wounded. 
 About three o'clock irrofiSHfcernoon, the British moved rapidly 
 through the woods against the misuspecting Americans. A number 
 of Indians who were in the Canadian army, as soon as they saw the 
 enemy raised the terrible war-whoop, and rushed on their prey. 
 The rest of the troops joined in the shout and the onslaught. The 
 Americans gave one volley and then fled. But there was no escape, 
 save by the brow of the mountain overhanging the river. In their 
 terror many of the enemy threw themselves over the precipice, 
 only to be dashed on the rocks, or drowned in the river. The 
 American shore was lined with their fellow-countrymen, but no 
 help was given. Soon two American officers ascended the mountain 
 side bearing a white flag, and with difficulty the slaughter was 
 brought to an end. One thousand Americans were made prisoners 
 and a hundred slain. Thus dearly was the death of Brock avenged. 
 In one of the batteries of Fort George, amid the booming of minute 
 guns from friend and foe, Brock and MacDonnell side by side found 
 a resting place. A month's armistice was unwisely agreed to by 
 General Sheaffe, which enabled the Americans to gather troops for 
 another attack on the Niagara frontier. Towards the end of 
 November, General Smythe, who succeeded Van Rensselaer, at- 
 tempted a landing near Fort Erie, but his men were driven back by 
 a small force of Canadians. This ended the attempts, in 1813, of 
 the army of the Centre to gain a footing on Canadian soil. 
 
 Nor was the army of the North under General Dearborn more 
 successful. In November, Dearborn advanced w r ith an army of ten 
 thousand men by way of Lake Champlain to take Montreal. The 
 French Canadian militia under Major de Salaberry, felled trees, 
 guarded the passes, and used every possible means to check his 
 advance. At Lacolle, near Rouse's Point, a British outpost was 
 attacked by Dearborn's troops, but in the darkness of the early
 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 231 
 
 morning, his fln became confused and fired into each other's 
 ranks. When they discovered their mistake, disheartened and 
 cowed, they returned to Lake Champlain, and Dearborn finding 
 the Canadian militia on the alert, gave up his attempt on Montreal 
 and retired to Plattsburg. ^ 
 
 To sum up : The results of the land campaign of 1812 were the 
 capture of Detroit, the surrender of Michigan, the great victory at 
 Queenston Heights, and the repulse of Dearborn at Lacolle by a 
 small body of Canadian militia. On the sea, however, the Ameri- 
 cans were more successful, gaining several victories over British 
 -of -war, and controlling the great lakes. 
 
 Campaign of 1813. General Sheaffe succeeded General Brock 
 as Lieut-Governor of Upper Canada, and the Parliaments of both 
 Provinces met to vote money for the defence of the country. They 
 issued Army Bills, or promises to pay, instead of gold and silver, 
 and this paper money was not to be exchanged for coin until the war 
 was over. The Americans made great preparations this year to 
 conquer Canada, and, as in 1812, placed three large armies on the 
 frontier. That in the west was led by General Harrison ; that on 
 the Niagara frontier by General Dearborn ; and that in the east by 
 General Hampton. A regiment of British soldiers arrived in the 
 depth of winter from New Brunswick to help the Canadians. The 
 war was continued throughout the winter ; Major Macdonald cap- 
 turing Ogdensburg, with a large quantity of arms and supplies, and 
 Colonel Proctor in the west, defeating General Win cheater' in a 
 battle at Frenchtown, a place about twenty miles south of Detroit. 
 Vessels were built on the lakes by both sides, but the Americans 
 were the sooner equipped, and sailing out of Sackett's Harbor 
 General Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey with two thousand 
 men attacked and captured York; which was defended by only six 
 hundred men, regulars, militia, and Indians. General Sheaffe 
 retired from the old French fort at York, to Kingston, taking the 
 regulars with him, and was replaced in Upper Canada by General 
 de Rottenburg, Sheaffe's conduct at York being blamed. Having 
 taken York the American fleet and army sailed across Lake Ontario 
 to the mouth of the Niagara river to take Fort George. General 
 Vincent with fourteen hundred men held tlio fort for some time 
 against Dearborn, and then, his ammunition failing, retreated to a
 
 232 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 strong position on Burlington Heights, having fMPepiked his guns 
 and blown up his magazine. Fort George was now taken possession 
 of by the Americans. While Chauncey was at Fort George, Sir 
 George Prevost and Sir James Yeo, a naval officer just arrived from 
 England, crossed the lake from Kingston with a large force and 
 attacked Sackett's Harbor, hoping to destroy the naval stores there. 
 When on the point of success, Prevost withdrew his men, imagining 
 the Americans were trying to entrap him. These disasters were more 
 than balanced by two brilliant exploits, one at Stony Creek, near 
 Hamilton, the other at Beaver Dams. At the former place, on the 4th 
 of June, Colonel Harvey, of General Vincent's army, with seven hun- 
 dred men, made a night attack on four thousand Americans who had 
 advanced from Fort George to drive Vincent from his post on 
 Burlington Heights. The attack was completely successful, the 
 Americans taken by surprise, after a brief resistance, retreating 
 hastily with the loss of four cannon, and one hundred and twenty 
 prisoners, including two generals. At Beaver Dams (near the 
 present town of Thorold), Lieutenant Fitzgibbon with a small force 
 was stationed. General Dearborn hoped to surprise this post, and 
 for that purpose sent six hundred men from Fort George, under 
 Major Boerstler. A Canadian heroine, Mrs. Laura Secord, became 
 aware of the plan, and set out on foot to warn the British of the 
 intended attack. To avoid the American sentries she had to walk 
 twenty miles, a journey that took all day, from early morning till 
 sunset. Fitzgibbon, warned, made such a skilful arrangement of 
 his few men in the woods, that the Americans thought they were 
 surrounded by a large force, and, after a brief resistance, sur- 
 rendered to only one half of their own number of men. The 
 Americans were now, in turn, besieged in Fort George by Vincent 
 and his small army. 
 
 ~Two serious disasters now befell the Canadians. Captain Bar- 
 clay, with six British vessels, was defeated on Lake Erie by 
 Commodore Perry, with nine American vessels ; and this loss 
 compelled Colonel Proctor and Tecumseh to abandon Detroit and 
 retreat into Canada, as their supplies could no longer come to them 
 by the lakes. Proctor was closely followed by General Harrison 
 with a large force drawn from the west, many of them Kentucky 
 riflemen accustomed to border warfare. Tecumseh urged Proctor 
 to make a stand against the Americans, but Proctor continued his
 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 233 
 
 retreat, until hdfch 6 '} Moraviantown, on the Thames river. 
 There, at last, on the 5th Oct. , Tecumseh persuaded him to prepare 
 for battle on a favourable ground. Soon Harrison and his men 
 appeared, and a fierce struggle began. Almost at the beginning of 
 the fight, Proctor fled and left Tecumseh and his Indians to uphold 
 the honour of British arms. Tecumseh and his warriors fought 
 with desperate courage and great skill, but they were soon over- 
 powered and Tecumseh was killed. Had Proctor stood his ground, 
 the battle of Moraviantown might have ranked in our history with 
 that of Queenston Heights, and other brave deeds. The few of 
 Proctor's men, that escaped, fled and joined General Vincent. 
 
 CllATEAUOUAY AND CHRYSLER'S FARM. 
 
 The Americans had now possession of the western part of Canada, 
 and hoped soon by two large expeditions to take Montreal. The 
 first of these, nine thousand strong, under General Wilkinson set 
 out from Sackett's Harbour, in boats, expecting to take Kingston 
 and Prescott, and then float down the St. Lawrence and make a 
 junction with General Hampton, who was to approach Montreal by 
 Lake Champlain. Kingston was not molested, and Wilkinson was 
 so annoyed by the Canadians along the bank of the St. Lawrence, 
 that he landed below Prescott with four thousand men, to beat
 
 234 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 m, 
 
 back his enemies. Here, in an open field, can^^phrysler's Farm, 
 with only eight hundred men Colonel Morrison and Colonel Harvey, 
 the hero of Stony Creek, on the llth Nov., inflicted so heavy a 
 defeat on the forces of Wilkinson, that they were glad to return to 
 their own side of the river. The other expedition under General 
 Hampton, with three thousand men, had been defeated by Colonel 
 de Salaberry, with four hundred Canadian militia, at the battle of 
 Chateauguay, Oct. 26th. These two victories put an end for a 
 time to the attempts to take Montreal. 
 
 In Upper Canada, General Vincent .had been compelled by the 
 defeat of Proctor, to retreat again to Burlington Heights, and the 
 Americans had the control of the Niagara peninsula. But the bad 
 news from the east led the American general, McClure, to abandon 
 Fort George ; not, however, before he had committed the inhuman 
 act of burning the village of Niagara, turning the people out of 
 their homes in the depth of a very severe winter. After the retreat 
 of the Americans to their own side of the river, the British under 
 General Drummond, arrived on the frontier, and determined to 
 avenge the burning of Niagara. Fort Niagara on the American 
 side was surprised, and three hundred prisoners taken. Lewiston, 
 Black Rock, Buffalo, and other American villages were burned, the 
 destruction of Buffalo closing the campaign of 1813. -, 
 
 X 1814 and the Close of the War. The winter of 1814 was used 
 by the Canadians to carry, on sleds, supplies from Montreal to 
 Kingston and Toronto for the troops in the west. 
 
 The Americans had gained a footing in the western peninsula by 
 their success at Moravian town, but General Harrison returned to 
 Detroit and took no further part in the war. Lower Canada was 
 the first to be attacked this year. In March, General Wilkinson 
 with five thousand men tried in vain to take a strong stone mill at 
 Lacolle defended by five hundred Canadians. He was repulsed 
 with heavy loss, and retreated to Plattsburg. In May, General 
 Drummond and Sir James Yeo made a successful raid on Oswego, 
 and carried off a large quantity of supplies. The Niagara frontier 
 was the scene of two bloody battles. The Americans, four 
 thousand strong, crossed at Buffalo, took Fort Erie and then 
 pushed on to Chippewa. General Riall, with two thousand men, 
 tried to check their progress, but was defeated at the battle of Chip-
 
 235 
 
 pewa, July 5th.^ He then retreated to Lundy's Lane, now a street 
 in the village of Niagara Falls South. The American soldiers be- 
 gan plundering and burning the buildings of the farmers, and 
 destroyed the pretty village of St. David's. They then advanced 
 against Jliall at Lundy's Lane. General Drummond heard of the 
 invasion, and the battle at Chippewa, and hurried from Kingston to 
 aid General Riall. He reached Fort Niagara on the morning of 
 July 25th, and with eight hundred men pushed forward to Lundy's 
 Lane. At five o'clock in the afternoon he met General Riall retreat- 
 ing before a strong body of American troops under Generals Brown, 
 Ripley, and Scott. Drummond at once stopped the retreat, and 
 
 faced the foe. The Ameri- 
 cans were four thousand 
 strong, the Canadians had 
 three thousand. From five 
 o'clock till midnight the 
 battle raged. The utmost 
 stubbornness and courage 
 were shown by both armies 
 in the fierce struggle for the 
 British guns. General Riall 
 was taken prisoner and three 
 American generals, Scott, 
 Brown, and Porter, were 
 wounded. At last, worn 
 out in the vain effort to force 
 the British position, the 
 Americans re treated, leaving 
 their dead to be burned by 
 the victors, for the number of slain was so great that burial was im- 
 possible. The loss to the enemy was nearly nine hundred ; to the 
 British, about the same. The scene of this battle, the best con- 
 tested and bloodiest of the whole war, is marked to-day by a little 
 church and graveyard in which many a Canadian hero sleeps. 
 
