prorogation of parliament—agitation against the house of lords—o'connell's crusade—inquiry into the orange lodges—report of the committee—mr. hume's motion—renewed attack in 1836—the lodges dissolved—lord mulgrave in ireland—his progresses—wrath of the orangemen—prosperity of the country—condition of canada—a commission appointed—violence of the king—lord gosford in canada—his failure to pacify the canadians—upper canada—pepys becomes lord chancellor—opening of parliament—the king's speech—o'connell and mr. raphael—the newspaper duty—the irish poor—appointment of a commission—its numerous reports—the third report—private bills on the subject—mr. nicholls' report—lord john russell's bill—abandonment of the measure—debate on agriculture—finance—the ecclesiastical commission—its first report—the commission made permanent—the tithe commutation act—the marriage act—the registration act—commercial panics—foreign affairs—russian aggression—occupation of cracow—disorder in spain—revolution in portugal—position of the ministry—a speech of sheil's—the church rates bill—death of the king—his treatment of the ministry.

after a lengthened and toilsome session parliament was at length prorogued by the king in person on the 10th of september. several important measures which had passed the commons were rejected by the lords. their resistance had caused great difficulty in carrying through the imperatively demanded measures of municipal reform; and they had deprived the irish church temporalities act of one of its principal features. but their obstructive action was not confined to great political measures of that kind. they rejected the dublin police bill, and other measures of practical reform. the consequence was that the liberal party began to ask seriously whether the absolute veto which the lords possessed, and which they sometimes used perversely and even factiously, was compatible with the healthful action of the legislature and the well-being of the country. it was roundly asserted that the experience of the last two years had demonstrated the necessity of reform in the house of lords. the question was extensively agitated, it was constantly discussed in the press, public meetings were held throughout the country upon it, and numerous petitions were presented to parliament with the same object. on the 2nd of september mr. roebuck, while presenting one of these petitions, announced his intention of introducing early in the next session a bill to deprive the house of lords of its veto upon all measures of legislation, and to substitute for it a suspense of power, so that if a bill thrown out by the lords should pass the commons a second time, and receive the royal assent, it might become law without the concurrence of the peers. mr. ripon also gave notice of a motion to remove the bishops from the house of peers; while mr. hume indignantly denounced the humiliating ceremonials observed in the intercourse between the commons and the lords. although the whole proceeding at a conference between the two houses consists of the exchange of two pieces of paper, oral discussions not being permitted, the members of the house of commons are obliged to wait upon the lords, standing with their hats off, the members of the upper house, as if they were masters, remaining seated with their hats on. the state of feeling among the working classes on this subject was expressed in the strongest language in an address to mr. o'connell from the "non-franchised inhabitants of glasgow." they warmly deprecated the unmanly and submissive manner in which the ministers and the commons had bowed bare-headed to the refractory lords. they demanded that responsibility should be established in every department of the state; and they said, "as the house of lords has hitherto displayed a most astounding anomaly in this enlightened age by retaining the right to legislate by birth or court favour, and being thereby rendered irresponsible, it follows it must be cut down as a rotten encumbrance, or be so cured as to be made of some service to the state, as well as amenable to the people."

indeed, mr. o'connell's agitating tour in the north of england and in scotland was in effect a crusade against the lords. in a speech which he addressed to an immense assemblage of the working classes of manchester, he said, if there were only one house of parliament, a majority of that house, perhaps a faction, might become the rulers of the entire nation. he was, therefore, for two houses, but they should be honest and competent. why should a man be a legislator because his father was one? it was as reasonable to expect that a man would be a good tailor on the hereditary principle. the lords had proved themselves to be arrant botchers in the work of[393] legislation. were they to have 170 masters of that class? he then proceeded in this strain:—"will you endure that any gang or banditti, i care not by what name you call them, should treat you contemptuously? in one word, i call them rogues. we must put down the house of lords. ye are miserable minions of power. ye have no choice for yourselves till that house be thoroughly reformed. let the king retain his prerogative of raising men to that rank and station to which they may be eligible. let every 200,000 men in great britain and ireland select one lord from this list; that will give you 120 for the 24,000,000; let them be re-eligible every five years, and you will have a steady chamber." still, the outrageous attacks of mr. o'connell gave much offence, and when, on his return to dublin after his crusade, he was invited to dinner by the lord-lieutenant, a violent storm was raised against the government, and the king was greatly indignant.

conference between the houses of parliament, 1835. (see p. 392.)

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the tory party sustained serious damage in consequence of an inquiry on the subject of orange lodges in the army, which was granted in may, on the motion of mr. finn, an irish member. very startling disclosures were made by this committee during sir robert peel's brief administration. various addresses had been presented from orange societies, which led to pertinacious questioning of the ministers. it was asked whether the addresses in question purported to come from orange societies; whether the king ought to receive addresses from illegal associations; and whether it was true, as the newspapers said, that such addresses had been graciously received by his majesty. there was a peculiar significance given to these inquiries by an impression that began to prevail that there had been on foot for some years a conspiracy to prevent the princess victoria from ascending the throne, and to secure the sovereignty for the eldest brother of the king, the duke of cumberland, the avowed head of the tory party, and also the head of the orange society, through whose instrumentality the revolution was to be effected, in furtherance of which orange lodges had been extensively organised in the army. the report of the committee was presented in september, and from this report it appeared that orange lodges were first[394] held in england under irish warrants; but that in 1808 a lodge was founded in manchester, and warrants were issued for the holding of lodges under english authority. on the death of the grand master in that town, in 1821, the lodge was removed to london, where the meetings were held in the house of lord kenyon, deputy grand master. the duke of york had been prevented from assuming the office of grand master, because the law officers of the crown were of opinion that the society was illegal. the act against political associations in ireland having expired in 1828, the orange lodges started forth in vigorous and active existence, under the direction of the duke of cumberland as grand master. the passing of the emancipation act seems to have had the effect of driving the leaders of the society into a conspiracy to counteract its operation, or to bring about a counter-revolution by means of this treasonable organisation; though, perhaps, they did not consider it treasonable, as their object was to place upon the throne the brother of the king, whom they thought to be alone capable of preserving the constitution, and of excluding from it a very young princess, who would be during her minority in the hands of whigs and radicals, whom they believed to be leagued together to destroy it. considering the frenzy of party spirit at this time, and the conditional loyalty openly professed by the men who annually celebrated the battle of the boyne and the glorious revolution of 1688, there is nothing very surprising in the course adopted by the orange societies, though the english public were astounded when they learnt for the first time, in 1835, that there were 140,000 members of this secret society in england, of whom 40,000 were in london; and that the army was to a large extent tainted.

in 1828, when the duke of cumberland became grand master, he issued a commission to his "trusty, well-beloved, and right worshipful brother, lieutenant-colonel fairman," whom he had chosen from a knowledge of his experience and a confidence in his integrity. this commission was signed as follows: "given under my seal at st. james's, this 13th day of august, 1828. ernest g. m." in the fulfilment of his commission, colonel fairman went to dublin, in order to bring the irish and english lodges into one uniform system of secret signs and passwords. he also made two extensive tours in england and scotland, for the purpose of extending the system through the large towns and populous districts. from letters written by colonel fairman at various dates, we gather that he hoped to strike the foe with awe by assuming an attitude of boldness; that they had inculcated the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance "too religiously by far;" that lords kenyon, londonderry, longford, and cole had written about their prospects in the highest spirits; that lord wynford and other chiefs denounced the melbourne administration to the duke of cumberland; that if the duke would make a tour in the country, for which fairman had prepared the way, he would be idolised; that lord kenyon had in two years spent nearer ￡20,000 than ￡10,000 on behalf of the good cause; that lord roden wrote to him about "our cause;" that they wanted another "sound paper" as well as the morning post to advocate the cause—the cause, as they professed, of all the friends of christianity who devoutly cherished the hope of the arrival of a day of reckoning, when certain "hell-hounds would be called upon to pay the full penalty of their cold-blooded tergiversations." it was found that of 381 lodges existing in great britain, 30 were in the army, and—the inquiry having been extended to the colonies on the motion of mr. hume—that lodges had been established among the troops at bermuda, gibraltar, malta, corfu, new south wales, van diemen's land, and the north american colonies. the bishop of salisbury was lord prelate and grand chaplain of the order, and there were a number of clergymen of the church chaplains. no dissenter in england belonged to the body, though it included many presbyterians in ireland, where the members amounted to 175,000, who were ready at any time to take the field.

