events in england—the budgets of 1848—repeal of the navigation act—the jewish disabilities bill—election of baron rothschild by the city of london—he is refused the oath—election of alderman salomons—he takes his seat in spite of the speaker—action in the court of the exchequer—the bill finally passed—colonial self-government—lord palmerston's foreign policy censured by the house of lords—the don pacifico debate—testimonial to lord palmerston—peel's last speech—his death—testimony as to his worth—honours to his memory.
while stirring events were in progress on the continent, public attention was naturally distracted from home politics; nor were these in themselves of a nature to command enthusiasm. the russell government was weak, but the opposition was weaker. sir robert peel with his little band gave, on the whole, his support to the ministry, and mr. disraeli, on the retirement of lord george bentinck, had only just begun to rally the conservatives, who had been utterly dispirited and crushed by the carrying of free trade. finance was always a weak point with the whigs, and that of 1848 was no exception to the rule. urged by the duke of wellington's letter to sir john burgoyne on the state of the defences, the chancellor of the exchequer determined on increasing the naval and military establishments. the result was a deficit of three millions, and no less than three withdrawals and alterations of the budget had to be made before his proposals could be so shaped as to be acceptable to the house. the next session was mainly devoted to irish affairs, the rate in aid producing a collision between the two houses, which was decided in favour of the lords. in the same year, however, the most important measure of the russell ministry became law; the repeal, namely, of the navigation act, by which the carrying monopoly was abolished after the retaliation of foreign nations had reduced the principle of reciprocity, upon which mr. huskisson's act had been framed, to a dead letter. supported by the canadian demand for liberation from the restrictions of the navigation act, ministers courageously faced the clamour raised by the protectionists, and carried their bill through the commons by large majorities. in the upper house, however, they snatched a bare majority of ten through the circumstance that they had more proxies than their opponents.
an effort was made to decide the long-agitated question of the emancipation of the jews in the session of 1849. on the 19th of february lord john russell moved that the house of commons should go into committee for the purpose of considering the oaths taken by members of parliament, excepting the roman catholic oath, settled in 1829. the oath of allegiance, he said, became a mockery when cardinal york died, there being no descendants of james ii. in existence; he therefore proposed to abolish it. the oath of abjuration, which was aimed against papal aggression, had now no practical effect but to exclude the jews from parliament, which it did by the words "on the true faith of a christian," which were never meant to exclude jews, but only to give greater solemnity to the oath. he proposed, therefore, to omit these words when the oath was tendered to a jew, and this he thought would complete the measure of religious liberty. the house resolved by a large majority—214 to 111—to go into committee on the subject. he then moved a resolution that it was expedient to alter the parliamentary oaths so as "to make provision in respect of the said oaths for the relief of her majesty's subjects professing the jewish religion." a bill founded on this resolution was brought in by lord john russell. the second reading was carried by a majority of 278 to 185. the third reading, after an important debate, was carried by a majority of 66. in the house of lords the second reading was moved on the 26th of july, by the earl of carlisle, in an able speech, in which he observed that the jews, though admitted to municipal privileges, were the only religious community debarred from political rights; but there was not, as far as he could see, a single valid objection upon which they could be refused. the earl of eglinton objected to their admission on religious grounds; so also did the archbishop of canterbury and the bishop of exeter. the former argued that our national christianity, to which we owed our greatness, would be grievously disparaged by the measure. the latter condemned it as a violation of the distinct contract between the sovereign and the nation—that the crown should maintain "to the utmost the laws of god and the true profession of the gospel." the archbishop of dublin (whately), always the powerful champion of religious freedom,[603] contended on the other hand that it was inconsistent with the principles and repugnant to the genius of christianity that civil disqualifications and penalties should be imposed on those who did not conform to it. their lordships must either retrace their steps, and exclude from office all who did not belong to the established church, or they must, in consistency, consent to the abrogation of this last restriction. the bill was rejected by a majority of 25—the numbers being, for the second reading, 70; against it, 95.