 The war was drawing to a close. The Americans after the battle 
 retired to Fort Erie, which they held for some time in spite of the 
 attacks of General Drummond, and then withdrew across the river. 
 In the meantime the war in Europe had been brought to an end by 
 Napoleon's defeat and his retirement to the island of Elba. Eng- 
 
 THE NIAGARA FRONTIER.
 
 236 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 land could now assist Canada, and in August sixteen thousand men 
 arrived. A great expedition was planned against Plattsburg, 
 in which eleven thousand men, and the fleet on Lake Cham- 
 plain were to take part. Sir George Prevost led the land 
 army, and Captain Downie commanded the British flag-ship. 
 Prevost waited for the British vessels to attack the American fleet 
 before proceeding against Plattsburg which was defended by a 
 small force. Unfortunately the British ships were defeated and 
 many of them destroyed in the engagement that followed, and 
 Prevost, without any good reason, retreated without striking a 
 blow. His officers were so chagrined that they broke their swords, 
 vowing they would serve no longer. Meanwhile, in August, the 
 British entered Chesapeake Bay, captured Washington, the capital 
 of the United States, and burned the public buildings, including a 
 valuable library. This was in revenge for the burning of Niagara 
 by General McClure. At last, on the 24th of December, 1814, the 
 Treaty of Ghent was signed, which restored to the United States 
 and to Canada their losses, but did not settle the points in dispute 
 which led to the war. Two weeks after the peace was made in 
 Europe, a bloody battle was fought at New Orleans, where the 
 British general, Pakenham, endeavored to carry by assault a strong 
 line of entrenchments defended by General Jackson. The English 
 general did not know that the war was over, and many of Welling- 
 ton's veterans fell in a worse than useless contest. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT AND THB 
 REBELLION OF 1837-38. 
 
 1. Growth of the Colony. The war of 1812 brought no terri- 
 tory or glory to the Americans, save the victories they won en the 
 lakes and the high seas. They had been defeated in most of the 
 battles on land ; their trade and commerce had been greatly injured 
 by British vessels, the New England States had threatened to leave 
 the Union, and a very heavy public debt had been contracted.
 
 STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 237 
 
 Canada, too, suffered by the farmers being taken away from their 
 farms to serve in the militia, many of them never returning to their 
 homes, and many others returning wounded and crippled. To the 
 latter the Government gave small pensions for life ; and the widows 
 and orphans of the killed received small grants of money. The 
 country was too poor to pay heavy pensions, or to recompense 
 families for the loss of their bread-winners. During the war the 
 British Government had spent large sums in the colony, and this 
 for a time seemed to make it prosperous. But when the struggle 
 was over, and the expenditure ceased, the effects of the cruel con- 
 flict began to be felt. For a few years there were hard times, and 
 these were made worse by the failure of the wheat crop in Lower 
 Canada. So great was this failure that the Governor, on his own 
 authority, took the public money to help the farmers to buy seed, 
 and the Lower Canadian Parliament, the next year, voted a still 
 larger sum. But the colony soon recovered its prosperity, for the 
 soil was fertile and the people were hardy and industrious. Efforts 
 were made to bring in settlers by offering free passages across the 
 ocean and one hundred acres of land to each man, besides giving 
 him help the first year of his settlement on a farm. Very unwisely 
 Americans were not allowed to become citizens of Canada, the 
 Government fearing and disliking them. This was one of the bad 
 effects of the recent war. The years from 1815 to 1820 saw a great 
 many people settle in Canada from Great Britain and Ireland. The 
 county of Lanark was settled about this time by immigrants from 
 Scotland, and the failure of the crops in Ireland brought in 1820 
 many Irish to Canada. 
 
 There was a growth not only in population but also in trade, 
 commerce, and manufactures. In the absence of good roads, grain 
 and other products of Upper Canada had to be taken down to 
 Montreal and Quebec by water. The rapids of the St. Lawrence 
 prevented vessels from coming up, so large flat-bottomed or " Dur- 
 ham " boats floated down the river from Kingston to Montreal, 
 laden with goods. These boats were then sold as it did not pay to 
 bring them up the rapids. After a while, as the trade grew larger, 
 canals were built between Kingston and Ottawa, and along the 
 St. Lawrence below Prescott. These we know as the Rideau and 
 Lachine Canals. Further west a more important work was begun 
 in 1819. This was the building of a canal oetween Lakes Erie and
 
 238 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 Ontario to overcome the obstacle to navigation caused by the Falls of 
 Niagara. Hon. W. H. Merritt, of St. Catharines, had the honor of 
 proposing and carrying out the project, which was finished in 1829. 
 Very early in the century steamboats came into use on the lakes and 
 rivers, the credit of which must be given largely to the Hon. John 
 Molson of Montreal. Quebec became noted for shipbuilding, and 
 a brisk trade in timber with the Old World sprang up at this port. 
 The manufacture of potash and pearlash was a profitable industry ; 
 D ut grain crops, in the absence of good roads, could not find a ready 
 market. Then, as now, there was a good deal of smuggling along 
 the frontier between Canada and the United Stater-, and in conse- 
 quence the revenue suffered considerably. 
 
 To meet the demand for money to carry on the growing trade of 
 the country, Banks were founded, among the earliest being the 
 Banks of Montreal, Kingston, and Quebec; and a little later the 
 Bank of Upper Canada. The population, and therefore the trade, 
 of Upper Canada grew more rapidly than that of Lower Canada, 
 and this led to disputes between the Provinces. After the Consti- 
 tutional Act of 1791, it was arranged that Upper Canada was to 
 have as her share one-eighth of the customs duties collected at the 
 chief ports of Lower Canada. Thirteen years later the proportion 
 was changed to one-fifth, and then, in 1822, there still being dis- 
 satisfaction, the British Parliament passed the Canada Trade Act, 
 which gave Upper Canada 30,000 of arrears due by Lower Can- 
 ada, and arranged for a more just division of the revenue in the 
 future. 
 
 Education was improving very slowly. Governor Simcoe had 
 planned the founding of a college in his time, and for that purpose 
 brought from Scotland John Strachan, a young but clever school 
 teacher, to be its head. When Strachan arrived he found Simcoe 
 had left the colony, and he started a grammar school at Cornwall, 
 where many of the most noted men of Upper Canada were educat- 
 ed. In 1807, the Parliament of Upper Canada voted 500 for the 
 support of eight grammar schools; and in 1816, common schools 
 were granted 6,000 to help in paying teachers and buying books. 
 In 1823, McGill University in Montreal was organized for teaching, 
 and four years later we have the beginning of King's College at 
 York. In 1829 Upper Canada College was founded to prepare 
 pupils for the coming University. Few people, at that time, could
 
 STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 239 
 
 afford to give their sons a college education, so these young univer- 
 sities for many years had but little to do. 
 
 2. Political Abuses and Troubles. Canada had no more wan 
 with foreign nations, and her history, save for political troubles, 
 since 1814 has been the history of growth in wealth, in population, 
 and in enterprises for opening up the country for settlement, and 
 for utilizing her natural resources. But, of political struggles, from 
 the day she became a British colony until the present, she has had 
 her full share. The war of 1812 had hardly ceased when a political 
 struggle began which ended in rebellion and bloodshed ; also, for- 
 tunately, in better and freer government. We have now to tell 
 very briefly the causes of this strife, and how it resulted. 
 
 In Lower Canada, as already stated, great discontent was aroused 
 by the action of the Governors and the Councils in refusing to 
 allow the Legislative Assembly to control the expenditure of the 
 revenue arising from timber and mining dues, the sale of Crown 
 lands, and the taxes collected at the Custom-houses. The Assembly 
 offered, if it were given the control of all the revenue, to pro- 
 vide for the necessary expenses of the Province, including the pay- 
 ment of the salaries of judges and other civil officers. This offer, 
 however, the Governors and their advisers would not accept, and 
 the Assembly then tried to stop the supplies. But the Governor 
 took the money from the treasury, without asking permission, to pay 
 the necessary salaries and expenses. The British Parliament was 
 petitioned to redress these grievances, and to pass an Act giving 
 the Legislative Assemblies the control of the expenditure of all 
 public money. Little heed was given in England for some time to 
 these complaints, as the Governors and their Councils generally 
 succeeded in keeping their side of the case well before the British 
 Government. Besides this trouble about the control of public 
 money, there was the more serious difficulty due to the difference 
 of race, religion, and language in the population. The British 
 element disliked the French, and sided with the Governors and 
 their Councils ; while the French elected the most of the members 
 of the Assembly. The Councils were mainly British, and the 
 Legislative Assembly, French. In 1828, an effort was made by the 
 Home Government, by a half-measure, to settle the difficulty 
 arising from the control of the revenue. This measure proposed
 
 240 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 to gi\ e the Assembly the control of the duties on goods, in return 
 fora permanent support of the judges and other officials. It did 
 not grant the control of the other revenues, nor did it make the 
 Legislative Council elective, and therefore subject to the control of 
 the people. So this effort to conciliate the people failed, and the 
 discontent was increased by a harsh measure passed by Lord John 
 Russell in 1837, which refused the just demands of the people. 
 
 Turning to Upper Canada, we find much the same troubles and 
 abuses as in Lower Canada. There was, however, for some time, 
 an important difference in the political situation. In Lower 
 Canada the Assembly was bitterly opposed to the Government ; 
 but, in Upper Canada the Assembly contained so many Govern- 
 ment officials, such as postmasters, sheriffs and registrars, that the 
 majority of the members supported the Governors and their 
 advisers. A small but increasing number of the members com- 
 plained of the abuses of the time, and were treated by the ruling 
 body as malcontents and traitors. It was not safe to say anything 
 in the press or on the floor of Parliament against the Government 
 and their management of affairs. The men who for many years 
 really controlled the province were known as the Family Compact, 
 on account of the closeness of the alliance they had formed to get and 
 retain the offices of the Government. Many of them were U. E. 
 Loyalists, who prided themselves on their loyalty to British 
 institutions. Others were emigrants from the mother country, 
 who, unwilling to make a living by hard work on bush farms, 
 managed through the influence 01 friends in the Old Land to get 
 office in or under the Government. Very soon this Compact of 
 office-holders came to believe that it had a right to manage the 
 affairs of the Province, fill all the offices, and make profit out of the 
 wild lands for themselves and their friends. The management of 
 these lands was one of the great grievances of the settlers. Not 
 only were large grants given to the friends of the Compact for 
 purposes of speculation, but a company of British capitalists, called 
 the Canada Land Company, bought up large tracts which it held 
 without making any improvements. The County of Huron suffered 
 more than most places from this bad policy, as for many years this 
 fine, fertile district was left uncleared and unsettled. Then, land 
 had been set aside in each township as Clergy Reserves and for the 
 support of common schools. So much uncleared land coming
 
 STRUGGLE FOB RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 241 
 
 between the farms of settlers made it difficult to construct roads 
 and fences, and separated the farmers so much that they could not 
 form school districts without a great deal of trouble and incon- 
 venience. 
 
 Then again, there was great discontent because the English 
 Church clergy claimed that they alone were entitled to share in the 
 Clergy Reserves grant. The Church of Scotland also claimed a 
 share, as it was the Established Church of Scotland, and after some 
 dispute its claim was recognized. This left out the Methodists, 
 Baptists, Roman Catholics and other denominations, and, therefore, 
 did not mend matters much. In 1836, Sir John Colborne'the 
 Governor, and his Executive Council, endowed fifty-seven rectories 
 of the Church of England witli a part of these church lands. This 
 was done because the Reform party (the party opposed to the 
 Family Compact) was in the majority in the House of Assembly, 
 and it was feared something might be done to prevent the Church 
 of England from getting the benefit of the endowment. 
 