before the report of the committee was presented, mr. hume, on the 4th of august, moved eleven resolutions declaring the facts connected with orangeism, proposing an address to the king, and calling his majesty's attention to the duke of cumberland's share in those transactions. lord john russell, evidently regarding the business as being of extreme gravity, moved that the debate be adjourned to the 11th of august, plainly to allow the duke of cumberland an opportunity of retiring from so dangerous a connection; but instead of doing so, he published a letter to the chairman of the committee, stating that he had signed blank warrants, and did not know that they were intended for the army. lord john russell expressed his disappointment at this illogical course. if what he stated was true, that his confidence was abused by the members of the[395] society in such a flagrant manner, he should have indignantly resigned his post of grand master, but he expressed no intention of doing so. mr. hume's last resolution, proposing an address to the king, was adopted, and his answer, which was read to the house, promised the utmost vigilance and vigour. on the 19th the house was informed that colonel fairman had refused to produce to the committee a letter-book in his possession, which was necessary to throw light on the subject of their inquiry. he was called before the house, where he repeated his refusal, though admonished by the speaker. the next day an order was given that he should be committed to newgate for a breach of privilege, but it was then found that he had absconded.

it was now proposed that as the orange leaders had violated the law as much as the dorsetshire labourers, they should be dealt with in the same manner, and that if evidence could be obtained, the duke of cumberland, lord kenyon, the bishop of salisbury, colonel fairman, and the rest should be prosecuted in the central criminal court. there was an orangeman, named heywood, who had betrayed his confederates, and was about to be prosecuted by them for libel. the opponents of the orangemen, believing his allegations to be borne out by the evidence given before the committee, resolved to have him defended by able counsel, retaining for the purpose serjeant wilde, mr. charles austen, and mr. charles buller. all the necessary preparations were made for the trial, when heywood suddenly died, having broken a blood-vessel through agitation of mind, and alarm lest he should somehow become the victim of an association so powerful, whose vengeance he had excited by what they denounced as treachery and calumny. the criminal proceedings, therefore, were abandoned. almost immediately after the opening of parliament in february, 1836, mr. finn and mr. hume again made a statement in the house of commons of the whole case against the duke of cumberland and the orange society, and proposed a resolution which seemed but a just consequence of their terrible indictment. the resolution declared the abhorrence of parliament of all such secret political associations, and proposed an address to the king requesting him to cause the dismissal of all orangemen and members of any other secret political association from all offices civil and military, unless they ceased to be members of such societies within one month after the issuing of a proclamation to that effect. lord john russell proposed a middle course, and moved, as an amendment, an address to the king praying that his majesty would take such measures as should be effectual for the suppression of the societies in question. mr. hume having withdrawn his resolution, the amendment was adopted unanimously. the king expressed concurrence with the commons; a copy of his reply was sent to the duke of cumberland, as grand master, by the home secretary. the duke immediately sent an intimation that before the last debate in the commons he had recommended the dissolution of the orange societies in ireland, and that he would immediately proceed to dissolve all such societies elsewhere. "in a few days," harriet martineau remarked, "the thing was done, and orangeism became a matter of history."

but whatever may have been the prudence of the chiefs of the party in britain, however quietly the suppression may have been effected on the english side of st. george's channel, the society was very far from dying quietly, or dying at all in ireland, its native land. it was stunned for the moment, but very soon recovered all its pristine vigour and became as troublesome as ever. lord mulgrave went to that country as viceroy, determined to govern on the principle of strict impartiality between sects and parties, but the orangemen and the tories generally denounced him as the most partial and one-sided of viceroys. it was enough for them that o'connell declared him to be the best englishman that ever came to ireland. eulogy from his lips was the strongest possible censure in the estimation of the opposite party. the violence of party feeling against the government may be inferred from the fact that the recorder of dublin, mr. shaw, one of the ablest and most eloquent of the protestant chiefs, denounced the melbourne administration as infidels in religion. lord mulgrave, imitating some of the viceroys of old times, made a "progress" of conciliation through the country, first visiting the south and then the north. this progress was signalised by the pardon and liberation of a large number of prisoners, which produced much excitement and clamour against the government. it subsequently appeared that he had during his viceroyalty liberated 822 prisoners, of whom 388 were liberated without advice, the number of memorials which he received being 1,631. although he evinced his impartiality by setting free all the orangemen who had been imprisoned in ulster for taking part in processions on the previous 12th of july, the members of that[396] body were not conciliated. the dublin grand committee published a manifesto, declaring that the mere will of the king was not law, and that their watchword should still be "no surrender." sir harcourt lees, who had been long famous as an orange agitator, issuing counter-blasts to o'connell's letters and speeches, concluded one of his appeals on this occasion thus:—"orangemen, increase and multiply; be tranquil, be vigilant. put your trust in god, still revere your king, and keep your powder dry." in ulster the organs of the orange party called upon its members to resist the law against processions, since the provisions of the emancipation act against the jesuits and other religious orders, who treated the law with defiance, were allowed to remain a dead letter. the londonderry sentinel warned off the liberal viceroy from that citadel of protestant ascendency, and said, "if he should come among us, he shall see such a display of orange banners as will put him into the horrors." the irritation was kept up by various incidents, such as setting aside the election of a mayor of cork, because he was an orangeman, setting aside two sheriffs, and the dismissal of constables for the same reason. in the meantime a tremendous outcry was raised on account of the alleged partiality of the irish government on the subject of patronage. it was said that every office was at the disposal of the roman catholics; that from the bench of justice down to the office of police-constable there was no chance for any one else. in the midst of a war of factions in the spring of 1836 a tremendous sensation was produced by the blowing up of the statue of king william on college green. on the 8th of february, a little after midnight, this astounding event occurred. the statue stood on a pedestal eighteen feet in height, surrounded by an enclosure of iron railing, the head being about thirty feet from the level of the street. the figure consisted of lead, and though weighing several tons, it was blown up to a considerable height, and fell at some distance from the pedestal. the government and the corporation offered rewards for the discovery of the authors of this outrage, but without success. it was a mystery how such a quantity of gunpowder could have been got into the statue, and how a train could have been laid without detection in so public a place, the police being always on duty on college green at night. king william, however, was restored to his position.

happily, the prevalence as well as the acerbity of party spirit was restrained by the prosperous state of the country in the winter of 1835-36. there were, indeed, unusual indications of general contentment among the people. allowing for partial depression in agriculture, all the great branches of national industry were flourishing. the great clothing districts of yorkshire and lancashire, both woollen and cotton, were all in a thriving condition. even in the silk trade of macclesfield, coventry, and spitalfields, there were no complaints, nor yet in the hosiery and lace trades of nottingham, derby, and leicester, while the potteries of staffordshire, and the iron trade in all its branches, were unusually flourishing. of course, the shipping interest profited by the internal activity of the various manufactures and trades. money was cheap, and speculation was rife. the farmers, it is true, complained, but their agricultural distress to a certain extent was felt to be chronic. farming was considered a poor trade, its profits, on the average, ranging below those of commerce. most of the farmers being tenants at will, and their rents being liable to increase with their profits, they were not encouraged to invest much in permanent improvements.

but if great britain was prosperous, the affairs of canada got into a very disturbed state, and became a source of trouble for some time to the government in the mother country. to the conflicting elements of race and religion were added the discontents arising from misgovernment by a distant power not always sufficiently mindful of the interests of the colony. for many years after lower canada, a french province, had come into the possession of britain, a large portion of the country westward—lying along the great lakes—now known as upper canada, nearly double the extent of england, was one vast forest, constituting the indian hunting-ground. in 1791, when by an act of the imperial parliament the colony received a constitution, and was divided into upper and lower canada, with separate legislatures, the amount of the white population in upper canada was estimated at 50,000. twenty years later it had increased to 77,000, and in 1825 emigration had swelled its numbers to 158,000, which in 1830 was increased to 210,000, and in 1834 the population exceeded 320,000, the emigration for the last five years having proceeded at the rate of 12,000 a year. the disturbances which arose in 1834 caused a check to emigration; but when tranquillity was restored it went on rapidly increasing, till, in 1852, it was nearly a million. the increase[397] of wealth was not less remarkable. the total amount of assessable property, in 1830, was ￡1,854,965; 1835, ￡3,407,618; 1840, ￡4,608,843; 1845, ￡6,393,630.

irish prisoners liberated during lord mulgrave's progress. (see p. 396.)

