character of the new king—position of the ministry—discussion in the lords on a regency—brougham's speech in the commons—the king in london—brougham's slavery speech—the dissolution—sketch of the july revolution—its effects in england—the elections—their results in england and ireland—death of huskisson—disturbances in england—the king's speech—declarations of grey and wellington on reform—broughams notice—effect of the duke's speech—-agitation in ireland—and against the police—postponement of the king's visit to the mansion house—resignation of wellington's ministry—grey forms a ministry—brougham's position—the ministry—grey's statement—agricultural england—cobbett and carlile—affairs in ireland—lord anglesey—his struggle with o'connell—o'connell's prosecution dropped—the birmingham political union—preparation of the reform bill—it is entrusted to lord john russell—the budget—the bill introduced—the first reading carried—feeling in the country—the second reading carried—gascoigne's amendment—a dissolution agreed upon—scene in the lords—the press—the illuminations and riots—the new parliament—discussions on the dissolution and o'connell—the second reform bill—the second reading—the bill in committee—it is carried to the lords—debate on the second reading—the bill rejected—popular excitement—lord ebrington's resolution—prorogation of parliament—lord john russell's declaration—the bristol riots—colonel brereton.

william iv. was welcomed to the throne with great acclamation. called "the sailor king," he was endowed with many of the personal qualities which make the sailor's character popular with englishmen. he had been lord high admiral, and in that capacity he had lately been moving about the coasts, making displays and enjoying fêtes, although this was thought by some to be unseemly in the heir presumptive to the throne, at a time when its occupant was known to be in a very infirm state of health. heavy bills connected with these vainglorious displays were sent to the treasury, which the duke of wellington endorsed with a statement that such expenses were not allowed. although opinions differed about william very much, not only between the friends of reform and the conservatives, but between the leaders of the liberal party themselves, he was esteemed the most popular king since the days of alfred. william was certainly a more exemplary character than his brother. he had indeed formed an attachment to a celebrated actress, mrs. jordan, by whom he had a numerous family, one of whom was subsequently admitted to the ranks of the nobility with the title of earl of munster, and the others were raised to the dignity of younger sons of a marquis. he had, however, been married for several years to the princess adelaide, of saxe-meiningen, who became queen of england, and adorned her exalted station by her virtues and her beneficence. they had two children, both of whom died in infancy; and as the king was in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and the queen was not young, there was no longer any hope of a direct succession to the throne. altogether, charles greville's verdict on the king—"something of a buffoon and more of a blackguard"—is excessively severe. if eccentric and hot-tempered, william iv. was straightforward and upright. he had some knowledge of foreign affairs, and thoroughly understood his position as a constitutional king.

the ministers and their supporters were complimentary, as a matter of course, to the new sovereign, who had graciously continued them in their offices; and the whigs, who had ascribed their exclusion from power to the personal dislike of the king, were resolved that there should not be again any obstacle of the kind, and that they would keep upon the best possible terms with the court. during the previous part of the session they had kept up a rapid fire of motions and questions upon the government, especially with regard to the public expenditure, the distress of the operatives, and the necessity of rigid economy and large retrenchment. the attacks were led by sir james graham, who, though he was always left in a minority in the divisions on his motions, did much to weaken the government by exciting public feeling against them on the ground of their alleged heartless extravagance, while many of the people were starving and the country was said to be going fast to destruction. the duke of wellington, however, moved an answer to the royal message, declaring that they would forward the measure necessary to provide for the temporary supply required. he suggested that as everybody would be occupied about the coming elections, the best mode of proceeding would be to dissolve at once. lord grey, in the name of the opposition, complained of this precipitancy, and delivered a long speech full of solemn warnings of evil. he supposed that the king might die before the new parliament was chosen; the heir apparent was[313] a child in fact, though not in law. no regency existing, she would be legally in the possession of her full regal power, and this was a situation which he contended would be fraught with danger. a long, unprofitable wrangle ensued, dull repetitions dragged out the debate, when at length the duke wisely refused to accede to the proposition for a useless interval of delay, and proved the numerical strength of the administration. lord grey having moved for an adjournment to allow time for providing a regency, the motion was lost by a majority of 44, the numbers being 56 against 100.

virginia water.

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in the house of commons, on the same evening (the 30th of june), sir robert peel moved an answer to the address to the same effect. lord althorp, acting in concert with lord grey, moved the adjournment of the house for twenty-four hours to allow time for consideration. the discussion in the commons, however, was not without interest, as it touched upon constitutional questions of vital importance. mr. brougham did his part with admirable tact. he dwelt upon the danger of allowing the people to learn that government could go on, and every exigency of the common weal be provided for, without a king. the act which had appointed the late prince regent had been passed without the royal sanction, the king being insane, and no provision having been made to meet the calamity that occurred. the act of parliament was called a law, but it was no law; it had not even the semblance of a law; and the power which it conveyed was in those days called the phantom of royal authority. the fact, indeed, was that the tendency of that act of parliament, more than any other act that had ever been passed by the legislature, was to inflict a blow on the royal authority; to diminish its influence and weight; to bring it into disrepute with, and to lessen it in the estimation of, the people at large; and that fact was in itself a sufficient comment upon the propriety of doing an act of legislation without having the crown to sanction it. that, he said, was his first great and principal reason for proceeding with this question at once. he showed that one of the greatest advantages connected with the monarchical form of government was the certainty of the succession, and the facile[314] and quiet transmission of power from one hand to another, thus avoiding the inconveniences and dangers of an interregnum. the question was rendered more difficult and delicate by the fact that the duke of cumberland, the most unpopular man in the country, was the eldest of the remaining brothers of the king, in the event of whose death he would be heir apparent to the throne of great britain, and king of hanover. in the case supposed, the question would arise whether the next heir to the throne was of right regent, should the sovereign be incompetent, from infancy, insanity, or any other cause. if that right were established, then the regent, during the minority of the princess victoria, would be a foreign monarch, and one who was utterly detested by the mass of the people of britain. such a question, arising at a moment when the spirit of revolution was abroad, might agitate the public mind to a degree that would be perilous to the constitution. the contingencies were sufficiently serious, therefore, to justify the efforts of lord grey and mr. brougham to have the regency question settled before the dissolution. they may not have been sorry to have a good popular case against the government, but their conduct was not fairly liable to the imputation of faction or mere personal ambition. "can we," asked mr. brougham, "promise ourselves a calm discussion of the subject when there should be an actual accession of the duke of cumberland to the throne of hanover, and parliament is suddenly called upon to decide upon his election to the regency, to the supreme rule in this country, to which, according to the principle of mr. pitt, he has a paramount claim, although he has not a strict legal right?" the motion for adjournment was lost by a majority of 46—the numbers being, for it, 139; against it, 185. after this debate, on the motion for adjournment, lord althorp moved the amendment to the address, almost in the words of lord grey in the other house. sir robert peel stated that he meant no disrespect by abstaining from further discussion, which would be wasting the time of the house, by repeating the arguments he had already employed. mr. brougham, however, took the opportunity of launching out against the ministry in a strain of bitter invective, of sarcasm vehement even to fierceness.

the question of the regency was again brought forward, on the 6th of july, by mr. robert grant, in pursuance of a notice he had previously given. the unbounded personal popularity of the king—who, unlike his predecessor shut up in seclusion and resembling tiberius, went about sailor-like through the streets, frank, talkative, familiar, good-humoured, delighting the londoners with all the force of pleasant contrast—rendered it increasingly difficult and delicate on the part of the opposition to propose any measure disagreeable to a sovereign who was the idol of the multitude, from whom no evil could be apprehended, and whose death, even in the ordinary course of providence, it seemed something like treason to anticipate as likely to occur within a few months. they were, therefore, profuse in their declarations of respect, of admiration—nay, almost of veneration—for a monarch whom a beneficent providence had so happily placed upon the throne of great britain. the division on mr. grant's motion was still more decidedly favourable to the government, the numbers being—ayes, 93; noes, 247—majority, 154.

on the 13th of july brougham delivered his speech on slavery, which produced such an impression upon the public mind that it mainly contributed, as he himself admitted, to his election a few weeks afterwards as one of the members for yorkshire—the proudest position which a parliamentary representative could occupy. he proposed "that this house do resolve, at the earliest practicable period next session, to take into its serious consideration the state of the slaves in the colonies of great britain, in order to the mitigation and final abolition of slavery; and more especially to the amendment of the administration of justice within the same." mr. wilmot horton brought forward a series of resolutions, by way of evading the difficulty. sir george murray, the colonial secretary, entreated mr. brougham to withdraw his motion, as the public would come to a wrong conclusion from seeing the small numbers that would vote upon it at that late period of the session, and on the eve of a dissolution. sir robert peel pressed the same consideration, but mr. brougham persisted, and in a very thin house the numbers on the division were—aye., 27; noes, 56—majority against the motion, 29. this division ended the party struggles of the session. on the 23rd of july parliament was prorogued by the king in person, and next day it was dissolved by proclamation. the writs, returnable on the 14th of september, were immediately issued for a general election, which was expected, and proved to be, the most exciting and most important political contest at the hustings recorded in the history of england.

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the french revolution of 1830 exerted an influence so mighty upon public opinion and political events in england, that it becomes necessary to trace briefly its rise, progress, and rapid consummation. when louis xviii. was restored to the throne by the arms of the allies, it was found that he had learnt little wisdom in his exile. he was, however, a man of moderation, and affected to pursue a middle course. his successor, charles x., who ascended the throne in 1824, was violent and bigoted, a zealous catholic, hating the revolution and all its results, and making no secret of his feelings. from the moment he commenced his reign he pursued a course of unscrupulous reaction. at the general election the prefects so managed as to procure an overwhelming ministerial majority, who immediately resolved to extend the duration of the chamber of deputies to seven years. they next passed a law to indemnify emigrants, for which they voted an annual sum representing a capital of thirty millions sterling. in 1827 the prime minister, villele, adopted the daring measure of disbanding the national guard, because it had expressed its satisfaction at the defeat of a measure for the restriction of the liberty of the press. he next took the still more dangerous step of dissolving the chamber of deputies. this produced a combination of parties, which resulted in the defeat of the ministerial candidates in every direction. the consequence was the resignation of villele, on the 5th of january, 1828. he was succeeded by martignac, whose government abolished the discretionary power of re-establishing the censorship of the press, and adopted measures for securing the purity of the electoral lists against the frauds of the local authorities. they also issued an ordonnance on education, guarding society against the encroachments of the jesuits, and the apprehension of clerical domination. the king, taking alarm at these liberal tendencies, dismissed martignac and his colleagues, and in august, 1829, he appointed a ministry exclusively and devotedly royalist, at the head of which he placed prince de polignac, a bigoted catholic, who, during the empire, had engaged in many wild schemes for the restoration of the bourbons. this conduct on the part of the king was regarded by the people almost universally as indicating a design to suppress their constitutional liberties, which they resolved to counteract by having recourse to the constitutional remedy against arbitrary power—namely, refusal to pay the taxes. with this object an association was formed in brittany, which established a fund to indemnify those who might suffer in resisting the levy of imposts. the press was most unanimous in condemning the new ministry, and by spirited and impassioned appeals to the patriotism of the people and their love of freedom, roused them to a sense of their coming danger. prince de polignac was charged with the design of destroying the charter; of creating a majority in the chamber of deputies by an unconstitutional addition of aristocratic members; of calling in foreign armies to overawe the french people; and of raising military forces by royal ordonnances. the moniteur contained an authorised contradiction of all these imputations and rumours. charles was assured, however, by the royalists that surrounded him, that there always would be a majority against him in the chamber, no matter who the ministers might be, and that it was impossible to carry on the government under the existing system. he was too ready to listen to such counsels, fondly attached as he was to the priesthood, the privileged orders, tithes, feudal services, and provincial administrations.

