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diff --git a/10807-h/10807-h.htm b/10807-h/10807-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d059e8b --- /dev/null +++ b/10807-h/10807-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17754 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta name="generator" content= +"HTML Tidy for Solaris (vers 1st October 2003), see www.w3.org" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= +"text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Constitutional History of +England, by Charles Duke Yonge, M.A.</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- +body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} +p {text-align: justify;} +h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} +pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + +hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} +html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} +hr.full {width: 100%;} +html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + +.note, .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.blockquote {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} +.poetry {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} +.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} +.poetry p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poetry p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} +.poetry p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + --> + /*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10807 ***</div> + +<h1>THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND from 1760 to 1860</h1> +<center><b>BY CHARLES DUKE YONGE, M.A.</b></center> +<center>REGIUS PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY, QUEEN'S COLLEGE, +BELFAST AND AUTHOR OF "THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH NAVY" "THE LIFE +OF MARIE ANTOINETTE" ETC.</center> +<center>NEW YORK</center> +<hr /> +<a name="PRF" id="PRF"><!-- PRF --></a> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> +<p>Mr. Hallam's "Constitutional History" closes, as is well known, +with the death of George II. The Reformation, the great Rebellion, +and the Revolution, all of which are embraced in the period of +which it treats, are events of such surpassing importance, and such +all-pervading and lasting influence, that no subsequent +transactions can ever attract entirely equal attention. Yet the +century which has elapsed since the accession of George III. has +also witnessed occurrences not only full of exciting interest at +the moment, but calculated to affect the policy of the kingdom and +the condition of the people, for all future time, in a degree only +second to the Revolution itself. Indeed, the change in some leading +features and principles of the constitution wrought by the Reform +Bill of 1832, exceeds any that were enacted by the Bill of Rights +or the Act of Settlement. The only absolutely new principle +introduced in 1688 was that establishment of Protestant ascendency +which was contained in the clause which disabled any Roman Catholic +from wearing the crown. In other respects, those great statutes +were not so much the introduction of new principles, as a +recognition of privileges of the people which had been long +established, but which, in too many instances, had been disregarded +and violated.</p> +<p>But the Reform Bill conferred political power on classes which +had never before been admitted to be entitled to it; and their +enfranchisement could not fail to give a wholly new and democratic +tinge to the government, which has been visible in its effect on +the policy of all subsequent administrations.</p> +<p>And, besides this great measure, the passing of which has often +been called a new Revolution, and the other reforms, municipal and +ecclesiastical, which were its immediate and almost inevitable +fruits, the century which followed the accession of George III. was +also marked by the Irish Union, the abolition of slavery, the +establishment of the principle of universal religious toleration; +the loss of one great collection of colonies, the plantation of and +grant of constitutions to others of not inferior magnitude, which +had not even come into existence at its commencement; the growth of +our wondrous dominion in India, with its eventual transfer of all +authority in that country to the crown; with a host of minor +transactions and enactments, which must all be regarded as, more or +less, so many changes in or developments of the constitution, as it +was regarded and understood by the statesmen of the seventeenth +century.</p> +<p>It has seemed, therefore, to the compiler of this volume, that a +narrative of these transactions in their historical sequence, so as +to exhibit the connection which has frequently existed between +them; to show, for instance, how the repeal of Poynings' Act, and +the Regency Bill of 1788, necessitated the Irish Union; how +Catholic Emancipation brought after it Parliamentary Reform, and +how that led to municipal and ecclesiastical reforms, might not be +without interest and use at the present time. And the modern +fulness of our parliamentary reports (itself one not unimportant +reform and novelty), since the accession of George III., has +enabled him to give the inducements or the objections to the +different enactments in the very words of the legislators who +proposed them or resisted them, as often as it seemed desirable to +do so.</p> +<hr /> +<a name="TOC" id="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> +<p><a href="#CH1">CHAPTER I.</a></p> +<p>Mr. Hallam's View of the Development of the +Constitution.—Symptoms of approaching Constitutional +Changes.—State of the Kingdom at the Accession of George +III.—Improvement of the Law affecting the Commissions of the +Judges.—Restoration of Peace.—Lord Bute becomes +Minister.—The Case of Wilkes.—Mr. Luttrell is Seated +for Middlesex by the House of Commons.—Growth of +Parliamentary Reporting.—Mr. Grenville's Act for trying +Election Petitions.—Disfranchisement of Corrupt Voters at New +Shoreham.</p> +<p><a href="#CH2">CHAPTER II.</a></p> +<p>The Regency Bill.—The Ministry of 1766 lay an Embargo on +Corn.—An Act of Indemnity is Passed.—The <i>Nullum +Tempus</i> Act concerning Crown Property; it is sought to Extend it +to Church Property, but the Attempt fails.—The Royal Marriage +Act.—The Lords amend a Bill imposing Export Duties, etc., on +Corn.</p> +<p><a href="#CH3">CHAPTER III.</a></p> +<p>Mr. Grenville imposes a Duty on Stamps in the North American +Colonies.—Examination of Dr. Franklin.—Lord +Rockingham's Ministry Repeals the Duty.—Lord Mansfield +affirms a Virtual Representation in the Colonies.—Mr. C. +Townsend imposes Import Duties in America.—After some Years, +the Civil War breaks out.—Hanoverian Troops are sent to +Gibraltar.—The Employment of Hanoverian Regiments at +Gibraltar and Minorca.—End of the War.—Colonial Policy +of the Present Reign.—Complaints of the Undue Influence of +the Crown.—Motions for Parliamentary Reform.—Mr. +Burke's Bill for Economical Reform.—Mr. Dunning's Resolution +on the Influence of the Crown.—Rights of the Lords on +Money-bills.—The Gordon Riots.</p> +<p><a href="#CH4">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> +<p>Changes of Administration.—The Coalition +Ministry.—The Establishment of the Prince of +Wales.—Fox's India Bill.—The King Defeats it by the +Agency of Lord Temple.—The Ministry is Dismissed, and +Succeeded by Mr. Pitt's Administration.—Opposition to the New +Ministry in the House of Commons.—Merits of the Contest +between the Old and the New Ministry.—Power of +Pitt.—Pitt's India Bill.—Bill for the Government of +Canada.—The Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Mrs. +Fitzherbert.—The King becomes Deranged.—Proposal of a +Regency.—Opinions of Various Writers on the Course +adopted.—Spread of Revolutionary Societies and +Opinions.—Bills for the Repression of Sedition and +Treason.—The Alien Act.—The Traitorous Correspondence +Act.—Treason and Sedition Bills.—Failure of some +Prosecutions under them.</p> +<p><a href="#CH5">CHAPTER V.</a></p> +<p>The Affairs of Ireland.—Condition of the Irish +Parliament.—The Octennial Bill.—The Penal +Laws.—Non-residence of the Lord-lieutenant.—Influence +of the American War on Ireland.—Enrolment of the +Volunteers.—Concession of all the Demands of +Ireland.—Violence of the Volunteers.—Their +Convention.—Violence of the Opposition in Parliament: Mr. +Brownlow, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Flood.—Pitt's Propositions +Fail.—Fitzgibbon's Conspiracy Bill.—Regency +Question.—Recovery of the King.—Question of a +Legislative Union.—Establishment of Maynooth +College.—Lord Edward Fitzgerald.—Arguments for and +against the Union.—It passes the Irish +Parliament.—Details of the Measure.—General Character +of the Union.—Circumstances which Prevented its +Completeness.</p> +<p><a href="#CH6">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> +<p>A Census is Ordered.—Dissolution of Pitt's +Administration.—Impeachment of Lord +Melville.—Introduction of Lord Ellenborough into the +Cabinet.—Abolition of the Slave-trade.—Mr. Windham's +Compulsory Training Bill.—Illness of the King, and +Regency.—Recurrence to the Precedent of 1788-'89.—Death +of Mr. Perceval.—Lord Liverpool becomes +Prime-minister.—Question of Appointments in the +Household.—Appointment of a Prime-minister.</p> +<p><a href="#CH7">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> +<p>The Toleration Act.—Impropriety of making Catholic +Emancipation (or any other Important Matter) an Open +Question.—Joint Responsibility of all the +Ministers.—Detention of Napoleon at St. +Helena.—Question whether the Regent could Give Evidence in a +Court of Law in a Civil Action.—Agitation for +Reform.—Public Meetings.—The Manchester +Meeting.—The Seditious Meetings Prevention Bill.—Lord +Sidmouth's Six Acts.</p> +<p><a href="#CH8">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> +<p>Survey of the Reign of George III.—The Cato Street +Conspiracy.—The Queen's Return to England, and the +Proceedings against her.—The King Visits Ireland and +Scotland.—Reform of the Criminal Code.—Freedom of +Trade.—Death of Lord Liverpool.—The Duke of Wellington +becomes Prime-minister.—Repeal of the Test and Corporation +Act.—O'Connell is Elected for Clare.—Peel Resigns his +Seat for Oxford.—Catholic Emancipation.—Question of the +Endowment of the Roman Catholic Clergy.—Constitutional +Character of the Emancipation.—The Propriety of Mr. Peel's +Resignation of his Seat for Oxford Questioned.</p> +<p><a href="#CH9">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> +<p>Demand for Parliamentary Reform.—Death of George IV., and +Accession of William IV.—French Revolution of +1830.—Growing Feeling in Favor of Reform.—Duke of +Wellington's Declaration against Reform.—His Resignation: +Lord Grey becomes Prime-minister.—Introduction of the Reform +Bill.—Its Details.—Riots at Bristol and +Nottingham.—Proposed Creation of Peers.—The King's +Message to the Peers.—Character and Consequences of the +Reform Bill.—Appointment of a Regency.—Re-arrangement +of the Civil List.</p> +<p><a href="#CH10">CHAPTER X.</a></p> +<p>Abolition of Slavery.—Abridgment of the +Apprenticeship.—The East India Company's Trade is Thrown +Open.—Commencement of Ecclesiastical Reforms.—The New +Poor-law.—State of Ireland.—Agitation against +Tithes.—Coercion Bill.—Beginning of Church +Reform.—Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime-minister.—Variety +of Offices held Provisionally by the Duke of Wellington.—Sir +Robert Peel Retires, and Lord Melbourne Resumes the +Government.—Sir Robert Peel Proposes a Measure of Church +Reform.—Municipal Reform.—Measures of Ecclesiastical +Reform.</p> +<p><a href="#CH11">CHAPTER XI.</a></p> +<p>Death of William IV., and Accession of Queen +Victoria.—Rise of the Chartists.—Resignation of Lord +Melbourne in 1839, and his Resumption of Office.—Marriage of +the Queen, and Consequent Arrangements.—The Precedence of the +Prince, etc.—Post-office Reform.—War in +Afghanistan.—Discontent in Jamaica.—Insurrection in +Canada.—New Constitution for Canada and other +Colonies.—Case of Stockdale and Hansard.</p> +<p><a href="#CH12">CHAPTER XII.</a></p> +<p>Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime-minister.—Commercial +Reforms.—Free-trade.—Religious +Toleration.—Maynooth.—The Queen's +University.—Post-office Regulations.—The Opening of +Letters.—Naturalization of Aliens.—Recall of Lord +Ellenborough.—Reversal of the Vote on the Sugar +Duties.—Refusal of the Crown to Sanction a Bill.—The +Question of Increase in the Number of Spiritual Peers.—Repeal +of the Corn-laws.—Revolution in France, and Agitation on the +Continent.—Death of Sir Robert Peel.—Indifference of +the Country to Reform.—Repeal of the Navigation +Laws.—Resolutions in Favor of Free-trade.—The Great +Exhibition of 1851.</p> +<p><a href="#CH13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></p> +<p>Dismissal of Lord Palmerston.—Theory of the Relation +between the Sovereign and the Cabinet.—Correspondence of the +Sovereign with French Princes.—Russian War.—Abolition +of the Tax on Newspapers.—Life Peerages.—Resignation of +two Bishops.—Indian Mutiny.—Abolition of the Sovereign +Power of the Company.—Visit of the Prince of Wales to +India.—Conspiracy Bill.—Rise of the +Volunteers.—National Fortifications.—The Lords Reject +the Measure for the Repeal of the Paper-duties.—Lord +Palmerston's Resolutions.—Character of the Changes during the +last Century.</p> +<p><a href="#IDX">INDEX.</a></p> +<hr /> +<a name="RULE4_1" id="RULE4_1"><!-- RULE4 1 --></a> +<h2>CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.</h2> +<a name="CH1" id="CH1"><!-- CH1 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Mr. Hallam's View of the Development of the +Constitution.—Symptoms of approaching Constitutional +Changes.—State of the Kingdom at the Accession of George +III.—Improvement of the Law affecting the Commissions of the +Judges.—Restoration of Peace.—Lord Bute becomes +Minister.—The Case of Wilkes.—Mr. Luttrell is Seated +for Middlesex by the House of Commons.—Growth of +Parliamentary Reporting.—Mr. Grenville's Act for trying +Election Petitions.—Disfranchisement of Corrupt Voters at New +Shoreham.</p> +<p>The learned and judicious writer to whom is due the first idea +of a "Constitutional History of England," and of whose admirable +work I here venture to offer a continuation, regards "the spirit of +the government" as having been "almost wholly monarchical till the +Revolution of 1688," and in the four subsequent reigns, with the +last of which his volumes close, as "having turned chiefly to an +aristocracy."[<a href="#note-1">1</a>] And it may be considered as +having generally preserved that character through the long and +eventful reign of George III. But, even while he was writing, a +change was already preparing, of which more than one recent +occurrence had given unmistakable warning. A borough had been +disfranchised for inveterate corruption in the first Parliament of +George IV.[<a href="#note-2">2</a>] Before its dissolution, the +same House of Commons had sanctioned the principle of a state +endowment of the Roman Catholic clergy in Ireland, and had given a +third reading to a bill for the abolition of all civil restrictions +affecting members of that religion. It was impossible to avoid +foreseeing that the Parliamentary Reform inaugurated by the +disfranchisement of Grampound would soon be carried farther, or +that the emancipation, as it was termed, of all Christian sects was +at least equally certain not to be long delayed. And it will be +denied by no one that those measures, which had no very obscure or +doubtful connection with each other, have gradually imparted to the +constitution a far more democratic tinge than would have been +willingly accepted by even the most liberal statesman of the +preceding century, or than, in the days of the Tudors or of the +Stuarts, would have been thought compatible with the maintenance of +the monarchy.</p> +<p>When George III. came to the throne, he found the nation engaged +in a war which was occupying its arms not only on the Continent of +Europe, but in India and America also, and was extending her glory +and her substantial power in both hemispheres. <i>Inter arma silent +leges</i>. And, while the contest lasted, neither legislators in +Parliament nor the people outside had much attention to spare for +matters of domestic policy. Yet the first year of the new reign was +not suffered to pass without the introduction of one measure +limiting the royal prerogative in a matter of paramount importance +to the liberty of the people, the independence of the judges. The +rule of making the commissions of the judges depend on their good +conduct instead of on the pleasure of the crown had, indeed, been +established at the Revolution; but it was still held that these +commissions expired with the life of the sovereign who had granted +them; and, at the accession of Anne, as also at that of George II., +a renewal of their commissions had been withheld from some members +of the judicial bench. But now, even before the dissolution of the +existing Parliament, the new King recommended to it such a change +in the law as should "secure the judges in the enjoyment of their +offices during their good behavior, notwithstanding any demise of +the crown;" giving the proposal, which was understood to have been +originally suggested by himself, additional weight by the very +unusual step of making it the subject of a speech to the two Houses +in the middle of the session. A bill to give effect to it was at +once brought in, and, though the Houses sat only a fortnight +longer, was carried before the dissolution.</p> +<p>The close of the year 1762, however, saw the restoration of +peace; and the circumstances connected with the treaty which +re-established it gave birth to a degree of political and +constitutional excitement such as had not agitated the kingdom for +more than half a century. That treaty had not been concluded by the +minister who had conducted the war. When George III. came to the +throne he found the Duke of Newcastle presiding at the Treasury, +but the seals of one Secretary of State in the hands of Mr. Pitt, +who was universally regarded as the guiding genius of the ministry. +The other Secretary of State was Lord Holdernesse. But, in the +spring of 1761, as soon as the Parliament was dissolved,[<a href= +"#note-3">3</a>] that statesman retired from office, and was +succeeded by the Earl of Bute, a Scotch nobleman, who stood high in +the favor of the King's mother, the Princess Dowager of Wales, but +who had not till very recently been supposed to be actuated by +political ambition, and who was still less suspected of any +statesman-like ability to qualify him for the office to which he +was thus promoted. It was presently seen, however, that he aspired +to even higher dignity. He at once set himself to oppose Pitt's +warlike policy; and, on the question of declaring war against +Spain, he was so successful in inducing the rest of the cabinet to +reject Pitt's proposals, that that statesman resigned his office in +unconcealed indignation. Having got rid of the real master of the +ministry, Bute's next step was to get rid of its nominal chief, and +in the spring of 1762 he managed to drive the Duke of Newcastle +from the Treasury, and was himself placed by the King at the head +of the administration. So rapid an elevation of a man previously +unknown as a politician could hardly fail to create very widespread +dissatisfaction, which was in some degree augmented by the +nationality of the new minister. Lord Bute was a Scotchman, and +Englishmen had not wholly forgiven or forgotten the Scotch invasion +of 1745. Since that time the Scotch had been regarded with general +disfavor; Scotch poverty and Scotch greediness for the good things +of England had furnished constant topics for raillery and sarcasm; +and more than one demagogue and political writer had sought +popularity by pandering to the prevailing taste for attacks on the +whole nation. Foremost among these was Mr. John Wilkes, member for +Aylesbury, a man of broken fortunes and still more damaged +character, but of a wit and hardihood that made his society +acceptable to some of high rank and lax morality, and caused his +political alliance to be courted by some who desired to be regarded +as leaders of a party; many of the transactions of the late reign +having, unfortunately, not been favorable to the maintenance of any +high standard of either public or private virtue. On Lord Bute's +accession to office, Wilkes had set up a periodical paper, whose +object and character were sufficiently indicated by its title, +<i>The North Briton</i>, and in which the diligence of Lord Bute in +distributing places among his kinsmen and countrymen furnished the +staple of almost every number; while in many the Princess of Wales +herself was not spared, as the cause, for motives not obscurely +hinted at, of his sudden elevation. So pertinacious and virulent +were the attacks thus launched at him, coinciding as they did, at +least in one point, with the prejudices of the multitude, that they +were commonly believed to have had some share in driving Lord Bute +from office, which, in the spring of 1763, he suddenly resigned, +hoping, as it might almost seem, thus to throw on his successor the +burden of defending his measures. The most important of these +measures had been the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, +which, when it was first announced to Parliament, had been +vehemently attacked in both Houses by Pitt and his followers, but +had been approved by large majorities. Wilkes, however, not without +reason, believed it to be still unpopular with the nation at large, +and, flushed with his supposed victory over Lord Bute, was watching +eagerly for some occasion of re-opening the question, when such an +opportunity was afforded him by the King's speech at the +prorogation of the Parliament, which took place a few days after +Lord Bute's resignation.</p> +<p>Lord Bute had been succeeded by Mr. George Grenville, who had +for a time been one of his colleagues as Secretary of State; and on +him, therefore, the duty devolved of framing the royal speech the +opening sentences of which referred to "the re-establishment of +peace" in terms of warm self-congratulation, as having been +effected "upon conditions honorable to the crown and beneficial to +the people." Wilkes at once caught at this panegyric, as affording +him just such an opportunity as he had been seeking of renewing his +attacks on the government, which he regarded as changed in nothing +but the name of the Prime-minister.[<a href="#note-4">4</a>] And, +four days after the prorogation,[<a href="#note-5">5</a>] he +accordingly issued a new number of <i>The North Briton</i> (No. +45), in which he heaped unmeasured sarcasm and invective on the +peace itself, on the royal speech, and on the minister who had +composed it. As if conscious that Mr. Grenville was less inclined +by temper than Lord Bute to suffer such attacks without endeavoring +to retaliate, he took especial pains to keep within the law in his +strictures, and, accordingly, carefully avoided saying a +disrespectful word of the King himself, whom he described as "a +prince of many great and amiable qualities," "ever renowned for +truth, honor, and unsullied virtue." But he claimed a right to +canvass the speech "with the utmost freedom," since "it had always +been considered by the Legislature and by the public at large as +the speech of the minister." And he kept this distinction carefully +in view through the whole number. The speech he denounced with +bitter vehemence, as "an abandoned instance of ministerial +effrontery," as containing "the most unjustifiable public +declarations" and "infamous fallacies." The peace he affirmed to be +"such as had drawn down the contempt of mankind on our wretched +negotiators." And he described the present minister as a mere tool +of "the favorite," by whom "he still meditated to rule the kingdom +with a rod of iron." But in the whole number there was but one +sentence which could be represented as implying the very slightest +censure on the King himself, and even that was qualified by a +personal eulogy. "The King of England," it said, "is not only the +first magistrate of the country, but is invested by the law with +the whole executive power. He is, however, responsible to his +people for the due execution of the royal functions in the choice +of ministers, etc., equally with the meanest of his subjects in his +particular duty. The personal character of our present amiable +sovereign makes us easy and happy that so great a power is lodged +in such hands; but the favorite has given too just cause for him to +escape the general odium. The prerogative of the crown is to exert +the constitutional power intrusted to it in such a way, not of +blind favor and partiality, but of wisdom and judgment. This is the +spirit of our constitution. The people, too, have their +prerogative; and I hope the fine words of Dryden will be engraven +on our hearts, 'Freedom is the English subject's prerogative.'"</p> +<p>These were the last sentences of No. 45. And in the present day +it will hardly be thought that, however severe or even violent some +of the epithets with which certain sentences of the royal speech +were assailed may have been, the language exceeds the bounds of +allowable political criticism. With respect to the King, indeed, +however accompanied with personal compliments to himself those +strictures may have been, it may be admitted that in asserting any +responsibility whatever to the people on the part of the sovereign, +even for the choice of his ministers, as being bound to exercise +that choice "with wisdom and judgment," it goes somewhat beyond the +strict theory of the constitution. Undoubtedly that theory is, that +the minister chosen by the King is himself responsible for every +circumstance or act which led to his appointment. This principle +was established in the fullest manner in 1834, when, as will be +seen hereafter, Sir Robert Peel admitted his entire responsibility +for the dismissal of Lord Melbourne by King William IV., though it +was notorious that he was in Italy at the time, and had not been +consulted on the matter. But as yet such questions had not been as +accurately examined as subsequent events caused them to be; and +Wilkes's assertion of royal responsibility to this extent probably +coincided with the general feeling on the subject.[<a href= +"#note-6">6</a>] At all events, the error contained in it, and the +insinuation that due wisdom and judgment had not been displayed in +the appointment of Mr. G. Grenville to the Treasury, were not so +derogatory to the legitimate authority and dignity of the crown as +to make the writer a fit subject for a criminal prosecution. But +Mr. Grenville was of a bitter temper, never inclined to tolerate +any strictures on his own judgment or capacity, and fully imbued +with the conviction that the first duty of an English minister is +to uphold the supreme authority of the Parliament, and to chastise +any one who dares to call in question the wisdom of any one of its +resolutions. But <i>The North Briton</i> had done this, and more. +No. 45 had not only denounced the treaty which both Houses had +approved, but had insinuated in unmistakable language that their +approval had been purchased by gross corruption (a fact which was, +indeed, sufficiently notorious). And, consequently, Mr. Grenville +determined to treat the number which contained the denunciation as +a seditious libel, the publication of which was a criminal offence; +and, by his direction, Lord Halifax, as Secretary of State, issued +what was termed a general warrant—a warrant, that is, which +did not name the person or persons against whom it was directed, +but which commanded the apprehension of "the authors, printers, and +publishers" of the offending paper, leaving the officers who were +charged with its execution to decide who came under that +description, or, in other words, who were guilty of the act +charged, before they had been brought before any tribunal. The +warrant was executed. Wilkes and some printers were apprehended; +Wilkes himself, as if the minister's design had been to make the +charge ridiculous by exaggeration, being consigned to the great +state-prison of the Tower, such a use of which was generally +limited to those impeached of high-treason. And, indeed, the +commitment did declare that No. 45 of <i>The North Briton</i> was +"a libel tending to alienate the affections of the people from his +Majesty, and to excite them to traitorous insurrections against the +government." Wilkes instantly sued out a writ of <i>habeas +corpus</i>, and was without hesitation released by the Court of +Common Pleas, on the legal ground that, "as a member of the House +of Commons, he was protected from arrest in all cases except +treason, felony, or a breach of the peace;" a decision which, in +the next session of Parliament, the minister endeavored to overbear +by inducing both Houses to concur in a resolution that "privilege +of Parliament did not extend to the case of publishing seditious +libels."</p> +<p>In his life of Lord Camden,[<a href="#note-7">7</a>] who was +Chief-justice of the Common Pleas at the time, Lord Campbell +expresses a warm approval of this resolution, as one "which would +now be considered conclusive evidence of the law." But, with all +respect to the memory of a writer who was himself a Chief-justice, +we suspect that in this case he was advancing a position as an +author engaged in the discussion of what had become a party +question, which he would not have laid down from the +Bench.[<a href="#note-8">8</a>] The resolution certainly did not +make it law, since it was not confirmed by any royal assent; and to +interpret the law is not within the province of the House of +Commons, nor, except when sitting as a Court of Appeal, of the +House of Lords. We may, however, fully agree with the principle +which Lord Campbell at the same time lays down, that "privilege of +Parliament should not be permitted to interfere with the execution +of the criminal law of the country." And this doctrine has been so +fully acquiesced in since, that members of both Houses have in more +than one instance been imprisoned on conviction for libel.</p> +<p>The legality of the species of warrant under which Wilkes had +been arrested was, however, a question of far greater importance; +and on that no formal decision was pronounced on this occasion, the +Lieutenant of the Tower, in his return to the writ of <i>habeas +corpus</i>, and the counsel employed on both sides, equally +avoiding all mention of the character of the warrant. But it was +indirectly determined shortly afterward. The leaders of the +Opposition would fain have had the point settled by what, in truth, +would not have settled it—another resolution of the House of +Commons. But, though it was discussed in several warm debates, +Grenville always contrived to baffle his adversaries, though on one +occasion his majority dwindled to fourteen.[<a href= +"#note-9">9</a>] What, however, the House of Commons abstained from +affirming was distinctly, though somewhat extra-judicially, +asserted by Lord Camden, as Chief-justice of the Common Pleas. +Wilkes, with some of the printers and others who had been arrested, +had brought actions for false imprisonment, which came to be tried +in his court; and they obtained such heavy damages that the +officials who had been mulcted applied for new trials, on the plea +of their being excessive. But the Chief-justice refused the +applications, and upheld the verdict, on the ground that the +juries, in their assessment of damages, had been "influenced by a +righteous indignation at the conduct of those who sought to +exercise arbitrary power over all the King's subjects, to violate +Magna Charta, and to destroy the liberty of the kingdom, by +insisting on the legality of this general warrant." Such a +justification would hardly be admitted now. But, in a subsequent +trial, a still higher authority, the Chief-justice of the King's +Bench, Lord Mansfield, held language so similar, that, once more to +quote the words of Lord Campbell, "without any formal judgment, +general warrants have ever since been considered illegal."</p> +<p>However, the release of Wilkes on the ground of his +parliamentary privilege gave him but a momentary triumph, or rather +respite. The prosecution was not abated by the decision that he +could not be imprisoned before trial; while one effect of his +liberation was to stimulate the minister to add another count to +the indictment preferred against him, on which he might be expected +to find it less easy to excite the sympathy of any party. Wilkes +had not always confined his literary efforts to political +pamphlets. There was a club named the Franciscans (in compliment to +Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord Bute's Chancellor of the Exchequer, who, +as well as Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, was one +of its members), which met at Medmenham Abbey, on the banks of the +Thames, and there held revels whose license recalled the worst +excesses of the preceding century. To this club Wilkes also +belonged; and, in indulgence of tastes in harmony with such a +brotherhood, he had composed a blasphemous and indecent parody on +Pope's "Essay on Man," which he entitled "An Essay on Woman," and +to which he appended a body of burlesque notes purporting to be the +composition of Pope's latest commentator, the celebrated Dr. +Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester. He had never published it (indeed, +it may be doubted whether, even in that not very delicate age, any +publisher could have been found to run the risk of issuing so +scandalous a work), but he had printed a few copies in his own +house, of which he designed to make presents to such friends as he +expected to appreciate it. He had not, however, so far as it +appears, given away a single copy, when, on the very first day of +the next session of Parliament, Lord Sandwich himself brought the +parody under the notice of the House of Lords. If there was a +single member of the House whose delicacy was not likely to be +shocked, and whose morals could not be injured by such a +composition, it was certainly Lord Sandwich himself; but his zeal +as a minister to support his chief kindled in him a sudden +enthusiasm for the support of virtue and decency also; and, having +obtained a copy by some surreptitious means, he now made a formal +complaint of it to the House, contending that the use of the name +of the Bishop of Gloucester as author of the notes constituted a +breach of the privileges of the House. And he was seconded by the +bishop himself, whose temper and judgment were, unhappily, very +inferior to his learning and piety. It is recorded that he actually +compared Wilkes to the devil, and then apologized to Satan for the +comparison. But the Lords were in a humor to regard no violence +against Wilkes as excessive; and, submitting to the guidance of the +minister and the prelate, resolved that the "Essay on +Woman,"[<a href="#note-10">10</a>] as also another poem by the same +writer, a paraphrase of the "Veni Creator," was "a most scandalous, +obscene, and impious libel," and presented an address to the King, +requesting his Majesty "to give the most effectual orders for the +immediate prosecution of the author." And, in the course of the +next few weeks, the House of Commons outran the peers themselves in +violence and manifest unfairness. They concurred with the Lords in +ordering No. 45 of <i>The North Briton</i> to be burnt by the +common hangman, an order which was not carried out without great +opposition on the part of the London populace, who made it the +occasion of a very formidable riot, in which the sheriffs +themselves incurred no little danger; and, by another resolution, +they ordered Wilkes to attend in his place to answer the charge of +having published the two works. But at the time when they made this +order it was well known that he could not obey it. A few days +before he had been challenged by a Mr. Martin, who till very +recently had been one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, and who +was generally believed to have prepared himself for the conflict by +diligent practice with a pistol; and in the duel which ensued +Wilkes had been severely wounded. It was not only notorious that he +had been thus disabled, but he sent a physician and surgeon of +admitted eminence in their profession, and of unquestioned honor, +to testify to the fact at the bar of the House; and subsequently he +forwarded written certificates to the same purport from some French +doctors who had special knowledge of gunshot wounds. But the +Commons declined to accept this evidence as sufficient, and +directed two other doctors to examine him. Wilkes, however, refused +to admit them: his refusal was treated as a sufficient ground for +pronouncing him "guilty of a contempt of the authority of the +House," and for deciding on his case in his absence; and, on the +19th of January, before the case had come on for trial, a +resolution was carried that "Mr. Wilkes was guilty of writing and +publishing <i>The North Briton</i> (No. 45), which this House had +voted to be a false, scandalous, and seditious libel, and that, for +the said offence, he be expelled the House." At a later period of +the year, he was tried on the two charges of publishing No. 45 and +the "Essay on Woman," was found guilty of both, and, as he did not +appear to receive judgment, in November, 1764, he was outlawed.</p> +<p>So far, it may be said to have been a drawn battle. If, on the +one hand, the minister had procured the expulsion of Wilkes, on the +other hand Wilkes had gained great notoriety and a certain amount +of sympathy, and had, moreover, enriched himself by considerable +damages; and again, if the nation at large was a gainer by the +condemnation of general warrants, even that advantage might be +thought to be dearly gained by the discredit into which the +Parliament had fallen through its intemperance. But the contest +between Wilkes and the ministry was only closed for a time; and +when it was revived, a singular freak of fortune caused the very +minister who had led the proceedings against him on this occasion +to appear as his advocate. To avoid the consequences of his +outlawry, he had taken up his abode in Paris, waiting for a change +of ministry, which, as he hoped, might bring into power some to +whom he might look for greater favor. But when, though in the +course of the next two years two fresh administrations were formed, +it was seen that neither Lord Rockingham, the head of the first, +nor the Duke of Grafton and Mr. Pitt (promoted to the Earldom of +Chatham), the heads of the second, had any greater sympathy with +him than Mr. Grenville, he became desperate, and looked out for +some opportunity of giving effect to his discontent. He found it in +the dissolution of Parliament, which took place in the spring of +1768. In spite of his outlawry, he instantly returned to England, +and offered himself as a candidate for London. There, indeed, he +did not succeed, though the populace was uproarious in his support, +and drew his carriage through the streets as if in triumph. But, +before the end of the month, he was returned at the head of the +poll for Middlesex, when the mob celebrated his victory by great +riot and outrages, breaking the windows of Lord Bute, as his old +enemy, and of the Lord Mayor, as the representative of the City of +London, which had rejected him, and insulting, and even in some +instances beating, passers-by who refused to join in their cheers +for "Wilkes and Liberty."</p> +<p>He had already pledged himself to take the necessary steps to +procure the reversal of his outlawry; and, in pursuance of his +promise, he surrendered in the Court of King's Bench. But his +removal to prison caused a renewal of the tumults with greater +violence than before. The mob even rescued him from the officers +who had him in custody; and when, having escaped from his +deliverers, he, with a parade of obedience to the law, again +surrendered himself voluntarily at the gate of the King's Bench +Prison, they threatened to attack the jail itself, kindled a fire +under its walls, which was not extinguished without some danger, +and day after day assembled in such tumultuous and menacing crowds, +that at last Lord Weymouth, the Secretary of State, wrote a letter +to the Surrey magistrates, enjoining them to abstain from no +measures which might seem necessary for the preservation of peace, +even if that could only be effected by the employment of the +soldiery. The riots grew more and more formidable, till at last the +magistrates had no resource but to call out the troops, who, on one +occasion, after they had been pelted with large stones, and in many +instances severely injured, fired, killing or wounding several of +the foremost rioters. So tragical an event seemed to Wilkes to +furnish him with exactly such an opportunity as he desired to push +himself into farther notoriety. He at once printed Lord Weymouth's +letter, and circulated it, with an inflammatory comment, in which +he described it as a composition having for its fruit "a horrid +massacre, the consummation of a hellish plot deliberately planned." +Too angry to be prudent, Lord Weymouth complained to the House of +Lords of this publication as a breach of privilege, and the Lords +formally represented it to the House of Commons as an insult +deliberately offered to them by one of its members. There could be +no doubt that such language as Wilkes had used was libellous. In +its imputation of designs of deliberate wickedness, it very far +exceeded the bitterest passages of <i>The North Briton</i>; and +Lord Weymouth's colleagues, therefore, thought they might safely +follow the precedent set in 1764, of branding the publication as a +libel, and again procuring the expulsion of the libeller from the +House of Commons. There were circumstances in the present case, +such as the difference between the constituencies of Aylesbury and +Middlesex, and the enthusiastic fervor in the offender's cause +which the populace of the City had displayed, which made it very +doubtful whether the precedent of 1764 were quite a safe one to +follow; but the ministers not only disregarded every such +consideration, but, as if they had wantonly designed to give their +measure a bad appearance, and to furnish its opponents with the +strongest additional argument against it, they mixed up with their +present complaint a reference to former misdeeds of Wilkes with +which it had no connection. On receiving the message of the Lords, +they had summoned him to appear at the bar of the House of Commons, +that he might be examined on the subject; but this proceeding was +so far from intimidating him, that he not only avowed the +publication of his comment on Lord Weymouth's letter, but gloried +in it, asserting that he deserved the thanks of the people for +bringing to light the true character of "that bloody scroll." Such +language was regarded as an aggravation of his offence, and the +Attorney-general moved that his comment on the letter "was an +insolent, scandalous, and seditious libel;" and, when that motion +had been carried, Lord Barrington followed it up with another, to +the effect that "John Wilkes, Esq., a member of this House, who +hath at the bar of this House confessed himself to be the author +and publisher of what the House has resolved to be an insolent, +scandalous, and seditious libel, and who has been convicted in the +Court of King's Bench of having printed and published a seditious +libel, and three[<a href="#note-11">11</a>] obscene and impious +libels, and by the judgment of the said Court has been sentenced to +undergo twenty-two months' imprisonment, and is now in execution +under the said judgment, be expelled this House." This motion +encountered a vigorous opposition, not only from Mr. Burke and the +principal members of the Rockingham party, which now formed the +regular Opposition, but also from Mr. Grenville, the former +Prime-minister, who on the former occasion, in 1764, had himself +moved the expulsion of the same offender. His speech on this +occasion is the only one which is fully reported; and it deserved +the distinction from the exhaustive way in which it dealt with +every part of the question. It displayed no inclination to +extenuate Wilkes's present offence, but it pointed out with great +force the circumstance that the supporters of the motion were far +from agreement as to the reasons by which they were guided; that +some members of the greatest authority in the House, while they had +avowed their intention of voting for the expulsion, had at the same +time been careful to explain that the comment on Lord Weymouth's +letter was not the ground of their vote; that so great a lawyer as +Mr. Blackstone had asserted that that comment "had not been +properly and regularly brought before the House," but had founded +his intention to vote for the expulsion solely "upon that article +of the charge which related to the three obscene and impious libels +mentioned in it, disavowing in the most direct terms all the other +articles." That, on the other hand, other members of deserved +weight and influence, such as Lord Palmerston and Lord F. Campbell, +had disdained the idea of regarding "the article of the three +obscene and impious libels as affording any ground for their +proceeding." So practised a debater as Mr. Grenville had but little +difficulty, therefore, in arguing against the advocates of +expulsion, when they were so divided that one portion of them did, +in fact, reply to the other. But it would be superfluous here to +enter into the arguments employed on either side to justify the +expulsion, or to prove it to be unjustifiable, from a consideration +of the character of either Wilkes or his publication. The strength +and importance of Mr. Grenville's speech lay in the constitutional +points which it raised.</p> +<p>Some supporters of the ministers had dwelt upon the former +expulsion, insisting that "a man who had been expelled by a former +House of Commons could not possibly be deemed a proper person to +sit in the present Parliament, unless he had some pardon to plead, +or some merit to cancel his former offences." By a reference to the +case of Sir R. Walpole, Mr. Grenville proved that this had not been +the opinion of former Parliaments; and he contended, with +unanswerable logic, that it would be very mischievous to the nation +if such a principle should be now acted on, and such a precedent +established, since, though employed in the first instance against +the odious and the guilty, it might, when once established, be +easily applied to, and made use of against, the meritorious and the +innocent; and so the most eminent and deserving members of the +state, under the color of such an example, by one arbitrary and +discretionary vote of one House of Parliament, the worst species of +ostracism, might be excluded from the public councils, cut off and +proscribed from the rights of every subject of the realm, not for a +term of years alone, but forever. He quoted from "L'Esprit des +Lois" an assertion of Montesquieu, that "one of the excellences of +the English constitution was, that the judicial power was separated +from the legislative, and that there would be no liberty if they +were blended together; the power over the life and liberty of the +citizens would then be arbitrary, for the judge would be the +legislator." And, having thus proved that it would be a violation +of the recognized constitution to found a second expulsion on the +first, he proceeded to argue that to expel him for this new offence +would be impolitic and inexpedient, as a step which would +inevitably lead to a contest with the constituency which he +represented, since, "in the present disposition of the county of +Middlesex, no one could entertain a doubt that Wilkes would be +re-elected. The House would then probably think itself under a +necessity of again expelling him, and he would as certainly be +again re-elected. The House might, indeed, refuse to issue a new +writ, which would be to deprive the freeholders of Middlesex of the +right of choosing any other representative; but he could not +believe that the House would think it fit to inflict such a +punishment on the electors of a great county. Should it not do so, +the other alternative would be to bring into the House as +representative and knight of the shire for Middlesex a man chosen +by a few voters only, in contradiction to the declared sense of a +great majority of the freeholders on the face of the poll, upon the +supposition that all the votes of the latter were forfeited and +thrown away on account of the expulsion of Mr. Wilkes." It seemed +premature to discuss that point before it arose, and therefore the +Speaker contented himself for the present with saying that "he +believed there was no example of such a proceeding; and that, if it +should appear to be new and unfounded as the law of the land, or +even if any reasonable doubt could be entertained of its legality, +the attempt to forfeit the freeholders' votes in such a manner +would be highly alarming and dangerous."</p> +<p>Few prophecies have been more exactly fulfilled. The House did +expel Mr. Wilkes; he did offer himself for re-election, and was +re-elected; and the minister, in consequence, moved and carried a +resolution that "John Wilkes, Esq., having been, in this session of +Parliament, expelled this House, was and is incapable of being +elected a member to serve in this present Parliament." And, in +pursuance of this vote, a writ was again issued. At the end of +another month the proceeding required to be repeated. Wilkes had +again offered himself for re-election. No other candidate had +presented himself, and, in answer to an inquiry, the under-sheriff +reported that "no other candidate had been proposed but John +Wilkes, Esq., and that no elector had given or tendered his vote +for any other person." Once more the House resolved that he was +"incapable of being elected," and issued a new writ. But on this +second occasion the ministry had provided a rival candidate in the +person of the Honorable H.K. Luttrell. He was duly proposed and +seconded; a poll was taken and kept open for several days, and, as +it appeared at the close that 1143 votes had been given for Wilkes +and 296 for Mr. Luttrell, the sheriff again returned Wilkes as duly +elected.</p> +<p>A debate of singularly angry excitement arose on the reception +of this return. Even lawyers, such as Mr. De Grey, the +Attorney-general, and Sir Fletcher Norton, who had been +Attorney-general, were not ashamed to denounce the conduct of the +sheriff in returning Mr. Wilkes as "highly improper and indecent," +as "a flying in the face of a resolution of the House of Commons;" +and Sir Fletcher even ventured to advance the proposition that, "as +the Commons were acting in a judicial capacity, their resolutions +were equal to law." Lord North, too, the Chancellor of the +Exchequer, as we learn from the "Parliamentary History," "spoke +long, but chiefly to the passions. He described Mr. Wilkes and his +actions in a lively manner; showed the variety of troubles which he +had given the ministry; and that unless, by voting in Mr. Luttrell, +an end were put to this debate, the whole kingdom would be in +confusion; though he owned that he did not think that measure would +put an end to the distractions. He spoke much more to the +expediency than to the legality of the measure proposed."</p> +<p>On the other side, it was contended by several members, Burke +and Mr. Grenville being of the number, that "the House of Commons +alone could not make a law binding any body but themselves. That, +if they could disqualify one person, they could disqualify as many +as they pleased, and thus get into their own hands the whole power +of the government;" and precedents were produced to prove that +votes of the House of Lords, and also of the House of Commons, +regarding their own members, had been disregarded by the judges of +the Court of King's Bench as being contrary to law. But the +minister was secure of the steadiness of his adherents, and a +majority of 221 to 152 declared that Mr. Luttrell had been duly +elected.</p> +<p>But Lord North was correct in his anticipation that their vote +would not put an end to the agitation on the question, and it was +renewed in the next session in a manner which at one time +threatened to produce a breach between the two Houses.</p> +<p>The "Parliamentary History" closes its report of the debate on +the resolution by which Mr. Luttrell was seated with a summary of +the arguments used in it, taken from the "Annual Register," which, +as is universally known, was at this time edited by Mr. Burke. It +is a very fair and candid abstract, which, in fact, puts the whole +question on one single issue, "that the House of Commons is the +sole court of judicature in all cases of election, and that this +authority is derived from the first principles of our government, +viz., the necessary independence of the three branches of the +Legislature." But, though that doctrine was fully admitted by the +Opposition, they made "that very admission a ground for reviving +the question in the next session, by moving for a resolution which +should declare that, 'being a Court of Judicature, the House of +Commons, in deciding matters of election, was bound to judge +according to the law of the land, and the known and established law +of Parliament, which was part thereof.'" It was understood that +this resolution, if carried, was intended as a stepping-stone to +others which should condemn the decision of the previous session; +yet it seemed such a truism that even the ministers could not +venture to deny it; but they proposed to defeat the object of its +framers by adding to it a declaration that the late decision was +"agreeable to the said law of the land." And we might pass on to +the subsequent debate, in which the constitutional correctness of +that addition was distinctly challenged, did it not seem desirable +to notice two arguments which were brought forward against the +motion, one by an independent member, Mr. Ongley, the other by the +Attorney-general. Mr. Ongley contended that "a power of preserving +order and decency is essentially necessary to every aggregate body; +and, with respect to this House, if it had not power over its +particular members, they would be subject to no control at all." +The answer to this argument is obvious: that a right on the part of +the House to control the conduct of its members is a wholly +different thing from a right to determine who are or ought to be +members; and that for the House to claim this latter right, except +on grounds of qualification or disqualification legally proved, +would be to repeat one of the most monstrous of all Cromwell's acts +of tyranny, when, in 1656, he placed guards at the door of the +House, with orders to refuse admission to all those members whom, +however lawfully elected, he did not expect to find sufficiently +compliant for his purposes. Mr. De Grey's argument was of a +different character, being based on what he foretold would be the +practical result of a decision that expulsion did not involve an +incapacity to be re-elected. If it did not involve such incapacity, +and if, in consequence, Mr. Wilkes should be re-elected, he +considered that the House would naturally feel it its duty to +re-expel him as often as the constituency re-elected him. But one +answer given to this argument was, that to expel a second time +would be to punish twice for one offence, a proceeding at variance +not only with English law but with every idea of justice. Another, +and one which has obtained greater acceptance, was, that the +legitimate doctrine was, that the issue of a new writ gave the +expelled member an appeal from the House to the constituency, and +that the constituency had a constitutional right to overrule the +judgment of the House, and to determine whether it still regarded +the candidate as its most suitable representative.