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[398]

lower canada was inhabited chiefly by french canadians, speaking the french language, retaining their ancient laws, manners, and religion, wedded to old customs in agriculture, and stationary in their habits. of its population, amounting to 890,000 in 1852, nearly three-fourths were of french origin, the remainder being composed of emigrants from great britain and ireland and other countries, while in upper canada the number of french was under 27,000. lower canada, however, might have been expected to make much more rapid progress from its natural advantages in being much nearer to the seaboard of the gulf of st. lawrence, and being enabled to monopolise much of the ocean navigation, which terminated at montreal. thus, the cities of quebec and montreal rose quickly into importance when the upper province began to be settled. in 1827 the cities had each a population of above 27,000; but by the census of 1852 it was found that quebec had a population of 42,000, and montreal 57,000. the growth of the towns of upper canada was still more rapid. in 1817 toronto, then called little york, had only 1,200 inhabitants; in 1826 it had scarcely 1,700; but in 1836 it had risen to 10,000. among the other principal towns of upper canada were hamilton, kingston, london, and bytown (now called ottawa), which grew rapidly. situated so near europe, and offering inexhaustible supplies of fertile and cheap land, with light taxes and a liberal government, it was natural to expect in upper canada a mixed population, and an analysis of the census of 1852 showed that its inhabitants were composed of people from most of the countries of europe. the largest single element was composed of canadians, not of french origin, upwards of half a million; the next of irish, 176,267; then english, 82,699; scottish, 75,811; from the united states, 43,732; germany and holland, 10,000. many of those settlers emigrated from the old countries to avoid the pressure of distress. they consisted, to a large extent, of the worst paid classes of workmen, such as hand-loom weavers, that had lost employment by the introduction of machinery. those persons were now found to be in the enjoyment of independence, as the proprietors of well-cleared and well-cultivated farms, having all the necessaries of life in abundance.

such are the elements which constituted the nucleus of that great nation which has been growing up under the british sceptre in north america. the french and roman catholic portions of the community could be most easily excited to disaffection against their protestant governors, and in 1834 the irritation of the popular mind, supposed to be chiefly the work of the clergy, had risen to such a height that the home government thought it prudent to recall the governor, lord aylmer, supposing his administration to be the cause of it. sir robert peel appointed lord amherst as his successor. in one respect he was not the best that could be selected; for though his antecedents and experience were sufficient to warrant the appointment, the name must have been obnoxious to the priests and people of lower canada, as it was by the arms of his uncle, whose title he inherited, that the province had been wrested from france. he had been at one time ambassador to china, and subsequently governor-general of india. he had, however, no opportunity of testing his administrative abilities in this new field, for after the fall of peel the melbourne government determined on associating him with two commissioners. lord melbourne thereupon sent out the earl of gosford as governor, with a board of commissioners, of which he was chairman, to inquire into the grievances by which the colony was agitated. the government having refused to sanction a bill that had been brought into the lower house of assembly for the purpose of rendering the upper house elective, the lower house had recourse to the extreme proceeding of stopping the supplies. the salaries of all the public servants ceased to be paid, in consequence of which the colonial secretary authorised the governor to advance ￡31,000 from the military chest to meet the emergency. the governor having required time to consider the answer he should give in these circumstances, the opposition members all withdrew; and they were so numerous that they did not leave a quorum to carry on the public business.

it was in these peculiar circumstances that the extraordinary measure was adopted of sending out a commission. the king, however, was furious at what he regarded as a breach of his prerogative. he told sir george grey, one of the commission, in the presence of his ministers, that he was to assert the prerogative of the crown, which persons who ought to have known better had dared to deny, and that he was to recollect that lower canada had been conquered by the sword. a week later he favoured lord gosford with this[399] outburst—"by god i will never consent to alienate the crown lands, nor to make the council elective. mind, my lord, the cabinet is not my cabinet. they had better take all, or by god i will have them impeached." as lord glenelg, the colonial secretary, was the person alluded to in the first sally, the ministry drew up a strongly worded remonstrance which was read to the king by lord melbourne. but lord glenelg's instructions to lord gosford were toned down, and his mission was therefore foredoomed to failure. it was found that the sense of grievance and the complaints of bad government prevailed in both provinces, though of a different character in each. the habitants of the lower province complained of the preference shown by the government to the british settlers and to the english language over the french. englishmen, they said, monopolised the public offices, which they administered with the partiality and injustice of a dominant race. they complained also of the interference of the government in elections, and of its unreasonable delay in considering or sanctioning the bills passed by the assembly. they insisted, moreover, that the upper house, corresponding to the house of peers, should be elective, instead of being appointed by the crown and subject to its will. in the upper province the chief grounds of discontent arose from the want of due control over the public money and its expenditure. many of the electors had gone out from great britain and ireland during the reform agitation, bearing with them strong convictions and excited feelings on the subject of popular rights, and they were not at all disposed to submit to monopoly in the colony of their adoption, after assisting to overthrow it in the mother country. lord gosford opened the assembly in november, 1835, and in the course of his speech he said, "i have received the commands of our most gracious sovereign to acquaint you that his majesty is disposed to place under the control of the representatives of the people all public moneys payable to his majesty or to his officers in this province, whether arising from taxes or from any other source. the accounts which will be submitted to your examination show the large arrears due as salaries to public officers and for the ordinary expenditure of the government; and i earnestly request of you to pass such votes as may effect the liquidation of these arrears, and provide for the maintenance of the public servants, pending the inquiry by the commissioners."

this concession, though deemed by the home government a large one, did not satisfy the canadians. they took it as an instalment, but gave no pledge to make the return that was sought, by liquidating the arrears. in their answer to the governor they said, "the great body of the people of this province, without distinction, consider the extension of the elective principle, and its application to the constitution of the legislative council in particular, and the repeal of the acts passed in great britain on matters concerning the internal government of the province, as fully within the jurisdiction of the provincial parliament, as well as the privileges conferred by such acts; and the full and unrestrained enjoyment on the part of the legislature and of this house of their legislative and constitutional rights, as being essential to the prosperity and welfare of his majesty's faithful subjects in canada, as well as necessary to insure their future confidence in his government, their future contentment under it, and to remove the causes which have been obstacles to it." mr. roebuck had become their champion and paid agent in the british house of commons, and one of their first acts was to insert the agent's bill for the amount of his expenses (￡500) in the public accounts. this the government refused to sanction, whereupon the assembly took it upon them to pass it themselves without such sanction. the temper exhibited on both sides in these proceedings indicated no sign of a fair prospect of conciliation between the ruler and the ruled, more especially as the british government exhibited anything but a conciliatory spirit. the discontent and agitation went on increasing during the following year. the assembly rose in its demands, still persisting in refusing to vote the supplies. they required that the "executive council" of the governor should be subjected to their control, and that their proceedings should be made public. the assembly, in fact, had become quite refractory, owing to the violent measures of the democratic party, led on by papineau, the canadian o'connell.

the result of the general election in the upper province was favourable to the government; for of the 62 members returned, 44 were opposed to the organic changes demanded by the majority of the old assembly. the result was that the government and the legislature of this province were able to work together harmoniously and satisfactorily. this result, however, was said to be obtained by extraordinary, and not always legitimate influence, on the part of the government,[400] and there was a large body of malcontents who joined the lower province in its rebellion, which occurred in 1837. the governor of upper canada, who brought about this favourable change, was sir francis head, who held the post of major in the army in 1835, when he was employed as assistant poor law commissioner in the county of kent. lord glenelg, recognising in him a man of capacity and energy, fitted for a great emergency, suddenly appointed him governor of upper canada. he rendered most important service afterwards in conducting the military operations by which the rebellion was put down. lord gosford was not so successful in the lower province. he was accused of having misled the people by holding out false hopes, and both he and the colonial secretary, under whose instructions he acted, were charged with something like treachery, by hinting at great concessions and keeping the word of promise to the ear, for the mere purpose of quieting the agitation and evading the reforms demanded. lord gosford, unable to stem the torrent of disaffection, dissolved the assembly, and was recalled in order to make way for sir j. colborne. both these governors rendered the most important service in putting down the rebellion which soon afterwards broke out, and effecting the pacification and union of the provinces, which, as we shall hereafter see, were placed upon the solid basis of self-government and equal rights.

the great seal had remained in commission ever since the resignation of sir robert peel, and it was supposed to be reserved for lord brougham when the king's objections to his reappointment should be overcome. such, however was not the case, as lord melbourne was determined to have nothing more to do with him. on the 1st of january, 1836, sir charles pepys, master of the rolls, was appointed to the office of lord chancellor, and created a peer by the title of lord cottenham. at the same time mr. henry bickersteth, appointed master of the rolls, was called to the upper house by the title of baron langdale. lord brougham, thus passed over, was too ill to make any protest, but before long he assumed an attitude of active opposition to the ministry. parliament was opened by the king in person on the 4th of february, 1836, in a speech remarkable for the number and variety of its topics. it gave the usual assurances of the maintenance of friendly relations with all foreign powers—expressed regret at the continuance of the civil contest in the northern provinces of spain, and hope of a successful result to our mediation between france and the united states. referring to domestic affairs, the state of commerce and manufactures was declared to be highly satisfactory; but difficulties continued to press on agriculture. measures were to be submitted for increasing the efficiency of the church, for the commutation of tithes, for alleviating the grievances of dissenters; and improvements in the administration of justice were recommended, especially in the court of chancery. the special attention of parliament was directed to the condition of the poor of ireland, and it was suggested that as experience had proved the salutary effect of the poor law amendment act in england, a similar measure might be found useful in alleviating the social condition of ireland. allusion was also made to the reform of irish corporations, and the adjustment of the irish tithe question, which we have already disposed of in preceding pages. chiefly with reference to these questions, amendments to the address were moved in both houses; in the upper by the duke of wellington, whose amendment was carried without a division; in the commons ministers won by 284 against 243.

on the 8th of february lord john russell brought forward the paragraph of the speech relating to agricultural distress, and moved for a select committee to inquire into the causes of the depression of the agricultural interest, although he confessed that he did not anticipate any satisfactory result from the investigation. in this the noble lord did not miscalculate, for after sitting for eight months the committee could not agree to any report, and all the benefit they conferred upon the public was an outline of the evidence which was laid before the house at the end of the session. on the 9th and the 12th the same minister submitted three measures to the house, which were passed into law this session—namely, a bill for the commutation of tithes in england; a bill for a general registration of marriages, births, and deaths; and another for the amendment of the law of marriage. on the 16th of this month mr. hardy brought before the house of commons the case of mr. o'connell and mr. raphael. the latter gentleman was one of the sheriffs of london, and he wished to represent an irish constituency. mr. o'connell thought it was possible to get him in for the borough of carlow; but he warned him that the expenses would be ￡2,000, and that this sum should be deposited in a bank as a preliminary, "say ￡2,000." it was alleged that this was a corrupt bargain, and mr.[401] o'connell was accused of selling a parliamentary seat. mr. hardy, therefore, moved for a select committee to investigate the transaction. the committee was obtained, and the result was a complete acquittal of mr. o'connell. so strong, however, was the feeling against him that no less than sixty members of brooks's club resigned, having failed to procure his expulsion.

joseph hume.