the chambers were opened by the king on the 2nd of march, 1830, with a speech which conveyed a threat to the french nation. "if culpable man?uvres," he said, "should raise up against my government obstacles which i do not wish to foresee, i shall find the power of surmounting them in my resolution to maintain the public peace, in my just confidence in frenchmen, and in the love which they have always borne to their kings." the chambers did not hesitate to express their want of confidence in the government. the king having declared that his intentions were immutable, no alternative remained but a dissolution, as he was resolved to try once more whether a majority could be obtained by fair means or foul. in this last appeal to public opinion he was bitterly disappointed. it scarcely required a prophet to foresee the near approach of some great change; nor could the result of the impending struggle appear doubtful. nine-tenths of the community were favourable to a constitutional system. not only the working classes, but the mercantile and trading classes, as well as the professional classes, and all the most intelligent part of the nation, were decidedly hostile to the government. in paris the majority against the ministerial candidates was seven or eight to one. the press, with scarcely an exception, was vehement in its condemnation of the policy of the government, which came to the conclusion that it was not enough to abolish the constitution, but[316] that, in order to insure the success of a purely despotic régime, it was absolutely necessary to destroy the liberty of the press, and to put down journalism by force. accordingly, a report on this subject was addressed to the king, recommending its suppression. it was drawn up by m. chantelauze, and signed by de polignac and five other ministers.

this report was published in the moniteur on the morning of monday, july 26th. on the same day, and in the same paper, appeared the famous ordonnances, signed by the king, and countersigned by his ministers. by the first the liberty of the press was abolished, and thenceforth no journal could be published without the authority of the government. by the second the chamber of deputies, which was to meet in the ensuing month, was dissolved. by the third a new scheme of election was introduced, which destroyed the franchise of three-fourths of the electors, and reduced the number of deputies to little more than one half. thus the whole constitution was swept away by a stroke of the royal pen. as soon as these ordonnances became generally known throughout the city the people were thrown into a state of violent agitation. the editors and proprietors of twelve journals assembled, and having resolved that the ordonnances were illegal, they determined to publish their papers on the following day. a statement of their case, signed by thirty-eight persons, was published in the nationale. they said: "in the situation in which we are placed, obedience ceases to be a duty. we are dispensed from obeying. we resist the government in what concerns ourselves. it is for france to determine how far her resistance ought to extend." in pursuance of this announcement the journalists were preparing to issue their papers when the police entered the offices and began to scatter the type and break the presses. in some of the offices the workmen resisted, and the locks of the doors had to be picked; but no smith could be got to do the work except one whose business it was to rivet the manacles on galley slaves. there was a meeting of the electors of paris, who quickly decided upon a plan of operations. deputations were appointed to wait on the manufacturers, printers, builders, and other extensive employers, requesting them to discharge their workpeople, which was done, and on the 27th 50,000 men were assembled in different parts of the town, in groups, crying, "vive la charte!" about thirty deputies, who had arrived in town, met at the house of m. casimir perier, and resolved to encourage the rising of the people. the troops were under arms; and it is stated that without any provocation from the people except their cries, the military began to sabre the unarmed multitude. the first shot seems to have been fired out of a house, by an englishman, named foulkes, who was fired on by the military, and killed. alarming reports spread through the city that the blood of the people was being wantonly shed, and that women were not spared. the black flag was raised in various quarters, ominous of the desperate nature of the struggle. the night of the 27th was spent in preparation. the shops of the armourers were visited, and the citizens armed themselves with all sorts of weapons—pistols, sabres, bayonets, etc. in every street men were employed digging up the pavements, and carrying stones to the tops of the houses, or piling them behind the barricades, which were being constructed of omnibuses and fiacres at successive distances of about fifty paces. the fine trees of the boulevards were cut down and used for the same purpose. the garrison of paris was commanded by general marmont. it consisted altogether of 11,500 men. at daybreak on the 28th the citizens were nearly ready for battle. early in the morning national guards were seen hastening to the h?tel de ville, amidst the cheers of the people. parties of cavalry galloped up and down, and occasionally a horseman, shot from a window, fell back out of his saddle. at ten o'clock marmont formed six columns of attack, preceded by cannon, which were to concentrate round the h?tel de ville. the insurgents retired before the artillery, and the troops, abandoning the open places, took shelter in the houses and behind barriers. in the meantime a desperate fight raged at the h?tel de ville, which was taken possession of, and bravely defended by the national guard. their fire from the top of the building was unceasing, while the artillery thundered below. it was taken and retaken several times. it appears that hitherto the government had no idea of the nature of the contest. the journals had proclaimed open war. they declared that the social contract being torn, they were bound and authorised to use every possible mode of resistance, and that between right and violence the struggle could not be protracted. this was on the 26th; but at four o'clock p.m., on the 27th, the troops had received no orders; and when they were called out of barracks shortly after, many officers were absent, not having been apprised that any duty whatever was expected. the night offered[317] leisure to arrange and opportunity to execute all necessary precautions. the circumstances were urgent, the danger obvious and imminent; yet nothing at all was done. the contest lasted for three days with varying fortunes. twice the palace of the tuileries was taken and abandoned; but on the third day the citizens were finally victorious, and the tricoloured flag was placed on the central pavilion. marmont, seeing that all was lost, withdrew his troops; and on the afternoon of the 29th paris was left entirely at the command of the triumphant population. the national guard was organised, and general lafayette, "the veteran of patriotic revolutions," took the command. notwithstanding the severity of the fighting, the casualties were not very great. about 700 citizens lost their lives, and about 2,000 were wounded. it was stated that the troops were encouraged to fight by a lavish distribution of money, about a million francs having been distributed amongst them, for the purpose of stimulating their loyalty. the deputies met on the 31st, and resolved to invite louis philippe, duke of orleans, to be lieutenant-general of the kingdom. he accepted the office, and issued a proclamation which stated that the charter would thenceforth be a truth. the chambers were opened on the 3rd of august; 200 deputies were present; the galleries were crowded with peers, general officers of the old army, the diplomatic body, and other distinguished persons. the duke, in his opening speech, dwelt upon the violations of the charter, and stated that he was attached by conviction to the principles of free government. at a subsequent meeting the chamber conferred upon him the title of the king of the french. he took the oath to observe the charter, which had been revised in several particulars. on the 17th of august charles x. arrived in england; and by a curious coincidence there was a meeting that day in the london tavern, at which an address to the citizens of paris, written by dr. bowring, congratulating them on the revolution of july, was unanimously adopted. meetings of a similar kind were held in many of the cities and towns of the united kingdom. feelings of delight and admiration pervaded the public mind in britain; delight that the cause of constitutional freedom had so signally triumphed, and admiration of the heroism of the citizens, and the order and self-control with which they conducted themselves in the hour of victory. thus ended the revolution of july, 1830. it was short and decisive, but it had been the finale of a long struggle. the battle had been fought in courts and chambers by constitutional lawyers and patriotic orators. it had been fought with the pen in newspapers, pamphlets, songs, plays, poems, novels, histories. it had been fought with the pencil in caricatures of all sorts. it was the triumph of public opinion over military despotism. to commemorate the three days of july it was determined to erect a column on the place de la bastille, which was completed in 1840.

revolution in paris: capture of the h?tel de ville. (see p. 316.)

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the effect of the issue upon the state of parties in england was tremendous. the morning chronicle, then the organ of the whig party, said, "the battle of english liberty has really been fought and won at paris." the times thundered the great fact with startling reverberation throughout the united kingdom. mr. brougham in the house of commons spoke of it as that revolution which in his conscience he believed to be "the most glorious" in the annals of mankind, and he expressed his heartfelt admiration, his cordial gratitude, to the patriots of that great nation for the illustrious struggle they were making. this language expresses the feelings which prevailed through all classes of the people of britain, and it may be easily supposed that the effect was most favourable to the liberal party and most damaging to the tories, especially as the exciting events occurred at the time of the general election; and prince de polignac being considered the particular friend of the duke of wellington, his ministry was called in france the wellington administration. all these things were against the premier: the hostility of the anti-catholic party, the alienation of the whigs, the accession of a liberal monarch, and the odium of the supposed intimate relationship with the vanquished despotism of france.

the progress that the electors had made in liberality of sentiment was evinced especially by two of the elections. mr. hume, the radical reformer, the cold, calculating economist, the honest, plain-speaking man of the people, was returned for the county of middlesex without opposition; and mr. brougham, a barrister, who owed nothing to family connections—who, by the steadiness of his industry, the force of his character, the extent of his learning, and the splendour of his eloquence, devoted perseveringly for years to the popular cause, had won for himself, at the same time, the highest place in his profession, and the foremost position in the senate—was returned for yorkshire. these counties had hitherto been the preserves of the great[319] landed proprietors. lord fitzwilliam, though the personal friend of mr. brougham, did not like this intrusion of a foreigner into that great county. indeed, it had been sufficiently guarded against all but very wealthy men by the enormous expense of a contest. in 1826, when a contest was only threatened, and the election ended with a nomination, mr. john marshall's expenses amounted to ￡17,000; and, on a previous occasion, it was rumoured that lord milton had spent ￡70,000 in a contest. no wonder brougham was a friend of parliamentary reform.

the general result of the elections was considered to have diminished by fifty the number of votes on which ministers could depend, and the relation in which they now stood to the more popular part of the representation was stated to be as follows:—of the eighty-two members returned by the forty counties of england, only twenty-eight were steady adherents of the ministry; forty-seven were avowed adherents of the opposition, and seven of the neutral cast did not lean much to government. of the thirteen popular cities and boroughs (london, westminster, aylesbury, etc.), returning twenty-eight members, only three seats were held by decidedly ministerial men, and twenty-four by men in avowed opposition. there were sixty other places, more or less open, returning 126 members. of these only forty-seven were ministerial; all the rest were avowed opposition men, save eight, whose leaning was rather against the government than for it. of the 236 men then returned by elections more or less popular in england, only seventy-nine were ministerial votes; 141 were in avowed opposition, and sixteen of a neutral cast.

the duke had little to console him in connection with the general election. in passing the emancipation act he had made great sacrifices, and had converted many of his most devoted friends into bitter enemies. the least that he could expect was that the great boon which it cost him so much to procure for the roman catholics of ireland would have brought him some return of gratitude and some amount of political support in that country. but hitherto the emancipation act had failed in tranquillising the country. on the contrary, its distracted state pointed the arguments of the tories on the hustings during the irish elections. o'connell, instead of returning to the quiet pursuit of his profession, was agitating for repeal of the union, and reviling the british government as bitterly as ever. he got up new associations with different names as fast as the lord-lieutenant could proclaim them, and he appealed to the example of the french and belgian revolutions as encouraging ireland to agitate for national independence. in consequence of his agitation many ministerial seats in ireland were transferred to the most violent of his followers. during these conflicts with the government mr. o'connell was challenged by sir henry hardinge, in consequence of offensive language used by him about that gentleman, who was then chief secretary for ireland. mr. o'connell declined the combat, on the ground that he had a "vow registered in heaven" never again to fight a duel, in consequence of his having shot mr. d'esterre. this "affair of honour" drew upon him from some quarters very severe censure.