</p> +<p>The ministers, however, were, as before, strong enough in the +House to carry their resolution. But the Opposition returned to the +charge, taking up an entirely different though equally general +position, "That, by the law of the land and the known law and usage +of Parliament, no person eligible by common right can be +incapacitated by vote or resolution of this House, but by act of +Parliament only." It is remarkable that, in the debate which +ensued, two members who successively rose to the dignity of Lord +Chancellor, Mr. Thurlow and Mr. Wedderburn, took different sides; +but nothing could shake the ministerial majority. The resolution +was rejected. And when Lord Rockingham proposed the same resolution +in the House of Lords, though it was supported by all the eloquence +of Lord Chatham, he was beaten by a majority of more than two to +one, and the ministers even carried a resolution declaring "that +any interference of the House of Lords with any judgment of the +House of Commons, in matters of election, would be a violation of +the constitutional rights of the Commons."</p> +<p>Even these decisive defeats of the Opposition did not finally +terminate the struggle. The notoriety which Wilkes had gained had +answered his purpose to no slight extent. The City had adopted his +cause with continually increasing earnestness and effect. It had +made him Sheriff, Alderman, Lord Mayor, and had enriched him with +the lucrative office of City Chamberlain; and, as one of the City +magistrates, he subsequently won the good opinion of many who had +previously condemned him, by his conduct during the Gordon Riots, +in which he exerted his authority with great intrepidity to check +and punish the violence of the rioters. And when, in 1782, Lord +Rockingham became, for the second time, Prime-minister, he thought +he might well avail himself of the favor he had thus acquired, and +of the accession to office of those whom the line which they had +formerly taken bound to countenance him, to bring forward a motion +for the expunction of the resolutions against him which had been +passed in 1770. It was carried by a largo majority; and though this +was as evidently a party division as those had been by which he had +been defeated twelve years before, still, as the last resolution on +the subject, it must be regarded as decisive of the law and +practice of Parliament, and as having settled the doctrine that +expulsion does not incapacitate a member who has been expelled from +immediate re-election.[<a href="#note-12">12</a>]</p> +<p>The establishment of this rule, and the abolition of general +warrants, were, however, not the only nor the most important result +of these proceedings. They led indirectly to an innovation which, +it is hardly too much to say, has had a greater influence on the +character and conduct of Parliament, and indeed on the whole +subsequent legislation of the country, than can be attributed to +any other single cause. Hitherto the bulk of the people had enjoyed +but very scanty and occasional means of acquiring political +education. At times of vehement political excitement, or any +special party conflict, pamphlets and periodical essays had +enlightened their readers—necessarily a select and small +body—on particular topics. But standing orders of both +Houses, often renewed, strictly forbade all publication of the +debates which took place in either. To a certain extent, these +orders had come to be disregarded and evaded. Almost ever since the +accession of the House of Brunswick, a London publisher had given +to the world an annual account of the Parliamentary proceedings and +most interesting discussions of the year; and before the middle of +the reign of George II, two monthly magazines had given sketches of +speeches made by leading members of each party. The reporters, +however, did not venture to give the names of the speakers at full +length, but either disguised them under some general description, +or at most gave their initials; and sometimes found that even this +profession of deference to the standing orders did not insure them +impunity. As late as the year 1747, Cave, the proprietor and editor +of the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, was brought to the bar of the +House of Commons for publishing an account of a recent debate, and +only obtained his release by expressions of humble submission and +the payment of heavy fees. The awe, however, which his humiliation +and peril had been intended to diffuse gradually wore off; the keen +interest which was awakened by the ministerial changes at the +beginning of the reign of George III., which have been already +mentioned, naturally prompted a variety of efforts to gratify it by +a revelation of the language concerning them which was held by +statesmen of different parties; and these revelations were no +longer confined to yearly or monthly publications. More than one +newspaper had of late adopted the practice of publishing what it +affirmed to be a correct report of the debates of the previous day, +though, in fact, each journal garbled them to suit the views of the +party to which it belonged, and, to quote the words of the +historian of the period, "misrepresented the language and arguments +of the speakers in a manner which could hardly be considered +accidental."[<a href="#note-13">13</a>] The speakers on the +ministerial side in the debates on the Middlesex election had been +especial objects of these misrepresentations; and, at the beginning +of 1771, one of that party, Colonel Onslow, M.P. for Guilford, +brought the subject before the House, complaining that many +speeches, and his own among them, had been misrepresented by two +newspapers which he named, and that "the practice had got to an +infamous height, so that it had become absolutely necessary either +to punish the offenders or to revise the standing orders."[<a href= +"#note-14">14</a>] And he accordingly moved "that the publication +of the newspapers of which he complained was a contempt of the +orders and a breach of the privileges of the House, and that the +printers be ordered to attend the House at its next sitting." The +habitual unfairness of the reports was admitted by the Opposition; +but the publishers complained of evidently felt assured of their +sympathy (which, indeed, was sufficiently, and not very decorously, +shown by its leaders inflicting on the House no fewer than +twenty-three divisions in a single night), and, relying on their +countenance, they paid no attention to the order of the House. A +fresh order for their arrest having been issued, the +Sergeant-at-arms reported that he had been unable to execute it, by +reason of their absence from their homes; on which the House, not +disposed to allow itself to be thus trifled with, now addressed his +Majesty with a request that he would issue his royal proclamation +for their apprehension. And Colonel Onslow made a fresh motion, +with a similar complaint of the publishers of six more +newspapers—"three brace," as he described them in language +more sportsman like than parliamentary. Similar orders for their +appearance and, when these were disregarded, for their +apprehension, were issued. And at last one of those who had been +mentioned in the royal proclamation, Mr. Wheble, printer of the +<i>Middlesex Journal</i>, was apprehended by an officer named +Carpenter, and carried before the sitting magistrate at Guildhall, +who, by a somewhat whimsical coincidence, happened to be Alderman +Wilkes. Wilkes not only discharged him, on the ground that there +was "no legal cause of complaint against him," but when Wheble, in +retaliation, made a formal complaint of the assault committed on +him by Carpenter in arresting him, bound Wheble over to prosecute, +and Carpenter to answer the complaint, at the next quarter +sessions, and then reported what he had done in an official Letter +to the Secretary of State. Thomson, another printer, was in like +manner arrested; and, when brought before Mr. Oliver, another +alderman, was discharged by him. And when, a day or two afterward, +a third (Mr. Miller) was apprehended by Whetham, a messenger of the +House of Commons, Mr. Brass Crosby, the Lord Mayor, and the two +Aldermen, signed a warrant committing Whetham to prison for +assaulting Miller. Whetham was bailed by the Sergeant-at-arms, who +reported what had occurred to the House; and the House, as the Lord +Mayor and Alderman Oliver were members of it, as representatives +for London and Honiton, ordered that they should attend the House +in their places, to explain their conduct, and that Mr. Wilkes +should attend at the bar of the House. Wilkes, declining to +recognize the validity of the resolutions which had seated Colonel +Luttrell for Middlesex, refused compliance with such an order, +writing a letter to the Speaker, in which he "observed that no +notice was taken of him as a member of the House; and that the +Speaker's order did not require him to attend in his place." And he +"demanded his seat in Parliament, and promised, when he had been +admitted to his seat, to give the House a most exact detail of his +conduct." But the Lord Mayor pleaded the charters of the City as a +justification of his act in releasing a citizen of London who had +been arrested on a warrant which had not been backed by a City +magistrate, and demanded to be heard by counsel in support of his +plea. His demand, however, was refused, and he and Alderman Oliver +were committed to the Tower; but, as if the ministers were afraid +of re-opening the question of Colonel Luttrell's election for +Middlesex, they evaded taking notice of Wilkes's disobedience to +their order by a singularly undignified expedient, issuing a fresh +order for his appearance on the 8th of April, and adjourning till +the 9th.</p> +<p>The ministers now moved the appointment of a select committee to +investigate the whole affair; and the committee, before the end of +the month, made an elaborate report, which, however, abstained from +all mention of the offence committed by the printers, and confined +itself to an assertion that "the power and authority of the House +to compel the attendance of any commoner had ever extended as well +to the City of London, without exception on account of charters +from the crown or any pretence of separate jurisdiction, as to +every other part of the realm." And this assertion may be regarded +as having been uphold by the refusal of the judges to release the +Lord Mayor and Alderman when they sued out writs of <i>habeas +corpus</i>; and they consequently remained prisoners in the Tower +till they were released by the prorogation.</p> +<p>But with this report of the committee the matter was suffered to +drop. The transaction had caused almost unprecedented excitement, +which was not confined to the City, for the grand-juries of many +English counties and a committee of the Dublin merchants showed +their sympathy with the Opposition by sending up addresses to the +imprisoned City magistrates; and the ministers had a prudent fear +of keeping alive an agitation which had not been always free from +danger to the public tranquillity.[<a href="#note-15">15</a>] In +effect, the victory remained with the Opposition. No farther +attempt was made to punish any of the printers; and, though the +standing orders which forbid such publication have never been +formally repealed, ever since that time the publishers of +newspapers and other periodicals have been in the constant habit of +giving regular details of the proceedings of both Houses of +Parliament. And one enterprising publisher, Mr. Hansard, has for +many years published a complete record of the debates in both +Houses, which is continually appealed to in the Houses themselves, +by members of both parties, as a manual of political and +parliamentary history.</p> +<p>The practice, as it now prevails, is one of the many instances +of the practical wisdom with which this nation often deals with +difficult subjects. The standing order is retained as an instrument +which, in certain cases, it may possibly be expedient to employ; +as, in fact, it has been employed in one or two instances in the +present reign, when matters have been under consideration which, +however necessary to be discussed, were of such a nature that the +publication of the details into which some speakers deemed it +desirable to go was regarded by others as calculated to be +offensive to the taste, if not injurious to the morals, of the +community at large. But the very fact of such an occasional +enforcement of the standing orders under very peculiar +circumstances implies a recognition of the propriety of its more +ordinary violation; of the principle that publication ought to be +the general rule, and secrecy the unusual exception. And, indeed, +it is, probably, no exaggeration to say that such publication is +not only valuable, as the best and chief means of the political +education of the people out-of-doors, but is indispensable to the +working of our parliamentary system such as it has now become. The +successive Reform Bills, which have placed the electoral power in +the hands of so vast a body of constituents as was never imagined +in the last century, have evidently regarded the possession by the +electors of a perfect knowledge of the language held and the votes +given by their representatives as indispensable to the proper +exercise of the franchises which they have conferred. And, even if +there had previously been no means provided for their acquisition +of such information, it is certain that the electors would never +have consented to be long kept in the dark on subjects of such +interest. In another point of view, the publication of the debates +is equally desirable, in the interest of the members themselves, +whether leaders or followers of the different parties. Not to +mention the stimulus that it affords to the cultivation of +eloquence—an incentive to which even those least inclined or +accustomed to put themselves forward are not entirely +insensible—it enables the ministers to vindicate their +measures to the nation at large, the leaders of the Opposition to +explain their objections or resistance to those measures in their +own persons, and not through the hired agency of pamphleteers, and +each humbler member to prove to his constituents the fidelity with +which he has acted up to the principles his assertion of which +induced them to confide their interests and those of the kingdom to +his judgment and integrity. Secrecy and mystery may serve, or be +supposed to serve, the interests of arbitrary rulers; perfect +openness is the only principle on which a free constitution can be +maintained and a free people governed.</p> +<p>It seems convenient to take all the measures which, in this +first portion of the reign before us, affected the proceedings or +constitution of Parliament together; and, indeed, one enactment of +great importance, which was passed in 1770, it is hardly +unreasonable to connect in some degree with the decision of the +House which adjudged the seat for Middlesex to Colonel Luttrell. +Ever since the year 1704 it had been regarded as a settled point +that the House of Commons had the exclusive right of determining +every question concerning the election of its members. But it was +equally notorious that it had exercised that right in a manner +which violated every principle of justice and even of decency. +Election petitions were decided by the entire House, and were +almost invariably treated as party questions, in which impartiality +was not even professed. Thirty years before, the Prime-minister +himself (Sir Robert Walpole) had given notice to his supporters +that "no quarter was to be given in election petitions;" and it was +a division on one petition which eventually drove him from office. +There was not even a pretence made of deciding according to +evidence, for few of the members took the trouble to hear it. A few +years after the time of which we are speaking, Lord George Germaine +thus described the mode of proceeding which had previously +prevailed: "The managers of petitions did not ask those on whose +support they calculated to attend at the examination of witnesses, +but only to let them know where they might be found when the +question was going to be put, that they might be able to send them +word in time for the division." The practice had become a public +scandal, by which the constituencies and the House itself suffered +equally—the constituencies, inasmuch as they were liable to +be represented by one who was in fact only the representative of a +minority; the House itself, since its title to public confidence +could have no solid or just foundation but such as was derived from +its members being in every instance the choice of the majority. +Yet, so long as petitions were judged by the whole House, there +seemed no chance of the abuse being removed, the number of judges +conferring the immunity of shamelessness on each individual. To +remedy such a state of things, in the spring of 1770 Mr. G. +Grenville brought in a bill which provided for the future trial of +all such petitions by a select committee of fifteen members, +thirteen of whom should be chosen by ballot, one by the sitting +member whose seat was petitioned against, and one by the +petitioner. The members of the committee were to take an oath to do +justice similar to that taken by jurymen in the courts of law; and +the committee was to have power to compel the attendance of +witnesses, to examine them on oath, and to enforce the production +of all necessary papers; it was also to commence its sittings +within twenty-four hours of its appointment, and to sit from day to +day till it should be prepared to present its report. It was not to +the credit of the ministers that they made the passing of such a +bill a party question. The abuse which it was designed to remedy +was notorious, and Mr. Grenville did not exaggerate its magnitude +when he declared that, "if it were not checked, it must end in the +ruin of public liberty." He was supported by Burke, and by two +lawyers, Mr. Dunning and Mr. Wedderburn, both destined to rise to +some of the highest offices in their profession; but he was opposed +by the Attorney-general, by Lord North, as leader of the House, and +by Mr. Fox—not yet turned into a patriot by Lord North's +dismissal of him from office. The debates, both in the whole House +and in committee, were long and earnest. Some of the ministerial +underlings were not ashamed to deny the necessity of any alteration +in the existing practice; but their more favorite argument was +founded on the impropriety of the House "delegating its authority +to a committee," which was asserted to be "an essential alteration +of the constitution of the House of Commons." Lord North himself +had too keen an instinct of propriety to deny the existence of a +great evil, and contented himself with pleading for time for +farther consideration; while the Attorney-general confined his +objections to some details of the bill, which it would be easy to +amend. Others, with too accurate a foresight, doubted the efficacy +of the measure, and prophesied that the additional sanction of the +oath, by which its framer hoped to bind the committees to a just +and honest decision, would, "like oaths of office and Custom-house +oaths, soon fall into matters of form, and lose all sanction, and +so make bad worse." On the other hand, besides the arguments +founded on the admitted greatness of the evil to be remedied, it +was shown that the institution of committees, such as the bill +proposed the appointment of, was sanctioned by numerous precedents; +and though the committees—sometimes consisting of as many as +two hundred members—were by far too large to make it probable +that all would bestow a careful attention on the whole case, there +was "nothing in the journals of the House to show that their +decisions were not regarded as final, or as requiring no subsequent +confirmation from the whole House." Generally speaking, Lord North +could trust the steadiness of his majority; but, to his great +surprise, on this occasion he found himself deserted by the country +gentlemen, who voted in a body for the bill, although their +spokesman, Sir W. Bagot, had been in no slight degree offended by +some remarks of Burke, who, with a strange imprudence, had claimed +a monopoly of the title of "friends of the constitution" for +himself and his party, and had sneered at the country gentlemen, as +"statesmen of a very different description, though, by a late +description given of them, a Tory was now the best species of +Whig." And the union of the two bodies proved irresistible; the +bill was carried by a majority of sixty-two, and the government did +not venture to carry on their resistance to it in the House of +Lords, any interference by which would, indeed, have been resented +by the Commons, as a violation of their privileges.</p> +<p>At first the duration of the bill was limited to seven years; +but in 1774 it was made perpetual by a still larger majority, the +experience of its working having converted many who had at first +opposed it, but who now bore willing testimony to its efficacy. +Unhappily, though the House could make the bill perpetual, at least +till formally repealed, it could not invest its good effects with +equal durability. After a time, the same complaints were advanced +against the decision of election committees that had formerly been +employed to discredit the judgments of the whole House. The success +or failure of a petition again became a party question; and as in a +committee of an odd number the ministerialists or the Opposition +must inevitably have a majority of at least one member, before the +end of the reign it had become as easy to foretell the result of a +petition from the composition of the committee as it had been in +the time of Walpole. And it was with the approval of almost all +parties—an approval extorted only by the absolute necessity +of the case—that, after one or two modifications of Mr. +Grenville's act had been tried, Mr. Disraeli induced the House to +surrender altogether its privilege of judging of elections, and to +submit the investigations of petitions on such subjects to the only +tribunal sufficiently above suspicion to command and retain the +confidence of the nation, the judges of the high courts of law.</p> +<p>We shall probably be doing the House of Commons of the day no +injustice, if we surmise that the degree in which public attention +had recently been directed to the representation, and the interest +which the people were beginning to show in the purity of elections, +as the principle on the maintenance of which the very liberties of +all might depend, had some share in leading the House to establish +the wholly new, though most necessary, precedent of punishing a +constituency for habitual and inveterate corruption. It may be +called the first fruits of Mr. Grenville's act. At the end of the +same year in which that statute had been passed, a select committee +had sat to try the merits of a petition which complained of an +undue return for the borough of New Shoreham. And its report +brought to light an organized system of corruption, which there was +too much reason to fear was but a specimen of that which prevailed +in many other boroughs as yet undetected. It appeared from the +report, founded as it was on the evidence and confession of many of +the persons inculpated, that a society had long existed in New +Shoreham, entitled the Christian Club, which, under this specious +name, was instituted, as they frankly acknowledged, for the express +purpose of getting as much money as possible at every election from +the candidates they brought in. The members of the club were under +an oath and bond of £500 not to divulge the secrets of the +club, and to be bound by the majority. On every election, a +committee of five persons was nominated by the club to treat with +the candidates for as much money as they could get. And, in +pursuance of this system, when, on the death of Sir Stephen +Cornish, one of the members for the borough, five candidates +offered themselves to supply the vacancy, this committee of five +opened negotiations with them all. The offers of the rival +purchasers were liberal enough. One (General Smith) proposed to buy +the entire club in the lump for £3000, adding a promise to +build 600 tons of shipping in the town. A second (a Mr. Rumbold) +was willing to give every freeman £35; and his offer was +accepted by the committee, who, however, cautioned him that no +freeman was entitled to the money who was not a member of the +Christian Club. He willingly agreed to this limitation of his +expenditure, and both he and the club regarded the matter as +settled. He paid every freeman who belonged to the club his +stipulated bribe, and on the polling day they tendered eighty-seven +votes in his favor, the entire constituency being something under +one hundred and fifty. The general, finding his £3000 +declined, did not go to the poll; but a Mr. Purling and Mr. James +did, the latter polling only four votes, the former only +thirty-seven. What bribe Mr. Purling had given was never revealed; +but by some means or other he had contrived to render himself the +most acceptable of all the candidates to Mr. Roberts, the returning +officer. Roberts had himself been a member of the Christian Club, +but had quarrelled with it, and on the day of the election, as +Rumbold's voters came up, he administered to each of them the oath +against bribery. They took it without scruple; but he took it on +himself to pronounce seventy-six of them disqualified, and to +refuse their votes; and, having thus reduced Mr. Rumbold's voters +to eleven, he returned Mr. Purling as duly elected.</p> +<p>Mr. Rumbold, not unnaturally, petitioned against such a return; +when Mr. Roberts admitted the facts alleged against him, but +pleaded that he had acted under the advice of counsel, who had +assured him that it was within his own discretion to admit or to +refuse any votes that might be tendered, and that he might lawfully +refuse any "which in his own mind he thought illegal." It is a +striking proof of the laxity which prevailed on every quarter in +electioneering practices, that the House, to a great extent, +admitted his justification or excuse as valid. By a strange stretch +of lenity, they gave him credit for an honest intention, and +contented themselves with ordering him to be reprimanded by the +Speaker. But the case of the bribed freemen and of the borough +generally was too gross to be screened by any party. All agreed +that the borough must be regarded as incurably corrupt, and +deserving of heavy punishment. The Attorney-general was ordered to +prosecute the five members of the managing committee for "an +illegal and corrupt conspiracy;" and a bill was brought in to +disfranchise and declare forever incapable of voting at any +election eighty-one freemen who had been proved to have received +bribes, and to punish the borough itself, by extending the right of +voting at future elections to all the freeholders in the rape of +Bramber, the district of Sussex in which New Shoreham lies, an +arrangement which reduced the borough itself to comparative +insignificance. Mr. Fox opposed the bill, on the ground that the +offence committed could be sufficiently punished by the ordinary +courts of law. But he stood alone in his resistance; the bill was +passed, and a salutary precedent was established; the penalty +inflicted on New Shoreham being for many years regarded as the most +proper punishment for all boroughs in which similar practices were +proved to prevail.</p> +<p>And it might have continued to be thought so, had corruption +been confined to the smaller boroughs; but there was no doubt that +in many large towns corruption was equally prevalent and +inveterate, while there were also many counties in which the cost +of a contest was by far too large to be accounted for by any +legitimate causes of expenditure. And consequently, as time wore +on, severer measures were considered necessary. Some boroughs were +deprived of the right of election altogether; in others, whose +population or constituency was too numerous to make their permanent +disfranchisement advisable, the writ was suspended for a time, that +its suspension might serve both as a punishment and as a warning, a +practice which is still not unfrequently adopted. But no plan could +be devised for dealing with the evil in counties, till what seemed +hopeless to achieve by direct legislation was, in a great degree, +effected by the indirect operation of the Reform Bill of 1832. The +shortening of the duration of an election, which was henceforth +concluded in a single day, and the multiplication of polling +places, which rendered it impossible to ascertain the progress of +the different candidates till the close of the poll, were +provisions having an inevitable and most salutary effect in +diminishing alike the temptation to bribe on the part of the +candidate, and the opportunity of enhancing the value of his vote +by the elector. The vast increase of newspapers, by diffusing +political education and stimulating political discussion, has had, +perhaps, a still greater influence in the same direction. And, as +bribery could only be brought to bear on electors too ignorant to +estimate the importance of the exercise of the franchise by any +higher test than the personal advantage it might bring to +themselves, it is to the general diffusion of education among the +poorer classes, and their gradually improved and improving +intelligence that a complete eradication of electoral corruption +can alone be looked for.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-1" id="note-1"><!-- Note Anchor 1 --></a>[Footnote +1: "Constitutional History," vol. iii., p. 380; ed. 3, 1832. The +first edition was published in 1827.]</p> +<p><a name="note-2" id="note-2"><!-- Note Anchor 2 --></a>[Footnote +2: Grampound. Corrupt voters had been disfranchised in New Shoreham +as early as 1771, and the franchise of the borough of Cricklade had +been transferred to the adjoining hundreds in 1782.]</p> +<p><a name="note-3" id="note-3"><!-- Note Anchor 3 --></a>[Footnote +3: Parliament was dissolved March 19. Lord Bute succeeded Lord +Holdernesse March 25.]</p> +<p><a name="note-4" id="note-4"><!-- Note Anchor 4 --></a>[Footnote +4: The greater part of Lord Bute's colleagues did, in fact, retain +their offices. Lord Egremont and Lord Halifax continued to be +Secretaries of State; Lord Henley (afterward Lord Northington) +retained the Great Seal; Lord North and Sir John Turner remained as +Lords of the Treasury; and Mr. Yorke and Sir Fletcher Norton were +still Attorney and Solicitor General.]</p> +<p><a name="note-5" id="note-5"><!-- Note Anchor 5 --></a>[Footnote +5: Parliament was prorogued April 19, and <i>The North Briton</i> +(No. 45) was published April 23.]</p> +<p><a name="note-6" id="note-6"><!-- Note Anchor 6 --></a>[Footnote +6: A letter of the Prince Consort examines the principle of +ministerial responsibility with so remarkable a clearness of +perception and distinctness of explanation, that we may be excused +for quoting it at length: "The notion that the responsibility of +his advisers impairs the monarch's dignity and importance is a +complete mistake. Here we have no law of ministerial +responsibility, for the simple reason that we have no written +constitution; but this responsibility flows as a logical necessity +from the dignity of the crown and of the sovereign. 'The King can +do no wrong,' says the legal axiom, and hence it follows that +somebody must be responsible for his measures, if these be contrary +to law or injurious to the country's welfare. Ministers here are +not responsible <i>quâ</i> ministers, that is, +<i>quâ</i> officials (as such they are responsible to the +crown), but they are responsible to Parliament and the people, or +the country, as 'advisers of the crown.' Any one of them may advise +the crown, and whoever does so is responsible to the country for +the advice he has given. The so-called accountability of ministers +to Parliament does not arise out of an abstract principle of +responsibility, but out of the practical necessity which they are +under of obtaining the consent of Parliament to legislation and the +voting of taxes, and, as an essential to this end, of securing its +confidence. In practice, ministers are liable to account for the +way and manner in which they have administered the laws which they, +conjointly with the Parliament, have made, and for the way they +have expended the moneys that have been voted for definite objects. +They are bound to furnish explanations, to justify their +proceedings, to satisfy reasonable scruples, and the answer, 'We +have, as dutiful subjects, obeyed the sovereign,' will not be +accepted. 'Have you acted upon conviction, or have you not?' is the +question. 'If you have not, then you are civil servants of the +crown, who counsel and do what you consider wrong or unjust, with a +view to retain your snug places or to win the favor of the +sovereign.' And this being so, Parliament withdraws its confidence +from them. Herein, too, lies that ministerial power of which +sovereigns are so much afraid. They can say, 'We will not do this +or that which the sovereign wishes, because we cannot be +responsible for it.' But why should a sovereign see anything here +to be afraid of? To him it is, in truth, the best of safeguards. A +really loyal servant should do nothing for which he is not prepared +to answer, even though his master desires it. This practical +responsibility is of the utmost advantage to the sovereign. Make +independence, not subservience, the essential of service, and you +compel the minister to keep his soul free toward the sovereign, you +ennoble his advice, you make him staunch and patriotic, while +time-servers, the submissive instruments of a monarch's extreme +wishes and commands, may lead, and often have led, him to +destruction.</p> +<p>"But to revert to the law of responsibility. This ought not to +be in effect a safeguard for law itself. As such, it is superfluous +in this country, where law reigns, and where it would never occur +to any one that this could be otherwise. But upon the Continent it +is of the highest importance; as, where the government is an +outgrowth of a relation of supremacy and subordination between +sovereign and subject, and the servant, trained in ideas natural to +this relation, does not know which to obey, the law of the +sovereign, the existence of such a law would deprive him of the +excuse which, should he offend the law, and so be guilty of a +crime, is ready to his hand in the phrase, 'The sovereign ordered +it so, I have merely obeyed,' while it would be a protection to the +sovereign that his servants, if guilty of a crime, should not be +able to saddle him with the blame of it."—<i>Life of the +Prince Consort</i>, v., 262.]</p> +<p><a name="note-7" id="note-7"><!-- Note Anchor 7 --></a>[Footnote +7: "Lives of the Lord Chancellors," c. cxliii.]</p> +<p><a name="note-8" id="note-8"><!-- Note Anchor 8 --></a>[Footnote +8: Indeed, the opinion which Lord Campbell thus expresses is +manifestly at variance with that which he had previously pronounced +in his life of Lord Northington, where he praised the House of +Lords for "very properly rejecting the bill passed by the Commons +declaring general warrants to be illegal, leaving this question to +be decided (as it was, satisfactorily) by the Courts of Common +Law."]</p> +<p><a name="note-9" id="note-9"><!-- Note Anchor 9 --></a>[Footnote +9: From a speech of Mr. Grenville delivered at a later period +(February 3, 1769, "Parliamentary History," xvi., 548), it appears +that the Secretaries of State who signed this general warrant did +so against their own judgment. "They repeatedly proposed to have +Wilkes's name inserted in the warrant of apprehension, but were +overruled by the lawyers and clerks of the office, who insisted +that they could not depart from the long-established precedents and +course of proceeding." And in one of these debates, Mr. Pitt, while +denouncing with great severity Grenville's conduct in procuring the +issue of this particular warrant, was driven to a strange +confession of his own inconsistency, since he was forced to admit +that, while Secretary of State, he had issued more than one general +warrant in exactly similar form.]</p> +<p><a name="note-10" id="note-10"> +<!-- Note Anchor 10 --></a>[Footnote 10: Strange to say, it does +not seem absolutely certain that Wilkes was the author of the +"Essay on Woman." Horace Walpole eventually learned, or believed +that he had learned, that the author was a Mr. Thomas Potter. (See +Walpole's "George III.," i., 310; and Cunningham's "Note on his +Correspondence," iv., 126.)]</p> +<p><a name="note-11" id="note-11"> +<!-- Note Anchor 11 --></a>[Footnote 11: These are the words of the +resolution.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xvi., 537. But it +does not appear what the three libels were. The "Essay on Woman" +was one, the paraphrase of "Veni Creator" was a second; no third of +that character is mentioned.]</p> +<p><a name="note-12" id="note-12"> +<!-- Note Anchor 12 --></a>[Footnote 12: The last resolution is +approved by Mr. Hallam. "If a few precedents were to determine all +controversies of constitutional law, it is plain enough from the +journals that the House has assumed the power of incapacitation. +But as such authority is highly dangerous and unnecessary for any +good purpose, and as, according to all legal rules, so +extraordinary a power could not be supported except by a sort of +prescription that cannot be shown, the final resolution of the +House of Commons, which condemned the votes passed in times of +great excitement, appears far more consonant to first +principles."—<i>Constitutional History</i>, iii., 357.]</p> +<p><a name="note-13" id="note-13"> +<!-- Note Anchor 13 --></a>[Footnote 13: Adolphus, "History of +England," i., 484.]</p> +<p><a name="note-14" id="note-14"> +<!-- Note Anchor 14 --></a>[Footnote 14: An idea of the license +which the newspapers complained of had permitted themselves at this +time may be derived from the manner in which one of them had +introduced a speech of Mr. Jeremiah Dyson, M.P. for Weymouth, and a +Commissioner of the Treasury: "Jeremiah Weymouth, the +d——n of the kingdom, spoke as follows." And it may seem +that the Opposition (for the affair was made a party question) can +hardly be acquitted of a discreditable indifference to the dignity +of the House in supporting a resolution of Colonel Barré, +that "Jeremiah Weymouth, the d——n of this kingdom, is +not a member of this House." On which the previous question was +moved by the ministers, and carried by 120 to +38.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xvii., 78. And an instance +of rather the opposite kind, of the guarded way in which the most +respectable publications were as yet accustomed to relate the +transactions of Parliament, may be gathered from the account of the +proceedings in the case of Wilkes, given in the "Annual Register" +for 1770—drawn up, probably, by Burke himself—in which +Lord Camden is only mentioned as "a great law lord;" Lord Chatham +as "Lord C——m;" Lord Rockingham as "a noble Marquis who +lately presided at the head of public affairs;" the King as "the +K——;" Parliament as "P.;" and the House of Commons as +the "H. of C."—<i>Annual Register</i>, 1770, pp. 59-67.]</p> +<p><a name="note-15" id="note-15"> +<!-- Note Anchor 15 --></a>[Footnote 15: On more than one occasion +there had been disturbances in the City, and in the streets +adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, which were little short of +riot. One day the mob paraded effigies of the principal ministers, +which, after hanging and beheading them, they committed to the +flames with great uproar. On another day Mr. Charles Fox (as yet a +vehement Tory) complained to the House that the mob in Palace Yard +had insulted him, breaking the glasses of his chariot, and pelting +him with oranges, stones, etc.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, +xvii., 163.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH2" id="CH2"><!-- CH2 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">The Regency Bill.—The Ministry of 1766 +lay an Embargo on Corn.—An Act of Indemnity is +Passed.—The <i>Nullum Tempus</i> Act concerning Crown +Property; it is sought to Extend it to Church Property, but the +Attempt fails.—The Royal Marriage Act.—The Lords amend +a Bill imposing Export Duties, etc., on Corn.</p> +<p>The prosecution of Wilkes was not the only act of Mr. +Grenville's administration which excited both the Parliament and +the people. In 1764 the King was attacked by a serious illness, +and, as the Prince of Wales was an infant scarcely two years old, +it was manifestly necessary to make arrangements for a Regency, in +the event of the throne becoming vacant while the heir was still a +minor. A similar necessity had arisen in the preceding reign on the +death of the present King's father, and a bill had accordingly been +introduced by Mr. Pelham, the minister of the day, which, in the +event of the reigning sovereign dying during the minority of the +boy who had now become the immediate heir to the throne, vested +both the guardianship of his person and the Regency of the kingdom +in his mother, the Princess Dowager of Wales, who, however, in the +latter capacity, was only to act with the advice of a council, +composed of her brother-in-law, the Duke of Cumberland, and nine +principal officers of state. It was not concealed by either the +King or the Duke that they would have preferred a different +arrangement, one which would have conferred an uncontrolled Regency +on the Duke himself; but the bill was passed by great majorities in +both Houses, and served in some respects as a model for that which +was now to be brought forward, the difference being that the Regent +was not to be expressly named in it. To quote the words of the +royal speech, the King "proposed to the consideration of the two +Houses whether, under the present circumstances, it would not be +expedient to vest in him the power of appointing from time to time, +by instrument in writing under his sign-manual, either the Queen or +any other member of the royal family usually residing in Great +Britain, to be the guardian of the person of his successor, and the +Regent of these kingdoms, until such successor should attain the +age of eighteen years, subject to such restrictions and regulations +as were specified and contained in an act passed on a similar +occasion in the fourteenth year of the late King; the Regent so +appointed to be assisted by a council, composed of the several +persons who, by reason of their dignities and offices, were +constituted members of the council established by that act, +together with those whom the Parliament might think proper to leave +to his nomination."</p> +<p>It may be doubted whether such a power as his Majesty desired +was quite consistent with the principles of the constitution. +Parliament had, indeed, granted Henry VIII. the still greater power +of nominating a series of successors; but the appointment which he +consequently made by will was eventually superseded, when, on the +failure of his immediate descendants, the representative of his +elder sister, whom he had passed over, was seated on the throne, to +the exclusion of the descendants of his younger sister, to whom he +had given the preference. In France, the last two kings, Louis +XIII. and XIV., had both, when on their death-beds, assumed the +right of making the arrangements for the Regency which would become +necessary, the heir to the throne being in each case a minor; but +in each instance the arrangements which they had made were +disregarded.</p> +<p>However, on the present occasion the minister (who must be taken +to have framed the King's speech) and the Parliament agreed in the +propriety of conferring the nomination of the Regent on the King +himself;[<a href="#note-16">16</a>] and the bill might have passed +almost without notice, had it not been for a strange display of the +Prime-minister's ill-temper and mismanagement. Mr. Grenville was at +all times uncourtly and dictatorial in his manner, even to the King +himself; he was also of a suspicious disposition; and though he was +universally believed to have owed his promotion to his present +office to the recommendation of Lord Bute,[<a href= +"#note-17">17</a>] he was extremely jealous of his predecessor. He +professed to believe, and probably did believe, that the King was +still greatly under Lord Bute's influence (though, in fact, they +had never met since that minister had quitted the Treasury), that +Lord Bute was still as closely connected with the Princess of Wales +as scandal had formerly reported him to be, and that George III., +under the pressure of their combined influence, would be induced to +name his mother rather than his wife as the future Regent. And he +was so entirely swayed by this ridiculous and wholly groundless +fear, that, when the bill to give effect to the royal +recommendation was introduced into the House of Lords, he +instigated one of his friends to raise the question who were +included in the general term "the royal family," which Lord +Halifax, as Secretary of State, answered by saying that he regarded +it as meaning "those only who were in order of succession to the +throne." Such a definition would have excluded the Queen as +effectually as the Princess Dowager; and when Mr. Grenville found +the peers reluctant to accept this view (which, indeed, his own +Lord Chancellor pronounced untenable), he then sent another of his +colleagues to represent to the King that his mother was so +unpopular that, even if the Lords should pass the bill in such a +form as rendered her eligible for nomination, the Commons would +introduce a clause to exclude her by name. With great +unwillingness, and, it is said, not without tears, George III. +consented to the bill being so drawn as to exclude her, and it +passed the Lords in such a form. But when it reached the Commons it +was found that if the leaders of the Opposition hated Bute much, +they hated Grenville more. They moved the insertion of the name of +the Princess Dowager as one of the members of the royal family whom +the King might nominate Regent, if it should please him. Even +Grenville had not the boldness publicly to disparage his royal +master's royal mother; the Princess's name was inserted by a +unanimous vote in the list of those from whom the King was +empowered to select the Regent, and the amendment was gladly +accepted by the House of Lords.[<a href="#note-18">18</a>]</p> +<p>In spite, however, of the unanimity of the two Houses on the +question, it will probably be thought that the authors of the +amendment, by which it was proposed to address the King with an +entreaty to name in the bill the person to whom he desired to +intrust the Regency, acted more in the spirit of the constitution +than those who were contented that the name should be omitted; +indeed, that statesmen of the present century agree in holding that +an arrangement of such importance should be made by the Houses of +Parliament, in concurrence with the sovereign, and not by the +sovereign alone, is shown by the steps taken to provide for a +Regency in the event of the demise of the reigning sovereign while +the heir was a minor, in the last and in the present reign, the +second bill (that of 1840) being in this respect of the greater +authority, since Lord Melbourne, the Prime-minister, did not +propose it without previously securing the approval of the Duke of +Wellington, in his character of leader of the Opposition.</p> +<p>We pass over for a moment the administration of Lord Rockingham, +as we have already passed over the taxation of our North American +Colonies by Mr. Grenville, because it will be more convenient to +take all the transactions relating to that subject together when we +arrive at the time when the troubles arising out of the policy of +the different administrations toward those Colonies were brought to +a head by the breaking out of civil war. Lord Rockingham's +ministry, which succeeded Mr. Grenville's, had, as is well known, +but a brief existence, and was replaced by the cabinet so +whimsically composed by Mr. Pitt, who reserved to himself the +office of Privy Seal, with the Earldom of Chatham; the Duke of +Grafton being the nominal head of the Treasury, but the direction +of affairs being wholly in the hands of the new Earl, till the +failure of his health compelled his temporary retirement from +public life. Lord Chatham was brother-in-law to Mr. Grenville, to +whom in the occasional arrogance and arbitrariness of his +disposition he bore some resemblance; and one of the earliest acts +of his administration, when coupled with the language which he held +on the subject in the House of Lords, displayed that side of his +character in a very conspicuous light.</p> +<p>The summer of 1766 had been unusually wet and cold, both at home +and abroad, and the harvest had, in consequence, been so deficient +as to cause a very general apprehension of scarcity, while rumors +were spread that the high prices which the shortness of the crops +could not fail to produce were artificially raised by the selfish +covetousness of some of the principal corn-dealers, who were buying +up all the grain which came into the market, and storing it, with +the object of making an exorbitant profit out of the necessities of +the consumer, not only at home but abroad. The poorer classes, +seeing themselves, as they believed, threatened with famine, rose +in riotous crowds, in some places attacking the barns in which the +corn was stored, and threatening destruction to both the +storehouses and the owners. The ministry first tried to repress the +discontent by the issue of a proclamation against "forestallers and +regraters," framed in the language and spirit of the Middle Ages; +and, when that proved ineffectual to restore confidence, they +issued an Order in Council absolutely prohibiting the exportation +of any kind of grain, and authorizing the detention of any vessels +lying in any British harbor which might be loaded with such a +cargo. Our annals furnished no instance of such an embargo having +been laid on any article of commerce in time of peace; but the +crisis was difficult, the danger to the tranquillity of the kingdom +was great and undeniable, the necessity for instant action seemed +urgent, and probably few would have been inclined to cavil at Lord +Chatham's assertion, that the embargo "was an act of power which, +during the recess of Parliament, was justifiable on the ground of +necessity," had the ministry at once called Parliament together to +sanction the measure by an act of indemnity. But Lord Chatham was +at all times inclined to carry matters with a high hand, and +willingly adopted the opinion advanced by the Chancellor (Lord +Northington), that "the measure was strictly legal, and that no +indemnity was necessary." Lord Northington's language on the +subject Lord Campbell describes as "exhibiting his characteristic +rashness and recklessness, which seemed to be aggravated by age and +experience,"[<a href="#note-19">19</a>] and the censure does not +seem too severe, since he presently "went so far as to maintain +that the crown had a right to interfere, even against a positive +act of parliament, and that proof of the necessity amounted to a +legal justification." But, however ill-considered his language may +have been, Lord Chatham adopted it, and acted on it so far as to +decline calling the Parliament together before the appointed time, +though, when the Houses did meet, he allowed General Conway, as +Secretary of State, to introduce a bill of indemnity in the House +of Commons. It was warmly opposed in that House, partly on the +ground that, if such a measure as the embargo had been necessary, +it would have been easy to have assembled Parliament before the +Order in Council was issued (for, in fact, the proclamation against +forestallers and regraters had been issued on the 10th of +September, when Parliament, if not farther prorogued, would have +met within a week). But on that same day Parliament was farther +prorogued from the 16th of September till the 11th of +November,[<a href="#note-20">20</a>] and it was not till after that +prorogation, on the 24th of September, that the Order in Council +was issued.</p> +<p>In the House of Lords it seems to have been admitted that the +embargo was, under all the circumstances, not only desirable, but +"indispensably necessary."