before another attempt was made to open the portals of the legislature the question was brought to a practical issue by an event similar to the clare election, by which o'connell forced on the decision with regard to catholic emancipation. the city of london had returned baron rothschild as one of its members; and at the morning sitting on the 26th of july, 1850, he presented himself at the table to take the oaths. when the clerk presented the new testament, he said, "i desire to be sworn on the old testament." sir robert inglis, in a voice tremulous with emotion, exclaimed—"i protest against that." the speaker then ordered baron rothschild to withdraw. an animated debate followed as to whether the baron could be sworn in that way, although he declared that that was the form of oath most binding upon his conscience. he presented himself a second time, when there was another long debate. ultimately, on the 6th of august, to which the matter was adjourned, the attorney-general moved two resolutions—first, that baron rothschild was not entitled to vote in the house till he took the oath in the form prescribed by law; and, second, that the house would take the earliest opportunity in the next session to consider the oath of abjuration, with a view to the relief of the jews. these resolutions were carried—the first, by a majority of 92 to 66; the second, by 142 to 106.
in pursuance of this resolution, lord john russell, soon after the meeting of parliament in 1851, introduced his jewish emancipation bill once more. the usual arguments were reiterated on both sides, and the second reading was carried by the reduced majority of 25. in the house of lords the second reading was moved by the lord chancellor, on the 17th of july, when it was thrown out by a majority of 36. in the meantime alderman salomons had been returned as member for greenwich, and, following the example of baron rothschild, he appeared at the bar, and offered to take the oath on the old testament, omitting the phrase, "on the true faith of a christian." the speaker then desired him to withdraw; but he took a seat, notwithstanding. the order of the speaker was repeated in a more peremptory tone, and the honourable member retired to a bench behind the bar. the question of his right to sit was then debated. sir benjamin hall asked the ministers whether they were disposed to prosecute mr. salomons, if he persisted in taking his seat, in order to test his legal right. lord john russell having answered in the negative, mr. salomons entered the house, amidst loud cries of "order!" "chair!" the speaker's imperative command, "withdraw!" ringing above all. the speaker then appealed to the house to enforce his order. lord john russell then moved a resolution that mr. salomons should withdraw. mr. bernal osborne moved an amendment. the house became a scene of confusion; and in the midst of a storm of angry cries and counter-cries, mr. anstey moved the adjournment of the debate. the house divided and mr. salomons voted with the minority. the house again divided on mr. bernal osborne's amendment, that the honourable gentleman was entitled to take his seat, which was negatived by 229 against 81. in defiance of this decision, mr. salomons again entered and took his seat. he then addressed the house, stating that it was far from his desire to do anything that might appear contumacious or presumptuous. returned by a large constituency, he appeared in defence of their rights and privileges as well as his own; but whatever might be the decision of the house, he would not abide by it, unless there was just sufficient force used to make him feel that he was acting under coercion. lord john russell called upon the house to support the authority of the speaker and its own dignity. two divisions followed—one on a motion for adjourning the debate, and another on the right of mr. salomons to sit, in both of which he voted. the latter was carried by a large majority; when the speaker renewed his order to withdraw, and the honourable gentleman not complying, the serjeant-at-arms touched him lightly on the shoulder, and led him below the bar. another long debate ensued on the legal question; and the house divided on two motions, which had no result. the discussion of the question was adjourned to the 28th of july, when petitions from london and greenwich, demanding the admission of their excluded representatives, came under consideration. the speaker announced that he had received a letter from alderman salomons, stating that several notices of actions for penalties had been served upon him in consequence of his having[604] sat and voted in the house. a motion that the petitioners should be heard at the bar of the house was rejected; and lord john russell's resolution, denying the right of mr. salomons to sit without taking the oath in the usual form, was carried by a majority of 55. and so the vexed question was placed in abeyance for another year so far as parliament was concerned. but an action was brought in the court of exchequer, against alderman salomons, to recover the penalty of ￡500, for sitting and voting without taking the oath. the question was elaborately argued by the ablest counsel. judgment was given for the plaintiff. there was an appeal from this judgment, by a writ of error, when the lord chief justice campbell, with justices coleridge, cresswell, wightman, williams, and crompton, heard the case again argued at great length. the court unanimously decided that the words, "on the true faith of a christian," formed an essential part of the oath; and that, according to the existing law, the jews were excluded from sitting in either house of parliament. this judgment was given in the sittings after hilary term, in 1852.
benjamin disraeli.