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attention was now turned to a matter of the highest importance in a commercial, an intellectual, and a moral point of view. the stamp duty on newspapers had been the subject of keen agitation for some months, and newspaper vendors had incurred repeated penalties for the sale of unstamped newspapers; some of them having been not only fined, but imprisoned. a general impression prevailed that such an impost was impolitic, if not unjust, and that the time had come when the diffusion of knowledge must be freed from the trammels by which it had been so long restrained. a deputation, consisting of dr. birkbeck, mr. hume, colonel thompson, mr. o'connell, mr. grote, mr. roebuck, mr. brotherton, mr. wallace, and mr. buckingham, having, on the 11th of february, waited upon lord melbourne, to ask for an entire abolition of the stamp on newspapers, he promised to give his most serious attention to the matter; and he kept his word, for on the 15th of the next month the chancellor of the exchequer brought the subject before parliament, and announced the intentions of government with regard to it. he stated that it was proposed to revise the whole of the existing law respecting stamp duties, first by consolidating into one statute the 150 acts of parliament over which the law was at present distributed; secondly,[402] by the apportionment of the various rates on a new principle—namely, by the simple and uniform rule of making the price of the stamp in every case correspond to the pecuniary value involved in the transaction for which it is required. the effect of this change would be to reduce the stamp duty upon indentures of apprenticeship, bills of lading, and many others of the more common instruments, and to increase it upon mortgages and conveyances of large amounts of property. it was intimated that the proposed consolidation act would contain no less than 330 sections. with regard to the stamp on newspapers, then fourpence with discount, it was proposed to reduce it to one penny without discount. this would be a remission of a proportion, varying according to the price of the newspaper, of between two-thirds and three-fourths of the tax. to this remission parliament assented, and the illicit circulation of unstamped papers was in consequence abandoned. some of the members very reasonably objected to any stamp whatever on newspapers; but the time was not yet come when government would venture entirely to remove it, although the advantages which must necessarily arise from such a proceeding could not but have been foreseen. it was considered unfair that the public at large should pay for the carriage of newspapers by post; and it does not seem to have been remembered that, as only a portion of them would be transmitted in this way, an injustice would be committed by demanding payment for all. the difficulty of the case was, however, in due time, easily surmounted; and political knowledge was, by the change even then made, in a great degree exempted from taxation—a good preparation for the time, which was not very far off, when a newspaper of a high order might be obtained, even for the reduced price of the stamp.

the condition of the irish poor, and the expediency of a state provision for their support, had long been a subject of anxious consideration with the imperial government and the legislature, and also with public men of every party who took an interest in the state of the country. it was at length resolved that something should be done for their regular relief. at the close of 1835 there had been a poor law commission in existence for more than two years, consisting of men specially selected on account of their fitness for the task, and standing high in public estimation, including the protestant and roman catholic archbishops of dublin. they were appointed, in september, 1833, "to inquire into the condition of the poorer classes in ireland, and into the various institutions at present established by law for their relief, and also whether any and what further remedial measures appear to be requisite to ameliorate the condition of the irish poor or any portion of them." in july, 1835, they made their first report, in which they refer to the various theories with which they were assailed in the course of their inquiries. "one party attributed all the poverty and wretchedness of the country to an asserted extreme use of ardent spirits, and proposed a system for repressing illicit distillation, for preventing smuggling, and for substituting beer and coffee. another party found the cause in the combinations among workmen, and proposed rigorous laws against trades unions. others, again, were equally confident that the reclamation of the bogs and waste lands was the only practical remedy. a fourth party declared the nature of the existing connection between landlord and tenant to be the root of all the evil. pawn-broking, redundant population, absence of capital, peculiar religious tenets and religious differences, political excitement, want of education, the maladministration of justice, the state of prison discipline, want of manufactures and of inland navigation, with a variety of other circumstances, were each supported by their various advocates with earnestness and ability, as being either alone, or conjointly with some other, the primary cause of all the evils of society; and loan-funds, emigration, the repression of political excitement, the introduction of manufactures, and the extension of inland navigation, were accordingly proposed each as the principal means by which the improvement of the country could be promoted."

in consequence of the difficulty of getting impartiality combined with local information, the commissioners determined to unite in the inquiry "a native of great britain with a resident native of ireland." they were very slow in their investigations, and complaints were made in parliament and by the public of the time and money consumed in the inquiry. in the early part of 1836 they made a second report, in which they gave an account of the various institutions that had been established for the relief of the poor, such as infirmaries, dispensaries, fever hospitals, lunatic asylums, foundling hospitals, houses of industry, the total charge of which amounted to about ￡205,000, of which ￡50,000 consisted of parliamentary grants, the remainder being derived from grand jury presentments, voluntary contributions, and other local sources. this second[403] report, which added little or nothing to the knowledge of the public on the subject, and suggested no general plan for the relief of the poor, was by no means satisfactory to the public. mr. nicholls was then a member of the english poor law commission; and the state of the irish poor being pressed upon his attention, he prepared for the consideration of government a series of suggestions, founded upon a general view of social requirements and upon his experience of the english poor law, coupled with the evidence appended to the irish commissioners' first report. these suggestions were presented to lord john russell in january, 1836, about the same time as the commissioners' second report. in due time that body published their third report, containing the general results of their inquiry upon the condition of the people, which may be summed up as follows:—there is not the same division of labour which exists in great britain. the labouring class look to agriculture alone for support, whence the supply of agricultural labour greatly exceeds the demand for it, and small earnings and widespread misery are the consequences. it appeared that in great britain the agricultural families constituted little more than one-fourth, whilst in ireland they constituted about two-thirds of the whole population; that there were in great britain, in 1831, 1,055,982 agricultural labourers; in ireland, 1,131,715, although the cultivated land of great britain amounted to about 34,250,000 acres, and that of ireland only to about 14,600,000. so that there were in ireland about five agricultural labourers for every two that there were for the same quantity of land in great britain. it further appeared that the agricultural progress of great britain was more than four times that of ireland; that agricultural wages varied from sixpence to one shilling a day; that the average of the country is about eightpence-halfpenny; and that the earnings of the labourers come, on an average of the whole class, to from two shillings to two and sixpence a week or thereabouts for the year round. the commissioners state that they "cannot estimate the number of persons out of work and in distress during thirty weeks of the year at less than 585,000, nor the number of persons dependent upon them at less than 1,800,000, making in the whole 2,385,000. this, therefore," it is added, "is about the number for which it would be necessary to provide accommodation in workhouses, if all who required relief were there to be relieved;" and they consider it impossible to provide for such a multitude, or even to attempt it with safety. the expense of erecting and fitting up the necessary buildings would, they say, come to about ￡4,000,000; and, allowing for the maintenance of each person twopence-halfpenny only a day (that being the expense at the mendicity establishment of dublin), the cost of supporting the whole 2,385,000 for thirty weeks would be something more than ￡5,000,000 a year; whereas the gross rental of ireland (exclusive of towns) is estimated at less than ￡10,000,000 a year, the net income of the landlords at less than ￡6,000,000, and the public revenue is only about ￡4,000,000. they could not, therefore, recommend the present workhouse system of england as at all suited to ireland.

long quotations are then given from the several reports of the assistant commissioners, showing that the feelings of the suffering labourers in ireland are also decidedly in favour of emigration. they do not desire workhouses, it is said, but they do desire a free passage to a colony where they may have the means of living by their own industry. the commissioners then declare that, upon the best consideration they have been able to give to the whole subject, they think that a legal provision should be made and rates levied for the relief and support of curable as well as incurable lunatics, of idiots, epileptic persons, cripples, deaf and dumb, and blind poor, and all who labour under permanent bodily infirmities; such relief and support to be afforded within the walls of public institutions; also for the relief of the sick poor in hospitals and infirmaries, and convalescent establishments; or by external attendance, and a supply of food as well as medicine, where the persons to be relieved are not in a state to be removed from home; also for the purpose of emigration, for the support of penitentiaries—to which vagrants may be sent—and for the maintenance of deserted children; also towards the relief of aged and infirm persons, of orphans, of helpless widows, and young children, of the families of sick persons, and of casual destitution. this report was not signed by all the commissioners. three of them set forth their reasons, in thirteen propositions, for dissenting from the principle of the voluntary system, as recommended by the report.