[<a href="#note-21">21</a>] But the +Opposition in that House, being led by a great lawyer +(Chief-justice Lord Mansfield), took a wider view of the whole +case; and, after denouncing the long prorogation of Parliament as +having been so culpably advised that there was no way left of +meeting the emergency but by an interposition of the royal power, +directed the principal weight of their argument against the +doctrine of the existence of any dispensing power. It was urged +that the late Order in Council could only be justified by "the +general proposition that of any, and, if of any, of every, act of +parliament the King, with the advice of the Privy Council, may +suspend the execution and effect whenever his Majesty, so advised, +judges it necessary for the immediate safety of the people." And +this proposition was denounced as utterly inconsistent with the +principles of the Revolution, which had been "nothing but a most +lawless and wicked invasion of the rights of the crown," if such a +dispensing power were really one of the lawful prerogatives of the +sovereign. Reference was made to the powers in more than one +instance, and especially in the case of ship-money claimed and +exercised by Charles I.; and it was affirmed that "the dispensing +and suspending power, and that of raising money without the consent +of Parliament, were precisely alike, and stood on the very same +ground. They were born twins; they lived together, and together +were buried in the same grave at the Revolution, past all power of +resurrection." It was even argued that the dispensing or suspending +power was yet more dangerous than that of raising money without a +Parliamentary vote, since it was a power which might do the most +mischief, and with the greatest speed, so many were the subjects +which it included. It would be a return to the maxims of the +idolators of prerogative as understood in those earlier days, that +is, of absolute and arbitrary power, <i>a Deo Rex, a Rege Lex</i>. +It was farther argued that, unless it could be said that the moment +Parliament breaks up the King stands in its place, and that the +continuance of acts is consigned into his hands, he cannot of right +suspend any more than he can make laws, both acts requiring the +same power. The law is above the King, and the crown as well as the +subject is bound by it as much during the recess as in the session +of Parliament; and therefore the wisdom of the constitution has +excluded every discretion in the crown over a positive statute, and +has emancipated Parliament from the royal prerogative, leaving the +power of suspension, which is but another name for a temporary +repeal, to reside where the legislative power is lodged—that +is, in King, Lords, and Commons, who together constitute the only +supreme authority of this government. Precedents were cited to +prove that in former times different ministries had avoided thus +taking the law into their own hands, as when, in 1709 and again in +1756, there was a similar apprehension of scarcity, even though +both those years were years of war. And the Bill of Rights was +quoted as the statute in which every sort of dispensing power was +condemned, though, as exercised by James II., it had only been +exerted in dispensing with penal laws and remitting penalties.</p> +<p>"Finally," said one speaker, who perhaps was Lord Mansfield +himself, "he is not a moderate minister who would rashly decide in +favor of prerogative in a question where the rights of Parliament +are involved, nor a prudent minister who, even in a doubtful case, +commits the prerogative, by a wanton experiment, to what degree the +people will bear the extent of it. The opposite course was that by +which a minister would consult the best interests of the crown, as +well as of the people. The safety of the crown, as well as the +security of the subject, requires the closing up of every avenue +that can lead to tyranny."[<a href="#note-22">22</a>]</p> +<p>These arguments prevailed, and the indemnity bill was passed, to +quote the words of the "Annual Register"—at that time written +by Burke—"very much to the satisfaction of the public." And +that it should have been so accepted is creditable to the +good-sense of both parties. The precedent which was thus +established does, indeed, seem to rest on a principle indispensable +to the proper working of a constitutional government. In so +extensive an empire as ours, it is scarcely possible that sudden +emergencies, requiring the instant application of some remedy, +should not at times arise; and, unless Parliament be sitting at the +time, such can only be adequately dealt with if the ministers of +the crown have the courage to take such steps as are necessary, +whether by the suspension of a law or by any other expedient, on +their own responsibility, trusting in their ability to satisfy the +Parliament, instantly convoked to receive their explanation, of the +necessity or wisdom of their proceedings; and in the candor of the +Parliament to recognize, if not the judiciousness of their action, +at all events the good faith in which it has been taken, and the +honest, patriotic intention which has dictated it. The +establishment of the obligation instantly to submit the question to +the judgment of Parliament will hardly be denied to be a sufficient +safeguard against the ministerial abuse of such a power; and the +instances in which such a power has since been exercised, coupled +with the sanction of such exercise by Parliament, are a practical +approval and ratification by subsequent Parliaments of the course +that was now adopted.[<a href="#note-23">23</a>]</p> +<p>The next year a not very creditable job of the ministry led to +the enactment of a statute of great importance to all holders of +property which had ever belonged to the crown. In the twenty-first +year of James I. a bill had been passed giving a secure tenure of +their estates to all grantees of crown lands whose possession of +them had lasted sixty years. The Houses had desired to make the +enactment extend to all future as well as to all previous grants. +But to this James had refused to consent; and, telling the Houses +that "beggars must not be choosers," he had compelled them to +content themselves with a retrospective statute. Since his time, +and especially in the reigns of Charles II. and William III., the +crown had been more lavish and unscrupulous than at any former +period in granting away its lands and estates to favorites. And no +one had been so largely enriched by its prodigality as the most +grasping of William's Dutch followers, Bentinck, the founder of the +English house of Portland. Among the estates which he had obtained +from his royal master's favor was one which went by the name of the +Honor of Penrith. Subsequent administrations had augmented the +dignities and importance of his family. Their Earldom had been +exchanged for a Dukedom; but the existing Duke was an opponent of +the present ministry, who, to punish him, suggested to Sir James +Lowther, a baronet of ancient family, and of large property in the +North of England, the idea of applying to the crown for a grant of +the forest of Inglewood, and of the manor of Carlisle, which +hitherto had been held by Portland as belonging to the Honor of +Penrith, but which, not having been expressly mentioned in the +original grant by William III., it was now said had been regarded +as included in the honor only by mistake. It was not denied that +Portland had enjoyed the ownership of these lands for upward of +seventy years without dispute; and, had the statute of James been +one of continual operation, it would have been impossible to +deprive him of them. But, as matters stood, the Lords of the +Treasury willingly listened to the application of Sir James +Lowther; they even refused permission to the Duke to examine the +original deed and the other documents in the office of the +surveyor, on which he professed to rely for the establishment of +his right; and they granted to Sir James the lands he prayed for at +a rent which could only be regarded as nominal. The injustice of +the proceeding was so flagrant, that in the beginning of 1768 Sir +George Savile brought in a bill to prevent any repetition of such +an act by making the statute of James I. perpetual, so that for the +future a possession for sixty years should confer an indisputable +and indefeasible title. The ministers opposed it with great +vehemence, even taking some credit to themselves for their +moderation in not requiring from the Duke a repayment of the +proceeds of the lands in question for the seventy years during +which he had held them. But the case was so bad that they could +only defeat Sir George Savile by a side-wind and a scanty majority, +carrying an amendment to defer any decision of the matter till the +next session. Sir George, however, was not discouraged; he renewed +his motion in 1769, when it was carried by a large majority, with +an additional clause extending its operation to the Colonies in +North America; and thus, in respect of its territorial rights, the +crown was placed on the same footing as any private individual, and +the same length of tenure which enabled a possessor to hold a +property against another subject henceforth equally enabled him to +hold it against the crown. The policy not less than the justice of +such an enactment might have been thought to commend it to every +thinking man as soon as the heat engendered by a party debate had +passed away. It had merely placed the sovereign and the subject on +the same footing in respect of the security which prescription gave +to possession. And it might, therefore, have been thought that the +vote of 1769 had settled the point in every case; since what was +the law between one private individual and another, and between the +sovereign and a subject, might well have been taken to be of +universal application. But the ministry were strangely unwilling to +recognize such a universal character in the late act, and found in +the peculiar character of ecclesiastical bodies and ecclesiastical +property a pretext for weakening the force of the late enactment, +by denying the applicability of the principle to the claims of +ecclesiastical chapters. In 1772 Mr. Henry Seymour, one of the +members for Huntingdon, moved for leave to bring in a bill, which +he described as one "for quieting the subjects of the realm against +the dormant claims of the Church;" or, in other words, for putting +the Church on the same footing with respect to property which had +passed out of its possession as the crown had been placed in by the +act of 1769. He contended that such a bill ought to be passed, not +only on the general principle that possessors who derived their +property from one source ought not to be less secure than they who +derived it from another, but also on the grounds that, as +ecclesiastical bodies occasionally used their power, "length of +possession, which fortified and strengthened legal right and just +title in every other case, did in this alone render them more weak +and uncertain," from the difficulty which often occurred in finding +documentary proof of very ancient titles; and that this was not an +imaginary danger, since a member of the House then present had +recently lost £120,000 by a bishop reviving a claim to an +estate after the gentleman's family had been in undisturbed +possession of it above a hundred years. The defence of the Church, +however, was taken up by Mr. Skinner, Attorney-general for the +Duchy of Lancaster, who argued that though, in the case of the +crown, the <i>nullum tempus</i> which it had formerly claimed, and +which had been put an end to in 1769, was "an engine in the hands +of the strong to oppress the weak, the <i>nullum tempus</i> of the +Church was a defence to the weak against the strong," as its best +if not its sole security "against the encroachment of the laity." +The "Parliamentary History" records that in the course of a long +debate Lord North opposed the bringing in of the bill, as did "the +Lord-advocate of Scotland, who gave as a reason in favor of the +bill, though he voted against it, that a law of similar nature had +passed in Scotland, and that the whole kingdom, clergy as well as +laity, found the very best effects from it."[<a href= +"#note-24">24</a>] Burke argued in favor of the bill with great +force, declaring that in so doing "he did not mean anything against +the Church, her dignities, her honor, her privileges, or her +possessions; he should wish even to enlarge them all; but this bill +was to take nothing from her but the power of making herself +odious." But the ministerial majority was too well disciplined to +be broken, and Mr. Seymour could not even obtain leave to bring in +the bill.</p> +<p>The year 1772 was marked by the discussion of a measure which +the King seems to have regarded as one of private interest only, +affecting his personal rights over his own family. But it is +impossible to regard transactions which may affect the right of +succession to the throne as matters of only private interest. And +indeed the bill was treated as one involving a constitutional +question by both sides of both Houses, and as such was discussed +with remarkable earnestness, and with vehemence equalling that of +any other debate which had as yet taken place since the +commencement of the reign. The bill had its origin in the personal +feelings of the King himself, who had been greatly annoyed at the +conduct of his brother, the Duke of Cumberland, in marrying a widow +of the name of Horton, daughter of Lord Irnham, and sister of the +Colonel Luttrell whom the vote of the House of Commons had seated +as member for Middlesex; and perhaps still more at the discovery +that his other brother, the Duke of Gloucester, to whom he was +greatly attached, had married another subject, the widowed Lady +Waldegrave. His Majesty's dissatisfaction was, perhaps, heightened +by the recollection that he himself, in early manhood, had also +been strongly attracted by the charms of another subject, and had +sacrificed his own inclinations to the combined considerations of +pride of birth and the interests of his kingdom. And, though there +was a manifest difference between the importance of the marriage of +the sovereign himself and that of princes who were never likely to +become sovereigns, he thought it not unreasonable that he should be +empowered to exercise such a general guardianship over the entire +family, of which he was the head, as might enable him to control +its members in such arrangements, by making his formal sanction +indispensable to the validity of any matrimonial alliances which +they might desire to contract. A somewhat similar question had been +raised in 1717, when George I., having quarrelled with the Prince +of Wales (afterward George II.), asserted a claim to control and +direct the education of all the Prince's children, and, when they +should be of marriageable age, to arrange their marriages. The +Prince, on the other hand, insisted on his natural and inalienable +right, as their father, to have the entire government of his own +offspring, a right which, as he contended, no royal prerogative +could be enabled or permitted to override. That question was not, +however, brought before Parliament, to which, at that time, the +King could, probably, not have trusted for any leanings in his +favor; but he referred it, in an informal way, to the Lord +Chancellor (Lord Cowper) and the Common-law Judges. They +investigated it with great minuteness. A number of precedents were +adduced for the marriage and education of the members of the royal +family being regulated by the sovereign, beginning with Henry III., +who gave his daughter Joan, without her own consent, in marriage to +the King of Scotland, and coming down to the preceding century, at +the commencement of which the Council of James I. committed the +Lady Arabella Stuart and Mr. Seymour to the Tower for contracting a +secret marriage without the King's permission, and at the end of +which King William exercised the right of selecting a tutor for the +Duke of Gloucester, the son of the Princess Anne, without any +consultation with the Princess herself; and finally the judges, +with only two dissenting voices, expressed their conviction that +the King was entitled to the prerogative which he claimed. The case +does not, however, seem to have been regularly argued before them; +there is no trace of their having been assisted in their +deliberations by counsel on either side, and their extra-judicial +opinion was clearly destitute of any formal authority;[<a href= +"#note-25">25</a>] so that it came before Parliament in some degree +as a new question.</p> +<p>But George III. was not of a disposition to allow such matters +to remain in doubt, and, in compliance with his desire, a bill was, +in 1772, introduced by Lord Rochfort, as Secretary of State, which +proposed to enact that no descendants of the late King, being +children or grandchildren, and presumptive heirs of the sovereign, +male or female, other than the issue of princesses who might be +married into foreign families, should be capable of contracting a +valid marriage without the previous consent of the reigning +sovereign, signified under his sign-manual, and that any marriage +contracted without such consent should be null and void. The King +or the ministers apparently doubted whether Parliament could be +prevailed on to make such a prohibition life-long, and therefore a +clause was added which provided that if any prince or princess +above the age of twenty-five years should determine to contract a +marriage without such consent of the sovereign, he or she might do +so on giving twelve months' notice to the Privy Council; and such +marriage should be good and valid, unless, before the expiration of +the twelve months, both Houses of Parliament should declare their +disapproval of the marriage. The concluding clause of the bill made +it felony "to presume to solemnize, or to assist, or to be present, +at the celebration of any such marriage without such consent being +first obtained."</p> +<p>The bill was stoutly resisted in both Houses at every stage, +both on the ground of usage and of general principle. It was +positively denied that the "sovereign's right of approving of all +marriages in the royal family," which was asserted in the preamble +of the bill, was either founded in law, or established by +precedent, or warranted by the opinion of the judges. And it was +contended that there never had been a time when the possession of +royal rank had been considered necessary to qualify any one to +become consort of an English prince or princess. It had not even +been regarded as a necessary qualification for a queen. Three of +the wives of Henry VIII. had been English subjects wholly +unconnected with the royal family; nor had the Parliament nor the +people in general complained of any one of those marriages; +moreover, two of his children, who had in their turn succeeded to +the crown, had been the offspring of two of those wives; and in the +last century James II., while Duke of York, had married the +daughter of an English gentleman; and, though it had not been +without notorious reluctance that his royal brother had sanctioned +that connection, it was well known that Charles II. himself had +proposed to marry the niece of Cardinal Mazarin. In the House of +Peers, Lord Camden especially objected to the clause annulling a +marriage between persons of full age; and in the Commons, Mr. +Dowdeswell, who had been Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord +Rockingham's administration, dwelt with especial vigor on the +unreasonableness of the clause which fixed twenty-five as the age +before which no prince or princess could marry without the King's +consent. "Law, positive law," he argued, "and not the arbitrary +will of an individual, should be the only restraint. Men who are by +law allowed at twenty-one[<a href="#note-26">26</a>] to be fit for +governing the realm may well be supposed capable of choosing and +governing a wife."[<a href="#note-27">27</a>] Lord Folkestone +condemned with great earnestness the expression in the preamble +that the bill was dictated "by the royal concern for the honor and +dignity of the crown," as implying a doctrine that an alliance of a +subject with a branch of the royal family is dishonorable to the +crown—a doctrine which he denounced as "an oblique insult" to +the whole people, and which, as such, "the representatives of the +people were bound to oppose." And he also objected to the +"vindicatory part," as he termed the clause which declared those +who might assist, or even be present, at a marriage contracted +without the royal permission guilty of felony.[<a href= +"#note-28">28</a>]</p> +<p>The ministry, however, had a decided majority in both Houses, +and the bill became and remains the law of the land, though +fourteen peers, including one bishop, entered a protest against it +on nine different grounds, one of which condemned it as "an +extension of the royal prerogative for which the great majority of +the judges found no authority;" while another, with something of +prophetic sagacity, urged that the bill "was pregnant with civil +discord and confusion, and had a natural tendency to produce a +disputed title to the crown."</p> +<p>It may be doubted whether the circumstances which had induced +George III. to demand such a power as that with which the bill +invested him justified its enactment. He was already the father of +a family so numerous as to render it highly improbable that either +of his brothers or any of their children would ever come to the +throne; while, as a previously existing law barred any prince or +princess who might marry a Roman Catholic from the succession, the +additional restraint imposed by the new statute practically limited +their choice to an inconveniently small number of foreign royal +houses, many of which, to say the least, are not superior in +importance or purity of blood to many of our own nobles.</p> +<a name="horton" id="horton"></a> +<p>Nor can it be said to have been successful in accomplishing his +Majesty's object. It is notorious that two of his sons, and very +generally believed that one of his daughters, married subjects; the +Prince of Wales having chosen a wife who was not only inferior in +rank and social position to Lady Waldegrave or Mrs. Horton, but was +moreover a Roman Catholic; and that another of his sons petitioned +more than once for permission to marry an English heiress of +ancient family. And our present sovereign may be thought to have +pronounced her opinion that the act goes too far, when she gave one +of her younger daughters in marriage to a nobleman who, however +high in rank, has no royal blood in his veins. The political +inconvenience which might arise from the circumstance of the +reigning sovereign being connected by near and intimate +relationship with a family of his British subjects will, probably, +always be thought to render it desirable that some restriction +should be placed on the marriage of the heir-apparent; but where +the sovereign is blessed with a numerous offspring, there seems no +sufficient reason for sending the younger branches of the royal +house to seek wives or husbands in foreign countries. And as the +precedent set in the case of the Princess Louise has been generally +approved, it is probable that in similar circumstances it may be +followed, and that such occasional relaxation of the act of 1772 +will be regarded as justified by and consistent with the +requirements of public policy as well as by the laws of +nature.[<a href="#note-29">29</a>] Generally speaking, the two +Houses agreed in their support of the ministerial policy both at +home and abroad; but, in spite of this political harmony, a certain +degree of bad feeling existed between them, which on one occasion +led to a somewhat singular scene in the House of Commons. The +Commons imputed its origin to the discourtesy of the Lords, who, +when members of the Commons were ordered by their House to carry +its bills up to the peers, sometimes kept them "waiting three hours +in the lobby among their lordships' footmen before they admitted +them." Burke affirmed that this had happened to himself, and that +he "spoke of it, not out of any personal pride, nor as an indignity +to himself, but as a flagrant disgrace to the House of Commons, +which, he apprehended, was not inferior in rank to any other branch +of the Legislature, but co-ordinate with them." And the irritation +which such treatment excited led the Commons, perhaps not very +unnaturally, to seek some opportunity to vindicate their dignity. +They found it in an amendment which the Lords made on a corn bill. +In the middle of April, 1772, resolutions had been passed by the +Commons, in a committee of the whole House, imposing certain duties +on the importation of wheat[<a href="#note-30">30</a>] and other +grain when they were at a certain price, which was fixed at 48s., +and granting bounties on exportation when the price fell below 44s. +The Lords made several amendments on the bill, and, among others, +one to strike out the clause which granted bounties. But when the +bill thus amended came back to the Commons, even those who disliked +the principle of bounties resented this act of the Lords in +meddling with that question, which they regarded as a violation of +their peculiar and most cherished privilege, the exclusive right of +dealing with questions of taxation. Governor Pownall, who had +charge of the bill, declared that the Lords had forgotten their +duty when they interfered in raising money by the insertion of a +clause that "no bounty should be paid upon exported corn." And on +this ground he moved the rejection of the bill.[<a href= +"#note-31">31</a>] In the <a href="#CH13">last chapter of this +volume</a>, a more fitting occasion for examining the rights and +usages of the House of Lords with respect to money-bills will be +furnished by a series of resolutions on the subject, moved by the +Prime-minister of the day. It is sufficient here to say that the +power of rejection is manifestly so different from that of +originating grants—which is admitted to belong exclusively to +the Commons—and that there were so many precedents for the +Lords having exerted this power of rejection in the course of the +preceding century, that they probably never conceived that in so +doing now they were committing any encroachment on the +constitutional rights and privileges of the Lower House. But on +this occasion the ill-feeling previously existing between the two +Houses may be thought to have predisposed the Commons to seek +opportunity for a quarrel. And there never was a case in which both +parties in the House were more unanimous. Governor Pownall called +the rejection of the clause by the Lords "a flagrant encroachment +upon the privileges of the House," and affirmed that the Lords had +"forgotten their duty." Burke termed it "a proof that the Lords did +not understand the principles of the constitution, an invasion of a +known and avowed right inherent in the House as the representatives +of the people," and expressed a hope that "they were not yet so +infamous and abandoned as to relinquish this essential right," or +to submit to "the annihilation of all their authority." Others +called it "an affront which the House was bound to resent, and the +more imperatively in consequence of the absence of a good +understanding between the two Houses." And the Speaker, Sir John +Cust, went beyond all his brother members in violence, declaring +that "he would do his part in the business, and toss the bill over +the table." The bill was rejected <i>nem. con.</i>, and the Speaker +tossed it over the table, several of the members on both sides of +the question kicking it as they went out;[<a href= +"#note-32">32</a>] and to such a pitch of exasperation had they +worked themselves up, that "the Game Bill, in which the Lords had +made alterations, was served in a similar manner," though those +alterations only referred to the penalties to be imposed for +violations of the Game-law, and could by no stretch of ingenuity be +connected with any question of taxation.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-16" id="note-16"> +<!-- Note Anchor 16 --></a>[Footnote 16: A motion was, indeed, made +(but the "Parliamentary History," xvi., 55, omits to state by whom) +that the House should "humbly entreat his Majesty, out of his +tender and paternal regard for his people, that he would be +graciously pleased to name the person or persons whom, in his royal +wisdom, he shall think fit to propose to the consideration of +Parliament for the execution of those high trusts, this House +apprehending it not warranted by precedent nor agreeable to the +principles of this free constitution to vest in any person or +persons not particularly named and approved of in Parliament the +important offices of Regent of these kingdoms and guardian of the +royal offspring heirs to the crown." But "it passed in the +negative," probably, if we may judge by other divisions on motions +made by the same party, by an overwhelming majority.]</p> +<p><a name="note-17" id="note-17"> +<!-- Note Anchor 17 --></a>[Footnote 17: No one doubted that this +choice had been made under the influence of Lord Bute, and was +designed for the preservation of that influence.—Lord +Stanhope, <i>History of England</i>, v., 41.]</p> +<p><a name="note-18" id="note-18"> +<!-- Note Anchor 18 --></a>[Footnote 18: In his speech in the House +of Lords on the Regency Bill of 1840, the Duke of Sussex stated +that George III. had nominated the Queen as Regent in the first +instance, and, in the event of her death, the Princess +Dowager.]</p> +<p><a name="note-19" id="note-19"> +<!-- Note Anchor 19 --></a>[Footnote 19: "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. cxli.]</p> +<p><a name="note-20" id="note-20"> +<!-- Note Anchor 20 --></a>[Footnote 20: It appears from these +dates that it was not yet understood that Parliament could not be +prorogued for a longer period than forty days.]</p> +<p><a name="note-21" id="note-21"> +<!-- Note Anchor 21 --></a>[Footnote 21: These words occur in a +speech attributed to Lord Mansfield. There is no detailed account +of the debates on this subject in either House. All that exists in +the "Parliamentary History" is a very brief abstract of the +discussion in the Commons, and a document occupying above sixty +pages of the same work (pp. 251-314), entitled "A Speech on behalf +of the Constitution against the Suspending and Dispensing +Prerogative," etc., with a foot-note explaining that "this speech +was supposed to be penned by Lord Mansfield, but was, in fact, +written by Mr. Macintosh, assisted by Lord Temple and Lord +Lyttleton." It certainly seems to contain internal evidence that it +was not written by any lawyer, from the sneers at and denunciations +of lawyers which it contains, as a class of men who "have often +appeared to be the worst guardians of the constitution, and too +frequently the wickedest enemies to, and most treacherous betrayers +of, the liberties of their country." But, by whomsoever it was +"penned" and published, the arguments which it contains against the +dispensing power were, probably, those which had been urged by the +great Chief-justice, and as such I have ventured to cite them +here.]</p> +<p><a name="note-22" id="note-22"> +<!-- Note Anchor 22 --></a>[Footnote 22: In his "Lives of the +Chief-justices" (c. xxxvi., life of Lord Mansfield), Lord Campbell +says, with reference to this case: "The Chief-justice's only +considerable public exhibition during this period was his attack on +the unconstitutional assertion of Lord Chatham and Lord Camden, +that, in a case of great public emergency, the crown could by law +dispense with an act of parliament. The question arising from the +embargo on the exportation of corn, in consequence of apprehended +famine, he proved triumphantly that, although the measure was +expedient and proper, it was a violation of law, and required to be +sanctioned by an act of indemnity." And Lord Campbell adds, in a +note: "This doctrine, acted upon in 1827, during the administration +of Mr. Canning, and on several subsequent occasions, is now +universally taken for constitutional law" (ii., 468).]</p> +<p><a name="note-23" id="note-23"> +<!-- Note Anchor 23 --></a>[Footnote 23: To adduce a single +instance, worthy of remark as affecting the personal liberty of the +subject, in 1818 a bill of indemnity was passed to sanction the +action of the ministry in arresting and detaining in prison, +without bringing them to trial, several persons accused of being +implicated in seditious proceedings (<i>vide infra</i>).]</p> +<p><a name="note-24" id="note-24"> +<!-- Note Anchor 24 --></a>[Footnote 24: Vol. xvii., 304.]</p> +<p><a name="note-25" id="note-25"> +<!-- Note Anchor 25 --></a>[Footnote 25: The case is mentioned by +Lord Campbell in his "Lives of the Chancellors," c. cxxi. (life of +Lord Macclesfield) and c. cxxiv. (life of Lord Chancellor +King).]</p> +<p><a name="note-26" id="note-26"> +<!-- Note Anchor 26 --></a>[Footnote 26: In fact, however, the age +at which a young prince was considered competent to exercise the +royal authority in person had been fixed at eighteen; and it is so +stated in the speech in which the King, in 1765, recommended the +appointment of a Regent to Parliament.—<i>Parliamentary +History</i>, xvi., 52.]</p> +<p><a name="note-27" id="note-27"> +<!-- Note Anchor 27 --></a>[Footnote 27: This idea was expanded +into an epigram, which appeared in most of the daily papers, and +has been thought worthy of being preserved in the "Parliamentary +History," xvii., 401 (note):</p> +<p class="poetry">"Quoth Dick to Tom, 'This act appears<br /> + Absurd, as I'm alive,<br /> +To take the crown at eighteen years,<br /> + A wife at twenty-five.<br /> +The mystery how shall we explain?<br /> + For sure, as Dowdeswell said,<br /> +Thus early if they're fit to <i>reign</i>,<br /> + They must be fit to <i>wed</i>.'<br /> +Quoth Tom to Dick, 'Thou art a fool,<br /> + And nothing know'st of life;<br /> +Alas! it's easier far to rule<br /> + A kingdom than a wife.'"]</p> +<p><a name="note-28" id="note-28"> +<!-- Note Anchor 28 --></a>[Footnote 28: It is remarkable that this +clause on one occasion proved an obstacle to the punishment of the +abettors of such a marriage. In 1793 the Duke of Sussex married +Lady Augusta Murray, first at Rome, and afterward, by banns, at St. +George's, Hanover Square. And when the affair came to be +investigated by the Privy Council, Lord Thurlow denounced the +conduct of the pair in violent terms, and angrily asked the +Attorney-general, Sir John Scott, why he had not prosecuted all the +parties concerned in this abominable marriage. Sir John's reply, as +he reported it himself, was sufficiently conclusive: "I answered +that it was a very difficult business to prosecute; that the act, +it was understood, had been drawn by Lord Mansfield, the +Attorney-general Thurlow, and the Solicitor-general Wedderburn, +who, unluckily, had made all persons present at the marriage guilty +of felony. And as nobody could prove the marriage except a person +who had been present at it, there could be no prosecution, because +nobody present could be compelled to be a witness."—Thorp's +<i>Life of Eldon</i>, i., 235.]</p> +<p><a name="note-29" id="note-29"> +<!-- Note Anchor 29 --></a>[Footnote 29: A protest against the +bill, entered by fourteen peers, including one bishop (of Bangor), +denounced it, among other objections, as "contrary to the original +inherent rights of human nature ... exceeding the power permitted +by Divine Providence to human legislation ... and shaking many of +the foundations of law, religion, and public +security."—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xvii., 391.]</p> +<p><a name="note-30" id="note-30"> +<!-- Note Anchor 30 --></a>[Footnote 30: The import duty on wheat +was fixed at 6<i>d</i>. a quarter on grain, and 2<i>d</i>. per cwt. +on flour, when the price of wheat in the kingdom should be at or +above 48s.; when it was at or above 44s., the exportation was to be +altogether prohibited.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xvii., +476.]</p> +<p><a name="note-31" id="note-31"> +<!-- Note Anchor 31 --></a>[Footnote 31: See Hallam, +"Constitutional History," iii., 38-46, ed. 1833, where, as far as +the imperfection of our early Parliamentary records allows, he +traces the origin of the assertion of this peculiar privilege by +the Commons, especially referring to a discussion of the proper +limits of this privilege in several conferences between the two +Houses; where, as on some other occasions, he sees, in the +assertion of their alleged rights by the Commons, "more disposition +to make encroachments than to guard against those of others." A few +years before (in 1763), the House of Lords showed that they had no +doubt of their right to reject a money-bill, since they divided on +the Cider Bill, which came under that description. As, however, the +bill was passed, that division was not brought under the notice of +the House. But in 1783, in the time of the Coalition Ministry, the +peers having made amendments on the American Intercourse Bill, "the +Speaker observed that, as the bill empowered the crown to impose +duties, it was, strictly speaking, a money-bill, and therefore the +House could not, consistently with its own orders, suffer the Lords +to make any amendments on it, and he recommended that the +consideration of their amendments should be postponed for three +months, and in the mean time a new bill framed according to the +Lords' amendments should be passed." The recommendation was +approved by Mr. Pitt, as leader of the Opposition, and approved and +acted on by Mr. Fox, as leader of the ministry in that House. But, +at the same time, Mr. Fox fully admitted the right of the Lords to +discuss such questions, "for it would be very absurd indeed to send +a loan bill to the Lords for their concurrence, and at the same +time deprive them of the right of deliberation. To lay down plans +and schemes for loans belonged solely to the Commons; and he was +willing, therefore, that the amended bill should be rejected, +though he was of opinion that the order of the House respecting +money-bills was often too strictly construed." And he immediately +moved for leave to bring in a new bill, which was verbatim the same +with the amended bill sent down by the +Lords.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xxiii., 895. The +question was revived in the present reign, on the refusal of the +Lords to concur in the abolition of the duty on paper, when the +whole subject was discussed with such elaborate minuteness, and +with so much more command of temper than was shown on the present +occasion, that it will be better to defer the examination of the +principle involved till we come to the history of that +transaction.]</p> +<p><a name="note-32" id="note-32"> +<!-- Note Anchor 32 --></a>[Footnote 32: "Parliamentary History," +xvii., 515.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH3" id="CH3"><!-- CH3 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Mr. Grenville imposes a Duty on Stamps in the +North American Colonies.—Examination of Dr. +Franklin.—Lord Rockingham's Ministry Repeals the +Duty.—Lord Mansfield affirms a Virtual Representation in the +Colonies.—Mr. C. Townsend imposes Import Duties in +America.—After some Years, the Civil War breaks +out.—Hanoverian Troops are sent to Gibraltar.—The +Employment of Hanoverian Regiments at Gibraltar and +Minorca.—End of the War.—Colonial Policy of the Present +Reign.—Complaints of the Undue Influence of the +Crown.—Motions for Parliamentary Reform.—Mr. Burke's +Bill for Economical Reform.—Mr. Dunning's Resolution on the +Influence of the Crown.—Rights of the Lords on +Money-bills.—The Gordon Riots.</p> +<p>But during these years another matter had been gradually forcing +its way to the front, which, though at first it attracted but +comparatively slight notice, when it came to a head, absorbed for +several years the whole attention, not only of these kingdoms, but +of foreign countries also. It was originally—in appearance, +at least—merely a dispute between Great Britain and her +Colonies in North America on the mode of obtaining a small revenue +from them. But, in its progress, it eventually involved us in a +foreign war of great magnitude, and thus became the one subject of +supreme interest to every statesman in Europe. England had not +borne her share in the seven years' war without a considerable +augmentation of the national debt, and a corresponding increase in +the amount of yearly revenue which it had become necessary to +raise;[<a href="#note-33">33</a>] and Mr. Grenville, as Chancellor +of the Exchequer, had to devise the means of meeting the demand. A +year before, he had supported with great warmth the proposal of Sir +Francis Dashwood, his predecessor at the Exchequer, to lay a new +tax upon cider. Now that he himself had succeeded to that office, +he cast his eyes across the Atlantic, and, on the plea that the +late war had to a certain extent been undertaken for the defence of +the Colonies in North America, he proposed to make them bear a +share in the burden caused by enterprises from which they had +profited. Accordingly, in March, 1764, he proposed a series of +resolutions imposing a variety of import duties on different +articles of foreign produce imported into "the British Colonies and +plantations in America," and also export duties on a few articles +of American growth when "exported or conveyed to any other place +except to Great Britain." Another resolution affirmed "that, toward +defraying the said expense, it might be proper to charge certain +stamp-duties in the said Colonies and plantations."</p> +<p>The resolutions imposing import and export duties were passed by +both Houses almost without comment. That relating to a stamp-duty +he did not press at the moment, announcing that he postponed it for +a year, in order to ascertain in what light it would be regarded by +the Colonists themselves; and as most, if not all, of the Colonies +had a resident agent in London, he called them together, explained +to them the object and anticipated result of the new imposition +(for such he admitted it to be), and requested them to communicate +his views to their constituents, adding an offer that, if they +should prefer any other tax likely to be equally productive, he +should be desirous to consult their wishes in the matter.</p> +<p>He probably regarded such language on his part as a somewhat +superfluous exercise of courtesy or conciliation, so entire was his +conviction of the omnipotence of Parliament, and of the +impossibility of any loyal man or body of men calling its power in +question. But he was greatly deceived. His message was received in +America with universal dissatisfaction. Of the thirteen States +which made up the body of Colonies, there was scarcely one whose +Assembly did not present a petition against the proposed measure, +and against any other which might be considered as an alternative. +Grenville, however, was not a man to be moved by petitions or +remonstrances. He was rather one whom opposition of any kind +hardened in his purpose; and, as no substitute had been suggested, +at the opening of the session of 1765 he proposed a series of +resolutions requisite to give effect to the vote of the previous +year, and imposing "certain stamp-duties and other duties" on the +settlements in America, perhaps thinking to render his disregard of +the objections which had been made less unpalatable by the +insertion of words binding the government to apply the sums to be +thus raised to "the expenses of defending, protecting, and +securing" the Colonies themselves. The resolutions were passed, as +the "Parliamentary History" records, "almost without debate," on +the 6th of March.[<a href="#note-34">34</a>] But the intelligence +was received in every part of the Colonies with an indignant +dissatisfaction, which astonished even their own agents in +England.[<a href="#note-35">35</a>] Formidable riots broke out in +several provinces. In Massachusetts the man who had been appointed +Distributor of Stamps was burnt in effigy; the house of the +Lieutenant-governor was attacked by a furious mob, who avowed their +determination to murder him if he fell into their hands; and +resolutions were passed by the Assemblies of the different States +to convene a General Congress at New York in the autumn, to +organize a resistance to the tax, and to take the general state of +affairs into consideration.</p> +<p>Before, however, that time came, a series of events having no +connection with these transactions had led to a change of ministry +in England, and the new cabinet was less inclined to carry matters +with a high hand. Indeed, even the boldest statesman could hardly +have learned the state of feeling which had been excited in America +without apprehension, and those who had the chief weight in the new +administration were not men to imperil the state by an insistance +on abstract theories of right and prerogative. Accordingly, when, +after Lord Rockingham had become Prime-minister, Parliament met in +December, 1765, the royal speech recommended the state of affairs +in America to the consideration of Parliament (a recommendation +which manifestly implied a disposition on the part of the King's +advisers to induce the House of Commons to retrace its steps), +papers were laid before Parliament, and witnesses from America were +examined, and among them a man who had already won a high +reputation by his scientific acquirements, but who had not been +previously prominent as a politician, Dr. Benjamin Franklin. He had +come over to England as agent for Pennsylvania, and his +examination, as preserved in the "Parliamentary History," may be +taken as a complete statement of the matter in dispute from the +American point of view, and of the justification which the +Colonists conceived themselves to have for refusing to submit to +pay such a tax as had now been imposed upon them. At a later day he +was one of the most zealous, as he was probably one of the +earliest, advocates of separation from England; but as yet neither +his language nor his actions afforded any trace of such a +feeling.</p> +<p>He affirmed[<a href="#note-36">36</a>] the general temper of the +Colonists toward Great Britain to have been, till this act was +passed, the best in the world. They considered themselves as a part +of the British empire, and as having one common interest with it. +They did not consider themselves as foreigners. They were jealous +for the honor and prosperity of this nation, and always were, and +always would be, ready to support it as far as their little power +went. They considered the Parliament of Great Britain as the great +bulwark and security of their liberties and privileges, and always +spoke of it with the utmost respect and veneration. They had given +a practical proof of their goodwill by having raised, clothed, and +paid during the last war nearly 25,000 men, and spent many +millions; nor had any Assembly of any Colony ever refused duly to +support the government by proper allowances from time to time to +public officers. They had always been ready, and were ready now, to +tax themselves. The Colonies had Assemblies of their own, which +were their Parliaments. They were, in that respect, in the same +situation as Ireland. Their Assemblies had a right to levy money on +the subject, then to grant to the crown, and, indeed, had +constantly done so; and he himself was specially instructed by the +Assembly of his own State to assure the ministry that, as they +always had done, so they should always think it their duty to grant +such aids to the crown as were suitable to their circumstances and +abilities, whenever called upon for the purpose in a constitutional +manner; and that instruction he had communicated to the ministry. +But the Colonies objected to Parliament laying on them such a tax +as that imposed by the Stamp Act. Some duties, they admitted, the +Parliament had a right to impose, but he drew a distinction between +"those duties which were meant to regulate commerce and internal +taxes." The authority of Parliament to regulate commerce had never +been disputed by the Colonists. The sea belonged to Britain. She +maintained by her fleets the safety of navigation on it; she kept +it clear of pirates; she might, therefore, have a natural and +equitable right to some toll or duty, on merchandise carried +through that part of her dominions, toward defraying the expenses +she was at in ships to maintain the safety of that carriage. But +the case of imposition of internal taxes was wholly different from +this. The Colonists held that, by the charters which at different +times had been granted to the different States, they were entitled +to all the privileges and liberties of Englishmen. They found in +the Great Charters, and the Petition and Declarations of Right, +that one of the privileges of English subjects is that they are not +to be taxed but by their common consent; and these rights and +privileges had been confirmed by the charters which at different +times had been granted to the different States. In reply to a +question put to him, he allowed that in the Pennsylvania charter +there was a clause by which the King granted that he would levy no +taxes on the inhabitants unless it were with the consent of the +Colonial Assembly, or by an act of Parliament; words which +certainly seemed to reserve a right of taxation to the British +Parliament; but he also demonstrated that, in point of fact, the +latter part of the clause had never been acted on, and the +Colonists had, therefore, relied on it, from the first settlement +of the province, that the Parliament never would nor could, by the +color of that clause in the charter, assume a right of taxing them +till it had qualified itself to exercise such right by admitting +representatives from the people to be taxed. And, in addition to +objections on principle, he urged some that he regarded as of great +force as to the working of this particular tax imposed by the Stamp +Act. It was not an equal tax, as the greater part of the revenue +derived from it must arise from lawsuits for the recovery of debts, +and be paid by the lower sort of people; it was a heavy tax on the +poor, and a tax on them for being poor. In the back settlements, +where the population was very thin, the inhabitants would often be +unable to get stamps without taking a long journey for the purpose. +The scarcity of specie, too, in the country would cause the +pressure to be felt with great severity, as, in his opinion, there +was not gold and silver enough in the Colonies to pay the +stamp-duty for a single year. In reply to another question, whether +the Colonists would be satisfied with a repeal of the Stamp Act +without a formal renunciation of the abstract right of Parliament +to impose it, he replied that he believed they would be satisfied. +He thought the resolutions of right would give them very little +concern, if they were never attempted to be carried into practice. +The Colonies would probably consider themselves in the same +situation in that respect as Ireland. They knew that the English +Parliament claimed the same right with regard to Ireland, but that +it never exercised it; and they might believe that they would never +exercise it in the Colonies any more than in Ireland. Indeed, they +would think that it never could exercise such a right till +representatives from the Colonies should be admitted into +Parliament, and that whenever an occasion arose to make Parliament +regard the taxation of the Colonies as indispensable, +representatives would be ordered.</p> +<p>This last question put to the witness, like several others in +the course of his examination, had been framed with the express +purpose of eliciting an answer to justify the determination on the +subject to which Lord Rockingham and his colleagues had come. It +could not be denied that the government was placed in a situation +of extreme difficulty—difficulty created, in part, by the +conduct of the Colonists themselves. That, as even their most +uncompromising advocate, Mr. Pitt, admitted, had been imprudent and +intemperate, though it was the imprudence of men who "had been +driven to madness by injustice." On the one hand, to repeal an act +the opposition to which had been marked by fierce riots, such as +those of Boston, and even in the Assemblies of some of the States +by language scarcely short of treason,[<a href="#note-37">37</a>] +seemed a concession to intimidation scarcely compatible with the +maintenance of the dignity of the crown or the legitimate authority +of Parliament. On the other hand, to persist in the retention of a +tax which the whole population affected by it was evidently +determined to resist to the uttermost, was to incur the still +greater danger of rebellion and civil war. In this dilemma, the +ministers resolved on a course calculated, as they conceived, to +avoid both evils, by combining a satisfaction of the complaints of +the Colonists with an assertion of the absolute supremacy of the +British crown and Parliament for every purpose. And on February 24, +1766, the Secretary of State brought in a bill which, after +declaring, in its first clause, "that the King's Majesty, by and +with the consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons +of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, had, hath, and of right +ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes +of sufficient force and validity to bind the Colonists and people +of America, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases +whatsoever," proceeded to repeal the Stamp Act, giving a strong +proof of the sincerity of the desire to conciliate the Colonists by +the unusual step of fixing the second reading of the bill for the +next day.</p> +<p>But in its different clauses it encountered a twofold +opposition, which he had, probably, not anticipated. It is +unnecessary to notice that which rested solely on the inexpediency +of repealing the Stamp Act, "the compulsory enforcement of which +was required by the honor and dignity of the kingdom." But the +first clause was even more strenuously resisted, on grounds which +its opponents affirmed to rest on the fundamental principles of the +constitution. It was urged in the House of Commons by Mr. Pitt +that, "as the Colonies were not represented in Parliament, Great +Britain had no legal right nor power to lay a tax upon +them—that taxation is no part of the governing or legislative +power. Taxes," said the great orator, "are the voluntary gift and +grant of the Commons alone. In legislation the three estates of the +realm are alike concerned; but the concurrence of the peers and the +crown to a tax is only necessary to clothe it with the form of a +law; the gift and grant is in the Commons alone.... The distinction +between legislation and taxation is essentially necessary to +liberty."