on the 15th of september this year the manchester and liverpool railway was opened. it was the first line opened for passenger traffic in the british empire. there was much difference of opinion as to the success of the experiment, and vast crowds attended to see the first trains running. the duke of wellington, mr. huskisson, and many persons of the highest distinction, started in the trains, which travelled on two lines in the same direction, sometimes nearly abreast. at parkside the trains stopped to take in water, and mr. huskisson and several of his friends got out. he was brought round to the carriage where the duke of wellington was seated, who, as soon as he saw him, shook hands cordially with his old colleague. at this moment the other train started, when there was a general cry of "get in, get in!" there was not time to do this, but mr. holmes, who was with mr. huskisson, had sufficient presence of mind to draw himself up close to the duke's carriage, by which means he escaped uninjured. mr. huskisson, unfortunately, caught one of the doors, which, struck by the train in motion, was swung round, and caused him to fall on the other railway, so that his right leg was passed over and crushed by the engine. the duke of wellington and others ran to his assistance. the only words he uttered were, "i have met my death. god forgive me!" he was carried to eccles, where the best medical advice was obtained, but he survived only a few hours, bearing his intense pain with great fortitude.

napoleon's saying about french revolutions was verified in 1830. the shock of the political earthquake was felt throughout the continent, and severed belgium from holland. the inhabitants of brussels began their revolt by resistance to local taxes, and ended by driving the[320] dutch garrison out of the city, and proclaiming the independence of belgium. the duke of wellington had no difficulty about the prompt recognition of the de facto government of france. the change of dynasty had not been officially communicated to him many hours when he sent instructions to the british ambassador to enter into friendly relations with the new government. he had not, however, the same facility in recognising the independence of belgium. he had been instrumental in establishing the kingdom of the netherlands; and he regarded the union as being a portion of the great european settlement of 1815, which ought not to be disturbed without the concurrence of the great powers by which it was effected. this hesitation on his part to hail the results of successful revolution added to his unpopularity. in the meantime a dangerous spirit of disaffection and disorder began to manifest itself in the south of england. incendiary fires had preceded the revolution in france, especially in normandy, and they were supposed to have had a political object. similar preludes of menaced revolution occurred during the autumn in some of the english counties nearest the french coast, in kent, sussex, surrey, and hampshire. night after night, in the most fertile districts, the sky was reddened with the blaze of burning stack-yards. crowds of the working classes, complaining of want of employment, went about throughout the country, breaking the threshing-machines, which had then come into extensive use. the government were compelled to employ force to put down these disturbances—a fact which supplied inflammatory arguments to agitators, who denounced the duke of wellington as the chief cause of the distress of the working classes. such was the state of things when the new parliament met on the 26th of october.

mr. manners sutton was again chosen speaker of the house of commons, having already presided over four successive parliaments, occupying a period of fourteen years, during which he performed the onerous duties of his high position to the satisfaction of all parties. a week was occupied in the swearing-in of members. all the preliminary formalities having been gone through, the parliament was opened by the king in person on the 2nd of november. the royal speech, which was of unusual length, excited the deepest interest, and was listened to with breathless attention and intense anxiety. the concluding paragraph of the speech, while expressing the strongest confidence in the loyalty of the people, intimated the determination of the government to resist parliamentary reform. this attitude was regarded as a defiance to the opposition; and it roused into excitement the spirit of hostility, which might have been disarmed by a tone of conciliation, and by a disposition to make moderate concessions. nothing, therefore, could have been more favourable to the aims of the whig leaders than the course taken by the administration; and if they wanted an excuse for breaking forth into open war, it was supplied by the imprudent speech of the duke of wellington. the royal speech, indeed, suggested revolutionary topics to the reformers, by its allusion to continental politics. the king observed that the elder branch of the house of bourbon no longer reigned in france, and that the duke of orleans had been called to the throne. the state of affairs in the low countries—namely, the separation of belgium from holland—was viewed with deep regret; and "his majesty lamented that the enlightened administration of the king of the netherlands" should not have preserved his dominions from revolt; stating that he was endeavouring, in concert with his allies, to devise such means of restoring tranquillity as might be compatible with the welfare and good government of the netherlands, and with the future security of other states.

earl grey was not slow to avail himself of these exciting topics in order to point the lightning of popular discontent against the head of the government. "we ought," he said, "to learn wisdom from what is passing before our eyes; and, when the spirit of liberty is breaking out all round, it is our first duty to secure our own institutions by introducing into them a temperate reform. i have been a reformer all my life; and on no occasion have i been inclined to go farther than i am prepared to go now, if an opportunity were to offer. but i do not found the title to demand it on abstract right. we are told that every man who pays taxes—nay, that every man arrived at the years of discretion—has a right to vote for representatives. that right i utterly deny. the right of the people is to have a good government, one that is calculated to secure their privileges and happiness; and if that is incompatible with universal, or very general suffrage, then the limitation, and not the extension, is the true right of the people."

this speech, which was regarded as the manifesto of the reform party, called forth a reply from the duke of wellington, which was pregnant with revolution, and which precipitated the[321] downfall of his administration. he said:—"the noble earl has recommended us not only to put down these disturbances, but to put the country in a state to meet and overthrow the dangers which are likely to arise from the late transactions in france, by the adoption of something like parliamentary reform. the noble earl has stated that he is not prepared himself to come forward with any measure of the kind; and i will tell him farther, neither is the government.... nay, i will go yet farther, and say that if at this moment i had to form a legislature for any country, particularly for one like this, in the possession of great property of various descriptions, although perhaps i should not form one precisely such as we have, i would endeavour to produce something which would give the same result; namely, a representation of the people containing a large body of the property of the country, and in which the great landed proprietors have a preponderating influence. further still, i beg to state that not only is the government not prepared to bring forward any measure of this description, but, in so far as i am concerned, while i have the honour to hold the situation which i now do among his majesty's counsellors, i shall always feel it my duty to oppose any such measures when brought forward by others." when he sat down the hum of criticism was so loud that he asked a colleague—probably lord lyndhurst—the cause. the answer was, "you have announced the fall of your government, that is all."

lord grey.

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so soon as the house of commons assembled, and before the speaker read the speech which had been delivered from the throne, mr. brougham made the first significant move in the game that was about to be played, by announcing[322] that he would that day fortnight submit to the house a proposition on the great question of parliamentary reform. having determined to give notice of his intention when there was a question before the house, he was enabled to accompany his notice with an explanation. this was his explanation:—"he had," he said, "by one party been described as intending to bring forward a very limited, and therefore useless and insignificant, plan; by another, he was said to be the friend of a radical, sweeping, and innovating, and, i may add, for i conscientiously believe it would prove so, a revolutionary reform." both these imputed schemes he disavowed. "i stand on the ancient way of the constitution." to explain at that moment what the details of this plan were to be would have then been inconvenient—was, indeed, impossible. "but," said mr. brougham, "my object in bringing forward this question is not revolution, but restoration—to repair the constitution, not to pull it down." this notice was a master-stroke of policy.

the duke of wellington's declaration against reform had all the effect of an arbitrary prohibition thrown in the way of a violent passion. the effect was tremendous; a revolutionary flame was kindled everywhere at the same instant, as if the whole atmosphere—north, south, east, and west—was wrapt in a sheet of electric fire. no words from any statesman in english history ever produced such an impression. the transports became universal; all ranks were involved; all heads, save the strongest and most far-seeing, were swept away by the torrent of excitement. john bull's patience was gone. parliamentary reform was right; the time was come when it should be granted; and no man, not even the duke of wellington, should be allowed to withstand the nation's will. the unpopularity of the duke with his own party swelled for the moment the current of the movement. high churchmen declared that reform would raise a barrier against papal aggression, which they felt to be necessary, as experience had shown that the existing constitution afforded no security. the old tories, in their resentment on account of the concession to the catholic claims, appeared to be ready to support the popular demands, if by so doing they could mortify or overthrow the government. the inhabitants of the towns, intelligent, active, progressive, longed for parliamentary reform, because they believed it would remove the impediments which retarded the advancement of society. there were only two classes of the community who were believed at the time to be opposed to the reform movement: first, the aristocratic whigs, because parliamentary reform would destroy the influence by which they had for a century after the revolution governed the country, but their accidental position as popular leaders obliged them for the time to go with the current; second, the class to whom mr. cobbett applied the term "borough-mongers," including all those who had property in parliamentary seats, and could sell them, or bestow them, as they thought proper. the former, it was argued, were obliged to conceal their attachment to the old system, which had secured to a few great families a monopoly of government and its emoluments. the latter had become so odious to the nation that their opposition availed little against the rapid tide of public feeling and the tremendous breakers of popular indignation.

o'connell also wielded against the government the fierce democracy of roman catholic ireland. sir robert peel had irritated him by some contemptuous remarks on his repeal agitation, and he rose in his own defence, like a lion in his fury. he proceeded to give a description of the condition of ireland, "which," said mr. brougham, "if not magnified in its proportions, if not painted in exaggerated colours, presents to my mind one of the most dismal, melancholy, and alarming conditions of society ever heard of or recorded in any state of the civilised world." mr. o'connell thus addressed the treasury bench:—"tell the people of ireland that you have no sympathy with their sufferings, that their advocate is greeted with sneers and laughter, that he is an outlaw in the land, and that he is taunted with want of courage, because he is afraid of offending his god. tell them this, and let them hear also in what language the secretary of state, who issued the proclamation to prevent meetings in ireland, has spoken of polignac." a powerful defence of his system of peaceful agitation, and a fierce defiance and denunciation of the existing administration, closed this remarkable speech, whose effect upon the house, mr. roebuck said, was great and unexpected. its effect upon the roman catholics of ireland, it need not be added, was immense.

indeed, the perusal of the debates, in connection with the royal speech, threw the whole united kingdom into a ferment of agitation. public meetings were held to express indignation at the anti-reform declaration of the duke of wellington. petitions were presented, pamphlets were published, harangues were delivered, defiances were hurled from every part of the country. it was[323] in these circumstances that the king was invited to honour the city with his presence at the lord mayor's banquet, which was to be held on the 9th of november, the day on which the new lord mayor enters upon his office. it had been the custom for a new sovereign to pay this compliment to the city, and william iv. was advised by his ministers to accept the invitation. the metropolitan police force had been recently established. it was a vast improvement upon the old body of watchmen, in whose time thieves and vagabonds pursued their avocations with comparative impunity. the new force, as may be supposed, was the object of intense hatred to all the dangerous classes of society, who had organised a formidable demonstration against the police, and the government by which the force was established, on lord mayor's day. inflammatory placards had been posted, and handbills circulated, of the most exciting and seditious character, of which the following is a specimen:—"to arms! liberty or death! london meets on tuesday next an opportunity not to be lost for revenging the wrongs we have suffered so long. come armed; be firm, and victory must be ours.... we assure you, from ocular demonstration, 6,000 cutlasses have been removed from the tower for the immediate use of peel's bloody gang. remember the cursed speech from the throne—these——police are to be armed. englishmen! will you put up with this?" appeals of this kind, and sinister rumours of all sorts, industriously circulated, created the greatest alarm throughout london. it was reported that a conspiracy of vast extent had been discovered—that society was on the eve of a terrible convulsion—that the barricades would immediately be up in the strand, and that there would be a bloody revolution in the streets. the inhabitants prepared as well as they could for self-defence. they put up iron blinds and shutters to their windows, got strong bolts to their doors, supplied themselves with arms, and resolutely waited for the attack. so great was the public consternation that the funds fell three-and-a-half per cent. in two hours. this panic is not a matter of so much astonishment when we consider that the three days' fighting in the streets of paris was fresh in the recollection of the people of london. the lord mayor elect, alderman key, had received so many anonymous letters, warning him of confusion and riot if his majesty's ministers should appear in the procession, that he became alarmed, and wrote to the duke of wellington, pointing out the terrible consequences of a nocturnal attack by armed and organised desperadoes in such a crowded city as london. the duke, thinking the danger not to be despised, advised the king to postpone his visit. accordingly, a letter from sir robert peel, as home secretary, appeared posted on the exchange on the morning of the 9th. the multitude of sightseers, disappointed of their pageant, were excited beyond all precedent, and execrations against the government were heard on every side. in fact, this incident, concerning which no blame whatever attached to the ministers, exposed the duke of wellington and his colleagues to a hailstorm of popular fury. the two houses of parliament hastily met, in a state of anxiety, if not alarm. unable to restrain their feelings until the arrival of ministers to give explanations, they broke forth into vehement expressions of censure and regret. lord wellesley more justly described it as "the boldest act of cowardice of which he had ever heard."