(after the portrait by a. e. challon, r.a.)
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the history of this question of jewish emancipation gives proof, as striking as any upon record, of the obstinacy and tenacity of prejudice established by law, although no possible danger could arise to the british constitution from the admission of the jews; although mr. salomons had been elected sheriff of london in 1835, and a bill was passed to enable him to act; although the year after, mr. moses montefiore was likewise elected sheriff of london, and knighted by the queen; although in 1846 jews elected to municipal offices were relieved by parliament from taking the oaths;[605] although baron rothschild and alderman salomons had been repeatedly elected by immense majorities; although bills for emancipating the jews, the only class of her majesty's subjects still labouring under political disabilities on account of their religion, were passed year after year by the house of commons, but were indignantly rejected by the house of lords. at length, in 1858, the commons were obliged to admit the jews by a resolution of their own house, but it was not till 1860 that an act was passed permitting jewish members of parliament to omit from the oath the words "on the true faith of a christian."
arrest of british sailors by greek soldiers. (see p. 606.)
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the session of 1850 was creditably distinguished by the establishment of a policy of self-government for our colonies. they had become so numerous and so large as to be utterly unmanageable by the centralised system of the colonial office; while the liberal spirit that pervaded the home government, leading to the abolition of great monopolies, naturally reacted upon our fellow-subjects settled abroad, and made them discontented without constitutional rights. it was now felt that the time was come for a comprehensive measure of constitutional government for our american and australian colonies; and on the 8th of february, lord john russell, then prime minister, brought the subject before the house of commons. it was very fully discussed, sir william molesworth, mr. roebuck, mr. labouchere, and others who had taken an active part in colonial affairs, being the principal speakers. with regard to canada, great progress had already been made in constitutional government. the same might be said of nova scotia and new brunswick, in which the practice of administration approximated to that observed in great britain. it was determined to introduce representative institutions of a similar kind in cape colony. in australia it was proposed that there should be but one council, two-thirds elected by the people and one-third nominated by the governor. mr. roebuck objected strongly to the government measure, because it left the colonists free, to a great extent, to gratify the strong desire almost universally felt among them to have power to choose a constitution for themselves, instead of[606] having a constitution sent out to them, cut and dry. he wanted the house to plant at once liberal institutions there, which would spare the colonists the agony of working out a scheme of government for themselves. he declared that "of all the abortions of an incompetent administration, this was the greatest." a ready-made constitution had been sent out by the government to south africa; why, then, could not parliament send out a ready-made constitution to australia? lord john russell replied to mr. roebuck's arguments, and after a lengthened debate the bill was read a second time. there was a strong division of opinion in committee as to whether there should be two chambers or one. sir william molesworth moved an amendment to the effect that there should be two, which was rejected by a majority of 218 against 150. the bill passed the house of commons on the 18th of may, and on the 31st was brought into the lords, where also it was subjected to lengthened discussions and various amendments, which caused it to be sent back to the commons for consideration on the 1st of august. on the motion of lord john russell the amendments were agreed to, and the bill was passed. this was the principal legislative work of the session and possessed undoubted merits.