</p> +<p>Mr. Pitt had no claim to be considered as a great authority in +the principles of constitutional law. George II., slight as was his +political knowledge or wisdom, complained on one occasion of the +ignorance of a Secretary of State who had never read Vattel; and in +this very debate he even boasted of his ignorance of "law-cases and +acts of Parliament." But his coadjutor in the House of Lords (Lord +Camden, at this time Chief-justice of the Common Pleas) owed the +chief part of the respect in which he was held to his supposed +excellence as a constitutional lawyer, and he fully endorsed and +expanded Pitt's arguments when the bill came up to the House of +Lords. He affirmed that he spoke as "the defender of the law and +the constitution; that, as the affair was of the greatest +consequence, and in its consequences might involve the fate of +kingdoms, he had taken the strictest review of his arguments, he +had examined and re-examined all his authorities; and that his +searches had more and more convinced him that the British +Parliament had no right to tax the Americans. The Stamp Act was +absolutely illegal, contrary to the fundamental laws of nature, +contrary to the fundamental laws of this constitution—a +constitution governed on the eternal and immutable laws of nature. +The doctrine which he was asserting was not new; it was as old as +the constitution; it grew up with it; indeed, it was its support. +Taxation and representation are inseparably united. God hath joined +them; no British government can put them asunder. To endeavor to do +so is to stab our very vitals." And he objected to the first clause +(that which declared the power and right to tax), on the ground +that if the ministers "wantonly pressed this declaration, although +they were now repealing the Stamp Act, they might pass it again in +a month." He even argued that "they must have future taxation in +view, or they would hardly assert their right to enjoy the pleasure +of offering an insult." He was answered by Lord Northington (the +Chancellor) and by Lord Mansfield (the Chief-justice), both of whom +supported the motion to repeal the tax, but who also agreed in +denying the soundness of his doctrine that, as far as the power was +concerned, there was any distinction between a law to tax and a law +for any other purpose; and Lord Mansfield farther denied the +validity of the argument which it had been attempted to found on +the circumstance that the Colonies were not represented in +Parliament, propounding, on the contrary, what Lord Campbell calls +"his doctrine of virtual representation." "There can," said he, "be +no doubt but that the inhabitants of the Colonies are represented +in Parliament, as the greatest part of the people of England are +represented, among nine millions of whom there are eight who have +no votes in electing members of Parliament. Every objection, +therefore, to the dependency of the Colonies upon Parliament which +arises upon the ground of representation goes to the whole present +constitution of Great Britain.... For what purpose, then, are +arguments drawn from a distinction in which there is no real +difference of a virtual and an actual representation? A member of +Parliament chosen for any borough represents not only the +constituents and inhabitants of that particular place, but he +represents the inhabitants of every other borough in Great Britain. +He represents the City of London and all the other Commons of the +land, and the inhabitants of all the colonies and dominions of +Great Britain, and is in duty and conscience bound to take care of +their interests."</p> +<p>Lord Mansfield's doctrine of a virtual representation of the +Colonies must be admitted to be overstrained. The analogy between +the case of colonists in a country from no part of which +representatives are sent to Parliament, and that of a borough or +county where some classes of the population which may, in a sense, +be regarded as spokesmen or agents of the rest form a constituency +and return members, must be allowed to fail; yet the last sentences +of this extract are worth preserving, as laying down the important +constitutional principle, subsequently expanded and enforced with +irresistible learning and power of argument by Burke, that a member +of the House of Commons is not a delegate, bound, under all +circumstances, to follow the opinions or submit to the dictation of +his constituents, but that from the moment of his election he is a +councillor of the whole kingdom, bound to exercise an independent +judgment for the interests of the whole people, rather than to +guide himself by the capricious or partial judgments of a small +section of it. But in its more immediate objects--that of +establishing the two principles, that the constitution knows of no +limitation to the authority of Parliament, and of no distinction +between the power of taxation and that of any other kind of +legislation--Lord Mansfield's speech is now universally admitted to +have been unanswerable.[<a href="#note-38">38</a>]</p> +<p>The abstract right was unquestionably on the side of the +minister and the Parliament who had imposed the tax. But he is not +worthy of the name of statesman who conceives absolute rights and +metaphysical distinctions to be the proper foundation for measures +of government, and pays no regard to custom, to precedent, to the +habits and feelings of the people to be governed; who, disregarding +the old and most true adage, <i>summum jus summa injuria</i>, omits +to take into his calculations the expediency of his actions when +legislating for a nation which he is in the daily habit of weighing +in his private affairs. The art or science of government are +phrases in common use; but they would be void of meaning if all +that is requisite be to ascertain the strict right or power, and +then unswervingly to act upon it in all its rigor. And, therefore, +while it must be admitted that the character of the power vested in +King, Lords, and Commons assembled in Parliament is unlimited and +illimitable, and that the legal competency to enact a statute +depends in no degree whatever on the wisdom or folly, the justice +or wickedness, of the statute, the advice given to a constitutional +sovereign by his advisers must be guided by other considerations. +To quote by anticipation the language addressed to the Commons on +this subject by Burke eight years afterward, the proper policy was +"to leave the Americans as they anciently stood ... To be content +to bind America by laws of trade. Parliament had always done it. +And this should be the reason for binding their trade. Not to +burden them by taxes; Parliament was not used to do so from the +beginning; and this should be the reason for not taxing. These are +the arguments of states and kingdoms."[<a href= +"#note-39">39</a>]</p> +<p>The ministry were strong enough to carry their resolutions +through both Houses. Their measure was divided into two acts, one +known as the Declaratory Act, asserting the absolute and universal +authority of Parliament; the other repealing the Stamp Act of the +preceding year. And both were passed without alteration, though the +Lords divided against them on both the second and third readings of +the bill for repeal founded on them,[<a href="#note-40">40</a>] +some of them entering long protests in the journals of the House. +The right to tax was asserted, but the tax itself was repealed. And +Franklin's estimate of the feelings on the subject entertained by +his countrymen was fully verified by the reception which the +intelligence met with in the Colonies. To quote the description of +Lord Stanhope: "In America the repeal of the Stamp Act was received +with universal joy and acclamation. Fireworks and festivals +celebrated the good news, while addresses and thanks to the King +were voted by all the Assemblies.... The words of the Declaratory +Act, indeed, gave the Americans slight concern. They fully believed +that no practical grievance could arise from it. They looked upon +it merely as a salve to the wounded pride of England; as only that +'bridge of gold' which, according to the old French saying, should +always be allowed to a retreating assailant."[<a href= +"#note-41">41</a>]</p> +<p>A recent writer, however, has condemned the addition of the +declaration of the abstract right to tax with great vehemence. +"Nothing," says Lord Campbell,[<a href="#note-42">42</a>] "could +exceed the folly of accompanying the repeal of the Stamp Act with +the statutable declaration of the abstract right to tax." But it +does not seem difficult to justify the conduct of the ministry in +this particular. For, besides the great weight deservedly attached +to Franklin's assurance that the declaration would not be objected +to by the Colonists, and besides the consideration that, on a +general view, it was desirable, if not indispensable, to impress on +all classes of subjects, whether at home or abroad, the +constitutional doctrine of the omnipotence of Parliament, the line +of argument adopted by Mr. Pitt and Lord Camden, in denying that +omnipotence, left the ministers no alternative but that of +asserting it, unless they were prepared to betray their trust as +guardians of the constitution. Forbearance to insist on the +Declaratory Act could not fail to have been regarded as an +acquiescence on their part in a doctrine which Lord Campbell in the +same breath admits to be false. It may be added, as a consideration +of no small practical weight, that, without such a Declaratory Act, +the King would have been very reluctant to consent to the other and +more important Repealing Act. And, on the whole, the conduct of the +ministry may, we think, be regarded as the wisest settlement both +of the law and of the practice. It asserted the law in a manner +which offended no one; and it made a precedent for placing the +spirit of statesmanship above the letter of the law, and for +forbearing to put forth in its full strength the prerogatives whose +character was not fully understood by those who might be affected +by them, and also could plead that Parliament itself had +contributed to lead them to misunderstand it by its own conduct in +never before exerting it.</p> +<p>For the moment, then, contentment and tranquillity were restored +in the Colonies. Unhappily, they were not lasting. The same year +which saw the triumph of the Rockingham administration in the +repeal of the Stamp Act, witnessed also its fall before a +discreditable intrigue. And the ministry which succeeded it had not +been a year in office before the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, +Charles Townsend, revived the discontents in America which Lord +Rockingham had appeased. It cannot be said, however, that the blame +should all belong to him; or that the Rockingham party in the House +of Commons were entirely free from a share in it. They +were—not unnaturally, perhaps—greatly irritated at the +intrigue by which Lord Chatham had superseded them, and were not +disinclined to throw difficulties in the way of their successors, +for which the events of the next year afforded more than one +opportunity. Lord Chatham, as has been mentioned, was universally +recognized as the chief of the new ministry, though he abstained +from taking the usual office of First Lord of the Treasury, and +contented himself with the Privy Seal; but he had constructed it of +such discordant elements[<a href="#note-43">43</a>] that no +influence but his own could preserve consistency in its acts or +harmony among its members, as nothing but his name could give it +consideration either in Parliament or in the country. In the first +months of the next year, 1767, he was attacked with an illness +which for a time disabled him from attending the cabinet, being, +apparently, the forerunner of that more serious malady which, +before the end of the summer, compelled his long retirement from +public life; and the Opposition took advantage of the state of +disorganization and weakness which his illness caused among his +colleagues, to defeat them on the Budget in the House of Commons, +by an amendment to reduce the land-tax, which caused a deficiency +in the supplies of half a million. This deficiency it, of course, +became necessary to meet by some fresh tax; and Townsend—who, +though endowed with great richness of eloquence, was of an +imprudent, not to say rash, temper, and was possessed of too +thorough a confidence in his own ingenuity and fertility of +resource ever to be inclined to take into consideration any +objections to which his schemes might be liable—proposed to +raise a portion of the money which was needed by taxes on glass, +paper, tea, and one or two other articles, to be paid as import +duties in the American Colonies. His colleagues, and especially the +Duke of Grafton himself, the First Lord of the Treasury, and as +such the nominal Prime-minister, having been also, as Secretary of +State, a member of Lord Rockingham's ministry, which had repealed +the former taxes, did not consent to the measure without great and +avowed reluctance; but yielded their own judgment to the strong +feeling in its favor which notoriously existed in the House of +Commons.[<a href="#note-44">44</a>] Indeed, that House passed the +clauses imposing these import duties without hesitation, being, +probably, influenced in no small degree by the evidence given in +the preceding year by Dr. Franklin, who, as has been already seen, +had explained that the Colonists drew a distinction between what he +called "internal taxes" and import duties "intended to regulate +commerce," and that to the latter class they were not inclined to +object. And a second consideration was, that these new duties were +accompanied and counterbalanced by a reduction of some other taxes; +so that the ministry contended that the effect of these financial +measures, taken altogether, would be to lower to the Colonists the +price of the articles affected by them rather than to raise it. But +one of the resolutions adopted provided that the whole of the money +to be raised from these taxes should not be spent in America, but +that, after making provision for certain Colonial objects +specified, "the residue of such duties should be paid into the +receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, and there reserved, to be from +time to time disposed of by Parliament toward defraying the +necessary expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the said +Colonies and plantations." And this clause seems to have been +understood as designed to provide means for augmenting the number +of regular troops to be maintained in the Colonies, whose +employment in the recent disturbances had made them more unpopular +than formerly.[<a href="#note-45">45</a>]</p> +<p>At all events, the intelligence of these new taxes, though only +import duties, found the Colonists in a humor to resist any +addition of any kind to their financial burdens. The events of the +last two years had taught them their strength. It was undeniable +that the repeal of the Stamp Act had been extorted by the riots in +Boston and other places, and the success of this system of +intimidation could not fail to encourage its repetition. +Accordingly, the news of this fresh attempt at taxation was met by +a unanimous determination to resist it. Newspaper writers and +pamphleteers denounced not only the duties but the ministry which +imposed them. Petitions from almost every State were sent over to +England, addressed to the King and to the Parliament; but the +violent temper of the leaders of the populace was not content to +wait for answers to them. Associations were at once formed in +Boston and one or two other cities, where resolutions were adopted +in the spirit of retaliation (as their framers avowed), to desist +from the importation of any articles of British commerce, and to +rely for the future on American manufactures. The principal +Custom-house officers at Boston were badly beaten, and others were +compelled to seek refuge in a man-of-war which happened to be in +the harbor.</p> +<p>It would be painful, and at the present day useless, to trace +the steps by which these local disturbances gradually grew into one +general insurrection. The spirit of resistance was undoubtedly +fanned by a party which from the first contemplated a total +separation from England as its ultimate result,[<a href= +"#note-46">46</a>] if, indeed, they had not conceived the design +even before Grenville had given the first provocation to +discontent. But the Colonists were not without advocates in +England, even among the members of the government. The Duke of +Grafton, while he remained Prime-minister, was eager to withdraw +all the duties of which they complained; but he was overruled by +the majority of his colleagues. He prevailed, however, so far that +Lord Hillsborough, the Secretary of State, was authorized to write +a circular-letter to the governors of the different provinces, in +which he disowned, in the most distinct language possible, "a +design to propose to Parliament to lay any farther taxes upon +America for the purpose of raising a revenue," and promised for the +next session a repeal of all the taxes except that on tea; and when +the Duke retired from the Treasury, and was succeeded by Lord +North, that statesman himself brought forward the promised repeal +in an elaborate speech,[<a href="#note-47">47</a>] in which he +explained that the duty on tea, which he alone proposed to retain, +had been originally a boon to the Americans rather than an injury, +as being accompanied by the removal of a far heavier tax. But he +admitted that even that consideration was not the one which +influenced him in his opinion that that duty should be maintained, +so greatly was the perception that the real object of those who +complained of it was, not the redress of a grievance, but the +extinction of a right which was an essential part of "the +controlling supremacy of England." The fact that the right to tax +had been denied made it a positive duty on the part of the English +minister to exert that right. "To temporize would be to yield, and +the authority of the mother country, if now unsupported, would be +relinquished forever." And he avowed his idea of the policy proper +to be pursued to be "to retain the right of taxing America, but to +give it every relief that might be consistent with the welfare of +the mother country." He carried his resolution, though the +minority—which on this occasion was led by Mr. Pownall, who +had himself been Governor of Massachusetts, and who moved an +amendment to include tea in the list of taxes proposed to be +repealed—was stronger than usual.[<a href="#note-48">48</a>] +But the concession failed to conciliate a single Colonist; it had +become, as Burke said four years afterward, a matter of +feeling,[<a href="#note-49">49</a>] and the irritation fed on +itself, till, in 1773, a fresh act, empowering the East India +Company to export tea to the Colonies direct from their own +warehouses without its being subject to any duty in +England—which Lord North undoubtedly intended as a boon to +the Colonists—only increased the exasperation. The ships +which brought the tea to Boston were boarded and seized by a +formidable body of rioters disguised as native savages, and the tea +was thrown into the sea. The intelligence was received in England +with very different feelings by the different parties in the state. +The ministers conceived themselves forced to assert the dignity of +the crown, and proposed bills to inflict severe punishment on both +the City of Boston and the whole Province of Massachusetts. The +Opposition insisted on removing the cause of these disturbances by +a total repeal of the tea-duty. The minister prevailed by a far +larger majority than before, but his success only increased the +exasperation in the Colonies; and it was an evil omen for peace +that the leaders of the resistance began to search the records of +the English Long Parliament "for the revolutionary precedents and +forms of the Puritans of that day."[<a href="#note-50">50</a>] The +next year saw fresh attempts to procure the repeal of the obnoxious +tax rejected by the House of Commons; but, before the news of this +division reached America, blood had already been shed.[<a href= +"#note-51">51</a>] Civil war began. The next year the Colonies, now +united in one solid body, asserted their Independence, taking the +title of the United States; and, though the government at home made +more than one effort to recall the Colonists to their allegiance, +and sent out commissioners of high rank, with large powers of +concession; and though in one remarkable instance the mission of +Mr. Penn, in the summer of 1775, with the petition to the King +known as "the Olive Branch," seemed to show a desire for a +maintenance of the union on the part of the Colonial +Congress,[<a href="#note-52">52</a>] from the moment that the sword +was drawn all hope of preserving the connection of the Colonies +must have been seen by all reasonable men to be at an end.</p> +<p>It is beside our present purpose to recapitulate the military +operations of the war, though they verified another of Burke's +warnings, that, supposing all moral difficulties to be got over, +the ocean remained—that could not be dried up; and, as long +as it continued in its present bed, so long all the causes which +weakened authority by distance must continue. In fact, distance +from England was one of the main circumstances which decided the +contest. The slowness of communication—almost inconceivable +to the present generation—rendered impossible that regularity +in the transport of re-enforcements and supplies which was +indispensable to success; and, added to the strange absence of +military skill shown by every one of the British generals, soon +placed the eventual issue of the war beyond a doubt. But one +measure by which Lord North's government endeavored to provide for +the strengthening of the army employed in America was so warmly +challenged on constitutional grounds, that, though the fortunate +separation of Hanover from Great Britain has prevented the +possibility of any recurrence of such a proceeding, it would be +improper to pass it over.</p> +<p>In his speech at the opening of the autumnal session of 1775, +the King announced to the Houses that, in order to leave a larger +portion of the established forces of the kingdom available for +service in North America, he "had sent a part of his Electoral +troops to the garrisons of Gibraltar and Port Mahon." And the +announcement aroused a vehement spirit of opposition, which found +vent in the debates of both Houses on the address, and in two +substantive motions condemning the measure as a violation of the +constitution as established by the Bill of Rights and the Act of +Settlement. It was strenuously maintained that both these statutes +forbade the raising or keeping on foot a standing army in the +kingdom in time of peace, and also the introduction of foreign +troops into this kingdom, without the previous consent of +Parliament, on any pretence whatever; and that "the fact that +Gibraltar and Minorca were detached from these islands did not +exclude them from the character of forming a part of the British +dominion." And on these grounds Lord Shelburne, who supported Lord +Rockingham on an amendment to the address, did not hesitate to +denounce this employment of the Hanoverian regiments, as +"fundamentally infringing the first principles of our government," +and to declare it "high-treason against the constitution." He +asked, "if there were a settled plan to subdue the liberties of +this country, what surer means could be adopted than those of +arming Roman Catholics and introducing foreign troops?"[<a href= +"#note-53">53</a>] and compared the measure under discussion to the +case of the Dutch regiments of William III., "which the Parliament +wisely refused to allow him to retain." In the House of Commons, +the Opposition was led by Sir James Lowther and Governor Johnstone, +the latter of whom "appealed to the clause in the Act of Settlement +which enacted that no person born of other than English parents +should enjoy any office or place of trust, civil or military, +within the kingdom;" and argued that to employ foreign officers in +the protection of a British fortress was to place them in an +"office of great military trust."</p> +<p>The discussion brought to light strange divisions and weakness +in the ministry. The ministerial lawyers differed on the grounds on +which they relied, the Attorney-general, Thurlow, denying that the +expression "this kingdom" in the Bill of Rights included the +foreign dependencies of the crown[<a href="#note-54">54</a>] (a +narrowing of its force which the Chancellor, Lord Bathurst, wholly +repudiated), while the argument on which he himself insisted most +strongly, that the existence of rebellion in America put end to all +conditions which supposed the kingdom to be at peace, could not +obtain the support of any one of his colleagues. But a plea urged +by an independent member, Lord Denbigh, was regarded by some of the +speakers with greater favor; his contention being that neither the +Bill of Rights nor the Act of Settlement had been violated, since +both those great statutes must be interpreted with reference to the +time at which they were framed, and to the recent acts of James II. +and William III., the recurrence of which they had been designed to +prevent, acts to which the present proceeding bore no +resemblance.</p> +<p>A stronger justification, however, might have been found in very +recent precedents. In 1745 the ministers had brought over six +thousand Dutch troops to re-enforce the army of the Duke of +Cumberland, and their act had been subsequently approved by +Parliament. And in 1756, at the commencement of the seven years' +war, when the loss of Minorca had led to such a distrust of our +fleets that a French invasion was very generally apprehended, both +Houses presented addresses to George II., begging him to bring over +some Hanoverian regiments; and, in the course of the next year, +other addresses to thank him for compliance with their +entreaty.</p> +<p>Looking at the strict law of the question, few lawyers doubt +that the expression "this kingdom" in the Bill of Rights includes +the entire dominions of the crown, or that that great statute was +undoubtedly intended to protect the privileges of all their +inhabitants, whether within the four seas or in foreign +settlements. But it also seems that the clause against raising and +keeping on foot a standing army without the consent of Parliament +was not more violated by keeping a mixed garrison in Gibraltar and +Port Mahon than garrisons consisting of native soldiers only; and +undoubtedly the keeping of an armed force in both these fortresses +had been sanctioned by Parliament. Nor could the colonel of a +foreign regiment in garrison under the command of a British +governor be fairly said to be in an office of great military trust. +So far, therefore, the charge against the ministry may be thought +to have failed. But the accusation of having transgressed the +clause which prohibits "the introduction of foreign troops into +this kingdom without the previous consent of Parliament on any +pretence whatever," must, on the other hand, be regarded as proved. +And, indeed, Lord North himself may be taken to have shown some +consciousness that it was so, since he justified his conduct in +omitting to procure that previous consent by the necessity of the +case, by the plea that, as Parliament was in vacation, the time +which would have been consumed in waiting for its sanction would +have neutralized the advantage desired from the employment of the +Hanoverians, since the regiments which they were to replace at +Gibraltar and Port Mahon could not, after such delay, have reached +America in time to be of service; and since he also consented +eventually to ask Parliament for an Act of Indemnity, the preamble +of which affirmed the existence of doubts as to the legality of the +step which had been taken. And the fate of this act afforded a +still more striking proof of the divisions in the ministry, since, +after Lord North himself had proposed it in the House of Commons, +and it had been passed there by a large majority, it was rejected +in the House of Lords, where his own colleagues, Lord Gower, Lord +Suffolk, and Lord Weymouth, spoke and voted against it as needless, +because, in their judgment, no doubt of the state of the law on the +subject could exist.</p> +<p>From a statesman-like point of view, the employment of the +Hanoverians seems abundantly defensible, if force were still to be +employed to bring back the Colonists to their obedience. The +circumstance of their being subjects of our sovereign in his other +character of Elector of Hanover, clearly distinguished it from the +hiring of the Hessian and Brunswick mercenaries, which has been +deservedly condemned. And, as the entire number fell short of two +thousand,[<a href="#note-55">55</a>] Lord Shelburne's expression of +fear for the liberties and religion of Englishmen was an absurd +exaggeration. Moreover, the warm approval which, less than twenty +years before, Parliament had given to the introduction of a far +larger body of the same troops into England itself, justified the +anticipation that a similar sanction would now be cheerfully given. +That sanction—which, indeed, might have been thought to be +invited by the announcement of the measure in the King's +speech—was undoubtedly requisite. And, if it was, a Bill of +Indemnity for having acted without it was equally necessary. But, +as has been seen in the last chapter, for an administration, on +urgent occasions, to take action on its own responsibility, and +then to apply for indemnity, is a course in strict harmony with the +practice of the constitution; and if in this instance the ministers +are in any respect blamable, their error would seem to have been +limited to their abstaining from instantly calling Parliament +together to sanction their act, and being contented to wait for the +ordinary time of the Houses meeting.</p> +<p>The war, therefore, went on. The assertion of their independence +by the Colonies divided, and, so far, weakened, the advocates of +their cause in Parliament, one section of whom, led by Lord +Chatham, regarded any diminution of our dominion as not only +treasonable, but ruinous; on the other hand, it procured them the +alliance of France and Spain. But it cannot be said that either of +these incidents produced any practical effect on the result of the +war. Lord Chatham's refusal to contemplate their independence could +not retard its establishment; and the alliance of France and Spain, +which brought nothing but disaster to those countries, could not +accelerate it by a single moment. For nearly six years the war +continued with alternations of success, the victories gained by the +British arms being the more numerous, the triumphs of the Americans +being incomparably the more important, involving as they did the +surrender of two entire armies, the latter of which, that of Lord +Cornwallis, in 1781, did, in fact, terminate the war, and with the +war the existence of the ministry which had conducted it. A +singularly rapid succession of new administrations ensued—so +rapid that the negotiations for peace which the first, that of Lord +Rockingham, opened, were not formally completed till the +third,[<a href="#note-56">56</a>] known as the Coalition Ministry, +was on the point of dismissal. It would be beside our purpose to +enter into the details of the treaty which constituted the United +States, as they were now called, a nation by our formal recognition +of their independence. Even in that recognition, which was the most +important article of the treaty, no constitutional principle was +involved, though it affords the only instance in our history which +can seem to throw a doubt on our inheritance of that capacity for +government which the Roman poet claimed as, in ancient times, the +peculiar attribute of his own countrymen. It presents the only +instance of a loss of territory peopled by men who came of our +blood, and who still spoke our language. It was a stern and severe +lesson; and yet, fraught with discredit and disaster as it was, it +nevertheless bore fruit in a later age which we may be excused for +regarding as an example of the generally predominating influence of +sober practical sense in our countrymen, when not led away by the +temporary excitement of passion, as shown in our capacity to take +home to ourselves and profit by the teachings of experience. The +loss of the American Colonies was caused by the submission of the +Parliament and nation to men of theory rather than of practice; +ideologists, as Napoleon called them; doctrinaires, to use the +modern expression; men who, because Parliament had an abstract +right of universal legislation, regarded it as a full justification +for insisting on its exercise, without giving a thought to the +feelings, or prejudices, or habits of those who might be affected +by their measures. Abstractedly considered, Lord Chatham and Lord +Camden were undoubtedly wrong in denying the power of Parliament to +tax the Colonies; but there was better judgment in their counsels, +though founded on false premises, than in those of Grenville and +Townsend, though theirs was the more correct view of the +constitutional power of legislation. The two peers were wrong in +their principle; the two Chancellors of the Exchequer were unwise +in their application of their principle; and the practical error +was the more disastrous one.</p> +<p>It is now generally admitted that the true statesman-like course +toward the Colonies was that adopted by Lord Rockingham and his +colleagues in 1765—to avoid weakening the supreme power of +Parliament by any disavowal of the right to tax but to avoid +imperilling the sovereign authority of the King by a novel exertion +of it. As much of our common English law is made up of precedent, +so, in a still greater degree, are our feelings and ideas of our +rights and privileges regulated by precedent. And we lost America +because in 1764 and 1767 neither minister nor Parliament took men's +feelings and prejudices into account. The loss of the United +States, therefore, was a lesson not undeserved; and by our +statesmen since that day it has been taken in the right spirit of +profiting by its teaching as a guide to their own conduct. Since +that day the enterprise of our people has planted our flag in +regions far more distant, and has extended the dominion of our +sovereign over provinces far more extensive than those which we +then lost. And on some of the administrations of the present reign +the duty has fallen of framing schemes of government for those new +acquisitions, as also for some of those previously possessed. In +how different a spirit from that which actuated the early ministers +of George III.[<a href="#note-57">57</a>] those to whom the task +was committed by Queen Victoria applied themselves to their task +may be seen in a maxim laid down by the present Lord Grey, when he +presided at the Colonial Office (1846-1852), that "the success of +free institutions in any country depends far less upon the +particular form of those institutions than upon the character of +the people on whom they are conferred." But how he and others in +the same office carried out that principle must be reserved for a +later chapter.</p> +<p>Besides the numerous motions which were brought forward by the +Opposition respecting the continuance and conduct of the war, there +were several also which were indirectly prompted by it. The +Opposition claimed to be on this subject not only the champions of +the real interests of the nation, but also its spokesmen, who +expressed the opinions and feelings of all the thinking and +independent portion of the people. That their efforts were +overborne they attributed to the subservience of the Parliament to +the ministers, and of the ministers to the crown.[<a href= +"#note-58">58</a>] And consequently several motions were made by +members of that party, the object of which was, in one way or +another, to diminish what they regarded as the undue influence of +the crown. In one instance, and that the most successful, a direct +denunciation of that influence was employed, but the earlier and +more frequent proposals were directed to the purification of the +House of Commons, and to the strengthening of its independence. It +is remarkable that of these the two which related to a subject of +which the Commons are usually most especially and most rightly +jealous, the interference of peers in elections, had the worst +fortune. In 1780 complaints were made and substantiated that the +Duke of Bolton and the Duke of Chandos (who was also +Lord-lieutenant of the county) had exerted themselves actively in +the last election for Hampshire. And, in support of motions that +these peers "had been guilty of a breach of the privileges of the +House, and an infringement of the liberties and privileges of the +Commons of Great Britain," a case was adduced in which Queen Anne +had dismissed the Bishop of Worcester from the office of Almoner +for similar interference. Nor did Lord Nugent, a relative of the +Duke of Chandos, deny the facts alleged; on the contrary, he avowed +them, and adopted a line of defence which many must have thought an +aggravation of the charge, since it asserted that to prevent such +interference was impossible, and therefore the House would but +waste its time in trying. However, on this occasion the House took +the view which he thus suggested to it, postponing all farther +consideration of the matter for four months; and the charge the +Duke of Bolton was shelved in a somewhat similar manner.</p> +<p>Even had these peers and such practices been censured with the +very greatest severity, the censures could have had but a very +limited effect. But it was on measures of a wider scope, embracing +what began to be called a Reform of Parliament, that the more +zealous members of the Opposition placed their chief reliance. As +far as our records of the debates can be trusted, Lord Chatham, ten +years before, had given the first hint of the desirableness of some +alteration of the existing system. On one occasion he denounced the +small boroughs as "the rotten part of the constitution," thus +originating the epithet by which they in time came to be generally +described; but more usually he disavowed all idea of disfranchising +them, propounding rather a scheme for diminishing their importance +by a large addition to the county members. However, he never took +any steps to carry out his views, thinking, perhaps, that it was +not in the Upper House that such a subject should be first +broached. But he had not been long in the grave, when a formal +motion for a reform of a different kind was brought forward by one +of the members for the City of London, Alderman Sawbridge,[<a href= +"#note-59">59</a>] who, in May, 1780, applied for leave to bring in +"a bill for shortening the duration of Parliaments." His own +preference he avowed to be for annual Parliaments; but his +suspicion that the House would think such a measure too sweeping +had induced him to resolve to content himself with aiming at +triennial Parliaments. As leave was refused, the bill proposed to +be introduced may, perhaps, be thought disentitled to mention here, +were it not that the circumstance that proposals for shortening the +duration of Parliaments are still occasionally brought forward +seems to warrant an account of a few of the arguments by which +those who took the leading parts in the debate which ensued +resisted it. The minister, Lord North, declared that the Alderman +had misunderstood the views of our ancestors on the subject; as +their desire had been, not that Parliament should be elected +annually, but that it should sit every year, an end which had now +been attained. Fox, on the other hand, while avowing that hitherto +he had always opposed similar motions, declared his wish now to see +not only triennial but annual Parliaments, as the sole means of +lessening the influence of the crown. "If any of his constituents +were to ask him to what our present misfortunes were ascribable, he +should say the first cause was the influence of the crown; the +second, the influence of the crown; and the third, the influence of +the crown." But it was replied by Burke, who usually exhausted +every question he took in hand, that such a bill would rather tend +to augment that influence, since "the crown, by its constant stated +power, influence, and revenue, would be able to wear out all +opposition at elections; that it would not abate the interest or +inclination of ministers to apply that interest to the electors; on +the contrary, it would render it more necessary to them, if they +desired to have a majority in Parliament, to increase the means of +that influence, to redouble their diligence, and to sharpen +dexterity in the application. The whole effect of the bill would, +therefore, be to remove the application of some part of that +influence from the elected to the electors, and farther to +strengthen and extend a court interest already great and powerful +in boroughs. It must greatly increase the cost of a seat in +Parliament; and, if contests were frequent, to many they would +become a matter of expense totally ruinous, which no fortunes could +bear. The expense of the last general election was estimated at +£1,500,000; and he remembered well that several agents for +boroughs said to candidates, 'Sir, your election will cost you +£3000 if you are independent; but, if the ministry supports +you, it may be done for £2000, and even less.'" And he +adduced the case of Ireland, where formerly, when "a Parliament sat +for the King's life, the ordinary charge for a seat was +£1500; but now, when it sat for eight years, four sessions, +the charge was £2500 and upward." Such a change as was +proposed would cause "triennial corruption, triennial drunkenness, +triennial idleness, etc., and invigorate personal hatreds that +would never be allowed to soften. It would even make the member +himself more corrupt, by increasing his dependence on those who +could best support him at elections. It would wreck the fortunes of +those who stood on their own private means. It would make the +electors more venal, and injure the whole body of the people who, +whether they have votes or not, are concerned in elections." +Finally, it would greatly impair the proper authority of the House +itself. "It would deprive it of all power and dignity; and a House +of Commons without power and without dignity, either in itself or +its members, is no House of Commons for this constitution."</p> +<p>The applicability of some of his arguments—those founded +on the disorders at times of election—has been greatly +diminished, if not destroyed, at the present day, by the limitation +of the polling to a single day. The disfranchisement of the smaller +boroughs has neutralized others; but the expense of a general +election is not believed to have diminished, and that alone seems a +strong objection to a system which would render them more frequent +than they are at present. Mr. Sawbridge could not obtain the +support of a third of his hearers.[<a href="#note-60">60</a>] But +his notions had partisans in the other House who were not +discouraged by such a division; and three weeks later the Duke of +Richmond brought forward a Reform Bill on so large a scale that, as +the "Parliamentary History" records, "it took him an hour and a +half to read it," and which contained provisions for annual +Parliaments and universal suffrage. But he met with even less favor +than the Alderman, and his bill was rejected without a +division.</p> +<p>Still the subject was not allowed to rest. Even after Lord North +had been replaced by Lord Rockingham, the demand for Parliamentary +Reform was continued; the young Mr. Pitt making himself the +mouth-piece of the Reformers, and founding a motion which he made +in May, 1782, on "the corrupt influence of the crown; an influence +which has been pointed at in every period as the fertile source of +all our miseries; an influence which has been substituted in the +room of wisdom, of activity, of exertion, and of success; an +influence which has grown up with our growth and strengthened with +our strength, but which, unhappily, has not diminished with our +diminution, nor decayed with our decay." He brought forward no +specific plan, but denounced the close boroughs, and asked +emphatically whether it were "representation" for "some decayed +villages, almost destitute of population, to send members to +Parliament under the control of the Treasury, or at the bidding of +some great lord or commoner." He, however, was defeated, though by +the small majority of twenty. And it is remarkable that when, the +next year, he revived the subject, developing a more precise +scheme—akin to that which his father had suggested, of +increasing the number of county members, and including provisions +for the disfranchisement of boroughs which had been convicted of +systematic corruption—he was beaten by a far larger +majority,[<a href="#note-61">61</a>] the distinctness of his plan +only serving to increase the numbers of his adversaries. A kinsman +of Pitt's, Lord Mahon, made an equally futile attempt to diminish +the expenses of elections, partly by inflicting very heavy +penalties on parties guilty of either giving or receiving +bribes,[<a href="#note-62">62</a>] and partly by prohibiting +candidates from providing conveyances for electors; and more than +one bill for disfranchising revenue-officers, as being specially +liable to pressure from the government, and to prevent contractors +from sitting in Parliament, was brought forward, but was lost, the +smallness of the divisions in their favor being not the least +remarkable circumstance in the early history of Reform. It was made +still more evident that as yet the zeal for Reform was confined to +a few, when, two years afterward, Pitt, though now invested with +all the power of a Prime-minister, was as unable as when in +opposition to carry a Reform Bill, which in more than one point +foreshadowed the measure of 1832; proposing, as it did, the +disfranchisement of thirty-six small boroughs, which were to be +purchased of their proprietors nearly on the principle adopted in +the Irish Union Act, and on the other hand the enfranchisement of +copyholders; but it differed from Lord Grey's act in that it +distributed all the seats thus to be obtained among the counties, +with the exception of a small addition to the representatives of +London and Westminster. However, his supporters very little +exceeded the number who had divided with him in 1783, and Lord +North, who led the Opposition in a speech denouncing any change, +had a majority of seventy-four. After this second defeat, Pitt +abandoned the question, at all events for the time; being +convinced, to quote Earl Stanhope's description of his opinion on +the subject, "that nothing but the pressure of the strongest +popular feeling, such as did not then exist, could induce many +members to vote against their own tenure of Parliament, or in fact +against themselves."[<a href="#note-63">63</a>] What, perhaps, +weighed with him more, on deciding to acquiesce in this vote as +final, was the perception that as yet the question excited no +strong interest out-of-doors; and when, a few years later, some who +sought to become leaders of the people endeavored to raise an +agitation on the subject, their teachings were too deeply infected +with the contagion of the French Revolution to allow a wise ruler +to think it consistent with his duty to meet them with anything but +the most resolute discouragement.</p> +<p>But, concurrently with the first of these motions for +Parliamentary Reform, two more direct attacks on the royal +influence, and on what was alleged to be the undue exertion of it, +were made in the session of 1780. The first was made by Burke, who +brought forward a measure of economical reform, demonstrating, in a +speech of extraordinary power, a vast mass of abuses, arising from +corrupt waste in almost every department of the state, and in every +department of the royal household, without exception, and proposing +a most extensive plan of reform, which dealt with royal dignities, +such as the Duchy of Lancaster and the other principalities annexed +to the crown; with the crown-lands, a great portion of which he +proposed to sell; with the offices of the royal household, a +sufficient specimen of the abuses on which was furnished by the +statement, that the turnspit in the King's kitchen was a member of +Parliament; and with many departments of state, such as the Board +of Works and the Pay-office, etc. He was studiously cautious in his +language, urging, indeed, that his scheme of reform would +"extinguish secret corruption almost to the possibility of its +existence, and would destroy direct and visible influence equal to +the offices of at least fifty members of Parliament," but carefully +guarding against any expressions imputing this secret corruption, +this influence which it was so desirable to destroy, to the crown. +But his supporters were less moderate; and Mr. Thomas Townsend +declared that facts which he mentioned "contained the most +unquestionable presumptive evidence of the influence of the crown; +he meant the diverting of its revenues to purposes which dared not +be avowed, in corrupting and influencing the members of both Houses +of Parliament;" and he asserted that "the principle and objects of +the bill were the reduction of the influence of the crown." The +bill was not opposed by the ministers on its principle; but Lord +North, even while consenting to its introduction, "did not pledge +himself not to oppose it in some or other of its subsequent +stages;" and, in fact, his supporters resisted it in almost every +detail, some of them utterly denying the right of the House to +interfere at all with the expenditure of the civil list; others +contesting the propriety of alienating the crown-lands; and a still +greater number objecting to the abolition of some of the offices +which it was proposed to sweep away, such as that of the "third +Secretary of State, or Secretary for the Colonies," that of +"Treasurer of the Chamber," and others of a similar character. And, +as the minister succeeded in defeating him on several, though by no +means all, of these points, Burke at last gave up the bill, Fox +warning the House at the same time that it should be renewed +session after session, and boasting that even the scanty success +which it had met with had been worth the struggle.</p> +<p>The other direct attack was made by Mr. Dunning, who, perhaps, +did not then foresee that he himself was destined soon to fill one +of the offices which had come under the lash of Burke's sarcasm, +and who a few days afterward, in moving that it was necessary to +declare "that the influence of the crown had increased, was +increasing, and ought to be diminished" rested no small portion of +his argument on the treatment that Burke's bill had received. He +affirmed that, though Lord North had declared that "the influence +of the crown was not too great," the divisions on that bill, and on +many other measures which had been under discussion, were +irrefragable proofs of the contrary. He quoted Hume and Judge +Blackstone as testifying to the existence and steady increase of +that influence, and "could affirm of his own knowledge, and pledge +his honor to the truth of the assertion, that he knew upward of +fifty members in that House who always voted in the train of the +noble lord in the blue ribbon,[<a href="#note-64">64</a>] but who +reprobated and condemned, out of the House, the measures they had +supported and voted for in it." Mr. T. Pitt even instanced "the +present possession of office by Lord North as an indubitable proof +of the enormous influence of the crown."</p> +<p>It was not strange that Lord North opposed a resolution +supported by such arguments with all the power of the government, +basing his own opposition chiefly on the wisdom "of maintaining the +rule long since established by Parliament, never to vote abstract +propositions." But he presently saw that he was in a minority, and +was forced to be content with adopting and carrying an amendment of +Mr. Dundas, one of the members for Edinburgh, who flattered himself +that by the insertion of <i>now</i> he converted a general +assertion into a temporary declaration, which might at a future +time be disavowed as no longer applicable. A majority of +eighteen[<a href="#note-65">65</a>] affirmed the resolution; and +when the mover followed it up by a second, declaring that "it is +competent to this House to examine into and to correct abuses in +the expenditure of the civil list revenues, as well as in every +other branch of the public revenue, whenever it shall seem +expedient to the wisdom of this House to do so," though the +minister, with what was almost an appeal <i>ad misericordiam</i>, +"implored the House not to proceed," he did not venture to take a +division, and that resolution also, with one or two others designed +to give instant effect to them, were adopted and reported by the +committee to the House in a single evening.[<a href= +"#note-66">66</a>] The first resolution did, in fact, embody a +complaint, or at least an assertion, which the Rockingham party had +constantly made ever since the close of the Marquis's first +administration. In a speech which he had made only a few weeks +before,[<a href="#note-67">67</a>] Lord Rockingham himself had +declared that "it was early in the present reign promulgated as a +court axiom that the power and influence of the crown alone was +sufficient to support any set of men his Majesty might think proper +to call to his councils." And Burke, in his "short account" of his +administration of 1765, had not only imputed both its formation and +its dismissal to the "express request" and "express command of +their royal master," but in the sentence, "they discountenanced +and, it is to be hoped, forever abolished, the dangerous and +unconstitutional practice of removing military officers for their +votes in Parliament," condemned with unmistakable plainness some +acts of the preceding ministry which were universally understood to +have been forced upon it by the King himself. General Conway had +been deprived of the colonelcy of his regiment; Lord Rockingham +himself, with several other peers, had been dismissed from +Lord-lieutenancies, as a punishment for voting against the +ministry; such dismissals being a flagrant attempt to put down all +freedom of debate in Parliament, which of all its privileges is the +one most essential to its usefulness, if not to its very existence. +But, as Burke said, the practice had been abandoned, and the first +resolution, therefore, as Lord North said, involved no practical +result. It is the second resolution that confers a constitutional +character and importance on this debate. And it is not too much to +say that no vote of greater value had been come to for many years. +It might have been considered almost as the assertion of a truism +included in the power of granting supplies, to declare that the +Parliament has the right and authority to examine into and correct +abuses in the expenditure, if it had not been denied by more than +one speaker on the ministerial side, though not by the +Prime-minister himself. But that denial made the assertion of the +right an imperative duty; for certainly the exclusive right of +authorizing a levy of money would lose half its value, if +unaccompanied by the other right of preventing the waste of the +revenue thus raised.