at the opening of the session of 1836, as we have seen, the king stated in his speech that a further report of the commission of inquiry into the condition of the poorer classes in ireland would be speedily laid before parliament. "you will approach this subject," he said, "with the[404] caution due to its importance and difficulty; and the experience of the salutary effect produced by the act for the amendment of the laws relating to the poor in england and wales may in many respects assist your deliberations." on the 9th of february sir richard musgrave moved for leave to bring in a bill for the relief of the poor in ireland in certain cases, stating that he himself lived in an atmosphere of misery, and being compelled to witness it daily, he was determined to pursue the subject, to see whether any and what relief could be procured from parliament. a few days later another motion was made by the member for stroud for leave to introduce a bill for the relief and employment of the poor of ireland; and on the 3rd of march a bill was submitted by mr. smith o'brien, framed upon the principles of local administration by bodies representing the ratepayers, and a general central supervision and control on the part of a body named by the government, and responsible to parliament. on the 4th of may mr. poulett scrope, a gentleman who had given great attention to questions connected with the poor and the working classes, moved a series of resolutions affirming the necessity for some provision for the relief of the irish poor. lord morpeth was then chief secretary; and in commenting upon these resolutions in the house of commons, he admitted "that the hideous nature of the evils which prevailed amongst the poorer classes in ireland called earnestly for redress, and he thought no duty more urgent on the government and on parliament than to devise a remedy for them." on the 9th of june following, on the motion for postponing the consideration of sir richard musgrave's bill, lord morpeth again assured the house that the subject was under the immediate consideration of government, and that he was not without hope of their being enabled to introduce some preparatory measure in the present session; but, at all events, they would take the first opportunity in the next session of introducing what he hoped to be a complete and satisfactory measure. nothing, however, was done during the session, government seeming to be puzzled to know what to do with such conflicting testimony on a subject of enormous difficulty.

in order to get, if possible, more trustworthy information and a clue out of the labyrinth, they gave directions to mr. nicholls to proceed to ireland, taking with him the reports of the commissioners of inquiry, and there to examine how far it might be judicious or practicable to offer relief to whole classes of the poor; whether of the sick, the infirm, or orphan children; whether such relief might not have the effect of promoting imposture without suppressing mendicity; whether the condition of the great bulk of the poorer classes would be improved by such a measure; whether any kind of workhouse could be established which should not give its inmates a superior degree of comfort to the common lot of the independent labourer; whether the restraint of a workhouse would be an effectual check to applicants for admission; and whether, if the system were once established, the inmates would not resist by force the restraints which would be necessary. he was further to inquire by what machinery the funds for carrying out a poor law system could be best raised and expended. he was dispensed from inquiring as to the extent and the occasional severity of the destitution, though he properly questioned the estimate of 2,385,000 as being excessive, and it was no doubt a great exaggeration. on this point, mr. nicholls thought it enough to state at the end of his mission that the misery prevalent among the labouring classes in ireland appeared to be "of a nature and intensity calculated to produce great demoralisation and danger." his first report was delivered on the 15th of november, 1836. his attention had been particularly directed to the south and west, "everywhere examining and inquiring as to the condition of the people, their character and wants; and endeavouring to ascertain whether, and how far, the system of relief established in england was applicable to the present state of ireland." the route from cork round by the western coast, and ending at armagh, was deemed most eligible, because the inhabitants of the manufacturing and commercial districts of the north and east more nearly resembled the english than those of the southern and western parts of ireland; and if the english system should be found applicable to the latter, there could be no doubt of its applicability to the others. it was impossible, he said, to pass through the country without being struck with the evidence of increasing wealth everywhere apparent. great as had been the improvement in england during the same period, he believed that in ireland it had been equal. the increase of capital was steadily progressive. the great obstacles to its more general application to the improvement of the country were the excessive subdivision of land, and the dependence of the people for subsistence upon the possession of a plot of potato-ground. one of the most striking[405] circumstances resulting from the want of employment was the prevalence of mendicancy, with the falsehood and fraud which formed part of the profession, and which spread its contagion among the lower orders.

irish tramps.

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mr. nicholls next applied himself to the solution of the problem how the workhouse system, which had been safely and effectually applied to depauperise england, might be applied with safety and efficiency to put down mendicancy and relieve destitution in ireland. in that country the task was beset with peculiar difficulties. assuming the principle that the pauper should not be better off than the labourer, it would be difficult to devise any workhouse dress, diet, or lodging that would not be better than what many of the poor actually enjoyed. but, on the other hand, the irish poor were fond of change, hopeful, sanguine, migratory, desultory in their habits, hating all restraints of order and system, averse from the trouble of cleanliness; and rather than be subject to the restrictions and regularity of a workhouse, an irishman, in health and strength, would wander the world over to obtain a living. hence, no matter how well he might be lodged, fed, and clad in a workhouse, he could not endure the confinement. consequently, mr. nicholls found in the state of ireland no sufficient reason for departing from the principle of the english poor law, which recognises destitution alone as the ground of relief, nor for establishing a distinction in the one country that does not exist in the other.

it was upon this very able report of mr. nicholls that the irish poor law was based. after undergoing much consideration, it was finally adopted by the government on the 13th of december, 1836, and on the following day he was directed to have a bill prepared, embodying all his recommendations. this was accordingly done; and after being scrutinised, clause by clause, in a committee of the cabinet specially appointed for the purpose, and receiving various emendations, the bill was introduced on the 13th of february, 1837, by lord john russell, then home secretary, and leader of the house of commons. his speech on the occasion was able and comprehensive. "it appears," he said, "from the testimony both of theory and experience, that when a country is[406] overrun by marauders and mendicants having no proper means of subsistence, but preying on the industry and relying on the charity of others, the introduction of a poor law serves several very important objects. in the first place, it acts as a measure of peace, enabling the country to prohibit vagrancy, which is so often connected with outrage, by offering a substitute to those who rely on vagrancy and outrage as a means of subsistence. when an individual or a family is unable to obtain subsistence, and is without the means of living from day to day, it would be unjust to say they shall not go about and endeavour to obtain from the charity of the affluent that which circumstances have denied to themselves. but when you can say to such persons, 'here are the means of subsistence offered to you'—when you can say this on the one hand, you may, on the other hand, say, 'you are not entitled to beg, you shall no longer infest the country in a manner injurious to its peace, and liable to imposition and outrage.'" another way, he observed, in which a poor law is beneficial is, that it is a great promoter of social concord, by showing a disposition in the state and in the community to attend to the welfare of all classes. it is of use also by interesting the landowners and persons of property in the welfare of their tenants and neighbours. a landowner who looks only to receiving the rent of his estate may be regardless of the numbers in his neighbourhood who are in a state of destitution, or who follow mendicancy and are ready to commit crime; but if he is compelled to furnish means for the subsistence of those persons so destitute, it then becomes his interest to see that those around him have the means of living, and are not in actual want. he considered that these objects, and several others collateral to them, were attained in england by the act of elizabeth. almost the greatest benefit that could be conferred on a country was, he observed, a high standard of subsistence for the labouring classes; and such a benefit was secured for england chiefly by the quest act of elizabeth. lord john russell then alluded to the abuses which subsequently arose, and to the correction of those abuses then in progress under the provisions of the poor law amendment act, and said that we ought to endeavour to obtain for ireland all the good effects of the english system, and to guard against the evils which had arisen under it.

in the course of his speech lord john russell stated that he had made inquiry with respect to the amount of relief afforded to wandering mendicants, and the result was that in most cases a shilling an acre was paid by farmers in the year, and he calculated that it amounted on the whole to perhaps ￡1,000,000 a year. among those thus relieved, he said, the number of impostors must be enormous. it was not proposed, however, to prohibit vagrancy until the whole of the workhouses should be built and ready for the reception of the destitute. a lengthened discussion then took place in reference to the proposed measure, in which mr. shaw, mr. o'connell, lord howick, sir robert peel, lord stanley, and other members took part. the bill was read a first time, and on the 25th of april, 1837, lord john russell moved the second reading, when the debate was adjourned till the 1st of may. notwithstanding a good deal of hostile discussion the second reading was carried without a division. on the 9th of may the house went into committee on the bill. twenty clauses were passed with only two unimportant divisions. the introduction of a settlement clause was rejected by a majority of 120 to 68. the vagrancy clauses were postponed for future consideration. the committee had got to the sixtieth clause on the 7th of june, when the king's illness became so serious that his recovery was highly improbable, and the business of parliament was consequently suspended. he died on the 20th of june, and on the 17th of july parliament was prorogued, so that there was an end for the present to the irish poor relief bill, and all the other measures then before parliament.