 As already stated, for a time the Family Compact controlled the 
 Legislative Assembly. This did not last long, for the abuses of 
 power were so great that the people began to elect as members men 
 who tried to remove the evils from which they were suffering. In 
 1824 this Reform party elected a majority of the members, and chose 
 one of their own number as Speaker, or Chairman of the Assembly. 
 The most prominent members of this party at this time were 
 Dr. Rolph, Peter Perry, and Marshall BidwelL At this time 
 also the noted William Lyon Mackenzie began to make his influence 
 felt. Mackenzie was a Scotchman who had emigrated to Canada a 
 few years before had been a storekeeper in different places and 
 then had come to Toronto to start a newspaper. His paper, " The 
 Colonial Advocate," attacked the abuses of the Family Compact so 
 fiercely that a gang of ruffians seized his press and threw it into 
 Lake Ontario. This made Mackenzie and his paper more popular 
 than ever, and he was elected member of the Assembly for the 
 County of York, the most populous county in the Province. On 
 the floor of the Assembly he made himself very troublesome to the 
 Executive Council, and was continually unearthing frauds and 
 scandals in connection with the public accounts, and the manage- 
 ment of such works as the Welland Canal. Another man of a 
 higher character and better judgment was elected, a little later, in
 
 242 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 the town of York. This was th fair-minded and moderate patriot, 
 Robert Baldwin. In 1830 the elections resulted in favor of the 
 Family Compact, and it used its majority in the Assembly to have 
 Mackenzie expelled from the House for a breach of parliamentary 
 privilege. Mackenzie was re-elected, and again expelled, and once 
 more elected. He was then sent to England with petitions to the 
 King for a redress of grievances. In 1835 the election gave a ma- 
 jority to the Reform party, and next year the Governor, Sir John 
 Colborne, resigned his position and left the Province. 
 
 3, The Rebellion in Lower Canada, 1837-38. Meanwhile mat- 
 ters were hastening to a crisis in Lower Canada. The French were 
 much under the influence of M. Papineau, an eloquent speaker and 
 writer, who had the power to stir the feelings and passions of the 
 habitants. There had been a deadlock in Parliament, as the 
 Assembly had refused to vote money for the payment of judges 
 and other officials, and the Governor had taken what was needed 
 out of the treasury without the consent of the Assembly. As soon 
 as it was known that Lord John Russell had carried through the 
 British Parliament resolutions opposed to granting the Canadian 
 people their rights, the excitement in Lower Canada was very great, 
 and broke out in a revolt, under the leadership of Papineau and Dr. 
 Wolfred Nelson. The rebels were poorly prepared for a rising, and 
 the revolt was soon suppressed by Sir John Colborne and his reg- 
 ulars. Engagements took place at St. Denis on the Richelieu, 
 where Lieutenant Weir was shot by the rebels while attempting to 
 escape from his captors ; at St. Charles, where the rebels were de- 
 feated; and at St. Eustache, on the Ottawa, where many of the 
 rebels were burned in a church. 
 
 The constitution of Lower Canada was now suspended, and a 
 Special Council, half of the members of which were English and 
 half French, was created to govern for the time being. Lord Dur- 
 ham, a nobleman of great intelligence and fair-mindedness, was 
 sent out from England to examine into the cause of the rebellion, 
 and to report to the Home Government. On his arrival, he at 
 once began to inquire into the true state of affairs in both Pi evinces, 
 and corrected several abuses in the management of the Crown 
 lands. He found a great many political prisoners in the jails, and 
 not thinking it wise to try them before the ordinary courts, or by
 
 STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 243 
 
 courts-martial , he released the most of them, and banished Nelson 
 and eight others to Bermuda. He forbade Papineau, who had fled 
 to the United States, to return to Canada, under pain of death. In 
 doing these things, Durham acted without authority, and he was 
 blamed by the British Parliament, which annulled his sentences. 
 Durham was so chagrined at this seeming insult that he resigned 
 his position and returned to England in broken health. His im- 
 portant work was, however, the drafting of a Report on the state of 
 Canada, containing a great many valuable suggestions about the 
 best way of governing colonies. He advised that Canada should be 
 given Responsible Government, that is, the Governor should choose 
 for his advisers the men having the confidence of the people's 
 representatives. Besides, he recommended that Canada should 
 have only one Parliament instead of two, and suggested the Union 
 of all the British provinces in North America under one Parlia- 
 ment. Later on, it will be seen that this Report had a very great 
 influence. After Durham had left Canada, Sir John Colborne became 
 Administrator. The people of Lower Canada despairing of justice 
 once more broke out in revolt, and a few slight engagements took 
 place. Once more the rebellion was crushed this time with con- 
 siderable loss of life and property. Twelve of the leaders were 
 tried by court-martial, and executed at Montreal. This ended the 
 rebellion in Lower Canada. 
 
 4. Rebellion in Upper Canada, 1837. After Sir John Colborne's 
 retirement in 1836,' from the Governorship of Upper Canada, the 
 British Government, by a curious mistake, sent out as his 
 successor, Sir Francis Bond Head, a man who had never 
 taken any interest in politics, and who was quite ignorant of 
 the state of affairs in the Province. At first the Reformers 
 thought Sir Francis would be friendly to their cause, but, 
 like all preceding governors, he soon came under the influ- 
 ence of the Family Compact. He invited leading Reformers to 
 join the Executive Council and the invitation was accepted. But 
 he would not listen to the proposal that the Council should be 
 responsible to the Assembly, and, in consequence, the Reform 
 members of the Council resigned. Soon after this there was a 
 general election, and Sir Francis threw himself into the contest 
 with great zeal and effect. He made the people believe that their
 
 244 HISTORY OP CANADA. 
 
 loyalty was at stake, and succeeded in having Mackenzie and other 
 Reform leaders defeated at the polls. Mackenzie and some of his 
 associates now despaired of having the grievances of the people 
 removed by peaceable means, and unwisely listened to the sugges- 
 tions of Papineuu to join in a revolt. As if to encourage them, Sir 
 Francis Head sent all the regular troops from Upper to Lower 
 Canada to aid in suppressing the rebellion there, leaving York and 
 its armory wholly unprotected. Mackenzie began to stir the pas- 
 sions of the people by articles in his paper, and by violent speeches. 
 Soon the disaffected began arming and drilling throughout the 
 western part of the province, and, although warned of what was 
 going on, Sir Francis refused to take any steps to stop these danger- 
 ous proceedings. In fact the Governor acted as if he wished to 
 hasten a revolt. Finally it was arranged that a rising should take 
 place on the 7th December, that York should be surprised, the 
 government buildings and armory seized, the Governor and Council 
 taken prisoners, and then a republican form of Government estab- 
 lished. It so happened that the leaders of the revolt in York, Dr. 
 Rolph being the chief, changed the time for attack from the 7th to 
 the 4th, without informing all the leaders outside of the change. 
 
 On the day appointed, about four hundred men gathered at 
 Montgomery's Tavern, four miles from Toronto. They were badly 
 armed, worn with travel, and disappointed at the mistake in their 
 plans. Still, had tJ^unarched at once to York, it could easily 
 have been surpz^P^^lpbptured ; but Rolph, either through fear 
 or treachery, counselled delay Jintil more men arrived. Before 
 this could happen the rebels ^te-e discovered, and steps taken to 
 defend the town, the armory and the government buildings. It 
 was now too late to attempt a surprise. The next day Mackenzie 
 wished to attack at once ; but Rolph still counselled delay, promis- 
 ing support from friends in the town if the attack were delayed 
 until after dark. The night attack was a failure, and the following 
 Jay Colonel McNab having arrived from Hamilton with a number of 
 loyalists, a force of nine hundred men was sent against Mackenzie, 
 who with four hundred men stood his ground near Montgomery's 
 Tavern. The conflict was brief and decisive the few rebels, with- 
 out proper arms or support, being easily defeated and scattered. 
 Mackenzie, with a reward of 1,000 on his head, escaped with great 
 difficulty ; and after many exciting adventures in travelling from
 
 STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 245 
 
 York round the head of Lake Ontario to the Niagara rrontier, 
 crossed the Niagara river, and found refuge on American soil. 
 
 5. The "Patriot" War, 1837-38. Besides Mackenzie, Rolph 
 and some other leaders thought it prudent to leave Canada. Still 
 others were taken prisoners, and during the administration of Sir 
 George Arthur, who succeeded Sir Francis Bond Head, Lount and 
 Matthews were hanged at Toronto, an act of severity for which 
 there was but slight excuse. 
 
 Mackenzie, unfortunately, did not rest content with the failure 
 of his schemes. He now gathered together, at Bufialo, a number 
 of ruffians and sympathizers from the slums of American cities, 
 promising them land and bounties after they had liberated Canada. 
 These men took possession of Navy Island, about two miles above 
 Niagara Falls, fortified it, and made preparations to invade Canada. 
 Colonel McNab defended the Canadian shore with a number of 
 militia and Indians. A little steamer, the " Caroline," was used 
 by the " Patriots " to carry supplies from Bufialo to Navy Island, 
 and McNab determined to capture and destroy it. This he did by 
 sending a party of men under Lieutenant Drew across the river at 
 night, who cut the vessel from her moorings, set her on fire, and 
 allowed her to drift over the Falls. This act of violence greatly 
 incensed the United States Government, but an apology by the 
 British Government smoothed over the difficulty. A little later, 
 Navy Island was abandoned, and the fronti^Bj^^jtroit and on the 
 St. Lawrence, became the points of attacK^^^Rnlber of Americans 
 crossed at the f ormer place, took possession of Windsor, and marched 
 on Sandwich. Colonel Prince met them with a body of militia, 
 defeated them, and shot four prisoners without a trial. On the St. 
 Lawrence the most important event was the landing of a number of 
 Americans at Windmill Point, a little below the town of Prescott. 
 They took possession of a strong stone windmill, from which they 
 were driven with some difficulty. The garrison, about one hundred 
 and thirty in number, surrendered ; about fifty were killed the 
 Canadians losing thirteen killed and a number wounded. The 
 leaders of this raid, Von Schultz and nine of his companions, were 
 tried and executed. The "Patriot War" was over, and Mackenzie 
 was an exile. After many years of hardship and suffering, he was 
 pardoned and allowed to return to Canada, and once more entered 
 political life.
 
 246 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GROWTH OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERlfMENT. 
 
 1. The Act of Union 1840. The rebellion had failed because 
 the Canadian people were loyal; nevertheless, it called the atten- 
 tion of the Home Government to the need of a change in the gov- 
 ernment of the Colony. The influence of Lord Durham's report 
 now began to be felt, and it was decided by the British Government 
 to unite the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada under one 
 Parliament. To bring this about, Charles Poulett Thompson was 
 sent out as the Governor of Canada. No great difficulty was met 
 with in Lower Canada, because the Lower Canadian Parliament 
 had been suspended on account of the rebellion, and the Special 
 Council that was acting in its place was quite willing to aid in 
 bringing about the desired union. But the French were not quite 
 so willing, for they feared the loss of their influence as a race. 
 Their petitions against the union were not heeded, and the Council 
 passed a strong resolution in favor of uniting the Provinces. 
 