</p> +<p>It may likewise be said that another principle of the +parliamentary constitution is, by implication, contained in Mr. +Dunning's second resolution, and that the words, "it is competent +to this House to examine into and to correct abuses in the +expenditure," were meant to imply a denial of the competency of the +other House to institute, or even to share in, such an examination. +Even if that were the object of its framer, it only coincided with +the view of the peers themselves, a very considerable +majority[<a href="#note-68">68</a>] of whom had, a few weeks +before, rejected a motion made by Lord Shelburne for the +appointment of "a committee of members of both Houses to examine +without delay into the public expenditure," principally on the +ground urged by the Secretary of State, Lord Stormont, and by +several other peers, that "to inquire into, reform, and control the +public expenditure" would be an improper interference with the +privileges of the Commons; the Chief-justice, Lord Mansfield, even +going the length of warning his brother peers that such +interference might probably lead the Commons "to dispute in their +turn the power of judicature in the last resort exercised by the +peers." Lord Camden, on the contrary, affirmed, as a proposition +which "no noble lord present would deny, that that House had a +right to inquire so far as the disposal of public moneys came under +their cognizance as a deliberative body." And in the Lower House +itself, Burke, in his speech in favor of his Bill for Economical +Reform, went even farther than Lord Camden, and blamed the House of +Lords for rejecting Lord Shelburne's motion on such a ground. "They +had gone," he said, "farther in self-denial than the utmost +jealousy of the Commons could have required. A power of examining +accounts, of censuring, correcting, and punishing the Commons had +never, that he knew of, thought of denying to the Lords. It was +something more than a century ago that the Commons had voted the +Lords a useless body. They had now voted themselves so." And it +would seem that the Lords themselves, to a certain extent, +retracted this, their self-denying vote, when, before the end of +the same session, they discussed Burke's Bill for Economical +Reform, and passed it, though it was a money-bill, "containing +extraneous enactments," and as such contravened one of their own +standing orders which had been passed in the beginning of Queen +Anne's reign, when the system of "tacking," as it was called, had +excited great discontent, which was not confined to themselves. The +propriety of rejecting the bill on that ground was vigorously urged +by the only two lawyers who took part in the debate, the +Chancellor, Lord Thurlow, and Lord Loughborough, whose object was +avowedly thus to give a practical proof that the Lords "had not +voted themselves useless." But even those who disregarded their +advice fully asserted the right of the peers "to exercise their +discretion as legislators." We have noticed this matter on a +previous occasion. The privilege claimed by the Commons, both as to +its origin and its principle, has been carefully examined by +Hallam, who has pointed out that in its full exclusiveness it is +not older than Charles II., since the Convention Parliament of 1660 +"made several alterations in undoubted money-bills, to which the +Commons did not object."[<a href="#note-69">69</a>] And, though his +attachment to Whig principles might have inclined him to take their +part in any dispute on the subject, he nevertheless thinks that +they have strained both "precedent and constitutional analogy" in +their assertion of this privilege, which is "an anomaly that can +hardly rest on any other ground of defence than such a series of +precedents as establish a constitutional usage." The usage which +for two centuries was established in this case by the good-sense of +both parties clearly was, that the Lords could never originate a +money-bill, nor insert any clause in one increasing or even +altering the burden laid by one on the people, but that they were +within their right in absolutely rejecting one. But such a right +has a tendency to lapse through defect of exercise; and we shall +hereafter see that "the disposition to make encroachments," which +in this matter Hallam imputes to the Commons, has led them in the +present reign to carry their pretensions to a height which at a +former period had been practically ignored by the one House, and +formally disclaimed by the other.</p> +<p>It may be remarked that Mr. Dunning's success in carrying his +first resolution did in itself, to a certain extent, disprove the +truth of that resolution, since, if the influence of the crown had +been such as he represented it, it must have been sufficient to +insure its rejection. But that resolution, and a new statute, of +which in a previous session he had been one of the principal +promoters, are reckoned by Lord Stanhope as among the chief causes +of the disgraceful riots of 1780. In the summer of 1778 he had +seconded and supported with great eloquence the repeal of some of +the penal statutes against the Roman Catholics which had been +passed in the reign of William III. It was the first blow at that +system of religious intolerance which for nearly a century had been +one of the leading principles, as it had been also the chief +disgrace, of the constitution; and it was passed with scarcely any +opposition by both Houses. As, however, the statute which it +repealed had been enacted before the Scotch Union, the repeal did +not extend to Scotland, and it was necessary, therefore, to bring +in a separate measure for that kingdom. But the intelligence that +such a proceeding was in contemplation excited great wrath among +the Scotch Presbyterians, who, in the hope of defeating it, +established a Protestant Association for the defence of what they +called the Protestant interest, and elected as its president Lord +George Gordon, a young nobleman whose acts on more than one +occasion gave reason to doubt the soundness of his intellect. +Against any relaxation whatever of the restrictions on the Roman +Catholics the Association sent up petitions to the House and to the +King, couched in language the wildness of which was hardly +consistent with the respect due to Parliament or to the sovereign. +Apparently in the hope of mitigating its opposition, the Houses the +next year passed an act, similar in principle, to relax some of the +restrictions still imposed on Protestant dissenting ministers by +some of the subscriptions which were required of them. But, as in +the reign of Charles II., the Presbyterian hatred of the Roman +Catholics was too uncompromising to be appeased in such a manner. +And when Lord George found the House of Commons itself +acknowledging the danger with which the constitution was threatened +by the influence of the crown, he saw in their vote a justification +for all his alarms, since he had adopted as one of his most settled +opinions the belief that George III. was himself a Papist at heart; +and, under the influence of this strange idea, he drew up a +petition to Parliament which he invited all the members of the +Association to accompany him to present. His summons was received +with enthusiasm by his followers. The number who, in obedience to +it, mustered in St. George's Fields, which he had appointed as the +place of rendezvous, was not reckoned by any one at less than fifty +thousand, and some calculations even doubled that estimate. +Whatever the number may originally have been, it was speedily +swelled by the junction of large bands of the worst characters in +the metropolis, who soon began to display their strength by every +kind of outrage. They commenced by attacking some of the Roman +Catholic chapels, which they burnt; and, their audacity increasing +at the sight of their exploits, they proceeded to assault the +houses of different members of Parliament who had voted for the +measures which had offended them. Because the Chief-justice, Lord +Mansfield, had lately presided at a trial where a Roman Catholic +had been acquitted, they sacked and burnt his house, and tried to +murder himself. The magistrates, afraid of exposing themselves to +the fury of such a mob, kept for the most part out of the way; and +though the troops had been put under arms, and several regiments +from the rural districts had been brought up to London in haste, +the military officers were afraid to act without orders. Left to +work their pleasure almost without resistance, the rioters attacked +the different prisons, burnt Newgate and released all the +prisoners, and made more than one attack on the Bank of England, +where, however, fortunately the guard was strong enough to repel +them. But still no active measures were taken to crush the riot. +The belief was general that the soldiers might not act at all, or, +at all events, not fire on rioters, till an hour after the Riot Act +had been read and the mob had been warned to disperse; and no +magistrate could be found to brave its fury by reading it. There +seemed no obstacle to prevent the rioters from making themselves +masters of the whole capital, had it not been for the firmness of +the King himself, who, when all the proper authorities failed, +showed himself in fact as well as in name the Chief Magistrate of +the kingdom.[<a href="#note-70">70</a>] He summoned a Privy +Council, and urged the members to adopt instant measures of +repression; and, when some of the ministers seemed to waver, he put +the question himself to the Attorney-general whether the +interpretation put on the Riot Act, which seemed to him +inconsistent with common-sense, were justified by the law. +Wedderburn unhesitatingly replied that it was not; that "if a mob +were committing a felony, as by burning dwelling-houses, and could +not be prevented by other means, the military, according to the law +of England, might and ought to be immediately ordered to fire upon +them, the reading of the Riot Act being wholly unnecessary under +such circumstances."[<a href="#note-71">71</a>] The King insisted +on this opinion being instantly acted on; a proclamation was +issued, and orders were sent from the Adjutant-general's office +that the soldiers were to act at once without waiting for +directions from the civil magistrates. A few hours now sufficed to +restore tranquillity. The Chief-justice, in his place in the House +of Lords, subsequently declared Wedderburn's opinion, and the +orders given in reliance upon it, to be in strict conformity with +the common law, laying down, as the principle on which such an +interpretation of the law rested, the doctrine that in such a case +the military were acting, "not as soldiers, but as citizens; no +matter whether their coats were red or brown, they were legally +employed in preserving the laws and the constitution;"[<a href= +"#note-72">72</a>] and Wedderburn, who before the end of the year +became Chief-justice of the Common Pleas, repeated the doctrine +more elaborately in a charge from the Bench. It was a lesson of +value to the whole community. It was quite true that the +constitution placed the army in a state of dependence on the civil +power. But, when that doctrine was so misunderstood as to be +supposed to give temporary immunity to outrage, it was most +important that such a misconstruction should be corrected, and that +it should be universally known that military discipline does not +require the soldier to abstain from the performance of the duty +incumbent on every citizen, the prevention of crime.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-33" id="note-33"> +<!-- Note Anchor 33 --></a>[Footnote 33: It is worth while to +preserve the amount, if for no other reason, for the contrast that +the expenditure and resources of the kingdom a hundred years ago +present to those of the present day. The supply required in 1764 +was in round numbers £7,712,000; in 1755, before the war +broke out, £4,073,000, and even that included a million for +the augmentation of the army and navy. In 1761, when the war was at +its height, the sum voted was £19,616,000.]</p> +<p><a name="note-34" id="note-34"> +<!-- Note Anchor 34 --></a>[Footnote 34: The report in the +"Parliamentary History," xvi., 37, says: "This act (the Stamp Act) +passed the Commons almost without debate; two or three members +spoke against it, but without force or apparent interest, except a +vehement harangue from Colonel Barré (date, March 6, +1765)."]</p> +<p><a name="note-35" id="note-35"> +<!-- Note Anchor 35 --></a>[Footnote 35: Lord Stanhope ("History of +England," v., 131) quotes a letter of Dr. Franklin to one of his +friends in America, in which, after deploring the impossibility of +preventing the act from being passed, he expresses a hope that +"frugality and industry will go a great way toward indemnifying +us." And he complied with Mr. Grenville's request to select a +person to act as Distributor of Stamps in Pennsylvania whom he +thought likely to be generally acceptable.]</p> +<p><a name="note-36" id="note-36"> +<!-- Note Anchor 36 --></a>[Footnote 36: These statements and +arguments of Franklin are taken from different parts of his +examination before the House of Commons, as preserved in the +"Parliamentary History," xvi., 137-160.]</p> +<p><a name="note-37" id="note-37"> +<!-- Note Anchor 37 --></a>[Footnote 37: In the Assembly of +Virginia, one of the members—Patrick Henry—after +declaiming with bitterness against the supposed arbitrary measures +of the present reign, exclaimed, "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I. +his Oliver Cromwell, and George III.—" A cry of "Treason!" +was uttered. The Speaker called Mr. Henry to order, and declared he +would quit the chair unless he were supported by the House in +restraining such intemperate speeches.—Adolphus, <i>History +of England</i>, i., 188.]</p> +<p><a name="note-38" id="note-38"> +<!-- Note Anchor 38 --></a>[Footnote 38: On this point the law has +been affirmed by a judge of high reputation to be still what Lord +Rockingham and his colleagues asserted. In 1868, on the trial of +Governor Eyre for an indictment arising out of disturbances in +Jamaica, Judge Blackburne laid it down "that, although the general +rule is that the Legislative Assembly has the sole right of +imposing taxes in the colony, yet, when the Imperial Legislature +chooses to impose taxes, according to the rule of English law they +have a <i>right</i> to do it."]</p> +<p><a name="note-39" id="note-39"> +<!-- Note Anchor 39 --></a>[Footnote 39: See his speech on American +taxation in April, 1774.]</p> +<p><a name="note-40" id="note-40"> +<!-- Note Anchor 40 --></a>[Footnote 40: The chief divisions were: +in the Commons, 275 to 167; in the Lords, 105 to 71.]</p> +<p><a name="note-41" id="note-41"> +<!-- Note Anchor 41 --></a>[Footnote 41: "History of England," vol. +v., c. xlv., p. 218, ed. 1862.]</p> +<p><a name="note-42" id="note-42"> +<!-- Note Anchor 42 --></a>[Footnote 42: "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. cxliii., life of Lord Camden.]</p> +<p><a name="note-43" id="note-43"> +<!-- Note Anchor 43 --></a>[Footnote 43: Every political student +will recollect Burke's description of it as "a cabinet so variously +inlaid, such a piece of diversified mosaic, such a tessellated +pavement without cement—here a bit of black stone, there a +bit of white—patriots and courtiers, King's friends and +republicans, Whigs and Tories, treacherous friends and open +enemies," etc.—<i>Speech on American Taxation</i>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-44" id="note-44"> +<!-- Note Anchor 44 --></a>[Footnote 44: In a debate in the year +1776, on some measures adopted for the conduct of the war, the Duke +of Grafton said: "In that year (1767), when the extraordinary +expenses incurred on account of America were laid before the House +of Commons, the House rose as one man and insisted that that +country should contribute to the burdens brought on by the military +establishment there, and a motion was made for bringing in a bill +for that purpose. I strenuously opposed the measure, as big with +the consequences it has since, unfortunately, produced. I spoke to +my friends upon the occasion, but they all united in the opinion +that the tide was too strong to expect either to stem or turn it, +so as to prevent whatever might be offered in that shape from +passing into a law. Finding that all my efforts would be vain, I +was compelled to submit, but was resolved, as far as lay in my +power, to prevent the effect; and, while I gave way, to do it in +such a manner as would cause the least harm. I accordingly proposed +the tea-duty as the most palatable; because, though it answered the +main purpose of those with whom taxation was a favorite measure, it +was doing America an immediate benefit, for I procured the shilling +a pound duty to be taken off, and threepence to be laid on in lieu +thereof; so that, in fact, it was ninepence a pound saved to +America. However, the attempt was received in America as I expected +it would be—it immediately caused disturbances and universal +dissatisfaction."—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xviii., +134.]</p> +<p><a name="note-45" id="note-45"> +<!-- Note Anchor 45 --></a>[Footnote 45: This unpopularity had been +aggravated by another measure which was among the last acts of Mr. +Grenville's ministry. The Mutiny Act in the Colonies was renewed +for two years at a time, and, at its renewal in the spring of 1765, +a clause was added which required the Colonists to furnish the +troops with "fire, candles, vinegar, salt, bedding, utensils for +cooking, and liquors, such as beer, cider, and rum." The Assemblies +of several States passed resolutions strongly condemning this new +imposition; but, as the dissatisfaction did not lead to any overt +acts of disturbance, it seems to have been unnoticed in England at +the time, or the clause would probably have been repealed by Lord +Rockingham; and eventually the Assembly of New York seems to have +withdrawn its objections to it, presenting an address to Sir H. +Moore, the Governor, in which "they declared their intention of +making the required provision for the troops."—Lord E. +Fitzmaurice, <i>Life of Lord Shelburne</i>, ii., 61.]</p> +<p><a name="note-46" id="note-46"> +<!-- Note Anchor 46 --></a>[Footnote 46: The "Memoirs of Judge +Livingstone" record his expression of opinion as early as 1773, +that "it was intolerable that a continent like America should be +governed by a little island three thousand miles distant." +"America," said he, "must and will be independent." And in the +"Memoirs of General Lee" we find him speaking to Mr. Patrick Henry, +who in 1766 had been one of the most violent of all the denouncers +of the English policy (see <i>ante</i>, <a href="#note-37">p. +63</a>), of "independence" as "a golden castle in the air which he +had long dreamed of."]</p> +<p><a name="note-47" id="note-47"> +<!-- Note Anchor 47 --></a>[Footnote 47: See the whole speech, +"Parliamentary History," xvi., 853. Many of the taxes he denounced +as so injurious to the British manufacturers, "that it must +astonish any reasonable man to think how so preposterous a law +could originally obtain existence from a British Legislature."]</p> +<p><a name="note-48" id="note-48"> +<!-- Note Anchor 48 --></a>[Footnote 48: The division was: for the +amendment, 142; against it, 204.]</p> +<p><a name="note-49" id="note-49"> +<!-- Note Anchor 49 --></a>[Footnote 49: The words of the +"preamble," on which Burke dwelt in 1774, were: "Whereas it is +expedient that a revenue should be raised in your Majesty's +dominions in America for making a more certain and adequate +provision for defraying the charge of the administration of justice +and support of civil government in such provinces where it shall be +found necessary, and toward farther defraying the expenses of +defending, protecting, and securing: the said dominions, be it +enacted," etc.]</p> +<p><a name="note-50" id="note-50"> +<!-- Note Anchor 50 --></a>[Footnote 50: "Memoirs and +Correspondence of Jefferson." Quoted by Lord Stanhope, "History of +England," vi., 14.]</p> +<p><a name="note-51" id="note-51"> +<!-- Note Anchor 51 --></a>[Footnote 51: At Lexington, April 19, +1775.]</p> +<p><a name="note-52" id="note-52"> +<!-- Note Anchor 52 --></a>[Footnote 52: Lord Stanhope, however, +has reason on his side when he calls the words of this petition +"vague and general," though "kindly and respectful;" and when he +points to the language of extreme bitterness against England +indulged in by Franklin at the very time that this petition was +voted. He, however, expresses a belief that even then "the progress +of civil war might have been arrested," which seems doubtful. But +it is impossible not to agree with his lordship in condemning the +refusal by the ministry to take any notice of the petition, on the +ground that the Congress was a self-constituted body, with no claim +to authority or recognition, and one which had already sanctioned +the taking up arms against the King.—<i>History of +England</i>, vi., 93, 95, 105.]</p> +<p><a name="note-53" id="note-53"> +<!-- Note Anchor 53 --></a>[Footnote 53: It is probable, however, +that the greater part of the Hanoverian soldiers were +Protestants.]</p> +<p><a name="note-54" id="note-54"> +<!-- Note Anchor 54 --></a>[Footnote 54: Lord Campbell, who, in his +"Life of Lord Bathurst," asserts that the legality of the measure +turns upon the just construction of the Act of Settlement, adduces +Thurlow's language on this subject as "a proof that he considered +that he had the privilege which has been practised by other +Attorney-generals and Chancellors too, in debate, of laying down +for law what best suited his purpose at the moment." It does not +seem quite certain that the noble and learned biographer has not +more than once in these biographies allowed himself a similar +license in the description of questions of party politics.]</p> +<p><a name="note-55" id="note-55"> +<!-- Note Anchor 55 --></a>[Footnote 55: In the debates on the +subject it was stated that the number of Hanoverians quartered in +the two fortresses was nineteen hundred, and the number of British +troops left in them was two thousand. Moreover, as has been already +remarked, though Lord Shelburne spoke of arming Roman Catholics, it +is probable that the Hanoverians were mostly Protestants.]</p> +<p><a name="note-56" id="note-56"> +<!-- Note Anchor 56 --></a>[Footnote 56: The Preliminary or +Provisional Articles, as they were called, of which the Definitive +Treaty was but a copy, were signed at Paris, November 30, 1782, +during Lord Shelburne's administration. But the Definitive Treaty +was not signed till the 3d of September of the following year, +under the Coalition Ministry, which was turned out a few weeks +afterward.]</p> +<p><a name="note-57" id="note-57"> +<!-- Note Anchor 57 --></a>[Footnote 57: We shall see in a <a href= +"#CH4">subsequent chapter</a> that even in this reign of George +III. Pitt laid down the true principles of our legislation for the +colonies in his bill for the better government of Canada.]</p> +<p><a name="note-58" id="note-58"> +<!-- Note Anchor 58 --></a>[Footnote 58: An admirably reasoned +passage on the influence of the crown, especially in the reigns of +the two first Hanoverian Kings, will be found in Hallam, +"Constitutional History," c. xvi., vol. iii., p. 392, ed. +1832.]</p> +<p><a name="note-59" id="note-59"> +<!-- Note Anchor 59 --></a>[Footnote 59: The "Parliamentary +History" shows that he had brought forward the same motion before +1780; since Lord Nugent, who replied to him, said "the same motion +had been made for some years past, and had been silently decided +on." From which it seems that it was never discussed at any length +till May 8, 1780.]</p> +<p><a name="note-60" id="note-60"> +<!-- Note Anchor 60 --></a>[Footnote 60: On the division the +numbers were: for the motion, 90; against it, 182.]</p> +<p><a name="note-61" id="note-61"> +<!-- Note Anchor 61 --></a>[Footnote 61: The division in 1782 was: +161 to 141; in 1783, 293 to 149.]</p> +<p><a name="note-62" id="note-62"> +<!-- Note Anchor 62 --></a>[Footnote 62: How systematic and open +bribery was at this time is shown by an account of Sheridan's +expenses at Stafford in 1784, of which the first item is—248 +burgesses, paid £5 5s. each, £1302.—Moore's +<i>Life of Sheridan</i>, i., 405.]</p> +<p><a name="note-63" id="note-63"> +<!-- Note Anchor 63 --></a>[Footnote 63: "Life of Pitt," i., +359.]</p> +<p><a name="note-64" id="note-64"> +<!-- Note Anchor 64 --></a>[Footnote 64: Lord North was a Knight of +the Garter, the only commoner, except Sir R. Walpole, who received +that distinction in the last century, and the latest, with the +exception of Lord Castlereagh. on whom it has been conferred.]</p> +<p><a name="note-65" id="note-65"> +<!-- Note Anchor 65 --></a>[Footnote 65: 233 to 315.]</p> +<p><a name="note-66" id="note-66"> +<!-- Note Anchor 66 --></a>[Footnote 66: It is perhaps worth +pointing out, as a specimen of the practical manner in which +parliamentary business was transacted at that time, that this great +debate—in which (the House being in committee) Mr. Dunning +himself spoke three times, and Lord North, Mr. T. Pitt, Mr. Fox, +the Speaker (Sir F. Norton), the Attorney-general, General Conway, +Governor Pownall, the Lord-advocate, and several other members took +part—was concluded by twelve o'clock.]</p> +<p><a name="note-67" id="note-67"> +<!-- Note Anchor 67 --></a>[Footnote 67: February 8, 1780, on Lord +Shelburne's motion for an inquiry into the public +expenditure.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xx., 1346.]</p> +<p><a name="note-68" id="note-68"> +<!-- Note Anchor 68 --></a>[Footnote 68: 101 to 55.]</p> +<p><a name="note-69" id="note-69"> +<!-- Note Anchor 69 --></a>[Footnote 69: "Constitutional History," +iii., 43.]</p> +<p><a name="note-70" id="note-70"> +<!-- Note Anchor 70 --></a>[Footnote 70: His language is said to +have been that "there was at all events one Magistrate in the +kingdom who would do his duty."—Lord Stanhope, <i>History of +England</i>, vii., 48.]</p> +<p><a name="note-71" id="note-71"> +<!-- Note Anchor 71 --></a>[Footnote 71: "Lives of the Lord +Chancellors," c. clxvii.]</p> +<p><a name="note-72" id="note-72"> +<!-- Note Anchor 72 --></a>[Footnote 72: Lord Stanhope's "History +of England," vii, 56.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH4" id="CH4"><!-- CH4 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Changes of Administration.—The +Coalition Ministry.—The Establishment of the Prince of +Wales.—Fox's India Bill.—The King Defeats it by the +Agency of Lord Temple.—The Ministry is Dismissed, and +Succeeded by Mr. Pitt's Administration.—Opposition to the New +Ministry in the House of Commons.—Merits of the Contest +between the Old and the New Ministry.—Power of +Pitt.—Pitt's India Bill.—Bill for the Government of +Canada.—The Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Mrs. +Fitzherbert.—The King becomes Deranged.—Proposal of a +Regency.—Opinions of Various Writers on the Course +adopted.—Spread of Revolutionary Societies and +Opinions.—Bills for the Repression of Sedition and +Treason.—The Alien Act.—The Traitorous Correspondence +Act.—Treason and Sedition Bills.—Failure of some +Prosecutions under them.</p> +<p>The occurrences of the next year brought the question of the +influence of the crown into greater prominence. Lord Rockingham's +administration, unfortunately, came to a premature termination by +his death at the beginning of July. With a strange arrogance, Fox +claimed the right of dictating the choice of his successor to the +King, making his pretensions the more unwarrantable by the +character of the person whom he desired to nominate, the Duke of +Portland, who, though a man of vast property and considerable +borough influence, was destitute of ability of any kind, and had +not even any of that official experience which in some situations +may at times compensate or conceal the want of talent.[<a href= +"#note-73">73</a>] The King preferred Lord Shelburne, a statesman +whose capacity was confessedly of a very high order, who had more +than once been Secretary of State,[<a href="#note-74">74</a>] and +who had been recognized as the leader of what was sometimes called +the Chatham section of the Whigs, ever since the death of the great +Earl. Indeed, if George III. had been guided by his own wishes and +judgment alone, he would have placed him at the Treasury, in +preference to Lord Rockingham, three months before. But, during the +last three months, jealousies had arisen between him and Fox, his +colleague in office, who charged him with concealing from him the +knowledge of various circumstances, the communication of which he +had a right to require. It was more certain that on one or two +points connected with the negotiations with the United States there +had been divisions between them, and that the majority of the +cabinet had agreed with Lord Shelburne. Lord Shelburne, therefore, +became Prime-minister,[<a href="#note-75">75</a>] and Fox, with +some of his friends, resigned; Fox indemnifying himself by a +violent philippic against "those men who were now to direct the +counsels of the country," and whom he proceeded to describe as "men +whom neither promises could bind nor principles of honor could +secure; who would abandon fifty principles for the sake of power, +and forget fifty promises when they were no longer necessary to +their ends; who, he had no doubt, to secure themselves in the power +which they had by the labor of others obtained, would strive to +strengthen it by any means which corruption could +procure."[<a href="#note-76">76</a>]</p> +<p>Fox at once went into what even those most disposed to cherish +his memory admit to have been a factious opposition. He caballed +with the very men to whom he had hitherto been most vehemently +opposed for the sole object of expelling Lord Shelburne from +office. And when, at the beginning of the session of 1783, the +merits of the preliminary articles of peace which had been +provisionally concluded with the United States came under +discussion, though the peers approved of them, in the House of +Commons he defeated the ministers in two separate +divisions,[<a href="#note-77">77</a>] and thus rendered their +retention of office impossible. He had gained this victory by +uniting with Lord North and a portion of the Tory party whom, ever +since his dismissal from office in 1774, he had been unwearied in +denouncing, threatening Lord North himself with impeachment. And he +now used it to compel the King to intrust the chief office in the +government to the very man whom his Majesty had refused to employ +in such an office six months before.</p> +<p>The transactions of the next twelve months exhibit in a striking +light more than one part of the practical working of our +monarchical and parliamentary constitution, not only in its +correspondence with, but, what is more important to notice, in its +occasional partial deviations from, strict theory. The theory has +sometimes been expressed in the formula, "The King reigns, but does +not govern." But, like many another terse apophthegm, it conveys an +idea which requires some modification before it can be regarded as +an entirely correct representation of the fact; and the King +himself, especially if endowed with fair capacity and force of +character, imbued with earnest convictions, and animated by a +genuine zeal for the honor and welfare of his kingdom, will be +likely to dwell more on the possible modifications than on the +rigid theory. Even those who insist most on the letter of the +theory will not deny that, if the King has not actual power, he has +at least great influence; and the line between authority and +influence is hard to draw. One of George the Third's earliest +ministers had explained to his Majesty that the principle of the +constitution was, "that the crown had an undoubted right to choose +its ministers, and that it was the duty of subjects to support +them, unless there were some very strong and urgent reasons to the +contrary."[<a href="#note-78">78</a>] And such a doctrine was too +much in harmony with the feelings of George III. himself not to be +cordially accepted. For George III. was by no means inclined to be +a <i>Roi fainéant</i>. No sovereign was ever penetrated with +a more conscientious desire to do his duty to his people. +Conscious, perhaps, that his capacity was rather solid than +brilliant, he gave unremitting attention to the affairs of the +nation in every department of the government; and, perhaps not very +unnaturally, conceived that his doing so justified him, as far as +he might be able, in putting a constraint on his ministers to carry +out his views. Thus, he had notoriously induced Lord North to +persevere in the late civil war in America long after that minister +had seen the hopelessness of the contest; and it was, probably, +only the knowledge of the strength of his feelings on that subject, +and of his warm attachment to that minister, that caused the +Parliament so long to withstand all the eloquence of the advocates +of peace, and the still stronger arguments of circumstances. He +might fairly think that he had now greater reason to adhere to his +own judgment; for Fox's recommendation of the Duke of Portland in +preference to Lord Shelburne was an act not only of unwarrantable +presumption, but of inconceivable folly, since there was no +comparison between the qualifications of the two men; and the +coalition by which, six months afterward, he had, as it were, +revenged himself for the rebuff, and had driven Lord Shelburne from +office, was, as the King well knew, and as even Fox's own friends +did not conceal from themselves, almost universally condemned +out-of-doors.[<a href="#note-79">79</a>] To this combination, +therefore, his Majesty tried every expedient to escape from +yielding. And when Pitt's well-considered and judicious refusal of +the government left him no alternative but that of submission to +Fox's dictation, it would hardly have been very unnatural if his +disposition and attitude toward a ministry which had thus forced +itself upon him had been those attributed to him by Lord John +Russell, of "an enemy constantly on the watch against it."[<a href= +"#note-80">80</a>] But for some time that was not the impression of +the ministers themselves. In July, when they had been in office +more than three months, Fox admitted that he had never behaved +toward them as if he were displeased with them, and that he had no +project of substituting any other administration for the present +one.[<a href="#note-81">81</a>] And his temperate treatment of them +was the more remarkable, because a flagrant blunder of Burke (who +filled the post of Paymaster), in reinstating some clerks who had +been dismissed by his predecessor for dishonesty, had manifestly +weakened the ministry in the House of Commons;[<a href= +"#note-82">82</a>] while in another case, in which the King had +clearly in no slight degree a personal right to have his opinion +consulted and his wishes accepted by them as the guide for their +conduct, the establishment to be arranged for the Prince of Wales, +whose twenty-first birthday was approaching, Fox persuaded the +Parliament to settle on the young Prince an allowance of so large +an amount that some even of his own colleagues disliked it as +extravagant;[<a href="#note-83">83</a>] while the King himself +reasonably disapproved both of the amount and of the mode of giving +it, the amount being large beyond all precedent, and the fact of +its being given by Parliament rendering the Prince entirely +independent of his parental control, of which his conduct had given +abundant proof that he stood greatly in need.</p> +<p>That he presently changed his line of behavior toward them was +caused by their introduction of a bill which he regarded as aimed +in no small degree at his own prerogative and +independence—the celebrated India Bill, by which, in the +November session, Fox proposed to abrogate all the charters which +different sovereigns had granted to the East India Company, to +abolish all vested rights of either the Company or individuals, and +to confer on a board of seven persons, to be named by Parliament, +the entire administration of all the territories in any way +occupied by the Company. It was at once objected to by the +Opposition in the House of Commons, now led by Mr. Pitt, as a +measure thoroughly unconstitutional, on the twofold ground that +such an abrogation of formally granted charters, and such an +extinction of vested rights, was absolutely without precedent; and +also that one real, if concealed, object of the bill was to confer +on the ministers who had framed and introduced it so vast an amount +of patronage as would render them absolute masters of the House of +Commons, and indirectly, therefore, of the King himself, who would +be practically disabled from ever dismissing them. That such a +revocation of ancient charters, and such an immovable establishment +of an administration, were inconsistent with the principles of the +constitution, was not a position taken up by Pitt in the heat of +debate, but was his deliberate opinion, as may be fairly inferred +from his assertion of it in a private letter[<a href= +"#note-84">84</a>] to his friend the Duke of Rutland. It may, +however, be doubted whether the epithet "unconstitutional" could be +properly applied to the bill on either ground. There is, indeed, a +certain vagueness in the meaning, or at all events in the frequent +use of this adjective. Sometimes it is used to imply a violation of +the provisions of the Great Charter, or of its later development, +the Bill of Rights; sometimes to impute some imagined departure +from the principles which guided the framers of those enactments. +But in neither sense does it seem applicable to this bill. To +designate the infringement or revocation of a charter by such a +description would be to affirm the existence of a right in the +sovereign to invest a charter, from whatever motive it may +originally have been granted, with such a character of +inviolability or perpetuity that no Parliament should, on ever such +strong grounds of public good, have the power of interfering with +it. And to attribute such a power to the crown appears less +consistent with the limitations affixed to the royal prerogative by +the constitution, than to regard all trusts created by the crown as +subject to parliamentary revision in the interests of the entire +nation. On the second ground the description seems even less +applicable. An arrangement of patronage is a mere matter of detail, +not of principle. For the minister to propose such an arrangement +as should secure for himself and his party a perpetual monopoly of +power and office might be grasping and arrogant; for Parliament +(and Parliament consists of the sovereign and the peers, as well as +of the House of Commons) to assent to such an arrangement might be +short-sighted and impolitic; but it is not clear that either the +minister in proposing such an enactment, or the Parliament in +adopting it, would be violating either the letter or the spirit of +the constitution. Every member of the Governing Board was to be +appointed by the Parliament itself; and, though unquestionably Fox +would have the nomination, and though he could reckon on the +support of the majority in the House of Commons for those whom he +might select, still it was a strictly constitutional machinery that +he was putting in motion.</p> +<p>A measure, however, may be very objectionable without being +unconstitutional, and such a view of the India Bill the progress of +the debates in the House of Commons disposed the King to take of +it. In the House of Peers Lord Thurlow described the bill as one to +take the crown off his head and place it on that of Mr. Fox; and, +even without adopting that description to its full extent, the King +might easily regard the bill as a very unscrupulous attempt to +curtail his legitimate authority and influence. He became most +anxious to prevent the bill from being presented to him for his +royal assent. And it was presently represented to him that the +knowledge of his desire would probably induce the Lords to reject +it. Among the peers who had attacked the bill on its first +introduction into their House was Earl Temple, whose father had +taken so prominent a part in the negotiations for the formation of +a new ministry in 1765, and who had himself been Lord-lieutenant of +Ireland under Lord Shelburne's administration. But he had not +thought it prudent to divide the House against its first reading, +and felt great doubts as to his success in a division on the +second, unless he could fortify his opposition by some arguments as +yet untried. He had no difficulty in finding a willing and +effective coadjutor. Since the retirement of Lord Bute from court, +no peer had made himself so personally acceptable to the King as +Lord Thurlow, who had been Lord Chancellor during the last four +years of Lord North's administration, and, in consequence, as it +was generally understood, of the earnest request of George III., +had been allowed to retain the seals by Lord Rockingham, and +afterward by Lord Shelburne. What special attraction drew the King +toward him, unless it were some idea of his honesty and attachment +to the King himself—on both of which points subsequent events +proved his Majesty to be wholly mistaken—it is not very easy +to divine; but his interest with the King at this time was +notorious, and equally notorious was the deep resentment which he +cherished against Fox and Lord North, of whom, as he alleged, the +former had proscribed and the latter had betrayed him. To him, +therefore, Lord Temple now applied for advice as to the best mode +of working on the King's mind, and, with his assistance, drew up a +memorial on the character of the India Bill, on its inevitable +fruits if it should pass (which it described as an extinction of +"more than half of the royal power, and a consequent disabling of +his Majesty for the rest of his reign"), and on the most effectual +plan for defeating it; for which end it was suggested that his +Majesty should authorize some one to make some of the Lords +"acquainted with his wishes" that the bill should be +rejected.[<a href="#note-85">85</a>]</p> +<p>George III. eagerly adopted the suggestion, and drew up a brief +note, which he intrusted to Lord Temple himself, and which stated +that "his Majesty allowed Earl Temple to say that whoever voted for +the India Bill was not only not his friend, but would be considered +by him as his enemy. And, if these words were not strong enough, +Earl Temple might whatever words he might deem stronger and more to +the purpose."[<a href="#note-86">86</a>]</p> +<p>Lord Temple lost no time in availing himself of the permission +thus granted him; and, as it was by no means his object to keep the +transaction secret, his conduct was made the subject of severe +comment by the Prime-minister himself the next time that the bill +was mentioned in the Upper House. The Duke of Portland, indeed, +professed to have learned it only from common report, and to hope +that the report was unfounded, since, were it true, "he should be +wanting in the duty he owed to the public as a minister if he did +not take the opportunity of proposing a measure upon it to their +lordships that would prove that they felt the same jealousy, the +same detestation, the same desire to mark and stigmatize every +attempt to violate the constitution as he did." Lord Temple, in +reply, abstained from introducing any mention of the King's +opinions or wishes, but avowed plainly that he had used his +privilege as a peer to solicit an interview with his Majesty, and +that at that interview "he had given his advice. What that advice +had been he would not then say; it was lodged in the breast of his +Majesty, nor would he declare the purport of it without the royal +consent, or till he saw a proper occasion. But, though he would not +declare affirmatively what his advice to his sovereign was, he +would tell their lordships negatively what it was not. It was not +friendly to the principle and objects of the bill."[<a href= +"#note-87">87</a>] The debate lasted till near midnight. Of the +speakers, a great majority declared against the bill; and, on the +division, it was rejected by a majority of nineteen.[<a href= +"#note-88">88</a>] This took place on the 15th of December. On the +18th, as the ministers had not resigned—not regarding a +single defeat in the Upper House as a necessary cause for such a +step—the King sent messengers to them to demand their +resignation, and the next day it was publicly announced in the +House of Commons that Pitt had accepted the office of +Prime-minister.</p> +<p>But Fox, who had anticipated the dismissal of himself and his +colleagues, was by no means inclined to acquiesce in it, or to +yield without a struggle; and on the 17th one of his partisans in +the House of Commons, Mr. Baker, one of the members for +Hertfordshire, brought forward some resolutions on the subject of +the late division in the House of Lords. He professed to rest them +solely on rumors, but he urged that "it was the duty of that House +to express its abhorrence even of that rumor," since by such an +action as was alleged "that responsibility of ministers which was +the life of the constitution would be taken away, and with it the +principal check that the public had upon the crown." And he urged +"the members of that House, as the guardians of the constitution, +to stand forward and preserve it from ruin, to maintain that +equilibrium between the three branches of the Legislature, and that +independence without which the constitution could no longer exist," +and with this view to resolve "that to report any opinion, or +pretended opinion, of his Majesty upon any bill or other proceeding +depending in either House of Parliament, with a view to influence +the votes of the members, is a high crime and misdemeanor, +derogatory to the honor of the crown, a breach of the fundamental +privileges of Parliament, and subversive of the constitution of the +country." It was opposed by Pitt, chiefly on the ground that Mr. +Baker only based the necessity for such a resolution on common +report, which he, fairly enough, denied to be a sufficient +justification of it; and partly on the undoubted and "inalienable +right of peers, either individually or collectively, to advise his +Majesty, whenever they thought the situation of public affairs made +such a step an essential part of their duty." But it was supported +by Lord North as "necessary on constitutional principles," since +the acts so generally reported and believed "affected the freedom +of debate;" and by Fox, who declared that the action which was +reported, if true, "struck at the great bulwark of our liberties, +and went to the absolute annihilation, not of our chartered rights +only, but of those radical and fundamental ones which are paramount +to all charters, which were consigned to our care by the sovereign +disposition of Nature, which we cannot relinquish without violating +the most sacred of all obligations, to which we are entitled, not +as members of society, but as individuals and as men; the right of +adhering steadily and uniformly to the great and supreme laws of +conscience and duty; of preferring, at all hazards and without +equivocation, those general and substantial interests which members +have sworn to prefer; of acquitting themselves honorably to their +constituents, to their friends, to their own minds, and to that +public whose trustees they were, and for whom they acted." He +avowed his conviction that rumor in this instance spoke truth, and, +affirming that "the responsibility of ministers is the only pledge +and security the people of England possesses against the infinite +abuses so natural to the exercise of royal powers," argued that, if +"this great bulwark of the constitution were once removed, the +people would become in every respect the slaves and property of +despotism. This must be the necessary consequence of secret +influence." He argued that the sole distinction between an absolute +and a limited monarchy was that the sovereign in one is a despot, +and may do as he pleases, but that in the other he is himself +subjected to the laws, and consequently is not at liberty to advise +with any one in public affairs who is not responsible for that +advice, and that the constitution has clearly directed his negative +to operate under the same wise restrictions. Mr. Baker's resolution +was carried by a large majority; but, as we have seen, did not +deter the King from dismissing the ministry.</p> +<p>The conduct of George III. in this transaction has been +discussed by writers of both parties with such candor that the Tory +historian, Lord Stanhope, while evidently desirous to defend it by +implication, passes a slight censure on it in the phrase that "the +course pursued by the King was most unusual, and most extreme, and +most undesirable to establish as a precedent;"[<a href= +"#note-89">89</a>] while, on the other hand, so rigid a Whig as +Lord Campbell urges in his favor "that if it be ever excusable in a +King of England to cabal against his ministers, George III. may +well be defended for the course he now took, for they had been +forced upon him by a factious intrigue, and public opinion was +decidedly in his favor."[<a href="#note-90">90</a>] But to those +who regard not the excuse which previous provocation may be +conceived in some degree to furnish to human infirmity, but only +the strict theory and principle of the constitution on which the +doctrine of the responsibility of the ministers and the consequent +irresponsibility of the sovereign rests, Lord Campbell's +conditional justification for the communication made through Lord +Temple will hardly appear admissible. We cannot be sure how far Mr. +Grenville's "Diary" is to be trusted for transactions in which he +was not personally concerned, or for conversations at which he was +not present; but in giving an account[<a href="#note-91">91</a>] of +some of the occurrences of the spring of 1766, while Lord +Rockingham was Prime-minister, we find him relating a conversation +between the King and Lord Mansfield on the ministerial measure for +conciliating the American Colonies by the repeal of the Stamp Act, +combined, however, with an assertion of the <i>right</i> to tax. +"He (Lord Mansfield) took notice of the King's name having been +bandied about in a very improper manner; to which the King +assented, saying he had been very much displeased at it, as +thinking it unconstitutional to have his name mentioned as a means +to sway any man's opinion in any business which was before +Parliament; and that all those who approached him knew that to be +his sentiment. Lord Mansfield said he differed from his Majesty in +that opinion, for that, though it would be unconstitutional to +endeavor by his Majesty's name to carry questions in Parliament, +yet where the lawful rights of the King and Parliament were to be +asserted and maintained, he thought the making his Majesty's +opinion in support of those rights to be known was very fit and +becoming." The line here alleged to have been drawn by the great +Chief-justice, between proclaiming the King's opinion in support of +rights, but withholding it in the case of measures, is, perhaps, +too fine to be perceptible by ordinary intellects. But however the +King may have understood the judge, it is clear that the doctrine +thus asserted does not justify, but condemns, such an act as the +communication of the King's opinion and wishes in the case under +consideration. If it "would be unconstitutional to endeavor by his +Majesty's name to carry questions in Parliament," it must be at +least equally so to use his name to defeat them. And the case is +infinitely stronger, if the measure to be defeated be one which has +been introduced by his ministers. For there can be no doubt +whatever that, so long as they are his ministers, they are entitled +to his full and complete support on every question; alike in their +general policy and on each separate measure. When he can no longer +give them that support, which the very act of conferring their +offices on them promised them, his only legitimate and becoming +course is to dismiss them from their offices, and to abide the +judgment of Parliament and the nation on that act. Thus William IV. +acted in the autumn of 1834; and thus George III. himself acted at +the end of the month of which we are speaking. But to retain them +in their offices, and to employ an unofficial declaration of his +dissent from them to defeat their policy, is neither consistent +with the straightforward conduct due from one gentleman to another, +nor with the principle on which the system of administration, such +as prevails in this country, is founded.</p> +<p>As has been already mentioned, the King at once dismissed the +Coalition Ministry. Mr. Pitt accepted the conduct of affairs, and +by so doing accepted the responsibility for all the acts of the +King which had conduced to his appointment. Lord John Russell, who +in his "Memorials and Correspondence of Fox" has related and +examined the whole transaction at considerable though not +superfluous length, while blaming the prudence, and in some points +the propriety, of Fox's conduct, at the same time severely censures +Pitt as "committing a great fault in accepting office as the price +of an unworthy intrigue," and affirms that "he and his colleagues +who accepted office upon the success of this intrigue placed +themselves in an unconstitutional position."[<a href= +"#note-92">92</a>] This seems to be a charge which can hardly be +borne out. In dismissing his former ministry, the King was clearly +acting within his right; and, if so, Pitt was equally within his in +undertaking the government. The truer doctrine would seem to be, +that, in so undertaking it, he assumed the entire responsibility +for the dismissal of his predecessors,[<a href="#note-93">93</a>] +and left it to the people at large, by the votes of their +representatives, to decide whether that dismissal were justified, +and whether, as its inevitable consequence, his acceptance of +office were also justified or not. The entire series of +transactions, from the meeting of Parliament in November, 1783, to +its dissolution in the following March, may be constitutionally +regarded as an appeal by the King from the existing House of +Commons to the entire nation, as represented by the constituencies; +and their verdict, as is well known, ratified in the most emphatic +manner all that had been done. And we may assert this without +implying that, if the single act of empowering Lord Temple to +influence the peers by the declaration of the King's private +feeling had been submitted by itself to the electors, they would +have justified that. The stirring excitement of the three months' +contest between the great rivals led them to pronounce upon the +transaction as a whole, and to leave unnoticed what seemed for the +moment to be the minor issues—the moves, if we may borrow a +metaphor from the chess-table, which opened the game; and it may be +observed that, though, on the 17th of December, Pitt resisted Mr. +Baker's resolution with his utmost energy, in the numerous debates +which ensued he carefully avoided all allusion to Lord Temple's +conduct, or to the measure which had led to the dismissal of his +predecessors, farther than was necessary for the explanation of the +principles of his own India Bill. It may even be surmised that, if +he had been inclined to recognize Lord Temple's interference as +warrantable, the breach between that peer and himself, which +occurred before the end of the week, would not have taken place, +since it seems nearly certain that the cause of that breach was a +refusal on the part of Pitt to recommend his cousin for promotion +in the peerage, a step which, at such a moment, would have had the +appearance of an approval of his most recent deed,[<a href= +"#note-94">94</a>] but which he could hardly have refused, if it +had been done with his privity. The battle, as need hardly be told, +was first fought among the representatives of the people in the +House of Commons; for there was only one occasion on which the +opinion of the Lords was invited, when they declared in favor of +Pitt by a decisive majority.