it was quite evident that a ministry assailed in this manner, and left almost without defenders in parliament, while the public out of doors were so excited against them that no act of theirs could give satisfaction or inspire confidence, could not long remain in office. accordingly, they made up their minds to retire on the first opportunity. three important questions stood for discussion, on any one of which they were sure to be defeated. the duke selected the question of the civil list. in the royal speech his majesty surrendered the hereditary revenues of the crown to the disposal of parliament. the opposition could see no merit in that, and lord grey contended that those revenues were not private but public property, assigned by the state for the purpose of maintaining the dignity of the sovereign, and that from this purpose they could not be alienated. the debate came on upon the 12th of november, when the chancellor of the exchequer moved that the house do resolve itself into committee on the civil list, the scheme which he had brought forward fixing the amount to be settled at ￡970,000. several of the details in this scheme were objected to, and on the following day sir h. parnell moved, as an amendment to the resolutions of the chancellor of the exchequer, that a select committee be appointed to take into consideration the estimates and accounts printed by command of his majesty regarding the civil list. after a short debate the house divided, when the numbers were—for the amendment, 233; and against it, 204, giving a majority of twenty-nine against the government. mr. hobhouse immediately asked[324] sir robert peel whether ministers intended to retain office after this expression of the sentiments of the house. to which he gave no answer at the time; but the next day the duke in the upper house, and sir robert in the lower, announced that they held their offices only till their successors were appointed. the defeat was brought about, in a great measure, by the former supporters of the ministry. the blow was struck, and none recoiled from it more immediately than the section of angry tories who were mainly instrumental in delivering it. they had achieved their purpose, and stood aghast, for no time was lost with the duke in placing his resignation in the hands of the king.

william iv. then sent for the veteran grey, who formed a ministry with unusual ease, chiefly of the whig and canningite elements. his chief difficulty was how to dispose of the volatile brougham. the king had no objection to accept him as one of the ministers, and brougham himself wished to be master of the rolls, assuming that sir john leech was to become lord chancellor of ireland, with a peerage, and that mr. plunket was to be lord chancellor of england. to this arrangement, however, the king and lord grey peremptorily objected. brougham was then offered the attorney-generalship, which he calmly refused, upon which lord grey declared that his hopes of being able to form an administration were at an end, and he waited on his majesty for the purpose of communicating to him the failure of his negotiations. "why so?" inquired the king. "why not make him chancellor? have you thought of that?" the answer was, "no; your majesty's objection to the one appointment seemed to preclude the other." "not at all, not at all," replied the king; and the reasons for one appointment and against the other were very clearly stated by his majesty, namely, that brougham as master of the rolls and member for yorkshire would be far too powerful. mr. brougham was left in the dark for some time about the intentions of lord grey, for on the 17th of november he said he had nothing to do with the administration, except in the respect he bore them, and as a member of the house. on the 19th he presented petitions, and spoke on them in the commons, without intimating any change of position. hence it may easily be supposed that he surprised the world, as well as his friends, by suddenly appearing on november the 22nd in the house of lords as lord chancellor of england. this was certainly a high office to which he was elevated, and for which the exigencies of party made him necessary; but, in accepting it, he sacrificed a great position which seemed to gratify all the desires of intellectual ambition; and, in order to induce his compliance, lord grey was obliged to appeal to his generous sympathies, his public spirit, and his devotion to his party. lord brougham and vaux became, said a wag, "vaux et praeterea nihil."

the celebrated reform ministry consisted of the following members:—in the cabinet: first lord of the treasury, earl grey; lord chancellor, lord brougham; chancellor of the exchequer and leader of the commons, lord althorp; president of the council, marquis of lansdowne; lord privy seal, earl of durham; home secretary, lord melbourne; foreign secretary, lord palmerston; secretary of the colonies, lord ripon; first lord of the admiralty, sir james graham; president of the board of control, mr. charles grant; postmaster-general, duke of richmond; chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, lord holland; without office, lord carlisle. not in the cabinet there were: president of the board of trade, lord auckland; secretary at war, mr. c. w. wynn; master-general of ordnance, sir james kemp; paymaster-general of the forces, lord john russell; lord chamberlain, duke of devonshire; lord steward, marquis wellesley; master of the horse, lord albemarle; groom of the stole, marquis of winchester; first commissioner of land revenue, mr. agar ellis; treasurer of the navy, mr. poulett thompson; attorney-general, sir t. denman; solicitor-general, sir w. horne. in ireland the office-bearers were: lord-lieutenant, marquis of anglesey; lord chancellor, lord plunket; commander of the forces, sir john byng; chief secretary, mr. stanley; attorney-general, mr. blackburne; solicitor-general, mr. crampton. in scotland they were: lord advocate, mr. jeffrey; solicitor-general, mr. cockburn. the saying of lord grey, that he would stand by his order, has been often quoted as characteristic of his aristocratic spirit. he certainly did stand by it on this occasion, for his cabinet could scarcely have been more aristocratic than it was. it consisted of thirteen members, of whom eleven were peers, or sons of peers, one was a baronet, and one an untitled commoner.

the ministerial statement was anticipated with great interest. it was delivered by the new premier, on the evening of the 22nd, brougham presiding as lord chancellor. foremost and most conspicuous in his programme was the question of parliamentary reform; next, economy and peace. having gone in detail through the principles of[325] his policy, and the reforms he proposed to introduce, the noble lord summed up all in the following words:—"the principles on which i now stand, and upon which the administration is prepared to act, are—the amelioration of existing abuses; the promotion of the most rigid economy in every branch of the public expenditure; and lastly, every endeavour that can be made by government to preserve peace, consistent with the honour and character of the country. upon these principles i have undertaken an office to which i have neither the affectation nor presumption to state that i am equal. i have arrived at a period of life when retirement is more to be desired than active employment; and i can assure your lordships that i should not have emerged from it had i not found—may i be permitted to say thus much without incurring the charge of vanity or arrogance?—had i not found myself, owing to accidental circumstances, certainly not to any merit of my own, placed in a situation in which, if i had declined the task, i had every reason to believe that any attempt to form a new government on principles which i could support would have been unsuccessful. urged by these considerations, being at the same time aware of my own inability, but acting in accordance with my sense of public duty, i have undertaken the government of the country at the present momentous crisis."

mob burning a farm in kent. (see p. 325.)

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lord grey declared that when he entered office in november, 1830, he found the counties round london in open insurrection, and that no measures had been taken by the late government to put down these disturbances. this was true so far as incendiary fires were concerned. a system of outrage commenced in kent before the harvest was fully gathered in. the disturbers of the peace did not generally assume the form of mobs, nor did they seek any political object. threatening letters were circulated very freely, demanding higher wages and denouncing machinery, and the attacks of the rioters were directed entirely against private property. in the day armed bands went forth, wrecking mills and destroying machinery, especially threshing-machines. at night, corn-stacks, hayricks, barns, and farm buildings were seen blazing in different parts of the county. even live stock were cruelly burned[326] to death. in addition to this wholesale destruction the rioters plundered the houses of the farmers as they went along. these disorders extended into hants, wilts, bucks, sussex, and surrey, and they continued during the months of october, november, and december. in fact, life and property in those counties were, to a great extent, at the mercy of lawless men. lord melbourne lost no time in announcing his determination to punish sternly those disturbers of the peace, and to restore at every cost the dominion of law and order. he would give his most anxious attention to measures for the relief of distress, but it was his determined resolution, wherever outrages were perpetrated or excesses committed, to suppress them with vigour. in pursuance of this determination, two special commissions were issued to try the offenders. they finished their painful duties early in january. on the 9th of that month judgment of death was recorded against twenty-three persons for the destruction of machinery in buckinghamshire. in dorset, at norwich, at ipswich, at petworth, at gloucester, at oxford, at winchester, and at salisbury, large numbers were convicted of various outrages; altogether, upwards of 800 offenders were tried, and a large proportion of them capitally convicted. only four, however, were executed; the rest were all sentenced to various terms of transportation or imprisonment. the prosecutions were conducted with firmness, but with moderation, and they were decidedly successful in restoring public tranquillity.

the middle classes at that time, bent on the acquisition of parliamentary reform, were anxious that the movement should be conducted strictly within the bounds of legality, and without producing any social disorders. there was, however, a class of agitators who inflamed popular discontent by throwing the blame of the existing distress on machinery, on capitalists, and on the government. this course of conduct served to encourage mobs of thieves and ruffians both in town and country, who brought disgrace upon the cause of reform, and gave a pretext for charging the masses of the people with a lawless spirit and revolutionary tendencies. carlile and cobbett were the chief incendiaries. both were brought to trial; carlile was fined ￡2,000 and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, but cobbett was acquitted as the jury were unable to agree.

in ireland there was severe distress prevailing over an extensive district along the western coast—no unusual visitation, for the peasantry depended altogether on the potato, a precarious crop, which sometimes failed wholly, and was hardly ever sufficient to last till the new crop came in. the old potatoes generally disappeared or became unfit for human food in june, and from that time till september the destitution was very great, sometimes amounting to actual famine. there was a partial failure of the crop in 1830, which, coupled with the rack-rents extorted by middlemen, gave to agitators topics which they used with effect in disquieting the minds of the peasantry.

the irish viceroy appointed by lord grey was the marquis of anglesey. the interval between his two viceroyalties extended over a period of nearly two years, during which the duke of northumberland was at the head of the irish government. the manner in which relief was granted to roman catholics, expressly as a concession to violence wrung from the fears of the legislature, confirmed the wildest notions of the people with respect to their own power. the offensive exclusion of o'connell by the terms of the emancipation act deprived the concession of much of its grace and power of conciliation; and now negotiations for making him master of the rolls broke down. in consequence of the securities with which the emancipation act was associated, the latter part of the year 1829 and the whole of 1830 were miserably distinguished in ireland by party conflicts and outrages. to the government of the country thus torn and convulsed lord anglesey was again called in december of the latter year, and, considering his antecedents, no appointment was likely to prove so popular. "nevertheless," says lord cloncurry, "neither support nor forbearance were accorded to lord anglesey. from the moment when it was known that he was reappointed, he was treated by the demagogues as an enemy. and the extraordinary progress of liberalism made during his lieutenancy must in candour be set down to the account of his courage and perseverance in fighting the cause of the people against both themselves and their enemies." on the eve of his departure for ireland he wrote to lord cloncurry, saying, "o'connell is my avant-courier. he starts to-day with more mischief in hand than i have yet seen him charged with. i saw him yesterday for an hour and a half. i made no impression upon him whatever; and i am now thoroughly convinced that he is bent upon desperate agitation. all this will produce no change in my course and conduct. for the love of ireland i deprecate agitation. i know it is the only thing that can prevent her from prospering; for there[327] is in this country a growing spirit to take ireland by the hand, and a determination not to neglect her and her interests; therefore, i pray for peace and repose. but if the sword is really to be drawn, and with it the scabbard is to be thrown away—if i, who have suffered so much for her, am to become a suspected character, and to be treated as an enemy—if, for the protection of the state, i am driven to the dire necessity of again turning soldier—why, then, i must endeavour to get back into old habits, and to live amongst a people i love in a state of misery and distress."