 In Upper Canada the Assembly was prepared to support the 
 project, but the Family Compact which controlled the Legislative 
 and Executive Councils did not like the idea of losing its power, 
 and bitterly opposed the proposed measure. Mr. Thompson, with 
 great tact and skill, made the Compact feel that the British 
 Government was anxious for the change, and by appeals to then- 
 loyalty induced the members of the Legislative Council to pass a 
 resolution in favor of Union. A Bill stating the terms of the 
 Union was now drawn up, approved of by the Parliament of Upper 
 Canada and the Council of Lower Canada, and sent to the Imperial 
 Parliament to be made into a law. The Bill passed the British 
 Parliament in 1840 ; but the Union did not take place till Febru- 
 ary, 1841. 
 
 By the terms of the Union, Upper and Lower Canada were to 
 have but one Parliament, composed of a Legislative Council with 
 not less than twenty members appointed by the Crown for life, and 
 a Legislative Assembly of eighty-four members forty-two from 
 each Province. The Executive Council was to consist of eight
 
 GROWTH OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 247 
 
 members, who were to be responsible to Parliament; that is, the 
 Governor was instructed by the Home Government to choose his 
 advisers from the political party having a majority in the Assembly. 
 The Assembly was given the control of all the revenue ; but had to 
 make a permanent provision for the payment of judges and for 
 other necessary expenses of government. The judges now became 
 independent, like the judges in England, and could not be dis- 
 missed without good cause. Thus most of the demands of the 
 people were conceded, although some years had to pass before Can- 
 ada got a full measure of responsible government. 
 
 2. The Municipal Act of 1841. For his services in bringing 
 ing about the Union Mr. Thompson was made a peer, with the title 
 of Lord Sydenham. The first united Parliament met at Kingston 
 in 1841, and it was found that the election, which followed the 
 Union, had resulted in the two political parties being of nearly 
 equal strength. Lord Sydenham tried to govern by means of an 
 Executive Council composed of members of both parties ; but the 
 Reform element, finding it difficult to work harmoniously with 
 their political opponents, resigned office, and the Government be- 
 came a Conservative Government. Nevertheless, in spite of the 
 difficulty experienced in working the new machinery, many impor- 
 tant measures were passed the first session. 
 
 Of these the most important was the Municipal Act, which gave 
 local self-government to the villages, towns, townships and counties 
 of Upper Canada. The people of each municipality could now 
 manage such matters as building roads, bridges, jails and court- 
 houses, through men elected for that purpose, and who were called 
 councillors in villages, towns and townships, and aldermen in 
 cities. Other measures were the taking over of the Welland Canal 
 as a government work, the placing of public works under the 
 control of one of the members of the Executive Council or Minis- 
 try, and the encouragement of numerous enterprises for the 
 development of the country. Unfortunately for Canada, Sydenham 
 died from the effects of a fall from his horse, and one of the best 
 and safest guides in political affairs Canada has ever had was 
 removed, Sept. 19, 1841. 
 
 3. Sir Charles Metcalfe. The British Government that ap- 
 pointed Sydenham was a Liberal Government, but it had lost
 
 248 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 power, and a Conservative Government appointed his successor. 
 This was Sir Charles Bagot. He was a Conservative, but he pur- 
 sued the same policy as Sydenham, and during his short term of 
 office, he tried to carry out the principle of Responsible Government 
 He formed a new ministry, the principal members of which were 
 Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Lafontaine and Mr. Francis Hincks. This was 
 the first Reform Ministry of Canada. Bagot died in 1843, and was 
 succeeded by Sir Charles Metcalfe, whose political experience had 
 been gained in India and Jamaica. He was an able and upright 
 man, but utterly unfit by his previous training for governing a 
 colony where the people wished to manage their own affairs. He 
 soon got into trouble with his Ministry and the Assembly. He 
 claimed the right to make appointments to government offices, such 
 as registrarships and shrievalties ; but his advisers objected on the 
 ground that they were responsible for all such appointments, and 
 therefore, should recommend the persons to be appointed. As the 
 Governor would not yield, Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine and all 
 the members of the Executive Council, except one, resigned. For 
 some time Metcalfe tried t^ govern without a ministry, as the Con- 
 servatives were not strong enough in the Assembly to form a 
 Government. At length he succeeded in getting Mr. Draper to 
 take office and form a Ministry, and then dissolved the Assembly 
 and had a new election. In this election Sir Charles Metcalfe took 
 an active part, and managed to get a small majority in favor of his 
 Ministers and his policy. Soon after this, he asked to be recalled, 
 on account of ill-health, and Earl Cathcart acted as Governor until 
 Lord Elgin arrived in 1847. 
 
 ' 4. Ashburton Treaty. While Canada was thus slowly working 
 out a free system of government some important events of another 
 character had taken place. In 1842, England and the United 
 States settled the boundary line between Maine and New Bruns- 
 wick and between Canada and the United States as far west as the 
 Lake of the Woods. The map that showed the boundary decided 
 upon in 1783 had been lost, and disputes had arisen about the line 
 between the State of Maine and New Brunswick. After various 
 fruitless efforts to get a satisfactory decision Lord Ashburton and 
 Daniel Webster were appointed by the British and United States 
 governments respectively to decide what was the right boundary
 
 GROWTH OP RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 249 
 
 tine. The result of the negotiation was that Webster succeeded in 
 getting for the United States the lion's share of the disputed terri- 
 tory. The treaty gave seven thousand square miles to the United 
 States and five thousand to New Brunswick. It fixed the forty- 
 fifth parallel of latitude as the dividing line as far as the St. 
 Lawrence, and then traced the line up that river, and through the 
 great Lakes as far west as the Lake of the Woods. From that 
 point west the forty-ninth parrallel of latitude was to be the 
 boundary to the Rocky Mountains. The treaty also had a clause 
 providing for the sending back to their own country of escaped 
 criminals accused of arson, forgery, piracy, robbery and murder. 
 This is known as the first "Extradition Treaty." 
 
 5. Educational Progress in Upper Canada. More import- 
 ant than the Ashburton Treaty was the great change made in our 
 Public School system by Dr. Egerton Ryerson. In 1839 the 
 Parliament of Upper Canada had set aside two hundred and fifty 
 thousand acres of land for the endowment of grammar schools ; but 
 little provision had been made for the common or, as we now 
 call them, the public schools. In 1841 Parliament granted two 
 hundred thousand dollars a year for educational purposes ; but 
 three years later it repealed the Act. In 1844 Rev. Egerton Ryer- 
 son, a Methodist clergyman, who had taken an active part in jour- 
 nalism and politics, was appointed Chief Superintendent of Educa- 
 tion for Upper Canada. He at once began to lay broad and deep 
 the foundations of our Public School system. He crossed the 
 Atlantic many times to examine the schools of Scotland, England, 
 Prussia, and other European nations, and wisely selected from each 
 system what was best adapted to a new country. His scheme 
 was submitted to Parliament in 1846, and its main features 
 adopted. Later on, in 1850, it was improved ; and from that time 
 to the present our Public School system has undergone many 
 changes, all of which were intended to make it as perfect as pos- 
 sible. The system now provides for the free education of every 
 child at the expense of the public ; and gives each locality or dis- 
 trict a large measure of control over its own schools, subject to the 
 inspection and oversight of the Government. 
 
 In the meantime some progress had been made in higher educa- 
 tion. In 1841 Victoria University, at Cobourg, got its charter, and
 
 250 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 the same year Queens College, Kingston, was founded. Both 
 these colleges were denominational Victoria being connected with 
 the Methodist body, and Queen's with the Church of Scotland. 
 King's ollege, Toronto, had been founded as a Church of England 
 institution, and put under the charge of Dr. Strachan. But the 
 growing strength of other .religious denominations soon compelled 
 the adoption of a more liberal policy, and, in 1849, the University 
 of Toronto (as it was now called) became a non-denominational 
 institution and was opened to all classes of the people on the same 
 terms. Dr Strachan was not satiffied with the change, and at 
 once took steps to establish a college under the control of the 
 Anglican Church. The result of his efforts was the founding of 
 Trinity University, Toronto, in 1853. 
 
 6. Lord Elgin's Administration. When Lord Elgin reached 
 Canada he found a bitter party conflict going on. The Draper 
 Administration was weak and tottering to its fall. Its opponents 
 were led by Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine, and the country was 
 disquieted by an agitation over the "Rebellion Losses Bill," and 
 by a demand from the more extreme Reformers for a different 
 policy with regard to the Clergy Reserves. In 1840 a partial 
 settlement had been made of the latter question by giving one half 
 of the proceeds of the Reserves to the Church of England and the 
 Church of Scotland, and the remaining half to the other religious 
 denominations. This did not satisfy a large portion of the people, 
 who thought the laud should be sold, and the money received used 
 for educational and other purposes. The other cause of disquiet, 
 the Rebellion Lusses Bill, was a measure intended to make good 
 to the loyalists of Upper Canada the losses they had sustained by 
 the rebellion of 1837-38. The Draper Government proposed to take 
 the money received from certain taxes and pay the losses with it ; 
 but the members from Lower Canada demanded that the losses in 
 Lower Canada should also be paid. An attempt was made in 1847 
 to satisfy the people of Lower Canada by voting a sum of money to 
 the loyalists ; but the amount was so small that it had o effect in 
 quieting the agitation. In 1849 the Draper Government was 
 defeated at the polls, and the famous Baldwin-Lafontaine Adminis- 
 tration came into office. 
 
 The Rebellion Losses Bill was once more brought into Parlia- 
 ment this time by a Reform Gsvernment. It was a more sweep-
 
 GROWTH OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 251 
 
 ing measure than that of the previous administration, and proposed 
 to pay a large sum to the injured loyalists of Lower Canada. At 
 once a great outcry was raised that rebels were to be paid as well as 
 loyalists, and the country was wild with excitement. Nevertheless 
 the Bill passed both Houses, and was assented to by Lord Elgin, 
 who felt it his duty to act on the advice of the Government, sup- 
 ported as it was by a large majority of the members of Parliament. 
 This course did not please the opponents of the bill, a number of 
 whom were foolish enough, in their excitement, to cause riots in 
 Montreal and Toronto. In the former city Parliament was in 
 session, when an infuriated mob broke in, drove out the members 
 and ended by setting the Parliament buildings on fire. The mob 
 prevented all attempts at saving the contents, and a very valuable 
 library containing documents of great importance was burned. 
 Lord Elgin was pelted with stones and rotten eggs when driving 
 through the city, and some of the leaders of the agitation, in their 
 excitement, went so far as to talk openly of annexation to the 
 United States. Lord Elgin asked to be recalled ; but the Imperial 
 Government commended his actions, and refused his request. As 
 a consequence of this riot, Parliament met no more in Montreal, 
 its sessions being held alternately every four years in Quebec and 
 Toronto. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, 1847, Lord Elgin announced at the opening 
 of Parliament that the duties in favour of British goods had been 
 removed by the British Parliament, and that henceforth Canada 
 would be free to place on goods coming into the country such 
 duties as she wished. At the same time the Governor advised the 
 building of a railroad from Halifax to Quebec. We shall find that 
 it took many years to carry this proposal into effect. The 
 same year saw a great immigration of people from Ireland, due to 
 the terrible failure of the potato crop in that unhappy land. 
 Thousands of ill-fed and ill-clad people were crowded into the 
 vessels crossing the Atlantic, and, in consequence, fever and 
 pestilence broke out in the ships. When they reached Canada this 
 pestilence spread along the frontier and many people besides the 
 poor immigrants died. 
 