[<a href="#note-95">95</a>] But in the +Lower House the contest was carried on for more than two months +with extraordinary activity and ability, by a series of resolutions +and motions brought forward by the partisans of the coalition, and +contested by the youthful minister. In one respect the war was +waged on very unequal terms, Pitt, who had been but three years in +Parliament, and whose official experience could as yet only be +counted by months, having to contend almost single-handed against +the combined experience and eloquence of Lord North, Fox, and +Burke. Fortunately, however, for him, their own mismanagement soon +turned the advantage to his side. They were too angry and too +confident to be skilful, or even ordinarily cautious. The leaders +on both sides made professions in one respect similar; they both +alike denied that a desire of office influenced either their +conduct or their language (a denial for which Pitt's refusal of the +Treasury, a year before, gained him more credit than could be +expected by Fox after his coalition with Lord North), and both +alike professed to be struggling for the constitution alone, for +some fundamental principle which each charged his antagonist with +violating; Fox on one occasion even going so far as, in some +degree, to involve the King himself in his censures, declaring not +only that "the struggle was, in fact, one between Pitt himself and +the constitution," but that it was also one "between liberty and +the influence of the crown," and "between prerogative and the +constitution;" and that "Pitt had been brought into power by means +absolutely subversive of the constitution."[<a href= +"#note-96">96</a>] But no act of which he thus accused the minister +or the King showed such a disregard of the fundamental principle of +the constitution of Parliament as was exhibited by Fox himself +when, in the very first debate after the Christmas recess, he +called in question that most undoubted prerogative of the crown to +dissolve the Parliament, and, drawing a distinction which had +certainly never been heard of before, declared that, though the +King had an incontestable right to dissolve the Parliament after +the close of a session, "many great lawyers" doubted whether he had +such a right in the middle of a session, a dissolution at such a +period being "a penal" one. Professing to believe that an immediate +dissolution was intended, he even threatened to propose to the +House of Commons "measures to guard against a step so inimical to +the true interests of the country," and made a more direct attack +than ever on the King himself, by the assertion of a probability +that, even if Pitt did not contemplate a dissolution, his royal +master might employ "secret influence" to overrule him, and might +dissolve in spite of him,[<a href="#note-97">97</a>] an imputation +which Lord North, with a strange departure from his customary +good-humor, condescended to endorse.[<a href="#note-98">98</a>] +There could be no doubt that both the doubt and the menace were of +themselves distinct attacks on the constitution; and they were, +moreover, singularly impolitic and inconsistent with others of the +speaker's arguments, since, if the nation at large approved of his +views and conduct, a dissolution—which would have placed the +decision in its hands—would have been the very thing he +should most have desired. On another evening, though he admitted as +a principle that the sovereign had the prerogative of choosing his +ministers, he not only sought to narrow the effect of that +admission by the assertion that "to exercise that prerogative in +opposition to the House of Commons would be a measure as unsafe as +unjustifiable,"[<a href="#note-99">99</a>] but to confine the right +of deciding the title of the ministers to confidence to the +existing House of Commons. He accused Pitt of "courting the +affection of the people, and on this foundation wishing to support +himself in opposition to the repeated resolutions of the House +passed in the last three weeks." Had he confined himself to urging +the necessity of the ministers and the House of Commons being in +harmony, even though such a mention of the House of Commons by +itself were to a certain extent an ignoring of the weight of the +other branches of the Legislature, he would have only been +advancing a doctrine which is practically established at the +present day, since there has been certainly more than one instance +in which a ministry has retired which enjoyed the confidence of +both the sovereign and the House of Lords, because it was not +supported by a majority in the House of Commons. But when he +proceeded to make it a charge against the minister that he trusted +to the good-will of the people to enable him to disregard the +verdict of the House of Commons, he forgot that it was only as +representing the people that the House had any right to pronounce a +verdict; and that, if it were true that the judgment of the people +was more favorable to the minister than that of the House of +Commons, the difference which thus existed was a condemnation of +the existing House, and an irresistible reason for calling on the +constituencies to elect another.</p> +<p>Pitt, therefore, had no slight advantage in defending himself +against so rash an assailant. "He did not shrink," he said, "from +avowing himself the friend of the King's just prerogative," and in +doing so he maintained that he had a title to be regarded as the +champion of the people not less than of the crown. "Prerogative had +been justly called a part of the rights of the people, and he was +sure it was a part of their rights which they were never more +inclined to defend, of which they were never more jealous, than at +that hour."[<a href="#note-100">100</a>] And he contended that +Fox's objections to a dissolution betrayed a consciousness that he +had not the confidence of the nation. At last, when the contest had +lasted nearly two months, Fox took the matter into his own hands, +and, no longer putting his partisans in the front of the battle, on +the 1st of March he himself moved for an address to the King, the +most essential clause of which "submitted to his Majesty's royal +consideration that the continuance of an administration which did +not possess the confidence of the representatives of the people +must be injurious to the public service." ... And, therefore, that +"his Majesty's faithful Commons did find themselves obliged again +to beseech his Majesty that he would be graciously pleased to lay +the foundation of a strong and stable government by the previous +removal of his present ministers." In the speech with which he +introduced this address he put himself forward as especially the +champion of the House of Commons. He charged the Prime-minister +with an express design "to reduce the House to insignificance, to +render it a mere appendage to the court, an appurtenance to the +administration." He asserted the existence of a systematic "design +to degrade the House, after which there was not another step +necessary to complete the catastrophe of the constitution." And on +this occasion he distinguished the feelings of the King from those +which influenced the minister, affirming his confidence "that the +King's heart had no share in the present business."[<a href= +"#note-101">101</a>]</p> +<p>Pitt, on the other hand, in reply, affirmed that he was called +on by duty "to defend the rights of the other branches of the +Legislature; the just and constitutional prerogative of the +sovereign," upon which the Opposition was seeking to encroach, +without even having shown a single reason to justify such invasion. +He freely admitted that, if the House of Commons or either of the +other branches of the Legislature "disapproved of an administration +on proper grounds, it would not be well for that administration to +retain office." But in the present instance he contended that "no +ground for disapprobation had been shown." The existing +administration "had, in fact, by an unaccountable obstinacy and +untowardness of circumstances, been deprived of all opportunity" of +showing its capacity or its intentions. "If any accusations should +be made and proved against it, if any charges should be +substantiated, it would, indeed be proper for the ministers to +resign; and if, in such a case he were afterward to continue in +office, he would suffer himself to be stigmatized as the champion +of prerogative, and the unconstitutional supporter of the +usurpation of the crown. But till this period arrived, he should +reckon it his duty to adhere to the principles of the constitution, +as delivered to us by our ancestors; to defend them against +innovation and encroachment, and to maintain them with firmness." +"The constitution of this country," he presently added, "is its +glory; but in what a nice adjustment does its excellence consist! +Equally free from the distractions of democracy and the tyranny of +monarchy, its happiness is to be found in its mixture of parts. It +was this mixed government which the prudence of our ancestors +devised, and which it will be our wisdom to support. They +experienced all the vicissitudes and distractions of a republic; +they felt all the vassalage and despotism of a simple monarchy. +They abandoned both; and, by blending each together, extracted a +system which has been the envy and admiration of the world. This +system it is the object of the present address to defeat and +destroy. It is the intention of this address to arrogate a power +which does not belong to the House of Commons; to place a negative +on the exercise of the prerogative, and to destroy the balance of +power in the government as it was settled at the Revolution."</p> +<p>Fox had urged that our history afforded no example of a ministry +retaining office after the House of Commons had passed a resolution +condemning it. Pitt, in reply, urged that our history equally +failed to furnish any instance of a ministry having been called on +to retire without any misconduct being alleged against them. And +the result of the division showed that his arguments and his +firmness were producing an impression on the House, for, though he +was again defeated, the majority against him (only twelve) was far +smaller than on any previous division.[<a href="#note-102">102</a>] +A week later, this feeling in his favor was shown still more +decidedly, when Fox, on moving for a fresh address, or, as he +termed it, a representation to the King that the House had received +his Majesty's reply to their address "with surprise and +affliction," he could only carry it by a single vote.[<a href= +"#note-103">103</a>] And this division closed the struggle. Fox +made no farther effort. Before the end of the month the Parliament +was dissolved, and the general election which ensued sent to the +House a majority to support the ministers which Pitt was fairly +warranted in claiming as the full justification of the course which +he had pursued.</p> +<p>On a review of the whole of this extraordinary transaction, or +series of transactions, it is impossible to avoid regarding the +issue of the struggle as an all-important element in the case, and +a test almost decisive of the correctness of conduct of the rival +leaders. We may leave out of the question the action of the King in +his communication to Lord Temple, which, although sanctioned by the +great legal authority of Lord Thurlow, we are, for reasons already +given, compelled to regard as unconstitutional, but for which Mr. +Pitt was only technically responsible; having, indeed, made himself +so by his subsequent acceptance of office, but having had no +previous suspicion of the royal intentions. Similarly, we may +dismiss from our consideration the merits or demerits of Fox's +India Bill, the designs which were imputed to its framers, or the +consequences which, whether intended or not by them, were predicted +as certain to flow from it. And we may confine ourselves to the +question whether, in the great Parliamentary struggle which ensued, +and which lasted for more than three months,[<a href= +"#note-104">104</a>] the doctrines advanced by Mr. Fox, and the +conduct pursued by him, were more or less in accordance with the +admitted rules and principles of the constitution.</p> +<p>These doctrines may be reduced to two: the first a declaration +that no minister is justified in retaining office any longer than +he is sustained in it by the favorable judgment of the +representatives of the people. Taken by itself, this, but for one +consideration, might be pronounced the superfluous assertion of a +truism; superfluous, because it is obvious that a House of Commons +hostile to a minister can compel his resignation by obstructing all +his measures. And Pitt himself recognized this as fully as Fox, +though we may hardly agree with him that the Opposition was bound +to allow him time to develop his policy, and to bring forward his +various measures, before it pronounced an opinion adverse to them. +In 1835, when Sir R. Peel first met Parliament after his acceptance +of office, consequent on the King's dismissal of Lord Melbourne's +ministry, the Opposition encountered and defeated him twice in the +first week of the session—on the choice of a Speaker, and on +the address, though the latter had been framed with the most +skilful care to avoid any necessity for objection; but no attempt +was made by him to call in question the perfect right of Lord J. +Russell and his followers in the House to choose their own time and +field of battle. But there is one farther consideration, that the +authority belonging to the judgment of the House of Commons depends +on that judgment being not solely its own, but the judgment also of +the constituencies which have returned it, and whose mouth-piece it +is; and also that the House is not immortal, but is liable to be +sent back to those constituencies, to see whether they will ratify +the judgment which their representatives have expressed; whether, +in other words, their judgment be the judgment of the nation also. +This farther consideration was, in fact, Pitt's plea for resisting +the majorities which, through January and February, so repeatedly +pronounced against him. And in determining to appeal to the +constituencies, as the court of ultimate resort, he was clearly +within the lines of the constitution.</p> +<p>It follows that Fox, in protesting against a dissolution, in +threatening even to take steps to prevent it, was acting in +self-evident violation of all constitutional principle and +precedent. He was denying one of the most universally acknowledged +of the royal prerogatives. The distinction which he endeavored to +draw between a dissolution at the close of a session and one in the +middle of it, had manifestly no validity in law or in common-sense. +The minister had a clear right to appeal from the House of Commons +to the people, and one equally clear to choose his own time for +making that appeal. The appeal was made, the judgment of the nation +was pronounced, and its pronouncement may be, and indeed must be, +accepted as a sufficient justification, in a constitutional point +of view, of Pitt's conduct both in accepting and retaining office. +If he retained it for three months, in opposition to the voice of +the existing House of Commons, he could certainly allege that he +was retaining it in accordance with the deliberate judgment of the +nation.</p> +<p>And this is the verdict of a modern statesman, a very careful +student of the theory of our Parliamentary constitution, and one +whom party connection would notoriously have inclined to defend the +line taken by Mr. Fox, had it been possible to do so. Indeed, he +may be said to show his bias in that statesman's favor when he +affirms that he would have been right in moving a resolution of +censure on Pitt for "his acceptance of office," which he presently +calls the result of "the success of a court intrigue,"[<a href= +"#note-105">105</a>] and, without a particle of evidence to justify +the imputation, affirms to "have been prepared beforehand with much +art and combination." But <i>amicus Fox, sed magis arnica +veritas</i>; and though he thus passes censure on Pitt, where the +facts on which he bases it are at least unproved, on those points +as to which the facts are clear and certain he condemns Fox +altogether, affirming that his "attempt to show that the crown had +not the prerogative of dissolving Parliament in the middle of a +session had neither law nor precedent in its support."[<a href= +"#note-106">106</a>] And he proceeds to lay down, with great +clearness and accuracy, "the practice as well as the theory of our +mixed government," which is, that "when two of the powers of the +state cannot" agree, and the business of the state is stopped, the +only appeal is to the people at large. Thus, when in the reign of +Queen Anne the House of Lords and the House of Commons fulminated +resolutions at each other, a dissolution cleared the air and +restored serenity. If no case had occurred since the Revolution of +a quarrel between the crown and the House of Commons, the cause is +to be sought in the prudence with which every sovereign who had +reigned since that event had wielded his constitutional authority. +If George III. had been wanting in that prudence, it did not follow +that he was debarred from the right of appealing to the people. Any +other doctrine would invest the House of Commons, elected for the +ordinary business of the state, with a supreme power over every +branch of it. This supreme power must rest somewhere; according to +our constitution it rests in the common assent of the realm, +signified by the persons duly qualified to elect the members of the +House of Commons; and Lord Russell, in thus expounding his ideas on +this subject, was undoubtedly expressing the view that ever since +the transactions of which we have been speaking has been taken of +the point chiefly in dispute. Since that day there has been more +than one instance of Parliament being dissolved in the middle of a +session; but, though the prudence of the different ministers who +advised such dissolutions may, perhaps, have been +questioned—nay, though in one memorable instance it was +undoubtedly a penal dissolution in the fullest sense of the +word[<a href="#note-107">107</a>]—no one has ever accused the +sovereign's advisers of seducing him into an unconstitutional +exercise of his prerogative.</p> +<p>Pitt was now Prime-minister, with a degree of power in +Parliament and of popularity out-of-doors that no former minister, +not even his own father, had ever enjoyed. As such, by the +confession of one who was certainly no friendly critic,[<a href= +"#note-108">108</a>] "he became the greatest master of +Parliamentary government that has ever existed." His administration +may be regarded as a fresh starting-point in the history of the +country, as the inauguration of the principle of steady amendment, +improvement, and progress, in place of the maxims which had guided +all his predecessors since the Revolution, of regarding every thing +as permanently settled by the arrangements made at that time, and +their own duty, consequently, as binding them to keep everything in +its existing condition. But, of all the ministers recorded in our +annals, there is not one so greatly in advance of his time as Pitt; +and from the very outset of his ministerial career he applied +himself, not only to the removal or correction of admitted abuses +or defects, but, in cases where the fault, being in our general +system of policy, had been less conspicuous, to the establishment +of new principles of action which have been the rules of all +succeeding statesmen. He was not, indeed, the first raiser of the +question of Parliamentary Reform, but he was the first to produce +an elaborate scheme with that object, parts of which, such as the +suppression of the smaller boroughs and the enfranchisement of +places which had gradually become more important, have been leading +features of every subsequent bill on the subject. He was the first +to propose the removal of those political disabilities under which +the Roman Catholics labored, which no one before him had regarded +as consistent with the safety of the state, and to which he +sacrificed office. He was the first to conceive the idea of +developing our national industries and resources by commercial +treaties with other nations, even choosing for his essay-piece a +treaty with a country with which our relations for nearly five +hundred years had been almost uninterruptedly hostile, and which +Fox, in the heat of his opposition, objected even to consider in +any other light than that of an enemy. He laid the foundation for +all subsequent legislation connected with our colonies in his Bill +for the Government of Canada; and he established a system for the +government of our Indian dependencies on so statesman-like a +principle, that all subsequent administrations concurred in +upholding it, till subsequent events compelled the abolition of all +the share in the government of the country previously possessed by +the Company.</p> +<p>A great writer of the past generation,[<a href= +"#note-109">109</a>] who in some respects has done full justice to +his genius and political virtue, has, however (partly, it can +hardly be doubted, from regarding himself as a follower of his +great rival, Fox), contrasted his capacity as a War-minister with +that of his father, drawing a comparison on this point very +disadvantageous to the son. We need not stop to examine how far the +praises which he bestows on Lord Chatham's talents as a planner of +military operations are deserved; but it may very fairly be +contended that the disparaging views of Pitt's military policy +which he has advanced are founded solely on what is in this as well +as in many other instances a most delusive criterion, success. It +is true, unquestionably, that in the campaigns of 1793-4-5 against +the French revolutionists, while he took upon this country the +entire burden of the naval war, on land he contented himself with +playing a secondary part, and employing a comparatively small force +(which, however, doubled that which his father had sent to +Minden),[<a href="#note-110">110</a>] for the success of the +military operations trusting chiefly to the far stronger Austrian +and Prussian divisions, under the command of Prince Coburg and the +Duke of Brunswick, to which the British regiments were but +auxiliaries. It is true, also, that the result of their operations +was unfortunate, and that the German generals proved wholly unable +to contend with the fiery and more skilful impetuosity of Jourdan +and Pichégru. But the question is not whether Pitt's +confidence in the prowess of his allies was misplaced, but whether +he had not abundant reason to justify him in entertaining it. And, +to judge fairly on this point, we must recollect the reputation +which for the last forty years the Austrian and Prussian armies had +enjoyed. The result of the seven years' war had established the +renown of the Prussians, and the Duke of Brunswick was understood +to be a favorite pupil of the Great Frederic. The same war had +shown that the Austrians were not very unequal to the Prussians; +while the reputation of the French troops had fallen to the lowest +ebb, the most memorable event in their annals during the same war +being the rout of Rosbach, when 60,000 of them fled before Frederic +and 22,000. At the breaking out of the Revolution, it might be said +that De Bouille was the only French general of the slightest +reputation, and since the sad journey to Varennes he had been an +exile from his country. And, though again in 1803 Pitt once more +trusted for success on land to Continental alliances, not only does +he deserve admiration for the diplomatic talent with which he +united Austria, Prussia, and Russia against France, but it can +hardly be doubted that confederacy would have been triumphant, had +not the incompetent vanity of Alexander ruined all its prospects by +his rash disregard at Austerlitz of the experienced warnings of his +own staff.[<a href="#note-111">111</a>]</p> +<p>The new form of government which he established for India, and +to which allusion has been made, has lost the greater part of its +importance in the eyes of the present generation, from the +more-recent abolition of the political authority of the East India +Company, though of some of the principles which he avowed he had +taken for his guides it is worth while to preserve the record; with +such clearness, as well as statesman-like wisdom, do they affirm +the objects which every one should keep in view who applies himself +to legislation for distant dependencies where the privileges and +interests of foreign fellow-subjects are to be regarded with as +jealous a solicitude as those of our own countrymen. These objects +may be briefly described as being the reconciling the vested and +chartered interests of the Company with the legitimate authority of +the King's government; for, though Pitt admitted that "state +necessity" might occasionally be allowed as a valid reason for the +abrogation of a charter, he affirmed that nothing short of such +absolute necessity could excuse such a measure, and he relied on +the previous history of the Company to prove the fallacy of an +observation that had sometimes been made, that commercial companies +could not govern empires. There were three interests to be +considered: that of the native Indians, that of the Company, and +that of this country; and the problem to be solved was, "how to do +the most good to India and to the East India Company with the least +injury to our constitution." Some of his remarks contained +unavoidable allusions to Fox's bill of the previous year, since +some of the provisions of his bill were entirely opposite to those +which Fox had framed, the most material point of difference being +the character of the Board of Control which he proposed to +establish. Fox, as has been seen, had proposed to make the +commissioners to be appointed under his bill irremovable for +several years, whatever changes might take place in the home +government; an arrangement which the opposers of the bill suspected +of being designed to prevent any change in the home government from +taking place. Pitt, on the other hand, laid down as one of his +leading principles that "the board could not be permanent, that it +must be subordinate to the administration of the day, and that +permanency would be in itself a deviation from the principles of +the constitution, and would involve the board in contradictions to +the executive government that could not fail to be attended with +great public inconvenience. An institution to control the +government of India must be either totally independent of the +government of this country or subordinate to it." "The board was to +consist of none but privy councillors," and instead of the vast +amount of patronage which was to have been created by the bill of +1783, this board was "to create no increase of officers nor to +impose any new burdens." ... "The first and leading ideas would be, +to limit the subsisting patronage;" ... and so little was Pitt +covetous to engross that which did and must continue to subsist, +that he left even "the officers of the government of Bengal to the +nomination of the Court of Directors, subject only to the negative +of the crown; and the Court of Directors was also to have the +nomination of the officers of all the subordinate governments, +except only of the commander-in-chief, who, for various reasons, +must remain to be appointed by the crown." Another very important +part of the arrangement was, that "gradation and succession were to +be the general rule of promotion," a regulation which of itself +would be "a forcible check upon patronage, and tend greatly to its +reduction." The governor of Bengal was to be the governor-general +of the whole country, the governors of Madras and Bombay being +subordinate to him; and each governor was to be assisted by a +council of three members, of whom the commander of the forces was +to be one.</p> +<p>The spirit in which a law or a government is administered is +commonly of greater practical importance than the words in which +the regulation or the system is framed or defined; and Pitt, +therefore, concluded his speech by laying down a few "clear and +simple principles as those from which alone a good government could +arise. The first and principal object would be to take care to +prevent the government from being ambitious and bent on conquest. +Commerce was our object, and, with a view to its extension, a +pacific system should prevail, and a system of defence and +conciliation. The government there ought, therefore, in an especial +manner, to avoid wars, or entering into alliances likely to create +wars." It was not to forget "to pay a due regard to self-defence, +or to guard against sudden hostilities from neighboring powers, +and, whenever there was reason to apprehend attack, to be in a +state of preparation. This was indispensably necessary; but +whenever such circumstances occurred, the executive government in +India was not to content itself with acting there as the +circumstances of the case might require; it was also to send +immediate advice home of what had happened, of what measures had +been taken in consequence, and what farther measures were intended +to be pursued; and a tribunal was to be established to take +cognizance of such matters." The system of taking presents from the +natives was to be absolutely prohibited, a regulation which he +hoped would "tend effectually to check private corruption;" and, +lastly, it was proposed to establish a court of criminal judicature +for the trial in England of certain classes of delinquents after +their return from India. The Judges of the court were to be men of +the highest character; they were to be chosen by ballot, some being +taken from the bench of judges, some from each House of Parliament. +And they were "not to be tied down to strict rules of evidence, but +to be upon their oaths to give their judgments conscientiously, and +to pronounce such judgment as the common law would warrant." Such a +tribunal he admitted to be an innovation; but, "unless some new +process were instituted, offences shocking to humanity, opposite to +justice, and contrary to every principle of religion and morality, +must continue to prevail, unchecked, uncontrolled, and +unrestrained, and the necessity of the case outweighed the risk and +the hazard of the innovation."</p> +<p>These were the general outlines of the constitution which in +1784 the Parliament established for India, and the skill with which +it was adapted to the very peculiar character of the settlements to +be governed is sufficiently proved by the fact that it was +maintained with very little alteration equally by Whig and Tory +administrations for three-quarters of a century, till the great +convulsion of the Mutiny compelled an entire alteration in the +system, and the abolition of the governing powers of the Company, +as we shall have occasion to relate in a subsequent chapter. The +principles which Pitt had laid down as the guiding maxims for the +governors; the avoidance of ambitious views of conquest, the +preservation of peace, and the limitation of the aims of the +government to the encouragement and extension of commerce, were not +equally adhered to. Undoubtedly, in some instances, the wars in +which, even during Pitt's too short lifetime, the Indian government +was engaged, came under his description of wars which were +justifiable on the ground of self-defence—wars undertaken for +the preservation of what had been previously won or purchased, +rather than for the acquisition of new territories at the expense +of chiefs who had given us no provocation. But for others, though +professedly undertaken with a view only of anticipating hostile +intentions, the development of which might possibly be reserved for +a distant future, it is not easy to find a similar justification; +and it may be feared that in more than one case governors-general, +conscious of great abilities, have been too much inclined to adopt +the pernicious maxim of Louis XIV., that the aggrandizement and +extension of his dominions is the noblest object which a ruler of +nations can have in view. Yet, though unable on strictly moral +grounds to justify all the warlike enterprises which make up so +large a part of our subsequent Indian history, it is impossible, +probably, for even the most rigid moralist to avoid some feelings +of national pride in the genius of our countrymen, who in the short +space of a single century have built up an empire of a magnitude +unequalled even by the Caesars, and have governed and still are +governing it in so wise and beneficent a spirit, and with such a +display of administrative capacity, that our rule is recognized as +a blessing by the great majority of the nations themselves, as a +protection from ceaseless intestine war, from rapine, and that +worst of tyrannies, anarchy, which was their normal condition +before Clive established our supremacy at Plassy, and into which +they would surely and speedily fall back, if our controlling +authority were to be withdrawn.</p> +<a name="canadaconst" id="canadaconst"></a> +<p>India was not the only British settlement for which the growth +of our empire compelled Pitt to devise a constitution. The year +which saw his birth had also seen the conquest of Canada from the +French; and in 1774 a system of government for the new province had +been established which it is sufficient here to describe as one, +which differed but little from a pure despotism, the administration +being vested in a governor and Legislative Council, every member of +which was to be nominated by the crown. But the working of this act +had from the first proved very unsatisfactory, and had become more +so as the population increased by the influx of fresh settlers from +Great Britain, and also from the United States, here many of those +who in the recent civil war had adhered the connection with the +mother country had been exposed to constant malice and +ill-treatment, and had preferred crossing the border and obtaining +lands in Canada to returning to England. Pitt recognized the evil, +and undertook to remedy it and in 1791 he introduced a bill to +establish a constitution for Canada, which a recent historian +describes as "remarkable, as recognizing for the first time the +wise and generous principle of independent colonial institutions, +which has since been fully developed in every dependency of the +British crown capable of local self-government."[<a href= +"#note-112">112</a>] One peculiar difficulty in framing such a +constitution arose from the circumstance of the old French +colonists, who greatly outnumbered the settlers of British blood, +being attached to the Roman Catholic religion; while the British +settlers were nearly, or perhaps all, Protestant, though of +different denominations. The difficulty was, indeed, lessened by +the circumstance that the French dwelt in Quebec and the district +between that city and the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and that the +English had for the most part betaken themselves to the more inland +region. And this local separation of the two races the minister now +took for his guide in the arrangement which he devised. The most +important feature in it was the division of the province into two +parts, as Upper and Lower Canada, and the establishment of a +distinct local Legislature for each division, a House of Assembly +being created in each, and a Council, so as, in Pitt's words, "to +give both divisions the full advantages of the British +constitution." The Assemblies were to have the power of taxation +(so that there was no room left for such perverse legislation by a +British Parliament as had lately cost its sovereign the United +States). The act of <i>habeas corpus</i> was extended to the +province (a privilege which no one of French blood had ever enjoyed +before); the tenure of land was to be the socage[<a href= +"#note-113">113</a>] tenure so long and happily established in +England. Complete religious toleration was established, and a +certain proportion of land was allotted in Upper Canada, as a +provision for a Protestant clergy, and the foundation of an +ecclesiastical establishment. So great was Pitt's desire to +complete the resemblance between the colony and Great Britain, that +he even contemplated the creation of an aristocracy, by the +introduction of a provision enabling the King to grant hereditary +colonial titles, the possession of which should include hereditary +seats in the provincial Council. The two latter clauses were +opposed by Fox, and the latter of them, though sanctioned by +Parliament, was never carried out in practice. But Fox, bitter as +he was at this time in his general opposition to the government, +agreed cordially in the general principles of the bill, avowing his +conviction that "the only method of retaining distant colonies with +advantage is to enable them to govern themselves," so that each +party in the British Parliament is entitled to a share of the +credit for this pattern of all subsequent colonial +constitutions—Pitt for the original genius for organization +which his contrivance of all the complicated details of the measure +displayed, and Fox for his frank adoption of the general principle +inculcated by his rival, even while differing as to some of the +minor details of the measure. During these years the country was +increasing in prosperity, and the minister was daily rising in +credit; more powerful and more popular than the most successful or +the most brilliant of his predecessors. But during these same years +two great constitutional difficulties had arisen, one of which, +indeed, the deep sense which both parties felt of the danger of +investigating it shelved almost as soon as it was seen; but the +other of which, besides the importance which it derived from the +degree in which it involved the principle of the supreme authority +of Parliament, and brought under discussion even that which +regulates the succession to the crown, imperilled the existence of +the ministry, and threatened a total change in both the domestic +and foreign policy of the nation.</p> +<p>The Prince of Wales, who had come of age in the summer of 1783, +had at once begun to make himself notorious for the violence of his +opposition to his father's ministers, carrying the openness of his +hostility so far as, during the Westminster election to drive about +the streets with a carriage and all his servants profusely +decorated with Fox's colors; and, still more discreditably, by most +unmeasured profligacy of all kinds. The consequence was that he +soon became deeply involved in debt, so deeply that, in 1787, a +member of Fox's party gave notice of his intention to move that the +Parliament should pay his debts and increase his income. Pitt, +without specifying his reasons, avowed that he should feel it his +duty to oppose any grant of such a character; but another member of +Parliament, Mr. Rolle, one of the members for Devonshire, being +trammelled by no such feeling of responsibility, expressed a +similar resolution in language which contained an allusion +perfectly understood on both sides of the House. He said that "the +question thus proposed to be brought forward went immediately to +affect our constitution in Church and State." And every one knew +that he was referring to a report which had recently become +general, that the Prince was married to a Roman Catholic lady of +the name of Fitzherbert. No direct notice was taken of this +allusion at the moment, Fox himself, who had the chief share of the +Prince's confidence, being accidentally absent; but a day or two +afterward he referred to Rolle's speech with great indignation, +declaring that it referred to a "low, malicious calumny" which had +no foundation whatever, and "was only fit to impose on the lowest +order of persons." Being pressed as to the precise force of his +assertion, and being asked whether it meant more than that under +the existing laws, such as the Royal Marriage Act, there had been +no marriage, because there could have been no <i>legal</i> +marriage, he declared that he meant no such evasion, but that no +marriage ceremony, legal or illegal, had ever taken place; and +farther, that in saying this he was speaking on the direct +authority of the Prince himself. No more degrading act stains the +annals of British royalty. For the fact was true—the very +next evening Fox learned the deceit which the Prince had practised +on him from a gentleman who had been one of the witnesses to the +marriage, which had been solemnized by a Protestant clergyman +fifteen months before.[<a href="#note-114">114</a>] And his +indignation was such that for some time afterward he abstained from +all interference in the Prince's affairs; while the language held +by the Prince's other confidant, Mr. Sheridan, was so evasive as to +betray a consciousness that whatever had occurred would not bear +the light of day; so that there were very few to whom the truth or +falsehood of the report was a subject of interest who felt any +uncertainty on the subject.</p> +<p>It may, probably, be regarded as fortunate for the peace of the +kingdom that the Prince, who eventually became King George IV., +left behind him no issue from his marriage with the Princess, the +failure of heirs of his body thus removing any temptation to raise +the question whether he had not himself forfeited all right to +succeed to the throne by his previous marriage to a Roman Catholic. +A clause of the Bill of Rights provides that any member of the +royal family who should marry a Roman Catholic (with the exception +of the issue of princesses who may be the wives of foreign princes) +shall by that marriage be rendered incapable of inheriting the +crown of England. And though the Royal Marriage Act (which, as we +have seen, had been recently passed) had enacted that no marriage +of any member of the royal family contracted without the consent of +the reigning sovereign should be valid, it by no means follows that +an invalidity so created would exempt the contractor of a marriage +with a Roman Catholic, which as an honorable man he must be +supposed to have intended to make valid, from the penalties enacted +by the Bill of Rights. It is a point on which the most eminent +lawyers of the present day are by no means agreed. The spirit of +the clause in that bill undoubtedly was, that no apparent or +presumptive heirs to the crown should form a matrimonial connection +with any one who should own allegiance to a foreign power, and that +spirit was manifestly disregarded if a prince married a Roman +Catholic lady, even though a subsequent law had enacted a +conditional invalidity of such a marriage. We may find an analogy +to such a case in instances where a man has abducted a minor, and +induced her to contract a marriage with himself. The lady may not +have been reluctant; but the marriage has been annulled, and the +husband has been criminally prosecuted, the nullity of the marriage +not availing to save him from conviction and punishment. A bigamous +marriage is invalid, but the bigamist is punished. And, apart from +any purely legal consideration, it may be thought that public +policy forbids such a construction of law as would make the +illegality or invalidity of an act (and all illegal acts must be +more or less invalid) such a protection to the wrong-doer as would +screen him from punishment.</p> +<p>Whatever may be the judgment formed on the legal aspect and +merits of the case, the conduct of the Prince could not fail to +give the great body of the people, justly jealous at all times of +their national adherence to truthfulness and honesty, a most +unfavorable impression of his character. As has been already +mentioned, Fox was so indignant at having been made the instrument +to assure the Parliament and the nation of a falsehood, that he for +a time broke off all communication with him.[<a href= +"#note-115">115</a>] Yet a singular caprice of fortune, or, it +would be more proper to say, a melancholy visitation of Providence, +before the end of the following year led Fox to carry his +championship of the same Prince who had so abused his confidence to +the length of pronouncing the most extravagant eulogies on his +principles, and on his right to the confidence and respect of the +nation at large. In the autumn of 1788 the King fell into a state +of bad health, which in no long time affected his mind, and, by the +middle of November, had so deranged his faculties as to render him +incapable of attending to his royal duties, or, in fact, +transacting any business whatever. Parliament was not sitting, but +its re-assembling had been fixed for the 4th of December, and +before that day arrived the King's illness had assumed so alarming +a character, and it appeared so unsafe to calculate on his +immediate recovery, that the minister summoned a Privy Council, the +summons being addressed to the members of the Opposition as well as +to his own followers, to receive the opinions of the physicians in +attendance on his Majesty, as a necessary foundation for the +measures which he conceived it to be his duty to propose to +Parliament. Those opinions were, that it was almost certain that +the disease would not be permanent, though no one could undertake +to fix its duration with the least appearance of probability. And, +as the royal authority could not be left in abeyance, as it were, +for an uncertain period, it was indispensable to appoint a Regent +to conduct the affairs of the kingdom till the King should, +happily, be once more in a condition to resume his functions.</p> +<p>In considering the line of conduct adopted in this emergency by +Pitt and his great rival Fox, Pitt has one manifest advantage on +his side, that it is impossible to attribute the course which he +took to any personal motive, or any desire for the retention of +official power; while it is equally impossible to doubt that Fox +was in no slight degree,[<a href="#note-116">116</a>] and that Lord +Loughborough, the prince's chief adviser on points of law, was +wholly influenced by the hope of supplanting the ministry. Pitt had +never the least doubt that on the establishment of the Regency he +should be dismissed, and was prepared to return to the Bar. But his +knowledge of the preference which the Prince entertained for his +rival did not lead him to hesitate for a single moment as to the +propriety of placing him in a situation to exercise that +preference. On the reassembling of Parliament, he at once took what +he conceived to be the proper parliamentary course of proceeding; +at his suggestion committees in both Houses were appointed to take +a formal examination of the royal physicians; and, when those +committees had reported that the King was for the present incapable +of discharging his royal functions, though likely at some future +period to be able to resume them, he moved the House of Commons to +appoint another committee, to search for "precedents of such +proceedings as might have been taken in the case of the personal +exercise of the royal authority being prevented or interrupted by +infancy, sickness, or infirmity, with a view to provide for the +same." Such a search for precedents was no novelty, and may be +thought to have been especially proper in such a case as this, +since history recorded the appointment of several regencies, one +under circumstances strikingly resembling those now existing, when, +in 1454, Henry VI. had fallen into a state of imbecility, and the +Parliament appointed the Duke of York Protector[<a href= +"#note-117">117</a>] of the kingdom.</p> +<p>But Fox instantly opposed it with extreme vehemence, declaring +that the appointment of such a committee would be a pure waste of +time. It was notorious, he affirmed, that no precedent existed +which could have any bearing on the present case, since there was +in existence a person such as had never been found on any previous +occasion, an heir-apparent of full age and capacity to exercise the +royal authority; and he declared it to be his deliberate opinion +that the Prince of Wales had "as clear and express a right to +assume the reins of government, and to exercise all the powers of +sovereignty, during the illness and incapacity of the sovereign, as +if that sovereign were actually deceased." Such an assertion of +indefeasible right was so totally at variance with the Whig +doctrines which Pitt, equally with Fox, regarded as the true +principles of the constitution, that Pitt at once perceived the +advantage which it gave him, by enabling him to stand forward as +the supporter of the supreme authority of Parliament, which Fox had +by implication denied. He instantly replied that to assert an +inherent indefeasible right in the Prince of Wales, or any one +else, independently of the decision of the two Houses, fell little +short of treason to the constitution; but, at the same time, to +prevent any one pretending to misconceive his intentions, he +allowed it to be seen with sufficient plainness that, when once the +right of Parliament to appoint the Regent had been established, he +should agree in the propriety of conferring that office on the +Prince of Wales. The committee was appointed; but, even before it +could report the result of its investigations, the doctrine +advanced by Fox had been the subject of discussion in the House of +Lords, where Lord Camden, who had presided over the meeting of the +Privy Council a few days before, on moving for the appointment of a +similar committee of peers, had taken occasion to declare that, if +Fox had made such an assertion as rumor imputed to him, it was one +which had no foundation in "the common law of the kingdom." He had +never read nor heard of such a doctrine. Its assertors might raise +expectations not easily laid, and might involve the country in +confusion. And he contended, as Pitt had done in the Commons, that +its assertion was a strong argument in favor of the appointment of +a committee, that it might be at once seen whether it were +warranted by any precedent whatever. The reports of the two +committees bore out Fox's statement, that no precedent entirely +applicable to the case before them had ever occurred. But by this +time Fox had learned that the argument which he had founded on it +was in the highest degree unpalatable both to Parliament and to the +nation; and for a moment he sought to modify it by an explanation +that, though he had claimed for the Prince "the naked right, he had +not by that expression intended to maintain that that right could +be reduced into possession without the consent of Parliament;" an +explanation not very reconcilable to common sense, since, if a +right were inherent and indefeasible, Parliament could not, without +absolute tyranny, refuse to sanction its exercise; and, in fact, +his coadjutor, Sheridan, on the very same evening, re-asserted his +original doctrine in, if possible, still more explicit terms, +warning the minister "of the danger of provoking the Prince to +assert his right," while a still greater man (Burke) declared that +"the minister had taken up an attitude on the question tantamount +to that of setting himself up as a competitor to the Prince." Such +inconsiderate violence gave a great advantage to Pitt, one of whose +most useful characteristics as a debater was a readiness and +presence of mind that nothing could discompose. He repelled such +menaces and imputations with an equally lofty scorn, and, after a +few necessary preliminaries, brought forward a series of +resolutions, one of which declared the fact of the sovereign's +illness, and consequent incapacity; a second affirmed it to be the +right and duty of the two Houses of Parliament to provide the means +for supplying the defect in the royal authority; and a third +imposed on the Houses the task of deciding on the mode in which the +royal assent necessary to give their resolutions the authority of +law should be signified. It was impossible to object to the first; +but the second was stubbornly contested by the Opposition, the +chiefs of the Coalition Ministry once more fighting side by side; +though Lord North contented himself with arguing that the +affirmation of the right and duty of Parliament was a needless +raising of a disputable point, and moving, therefore, that the +committee should report progress, as the recognized mode of +shelving it. Fox, however, carried away by the heat of debate, +returned to the assertion of the doctrine of absolute right, +overlooking his subsequent modification of it, and again gave Pitt +the advantage, by condescending to impugn his motives for proposing +the resolution, as being inspired, not by a zeal for the +constitution, but by a consciousness that he did not deserve the +confidence of the Prince, and, therefore, anticipated his instant +dismissal by the Regent. The re-affirmation of the Prince's +inherent right was, indeed, necessary to Fox as the foundation for +the objections which he took to other parts of Pitt's scheme. For +the minister, while admitting to its full extent the irresistible +claim which the Prince of Wales possessed to the preference of +Parliament for the Regency, proposed at the same time to impose +certain limitations on his exercise of the authority, so long as +there was a reasonable hope of his royal father's recovery. He was +not to have the power to create peerages, nor to alienate the +property of the crown, nor to grant offices in reversion; and, as +the Queen was to have the care of his Majesty's person, she also +was to have the appointment of all the offices in the royal +household. Fox, on the other hand, objected with extreme +earnestness to the impropriety of imposing any limitations whatever +on the power of the Regent; and then the question whether the +Prince was to derive his right to the Regency from the authority of +Parliament, or from his natural position and inalienable preceding +right as his father's heir, became one of practical importance. If +the Parliament had the right to confer authority, it had clearly +the right to limit the authority it conferred. If the Prince had an +indefeasible right to the Regency, independently of the will of +Parliament, then Parliament could have no pretence to limit or +restrain the exercise of an authority which in no degree flowed +from itself. Fox, indeed, took another objection to the imposing of +limitations to the authority to be intrusted to the Regent, +contending that this would be to create a power unknown to the +constitution—a person in the situation of King without regal +power. But, not to mention precedents drawn from the reigns of +Edward III., Richard II., and Henry VI., in the twenty-fourth year +of the very last reign, George II., on the death of his son, the +father of the present King, had enjoined the Parliament to provide +for the government, in the case of his own death, while the heir +was still a minor, recommending to them the appointment of the +Princess Dowager of Wales as Regent, "with such powers and +limitations as might appear expedient." And, in conformity with his +desire, the Parliament had appointed the Princess Regent, with a +Council of Regency to assist her; and had enacted that "several +portions of the regal power" should be withheld from the Regent, if +she could not obtain the consent of the Council thus +appointed.