the most interesting of all the debates that occurred in the house of commons during the session of 1850 was that which took place on the foreign policy of great britain, particularly with reference to greece. the house of lords had passed a vote of censure upon the government, by a majority of thirty-seven, on a motion brought forward by lord stanley, and folk were anxious to see how the house of commons would deal with that fact. on the 20th of june lord john russell read the resolution, and said, "we are not going in any respect to alter the course of conduct we have thought it right to pursue in respect of foreign powers, in consequence of that resolution." he concluded his speech with the following bold defiance, which elicited general and protracted cheering:—"so long as we continue the government of this country, i can answer for my noble friend [lord palmerston] that he will act not as a minister of austria, or of russia, or of france, or of any other country, but as the minister of england. the honour of england and the interests of england—such are the matters that are within our keeping; and it is to that honour and to those interests that our conduct will in future be, as it has hitherto been, directed."
mr. roebuck, the next day, moved a counter-resolution in the following terms:—"that the principles which have hitherto regulated the foreign policy of her majesty's government are such as were required to preserve untarnished the honour and dignity of this country, and, in times of unexampled difficulty, the best calculated to maintain peace between england and the various nations of the world." he supported this position in an able and lengthened speech. the chief ground of dispute was the demand of palmerston for compensation to a person named don pacifico, a jew, and by birth a british subject, who resided at athens, and whose house had been attacked on a sunday, his property destroyed, and his family beaten by a mob headed by young noblemen. the greek government refused him reparation, and he sought protection from england. there was also the case of mr. finlay, whose land was seized in order that it might be converted into a garden for the king of greece, the owner being refused payment; lord aberdeen, when foreign secretary, having applied in vain for redress. there was also the case of h.m.s. fant?me, whose boat's crew had been arrested by greek soldiers; also other outrages equally serious. lord palmerston defended his policy with his wonted spirit and ability, and with triumphant success in a speech which, said mr. gladstone, lasted "from the dusk of one day to the dawn of another." mr. gladstone arraigned the conduct of the first minister in sitting down contentedly under the censure of the house of lords, by sheltering himself under precedents which were in fact no precedents at all. he charged lord palmerston with violating international law, by making reprisals upon greek property to the extent of ￡80,000 to satisfy the exorbitant demands of don pacifico; the fruit of this policy being humiliation, in regard to france, and a lesson received without reply from the autocrat of all the russia's. mr. cobden also assailed the policy of lord palmerston, and asked if there was no other way of settling such trifling matters than by sending fifteen ships of war into greek waters, which had seized several gunboats, and more than forty merchantmen. lord john russell defended the policy of the government, and concluded by declaring that by the verdict of that house and the people of england he was prepared to abide, fully convinced that the government had preserved at the same time the honour of the country and the blessings of peace. mr. disraeli, on the other hand, maintained that the house of lords had exercised a solemn duty in pronouncing a censure upon the policy which had led to such terrible results. this debate will[607] be rendered for ever memorable in our annals by the speech of sir robert peel. it was one of the best speeches he ever delivered in that house, and it was his last. he argued strongly against intermeddling with the affairs of foreign nations in order to procure for them free institutions, and concluded with the expression of his belief that the cause of constitutional liberty would only be encumbered by our help; whilst by intruding it we should involve great britain in incalculable difficulties. when the hour for the division came the house was very full—ayes—310; noes, 264; giving the government a majority of 46.
on the day after this division a deputation of nearly ninety members of the house of commons, headed by lord james stuart, waited upon lady palmerston, and presented her with a full-length portrait of her husband, representing him in evening dress and wearing the ribbon of the order of the bath. they requested her ladyship to accept of that testimony of their high sense of viscount palmerston's public and private character, and of the independent policy by which he maintained the honour and interests of the country. what made this presentation singularly opportune was the fact that on the same day a telegraphic despatch had been received from paris, announcing the settlement of the greek question. the government was undoubtedly strengthened by lord palmerston's display, at a moment when its fall seemed inevitable.