the conservative party had got the impression that the commercial interest in the house of commons would swamp the landed interest, in consequence of the preponderance of the representatives of cities and boroughs. but that impression was shown to be a delusion by many votes. the number who supported a motion of lord chandos on the 27th of april, 1836, was, considering its nature, remarkable:—"that in the application of any surplus revenue towards the relief of the burdens of the country, either by remission of taxation or otherwise, due regard should be had to the necessity of a portion thereof being applied to the relief of the agricultural interest." that interest had been relieved to a considerable extent in a variety of ways during the recent progress of legislation, and especially by the poor law amendment act, which had been an immense boon to both landlords and tenants. the policy of the motion of lord chandos was so unsound that sir robert peel, lord stanley, and sir james graham felt constrained to vote with ministers[407] for its rejection. the motion was defeated by 211 votes to 150.

on the 6th of may, 1836, the chancellor of the exchequer brought forward the budget, which placed in a strong light the long standing anomaly of distress among the agricultural classes, contrasting with general prosperity in the commercial classes. he was enabled to exhibit a more favourable state of the finances than he had anticipated in his estimate the previous year. the total income of the nation was ￡46,980,000, its total expenditure ￡45,205,807, which would give a surplus of ￡1,774,193. of this surplus all but ￡662,000 would be absorbed by the interest on the west indian loan, which had now become a permanent charge. there was an addition of 5,000 seamen to the navy, for which the sum of ￡434,000 was required. this addition seemed to be quite necessary from the feeble condition of the navy as compared with the navies of other nations. on the 4th of march mr. charles wood had stated that the french would have twelve sail of the line at sea during summer; that in 1834 the russians had five sail of the line cruising in the black sea, and eighteen besides frigates in the baltic. during this period there never were in the english channel ports more than two frigates and a sloop, with crews perhaps amounting to 1,000 men, disposable for sea at any one time, and that only for a day or two. moreover all the line-of-battle ships great britain had afloat in every part of the world did not exceed ten. the land forces voted for the year were 81,319 men, not counting the indian army. of these one-half were required in the colonies. france had 360,000 regular soldiers, and three times that number of national guards. with the surplus at his disposal the chancellor of the exchequer proposed to reduce the duty on first-class paper from fivepence to threepence-halfpenny—a suitable accompaniment to the reduction of the stamp on newspapers, already noticed—and to abolish the duty on stained paper; to remit the south sea duties, amounting to ￡10,000; to reduce the duties on insurances of farming-stock, on taxed carts, and on newspapers. he estimated the total amount of repeals for the present year at ￡351,000, which would be increased to ￡520,000 when they all came into operation. this was the best of mr. spring-rice's indifferent budgets.

the measures of church reform that had been adopted in ireland suggested the propriety of adopting similar measures in england, where the relations between the clergy and the people were not at all as satisfactory as they should be, and where the system of ecclesiastical finances stood greatly in need of improvement. accordingly, a royal commission was appointed during the administration of sir robert peel, dated the 4th of february, 1835, on the ground that it was "expedient that the fullest and most attentive consideration should be forthwith given to ecclesiastical duties and revenues." the commissioners were directed to consider the state of the several dioceses in england and wales with reference to the amount of their revenues and the more equal distribution of episcopal duties, and the prevention of the necessity of attaching by commendam to bishoprics benefices with cure of souls. they were to consider also the state of the several cathedral and collegiate churches in england and wales, with a view to the suggestion of such measures as might render them conducive to the efficiency of the established church; and to devise the best mode of providing for the cure of souls, with special reference to the residence of the clergy on their respective benefices. they were also expected to report their opinions as to what measures it would be expedient to adopt on the various matters submitted for their consideration. the commissioners were the two archbishops, the bishops of london, lincoln, and gloucester, the lord chancellor, the first lord of the treasury, with other members of the government and laymen not in office. when the change of government occurred a few months afterwards, it was necessary to issue a new commission, which was dated the 6th of june, for the purpose of substituting the names of lord melbourne and his colleagues for those of sir robert peel and the other members of the outgoing administration. but before this change occurred the first report had been issued, dated the 17th of march, 1835. three other reports were published in 1836, dated respectively march 4th, may 20th, and june 24th. a fifth had been prepared, but not signed, when the death of the king occurred. it was, however, presented as a parliamentary paper in 1838.

the first report related to the duties and revenues of bishops. the commissioners suggested various alterations of the boundaries of dioceses. they recommended the union of the sees of gloucester and bristol, and of bangor and st. asaph. they also recommended the establishment of two new sees, ripon and manchester. they calculated the net income of the bishoprics of england and wales at ￡148,875. they found that, owing to the unequal manner in which this revenue was[408] distributed, the income of one-half the bishoprics was below the sum necessary to cover the expenses to which a bishop is unavoidably subject, which rendered it necessary to hold livings in commendam. to do away with this state of things, and with a view to diminish the inducements to episcopal translations, they recommended a different distribution of episcopal revenues. in the second and fourth reports, and the draft of the fifth report, they presented the result of their inquiries on cathedral and collegiate churches. they recommended the appropriation of part of their revenues, and of the whole of the endowments for non-residentiary prebends, dignitaries, and officers, and that the proceeds in both cases should be carried to the account of a fund, out of which better provision should be made for the cure of souls. in their second report they stated that they had prepared a bill for regulating pluralities and the residence of the clergy.

british line-of-battle ships (1836).

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on the 13th of august, 1836, an act was passed establishing the ecclesiastical commissioners permanently as "one body politic and corporate, by the name of the ecclesiastical commissioners for england." the number of commissioners incorporated was thirteen, of whom eight were ex officio members—namely: the archbishops of canterbury and york, the bishop of london, the lord chancellor, the lord president of the council, the first lord of the treasury, the chancellor of the exchequer, and one of the principal secretaries of state, who was to be nominated by the sign-manual. there were five other commissioners, including two bishops, who were to be removable at the pleasure of the crown. the lay members were required to sign a declaration that they were members of the united church of england and ireland by law established. a subsequent act, passed in august, 1840, considerably modified the constitution of this commission. the following were added to the list of ex officio members: all the bishops of england and wales; the deans of canterbury, st. paul's, and westminster; the two chief justices; the master of the rolls; the chief baron; and the judges of the prerogative and admiralty courts. by this act the crown was empowered to appoint four laymen, and the archbishop of canterbury two, in addition to the three appointed under the former act; and it was provided that, instead of being removable[409] at the pleasure of the crown, the non ex officio members should continue so long as they should "well demean themselves" in the execution of their duties.

ripon cathedral.

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by the acts 6 and 7 william iv., c. 71, a board of commissioners, called the "tithe commissioners of england and wales," was appointed, the object of which was to convert the tithes into a rent-charge, payable in money, but varying in amount according to the average price of corn for seven preceding years. the amount of the tithes was to be calculated on an average of the seven years preceding christmas, 1835; and the quantity of grain thus ascertained was to remain for ever as the annual charge upon the parish. the annual money value was ascertained from the returns of the comptroller of corn, who published annually, in january, the average price of an imperial bushel of wheat, barley, and oats, computed from the weekly averages of the corn returns during the seven preceding years. the commissioners reported in 1851 that voluntary commutations had been commenced in 9,634 tithe districts; 7,070 agreements had been received, of which 6,778 had been confirmed; and 5,529 drafts of compulsory awards had been received, of which 5,260 had been confirmed. thus in 12,038 tithe districts the rent charges had been finally established by confirmed agreements or confirmed awards.

one of the most important measures of the session was the marriage act, a subject which had been taken up by sir robert peel during his short-lived ministry. by this act dissenters were relieved from a galling and degrading grievance, one which, of all others, most painfully oppressed their consciences. notwithstanding their strong objection to the ceremonies of the established church, they were obliged, in order to be legally married, to comply with its ritual in the marriage service, the phraseology of which they considered not the least objectionable part of the liturgy. by this act marriages were treated as a civil contract, to which the parties might add whatever religious ceremony they pleased, or they might be married without any religious ceremony at all, or without any other form, except that of making a declaration of the act before a public officer, in any registered place of religious worship, or in the[410] office of the superintendent registrar. this was a great step towards religious equality, and tended more than anything, since the repeal of the test and corporation acts, to promote social harmony and peace between different denominations.