 7. Commercial Progress. Let us now see what the people of 
 Canada had been doing since the Union in opening up the country 
 and in acquiring wealth. We have already pointed out that for ;i
 
 259 BISTORT OP CANADA. 
 
 kmg time Canada had few means of taking her products to distant 
 markets, and was dependent on the boats that navigated her lakes 
 and rivers. This state of things now began to change rapidly. 
 The need of better means of carrying goods and the products of 
 farm and shop to market led to the building of railroads through 
 the more thickly settled parts of the country. The first line built 
 was one between La Prairie and St. John's in Lower Canada, 
 which was opened for traffic in 1836. The first road begun in 
 Upper Canada was the Northern Railway, the first sod of which 
 was turned in 1851. Then came in rapid succession the Great 
 Western and the Grand Trunk, the latter receiving from the 
 Government important aid. These roads helped very much in 
 opening up for settlement the north, west, and east of Canada, and 
 made the farms of the settlers much more valuable. In 1852 the 
 Municipal Loan Fund Act was passed, which gave the Government 
 power to lend money to towns, villages, and other municipalities 
 for local improvements, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings. 
 The terms were very easy, and many municipalities got so heavily 
 in debt that they were unable to pay back to the Government 
 either principal or interest. There are many municipalities in 
 Canada that yet feel the burden of a foolish extravagance at this 
 time. Besides, there was in Canada, as elsewhere, a kind of rail- 
 way craze, and a great deal of money was spent on roads that did 
 not pay for their construction. Parliament was too free in making 
 grants to railroads and other public works, and the result was that 
 Canada began to have a heavy public debt, which has ever since 
 been steadily growing. In 1851, another event of importance took 
 place : the Canadian Government was given control of the Post- 
 office, and immediately established a uniform rate of postage 
 threepence on every half-ounce and, besides, introduced the use 
 of postage stamps. Before this, when a letter was sent or received, 
 postage had to be paid in money. In 1846 England adopted Free 
 Trade as her policy, and a few years after threw open her markets 
 to all countries on the same terms. For a time this injured Cana- 
 dian farmers and producers, who had not as good means of carrying 
 their products to English markets as the Americans. But with the 
 building of railroads and the establishment of better lines of steam- 
 ships the evil was lessened, and Canada prospered greatly, increasing 
 rapidly in both wealth and population. This prosperity was partly
 
 GROWTH OP RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 253 
 
 Jue to a very important treaty made in 1854, through the tact and 
 wisdom of Lord Elgin. In that year Canada and the United States 
 agreed upon a Reciprocity Treaty, by which the products of the sea, 
 the farm, the mine, and the forest could be freely exchanged. The 
 United States obtained the right to fish in many of Canada's waters, 
 and the use of the St. Lawrence and Canadian canals ; while Canada, 
 in return, was given the right to navigate Lake Michigan. The 
 treaty was to continue ten years from March, 1855, and after that 
 could be ended by twelve months' notice from either party. ' 
 
 8. The Clergy Reserves and Seignorial Tenure. Meanwhile, 
 political agitation was going on over two burning questions. One 
 was the old grievance of the Clergy Reserves, which the Baldwin- 
 Lafontaine Administration hoped had been settled in 1840. But a 
 strong and growing body of the more radical Reformers, led by 
 George Brown, the editor and manager of the Globe, a powerful 
 political newspaper, wished to take the reserves away from the de- 
 nominations and use them for the general good of the Province. 
 The other question, that of Seignorial Tenure, was one of great 
 interest to the people of Lower Canada. It was seen that holding 
 land under the old French system of feudal tenure was a great 
 hindrance to the prosperity of the farmers of that Province ; the 
 services and payments by the peasants to the "seigneurs" having 
 become a grievous burden as the Province became better settled 
 and the land more valuable. It was found impossible to dispose of 
 one question without dealing with the other ; so in 1854, the 
 Reform Government of Mr. Hincks having been defeated by the 
 temporary union of the extreme wing of the Reformers with the 
 Conservatives, the new Conservative Ministry of Sir Allan McNab, 
 brought in two bills ; the one to divide the Clergy Reserves among 
 the different municipalities of Upper Canada according to popula- 
 tion, the proceeds to be used by them for local improvements or for 
 educational purposes ; the other, to abolish Seignorial Tenure, and 
 to allow the land in Lower Canada to be held by the people 
 as freeholds. In both cases compensation was made by Parliament 
 for the losses the clergy and the seigneurs suffered by the change. 
 In this way two grievances of long standing were happily removed, 
 and the last link uniting Church and State in Upper Canada was 
 broken. Two other political changes must be noted. In 1853, the 
 population having increased greatly since the Union, the number of
 
 254 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 members of the Legislative Assembly was increased from eighty- 
 four to one hundred and thirty, each Province still having an equal 
 number of members. Three years later, the Legislative Council 
 became an elective body, the existing members retaining their 
 positions for life. The population of Upper Canada was now fully 
 one million and a quarter, and that of Lower Canada about three 
 hundred thousand less. 
 
 9. A Political Dead-Lock. A curious state of affairs now arose 
 in Canada. The old political parties became shattered, and new 
 alliances were formed. In Upper Canada the more advanced 
 Reformers gained great influence, and began agitating for a change 
 in the basis of representation in Parliament. They claimed that as 
 Upper Canada was more populous and wealthy than Lower Canada, 
 and paid more taxes, it should send more members to Parliament. 
 Against this it was urged that at the time of the Union Lower Can- 
 ada had a larger population, greater wealth, and a smaller public 
 debt than Upper Canada yet, it was given the same number of 
 representatives. It was, therefore, contended that Lower Canada 
 should continue to have as many members of Parliament as Upper 
 Canada. The agitation was continued for many years, and parties 
 became nearly equally divided on the question of ' ' Representation 
 by Population," as it was called. On the one side was a majority 
 of the members from Upper Canada, and a minority from Lower 
 Canada ; while opposed to the new policy was a minority from 
 Upper Canada, and a majority from Lower Canada. John A. Mac- 
 donald and George Etienne Cartier were prominent leaders of the 
 Conservative party ; George Brown, William McDougall and A. A. 
 Dorion the principal advocates of "Representation by Population" 
 and the Reform policy. Several administrations were defeated in 
 the years between 1858 and 1864, and finally it became evident 
 some change in the constitution must take place if good government 
 was to continue. 
 
 10. Steps towards Confederation. In 1864 a dead-lock of 
 political parties was reached, and the leaders of both sides recog- 
 nizing the danger, dropped their feuds, and united to form a Coali- 
 tion Government, which had for its object the Confederation of the 
 Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and, if possible, also those 
 of the Maritime Provinces. The principle of this Confederation
 
 GROWTH OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 255 
 
 was suggested by the form of Government in the adjoining Re- 
 public ; the object aimed at being to give the several Provinces the 
 control of their own local affairs, matters of general interest to be 
 managed by a common parliament in which all the provinces would 
 be represented. Several things helped along the movement. In 
 1860 George Brown had proposed in Parliament the principle of 
 such a scheme, but his resolution was lost by a large majority. 
 The country was not then ready for its adoption. But when, in 
 1864, circumstances forced the policy on both parties, it was found 
 that not only Canada but the Maritime Provinces were discussing 
 Confederation. A Conference or gathering of delegates from these 
 provinces was called to meet in September at Charlottetown, in 
 Prince Edward Island, to arrange for a union, and the Canadian 
 Government asked and received permission to send delegates. At 
 this gathering the Confederation of all the Provinces was seriously 
 discussed. It was decided to call another Conference at Quebec in 
 November, and to invite all the provinces to be present througli 
 their delegates. The Conference met, and after much deliberation, 
 the outlines of a scheme of Confederation were approved of by 
 Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. 
 Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland had withdrawn from the 
 Conference, the terms proposed not being agreeable to them. The 
 delegates separated to report to their respective Parliaments, which 
 soon after, in 1865, agreed to the scheme and made the necessary 
 arrangements to get the consent of the British Parliament. In 
 1866, delegates from the different provinces met in London to draft 
 a Bill for submission to the Imperial Parliament. This Bill was 
 finally passed on the 28th February 1867, and under the name 
 of the British North America Act, is the law which defines our 
 present constitution. It came into force on the 1st of July, 1867. 
 But its passage was not satisfactory to all the provinces. Nova 
 Scotia was brought into Confederation against its will its Govern- 
 ment having accepted the terms without asking the consent of the 
 people. Remonstrances and petitions were sent to the British 
 Parliament : but they were of no avail The British Government 
 thought that the discontent would soon die away, and that the 
 British possessions in America would be safer and stronger under 
 Confederation, against possible attacks from the United States, 
 than existing as colonies independent of each other.
 
 256 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 11. Minor Events of Importance. Before giving the terms of 
 this Confederation Act, we must notice some things of less import- 
 ance, which had taken place while Canada was working out her 
 future form of government. In 1854 our Volunteer system was 
 introduced. Before this the Militia had very little drill, and 
 when danger threatened the country, its defence for a time, de- 
 pended upon the few regular troops stationed in Canada. Now the 
 young men were encouraged to volunteer and form companies and 
 regiments under their own officers, so that, should an invasion be 
 attempted, there would always be thousands of active men, with 
 some knowledge of drill, ready to resist. In 1858 Bytown or 
 Ottawa, on the Ottawa river, became the fixed place for Parliament 
 to meet. This site was chosen by the Queen, and its choice gave 
 rise to much dissatisfaction on the part of the larger cities. More 
 important to the welfare of the country was the introduction in 
 1858 of decimal currency, whereby we began to reckon in dollars 
 and cents instead of in pounds, shillings and pence ; and the com- 
 pletion of a long bridge across the St. Lawrence at Montreal, which 
 was opened by the Prince of Wales in the summer of 1860, undei 
 the name of the Victoria Bridge. 
 