[<a href="#note-118">118</a>]</p> +<p>This part of the case was so plain, that when, after the +different resolutions proposed by Pitt had been adopted in both +Houses, Fox insisted that, instead of proceeding by a bill to +create a Regency, and to appoint the Prince of Wales Regent, the +only course which could be adopted with propriety would be to +present an address to the Prince, to entreat him to assume the +government, he failed to induce the House to agree with him; and +finally, as if he were determined to find a battle-field in every +clause, he made a vigorous resistance to the expedient by which +Pitt proposed that the formal royal assent which was necessary to +make the bill law should be given. Fox, on one occasion, had gone +the length of denying that the two Houses had any right to be +regarded as a Parliament while the King, an essential part of +Parliament, was incapacitated. But such an objection could have had +no force, even in the mind of him who raised it, since the +proceedings of the two Convention Parliaments of 1660 and 1689 +labored under a similar defect; and yet their acts had been +recognized as valid, and ratified by subsequent Parliaments. And +now, in reference to the expedient proposed by the minister, that +the two Houses should empower and authorize the Lord Chancellor to +affix the Great Seal to the bill, Burke, with great, but for him +not unusual, violence, denounced both the proposal and the +Chancellor, declaring that such a step would be the setting up of a +phantom of sovereignty, a puppet, an idol, an idiot, to which he +disclaimed all allegiance. A more perilous amendment was one +proposed to another clause by Mr. Rolle, enacting that if the +Regent should marry a Roman Catholic his authority should cease. +Since the Bill of Rights, as we have seen, forbade a sovereign to +marry a Roman Catholic without incurring the forfeiture of his +crown, it was evidently reasonable that the same restriction should +be imposed on every Regent; but it was hard at the moment +altogether to dissociate such a clause from the discussions of the +preceding year; and Mr. Rolle endeavored to give the clause a more +pointed meaning by an amendment to enact that the forfeiture should +be incurred by the mere celebration of any marriage ceremony, +whether the marriage thus performed were legal and valid or not. +His amendment, however, was unanimously rejected. The bill was +passed without alteration by the House of Commons; the Prince, +while protesting in an elaborate and most able letter, drawn up for +him by Burke, against the restrictions imposed by the bill, +nevertheless consented to sacrifice his own judgment to the general +good of the kingdom, and to accept the authority, limited as it +was. And by the middle of February the bill was sent up to the +House of Lords. There Lord Camden had charge of it, and his +position as a former Chancellor gave irresistible weight to his +opinion that the mode proposed to give the final sanction to the +bill was strictly in accordance with the spirit and practice of the +constitution. The point with which he dealt was the previous one, +how Parliament, which was to pass the bill, was to be opened, for, +"circumstanced as it was, Parliament could not at present take a +single step." The law, as he put it, declared that the King must be +present, either in person or by a representative. When he could not +attend personally, the legal and constitutional process was to +issue letters-patent under the Great Seal. In the present dilemma, +therefore, he recommended that the two Houses should direct +letters-patent to be issued under the Great Seal, authorizing +commissioners to open Parliament in the name of his Majesty. He +"must use the liberty to say that those who treated this proposal +with ridicule were ignorant of the laws of their country. A fiction +it might be termed, but it was a fiction admirably calculated to +preserve the constitution, and, by adopting its forms, to preserve +its substance." The authority of the Great Seal he explained to be +such that, "even if the Lord Chancellor, by caprice, put it to any +commission, it could not afterward be questioned;" and he adduced a +precedent of a very similar character to the course now proposed, +which occurred "at the commencement of the reign of Henry VI., +when, the sovereign being an infant of nine months old, the Great +Seal was placed in his hand, and it was supposed to be given to him +by the Master of the Rolls, whereupon many commissions were sealed +by it, and the government was carried on under its authority." That +precedent, he reminded the peers, had been followed as recently as +the year 1754, when, during an illness of George II., Lord +Chancellor Hardwicke affixed the Great Seal to a commission for +opening a session of Parliament. And, finally, he concluded by +moving, "That it is expedient and necessary that letters-patent for +opening the Parliament should pass under the Great Seal."[<a href= +"#note-119">119</a>] The motion was carried, and Parliament was +opened in accordance with it; and, if it had been necessary, the +same expedient would have sufficed to give the requisite assent to +the Regency Bill, a necessity which was escaped by the fortunate +recovery of the royal patient, which was announced by his medical +advisers a day or two before that fixed for the third reading of +the bill in the House of Lords.</p> +<p>Though the question was thus left undetermined for the moment, +it was revived twenty-two years afterward, when the same sovereign +was attacked by a recurrence of the same disease, and the existing +ministry, then presided over by Mr. Perceval, brought forward a +Regency Bill almost identical with that which on this occasion had +been framed by Mr. Pitt; and the Opposition, led by Lord Grey and +Sir Samuel Romilly, raised as nearly as possible the same +objections to it which were now urged by Fox and his adherents. The +ministerial measure was, however, again supported by considerable +majorities; so that the course proposed by Mr. Pitt on this +occasion may be said to have received the sanction of two +Parliaments assembled and sitting under widely different +circumstances; and may, therefore, be taken as having established +the rule which will be adopted if such an emergency should, +unfortunately, arise hereafter. And indeed, though the propriety of +Pitt's proposals has, as was natural, been discussed by every +historical and political writer who has dealt with the history of +that time, there has been a general concurrence of opinion in favor +of that statesman's measure. Lord John Russell, while giving a +document, entitled "Materials for a Pamphlet," in which he +recognizes the handwriting of Lord Loughborough, and which +"contains the grounds of the opinion advanced by him, and adopted +by Mr. Fox, that, from the moment the two Houses of Parliament +declared the King unable to exercise his royal authority, a right +to exercise that authority attached to the Prince of Wales," does +not suppress his own opinion of the "erroneousness of this or any +other doctrine that attributes to any individual or any constituted +authority existing in the state a strict or legal right to claim or +to dispose of the royal authority while the King is alive, but +incapable of exercising it."[<a href="#note-120">120</a>]</p> +<p>The only writer, as far as I am aware, who advocates the +opposite view is Lord Campbell, who, after quoting the speech of +Lord Camden, from which extracts have been made, comments on it, +and on the whole transaction, in the following terms: "From the +course then adopted and carried through, I presume it is now to be +considered part of our constitution that if ever, during the +natural life of the sovereign, he is unable by mental disease +personally to exercise the royal functions, the deficiency is to be +supplied by the two Houses of Parliament, who, in their +<i>discretion</i>, will probably elect the heir-apparent Regent, +under such restrictions as they may please to propose, but who may +prefer the head of the ruling faction, and at once vest in him all +the prerogatives of the crown. On the two occasions referred to in +the reign of George III., the next heir being at enmity with the +King and his ministers, this was considered the loyal and courtly +doctrine; and, from its apparent advancement of the rights of +Parliament, there was no difficulty in casting odium on those who +opposed it. But I must avow that my deliberate opinion coincides +with that of Burke, Fox, and Erskine, who pronounced it to be +unsupported by any precedent, and to be in accordance with the +principles of the Polish, not the English, monarchy. The two Houses +of Parliament would be the proper tribunal to pronounce that the +sovereign is unable to act; but then, as if he were naturally as +well as civilly dead, the next heir ought of right to assume the +government as Regent, ever ready to lay it down on the sovereign's +restoration to reason, in the same way as our Lady Victoria would +have returned to a private station if, after her accession, there +had appeared posthumous issue of William IV. by his queen. It is +easy to point out possible abuses by the next heir as Regent, to +the prejudice of the living sovereign; but there may be greater +abuses of the power of election imputed to the two Houses, whereby +a change of dynasty might be effected. I conceive, therefore, that +the Irish Parliament[<a href="#note-121">121</a>] in 1789 acted +more constitutionally in acknowledging the <i>right</i> of the next +heir, in scouting the fiction of a commission or royal assent from +the insane sovereign, and in addressing the Prince of Wales to take +on himself the government as Regent."</p> +<p>Though the sneers at the possibility of Parliament preferring +"the head of the ruling faction" to the heir-apparent be hardly +consistent with the impartial candor which is one of the most +imperative duties of an historical critic, and though the allusion +to the principles of the Polish monarchy be not very intelligible, +yet no one will refuse to attach due weight to the deliberate +opinion of one who won for himself so high a professional +reputation as Lord Campbell. But, with all respect to his legal +rank, we may venture to doubt whether he has not laid down as law, +speaking as a literary man and an historian, a doctrine which he +would not have entertained as a judge. For, if we consider the +common law of the kingdom, it is certain that, in the case of +subjects, if a man becomes deranged, his next heir does not at once +enter on his property "as if he were naturally as well as civilly +dead." And if, as in such cases is notoriously the practice, the +Court of Chancery appoints a guardian of the lunatic's property, +analogy would seem to require that the Houses of Parliament, as the +only body which can possibly claim authority in such a matter, +should exercise a similar power in providing for the proper +management of the government to that which the law court would +exercise in providing for the proper management of an estate; and +that, therefore, the principles of constitutional[<a href= +"#note-122">122</a>] statesmanship, which is deeply interested in +upholding the predominant authority of Parliament, must justify the +assertion of the ministers that the two Houses had the entire and +sole right to make regulations for the government of the kingdom +during the incapacity of the sovereign; and that the next heir, +even when a son of full age, can have no more right to succeed to +his father's royal authority in his lifetime than, if that father +were a subject, he would have to succeed to his estate.</p> +<p>The opposite doctrine would seem to impugn the legality of the +whole series of transactions which placed William and Mary on the +throne. The admission of an indefeasible right of the heir-apparent +would have borne a perilous resemblance to a recognition of that +divine right, every pretension to which the Revolution of 1688 had +extinguished. If, again, as Fox and his followers at one time +endeavored to argue, the Houses in 1789 had no right to the name or +power of a Parliament, because the King had no part in their +meetings, the convention that sat a century before (as, indeed, was +admitted) was certainly far less entitled to that name or power, +for it had not only never been called into existence by a King, but +was assembled in direct defiance of the King. Similarly, it is +admitted that the body which invited Charles II. to return and +resume his authority was equally destitute of the validity which +could only be given by a royal summons. Yet both these bodies had +performed actions of greater importance than that which was looked +for from this Parliament. The one had abolished the existing and +usurping government, and restored to his kingdom a King who had +been long an exile. The other had, as it were, passed sentence on +the existing sovereign, on grounds which confessedly will not bear +a strict examination, and had conferred the crown on a prince who +had no hereditary claim to the title. The justification of both +acts was necessity. <i>Salus regni suprema Lex</i>. And the +necessity was clearly more urgent in the present case than in +either of the preceding instances. For, unless the Parliament +interfered to create an authority, there was absolutely none in +existence which was capable of acting. It should also be remembered +that this Parliament of 1789, though not opened for the session by +the King, had been originally elected in obedience to his order, +and had been prorogued by his proclamation to the day of +meeting;[<a href="#note-123">123</a>] and, though the opening of a +session by a speech from the throne is the usual form for the +commencement of its proceedings, it may be doubted whether it be so +indispensable a part of them that none of their acts are valid +without it.</p> +<p>The breaking out of the French Revolution, and the degree in +which, in spite of all its atrocities and horrors, the +revolutionary spirit for a time infected a large party in England, +prevented Pitt from reviving the plan of Reform which he had framed +with such care and genius for organization, and in which, though +defeated in Parliament, both before and after he became minister, +he had hitherto continued to cherish the hope of eventually +succeeding. But when clubs and societies, where the most +revolutionary and seditious doctrines were openly broached, were +springing up in London and other large towns, and unscrupulous +demagogues by speeches and pamphlets were busily disseminating +theories which tended to the subversion of all legitimate +authority, he not unnaturally thought it no longer seasonable to +invite a discussion of schemes which would be supported in many +quarters only, to quote his own words, "as a stepping-stone to +ulterior objects, which they dared not avow till their power of +carrying them into effect should be by this first acquisition +secured." But the alarm which the spread of revolutionary ideas +excited in his mind was displayed, not only passively in this +abstention from the advocacy of measures the expediency of which +must at all times in some degree depend on the tone of their +introduction, but also in active measures of repression, some of +which were not, indeed, unwarranted by precedent, but others of +which can hardly be denied to have been serious inroads on the +constitution, infringements of the freedom of opinion and +discussion to which all Englishmen are entitled, and one of which +was, to say the least, a very perilous extension of a law already +sufficiently severe, the statute of treason. If the French had been +content with the overthrow of their own government and +institutions, much as we should have lamented the indiscriminate +rashness and abhorred the atrocities with which their design was +carried out, we should still have adhered to the unquestionable +maxim, that no nation is justified in interfering in the internal +affairs of another. But the Jacobin and Girondin demagogues, who +had now the undisputed sway in Paris, did not limit their views to +their own country, but openly declared themselves the enemies of +all established governments in every country; and the Convention +passed a formal resolution in which they proffered "fraternity and +assistance" to every people which might be inclined to rise against +their governments. Their resolutions were officially communicated +to the sympathizing societies in England, and emissaries were +secretly encouraged to cross the Channel in the hope of gaining +converts. Nor were their exertions barren. Two men were convicted +in Scotland of a plot to seize Edinburgh Castle, to massacre the +garrison, to imprison the judges, and to rise in arms to compel the +government to a change of policy. In London the King was fired at +on his way to open Parliament, and on his return his carriage was +attacked by a furious mob, and was only protected from serious +injury by a troop of the Life Guards. Such outrages proved the +existence of a new danger, against which no previous government had +ever been called on to provide, and such as, in the opinion of the +cabinet, could only be met by novel measures of precaution.</p> +<p>The first was directed against the foreign propagators of +revolution. The resolutions of the Convention had been promulgated +in November, 1792; and at the meeting of Parliament in December, +Lord Grenville, as Foreign Secretary of State, introduced in the +House of Lords an alien bill, to enable the government to deal in a +summary manner with any foreign visitors whose conduct or character +might seem to call for its interference. It provided that all +foreigners who had arrived in the kingdom since the preceding +January should give in a statement of their names and residences; +that any one who should arrive in future should furnish an account +of his name, his station in life, and his object in visiting +England; that the King, by proclamation, order in Council, or +sign-manual, might direct all foreigners to reside in such +districts as might be thought suitable; that no one might quit the +residence in which he first settled without a passport; and that +the Secretary of State might order any suspected foreigner to quit +the kingdom instantly.</p> +<p>The act was to be in operation for twelve months, and Lord +Grenville, in introducing it, though he admitted it to be a measure +of "rather a novel nature," explained at the same time that it was +so far from being new in the powers which it gave, that Magna +Charta distinctly recognized "the power and right of the crown to +prevent foreigners from entering or residing within the realm." All +that was really new was the defining of the manner in which that +power should be exercised, since it had been so rarely needed that +doubts might exist as to the proper mode of putting it in action. +The bill, which was adopted in both Houses by large majorities, is +remarkable, among other circumstances, from the fact that its +discussion furnished the first instance of a public display of the +difference between the two sections of the Opposition, subsequently +described by Burke in one of his most celebrated pamphlets as the +Old and New Whigs; those whom he called the Old Whigs (the Duke of +Portland, Sir Gilbert Elliott, Mr. Windham, not to mention Burke +himself) earnestly supporting it, while Lord Lansdowne, Mr. Fox, +Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Grey resisted it with equal zeal. Lord +Lansdowne took the ground that it was a suspension of the <i>Habeas +Corpus</i> Act; while Fox and Grey denounced it, in more general +terms, as a measure "utterly irreconcilable with the principles of +the constitution," Mr. Grey apparently referring chiefly to the +power given by the bill to the Secretary of State to send any +foreigners from the country, which he described as "making the bill +a measure of oppression, giving power for the exercise of which no +man was responsible." Sir Gilbert Elliott's answer was singularly +ingenious. He did not deny that the bill conferred additional power +on the crown, though not more than was justified by existing +circumstances; but he maintained that the right of giving +extraordinary powers to the crown on occasions was so far from +being inconsistent with the principles of the constitution, that to +grant extraordinary powers in extraordinary emergencies was a part +of it essential to the character of a free government. If such +powers were at all times possessed by the crown, its authority +would be too great for a free government to co-exist with it; but +if such could not be at times conferred on the crown, its authority +would be too small for its own safety or that of the people.</p> +<p>The arguments of the ministers were, no doubt, greatly +recommended, both to the Parliament and the people in general, by +the notoriety of the fact that foreign agents were in many of our +large towns busily, and not unsuccessfully, engaged in propagating +what were known as Jacobin doctrines. But, even without that aid, +it was clear that every government must, for the common good of +all, be at times of extraordinary emergency invested with the power +of suspending laws made for ordinary circumstances. And what would +be an intolerable evil, if the supreme magistrate took upon himself +to exercise it, ceases to be one when the right to exercise it is +conferred by the nation itself in Parliament. If the bill did, as +was argued, suspend the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> Act, that statute had +been enacted by Parliament, and therefore for Parliament, in a case +of necessity, to suspend its operation was clearly within the +spirit of the constitution.</p> +<p>The bills affecting our own fellow-subjects were still more +warmly contested. One was known as the Traitorous Correspondence +Bill, which, according to Lord Campbell, was suggested by Lord +Loughborough, who had lately become Lord Chancellor. The old law of +high-treason, enacted in the reign of Edward III., had been in +effect greatly mitigated by later statutes, which had made acts to +which that character was imputed more difficult of proof, by a +stricter definition of what was admissible evidence, and other +safeguards; and the practice of the courts had by degrees +practically reduced the list of treasons enumerated in the old law, +indictments for many of the offences contained in it forbearing to +assert that the persons accused had incurred the penalty of +high-treason. But this new bill greatly enlarged the catalogue. It +made it high-treason to hold any correspondence with the French, or +to enter into any agreement to supply them with commodities of any +kind, even such as were not munitions of war, but articles of +ordinary merchandise, or to invest any money in the French Funds; +and it enacted farther that any person who, by "any writing, +preaching, or malicious and advised speaking," should encourage +such designs as the old statute of Edward made treasonable, should +be liable to the penalties of high-treason.</p> +<p>Another bill was designed to check the growing custom of holding +public meetings, by providing that no meeting, the object of which +was to consider any petition to the King or Parliament, or to +deliberate on any alleged grievance, should be held without those +who convened it, and who must be householders, giving previous +notice of it by public advertisement; and empowering any two +justices of the peace, at their own discretion, to declare any such +meeting an unlawful assembly, and to disperse it by force, if, from +the subjects discussed, the language held, or any special +circumstances, they should regard it as dangerous.</p> +<p>Fox, and those who still adhered to him, resisted almost every +clause of these different bills. They maintained that one of the +most fundamental maxims of law "in every country calling itself +free was, that property was in the highest degree entitled to the +protection of the law; and, if so, that the right of disposing of +it or investing it in any manner must be considered under the same +protection;" that any interference "with ordinary commercial +transactions was equally repugnant to the spirit of the +constitution;" and, taking a practical view of the question, they +warned the minister that such rigorous enactments imposing such +extreme penalties would defeat their own end; for "it was a general +and true maxim, that excess of punishment for a crime brings +impunity along with it; and that no jury would ever find a verdict +which would doom a fellow-creature to death for selling a yard of +cloth and sending it to France." They protested, too, against +inflicting on words, whether written or spoken, penalties which had +hitherto been confined to overt acts. And the clauses conferring +power on magistrates to prevent or disperse public meetings +encountered still more vehement opposition; Fox insisting, with +great eloquence, that "public meetings for the discussion of public +subjects were not only lawful, but agreeable to the very essence of +the constitution; that, indeed, to them, under that constitution, +most of the liberties which Englishmen now enjoyed were +particularly owing." The people, he maintained, had a right to +discuss their grievances. "They had an inalienable right to +complain by petition, and to remonstrate to either House of +Parliament, or to the King; and to make two magistrates, who might +be strong partisans, irresponsible judges whether anything said or +done at a meeting had a tendency to encourage sedition, was to say +that a free constitution was no longer suitable to us." Pitt +justified these measures, partly on the ground of the special and +unprecedented danger of the times, as proved by the late attempt on +the King's life, and partly by the open avowal of republican +doctrines made at the meetings of different societies; partly, +also, on the temporary character of the measures, since in each +bill a period was fixed after which its operation should expire. +And he argued, farther, that, as many of the actions specified in +these bills as seditious or treasonable were by many lawyers +considered capable of being reached by statutes already existing, +though not universally understood, it was "humane, not cruel, to +remove doubts, and to prevent men from being ensnared by the +ambiguity of old laws."</p> +<p>And in May, 1794, he brought in another bill, founded on the +report of a secret committee which, in compliance with a royal +message, the House of Commons had appointed to investigate the +proceedings and objects of certain societies which were known to +exist in different parts of the kingdom. In obedience to a +Secretary of State's warrant, founded on sworn informations, their +books and papers had been seized, and, having been sealed up, were +now laid before the House, with the report of the committee that +they proved that several of the societies which they named had, +ever since the end of the year 1791, been uniformly pursuing a +settled design for the subversion of the constitution; one society, +in particular, having approved a plan for assembling a Convention, +in imitation of the French Assembly sitting under that title, in +order to overturn the established government, and to wrest from the +Parliament the power which the constitution placed in its +hands.</p> +<p>To prevent the dissemination of such principles, and to defeat +such schemes, Pitt now asked leave to bring in a bill to empower +his Majesty—acting, of course, through the Secretary of +State—to secure and detain such persons as he should suspect +of conspiring against the King's person and government. He admitted +that the power which he thus proposed to confer amounted to a +suspension of the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> Act in every part of the +United Kingdom; nor did he deny that it was an unusually strong +measure, but he contended that it was one justified by absolute +necessity, by the manifest danger of such a conspiracy as the +committee had affirmed to exist to the tranquillity of the nation +and the safety of the government.</p> +<p>Fox, it may almost be said as a matter of course, opposed the +introduction of any such measure; but his opposition was hardly +marked by his usual force of argument. He was hampered by the +impossibility of denying either the existence of the societies +which the committee and the minister had mentioned, or the +dangerous character of some of their designs; but he objected to +the measures of repression which were proposed, partly on the +absence of all attempts at concealment on the part of the promoters +of these societies, partly on the contemptible character of the +Convention which it was designed to summon, and the impossibility +that such an assembly should have the slightest influence. He even +made their avowed hostility to the constitution a plea for a +panegyric on that constitution, and on the loyal attachment to it +evinced by the vast majority of the people; and from that he +proceeded to found a fresh argument against the proposed measure, +contending that it made a fatal inroad on that very constitution +which was so highly valued by the whole nation. He described it as +a measure "of infinitely greater mischief than that which it +proposed to remedy, since it would give the executive authority +absolute power over the personal liberty of every individual in the +kingdom." He did not deny that a similar measure had been enacted +under William III., again in 1715, and again in 1745; but he +contended that "the present peril bore no resemblance to the +dangers of those times. This measure went to overturn the very +corner-stone of the constitution, and if it passed, there was an +end of the constitution of England." The bill was passed in both +Houses by very large majorities.[<a href="#note-124">124</a>] It +was originally enacted for six months only, but was from time to +time renewed till the end of the century.</p> +<p>If we take a general survey of all these measures together, as +parts of one great defensive scheme for the preservation of the +public tranquillity and the general safety of the empire, it may, +probably, be thought that, though undoubtedly suspensions of the +constitution, they are not open to the charge of being +unconstitutional, since they were enacted, not only for the welfare +of the people, but with their consent and concurrence, legitimately +signified by their representatives in Parliament. It is scarcely +consistent with sound reason to contend that the <i>habeas +corpus</i>, which had been enacted by Parliament, could not be +suspended by the authority which had enacted it; that the +constitution, which exists for the benefit of the people, could not +be suspended by the people; or to deny, if it was in appearance +transgressed by these enactments, that it was yet transgressed by +strictly constitutional acts, by the decision of the Parliament, to +whose power the constitution prescribes no limits.</p> +<p>But it is not sufficient that in this point of view these +measures may have been defensible. In judging of their +statesmanship, it is almost equally to be considered whether they +were expedient and politic, whether the emergency or necessity were +such as to justify such rigorous methods of repression. It was +fairly open to doubt whether some of them, and especially the +Traitorous Correspondence and the Seditious Meetings Bills, did not +treat as treasonable acts which did not go beyond sedition, and +whether so to treat them were not to invest them with an importance +which did not belong to them. And on this part of the question the +general judgment has, we think, been unfavorable to the government; +and it has been commonly allowed that the Chancellor, whose advice +on legal subjects the Prime-minister naturally took for his guide, +gave him impolitic counsel. In fact, it is well known that these +two acts, to a great extent, failed in their object through their +excessive severity, several juries having refused to convict +persons who were prosecuted for treason, who would certainly not +have escaped had they only been indicted for sedition; and it is +deserving of remark that these two bills were not regarded with +favor by the King himself, if the anecdote—which seems to +rest on undeniable authority—be true, that he expressed +satisfaction at the acquittal of some prisoners, on the ground that +almost any evil would be more tolerable than that of putting men to +death "for constructive treason." It must therefore, probably, be +affirmed that these two acts, the Treason Act and the Seditious +Meetings Act, went beyond the necessity of the case; that they were +not only violations of the constitution—which, when the +measures are temporary, as these were, are not always +indefensible—but that they were superfluous, unjust, and +impolitic; superfluous, when they proposed to deal with acts +already visitable with punishment by the ancient laws of the +kingdom; unjust, when they created new classes of offences; and +impolitic, as exciting that kind of disapproval of the acts of +government which in many minds has a tendency to excite a spirit of +discontent with and resistance to legitimate authority. And, +indeed, it must be inferred that such was the light in which these +measures were regarded by a statesman who in his general policy was +proud to acknowledge himself Mr. Pitt's pupil, as he was also the +most skilful and successful of his more immediate successors. +Twenty-five years afterward the distress caused by the reaction +inevitably consequent on the termination of twenty years of war +produced a political excitement scarcely inferior to that with +which Pitt had now to deal, and seditious societies and meetings +scarcely less formidable; but, as we shall see, Lord Liverpool, +taking warning, perhaps, from the mistake into which Mr. Pitt was +led on this occasion, though compelled to bring forward new and +stern measures of repression, and even to suspend the <i>Habeas +Corpus</i> Act for a time, kept strictly within the lines of +constitutional precedent, and was careful to avoid confounding +sedition with treason.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-73" id="note-73"> +<!-- Note Anchor 73 --></a>[Footnote 73: He had been +Lord-chamberlain in Lord Rockingham's administration of 1765. He +was now Lord-lieutenant of Ireland.]</p> +<p><a name="note-74" id="note-74"> +<!-- Note Anchor 74 --></a>[Footnote 74: In Lord Chatham's or the +Duke of Grafton's ministry of 1766, and in the later administration +of Lord Rockingham.]</p> +<p><a name="note-75" id="note-75"> +<!-- Note Anchor 75 --></a>[Footnote 75: It may be convenient to +take this opportunity of pointing out that, in this administration, +Lord Shelburne altered the old, most unreasonable, and inconvenient +arrangement by which the departments of the two Secretaries of +State were distinguished by the latitude, and called Northern and +Southern. By a new division, one took charge of the home affairs, +the other of the foreign affairs. And in 1794 a third Secretary was +added for War, who, by a very singular arrangement, which continued +till very recently, had charge also of the colonies. But, in the +year 1855, the Colonial-office was intrusted to a separate +minister; and in 1858 a fifth Secretary of State, that for India, +was added, on the transfer of the government of that country from +the East India Company to the Crown. When there were only two +Secretaries of State, the rule was that one should sit in each +House. At present it is not <i>necessary</i> that more than one +should be a peer, though it is more usual for two to be members of +the Upper House. And it is usual also for the Under-secretaries to +be members of the House to which the Chief-secretaries do not +belong, though this rule is not invariably observed.]</p> +<p><a name="note-76" id="note-76"> +<!-- Note Anchor 76 --></a>[Footnote 76: "Parliamentary History," +xxiii., 163.]</p> +<p><a name="note-77" id="note-77"> +<!-- Note Anchor 77 --></a>[Footnote 77: The divisions were: 224 to +208, and 207 to 190.]</p> +<p><a name="note-78" id="note-78"> +<!-- Note Anchor 78 --></a>[Footnote 78: Lord Stanhope, quoting +from an unpublished "Life of Lord Barrington," compiled by the +Bishop of Durham (meaning, I suppose, Bishop Shute +Barrington).—<i>History of England</i>, v., 174.]</p> +<p><a name="note-79" id="note-79"> +<!-- Note Anchor 79 --></a>[Footnote 79: Even with the first flush +of triumph, the night after the second defeat of Lord Shelburne in +the House of Commons, Fox's great friend, Mr. Fitzpatrick, writes +to his brother, Lord Ossory: "To the administration it is <i>cila +mors</i>, but not <i>victoria loeta</i> to us. The apparent +juncture with Lord North is universally cried out +against."—Lord J. Russell's <i>Memorials and Correspondence +of C.J. Fox</i>, ii., 18.]</p> +<p><a name="note-80" id="note-80"> +<!-- Note Anchor 80 --></a>[Footnote 80: Lord J. Russell's +"Memorials and Correspondence of C.J. Fox," ii., 90.]</p> +<p><a name="note-81" id="note-81"> +<!-- Note Anchor 81 --></a>[Footnote 81: <i>Ibid</i>., p. 118.]</p> +<p><a name="note-82" id="note-82"> +<!-- Note Anchor 82 --></a>[Footnote 82: In one division (161 to +137) they had only a majority of twenty-four.]</p> +<p><a name="note-83" id="note-83"> +<!-- Note Anchor 83 --></a>[Footnote 83: In a letter to Lord +Northington (Lord-lieutenant of Ireland), dated July 17, Fox +himself mentions that not one of his colleagues, except the Duke of +Portland and Lord Keppel (First Lord of the Admiralty), approved of +it.—<i>Memoirs of Fox</i>, ii., 116.]</p> +<p><a name="note-84" id="note-84"> +<!-- Note Anchor 84 --></a>[Footnote 84: November 22 he writes to +the Duke of Rutland: "The bill ... is, I really think, the boldest +and most unconstitutional measure ever attempted, transferring at +one stroke, in spite of all charters and compacts, the immense +patronage and influence of the East to Charles Fox, in or out of +office."—Stanhope's <i>Life of Pitt</i>, i., 140.]</p> +<p><a name="note-85" id="note-85"> +<!-- Note Anchor 85 --></a>[Footnote 85: The whole paper is given +by the Duke of Buckingham, "Courts and Cabinets of George III," i., +288, and quoted by Lord Russell in his "Memorials and +Correspondence of C. J. Fox," ii., 251. It is endorsed, "Delivered +by Lord Thurlow, December 1, 1783. Nugent Temple."]</p> +<p><a name="note-86" id="note-86"> +<!-- Note Anchor 86 --></a>[Footnote 86: "Life of Pitt," i., 148. +Lord Stanhope does not pledge himself to these being "the exact +words of this commission, but as to its purport and meaning there +is no doubt." They are, however, the exact words quoted by Fox in +his speech in support of Mr. Baker's resolutions on the +17th.—<i>Parliamentary History</i>, xxiv., 207.]</p> +<p><a name="note-87" id="note-87"> +<!-- Note Anchor 87 --></a>[Footnote 87: "Parliamentary History," +xxiv., 151-154.]</p> +<p><a name="note-88" id="note-88"> +<!-- Note Anchor 88 --></a>[Footnote 88: 95 to 76. "Strange to say, +one of the cabinet ministers, Lord Stormont, president of the +council, formed part of the final majority against the +bill."—<i>Life of Pitt</i>, ii., 154.]</p> +<p><a name="note-89" id="note-89"> +<!-- Note Anchor 89 --></a>[Footnote 89: "Life of Pitt," i., +155.]</p> +<p><a name="note-90" id="note-90"> +<!-- Note Anchor 90 --></a>[Footnote 90: "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. clix. Lord Thurlow.]</p> +<p><a name="note-91" id="note-91"> +<!-- Note Anchor 91 --></a>[Footnote 91: "The Grenville Papers," +iii., 374. It may, however, be remarked, as tending to throw some +doubt on Mr. Grenville's statement, that Lord Campbell asserts that +"Lord Mansfield, without entering into systematic opposition, had +been much alienated from the court during Lord Rockingham's first +administration."—<i>Lives of the Chief-justices</i>, ii., +468.]</p> +<p><a name="note-92" id="note-92"> +<!-- Note Anchor 92 --></a>[Footnote 92: Vol. ii., pp. +229-232.]</p> +<p><a name="note-93" id="note-93"> +<!-- Note Anchor 93 --></a>[Footnote 93: It will be seen hereafter +that this doctrine was admitted in the fullest degree by Sir Robert +Peel in the winter of 1884, when he admitted that his acceptance of +office made him alone responsible for the dismissal of Lord +Melbourne, though, in fact, he was taken entirely by surprise by +the King's act, being in Italy at the time.]</p> +<p><a name="note-94" id="note-94"> +<!-- Note Anchor 94 --></a>[Footnote 94: Lord John Russell, in his +"Memorials of Fox" (ii., 253), affirms that "Lord Temple's act was +probably known to Pitt;" but Lord Macaulay, in his "Essay on Pitt" +(p. 326), fully acquits Pitt of such knowledge, saying that "he +could declare, with perfect truth, that, if unconstitutional +machinations had been employed, he was no party to them."]</p> +<p><a name="note-95" id="note-95"> +<!-- Note Anchor 95 --></a>[Footnote 95: On Lord Effingham's +motion, in condemnation of some of the proceedings of the Commons, +which was carried February 4, 1784, by 100 to 53.]</p> +<p><a name="note-96" id="note-96"> +<!-- Note Anchor 96 --></a>[Footnote 96: "Parliamentary History," +xxiv., 383-385—debate of January 20, 1784.]</p> +<p><a name="note-97" id="note-97"> +<!-- Note Anchor 97 --></a>[Footnote 97: <i>Ibid</i>, p. +283—January 12.]</p> +<p><a name="note-98" id="note-98"> +<!-- Note Anchor 98 --></a>[Footnote 98: <i>Ibid</i>., pp. +251-257.]</p> +<p><a name="note-99" id="note-99"> +<!-- Note Anchor 99 --></a>[Footnote 99: "Parliamentary History," +xxiv., 478—February 2.]</p> +<p><a name="note-100" id="note-100"> +<!-- Note Anchor 100 --></a>[Footnote 100: <i>Ibid</i>., p. +663.]</p> +<p><a name="note-101" id="note-101"> +<!-- Note Anchor 101 --></a>[Footnote 101: "Parliamentary History," +xxiv., 687, 695, 699.]</p> +<p><a name="note-102" id="note-102"> +<!-- Note Anchor 102 --></a>[Footnote 102: The numbers were 201 to +189. The week before, on Mr. Powys's motion for a united and +efficient administration, the majority had been 20—197 to +177. On a motion made by Mr. Coke, February 3, the majority had +been 24—211 to 187. At the beginning of the struggle the +majorities had been far larger—232 to 143 on Fox's motion for +a committee on the state of the nation, January 12.]</p> +<p><a name="note-103" id="note-103"> +<!-- Note Anchor 103 --></a>[Footnote 103: 191 to 190.]</p> +<p><a name="note-104" id="note-104"> +<!-- Note Anchor 104 --></a>[Footnote 104: From December 19, when +Pitt accepted office, to March 24, when the Parliament was +dissolved.]</p> +<p><a name="note-105" id="note-105"> +<!-- Note Anchor 105 --></a>[Footnote 105: "Memorials and +Correspondence of C.J. Fox," by Earl Russell, ii., 229, 248.]</p> +<p><a name="note-106" id="note-106"> +<!-- Note Anchor 106 --></a>[Footnote 106: <i>Ibid</i>., p. +280.]</p> +<p><a name="note-107" id="note-107"> +<!-- Note Anchor 107 --></a>[Footnote 107: That of April, 1831, +after the defeat of the Government on General Gascoyne's +amendment]</p> +<p><a name="note-108" id="note-108"> +<!-- Note Anchor 108 --></a>[Footnote 108: Lord Macaulay, +"Miscellaneous Essays," ii., 330.]</p> +<p><a name="note-109" id="note-109"> +<!-- Note Anchor 109 --></a>[Footnote 109: Lord Macaulay, essay on +William Pitt.]</p> +<p><a name="note-110" id="note-110"> +<!-- Note Anchor 110 --></a>[Footnote 110: Alison ("History of +Europe," xiii., 971) states the English force in the Netherlands in +1794 at 85,000 men. Lord Stanhope calls the English at Minden +10,000 or 12,000.]</p> +<p><a name="note-111" id="note-111"> +<!-- Note Anchor 111 --></a>[Footnote 111: An eminent living writer +(Mr. Leeky, "History of England," ii., 474) quotes with apparent +approval another comparison between the father and son, made by +Grattan, in the following words: "The father was not, perhaps, so +good a debater as his son, but was a much better orator, a greater +scholar, and a far greater man." The first two phrases in this +eulogy may, perhaps, balance one another; though, when Mr. Lecky +admits that "Lord Chatham's taste was far from pure, and that there +was much in his speeches that was florid and meretricious, and not +a little that would have appeared absurd bombast but for the +amazing power of his delivery," he makes a serious deduction from +his claim to the best style of eloquence which no one ever made +from the speeches of his son. But Grattan's assertion that the man +who, as his sister said of him, knew but two books, the +"Æneid" and the "Faerie Queene," was superior in scholarship +to one who, with the exception of his rival, Fox, had probably no +equal for knowledge of the great authors of antiquity in either +House of Parliament, is little short of a palpable absurdity. We +may, however, suspect that Grattan's estimate of the two men was in +some degree colored by his personal feelings. With Lord Chatham he +had never been in antagonism. On one great subject, the dispute +with America, he had been his follower and ally, advocating in the +Irish House of Commons the same course which Chatham upheld in the +English House of Peers. But to Pitt he had been almost constantly +opposed. By Pitt he and his party, whether in the English, or, so +long as it lasted, in the Irish Parliament, had been repeatedly +defeated. The Union, of which he had been the indefatigable +opponent, and to which he was never entirely reconciled, had been +carried in his despite; and it was hardly unnatural that the +recollection of his long and unsuccessful warfare should in some +degree bias his judgment, and prompt him to an undeserved +disparagement of the minister by whose wisdom and firmness he had +been so often overborne.]</p> +<p><a name="note-112" id="note-112"> +<!-- Note Anchor 112 --></a>[Footnote 112: Massey's "History of +England," iii., 447; <i>confer</i> also Green's "History of the +English People," vol. iv.]</p> +<p><a name="note-113" id="note-113"> +<!-- Note Anchor 113 --></a>[Footnote 113: Hallam ("Middle Ages," +ii., 386, 481), extolling the condition of "the free socage +tenants, or English yeomanry, as the class whose independence has +stamped with peculiar features both our constitution and our +national character," gives two derivations for the name; one "the +Saxon <i>soe</i>, which signifies a franchise, especially one of +jurisdiction;" and the other, that adopted by Bracton, and which he +himself prefers, "the French word <i>soc</i>, a ploughshare."]</p> +<p><a name="note-114" id="note-114"> +<!-- Note Anchor 114 --></a>[Footnote 114: Lord Colchester's +"Diary," i., 68, mentions that the officiating clergyman was Mr. +Burt, of Twickenham, who received £500 for his services. Lord +John Russell ("Memorials and Correspondence of Fox," ii., 284-389) +agrees in stating that the marriage was performed in the manner +prescribed by the Common Prayer-book. Mr. Jesse, in his "Life of +George III.," ii., 506, gathering, as the present writer can say +from personal knowledge, his information from some papers left +behind him by the late J.W. Croker, says: "The ceremony was +performed by a Protestant clergyman, though in part, apparently, +according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church." Lord John +Russell avoids discussing the question whether the marriage +involved the forfeiture of the inheritance of the crown, an +avoidance which many will interpret as a proof that in his opinion +it did. Mr. Massey's language ("History of England," iii., 327) +clearly intimates that he holds the same opinion.]</p> +<p><a name="note-115" id="note-115"> +<!-- Note Anchor 115 --></a>[Footnote 115: Russell's "Life of Fox," +ii., 187.]</p> +<p><a name="note-116" id="note-116"> +<!-- Note Anchor 116 --></a>[Footnote 116: Fox's private +correspondence is full of anticipations that the Regent's first act +will be to dismiss Pitt, and to make him minister. In a letter of +December 15 he even fixes a fortnight as the time by which he +expects to be installed; while Lord Loughborough, who was eager to +possess himself of the Great Seal—an expectation in which, +though well-founded, he would, as it proved, have found himself +disappointed—was led by his hopes to give the Prince counsel +of so extraordinary a nature that it is said that the ministers, to +whose knowledge it had come, were prepared, if any attempt had been +made to act upon it, or even openly to avow it, to send the learned +lord to the Tower. ("Diary of Lord Colchester," i., 28.) In an +elaborate paper which he drew up and read to the Prince at Windsor, +he assured his Royal Highness, speaking as a lawyer, that "the +administration of government devolved to him of right. He was bound +by every duty to assume it, and his character would be lessened in +the public estimation, if he took it on any other ground but right, +or on any sort of compromise. The authority of Parliament, as the +great council of the nation, would be interposed, not to confer but +to declare the right. The mode of proceeding should be that in a +short time his Royal Highness should signify his intention to act +by directing a meeting of the Privy Council, when he should declare +his intention to take upon himself the care of the state, and +should at the same time signify his desire to have the advice of +Parliament, and order it by proclamation to meet early for the +despatch of business.... It is of vast importance in the outset +that he should appear to act entirely of himself, and, in the +conferences he must necessarily have, not to consult, but to listen +and direct." The entire paper is given by Lord Campbell ("Lives of +the Chancellors," c. clxx.).]</p> +<p><a name="note-117" id="note-117"> +<!-- Note Anchor 117 --></a>[Footnote 117: Hume's account of this +transaction is, that the Duke "desired that it might be recorded in +Parliament that this authority was conferred on him from their own +free motion, without any application on his part; ... and he +required that all the powers of his office should be specified and +defined by Parliament."]</p> +<p><a name="note-118" id="note-118"> +<!-- Note Anchor 118 --></a>[Footnote 118: "Parliamentary History," +xxvii., 803—speech of Mr. Hardinge, one of the Welsh judges, +and M.P. for Old Sarum.]</p> +<p><a name="note-119" id="note-119"> +<!-- Note Anchor 119 --></a>[Footnote 119: I take this report, or +abstract, of Lord Camden's speech from the "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. cxlvii.]</p> +<p><a name="note-120" id="note-120"> +<!-- Note Anchor 120 --></a>[Footnote 120: "Memorials of Fox," ii., +292.]</p> +<p><a name="note-121" id="note-121"> +<!-- Note Anchor 121 --></a>[Footnote 121: The proceedings of the +Irish Parliament on this occasion will be mentioned in the next +chapter.]</p> +<p><a name="note-122" id="note-122"> +<!-- Note Anchor 122 --></a>[Footnote 122: Mr. Hallam (iii., 144, +ed. 1832) gives a definition of the term "unconstitutional" which +seems rather singular: "By unconstitutional, as distinguished from +'illegal,' I mean a novelty of much importance, tending to endanger +the established laws." May not the term rather be regarded as +referring to a distinct class of acts—to those at variance +with the recognized <i>spirit</i> of the constitution or principles +of government, with the preservation of the liberties of the +people, as expressed or implied in the various charters, etc., but +not forbidden by the express terms of any statute?]</p> +<p><a name="note-123" id="note-123"> +<!-- Note Anchor 123 --></a>[Footnote 123: The entry in the +"Parliamentary History," November 20, 1788, is: "Both Houses met +pursuant to the last prorogation. Later meetings were in +consequence of successive adjournments."]</p> +<p><a name="note-124" id="note-124"> +<!-- Note Anchor 124 --></a>[Footnote 124: In the Commons by 183 to +33; in the Lords by 119 to 11.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH5" id="CH5"><!-- CH5 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">The Affairs of Ireland.—Condition of +the Irish Parliament.—The Octennial Bill.—The Penal +Laws.—Non-residence of the Lord-lieutenant.—Influence +of the American War on Ireland.—Enrolment of the +Volunteers.—Concession of all the Demands of +Ireland.—Violence of the Volunteers.—Their +Convention.—Violence of the Opposition in Parliament: Mr. +Brownlow, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Flood.—Pitt's Propositions +Fail.—Fitzgibbon's Conspiracy Bill.—Regency +Question.—Recovery of the King.—Question of a +Legislative Union.—Establishment of Maynooth +College.—Lord Edward Fitzgerald.—Arguments for and +against the Union.—It passes the Irish +Parliament.—Details of the Measure.—General Character +of the Union.—Circumstances which Prevented its +Completeness.</p> +<p>In describing the condition of Ireland and the feelings of its +people, in the latter years of the reign of George II., Mr. Hallam +has fixed on the year 1753 as that in which the Irish Parliament +first began to give vent to aspirations for equality with the +English Parliament in audible complaints; and the Irish House of +Commons, finding the kingdom in the almost unprecedented condition +of having "a surplus revenue after the payment of all charges," +took steps to vindicate that equality by a sort of appropriation +bill.</p> +<p>There were, however, three fundamental differences between the +Parliaments of the two countries, which, above all others, stood in +the way of such equality as the Irish patriots desired: the first, +that by a law as old as the time of Henry VII., and called +sometimes the Statute of Drogheda, from the name of the town in +which it was first promulgated, and sometimes Poynings' Act, from +the name of Sir Henry Poynings, the Lord-deputy at the time, no +bill could be introduced into the Irish Parliament till it had +received the sanction of the King and Privy Council in England; the +second, that the Parliament lasted for the entire life of the King +who had summoned it—a regulation which caused a seat in the +House of Commons to be regarded almost as a possession for life, +and consequently enormously increased the influence of the patrons +of boroughs, some of whom could return a number of members such as +the mightiest borough monger in England could never aspire to +equal.[<a href="#note-125">125</a>] The third difference, of +scarcely inferior importance, was, that the Parliament only sat in +alternate years. But, though these arrangements suited the patrons +and the members of the House of Commons, it was not strange that +the constituencies, whose power over their representatives was +almost extinguished by them, regarded them with less complacency, +and, at the general election which was the consequence of the +accession of George III., pledges were very generally exacted from +the candidates that, if elected, they would endeavor to procure the +passing of a septennial act like that which had been the law in +England ever since the early years of George I. A bill with that +object was introduced in 1761, and reported on not unfavorably as +to its principle by the English law advisers to whom the Privy +Council referred it. But, as if it had been designed to exemplify +in the strongest possible manner the national propensity for making +blunders, it contained one clause which rendered it not only +impracticable but ridiculous. The clause provided that no member +should take his seat or vote till his qualification had been proved +before the Speaker in a full house. But the Speaker could not be +chosen till the members had established their right of voting, so +that the whole was brought to a dead-lock, and the bill, if passed, +could never have been carried out.