in connection with this reform an act was passed which supplied a great want—namely, the uniform registration of marriages, births, and deaths. the state of the law on these matters had been very unsatisfactory, notwithstanding a long series of enactments upon the subject. although the law required the registration of births and deaths, it made no provision for recording the date at which either occurred, and so it was essentially defective. it only provided records of the performance of the religious ceremonies of baptism, marriage, and burial, according to the rites of the established church, affording, therefore, an insufficient register even for the members of that church; while for those who dissented from it, and consequently did not avail themselves of its services for baptism and burial, it afforded no register at all. even this inadequate system was not fully and regularly carried out, and the loud and long-continued complaints on the subject led to an inquiry by a select committee of the house of commons in 1833. in order, therefore, to secure a complete and trustworthy record of vital statistics, the committee recommended "a national civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths, including all ranks of society, and religionists of every class." in pursuance of these recommendations, a general registration bill was brought into parliament; and in august, 1836, the act for registering marriages, births, and deaths in england became law, as a companion to the marriage act, which passed at the same time. their operation, however, was suspended for a limited time by the act of 7 william iv., c. 1, and they were amended by the act of 1 victoria, c. 22, and came into operation on the 1st of july, 1837. one of the most important and useful provisions of this measure was that which required the cause of death to be recorded, with the time, locality, sex, age, and occupation, thus affording data of the highest importance to medical science, and to all who were charged with the preservation of the public health. in order that fatal diseases might be recorded in a uniform manner, the registrar-general furnished qualified medical practitioners with books of printed forms—"certificates of cause of death"—to be filled up and given to registrars of births and deaths; and he caused to be circulated a nosological table of diseases, for the purpose of securing, as far as possible, uniformity of nomenclature in the medical certificates. in order to carry out this measure, a central office was established at somerset house, london, presided over by an officer named the registrar-general, appointed under the great seal, under whom was a chief clerk, who acted as his secretary and assistant registrar-general, six superintendents, and a staff of clerks, who were appointed by the lords of the treasury. from this office emanated instructions to all the local officers charged with the duties of registration under the act—superintendent registrars, registrars of births and deaths, and registrars of marriages, any of whom might be dismissed by the registrar-general, on whom devolved the entire control and responsibility of the operations.

great attention was drawn at this time to the operation of the new poor law act, which seemed, in some respects, repugnant to humane and christian feeling, and was strongly denounced by a portion of the press. an attempt was made by mr. walter to get the stringency of the law in some measure relaxed, and on the 1st of august he moved for a select committee to inquire into its operation, particularly in regard to outdoor relief, and the separation of husbands from their wives, and children from their parents. but it seemed to be the opinion of the house that the workhouse test would lose its effect in a great measure if the separation in question did not take place. the operation of the act was certainly successful in saving the pockets of the ratepayers, for on a comparison between the years 1834 and 1836 there was a saving to the amount of ￡1,794,990. the question did not seem to excite much interest, for the attendance was thin, as appears by the numbers on the division, which were—for the motion, 46; against it, 82.

the winter of 1836-7 was marked by great commercial activity, and a strong tendency to over-trading, chiefly on the part of the banks. the result was a reaction, and considerable monetary embarrassment. in the reckless spirit of enterprise which led to these consequences, the american houses took the lead. the american speculators indulged an inordinate thirst for gain by land jobs, and over-trading in british produce. the most remarkable examples of this were afforded by three great american houses in london, called "the three w.'s." from an account of these firms, published in june, 1837, it appeared that the amount of bills payable by them from june to december, was as follows: wilson and co.,[411] ￡936,300; wigan and co., ￡674,700; wildes and co., ￡505,000; total acceptances, ￡2,116,000. this was upwards of one-sixth of the aggregate circulation of the private and joint-stock banks of england and wales, and about one-eighth of the average circulation of the bank of england. the shipments to america by wigan and co. amounted to ￡1,118,900. the number of joint-stock banks that started into existence at this time was remarkable. from 1825 to 1833 only thirty joint-stock banks had been established. in that year the charter of the bank of england being renewed, without many of the exclusive privileges it formerly enjoyed, and the spirit of commercial enterprise being active, joint-stock banks began to increase rapidly. there was an average of ten new companies annually, till 1836, when forty-five of these establishments came into existence in the course of ten months. in ireland there were ten started in the course of two years. the consequence of this greatly increased banking accommodation produced a wild spirit of commercial adventure, which collapsed first in america, where the monetary confusion was unexampled—bankers, importers, merchants, traders, and the government having been all flung into a chaos of bankruptcy and insolvency. this state of things in america had an immediate effect in england. discounts were abruptly refused to the largest and hitherto most respectable houses of liverpool and london. trade, in consequence, became paralysed; prices suddenly dropped from thirty to forty per cent.; and the numerous share bubbles—the railway projects, the insurance companies, the distillery companies, the cemetery companies, the sperm oil, the cotton twist, zoological gardens, and other speculations—which had floated on the pecuniary tide, all suddenly collapsed, and there was an end to the career of unprincipled adventurers. it is satisfactory, however, to observe that the sound commerce of the country soon recovered the shock thus given; and in less than two years the pecuniary difficulties had passed away. commerce had resumed its wonted activity, and flowed steadily in legitimate channels. the american banks resumed payment, and the three great american houses, which had involved themselves to such an enormous extent, were enabled to meet all their liabilities.

the foreign relations of england at this period were, on the whole, satisfactory—as might be expected from the fact that our foreign policy was committed to the able management of lord palmerston, who, while sympathising with oppressed nationalities, acted steadily upon the principle of non-intervention. considering, however, the comparative smallness o￡ our naval and military forces, the formidable military powers of russia and france created a good deal of uneasiness, which the king expressed in one of his odd impromptu speeches at windsor. on the 19th of february there was a debate in the house of commons on eastern affairs, in which the vast resources and aggressive policy of russia were placed in a strong light. on that occasion lord dudley stuart said, "russia has 50,000,000 subjects in europe alone, exclusive of asia; an army of 700,000 men, and a navy of eighty line-of-battle ships and frigates, guided by the energy of a government of unmitigated despotism, at whose absolute and unlimited disposal stand persons and property of every description. these formidable means are constantly applied to purposes of territorial aggrandisement, and every new acquisition becomes the means of gaining others. who can tell that the hellespont may not be subject to russia at any moment? she has a large fleet in the black sea, full command of the mouths of the danube, and of the commercial marine cities of odessa and trebizond. in three days she may be at constantinople from sebastopol; and if once there, the dardanelles will be so fortified by russian engineers that she can never be expelled except by a general war. she could be in entire possession of these important straits before any expedition could be sent from this country, even if such a thing could be thought of against the enormous military force at the command of russia. that russia is determined to have the dardanelles is evident from the treaty of unkiar-skelessi, by which she began by excluding the ships of all other nations. the effect of this treaty was to exclude any ship of war from these straits, except with the permission of russia. russia might at any moment insist on the exclusion of our ships of war from the dardanelles—nay, she has already done so; for when lord durham, going on his late embassy to the court of st. petersburg, arrived at the dardanelles in a frigate, he was obliged to go on board the pluto, an armed vessel without her guns, before he could pass the straits; and when he arrived at sebastopol no salute was fired, and the excuse given was that they did not know the pluto from a merchant vessel. but both before and since lord durham went, russian ships of war, with their guns out and their streamers flying, passed through the black sea to the dardanelles, and again through[412] the dardanelles to the black sea. russia has now fifteen ships of the line and seven frigates in the black sea. sebastopol is only three days' sail from the hellespont. turkey has no force capable of resisting such an armament; the forts of the hellespont are incapable of defence against a land force, for they are open in the rear. russia might any day have 100,000 men in constantinople before england or france could even fit out expeditions to defend it."

lord palmerston and mr. poulett thompson treated the apprehensions of lord dudley stuart as visionary, and expressed their conviction that there was nothing in the conduct of the czar to excite either alarm or hostility in great britain. their real opinions were very different. a few days later an event occurred which showed how little russia was to be relied upon; and that it was impossible to restrain her aggressive propensities, even by the most solemn treaty obligations, undertaken in the face of europe, and guaranteed by the great powers. cracow, which comprised a small territory about 490 square miles in extent, with a population of about 123,000, including the city, was at the general settlement in 1815 formed into a free state, whose independence was guaranteed by the treaty of vienna in the following terms:—"the town of cracow, with its territory, is declared to be for ever a free, independent, and strictly neutral city, under the protection of russia, austria, and prussia." during the insurrection of poland in 1830 the little state of cracow could not repress its sympathies, and the news of the outbreak was received there with the greatest enthusiasm. after the destruction of the polish army, persons who were compromised by the revolt sought an asylum in cracow; and 2,000 political refugees were found settled there in 1836. this served as a pretext for the military occupation of the city in february of that year, notwithstanding the joint guarantee that it should never be entered by a foreign army. this was only a prelude to the ultimate extinction of its independence, which occurred ten years later. lord palmerston launched a vigorous protest, but it had no result.