 In 1861, a civil war began in the United States between the 
 Northern and Southern States, and lasted for four years. It affected 
 Canada in many ways. For a time it made good prices for nearly all 
 the Canadian farmer had to sell, raised the wages of mechanics, and 
 gave good profits to the merchants. On the other hand, there was 
 a serious danger of a war between England and the North, arising 
 out of the sympathy and secret help the people of England gave 
 the South. Many Canadians crossed the frontier to fight in the 
 armies of the North, and many Southerners took refuge in Canada, 
 some of whom made raids across the border into the villages and 
 towns of the North. These raids created a bad feeling towards 
 Canada, so that when the war was over and the Reciprocity Treaty 
 expired in 1866, the United States Government refused to renew it. 
 Canada also suffered from the ill-will of the American Government 
 in another way. On the 1st of June, a body of ruffians called 
 Fenians, and belonging to a secret society having for its object the 
 separation of Ireland from Great Britain, crossed the frontier at 
 Black Rock, took possession of the ruins of old Fort Erie, and 
 threatened the Niagara peninsula. A number of Volunteers from
 
 NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWTC'K. 257 
 
 Toronto and Hamilton were at once sent to join some regular 
 troops, under Colonel Peacock, at Chippewa, but before they could 
 accomplish this they met the raiders at Ridgeway, and, in a badly 
 managed skirmish, were driven back with several killed and 
 wounded. Soon after, Colonel Peacock with the regulars arrived, 
 and the Fenians recrossed to the American side, leaving a few 
 stragglers behind, some of whom were captured, tried, and con- 
 demned to death. Their sentences, through the clemency of the 
 Crown, were changed to imprisonment in the Penitentiary. At- 
 tacks were also threatened at Prescott, St. Albans and other points 
 on the border, but the watchfulness of the Canadian volunteers 
 prevented any serious attempts being made to invade the country. 
 After a long delay the American authorities put a stop to these 
 raids, which, had the feeling of the United States towards Canada 
 been more friendly, might never have taken place. In one way 
 these attacks did good. They made the British Provinces feel the 
 need of a closer union, and this, doubtless, hastened the formation 
 of Confederation. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 1. Nova Scotia. We have now to trace the history of a new and 
 larger Canada. Henceforth it is the Dominion of Canada about 
 which we must speak. We must, also, drop the old names Upper 
 Canada and Lower Canada, and use instead for these provinces the 
 new names, Ontario and Quebec. For when Nova Scotia and New 
 Brunswick joined in the Confederation, it was decided, to prevent 
 confusion, to change the names of the provinces of Old Canada. 
 In many respects the history of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 
 is very similar to that of Upper and Lower Canada. As in Lower 
 Canada, the first settlers of Nova Scotia were French, the first 
 settlement being made by De Monts, in 1605, at Port Royal (now 
 Annapolis), a little earlier than that at Quebec by Champlain. The 
 
 Cabots, it is said, first discovered the country, and on that ground 
 17
 
 258 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 Nova Scotia was claimed as an English possession. The little 
 colony of Port Royal did not prosper, and in 1614 an English 
 expedition from Virginia took the fort, destroyed it, and then 
 sailed away. At that time the province was called Acadia, and 
 included the present provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 
 but in 1624 it was given by England to Sir William Alexander, and 
 he named it Nova Scotia. Between 1624 and 1713 Port Royal 
 changed ownership many times, belonging alternately to the Eng-_ 
 lish and the French until the treaty of Utrecht, when it passed 
 finally into the possession of the English. 
 
 At this time its name was changed to Annapolis, in honor of the 
 English Queen Anne. Not only Port Royal, but all Acadia was 
 by this treaty given to the English. English settlers slowly found 
 their way to the Province, and the city of Halifax was founded in 
 1749. But the French inhabitants and the Micmac Indians were 
 not satisfied with the change qf ownership, and plots against British 
 rule were entered into between the French inside and the 
 French outside the Province. All efforts to get the Acadians 
 to take the oath of allegiance to the British king failed, and 
 as the English settlements in the Province were in constant 
 danger of attacks from the neighboring French and their Indian 
 allies, it was decided to remove the Acadians from their homes and 
 carry them to a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. 
 This severe sentence was carried out in 1755. The sad story of 
 the Expulsion of the Acadians is told in the beautiful and pathetic 
 poem "Evangeline," by Longfellow. The constant fear of attacks 
 from the French was removed when, in 1758, the strong fortress 
 of Louisburg, in Cape Breton, was captured by Wolfe. The 
 conquest of Canada and the Peace of Paris followed, and Nova 
 Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island were surren 
 dered to the British. Until 1784, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 
 Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton formed one Province. 
 Then New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cap-a Breton 
 became separate Provinces, but the last named was again joined to 
 Nova Scotia in 1819. A Constitution was given :/c Nova Scotia in 
 1758, so that it had representative institutions many years before 
 Lower Canada. It was to be governed by a joii : Executive and 
 Legislative Council, appointed by the Crown, and oy an Assembly 
 elected by the people. This form, of Government did not succeed
 
 259 
 
 much better than the similar form in the two Canadas, and for the 
 same reason. 
 
 The Revolutionary war of the United States caused some discon- 
 tent and excitement in the province, and efforts were made to turn 
 the people over to the side of the revolting colonies ; but without 
 success. After the war many U. E. Loyalists settled in Nova 
 Scotia ; and soon the new settlers began to agitate for a more just 
 and liberal form of government. The agitation was carried on in 
 much the same fashion as in Upper Canada, but it did not lead to re- 
 bellion. The same abuses existed as in Upper and Lower Canada, 
 and after a severe political struggle, in which Joseph Howe played 
 an important part, Responsible Government was granted in 1848. 
 Nova Scotia had made considerable progress by this time; her 
 fisheries, forests, mines, and fertile lands being sources of wealth. 
 Her inhabitants were remarkably strong, vigorous and intelligent 
 people, many of them being of U. E. Loyalist and Scotch descent. 
 Her schools and colleges were generously supported by the Govern- 
 ment, and education, before Confederation, had become practically 
 free to all her people. Of her colleges, King's, Windsor, was 
 founded in 1788, and Dalhousie, Halifax, in 1820. 
 
 Railways were gradually introduced, but not to the same extent 
 as in Upper Canada ; and an Intercolonial Railway between the 
 different British Provinces of North America had often been sug- 
 gested. This, in brief, was the state of affairs when Nova Scotia 
 through her delegates at the Quebec Conference consented to be- 
 come part of the Dominion of Canada. These delegates, however, 
 did not represent the opinions of the people of Nova Scotia, and a 
 bitter agitation against Confederation began under the old Reform 
 leader, Joseph Howe. In vain the Province, through its Assembly, 
 petitioned against the Union, and sent Howe to England to oppose 
 the passage of the British North America Act. The British Gov- 
 ernment would not listen to the appeal, and Nova Scotia entered 
 Confederation in much the same fashion as old Scotia entered the 
 Union with England over one hundred and fifty years before. Let 
 us hope that our Confederation may have the same happy results as 
 the Union of 1707. 
 
 2. New Brunswick. Until 1784 New Brunswick was a part of 
 Nova Scotia, and its history to that time is therefore the history of
 
 260 
 
 Nova Scotia. Its earliest settlements were at the mouth of the St. 
 John River, and, like the settlements at Port Royal, were made by 
 the French. After the American Revolutionary War, thousands of 
 United Empire Loyalists settled in the province ; many of them in 
 the neighbourhood of the present city of St. John. Thesse new 
 settlers were dissatisfied because they were not given fair repre- 
 sentation in the Legislative Assembly, and petitioned to have a new 
 province formed independent of Nova Scotia. In 1784 the Horn** 
 Government granted their petition, and the result was the forma- 
 tion of the present province of New Brunswick, with a government 
 similar to that of Nova Scotia. Fredericton became its capital, al- 
 though its chief town was St. John. The people of this province 
 did not pay the same attention to farming as the settlers of the 
 other provinces, because the very valuable timber and fisheries of 
 the country made it more profitable to engage in lumbering and 
 fishing than in tilling the soil. In 1809, Britain laid a tax on tim- 
 ber brought from the Baltic, and in this way encouraged the timber 
 trade of New Brunswick. 
 
 Its ports became noted not only for their timber trade, but also 
 for ship-building. After the war of 1812-14, many disband- 
 ed soldiers settled in the province, and, as in Upper Canada, 
 received liberal grants of land. But a serious disaster in 
 1825, checked the prosperity of the province. The summer 
 of this year was very hot and dry, and bush fires raged 
 fiercely. On the 7th of October, a terrible wave of fire swept 
 over the country, from Miramichi to the Bay of Chaleurs. 
 Five thousand square miles of forest and farm, village and town, 
 were made desolate, and hundreds of lives were lost. The political 
 atmosphere, too, was troubled for many years. The struggle for 
 Responsible Government took place in this province as elsewhere in 
 British America, and New Brunswick had its Family Compact as 
 well as Upper Canada. But, unlike Upper Canada, its rights were 
 won without rebellion and bloodshed. In 1837, the control of the 
 revenue was given to the Assembly, and in 1848, responsible 
 government was fully conceded. In these struggles for freedom to 
 manage its own affairs, Lemuel Allan Wilmot took a prominent 
 part as a champion of the people. The dispute about the boundary 
 line between Maine and New Brunswick kept the province in a 
 state of alarm and uncertainty for years ; and at one time it was
 
 CANADA SiNCE CONFEDERATION. 261 
 
 feared that the quarrels along the border for possession of the 
 disputed territory would lead to war. The Ashburton Treaty, in 
 1842, resulted, as we have seen, in taking away from New Brunswick 
 a large territory which rightfully belonged to it. In the twenty 
 years before Confederation, by means of railways and steamboats, 
 great progress was made in opening up the country ; in extending 
 the trade of the province, although the timber trade was threatened 
 with injury by the removal of the duties from timber exported 
 from the Baltic to England ; and in improving the educational 
 system of the province. Good public schools were established ; and 
 among other colleges, the University of Fredericton and Mt. 
 Allison College at Sackville, were founded. The former is a state 
 college, the latter is connected with the Methodist denomination. 
 
 The story of the Union with the other provinces has already 
 been told. As in Nova Scotia there was strong opposition to Con- 
 federation, and in the first election held after the Quebec Confer- 
 ence, the Confederation party was badly beaten at the polls. For 
 a time it seemed as if New Brunswick would refuse to proceed 
 any further with the scheme, but the Home Government was 
 anxious for Confederation, as also were the Governor and the 
 Legislative Council. These influences, aided by the alarm caused 
 by the Fenian invasion, helped to bring about a change in the 
 popular feeling, and another election being held the Confedera- 
 tion party was successful. U nion resolutions were now passed, and 
 delegates sent to London to aid in framing the British North 
 America Act. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 1. The British North America Act. We must now give the 
 terms on which the four Provinces, Ontario, Quebec, Nova 
 Scotia, and New Brunswick, agreed to share a common lot. The 
 principle of their union was that each Province should manage 
 its own local affairs, and leave to the Dominion the control of
 
 262 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 matters which were of common benefit and interest, ^o carry out 
 this principle it was necessary to have local Legislatures or Parlia- 
 ments, as well as a general or Dominion Parliament. This part of 
 the scheme was suggested by, if not borrowed from, the system of 
 government existing in the United States. But in several very 
 important respects the United States model was not copied. Per- 
 haps the most important difference was the retention of Cabinet or 
 Responsible Government in the management of all our affairs, 
 whether belonging to the Dominion or to the Provinces. Again, 
 in the United States each State is free to make its own laws, so 
 long as it does not go beyond the bounds of the Constitution ; but 
 in Canada it was agreed that the Governor-General, on the advice 
 of his Ministers, should have the power to veto, or forbid from 
 becoming law, any measure passed by the local Parliaments, if 
 these measures were thought to be hurtful to the general welfare 
 of the Dominion. The Provinces were given the control of many 
 matters such as education ; the appointment of courts of justice 
 (but not of the judges) ; the management of Crown lands within the 
 Province ; asylums and jails ; the regulation of the sale of intoxicat- 
 ing liquors ; and the general power of enforcing the laws. They were 
 permitted to raise a revenue by direct but not by indirect taxation ; 
 that is, they could impose such taxes as were paid only by the peo- 
 ple on whom they were placed, but not such taxes as duties on 
 goods coming in or going out of the country, which are called 
 Customs, or taxes on articles made in the country, which we call 
 Excise. Custom and Excise duties are supposed to be paid eventu- 
 ally by the people who buy the goods and use them, and not by the 
 seller or manufacturer. One of the important benefits expected to 
 come from Confederation was the removal of the barriers prevent- 
 ing the different Provinces from trading with each other. To 
 make it impossible for one Province to tax the goods coming into 
 it from another Province, the Dominion Parliament was given the 
 sole right of raising a revenue by Customs or Excise duties. This, 
 however, would make it very difficult for the Provinces to collect 
 money enough to defray their expenses ; therefore it was arranged 
 that the Dominion should pay the Provinces annually a large sum 
 out of its revenue, in return for the right to collect these dutiea 
 Besides this right of indirect taxation the Dominion kept the con- 
 trol of the Militia, the Post-office, the currency, the penitentiaries,
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 263 
 