notwithstanding these apprehensions, the reception actually given to lord anglesey was not at all so disgraceful to the country as he was led to anticipate. mr. o'connell kept out of the way; but a numerous assemblage of the most respectable citizens greeted his arrival at kingstown, and escorted him to dublin castle, lord cloncurry and lord howth riding at the head of the procession. the populace confined the expression of their feeling to a few groans for "dirty doherty," whose promotion to the chief seat of the court of common pleas was the alleged offence of lord anglesey. he was scarcely a week in ireland, however, when o'connell opened the repeal campaign. a meeting of the trades of dublin had been arranged for the 27th of december, to march in procession from phibsborough to his residence in merrion square, to present him with an address of thanks for his advocacy of a domestic legislature. sworn informations having been laid before the lord-lieutenant to the effect that serious disturbances were apprehended from this procession, he issued a proclamation on christmas day, forbidding it under the act for the suppression of dangerous associations or assemblies. mr. o'connell therefore issued a notice, counter-manding the meeting. on the 4th of january mr. o'connell sent a deputation to lord cloncurry, to ask him to preside over a repeal meeting, which he declined. "those who knew mr. o'connell," writes his lordship, "who recollect what a creature of impulse he was, how impatiently he bore with any difference from his opinions, and what a storm was the first burst of his wrath, will not wonder at what followed. three very long letters were immediately issued, especially devoted to the business of vituperating me, but with ample digressions maledictory of lord anglesey." in a few days, he adds, the fever was brought to a crisis by the arrest of mr. o'connell and his agitation staff, "after a brisk pursuit through a labyrinth of ingenious devices, whereby he sought to evade the law, in the course of which it was found necessary to discharge five or six proclamations against him. to-day, mr. o'connell's audience and claqueurs were termed 'the society of the friends of ireland of all religious persuasions.' to-morrow they were 'the general association of ireland for the prevention of unlawful meetings,' and for the protection and exercise of the sacred right of petitioning for the redress of grievances. then, again, they were a nameless body of persons, in the habit of meeting weekly at a place called home's hotel; and as the hunt continued, they successively escaped from each daily proclamation under the changing appellations of 'the irish society for legal and legislative relief'; or 'the anti-union association'; 'the association of irish volunteers for the repeal of the union'; 'the subscribers to the parliamentary intelligence office, stephen street'; until they were fairly run down at a breakfast party at hayes hotel."

at length, then, after all his marvellous doublings, o'connell was hunted into the meshes of the law. he was convicted of sedition, having pleaded guilty, but was not called up for judgment. this was made a charge against the government; with how little reason may be seen from the account of the matter given by lord cloncurry. the time at which he should have been called up for judgment did not arrive till within a month or two of the expiration of the statute under which he was convicted, and which he called the "algerine act." in these circumstances, lord cloncurry strongly urged upon the viceroy the prudence of letting him escape altogether, as his incarceration for a few weeks, when he must be liberated with the expiring act, "would only have the appearance of impotent malice, and, while it might have created dangerous popular excitement, would but have added to his exasperation, and have given him a triumph upon the event of his liberation that must so speedily follow."

on the 1st of february, 1831, the birmingham political union held its anniversary. it had been established some years, first to denounce the circulation of a metallic currency, and then for the purpose of agitating for reform, organised somewhat on the principle of the irish catholic association, and exerting a mighty influence on public opinion in the northern counties. mr. attwood stated that at this time it had on its books 9,000 members, paying from 4s. to ￡2 2s. a year each. other unions of a similar kind were established in many cities and towns throughout the kingdom.

[328]

o'connell's house in merrion square, dublin.

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on the 3rd parliament assembled, and the nation was full of expectation as to the measures of the government. the great question of the day was understood to have been under their anxious consideration during the winter. it subsequently transpired that the measure of reform contemplated by lord grey at the close of the year was far more moderate than the one which was brought forward by lord john russell. the material increase in the amount of concession was said to be chiefly owing to the growing demands of the people, enlightened by the discussions in the political unions. lord durham was the most advanced liberal in the cabinet, and most strenuously insisted on the necessity of a very liberal measure. in order that the bill might be well matured, and might fully meet the wants of the country, lord grey appointed a committee to consider the whole subject, and report upon it to the cabinet. this committee consisted of his son-in-law, lord durham, who was intimately acquainted with his own views; lord john russell, who had represented the whig party in the house of commons in the various proposals that he had made on the subject of reform; sir james graham, who enjoyed the confidence of the advanced liberals, and was considered something more than a whig; and lord duncannon, who was supposed to be well acquainted with the irish corporations. according to the general instructions given to the[329] committee, they were to prepare the outlines of a measure which should be sufficiently comprehensive to meet the demands of public opinion, so as to extinguish the desire for further change. but it must rest upon property as its basis, and be connected with existing territorial divisions. he wished that the prerogative of the crown should be in no degree diminished, that the peers should lose none of their rights or privileges; but that, saving these, the democracy should play its due part in the legislation and government of the country. the committee began to work as soon as the administration was organised. they first discussed the principles involved in the measure, then the details were separately examined, and when a point was decided and agreed upon, it was recorded in writing by lord durham. lord john russell furnished the materials for schedules a and b, which were supplied to him by coadjutors, who were labouring diligently out of doors facilitating the work. the first draft of the measure, as adopted by the committee, was explained by lord durham in the form of a report to the cabinet, showing how the plans thus propounded would fulfil the conditions required, and, by satisfying all reasonable desires, stop the tendency to innovation. the scheme, when thus placed before the cabinet, became the subject of their anxious deliberation, and was unanimously adopted by them, with the exception of the ballot, which was rejected owing to lord grey's objections. it was then submitted to the king at brighton, a few days from the meeting of parliament, was discussed with him from point to point, and sanctioned.

arrest of o'connell. (see p. 327.)

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as soon as parliament assembled, earl grey in the upper house, and lord althorp in the commons, stated what the intentions of the government were with regard to the reform question. earl grey announced that they had prepared a measure which had met with the entire, the unanimous concurrence of the whole of his majesty's government. the measure was to originate in the house of commons, and lord althorp intimated that the duty of introducing it had been entrusted to the paymaster of the forces,[330] lord john russell, though not then a member of the cabinet. this was done because they thought it no more than due to his long perseverance in the cause of reform in times when it was unpopular. when it was difficult to obtain a hearing upon the subject, he had brought forward plans of partial reform, and now that the cause was prosperous, they deemed it due to his perseverance and ability that he should be the person selected by the government to bring forward their plan of full and efficient reform. the measure was to be introduced on the 1st of march.

on the 11th of february lord althorp brought forward the budget. basing his calculations on the revenue of the previous year, he estimated the national income at ￡50,000,000, and the expenditure at ￡46,850,000, leaving an anticipated surplus of more than ￡3,000,000; and it was proposed to take off taxes to the whole of that amount, and to replace it to some extent by other taxes, less burdensome to the people. the principal taxes to be taken off were those on tobacco, sea-borne coal, tallow candles, glass, printed calicoes, and newspapers. the new taxes consisted in an increase of the duties on wine, colonial timber, and raw cotton, a tax on steamboat passengers, and on the transfers of funded property. the proposed new taxes excited violent opposition, which obliged the chancellor of the exchequer to modify some of them, and abandon the last two; in fact, the financial scheme was a failure. equally unsuccessful were his attempts to introduce retrenchments into the civil and pension lists. but the government was borne up by its great measure, the reform bill.

during the interval that elapsed between the opening of parliament and the introduction of this measure, society was in a state of nervous anxiety and suspense, which became at length almost unbearable. petitions poured into the house of commons from every part of the united kingdom, conveying the earnest desire of the people for a real representation, which would put an end to the influence of the aristocracy in returning its members. they recommended, as the best means of effecting these objects, that the duration of parliament should be shortened, that the suffrage should be extended, and that elections should be by ballot. they expressed their conviction that a fair representation of the people would prevent manufacturing distress, commercial embarrassment, and violent fluctuations in the currency; that it would prevent unjust and unnecessary wars, and would restrain the profligate expenditure of the public money on placemen and pensioners. itinerant orators were employed by the political unions to hold meetings for the discussion of all questions of this kind, while the press put forth its gigantic power with tremendous effect, in the provinces as well as in the metropolis.

at length the fated 1st of march arrived, when the paymaster of the forces arose amidst profound silence, to state the bill. lord john russell's speech was remarkable for research, accuracy, and knowledge of constitutional law, but not for oratory. he showed that the grievances of which the people complained, in connection with the parliamentary representation, were three—first, the nomination of members by individuals; secondly, elections by close corporations; and thirdly, the enormous expenses of elections. sixty nomination boroughs, not having a population of 2,000 each, were to be totally disfranchised; 46 boroughs, having a population of not more than 4,000, and returning two members each, would be deprived of one. the seats thus obtained were to be given to large towns and populous counties. in boroughs, the elective franchise was to be extended to householders paying ￡10 rent; in counties, to copyholders of ￡10 a year, and leaseholders of ￡50. persons already in possession of the right of voting were not to be deprived of it, if actually resident. non-resident electors were to be disfranchised, and the duration of elections was to be shortened by increasing the facilities for taking the poll. no compensation was to be given to the proprietors of the disfranchised boroughs, which was justified under the precedent of the forty-shilling freeholders of ireland, who had received no compensation for the loss of their votes. the question of the duration of parliaments was reserved for future consideration.

scotland, before the reform bill, was ruled by an oligarchy. the population was two millions and a half, the constituency was only 2,500. the power was to be taken from this small junto, and extended to the great middle class of that intelligent and loyal people. in ireland, a host of rotten boroughs, some without any constituency at all, was to be swept away. the general result would be an increase for the united kingdom of half a million electors, making the whole number enjoying the franchise 900,000. of these 50,000 would be found in the new towns, created into parliamentary boroughs in england, 110,000 additional electors in boroughs already returning members. for instance, london would have[331] 95,000; the english counties, 100,000; scotland, 60,000; ireland, 40,000. the house would consist in all of 596 members, being a reduction of sixty-two on the existing number of 658. the number of seats abolished was 168, which reduced the house to 490. five additional members were given to scotland, three to ireland, one to wales, eight to london, thirty-four to large english towns, and fifty-five to english counties.