meanwhile, the attention of the western powers was called to the constitutional monarchy of spain. for, whatever were its merits in comparison with the systems that preceded it, it had not the merit of securing good government, protecting life and property, and maintaining public tranquillity. during the summer of 1836 that country, always more or less disturbed, was the scene of fresh tumults and insurrections, breaking out at different points, at malaga, cadiz, seville, and cordova. the constitution of 1812 was proclaimed, and provincial juntas were established in defiance of the queen's authority. madrid was also the scene of insurrection, which was repressed, and the city was put in a state of siege. soon afterwards a more determined demand was made for the constitution of 1812, when a regiment of militia forced themselves into the apartments of the queen regent, in spite of the remonstrances of the french and british ambassadors, and extorted from her a promise to accept that constitution. this daring act was the signal for a general rising in the capital. the prime minister, isturitz, fled to lisbon, and there took ship for england. he was fortunate in escaping with his life, for had he fallen into the hands of the enraged populace he would probably have shared the fate of general quesada, the military governor of madrid, who was caught about three miles from the capital and killed. order was at length restored by the queen regent proclaiming the constitution, subject to the revision of the cortes and by the appointment of a decidedly liberal administration, which commenced by calling for a conscription of 50,000 men to carry on the war against the carlists, who were still in active rebellion. the constitution so imperatively demanded by the people was first proclaimed at cadiz in 1812, and again by riego in 1820. it now was brought forward once more, and on the 24th of february, 1837, adopted by the general cortes assembled for the purpose, having been previously revised by a committee.

the spanish revolution had a marked effect on french politics. m. thiers and his colleagues had been pressing for an effective intervention against don carlos; but they were unable to overcome the reluctance of the king to send a french army into spain, even to sustain the régime which the king had recognised and approved. this was completely superseded by the changes that had just taken place. he should now interpose, not to protect the reigning dynasty against pretenders, but to take part in a war between constitutionalists and liberals of different shades. when, therefore, louis philippe was asked to send aid to the french legion of volunteers serving as auxiliaries in spain, and to adopt other measures against the carlists, as the only means of preventing the queen's government from being carried away by the torrent of revolution, he positively refused. lord palmerston, influenced by the continued ill-success of the spanish legion, made overtures to[413] the same effect, but without result. louis philippe was, in fact, listening to the overtures of metternich, and inclined to desert the british alliance.

spain and portugal are so bound together by natural sympathy that they generally share the same vicissitudes. bad feeling had arisen between the national party and the government in consequence of the appointment of prince ferdinand, the husband of the queen, to be commander-in-chief of the army. other causes increased the popular discontent, which was at its height when the public was electrified by the news of the spanish revolution. the ministers were obliged to make concessions; but, besides being inadequate, they were too late. the steamboat from oporto was loaded with opposition members, who were received with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of welcome. on the 9th of september the clubs had everything arranged for a revolution, and a mixed array of troops of the line, ca?adors, and national guards, proclaimed the constitution adopted by john vi.; and, having sung a constitutional hymn, they appointed a deputation, headed by viscount sa bandiera, to wait upon queen donna maria. she had first contemplated resistance, but the army would not act against the people. the national guards were in possession of the city, having occupied the rocio square in lisbon all night, and in the morning they were informed that the queen had yielded to their wishes, appointing a new ministry, with bandiera at its head. some of the most obnoxious of the ex-ministers took refuge from popular vengeance on board the ships of the british squadron lying in the tagus. most of the peers protested against the revolution; but it was an accomplished fact, and they were obliged to acquiesce.

deputation of constitutionalists before the queen of portugal. (see p. 413.)

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the state of parties in the house of commons at the opening of the session of 1837 was so evenly balanced, that government had a very narrow majority. the number of whigs was calculated at 150, of liberals 100, and of radicals 80, making the total number of ministerialists 330. on the other side, the tories counted 139, the ultra-tories 100, and the conservatives, belonging to the new school which sir[414] robert peel had constituted, 80. parliament was opened by commission on the last day of january. the royal speech announced the continuance of friendly relations with foreign powers, alluded to the affairs of spain and portugal, and directed the attention of parliament to the state of lower canada. it recommended a renewal of the inquiry into the operation of joint-stock banks; also measures for the improvement of civil and criminal jurisprudence, and for giving increased stability to the established church. special attention was directed to the state of ireland, with reference to its municipal corporations and the collection of tithes, and to "the difficult and pressing question of a legal provision for the poor." animated debates on the address took place in both houses. the radicals, led on by mr. roebuck, strongly condemned the want of earnest purpose on the part of ministers, whom he represented as "worse than the tories." he accused them of pandering to popular passions on one side, and to patrician feelings on the other. but, situated as they were, what could they do? their majority was small and uncertain in the commons, while the opposition in the lords was powerful and determined. lord lyndhurst mutilated measure after measure, and then at the end of each session taunted ministers with their failure. they were trying to get on with a house of commons elected under the influence of a conservative administration. of course, lord melbourne could have dissolved parliament and appealed to the country, in the hope of getting a working majority; but the king was decidedly averse from a dissolution; and it would have been an exceedingly unwise course to adopt, at a time when the precarious state of his health plainly indicated that the reign was fast drawing to a close, and its termination would necessitate another general election. it was unreasonable to expect that in consequence of weakness proceeding from such causes a liberal cabinet should surrender the reins of power to the tory party, on the eve of a new reign, and with all the bright prospects that would be opened by the accession of a youthful queen to the throne. at the close of the session of 1836 they had, indeed, contemplated resignation, but eventually determined to go on.

the ministry lost no time in introducing their irish measures—the new municipal reform bill and the bill for the relief of the poor. the former, after three nights' debate, passed the commons by a majority—302 to 247. it was during this debate that mr. sheil delivered his brilliant reply to the indiscreet and unstatesmanlike taunt of lord lyndhurst, who, when speaking on the same question in the upper house, declared that the irish were "aliens in blood, in language, and religion." "the duke of wellington," said mr. sheil, "is not a man of sudden emotions; but he should not, when he heard that word used, have forgotten vimiera, badajoz, and salamanca, and toulouse, and the last glorious conflict which crowned all his former victories. on that day, when the destinies of mankind were trembling in the balance, when the batteries spread slaughter over the field, and the legions of france rushed again and again to the onset, did the 'aliens' then flinch? on that day the blood of the men of england, of ireland, and of scotland was poured forth together. they fought on the same field, they died the same death, they were stretched in the same pit; their dust was commingled; the same dew of heaven fell on the grass that covered them; the same grass sprang from the soil in which they reposed together. and is it to be endured that we are to be called aliens and strangers to that empire for whose salvation our best blood has been poured out?"

the subject of church rates having created much ill-feeling in towns and districts where the dissenters were most numerous, an attempt was made by the government to abolish the impost. it was found that the sum which they produced was about ￡250,000 a year, and it was proposed to obtain that amount by a better management of the estates of bishops, deans, and chapters, by placing them under the control of eleven commissioners, who should first pay the bishops and dignitaries' salaries out of the proceeds, and devote the rest of the fund thus realised to the objects for which church rates were levied, namely, the repair of churches and the supply of the necessaries for public worship. but an outcry was raised against this plan as being based upon the principle of church spoliation. the bishops and clergy resisted strenuously, and the friends of the church were roused to such an extent that the majority in the house of commons on the second reading of the bill was only five. this majority was tantamount to defeat, and therefore the measure was abandoned.

on the 9th of june a bulletin was published, which fixed public attention on the precarious state of the king's health. it announced that his majesty had suffered for some time from an affection of the chest, which had produced considerable[415] weakness. the burden of regal state, assumed at so late a period of life, seemed to have been too much for his strength, and to have caused too great a change in his habits. in the preceding month of april his eldest natural daughter, lady de lisle, died, and also the queen's mother, the dowager duchess of meiningen. these events made a deep impression upon his mind, which acted upon his enfeebled constitution and aggravated the symptoms of his disease. from the 9th of june, when the first bulletin was issued, he grew daily worse; the circulation became more languid, and the general decay more apparent. on the 20th of june he expired, in the seventy-third year of his age, having reigned nearly seven years. his kindness of heart and simplicity of character, which had endeared him greatly to all classes of his subjects, caused him to be generally and sincerely lamented. in the house of peers lord melbourne referred to his death as a loss which had deprived the nation of a monarch always anxious for the interest and welfare of his subjects; and added, "which has deprived me of a most generous master, and the world of a man—i would say one of the best of men—a monarch of the strictest integrity that it has ever pleased divine providence to place over these realms. the knowledge which he had acquired in the course of his professional education of the colonial service and of civil matters, was found by him exceedingly valuable, and he dealt with the details of practical business in the most familiar and most advantageous manner. a more fair or more just man i have never met with in my intercourse with the world. he gave the most patient attention, even when his own opinion was opposed to what was stated, being most willing to hear what could be urged in opposition to it. these were great and striking qualities in any man, but more striking in a monarch." the declaration doubtless came from the heart, and was the more creditable, because the king's opposition to the ministry had been most pronounced. he looked upon the second melbourne cabinet as forced upon him, and, though he had regard for one or two of them—particularly lord melbourne and lord palmerston—he made no secret of his dislike to the whole, and never invited them to windsor. we have already given an instance of one of his discreditable outbursts, and his conduct during his later years was in other respects eccentric in the extreme. besides, his zeal for reform had long passed away; and he was in complete sympathy with the factious proceedings of the majority of the house of lords when each ministerial measure was proposed—for instance, the church rates bill he met with a long and ably argued list of objections which it required all lord melbourne's tact and firmness to overcome. but, with all his oddities and faults, william iv. was a thoroughly honourable man, and his opposition to his ministers entirely aboveboard.