 the appointment of judges, the construction and management of the 
 more important public works, and the control of all Crown lands 
 not belonging to any of the Provinces. To carry out this scheme it 
 was necessary to have a good deal of political machinery ; so each 
 Province was given a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the 
 Governor-General of the Dominion for a term of years, a Legis- 
 lature elected by the people for four years, and, if the Province 
 wished it, a Legislative Council or Senate. Of the four Provinces 
 Ontario M'as the only one that felt content to do without a Legis- 
 lative Council. In each Province there was to be an Executive 
 Council, or Ministry, responsible to the people through their repre- 
 sentatives in the Legislature. The Dominion Parliament was to 
 have, as its head, a Governor-General, appointed by the Crown ; a 
 Senate, composed of members from the different Provinces, and 
 appointed by the Governor-General for life, and a House of Com- 
 mons elected by the people. Each Province was given a certain 
 number of senators, Ontario being given twenty-four, Quebec 
 twenty-four, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick twenty-four ; in all, 
 seventy-two. The number of members of the House of Commons, 
 at the outset was to be one hundred and eighty-one, of which 
 Quebec sent sixty-five, Ontario eighty-two, Nova Scotia nineteen, 
 and New Brunswick fifteen. A census was to be taken every ten 
 years, and the number of members given to each Province was to 
 be regulated by the population ; Quebec to send sixty-five, and the 
 other Provinces in proportion to their population. In this way the 
 problem of " Representation by Population " was solved. The 
 real government of the Dominion was to be in the hands of an 
 Executive Council, chosen by the Governor-General from the politi- 
 cal party having a majority in the House of Commons, and was to 
 consist, at first, of thirteen members. The Governor-General 
 oould reserve any law passed by the Dominion Parliament for the 
 sanction of the Home Government; and, on the advice of his 
 Council, could, within a year from the time of its passing, veto any 
 bill passed by a local Parliament. This power of veto was given 
 because it was feared that the Provinces might pass laws injurious 
 to the Dominion as a whole, or hurtful to the rights of some of the 
 people in them. Having settled the terms of the political partner- 
 ship, it was thought that there would be a closer union if a railroad 
 were built between the Maritime Provinces and Quebec. It was,
 
 264 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 therefore, agreed that the long-talked-of Intercolonial Railway 
 should be constructed from Halifax to Quebec, the British Govern- 
 raent to give its aid in carrying out the costly scheme. 
 
 2. New Provinces. The principal events of our history since 
 confederation must now be told very briefly, for this part of our 
 history is so recent, that we cannot say, yet, which of its events are 
 the most important, or whether some things that have taken place 
 since confederation are for the good of Canada, or not. 
 
 The first Governor-General of the Dominion was Lord Monck, 
 and his Prime Minister was Sir John A. Macdonald, who had taken 
 a leading part along with the Hon. George Brown in carrying 
 through the Confederation scheme. His principal colleagues were 
 Sir George E. Cartier from Quebec, the Hon. Charles Tupper from 
 Nova Scotia, and the Hon. S. L. Tilley from New Brunswick. 
 The first Prime Minister of Ontario was the Hon John Sandfield 
 Macdonald, the Lieutenant-Governor being the Hon. William P. 
 Howland. The majority of the people of the Dominion were 
 content to give the new constitution a fair trial, except the people 
 of Nova Scotia. In the first parliament elected after the union, the 
 members from that province were nearly all opposed to confedera- 
 tion, and had to be quieted by the grant of ''better terms." 
 
 In 1868, steps were taken to get possession of the vast territory 
 held by the Hudson Bay Company in the North- West. This 
 territory, known as "Prince Rupert's Land," had been given to the 
 Hudson Bay Company in 1WO by King Charles II. of England, 
 and had been used by it, for two hundred years, to carry on a pro- 
 fitable trade in furs. The value of this territory was but little 
 known, and the Company fearful of losing its charter always strove 
 to make the English people believe that it was fit for nothing ex- 
 cept grazing buffaloes, and providing trapping grounds for Indians. 
 A very few settlers had made their way into this unknown and lone 
 land the only settlement of importance being at Red River, where 
 Lord Selkirk had founded a colony in 1811. The whole population 
 numbered but ten thousand souls, and was gathered mainly at the 
 different trading posts. 
 
 The charter of the Company was expiring, and the Canadian Gov- 
 ernment induced the British Parliament to pass an Act by which 
 the North-West or Hudson Bay Territory could be surrendered to
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 265 
 
 Canada, on payment of the just claims of the Company. Canada 
 offered to give the Company three hundred thousand pounds 
 sterling, one twentieth of the land, and the right to retain their 
 trading privileges. The offer was accepted. Unfortunately, little 
 thought was given to the small settlement of French and half-breeds 
 on the Red River when taking possession of the country and mak- 
 ing provision for its future government. Surveyors were set to 
 work near Fort Garry at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine 
 rivers, and the inhabitants became alarmed lest their lots and 
 homes should be taken from them. The necessary steps were not 
 taken to quiet their fears, and when Hon. Win. McDougall en- 
 deavoured to enter the new Province of Manitoba, as its Governor, 
 he found his way barred by an armed force. The chief leaders of 
 the revolt were Louis Riel, a Frenchman, with some Indian blood 
 in his veins, and M. Lepine. A Provisional Government was form- 
 ed by these men, and they made prisoners of all who were supposed 
 to be in sympathy with the Canadian Government. Among others 
 thus seized was Thomas Scott, a brave, outspoken, loyal subject. 
 For some reason or other Riel had taken a strong personal dislike 
 to Scott, and, after giving him the form of a trial, had him 
 sentenced to be shot. The sentence was carried out under circum- 
 stances of great brutality, in March, 1870. When the news 
 reached Ontario there was great excitement, and when, a few 
 months after, volunteers were called for, to go with General Wolse- 
 ley to crush the rebellion, thousands of young men offered their 
 services. Only the best fitted to endure hardship were chosen, and 
 when, after a long and trying march over what was known as the 
 Dawson Road, they reached Fort Garry, they found the rebels scat- 
 tered and everything quiet. 
 
 Many of these volunteers received grants of land in the new 
 province and became permanent settlers. Soon there began to rise 
 at Fort Garry a prairie city which, to-day, is the fine flourishing 
 capital of the Province of Manitoba the city of Winnipeg. In 
 1870 the "Manitoba Act" was passed. It defined the limits of the 
 Province of Manitoba, and stated how it was to be governed. Its 
 form of government is very :nuch the same as that of Ontario ; and, 
 like Ontario, it decided to do without a "Second Chamber" or 
 Legislative Council. It was given the right to send four members 
 to the House of Commons, and was allotted two senators. The
 
 266 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 next year saw the admission of another province to the Confedera- 
 tion. This was British Columbia on the Pacific Coast, which, 
 separated from the rest of the Dominion by the Rocky Mountains, 
 made it a condition of becoming a part of the Dominion that a rail- 
 way should be constructed across the prairies and through the 
 Rocky Mountains, so as to connect British Columbia with the 
 Eastern provinces. Although the population of this new province 
 was very small, it was given six members in the House of Commons 
 and three in the Senate. 
 
 Two years after, still another province was added to the growing 
 Dominion. Prince Edward Island, which in 1866 refused to be- 
 come a part of the Confederation, was now willing to cast in its lot 
 with the other provinces. This little island, with its hardy and 
 intelligent population, formerly belonged to Nova Scotia ; but in 
 1784 it received a separate government. Its history before 1873 
 was much the same as that of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 
 except that it had trouble in connection with the way its land had 
 been parcelled out to a number of men called "proprietors," who 
 did not live on the island, and yet refused to give up their claims 
 to those who were the actual tillers of the soil. The Legislative 
 Council of Prince Edward Island was elective ; in this respect it 
 differed from the other provinces. On entering Confederation it 
 was given six members in the House of Commons and four in the 
 Senate. No new territory has since been added to the Dominion ; 
 but the North- West has been divided into districts, and given a form 
 of government, consisting of a Lieutenant-Governor and Council, 
 in which the people have a slight control over their own local 
 affairs. They have also been given representation in the House of 
 Commons four members at present being returned from the four 
 districts, Assiniboia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Athabasca. 
 
 3. Political Changes. The party struggles that embittered the 
 politics of Canada before Confederation were dropped for a short 
 time after the Union of the provinces, only to be renewed with 
 almost equal intensity at the general election of 1872. The 
 Government of Sir John A. Macdonald had aroused strong opposi- 
 tion by its share in the Washington Treaty, and its mode of dealing 
 with the proposed Pacific railway. Several points were in dispute 
 between England and the United States, and between the United
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 267 
 
 States and Canada. During the Civil War between the North and 
 South the English authorities had carelessly allowed some vessels, 
 fitted out in British ports, to escape to sea, where they were used by 
 the South to attack and plunder the merchant vessels of the North. 
 The most notorious of these vessels was the "Alabama," which 
 did a great deal of harm to the shipping of the North. After the 
 war was over, the United States claimed damages for injuries caused 
 by this vessel, and the matter was left for peaceable settlement to 
 a "Joint High Commission" of which Sir John A. Macdonald was a 
 member. Canada was greatly interested in this Commission, for she 
 had claims against the United States for injuries inflicted by the 
 Fenians. Besides, the ownership of San Juan, an island on the 
 Pacific coast, and the boundary line between Canada and Alaska 
 were in dispute. The Americans, too, were anxious, now that the 
 Reciprocity Treaty was no longer in force, to get fishing privileges 
 in Canadian waters. The Commission met, in 1871, at Washington, 
 and agreed to submit the Alabama Claims to arbitration, the result 
 being that the United States received $15,500,000 for the supposed 
 injuries inflicted by the Alabama on her commerce. The claims of 
 Canada for damages on account of the Fenian raids were not even 
 considered ; but England, as a slight compensation, agreed to 
 guarantee for Canada a loan of 2,500,000. 
 
 The dispute about the island of San Juan was left to the Emperor 
 of Germany for his decision, which was given the next year in favor 
 of the United States. The Treaty also gave the United States the 
 use of Canadian fisheries for twelve years, in return for the use of 
 their fisheries, and the right to sell fish and fish-oil in United States 
 markets. As this was not considered enough for the use of 
 the valuable Canadian fisheries, a commission was to meet at 
 Halifax later on and decide what sum of money should be paid the 
 Dominion by the United States as an equivalent. This Halifax 
 Commission met in 1878, during the Mackenzie Administration, 
 and awarded $5,500,000 to Canada ; the success of this negotia- 
 tion being due largely to the fact that it was conducted on behalf 
 of Canada by Canadians ; Sir Alexander Gait being the principal 
 Canadian representative. 
 
 The other cause of political feeling, the building of the Pacific 
 Railway, arose out of the agreement with British Columbia, when 
 that province entered Confederation, that an all-rail route should
 
 268 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 be built in ten years from Ontario to the Pacific. Many thought 
 such a bargain could not be carried out, that the time was too 
 short, and the cost too great. The elections of 1872 were fought 
 mainly on this issue, and resulted in a majority for the government. 
 The next year Mr. Huntington, the member of Parliament for 
 Shefford, made a formal charge in Parliament that the government 
 had agreed to give a charter to Sir Hugh Allan to build the Pacific 
 Railway, in return for large sums of money to carry the elections. 
 The charge, and the publication of certain letters bearing upon this 
 alleged corrupt bargain, caused great excitement in the Dominion, 
 and after a fierce struggle in Parliament, the government resigned. 
 