"no words," says sir archibald alison, "can convey an adequate idea of the astonishment which the announcement of this project of reform created in the house of commons and the country. nothing approaching to it had ever been witnessed before, or has been since. men's minds were prepared for a change, perhaps a very considerable one, especially in the enfranchising of new cities and towns which were unrepresented; but it never entered into the imagination of any human being out of the cabinet that so sweeping and entire a change would be proposed, especially by the king's ministers. the tories had never dreaded such a revolution; the radicals had never hoped for it. astonishment was the universal feeling. many laughed outright; none thought the bill could pass. it was supposed by many that ministers neither intended nor desired it, but wished only to establish a thorn in the side of their adversaries, which should prevent them from holding power if they succeeded in displacing them. so universal was this feeling, that it is now generally admitted that had sir robert peel, instead of permitting the debate to go on, instantly divided the house, on the plea that the proposed measure was too revolutionary to be for a moment entertained, leave to bring in the bill would have been refused by a large majority. the cabinet ministers themselves are known to have thought at the time that their official existence then hung upon a thread." such a result, however, was most unlikely, as sir robert inglis and other tory orators were eager to speak, having collected precedents, arguments, and quotations against the bill. these they proceeded to impart to the house. after a debate of seven nights, the bill was read a first time, without a division, and the second reading was set down for the 21st of march.

in the meantime the nation began to form itself rapidly into two parties—reformers and anti-reformers. the tories were all reunited, driven together by the sense of a common danger; divisions occasioned by the currency and agricultural distress were all forgotten—all merged in one mighty current of conservative feeling. the whole strength of that party rallied under the leadership of sir robert peel. his bitterest opponents, such as lord winchilsea and sir edward knatchbull, were among the most ardent and cordial of his allies. on the other hand, the reformers were in transports of joy and exultation. "i honestly confess," said mr. john smith, "that when i first heard the ministerial proposal, it had the effect of taking away my breath, so surprised and delighted was i to find the ministers so much in earnest." this was the almost universal feeling among reformers, who comprised the mass of the middle and working classes. no bill in the parliamentary annals of britain was ever honoured like this. it was accepted by universal suffrage as the charter of reform. every clause, every sentence, every word in it was held sacred; and the watchword at every meeting was, "the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." petitions were got up in every town, and almost every parish, some of them bearing twenty thousand or thirty thousand signatures, demanding the passing of the bill untouched and unimpaired.

on the 21st of march lord john russell moved the second reading of this great reform bill. sir richard vivian moved, as an amendment, that it be read a second time that day six months. there was nothing new in the debate that followed, though it lasted two nights. on the 22nd the division occurred. the second reading was carried by a majority of one. this was hailed with exultation by the conservatives, as equivalent to a defeat. but there were prophets who saw something ominous in this majority of one. they remembered that the first triumph of the tiers etat in the national assembly, in 1789, when they constituted themselves a separate chamber, was carried by one. the house was the fullest on record up to that time, the numbers being 302 to 301, the speaker and the four tellers not included. a remarkable circumstance connected with the division was, that about two to one of the county members in england and ireland were in favour of the bill. no less than sixty votes on the same side were for places to be disfranchised or reduced. although in the house it was felt that the division was equivalent to a defeat, the reformers out of doors were not in the least disheartened; on the contrary, they became, if possible, more determined. the political unions redoubled their exertions, and the country assumed an attitude of defiance to the oligarchical classes which excited serious alarm, from which the king himself was[332] not exempt. the pressure from without accumulated in force till it became something terrific, and it was evident to all reflecting men that the only alternative was reform or revolution.

on the 18th of april lord john russell moved that the house should go into committee on the bill, stating that he proposed to make certain alterations in the details of the measure, but none affecting its principles. general gascoigne then moved that it should be an instruction to the committee that the number of members composing the house of commons ought not to be reduced. the motion was seconded by mr. sadler, and resisted by lord althorp, who declared that the object of the motion was to destroy the bill. it was nevertheless carried, after an animated debate, by a majority of eight against the government. ministers had been placed in a position of peculiar difficulty—they had to humour the king's vanity and love of popular applause, in order to prevent his becoming sulky, and refusing to consent to a dissolution, which they felt to be inevitable. they had also to proceed with great caution in dealing with the opposition, lest, irritated by the threat of dissolution, they should resolve to stop the supplies, it being impossible to dissolve parliament in the present state of the estimates. they had been fortunate enough, however, to guard against this danger. on the 23rd of march supply had been moved, and a large portion of the army estimates voted. on the 25th sir james graham moved portions of the navy estimates, and on the same night the civil list was provided for. further supplies of various kinds having luckily been granted, on the 30th the house was adjourned for the easter holidays, till the 12th of april.

the affairs of ireland had been entrusted in the house of commons to the vigorous hands of mr. stanley (afterwards earl of derby), who had been sent over as chief secretary with lord anglesey, and whom, from his firmness in administering the law, mr. o'connell denounced as "scorpion stanley." on the 24th of march mr. stanley moved the first reading of the bill to amend the representation of ireland. a long and a violent debate ensued, in which ireland was not so much thought of as the vast general interests involved in the impending revolution. in the meantime ministers had done what they could to make the king comfortable with regard to his revenue. they proposed ￡510,000 a year for the civil list, instead of ￡498,480, as recommended by the committee, while the liberal jointure of ￡100,000 a year was settled upon queen adelaide. this gratified his majesty in the highest degree, and reconciled him to the dissolution, his decision being hastened by the attempt of the tories to stop supplies. when the royal carriages were not ready to take him to the house of lords, the king said, "then call a hackney coach."

an extraordinary scene of confusion was being enacted in the house of commons at the moment when the king's reluctance was overcome. sir r. vivian took occasion to arraign ministers violently for their intention of dissolving parliament. sir francis burdett contended that he was out of order. the speaker ruled that he was in order. the reformers differed from the chair. loud cries of "sir robert peel! sir robert peel!" were answered by counter-cries of "sir francis burdett! sir francis burdett!" and some wiser cries of "chair! chair!" the speaker rose and stilled this unprecedented storm—rebuked those who had disputed his authority, and again called on sir robert peel, who proceeded thereupon, in undisguised anger, to address the house. but as the noise of the cannon, which announced the king's approach, boomed into the house, the reform members loudly cheered, each discharge being greeted with overbearing and triumphant shouts. suddenly sir robert's angry speech, and the loud cheers of the reformers, were stilled by the three admonitory taps of the usher of the black rod, who came to summon the members to attend his majesty in the house of peers. the speaker at once obeyed, the commons following. a similar scene of confusion in the upper house was interrupted by the approach of the king. lord londonderry said, "i protest my lords, i will not submit to——." further than this his speech did not proceed, as the lord chancellor, who heard the king approaching, clutched the seals, left the woolsack, and darted out of the house. lord londonderry, not yet despairing, moved lord shaftesbury again to act as speaker, and lord mansfield began a furious harangue in a loud and angry voice. in the meantime the lord chancellor met the king entering the house, and proceeding in procession to the robing-room. as the king advanced, the noise in the house became distinctly audible. "what's that, my lord chancellor?" said the king. "only, may it please you, sire, the house of lords amusing themselves while awaiting your majesty's coming." the king, knowing what was meant, hastily robed, and as hastily entered the house—cutting short lord mansfield's speech, and putting an end to all chance of passing the[333] resolution under debate. the king ascended the throne, and commanded the attendance of the commons. the bar of the house of lords was thronged by the mass of members who now entered. the speaker addressed the king, stating that the house of commons approached the king with profound respect; and that the commons had at no time more faithfully responded to the real feelings and interest of his majesty's affectionate people; "while it has been," he added, "their earnest desire to support the dignity and honour of the crown, upon which depend the greatness, the happiness, and the prosperity of this country." the royal assent being given to the bills that had passed, and, among others, to the civil list bill, the chancellor presented to his majesty the speech he was to deliver, and the king, with the high shrill tone he always employed, but with more than wonted energy, read the first, which, indeed, was the really important paragraph of the speech, and that which alone men cared to listen to or hear.

william iv.

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"my lords and gentlemen," said his majesty, "i have come to meet you for the purpose of proroguing this parliament, with a view to its instant dissolution." the voice of the king rose, and became still more shrill and piercing, as he reached the last clause of the sentence; and a loud buzz and hum, the loudest such a presence permitted, immediately followed, and nearly drowned all the succeeding sentences. the dissolution speedily followed the prorogation, and a new parliament was summoned to meet on the 14th of june.

the press played a most important part in the agitation for reform. a host of the most witty, brilliant, and powerful writers of the day wielded their pens against monopoly with tremendous effect, assailing it with argument and ridicule, like a continual storm of shot and shell. of these, the[334] most distinguished was the rev. sydney smith, who mingled argument, sarcasm, humour, and pathos, in his ardent advocacy of the popular cause, with a power and effect that made him a host in himself. in answer to the objection that the reform bill was a mere theory, he furnished the most telling illustrations, from life, of the way in which the existing system kept down merit and damaged the public service. so far from reform being a mere theoretical improvement, he said, "i put it to every man who is himself embarked in a profession, or has sons in the same situation, if the unfair influence of borough-mongers has not perpetually thwarted him in his lawful career of ambition and professional emolument? 'i have been in three general engagements at sea,' said an old sailor; 'i have twice been wounded; i commanded the boats when the french frigate astrolabe was cut out so gallantly.' 'then, you were made a post captain?' 'no, i was very near it, but lieutenant thomson cut me out as i cut out the french frigate; his father is town-clerk of the borough of which lord f—— is member, and there my chance was finished.' in the same manner all over england, you will find great scholars rotting on curacies, brave captains starving in garrets, profound lawyers decayed and mouldering in the inns of court, because the parsons, warriors, and advocates of borough-mongers must be crammed to saturation before there is a morsel of bread for the man who does not sell his votes and put his country up for auction; and though this is of every-day occurrence, the borough system, we are told, is no practical evil...." another witty and brilliant writer, mr. fonblanque, rendered important services to the cause of reform by his writings in the examiner, which have been collected under the name of "seven administrations." though radical in its tendencies, he wrote, "ministers have far exceeded our expectations. the plan of reform, though short of radical reform, tends to the utter destruction of borough-mongering, and will prepare the way for a complete improvement. the ground, limited as it is, which it is proposed to clear and open with popular influence, will suffice, as the spot desired by archimedes, for the plant of the power which must ultimately govern the whole system. without reform, convulsion is inevitable. upon any reform further improvement is inevitably consequent, and the settlement of the constitution on the democratic basis certain."[1] at this period the times was by far the greatest power of the newspaper press, and its advocacy of the cause of reform was distinguished by a vigour and boldness which rendered it obnoxious to the house of lords, and provoked an attack on the liberty of the press that caused a great deal of excitement during the discussions on the first reform bill. mr. lawson, the printer, was arrested, but released after a reprimand.

such was the state of public feeling that preceded the dissolution of parliament. this event was the signal for the wildest exultation and triumph among the people. there was a general illumination in london, sanctioned by the lord mayor. in edinburgh and other cities where the civic authorities did not order it, the reform clubs took upon themselves to guide the people in their public rejoicings. in many places the populace broke the windows of those who refused to illuminate; and in some cases those who did comply had their windows smashed, if suspected of tory principles. in scotland the mobs are said to have been peculiarly violent. sir archibald alison states that the windows of his brother, professor alison, whose life had been devoted to the relief of the poor, though illuminated, "were utterly smashed in five minutes, as were those of above a thousand others of the most respectable citizens." the lord provost of edinburgh was seized by the mob on the day of the election, who tried to throw him over the north bridge, a height of ninety feet—a crime for which the ringleaders were afterwards convicted and punished by the judiciary court. the military were called out, but withdrawn at the request of lord advocate jeffrey. at ayr, he says, "the conservative voters had to take refuge in the town hall, from which they were escorted by a body of brave whigs, who, much to their honour, had them conveyed to a steamboat." "no person anywhere in scotland could give his vote for the conservative candidate." at lanark a dreadful riot occurred, and the conservative candidate was seriously wounded in the church where the election was going forward. at dumbarton the tory candidate, lord william graham, only escaped death by being concealed in a garret, where he lay hidden the whole day. at jedburgh a band of ruffians hooted the dying sir walter scott. "i care for you no more," said he, "than for the hissing of geese." sir walter, in his diary, says:—"the mob were exceedingly vociferous and brutal, as they usually are now-a-days. the population gathered in formidable numbers—a thousand from hawick—sad blackguards. i left the burgh in the midst of abuse and gentle hints[335] of 'burke sir walter!'" in london the windows in the houses of the leading anti-reformers were all broken. the duke of wellington was not spared in this raid against the opponents of popular rights. the windows of apsley house were smashed with volleys of stones. it happened, unfortunately, that the duchess lay dead within at the time. she had expired just as the booming of the guns in st. james's park announced the approach of the king to dissolve parliament. the crowd knew nothing of this. the duke, however, was determined that he would not suffer an outrage like this another time. he had iron shutters put up, so as to guard every window which was liable to be assailed, either from piccadilly or hyde park; and to the day of his death they remained.