only a week after sir robert peel delivered his memorable speech on the foreign policy of the country, his career was suddenly terminated. on the 22nd of june her majesty's third son, arthur william patrick albert, had been baptised with the usual ceremonial pomp at buckingham palace, and on the 29th sir robert peel had called there and entered his name in her majesty's visiting-book. proceeding thence up constitution hill, he had arrived nearly opposite the wicket gate leading into the green park, when he met miss ellis, one of lady dover's daughters, on horseback, attended by a groom. sir robert had scarcely exchanged salutes with this young lady when his horse became restive, swerved towards the railing of the green park, and threw him sideways on his left shoulder. he became unconscious, and remained so till he was placed in a carriage, when he revived and said, "i feel better." on being lifted out of the carriage at whitehall gardens, he walked with assistance into the house. the effect of meeting his family, however, caused a reaction. he swooned in the arms of dr. foucart, and was placed upon a sofa in the nearest apartment, the dining-room, from which he was never removed till his death. sir benjamin brodie, mr. c?sar hawkins, dr. seymour, and mr. hodgson held a consultation, and attempted to reduce the visible injury, but this caused such agony that, at the patient's earnest request, the attempt was abandoned. he passed a restless night on saturday, and continued in a very precarious state on sunday and monday. on tuesday morning he fell into a sound sleep, after which he felt easier, his mind being quite composed. but at two o'clock on that day symptoms appeared which caused the physicians to abandon all hope. the last rites of the church were administered by the bishop of gibraltar, dr. tomlinson, a very old friend. lady peel and the members of the family joined in this melancholy communion, sir robert being scarcely able to recognise them. lord hardinge and sir james graham also joined the group of mourners; but the painfully excited feelings of lady peel rendered it absolutely necessary to remove her from the apartment. he ceased to breathe about midnight, his great spirit departing peacefully from the earthly tabernacle that had been so suddenly crushed (july 2, 1850). a post-mortem examination showed that the cause of death was a broken rib on the left side pressing upon the lung.
the death of no english statesman had ever produced a deeper feeling of grief throughout the nation, or more general expressions of lamentation at the irreparable loss which the country had sustained. mr. hume had a motion on the paper for the day following his death; but instead of proceeding with it, he moved the adjournment of the house, which was agreed to unanimously. mr. gladstone paid an eloquent and touching tribute to his memory, concluding with the lines—
"now is the stately column broke,
the beacon light is quenched in smoke,
the trumpet's silvery sound is still,
the warder silent on the hill."
the house of lords did not sit on that day; but on the following day the marquis of lansdowne, lord stanley, lord brougham, and the duke of wellington gave earnest expression to the feelings of their lordships upon the subject of this national bereavement. the duke of wellington in particular, as might be expected, was deeply moved while expressing his great gratification at what had been said as to the character of sir robert peel. he added his testimony as to what he believed to be its strongest feature—his truthfulness. "in all the course of my acquaintance[608] with sir robert peel," said the duke, "i never knew a man in whose truth and justice i had a more lively confidence; or in whom i saw a more invariable desire to promote the public service. in the whole course of my communication with him, i never knew an instance in which he did not show the strongest attachment to truth; and i never saw in the whole course of my life the smallest reason for suspecting that he stated anything which he did not firmly believe to be the fact." lord john russell, who had been absent on the previous day, spoke in the warmest terms of admiration of the late statesman, and avowed his conviction that the harmony which had prevailed for the last two years, and the safety which great britain had enjoyed during a period when other nations were visited by the calamity of revolution, had been owing to the course which sir robert peel had thought it his duty to adopt. he concluded by offering, in the name of the crown, funeral honours similar to those accorded on the death of pitt or grattan. but mr. goulburn stated that sir robert had recorded his desire to be interred in a vault in the parish church of drayton bassett without funeral pomp. on the 12th of july, pursuant to a motion made by the prime minister, the house of commons went into committee for the purpose of adopting an address to the queen, praying her majesty to order the erection of a monument in westminster abbey to the memory of sir robert peel, which was unanimously voted. he stated that the queen, anxious to show the sense which she entertained of the services rendered to the crown, had directed him to inform lady peel that she desired to bestow upon her the same rank that was bestowed upon the widow of mr. canning. lady peel answered that her wish was to bear no other name than that by which her husband was known to the world.