 The Governor-General, Lord Dufferin, called on the Hon. 
 Alexander Mackenzie, the leader of the Liberal Party, to form a 
 government. Mr. Mackenzie accepted the trust, and after forming 
 a ministry, of which the principal members were the Hon. Edward 
 Blake from Ontario and the Hon. A. A. Dorion from Quebec, 
 asked for a new election. This took place in January, 1874, and 
 resulted in giving a veiy large majority to the new government. 
 Mr. Mackenzie continued in office till 1878, when his government 
 was defeated on the question of a trade policy for the country. 
 There was a general commercial depression at this time and Canada, 
 with other countries, felt the pinch of hard times. A great many 
 thought that the industries of the country would be benefited if 
 the tariff was raised and foreign goods competing with Canadian 
 products kept out. This policy of "protection" was opposed by 
 the Mackenzie Government, but, when the elections took place 
 in September, 1878, it was found that the doctrines of the 
 " National Policy " were very popular, and, in consequence, Sir 
 John A. Macdonald, who had advocated them, was once more 
 called to be Prime Minister of Canada. That position he held till 
 his death, which took place June 6th, 1891. He was succeeded in 
 the Premiership by Hon. J. J. C. Abbott, who at the time of 
 writing holds the office. 
 
 4. Important Laws. Amid all this strife many measures be- 
 came law, some, at least, of which will likely remain for years on 
 the Statute-book. In 1874, during the Mackenzie Administration, 
 a Ballot Act was passed, which provided for secret voting by ballot, 
 instead of "open voting." This reform was introduced to prevent
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 269 
 
 bribery and intimidation, which was very common under the old 
 system of " open voting." It is very doubtful whether the Act has 
 had all the effect on bribery it was expected to have. Another and 
 a later law bearing on elections was the Dominion Franchise Act, 
 which made the right to vote for members of the Dominion Parlia- 
 ment the same throughout the Dominion. Previous to this act the 
 franchises for the Dominion elections were the same as the franchise 
 in the several Provinces. This Act was passed in 1885, and besides 
 making the franchise uniform, it greatly increased the number of 
 voters, so much so, that now nearly every man twenty-one years of 
 age, and over, has a vote. Before this was passed another measure 
 which created a great deal of ill-feeling, became law. This was the 
 Redistribution Bill of 1882, which seriously changed the boundaries 
 of nearly every constituency in Ontario, for the purpose, it was said 
 by the Government, of equalizing the number of electors in the 
 different constituencies. The Liberals complained that the change 
 was made so as to give their Conservative opponents an unfair 
 advantage in the coming elections. 
 
 Among other political measures since Confederation we must 
 notice the increase in the number of representatives in Parliament 
 there being now ninety-two from Ontario, sixty-five from Quebec, 
 sixteen from New Brunswick, twenty-one from Nova Scotia, six 
 from Prince Edward Island, five from Manitoba, six from British 
 Columbia, and four from the North-West Territories. A Supreme 
 Court of Appeal was established in 1875, to avoid the expense of 
 taking appeals from Canada to the British Privy Council ; although 
 appeals are yet allowed to the Privy Council, and are frequently 
 taken there. Then again, in 1879, a new tariff was framed, which 
 greatly increased the duties on foreign goods ; and although every 
 session changes are made, yet they are generally arranged for the 
 purpose of " protecting native industries." 
 
 5. Provincial Legislation. Though many important laws have 
 been passed by the Dominion Parliament, equally important 
 measures have been enacted by the Provincial Legislatures. These 
 laws deal with a great many subjects, such as education ; the regu- 
 lation of the liquor traffic ; aid to railways ; the establishment of 
 asylums for the deaf, dumb, blind, and insane ; the better manage- 
 ment of prisons ; the sale of timber limits ; mining regulations ;
 
 270 HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 and improvements in our municipal laws. In Ontario, under the 
 long administration of Hon. Oliver Mowat which began in 1872, 
 two very important laws have been passed one dealing satis- 
 factorily with the indebtedness of municipalities to the Municipal 
 Loan Fund, and the other, with the regulation of the liquor 
 traffic. The latter, popularly known as the Crooks' Act (so 
 called from the Hon. Adam Crooks, its framer), has done a 
 great deal to lessen drunkenness, vice, and crime. Then again, the 
 franchise has been greatly extended in the different provinces, 
 and voting by ballot, except for school trustees, has been made 
 compulsory. Unmarried women and widows in Ontario, with 
 the necessary property qualifications, have been given the right to 
 vote in municipal elections, but not in elections for members of 
 either the Provincial or Dominion Parliament. In Prince Edward 
 Island the difficulty with the "proprietors" has been settled in the 
 interests of the people. Quebec has, by the payment of four 
 hundred thousand dollars, disposed of the "Jesuit Estates "question, 
 while Manitoba has secured the right to build railways within her 
 borders. Ontario has had several legal conflicts with the Dominion 
 as to her proper boundaries, her right to regulate the liquor traffic, 
 and her right to control the Crown lands in her territory, all of 
 which questions have been decided by the British Privy Council in 
 favor of the Province. The exercise of the right to veto provincial 
 laws has caused some friction between the Provinces and the Do- 
 minion ; but the wise decisions of the British Privy Council have 
 led to a strong feeling in the Dominion against interfering with 
 provincial legislation. To avoid any undue influence being exer- 
 cised by the Dominion over the Provinces, members of the Domin- 
 ion Parliament are not allowed to be members of Provincial 
 Legislatures. 
 
 6. The North-West Rebellion. One painful incident in our 
 history must now be told. In 1885 a number of French Half- 
 breeds, who had settled on the Saskatchewan River, in the North- 
 West, rose in revolt against the Dominion, and induced several 
 Indian tribes to join them. The cause of this rebellion was the 
 fear these people had that their lands were to be taken from them 
 and given to the incoming settlers. Surveyors had been sent among 
 them, and this excited fears, which were not regarded until it was 
 too late to prevent mischief. There were also complaints of ill-
 
 CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. 27 1 
 
 treatment and neglect of duty by Dominion officers in the North- 
 West, and the petitions of the half-breedo and Indiana did not 
 receive prompt attention from the proper authorities. The result 
 was that the excited half-breeds sent for Louis Riel, who was living 
 in the United States, to advise and lead them. One false step led 
 to another, until the discontent broke out in an attack, led by 
 Gabriel Dumont, on some armed Police and volunteers at Duck 
 Lake, in March, 1885. Several of the volunteers were killed, and 
 open rebellion spread over a wide district, a number of Indian 
 chiefs with their followers joining in the revolt. A large force of 
 volunteers, under General Middleton, was sent in the depth of 
 winter from Quebec and Ontario to crush the rebellion. Aided by 
 the Mounted Police, and the volunteers of Manitoba and the North- 
 West, the rising was speedily brought to an end, the last important 
 and decisive engagement taking place at Batoche, where Riel was 
 captured. Many lives were lost in the campaign, and great hard- 
 ships were endured by the volunteers, half-breeds, and settlers, 
 before this needless outbreak was suppressed. Riel and several 
 Indians were tried for treason and murder ; some, among whom 
 was Riel, were executed, the remainder being either imprisoned or 
 pardoned. The execution of Riel caused great excitement in Que- 
 bec, where considerable sympathy was felt for the people he so 
 sadly led astray. The rebellion had its uses for an inquiry was 
 made into the grievances of the Indians and half-breeds, and many 
 of the causes of complaint removed. 
 
 7. Material Progress. Since Confederation there has been a 
 marked change in the material condition of the country. Railways 
 now reach nearly every part of the older Provinces, whilst the ter- 
 ritories in the North- West and British Columbia have been con- 
 nected with the great world of trade by the Canadian Pacific 
 Railway. This great enterprise was completed in 1886, the first sod 
 being turned in May, 1881. A portion of the road had been 
 partly built by the Mackenzie Government ; but after that Govern- 
 ment was defeated the contract was given to a strong company 
 of capitalists, the chief members of which are Canadians, the com- 
 pany agreeing to build the road for a subsidy of $25,000,000, and 
 25,000,000 acres of land in the fertile districts of the North-West. 
 The company lias shown great energy and ability, so that the Cana-
 
 272 v HISTORY OF CANADA. 
 
 dian Pacific Railway, with its numerous branches, its large traffic 
 and its connecting steamships on the lakes and on the Pacific, is 
 now one of the most important lines in the world. Then again, the 
 Grand Trunk has gradually obtained the control of many lines 
 formerly independent, the most important being the Great Western 
 and its connections. These two companies the Canadian Pacific 
 and the Grand Trunk now control nearly all the roads in Canada, 
 except the Intercolonial, which was built by the Government, at a 
 great cost, to connect the Western provinces with those down by 
 the sea. 
 
 Canals, too, have been deepened, widened, and straightened ; 
 the new Welland Canal, constructed by the Mackenzie Govern- 
 ment, being a very important public work. Great harbour works 
 have been undertaken and built, and lake and ocean vessels have 
 been wonderfully improved, although Canada has as yet no line of 
 fast steamships crossing the Atlantic. In all our cities and larger 
 towns Street Railways are to be found ; while electric lighting, 
 and machinery worked by electricity are among recent industrial 
 changes. 
 
 Turning to the farms of Canada, we find that the most fertile 
 portions of Ontario and Quebec have been cleared and tilled, and 
 that thousands of the farmers of the older Provinces are finding 
 their way to the rich prairies of Manitoba and the North- West, 
 where the forests are few and the soil easily brought into cultiva- 
 tion. Large towns and villages now dot the face of Ontario, while 
 the two cities of Montreal and Toronto are rapidly increasing their 
 population, wealth, and trade. The population of Canada has 
 increased until it is now estimated at five millions, and of this 
 Ontario is thought to have two millions. This is a part of the 
 bright side of our material condition. Against it we have to place 
 the tendency of so many of our young men to leave Canada for a 
 home in the United States ; the increasing difficulty our farmers 
 experience to make fanning pay ; and the want of a large foreign 
 market for our manufactures. 
 
 8. Literary and Social Progress. Perhaps it is because the 
 energies of the Canadian people have been directed so largely 
 towards overcoming the difficulties met with in settling a new 
 country, that we have so few great writers of prose or verse. Our
 
 CANADA SINCE CON FEDERATION. 273 
 
 Public and High Schools are efficient, and our Universities with 
 their too small endowments, are doing a good work ; yet, of native 
 Canadian authors, there are none who rank with the great writers 
 of the Mother Country. Nevertheless, there are many good writers 
 of verse, some clever journalists and essayists, and not a few 
 historians who have done good and faithful work. Every year the 
 number of those who seek literary and scientific fame is increasing, 
 and with greater wealth and leisure, the growth of higher and 
 nobler ideals, and the development of a stronger national sentiment, 
 Canada may hope yet to have among her sons and daughters, 
 worthy rivajs of Shakespeare, Milton, Macaulay, Scott and George 
 Eliot. The love and practice of art in its various forms is also 
 becoming more and more apparent ; Canadian artists already having 
 won fame and distinction in song and painting. With the increase 
 of education, wealth, leisure, and foreign travel, there has bfc<m a 
 marked change in the customs and health of the people. Social 
 refinement and luxury have in recent years greatly increased, and 
 a type of character is being gradually developed which is distinctly 
 national. With her magnificent resources of soil, forest and mine ; 
 her strong, hardy, intelligent, and vigorous people ; her relatively 
 pure, simple, and healthy domestic life ; her free systems of 
 education ; ana her excellent form of government, Canada certainly 
 possesses the promise and potency of a great nation.
 
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