the general election brought a large accession of strength to the reform party. the new parliament met on the 21st of june, and mr. manners sutton was again elected speaker. in the speech from the throne the king said, "having had recourse to the dissolution of parliament, for the purpose of ascertaining the sense of my people on the expediency of a reform in the representation, i have now to recommend that important question to your earliest and most attentive consideration, confident that, in any measures which you may prepare for its adjustment, you will adhere to the acknowledged principles of the constitution, by which the rights of the crown, the authority of both houses of parliament, and the rights and liberties of the people are equally secured." the usual assurances were then given of the friendly disposition of all foreign powers; reference was made to the contest then going on in poland, to the belgian revolution, and the right of its people to regulate their own affairs, so long as the exercise of it did not endanger the security of neighbouring states. a paragraph was devoted to portugal, lamenting that diplomatic relations with its government could not be re-established, though a fleet had been sent to enforce our demands of satisfaction. strict economy was recommended, in the stereotype phraseology of royal speeches. having referred to reduction of taxation, the state of the revenue, and to the desire to assist the industry of the country, by legislation on sound principles, the speech described the appearance of asiatic cholera, and the precautions that had been taken to prevent its introduction into england. the rest of the speech was devoted to ireland, where "local disturbances, unconnected with political causes," had taken place in various districts, especially in clare, galway, and roscommon, for the repression of which the constitutional authority of the law had been vigorously and successfully applied; and thus the necessity of enacting new laws to strengthen the executive had been avoided, to avert which, the king said, would ever be his most earnest desire.

addresses were agreed to in both houses without a division. the only discussion of interest that took place in connection with them referred to the dissolution, and the circumstances in which it occurred. the opposition denounced it as an impolitic proceeding, bearing the appearance of a revolutionary coup d'état. they charged the lord chancellor with making a false statement, in alleging that the commons had stopped the supplies, which, if true, was not the real cause of the dissolution, the cabinet having previously resolved upon that measure. some of the ministers also, in their addresses to their constituencies—sir james graham, for example—conveyed the same injurious impression, stating that "the last division, which had the effect of delaying the supplies, left no alternative but that of abandoning the bill or of appealing to the people." with this "factious" conduct the tory candidates were taunted at the elections, and they complained that they suffered in consequence much unmerited odium. the chancellor denied the imputation. not only had the ministers decided upon the measure of dissolution, but the requisite commission had been actually prepared; and lord brougham said, "knowing this, i must have been the veriest dolt and idiot in the creation, if i had said what has been attributed to me. i stated a fact—that the dissolution being resolved upon, if there were wanting any justification for the step, the conduct of the house of commons the night before furnished ample justification for that proceeding." but the truth is, the opposition were smarting under the sense of defeat; they had been out-man?uvred by lord grey, and defeated by the use of their own tactics.

another ground of attack upon the government at the opening of the session was their conduct in not bringing up mr. o'connell for judgment. it was alleged that they had entered into a corrupt compromise with the great irish agitator, in order to avert his hostility and secure his support at the elections. this was indignantly denied both by mr. stanley and lord plunket. they contended that as the act expired with the parliament, so did the conviction, and that mr. o'connell could not be legally punished. this was the opinion of the law officers of the crown in ireland, an opinion in[336] which the english law officers concurred. mr. stanley said:—"not only was there no collusion or compromise, but i should have been most glad if mr. o'connell could have been brought up for judgment; but then we have been told that we ought not to have dissolved parliament, because by so doing mr. o'connell had escaped. now, no man can be more sensible than i am of the importance of showing to the people of ireland that if mr. o'connell chooses to go beyond the law, he is not above the law; but, without meaning the slightest disrespect to mr. o'connell, i must say that if i put on the one hand the success of a great and important measure like the reform bill, and on the other the confinement of mr. o'connell in his majesty's gaol of kilmainham for three, six, or nine months, i must say that what became of mr. o'connell was as dust in the balance. besides, the impression of the supremacy of the law was made upon the people by the fact of the verdict having been obtained against him, and an immediate change was wrought in the system of agitation, which, indeed, ceased. such being the case, the question of what might be the personal consequences to any individual by the dissolution became of still less importance than it was before."

jedburgh abbey. (after the painting by sir george reid, p.r.s.a.)

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on the 24th of june lord john russell proposed his second edition of the reform bill, which did not substantially differ from the first. his speech on this occasion was a perfect contrast to the one with which he had introduced the measure at first. there was no longer any hesitation or timidity. he was no longer feeling his way doubtfully on an untried path, or navigating without compass along a dangerous coast. he boldly launched out to sea, with his eye steadily fixed on the north star, certain of his course and confident of the issue. the discussions of the previous session had thrown a flood of light upon the whole question. sustained by the enthusiasm of the people, and animated by the sympathy of the majority around him on the ministerial benches, he spoke as if a greater and more vigorous mind had taken possession of his frame. he was strong in argument, cutting in sarcasm, defiant in tone, powerful in declamation. borne by the power of[337] public opinion to a higher and more commanding position, and proudly conscious of the elevation, he seemed ashamed of the petty proposals of former years, and felt his heart as well as his intellect expanding to the greatness of the new position. the bill was read a first time without opposition, the discussion being expressly reserved by sir robert peel for the second reading, which was fixed for the 4th of july. in the meantime the irish bill was brought in by mr. stanley on the 30th of june, messrs. o'connell and sheil complaining bitterly of the difference existing, to the disadvantage of ireland, between the proposed plans of reform for the two countries. on the following day the lord advocate brought in the bill relating to scotland. on the 4th of july lord john russell moved the second reading of the english reform bill. a debate of three nights followed, containing little or no novelty in the argument, nothing but a wearisome repetition of points that had been discussed all over the country, hundreds of times, during the last few months. the most interesting feature was the attitude of sir robert peel, who unfortunately placed himself in the front of the battle against reform, in which he proved himself so able a general that all enlightened friends of the country lamented his false position. it was remarked, however, that he confined himself to a criticism of details.

great seal of william iv.

the division on the second reading took place on the 6th of july, when the numbers were—for the bill, 367; against it, 231; majority, 136. this result was a sufficient vindication of the appeal made to the country. the nation had now spoken constitutionally as to the evils of the old system of representation and unmistakably expressed its determination to have it reformed. the measure might be delayed in the commons by vexatious opposition; but if it were to be defeated it must be by the house of lords, and it required some boldness in the majority of that assembly to take upon itself to hinder the other branch of the legislature from effecting its own reform. the bill now went into committee, when the case of each borough which it was proposed to disfranchise came under separate consideration. in schedule a were placed, alphabetically, all the boroughs which had less than 2,000 of population, and these were to be disfranchised. when appleby, the first on the list, came under consideration, there was a keen contest as to the actual numbers then in the town, and the question turned upon the census by which the committee were to be guided. by the census of 1821 the place would be disfranchised, but the inhabitants affirmed that by the census of 1831, then in progress, they were shown to have more than the requisite number; and sir robert peel contended strenuously that they should wait for the more correct information. mr. wynn having moved a general resolution that the consideration of the schedules should be postponed till the result of the census was published, sir robert peel said, with great show of reason, "after having obtained so large a majority as 136 on the principle of the bill, government would have acted wisely, even for the interests of the measure itself, to have postponed going into details till they were in possession of better documents on which to proceed. they know what is coming; they are aware of the event which is casting its shadow before—namely, that the boroughs will be overtaken[338] by the population returns of 1831. in another fortnight these returns would be laid before the house; and though his majesty's ministers now proceed expressly on the doctrine of a population of 2,000 and 4,000, they are guilty of the inconceivable absurdity of proceeding on the returns of 1821, when they can so soon be in possession of the census of 1831." the house, however, determined, by a majority of 118, to proceed upon the old census. a series of tiresome debates upon the details of each particular borough proceeded from day to day, and lasted for two months, the ministry invariably carrying their points by triumphant majorities. the tone of the discussion was acrimonious, as might naturally be expected from the weighty personal interests involved. sir edward sugden solemnly declared that he considered the tone and manner, as well as the argument, of the attorney-general as indicating that they were to be dragooned into the measure. in the opinion of sir charles wetherell all this was "too capricious, too trifling, too tyrannical, and too insulting to the british public, to carry with it the acquiescence either of the majority within or the majority without the house." the ill-temper and factious obstruction of the opposition greatly damaged the tory party out of doors and exasperated the people against them.

during the passage of the bill through committee three important proposals were made—the first by lord chandos, that tenants paying fifty pounds per annum for their holdings should have a vote in the counties. this was known as "the chandos clause" of the reform bill, which was carried on the 18th of august by a majority of 84, the numbers being 232 and 148. mr. hume proposed that the colonies should be represented in the house of commons; but the motion was negatived without a division. mr. hunt, the celebrated radical reformer, moved that all house-holders paying rates and taxes should have votes; but, strange to say, household suffrage had in the committee but a single supporter, mr. hunt himself, who upon a division constituted the minority. mr. hume asked only nineteen members to represent 100,000,000 of inhabitants, including our indian empire, to which he would give four representatives. it was certainly a small demand, but as a representation of our colonies and dependencies it was ludicrously inadequate.

at length, after every clause of the bill, and every word and every place in each of the schedules had been the subjects of all possible motions and discussions—after a warfare which, for animosity and duration, was unparalleled in our parliamentary history, the bill was read a third time on the 21st of september, and passed by a majority of 109, the numbers being 345 to 236. the result was received with loud and long-continued cheering by the reformers in the house. the anxious and impatient multitude in the streets caught up the sounds of triumph with exultant enthusiasm; the acclamations of all classes of the people rang throughout the agitated metropolis. the news spread like wildfire through the country, and was everywhere received with ringing of bells and other demonstrations of joy. as soon as the bill passed an illumination of london was proposed, and an application was made to the lord mayor, in order to obtain his sanction, which was granted. the illumination was extensive, and those who refused to comply had their windows broken by the populace. in many places the people, whose patience had been so severely tested, began to lose their self-control, and were betrayed into riotous conduct. mr. macaulay, and other leading reformers in parliament, had warned the opposition of this danger, and it turned out that their apprehensions were not altogether visionary.

at length, on the 22nd of september, lord john russell, attended by lord althorp, and a great body of the most distinguished reformers, appeared at the bar of the house of lords, and handed the english reform bill to the lord chancellor, praying the concurrence of their lordships. this scene has been made the subject of a great historical painting. the bill, without any opposition or remark from any conservative peer, was read a first time on the motion of earl grey, and ordered to be read a second time on monday week. the debate on the second reading commenced on the 3rd of october, with a speech from lord grey—grave, elaborate, earnest, and impressive; simple, yet dignified. he described his own efforts in regard to parliamentary reform, spoke of the changes which had of necessity attended his opinions on the subject, and of the circumstances which, at the close of his long career, when the conservative spirit is naturally strongest in every man, had led him to endeavour to put in practice the theories and speculations of his youth and manhood. lord eldon described the progress of the debate from day to day in letters to members of his family. lord dudley and lord haddington quite surprised and delighted the zealous old man—they spoke so admirably against the bill. lord carnarvon delivered a most excellent speech; but lord plunket's speaking[339] disappointed him. the fifth night of the debate was occupied by the lawyers. lord eldon—following lord wynford and lord plunket—solemnly delivered his conscience on this momentous occasion. he was ill and weak, and being an octogenarian, he might be said to be speaking on the edge of the grave. he expressed his horror of the new doctrines which had been laid down with respect to the law of the country and its institutions. he could not consent to have all rights arising out of charters, and all the rights of close boroughs, swept away. boroughs, he contended, were both property and trust. close corporations had as good a right to hold their charters under the great seal as any of their lordships had to their titles and their peerages. he said that he was a freeman of newcastle-upon-tyne; he had received his education in the corporation school of that town on cheap terms, as the son of a freeman; he had a right to it; and he had hoped that, when his ashes were laid in the grave, he might have given some memorandum that the boys there, situated as he was, might rise to be lord chancellors of england, if, having the advantage of that education, they were honest, faithful, and industrious. the closing night of the debate brought out the two most illustrious law lords in the house, who had long been rivals and competitors in the arenas of professional and political life—lord brougham and lord lyndhurst. each was holding back in order to have the opportunity of replying to the other; but lord lyndhurst managed to have the last word, the more excitable lord chancellor having lost patience, and flung himself into the debate. he implored the house on his knees to pass the bill. but the coup de théatre miscarried, owing to the obvious anxiety of his friends lest he should be thought to be suffering from too much mulled port.

the last night's debate continued till between six and seven o'clock on the morning of saturday, the 8th of october. it was a night of intense anxiety, both in the house and out of doors. the space about the throne was crowded with foreigners and members of the other house. there was a number of ladies, peeresses, and their daughters, sitting there the whole night, manifesting their excitement in every way consistent with decorum. palace yard and the space all round the house was thronged with people waiting to hear the result of the division. the night was wet, however, and the debate was so protracted that the crowd had dispersed before morning. this was a matter of consolation to the opposition peers, who dreaded a mobbing. it was now broad daylight, and no sound was heard outside except the rolling of the carriages of the peers, who passed up parliament street as quietly as if they had come from disposing of a road bill. the fate of the bill was that day decided, for it, 158; against it, 199—leaving a majority of 41. "the night was made interesting," wrote lord eldon, "by the anxieties of all present. perhaps, fortunately, the mob on the outside would not wait so long."

the result produced intense excitement, and led to rioting and outrage in the metropolis, and in some of the provincial towns. in london, the duke of wellington, the duke of cumberland, and the marquis of londonderry, were assaulted in the street, and rescued with difficulty from the fury of the mob. lord londonderry, who had signalised himself during the debate by the violence of his opposition, was struck senseless from his horse by a shower of stones at the gate of the palace, amidst cries of "murder him! cut his throat!" persons respectably dressed, and wearing ribbons round their arms, took the lead on these occasions, giving orders, and rushing from the crowd. the houses of the duke of newcastle, lord bristol, and all other anti-reform peers, had been visited by the mob, and left without glass in their windows. all the shops in town were shut. "the accounts from derbyshire, nottinghamshire, and other places," wrote lord eldon, "are very uncomfortable. i heard last night that the king was frightened by the appearance of the people outside of st. james's."

although the division took no one by surprise, as the rejection of the bill by the lords was expected, yet the shock to society was very violent. the funds suddenly fell, and there was that feeling of vague anxiety in the public mind which often portends some great calamity. at derby they broke open the gaol and demolished the property of the anti-reformers of the place. at nottingham there was serious rioting, which ended in the utter destruction by fire of the ancient castle, once the property of the duke of newcastle, who had given violent offence by his rash declaration with regard to his voters at newark, "that he had a right to do what he pleased with his own." the popular fury, however, soon subsided, and the public mind regained tranquillity, in the full assurance that the carrying of the bill was only a question of time, and that the popular cause must ultimately triumph. what[340] most materially contributed to the restoration of public confidence was the fact that the king, alarmed at the prospect of a revolution, implored the ministers to retain their places, and to shape their bill so as to disarm their opponents; and on the following monday, in the house of commons, lord ebrington moved a vote of confidence in the government, to the effect that, while the house lamented the present state of a measure in favour of which the opinion of the country had been so unequivocally expressed, and which had been matured after the most anxious and laborious discussions, they felt imperatively called upon to reassert their firm adherence to its principles and leading provisions, and their unabated confidence in the integrity, perseverance, and ability of the ministers, who, in introducing it and conducting it so well, had consulted the best interests of the country. this motion was carried by the large majority of 131; the numbers being 329 to 198. thus supported by the commons, the ministers retained their places; and the king, on the 20th of october, prorogued parliament in person, in a speech which the lords might take as the king's answer to their vote, telling them in effect that by their obstinate bigotry they were setting themselves in antagonism to the two other estates of the realm, and that in their conduct and position lay the real danger to the constitution. his majesty said: "to the consideration of the important question of the reform of the house of commons the attention of parliament must necessarily again be called at the opening of the ensuing session; and you may be assured of my unaltered desire to promote its settlement by such improvements in the representation as may be found necessary for securing to my people the full enjoyment of their rights, which, in combination with those of the other orders of the state, are essential to the support of our free constitution."

in the trying circumstances in which they were placed, lord grey and his colleagues displayed a firmness and courage which entitled them to the everlasting gratitude of the country. the pluck of lord john russell in particular had quite an inspiriting effect on the nation. replying to a vote of thanks to him and lord althorp, which had been passed by the birmingham political union, the noble paymaster of the forces used an antithetical expression, which has become historical, and which, considering that the faction to which he alluded was the majority of the order to which he himself belonged, must be admitted to be one of extraordinary boldness. he said: "i beg to acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude the undeserved honour done me by 150,000 of my countrymen. our prospects are now obscured for a moment, and i trust only for a moment. it is impossible that the whisper of faction should prevail against the voice of the nation."

attack on sir charles wetherell at bristol. (see p. 340.)

[see larger version]

encouraged by language like this from ministers of the crown, the voice of the nation became louder and more menacing every day. meetings, attended by vast multitudes of angry and determined men, were held in liverpool, glasgow, edinburgh, and most of the large towns, especially where the democratic element was predominant. the worst and most destructive of the riots was at bristol. the recorder of bristol was sir charles wetherell, noted for his vehemence in opposing reform. considering the excitement and desperation that had been recently exhibited throughout the kingdom, it was scarcely prudent for sir charles wetherell to appear in bristol at all on that occasion. at all events, he should have entered the city privately, and discharged the duties of his office as quietly as possible. instead of that, he made a public and pompous entry into the city on the 20th of october, accompanied by the magistrates and a cavalcade of the tory gentry. this offensive pageant was naturally followed by a mob of disorderly characters, hissing and groaning. they soon began to throw stones and brickbats, especially when the respectable citizens at the commercial rooms received their polemical recorder with three cheers. the mansion-house was assailed with a shower of missiles. the mayor having called upon them in vain to retire, the riot act was read, but the military were not called out to enforce it. instead of dispersing, the mob overpowered the constables and drove them back, forced open the doors of the mansion-house, smashed the furniture, and armed themselves with the iron rails which they tore up from the front of the building. sir charles wetherell and the magistrates providentially escaped by a back door, and the recorder made an undignified retreat from the city. the military were at length called out, and after some time the disturbance seemed to be quelled, and the dragoons, who had been much fatigued, retired for the night. bristol, it is said, has always been distinguished for a bad mob. on the next day the rioters proceeded to the mansion-house, broke open its cellars, and regaled themselves with the contents. the military were again brought out to quell the now intoxicated rioters; but there was no magistrate there to give orders, and the troops were marched back to the[341] barracks. the mob then proceeded in detached parties, each having a work of destruction assigned to it. one party went to the bridewell, broke open the doors, liberated the prisoners, and then set the building on fire. another went to the new gaol and performed a similar operation there. the gloucester county prison was next broken open and consigned to the flames. the principal toll-houses about the city shared the same fate. the bishop's palace was pillaged and burned to the ground. becoming more maddened as they proceeded, their passions raging more furiously at the sight of the conflagration as it spread, the mob resolved that no public building should be left standing. the mansion-house, the custom-house, the excise office, and other public buildings were wrapt in flames, which were seen bursting forth with awful rapidity on every side. the blackened and smoking walls of buildings already burned were falling frequently with terrific crashing, while queen's square and the adjoining streets were filled with a maniacal multitude, yelling in triumph and reeling with intoxication; many of them lying senseless on the pavement, and not a few consumed in the fires which they had raised. in addition to the public buildings, forty-two dwelling-houses and warehouses were burned. the loss of property was estimated at half a million sterling. this work of destruction was commenced on sunday, and carried on during the night. the sky was reddened with the conflagration, while the military (who had been sent into the country to avoid irritating the people) and the paralysed authorities looked on helplessly from a distance at the progress of destruction. on monday morning, however, they recovered from their consternation, and resolved to make an effort to save the city. the magistrates ordered the military to act, and under the command of an officer of the 14th, the dragoons charged the rioters in earnest. a panic now seized the mob, who fled in terror before the flashing swords of the troops and the trampling hoofs of their horses, some of them so terror-stricken that they rushed for safety into burning houses. the number of persons killed and wounded during this terrible[342] business was ascertained to be 110, and it is supposed that many more that were never heard of lost their lives in the burning houses. the ringleaders were tried in december, when many persons were convicted, of whom three underwent the punishment of death.

early in the following year the mayor and the commanding officer, colonel brereton, were brought to trial for neglect of duty. the mayor was acquitted, as not having been adequately supported by the military; but colonel brereton's humanity led to the most painful consequences. his trial began on the 9th of january following, and lasted four days, during which, as the proofs against him accumulated, he was overwhelmed with agony of mind. on the night of the 12th he did not visit, as was his custom, the chamber of his two motherless daughters. he was heard walking for hours about his room during that night, and in the morning, when the court assembled, it was announced that the prisoner had shot himself through the heart.

this tragedy produced a painful sensation through the whole community. the facts brought to light at the trial had the effect of dissociating the bristol outrages from the cause of reform, with which they had no real connection. still the leading anti-reformers were extremely obnoxious to the people; and as men's minds became more and more heated, in reiterating demands for national rights, withheld by a faction, extreme opinions grew into greater favour. for example, a national political union was formed in london, and held a great meeting, at which sir francis burdett presided. this body issued a manifesto, in which they demanded annual parliaments, universal suffrage, and vote by ballot. this was a legitimate demand; but they broached more disputable topics when they proclaimed "that all property honestly acquired is sacred and inviolable; that all men are born equally free, and have certain natural and inalienable rights; that all hereditary distinctions of birth are unnatural, and opposed to the equal rights of man, and ought to be abolished; and that they would never be satisfied with any laws that stopped short of these principles." the union was proclaimed by lord melbourne, but continued to assemble. altogether, the country was in a most dangerous crisis in the autumn of 1831.