</p> +<p>In the ministry of 1767, however—that of the Duke of +Grafton and Lord Chatham—Lord Halifax was replaced at Dublin +Castle by Lord Townsend, who, among his other good qualities, +deserves specially honorable mention as the first Lord-lieutenant +who made residence in Dublin his rule on principle; for till very +lately non-residence had been the rule and residence the exception, +a fact which is of itself a melancholy but all-sufficient proof of +the absolute indifference to Irish interests shown by all classes +of English statesmen. And under his government a bill for +shortening Parliaments was passed, though it fixed the possible +duration of each Parliament at eight years instead of seven, the +variation being made to prevent a general election from being held +at the same time in both countries, but, according to common +belief, solely in order to keep up a mark of difference between the +Irish and English Parliaments. And those who entertained this +suspicion fancied they saw a confirmation of it in the retention of +the regulation that the Irish Parliament should only sit in +alternate years, a practice wholly inconsistent with any proper +idea of the duties and privileges of a Parliament such as prevailed +on this side of the Channel; since a Parliament whose sessions were +thus intermittent could not possibly exercise that degree of +supervision over the revenue, either in its collection or its +expenditure, which is among its most important duties. And the +continued maintenance of this practice must be regarded farther as +a proof that the English legislators had not yet learned to +consider Ireland as an integral part of the kingdom, entitled in +every particular to equal rights with England and Scotland. Indeed, +it is impossible for any Englishman to contemplate the history of +the treatment of Ireland by the English legislators, whether Kings, +ministers, or Parliaments, for more than a century and a half, +without equal feelings of shame at the injustice and wonder at the +folly of their conduct. Not only was Ireland denied freedom of +trade with England (a denial as inconsistent not only with equity +but also with common-sense as if Windsor had been refused free +trade with London),[<a href="#note-126">126</a>] but Irish +manufactures were deliberately checked and suppressed to gratify +the jealous selfishness of the English manufacturers. Macaulay, in +his zeal for the memory of William III., has not scrupled to +apologize for, if not to justify, the measures deliberately +sanctioned by that sovereign for the extinction of the Irish +woollen manufactures, on the ground that Ireland was not a sister +kingdom, but a colony; that "the general rule is, that the English +Parliament is competent to legislate for all colonies planted by +English subjects, and that no reason existed for considering the +case of the colony in Ireland as an exception."[<a href= +"#note-127">127</a>] There is, perhaps, no passage in his whole +work less to his credit. But, if such was the spirit in which an +English historian could write of Ireland in the latter half of this +present century, it may, perhaps, diminish our wonder at the +conduct of our legislators in an earlier generation.</p> +<p>The penal laws on the subject of religion were also conceived +and carried out in a spirit of extraordinary rigor and injustice. +By far the larger portion of the Irish population still adhered to +the Roman Catholic faith; but, as far as the negative punishment of +restrictions and disabilities could go, its profession was visited +as one of the most unpardonable of offences. No Roman Catholic +could hold a commission in the army, nor be called to the Bar, nor +practise as an attorney; and when it was found that a desire to +devote themselves to the study of the law had led many gentlemen to +acknowledge a conversion to Protestantism, a statute was actually +passed to require them to prove their sincerity by five years' +adherence to their new form of religion before they could be +regarded as having washed off the defilement of their old heresy +sufficiently to be thought worthy to wear a gown in the Four +Courts. No Roman Catholic might keep a school; while a strange +refinement of intolerance had added a statute prohibiting parents +from sending their children to Roman Catholic Schools in a foreign +country.</p> +<p>And the manner in which the government was carried on was, if +possible, worse even than the principle. The almost continual +absence of the Lord-lieutenant inevitably left the chief management +of the details in the hands of underlings, and the favor of the +Castle was only to be acquired by the lowest time-serving, of which +those who could influence elections, wealthy and high-born as they +for the most part were, were not more innocent than the +representatives. No support to government could be looked for from +either peer or commoner unless it were purchased by bribes more or +less open, which it was equally discreditable to ask and to grant; +for one of the worst fruits of the system which had so long reigned +throughout the island was the general demoralization of all +classes. Mr. Fronde gives George III. himself the credit of being +the first person who resolutely desired to see a change of the +system, and to "try the experiment whether Ireland might not be +managed by open rectitude and real integrity."[<a href= +"#note-128">128</a>] But his first efforts were baffled by the +carelessness or incompetency of the Viceroys, since it was +difficult to find any man of ability who would undertake the +office. And for some years things went on with very little change, +great lords of different ranks having equally no object but that of +controlling the Castle and engrossing the patronage of the +government, and in not a few instances of also procuring large +grants or pensions for themselves, each seeking to build up an +individual influence which no Viceroy could ever have withstood, +had they been united instead of being separated by mutual +jealousies, which enabled him from time to time to play off one +against the other.</p> +<p>But the war with the North American Colonies, which broke out in +1774, by some of its indirect consequences brought about a great +change in the affairs of Ireland. The demand for re-enforcements to +the armies engaged in America could only be met by denuding the +British islands themselves of their necessary garrisons. No part of +them was left so undefended as the Irish coast; and, after a time, +the captains of some of the American privateers, learning how +little resistance they had to fear, ventured into St. George's +Channel, penetrated even into the inland waters, and threatened +Carrickfergus and Belfast. In matters of domestic policy it was +possible to procrastinate, to defer deciding on relaxations of the +penal laws or the removal of trade restrictions, but to delay +putting the country into a state of defence against an armed enemy +for a single moment was not to be thought of; yet the government +was powerless. Of the regular army almost every available man was +in, or on his way to, America, and the most absolute necessity, +therefore, compelled the Irish to consider themselves as left to +their own resources for defence. It was as impossible to levy a +force of militia as one of regular troops, for the militia could +not be embodied without great expense; and the finances of the +whole kingdom had been so mismanaged that money was as hard to +procure as men. In this emergency several gentlemen proposed to the +Lord-lieutenant to raise bodies of volunteers. The government, +though reluctant to sanction the movement, could see no +alternative, since the presence of an armed force of some kind was +indispensable for the safety of the island. The movement grew +rapidly; by the summer of 1779 several thousand men were not only +under arms, but were being rapidly drilled into a state of +efficiency, and had even established such a reputation for +strength, that, when in the autumn the same privateers that had +been so bold in Belfast Lough the year before reached the Irish +coast, in the hope of plundering Limerick or Galway, they found the +inhabitants of the district well prepared to receive them, and did +not venture to attempt a descent on any part of the island. And, +when the Parliament met in October, some of the members, who saw in +the success that could not be denied to have attended their +exertions an irresistible means of strengthening the rising +pretensions of Ireland to an equality of laws and freedom with +England, moved votes of thanks in both Houses to the whole body of +Volunteers. They were carried by acclamation, and the Volunteers of +the metropolis lined the streets between the Parliament House and +the Castle when, according to custom, the members of the two Houses +marched in procession to present their addresses to the +Lord-lieutenant. Such a recognition of the power of this new force +stimulated those members who claimed in a special degree the title +of Friends of Ireland to greater exertion. A wiser government than +that of Lord North would have avoided giving occasion for the +existence of a force which the utter absence of any other had made +masters of the situation. The Volunteers even boasted that they had +been called into existence by English misgovernment. In the words +of one of their most eloquent advocates, "England had sown her laws +like dragons' teeth, and they had sprung up as armed men."</p> +<p>Ireland began to feel that she was strong, and, not unnaturally +desired to avail herself of that strength, which England now could +not question, to put forward demands for concessions which in +common fairness could not well be denied. In 1778, when Lord North, +in the hope of recovering the allegiance of the North American +Colonies, brought forward what he termed his conciliatory +propositions, the Irish members began to press their demand that +the advantages thus offered to the Americans should be extended to +their own countrymen also; that the fact of the Irish not having +rebelled should not be made a plea for treating them worse than +those who had; and in the front of all their requests was one for +the abolition of those unjust and vexatious duties which shackled +their trade and manufactures. But the jealousy of the English and +Scotch manufacturers was still as bitter, and, unhappily, still as +influential, as it had proved in the time of William III. And, to +humor the grasping selfishness of Manchester and Glasgow, Lord +North met the demands of the Irish with a refusal of which every +word of his speech on the propositions to America was the severest +condemnation, and which he sought to mitigate by some new +regulations in favor of the linen trade, to which the English and +Scotch manufacturers made no objection, since they had no linen +factories. The Irish, in despair, had recourse to non-importation +agreements, of which the Americans had set the example, binding +themselves not to import nor to use any articles of English or +Scotch manufacture with which they could possibly dispense. And the +result was, that Lord North yielded to fear what he had refused to +justice, and the next year brought in bills to grant the Irish the +commercial equality which they demanded. Some of the most +oppressive and vexatious of the penal laws were also relaxed; and +some restrictions which the Navigation Act imposed on commerce with +the West Indies were repealed. But, strange to say, the English +ministers still clung to one grievance of monstrous injustice, and +steadily refused to allow judicial appointments to be placed on the +same footing as in England, and to make the seat of a judge on the +bench depend on his own good conduct, instead of on the caprice of +a king or a minister.</p> +<p>But the manifest reluctance with which the English government +had granted this partial relief encouraged the demand for farther +concessions. The Irish members, rarely deficient in eloquence or +fertility of resource, had been lately re-enforced by a recruit of +pre-eminent powers, whom Lord Charlemont had returned for his +borough of Moy, Henry Grattan; and, led by him, began to insist +that the remaining grievances, to the removal of which the nation +had a right, would never be extinguished so long as the supreme +power of legislation for the country rested with the English and +Scotch Parliament; and that the true remedy was only to be found in +the restoration to the Irish Parliament of that independence of +which it had been deprived ever since the time of Henry VII. They +were encouraged by the visibly increasing weakness of Lord North's +administration. Throughout the year 1781 it was evidently tottering +to its fall. And on the 22d of February, 1782, Grattan brought +forward in the Irish House of Commons a resolution, intended, if +carried, to lay the foundation of a bill, "that a claim of any body +of men other than the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland to bind +this kingdom is unconstitutional, illegal, and a grievance." This +resolution aimed at the abolition of Poynings' Act. Other +resolutions demanded the abolition of the "powers exercised by the +Privy Council under color of Poynings' Act," and a farther +relaxation of the penal laws. So helpless did the government by +this time feel itself, that the Attorney-general, who was its +spokesman on this occasion, could not venture to resist the +principle of these resolutions, but was contented to elude them for +the time by objections taken to some of the details; and Grattan +gave notice of another motion to bring the question to a more +definite decision, which he fixed for the 16th of April.</p> +<p>Before that day came Lord North's government had ceased to +exist, and had been replaced by Lord Rockingham's, one most +influential member of which was the most distinguished of living +Irishmen, Mr. Burke, who, while in opposition, had always shown +himself a warm supporter of the claims of his countrymen, and was +not likely to have his ardor in the cause damped by being placed in +a situation where he could procure a friendly hearing to his +counsels. Once more they had increased their demands, requiring, +besides the removal of the purely political grievances, a surrender +of the right of appeal from the Irish to the English courts of law. +But their new masters were inclined to grant everything which +seemed requisite to the establishment of complete equality between +the two kingdoms; and though the new ministry was dissolved in a +few months by the premature death of its chief, he lived long +enough to carry the repeal of Poynings' Act, the retention of which +was now admitted to be not only senseless but mischievous, since +the existence of a body invested with nominal dignity, but +practically powerless, was calculated not only to provoke +discontent, but to furnish a lever for agitation.</p> +<p>The repeal was, however, nothing less than the establishment of +an entirely new constitution in Ireland. The Irish Parliament, the +meetings of which had hitherto been a mere form and farce, was +installed in a position of absolute independence, to grant money or +to make laws, subject to no other condition than that their +legislation should be of a character to entitle it to the royal +assent, a condition to which every act of the British Parliament +was likewise and equally liable. "Unhappily, as an Irish patriotic +writer exclaims on this occasion, it was written in the book of +fate that the felicity of Ireland should be short-lived."[<a href= +"#note-129">129</a>] And a similar shortness of existence was to be +the lot of the separate independence of her Parliament. Even while +framing instructions for the Lord-lieutenant, in his honest desire +to inaugurate a system of just government for Ireland, George III. +had warned him on no account to "summon a Parliament without his +special command."[<a href="#note-130">130</a>] And, regarded by the +light of subsequent events, it can hardly be denied that the +prohibition displayed an accurate insight into the real +difficulties of the country, and also into the character of the +people themselves as the source of at least some of those +difficulties. We ought not to judge its leaders too severely. A +nation which has been long kept in bondage, and is suddenly +presented with liberty, is hardly more able to bear the change than +a man immured for years in a dark dungeon can at once endure the +unveiled light of the sun; and independence had been granted to the +Irish too suddenly for it to be probable that they would at once +and in every instance exercise it wisely.</p> +<p>All parties were to blame in different degrees. The first danger +came from the Volunteers, who, flushed with self-importance, from +the belief that it was the imposing show of their strength which +had enabled the Parliament to extort Lord Rockingham's concession +from the English Houses, now claimed to be masters of the +Parliament itself. With the termination of the American war, and +the consequent return of the English army to Europe, the reason for +their existence had passed away. But they refused to be disbanded, +and established a convention of armed delegates, to sit in Dublin +during the session of Parliament, and to overawe the Houses into +passing a series of measures which they prescribed, and which +included a Parliamentary Reform Bill of a most sweeping character. +On this occasion, however, the House of Commons acted with laudable +firmness. Led by Mr. Fitzgibbon, a man of great powers, and above +all suspicion of corruptibility, it spurned the dictation of an +unauthorized body, and rejected the Reform Bill, avowedly on the +ground of its being presented to it "under the mandate of a +military congress;" and the Convention, finding itself powerless to +enforce its mandates, dissolved.</p> +<p>But the difficulties of the government were not over with the +suppression of the Volunteer Convention. The Lord-lieutenant had a +harder, because a more enduring, contest to encounter with the +Parliament and the patrons of the boroughs. A single act of +Parliament may substitute a new law for an old one; but no one +resolution or bill has a magical power to extinguish long habits of +jobbery and corruption. Members and patrons alike seemed to regard +the late concessions as chiefly valuable on account of the +increased value which it enabled them to place on their services to +the government; and one cannot read without a feeling of shame that +one or two of the bishops who were wont to be regarded as the +proprietors of the seats for their diocesan cities, were not behind +the most nameless lay boroughmongers in the resolution they evinced +make a market of their support of the government. The consequence +was that the government was unable to feel confident of its power +to carry any measure except at a price that it was degrading to +pay; while of those few members who were above all suspicion of +personal corruption, many were so utterly wrong-headed, and had +their minds so filled with unreasonable jealousy for what they +called the honor and dignity of Ireland, and with a consequent +distrust of England and of all Englishmen, that their honest folly +was even a greater obstacle to wise and good government than the +mean cunning of the others. There can hardly be a more striking +proof of the difficulties to be overcome by a minister than is +furnished by a speech made by a gentleman of the highest character, +and of deservedly wide influence in the Northern counties, Mr. +Brownlow, of Lurgan, one of the members for Armagh, which is quoted +by Mr. Froude.[<a href="#note-131">131</a>]</p> +<p>Pitt was painfully conscious of the commercial injustice with +which hitherto Ireland had always been treated, and in the very +first year of his administration he applied himself to the removal +of the most mischievous of the grievances of which the Irish +merchants complained, adopting to a great extent a scheme which had +been put before him by one of the most considerable gentlemen of +that body, which was based on the principle of equalization of +duties in both countries. It is unnecessary here to enter into the +details of the measure which he introduced into the House of +Commons. He avowed it to be the commencement of a new system of +government for Ireland, "a system of a participation and community +of benefits, a system of equality and fairness, which, without +tending to aggrandize one portion of the empire or to depress the +other, should seek the aggregate interest of the whole; it was a +substitute for the system which had hitherto been adopted of making +the smaller country completely subordinate to and subservient to +the greater, of making the smaller and poorer country a mere +instrument for the advantage of the greater and wealthier one. He, +therefore, proposed now to create a situation of perfect commercial +equality, in which there was to be a community of benefits, and +also to some extent a community of burdens." And he urged the House +to "adopt that system of trade with Ireland that would tend to +enrich one part of the empire without impoverishing the other, +while it would give strength to both; that, like mercy, the +favorite attribute of Heaven,</p> +<p class="poetry">"'Is twice blessed—<br /> +It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.'"</p> +<a name="brownlow" id="brownlow"></a> +<p>It might, he said, be regarded as "a treaty with Ireland by +which that country would be put on a fair, equal, and impartial +footing with Great Britain, in point of commerce, with respect to +foreign countries and our colonies." The community of burdens which +his measure would impose on Ireland was this: that whenever the +gross hereditary revenue of Ireland should exceed £650,000 +(an amount considerably in excess of anything it had ever yet +reached), the excess should be applied to the support of the fleet +of the United Kingdom. It was, in fact, a burden that could have no +existence at all until the Irish trade had become far more +flourishing and productive than as yet it had ever been. Yet a +measure conceived in such a spirit of liberality, and framed with +such careful attention to the minutest interests of Irish trade, +Mr. Brownlow did not hesitate to denounce as one "tending to make +Ireland a tributary nation to Great Britain. The same terms," he +declared, "had been held out to America, and Ireland had equal +spirit with America to reject them." He even declared that "it was +happy for Mr. Orde" (the Chief Secretary, who had introduced the +measure into the Irish House of Commons) "that he was in a country +remarkable for humanity. Had he proposed such a measure in a Polish +Diet, he would not have lived to carry back an answer to his +master. If," he concluded, "the gifts of Britain are to be +accompanied with the slavery of Ireland, I will never be a slave to +pay tribute; I will hurl back her gifts with scorn." Baffled by +such frantic and senseless opposition, Pitt condescended to remodel +his measure. In its new form it was not so greatly for the +advantage of Ireland. He had been constrained to admit some +limitation of his original liberality by the opposition which, it +had met with in England also where Fox, at all times an avowed +enemy of freedom of trade, had made himself the mouth-piece of the +London and Liverpool merchants, who could not see, without the most +narrow-minded apprehension, the monopoly of the trade with India +and the West Indies, which they had hitherto enjoyed, threatened by +the admission of Ireland to its benefits. And now a clause in the +second bill, binding the Irish Parliament to reenact the Navigation +Laws existing in England, called up an opposition from +Grattan[<a href="#note-132">132</a>] as furious as that with which +Mr. Brownlow had denounced the original measure. To demand the +enactment of the English Navigation Law, he declared, was "a +revocation of the constitution;" and his rival, Flood, in his zeal +to emulate his popularity with the mob, surpassing him in +vehemence, inveighed against the clause, as one intended to make +the Irish Parliament a mere register of the English Parliament, +"which it should never become". All the arguments brought forward +in favor of the measure by the supporters of the +government—arguments which, probably, no one would now be +found to deny to have been unanswerable—failed to make the +slightest impression on a House in which the chief object of each +opponent of the ministry seemed to be to outrun his fellows in +violence; and eventually the measure fell to the ground, and for +fifteen years more Ireland was deprived of the advantages which had +been intended for her.</p> +<p>And even yet the danger from the Volunteers was not wholly +extinguished. Though their Convention had been suppressed, its +leaders had only changed their tactics. Under the guidance of a +Dublin ironmonger, named Napper Tandy, they now proposed to convene +a Congress, to consist, not, as before, of delegates from the +Volunteer body, but of persons who should be representatives of the +entire nation; and Tandy had even the audacity to issue circulars +to the sheriffs of the different counties, to require them, in +their official capacity, to summon the people to return +representatives to this Congress. The Sheriff of Dublin, a man of +the name of O'Reilly, obeyed the requisition; but Fitzgibbon, who, +luckily, was now Attorney-general, instantly prosecuted him for +abuse of his office. He was convicted, fined, and imprisoned, and +his punishment deterred others from following his example. And a +rigorous example had become indispensable, since it was known to +the government that Tandy and some of his followers were acting in +connection with French emissaries, and that their object was the +separation of Ireland from England, and, in the minds of some of +them, certainly the annexation of the country to France; indeed, on +one occasion Fitzgibbon asserted in the House of Commons that he +had seen resolutions inviting the French into the country. The +government would gladly have established a militia to supersede the +Volunteers, but the temper of the Irish Parliament, in its +newly-acquired independence, rendered any such attempt hopeless; +and Mr. Grattan, with a perversity of judgment which his warmest +admirers must find it difficult to reconcile with statesmanship, if +not with patriotism, even opposed with extreme bitterness a bill +for the establishment of a police for Dublin, though he could not +deny that there existed in the city an organized body of ruffians, +who made not only the streets but even the dwelling-houses of the +more orderly citizens unsafe, by outrages of the worst kind, +committed on the largest scale—assaults, plunderings, +ravishments, and murders. In the rural districts of the South the +disturbances were so criminally violent, and so incessant, that the +Lord-lieutenant was compelled to request the presence of some +additional regiments from England, as the sole means of preserving +any kind of respect for the law; and more than once the mobs of +rioters showed themselves so bold and formidable, that the soldiers +were compelled to fire in self-defence, and order was not restored +but at the cost of many lives.</p> +<p>Presently a Conspiracy Bill was passed, and gradually the +firmness of the government re-established a certain amount of +internal tranquillity. But shortly afterward a crisis arose which, +more than the debates on the commercial propositions, or on the +Volunteers, or on the police, showed how over-liberal had been the +confidence of the English minister who had repealed Poynings' Act, +and had bestowed independent authority on the Irish Parliament +before the members had learned how to use it. We have seen how keen +a contest was excited in the English Parliament by the deranged +condition of the King's health in 1788, and the necessity which +consequently arose for the appointment of a Regency. Grattan was in +London at the time, where he had contracted a personal intimacy +with Fox, and had been presented by him to the Prince of Wales, +whose graciousness of manner, and profession of adherence to the +Whig system of politics, secured his attachment to that party. +Grattan was easily indoctrinated by Fox with his theory of the +indefeasible claim of the Prince to the Regency as his birthright, +and is understood to have promised that the Irish Parliament should +adopt that view. The case was one which seemed unprovided for. +There was no question but that the law enacted that the sovereign +of England should also be the sovereign of Ireland. But no express +law of either country contained any such stipulation respecting a +Regent; and Grattan conceived that, in the absence of any +pre-existing ordinance, it would be easy to contend that the Irish +Parliament was the sole judge who the Regent should be, and on what +terms he should exercise the royal authority.</p> +<p>The Irish Parliament had been prorogued in 1787 to the 5th of +February, 1789, the same day on which, after numerous examinations +of the physicians in attendance on the royal patient, and after the +passing of a series of resolutions enunciating the principles on +which the government was proceeding, Pitt introduced the Regency +Bill into the English House of Commons, being prepared to conduct +it through both Houses with all the despatch that might be +consistent with a due observance of all the forms of deliberation. +Grattan's object was to anticipate the decision of the English +Parliament, so as to avoid every appearance that the Irish +Parliament was only following it; and he therefore proposed that +the House of Commons should instantly vote an address to the +Prince, requesting him to take upon himself the Regency of the +kingdom of Ireland, by his own natural right as the heir of the +crown; making sure not only that his advice would be taken by those +whom he was addressing, but that the House of Lords would not +venture to dissent from it.</p> +<p>Fitzgibbon, as Attorney-general and spokesman of the government +in the Commons, as a matter of course opposed such precipitate +action, not only warning his hearers of the folly and danger of +taking a step "which might dissolve the single tie which now +connected Ireland with Great Britain," but explaining also the +whole principle of the constitution of the two kingdoms, so far as +it was a joint constitution, in terms which give his speech a +permanent value as a summary of its principle and its character. He +recalled to the recollection of the House the act of William and +Mary, which declares "the kingdom of Ireland to be annexed to the +imperial crown of England, and the sovereign of England to be by +undoubted right sovereign of Ireland also;" and argued from this +that Mr. Grattan's proposal was contrary to the laws of the realm +and criminal in the extreme. "The crown of Ireland," as he told his +hearers, "and the crown of England are inseparably united, and the +Irish Parliament is totally independent of the British Parliament. +The first of these positions is your security, the second your +freedom, and any other language tends to the separation of the +crowns or the subjection of your Parliament. The only security of +your liberty is the connection with Great Britain; and gentlemen +who risk breaking the connection must make up their minds to a +union. God forbid I should ever see that day; but, if the day comes +on which a separation shall be attempted, I shall not hesitate to +embrace a union rather than a separation."</p> +<p>He proceeded to show that, as the Irish Parliament had itself +enacted that all bills which passed their two Houses should require +the sanction of the Great Seal of England, they actually had no +legal power to confer on the Prince of Wales such authority as +Grattan advised his being invested with, whatever might be the form +of words in which their resolution was couched. He pointed out, +also, that if the Irish Parliament should insist on appointing the +Prince of Wales Regent before it was known whether he would accept +the Regency of England, it was manifestly not impossible "that they +might be appointing a Regent for Ireland being a different person +from the Regent of England; and in that case the moment a Regent +was appointed in Great Britain, he might send a commission under +the Great Seal appointing a Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and to that +commission the Regent of Ireland would be bound to pay obedience. +Another objection of great force to his mind was, that the course +recommended by Grattan would be a formal appeal from the Parliament +of England to that of Ireland. It would sow the seeds of dissension +between the Parliaments of the two countries. And, indeed, those +who were professing themselves advocates for the independence of +the Irish crown were advocates for its separation from +England."</p> +<p>But the House was too entirely under the influence of Grattan's +impassioned eloquence for Fitzgibbon's more sober arguments to be +listened to. The address proposed by Grattan was carried by +acclamation; and the peers were scarcely less unanimous in its +favor, one of the archbishops even dilating on "the duty of +availing themselves of the opportunity of asserting the total +independence of Ireland." Even when, on a second discussion as to +the mode in which the address was to be presented to the Prince, +Fitzgibbon reported that he had consulted the Chancellor and all +the judges, and that they were unanimously of opinion that, till +the Regency Bill should be passed in England, the address was not +only improper but treasonable, he found his warning equally +disregarded. And when the Lord-lieutenant refused to transmit the +address to England, on the avowed ground of its illegality, Grattan +proposed and carried three resolutions: the first, that the address +was not illegal, but that, in addressing the Prince to take on +himself the Regency, the Parliament of Ireland had exercised an +undoubted right; the second, that the Lord-lieutenant's refusal to +transmit the address to his Royal Highness was ill-advised and +unconstitutional; the third, that a deputation from the two Houses +should go to London, to present the address to the Prince. Mr. +Fronde affirms that the deputation, even when preparing to sail for +England, was very irresolute and undecided whether to present the +address or not, from a reasonable fear of incurring the penalties +of treason, to which the lawyers pronounced those who should +present it liable. But their courage was not put to the test. As +has been already seen, before the end of the month the King's +recovery was announced, and the question of a Regency did not occur +again till the Irish Parliament had been united to the English.</p> +<p>Since Lord Rockingham's concessions, in 1782, the project of a +legislative union between the two countries, resembling that which +united Scotland to England, had more than once been broached. We +have seen it alluded to by Fitzgibbon in the course of these +discussions, and it was no new idea. It had been discussed even +before the union with Scotland was completed, and had then been +regarded in Ireland with feelings very different from those which +prevailed at a later period. Ten years after the time of which we +are speaking, Grattan denounced the scheme with almost frantic +violence. Fitzgibbon (though after the Rebellion he recommended it +as indispensable) as yet regarded it only as an alternative which, +though he might eventually embrace it, he should not accept without +extreme reluctance. But at the beginning of the century all parties +among the Protestant Irish had been eager for it, and even the +leading Roman Catholics had been not unwilling to acquiesce in it. +Unluckily, the English ministers were unable to shake off the +influence of the English manufacturers; and they, in another +development of the selfish and wicked jealousy which had led them +in William's reign to require the suppression of the Irish woollen +manufacture, now, in Anne's, rose against the proposal of a +legislative union.[<a href="#note-133">133</a>] In blindness which +was not only fatal but suicidal also, "they persuaded themselves +that the union would make Ireland rich, and that England's interest +was to keep her poor;" as if it had been possible for one portion +of the kingdom to increase in prosperity without every other +portion benefiting also by the improvement.</p> +<p>However, in the reign of Anne the union was a question only of +expediency or of wisdom. The wide divergence of the two Parliaments +on this question of the Regency transformed it into a question of +necessity. The King might have a relapse; the Irish Parliament, on +a recurrence of the crisis, might re-affirm its late resolutions; +might frame another address to the Prince of Wales; and there might +be no alternative between seeing two different persons Regents of +England and Ireland, or, what would be nearly the same thing, +seeing the same person Regent of the two countries on different +grounds, and exercising a different authority.</p> +<p>And if these proceedings of the Irish Parliament had wrought in +the mind of the great English minister a conviction of the absolute +necessity of preventing a recurrence of such dangers by the only +practicable means open to him—the fusion of it into one body +with the English Parliament by a legislative union—the +occurrences of the ensuing ten years enforced that conviction with +a weight still more irresistible. It has been seen how stirring an +influence the revolutionary fever engendered by the overthrow of +the French monarchy for a time exerted even over the calmer temper +of Englishmen. In Ireland, where, ever since Sarsfield and his +brave garrison enlisted under the banner of Louis XIV., a +connection more or less intimate with France had been constantly +kept up, the events in Paris had produced a far deeper and wider +effect. More than one demagogue among the Volunteers had avowed a +desire to see the whole country transfer its allegiance from the +English to the French sovereign; and this preference was more +pronounced after the triumph of democracy in the French capital. +For the leaders of the movement, themselves nearly all men of the +lowest degree, denounced the Irish nobles with almost as much +vehemence as the English connection.</p> +<p>Yet Pitt's policy, dictated partly by a spirit of conciliation, +and still more by feelings of justice, was gradually removing many +of the grievances of which the Irish had real reason to complain. +Next to the restrictions on trade, nothing had made such an +impression on his mind as the iniquity of the penal laws; and those +he proceeded to repeal, encouraging the introduction of bills to +throw open the profession of the law to Roman Catholics, to allow +them seats on the magistrates' bench and commissions in the army, +and to grant them the electoral franchise, a concession which he +himself would willingly have extended by admitting them to +Parliament itself. But these relaxations of the old Penal Code, +important as they were, only conciliated the higher classes of the +Roman Catholics. Most of the Roman Catholic prelates, and most of +the Roman Catholic lay nobles, proclaimed their satisfaction at +what had been done, and their good-will toward the minister who had +done it; but the professional agitators were exasperated rather +than conciliated at finding so much of the ground on which they had +rested cut from beneath their feet. So desirous was Pitt to carry +conciliation to the greatest length that could be consistent with +safety, that he held more than one conference with Grattan himself; +but he found that great orator not very manageable, partly, as it +may seem from some of Mr. Windham's letters, through jealousy of +Fitzgibbon, who was now the Irish Chancellor,[<a href= +"#note-134">134</a>] and still more from a desire to propitiate the +Roman Catholics, for whom he demanded complete and immediate +Emancipation; while Pitt, who was, probably, already resolved on +accomplishing a legislative Union, thought, as far as we can judge, +that Emancipation should follow, not precede, the Union, lest, if +it should precede it, it might prove rather a stumbling-block in +the way than a stepping-stone to the still more important +measure.</p> +<p>It is not very easy to determine what influence the +"Emancipation," as it was rather absurdly called,[<a href= +"#note-135">135</a>] if it had been granted at that time, might +have had in quieting the prevailing discontent. With one large +party it would probably have increased it, for there was quite as +great an inclination to insurrection in Ulster as in Leinster or +Munster; and with the Northern Presbyterians animosity to Popery +was at least as powerful a feeling as sympathy with the French +Republicans. <a href="#CH7">A subsequent chapter</a>, however, will +afford a more fitting opportunity for discussing the arguments in +favor of or against Emancipation. What seems certain is, that a +large party among the Roman Catholics of the lower class valued +Emancipation itself principally as a measure to another end—a +separation from England. Pitt, meanwhile, hopeless of reconciling +the leaders of the different parties—the impulsive enthusiasm +of Grattan with the sober, practical wisdom of +Fitzgibbon—pursued his own policy of conciliation united with +vigor; and one of the measures which he now carried subsists, +unaltered in its principle, to the present day.</p> +<p>There was no part of the penal laws of which the folly and +iniquity were more intolerable than the restrictions which they +imposed on education. To a certain extent, they defeated +themselves. The clause which subjected to severe penalties a Roman +Catholic parent who sent his child abroad to enjoy the benefits of +an education which he was not allowed to receive at home, was +manifestly almost incapable of enforcement, and the youths designed +for orders in the Romish Church had been invariably sent to foreign +colleges—some to Douai or St. Omer, in France; some to the +renowned Spanish University of Salamanca. But the French colleges +had been swept away by the Revolution, which also made a passage to +Spain (the greater expense of which had at all times confined that +resource to a small number of students) more difficult; and the +consequence was, that in 1794 the Roman Catholic Primate, Dr. Troy, +petitioned the government to grant a royal license for the +endowment of a college in Ireland. Justice and policy were equally +in favor of the grant of such a request. For the sake of the whole +kingdom, and even for that of Protestantism itself, it was better +that the Roman Catholic priesthood should be an educated rather +than an ignorant body of men; and, in the temper which at that time +prevailed over the western countries of the Continent, it was at +least equally desirable that the rising generation should be +preserved from the contagion of the revolutionary principles which +the present rulers of France were so industrious to propagate. Pitt +at once embraced the idea, and in the spring of the next year a +bill was introduced into the Irish Parliament by the Chief +Secretary, authorizing the foundation and endowment of a college at +Maynooth, in the neighborhood of Dublin, for the education of Roman +Catholics generally, whether destined for the Church or for lay +professions. It is a singular circumstance that the only opposition +to the measure came from Grattan and his party, who urged that, as +the Roman Catholics had recently been allowed to matriculate and +take degrees at Trinity College, though not to share in the +endowments of that wealthy institution, the endowment of another +college, to be exclusively confined to Roman Catholics, would be a +retrograde step, undoing the benefits of the recent concession of +the authorities of Trinity; would be "a revival and re-enactment of +the principles of separation and exclusion," and an injury to the +whole community. For, as he wisely contended, nothing was so +important to the well-doing of the entire people as the extinction +of the religious animosities which had hitherto embittered the +feelings of each Church toward the other, and nothing could so +surely tend to that extinction as the uniting the members of both +from their earliest youth, in the pursuit both of knowledge and +amusement, as school-fellows and playmates. If Mr. Froude's +interpretation of the motives of those who influenced Grattan on +this occasion be correct, he was unconsciously made a tool of by +those whose real object was a separation from England, of the +attainment of which they despaired, unless they could unite +Protestants and Roman Catholics in its prosecution. The bill, +however, was passed by a very large majority, and £9000 a +year was appropriated to the endowment of the college. Half a +century afterward, as will be seen, that endowment was enlarged, +and placed on a more solid and permanent footing, by one of the +ablest of Pitt's successors. It was a wise and just measure; and if +its success has not entirely answered the expectations of the +minister who granted it, its comparative failure has been owing to +circumstances which the acutest judgment could not have +foreseen.</p> +<p>But it seems certain that neither the concession nor the refusal +of any demands put forward by any party in Ireland could have +prevented the insurrection which broke out shortly afterward. There +were two parties among the disaffected Irish—or it should, +perhaps, rather be said that two different objects were kept in +view by them—one of which, the establishment of a republic, +was dearer to one section of the malcontents; separation from +England, with the contingency of annexation to France, was the more +immediate aim of the other, though the present existence of a +republican form of government in France to a great extent united +the two. As has been mentioned before, the original movers in the +conspiracy were of low extraction, Dublin tradesmen in a small way +of business. Napper Tandy was an ironmonger, Wolfe Tone was the son +of a coach-maker. But they had obtained a recruit of a very +different class, a younger son of the Duke of Leinster, Lord Edward +Fitzgerald, a man of very slender capacity, who, at his first +entrance into Parliament, when scarcely more than of age, had made +himself remarkable by a furious denunciation of Pitt's Irish +propositions; had married a natural daughter of the Duke of +Orleans, a prince, in spite of his royal birth, one of the most +profligate and ferocious of the French Jacobins; and had caught the +revolutionary mania to such a degree that he abjured his nobility, +and substituted for the appellation which marked his rank the title +of "Citizen Fitzgerald." He had enrolled himself in a society known +as the United Irishmen, and had gone to France, as its +plenipotentiary, to arrange with Hoche, one of the most brilliant +and popular of the French generals, a scheme for the invasion of +Ireland, in which he promised him that, on his landing, he should +be joined by tens of thousands of armed Irishmen. Hoche entered +warmly into the plan, was furnished with a splendid army by the +Directors, and in December, 1796, set sail for Ireland; but the +fleet which carried him was dispersed in a storm; many of the ships +were wrecked, others were captured by the British cruisers, and the +remnant of the fleet, sadly crippled, was glad to regain its +harbors. Two years afterward another invading expedition had still +worse fortune. General Humbert, who in 1796 had been one of Hoche's +officers, did succeed in effecting a landing at Killala Bay, in +Mayo; but he and the whole of his force was speedily surrounded, +and compelled to surrender; and a month afterward a large squadron, +with a more powerful division of troops, under General Hardy, on +board, found itself unable to effect a landing, but fell in with a +squadron under Sir John Warren, who captured every ship but two; +Wolfe Tone, who was on board one of them, being taken prisoner, and +only escaping the gallows by suicide.</p> +<p>This happened in October, 1798. But it is difficult to conceive +with what object these last expeditions had been despatched from +France at all; for in the preceding summer the rebellion of the +Irish had broken out, and had been totally crushed in a few +weeks;[<a href="#note-136">136</a>] not without terrible loss of +life on both sides, nor without the insurgent leaders—though +many of them were gentlemen of good birth, fortune, and education, +and still more were clergy—showing a ferocity and ingenuity +in cruelty which the worst of the French Jacobins had scarcely +exceeded; one of the saddest circumstances of the whole rebellion +being, that the insurgents, who had burnt men, women, and children +alive, who had deliberately hacked others to pieces against whom +they did not profess to have a single ground of complaint beyond +the fact that they were English and Protestant, found advocates in +both Houses of the English Parliament, who declared that the +rebellion was owing to the severity of the Irish Viceroy and his +chief councillors, who denied that the rebels had solicited French +aid, and who even voted against granting to the government the +re-enforcements necessary to prevent a revival of the treason.</p> +<p>The rebellion was crushed with such celerity as might have +convinced the most disaffected of the insanity of defying the power +of Great Britain; but it was certain that the spirit which prompted +the rebellion was not extinguished, and that, as it had been fed +before, so it would continue to be fed by the factious spirit of +members of the Irish House of Commons, and of those who could +return members,[<a href="#note-137">137</a>] so long as Ireland had +a separate Parliament. Not, indeed, that Pitt required the argument +in favor of a Union which was thus furnished. The course adopted by +the Irish Parliament on the Regency question was quite sufficient +to show how great a mistake had been made by the repeal of +Poynings' Act. But what the rebellion proved was, that the Union +would not admit of an instant's delay; and Pitt at once applied +himself to the task of framing a measure which, while it should +strengthen England, by the removal of the necessity for a constant +watchfulness over every transaction and movement in Ireland, should +at the same time confer on and secure to Ireland substantial +advantages, such as, without a Union, the English Parliament could +scarcely be induced to contemplate.</p> +<p>Mr. Hallam, in one of the last chapters of his work,[<a href= +"#note-138">138</a>] while showing by unanswerable arguments the +advantages which Scotland has derived from her Union with England, +has also enumerated some of the causes which impeded the minister +of the day in his endeavors to render it acceptable to the Scotch +members to whom it was proposed. The most apparently substantial of +these was the unprecedented character of the measure. No past +"experience of history was favorable to the absorption of a lesser +state, at least where the government partook so much of the +republican form, in one of superior power and ancient rivalry." +But, in the case of the present measure, what had thus been a +difficulty in the Scotch Union might have been expected to be +regarded as an argument in its favor, since the keenest patriots +among the Scotch had long been convinced that the Union had brought +a vast increase of prosperity and importance to their country, and +what was now confessed to have proved advantageous to Scotland +might naturally be expected to be equally beneficial to Ireland. +Another obstacle had been the fear of the danger to which the +Presbyterian Church might be "exposed, when brought thus within the +power of a Legislature so frequently influenced by one which held +her, not as a sister, but rather a bastard usurper to a sister's +inheritance." But here again experience might give her testimony in +favor of an Irish Union, since it was incontestable that those +apprehensions—which, no doubt, many earnest Scotchmen had +sincerely entertained—had not been realized, but that since +the Union the Presbyterian Church had enjoyed as great security, as +complete independence, and as absolute an authority over its +members as in the preceding century; that the Parliament had never +attempted the slightest interference with its exercise of its +privileges, and that the Church of England had been equally free +from the exhibition of any desire to stimulate the Parliament to +such action; while the Roman Catholic Church, which had many more +adherents in England than the Presbyterian Church had ever had, was +quite powerful enough to exact for itself the maintenance of its +rights, and the minister was quite willing to grant equal +securities to those which, at the beginning of the century, had +been thought sufficient for the Church of Scotland. A third reason +which our great historical critic puts forward for the disfavor +with which the Union was at the time regarded by many high-minded +Scotchmen, he finds in "the gross prostitution with which a +majority sold themselves to the surrender of their own legislative +existence." That similar means were to some extent employed to win +over opponents of the government in Ireland cannot, it must be +confessed, be denied, though the temptations held out to converts +oftener took the shape of titles, promotions, appointments, and +court favors than of actual money. The most recent historian of +this period—who, to say the least, is not biassed in favor of +either the English or Irish government of the +period—pronounces as his opinion, formed after the most +careful research, that the bribery was on the other side. +"Cornwallis and Castlereagh" (the Lord-lieutenant and the Chief +Secretary) "both declared it to be within their knowledge that the +Opposition offered four thousand pounds, ready money, for a vote. +But they name only one man who was purchased, and his vote was +obtained for four thousand pounds. From the language of Lord +Cornwallis, it is certain that if money was spent by the government +in this way it was without his knowledge; but many things may have +been done by the inferior agents of the government, and possibly by +Castlereagh himself, which they would not venture to lay before the +Lord-lieutenant. It appears, however, from the papers which have +recently come to light, that the prevalent belief of the Union +having been mainly effected by a lavish expenditure of money is not +well-founded; still it is certain that some money was expended in +this way." Besides actual payment for votes, he adds that a very +large sum—a hundred thousand pounds—is said to have +been expended in the purchase of seats, the holders of which were, +of course, to vote against the measure; and names Lord Downshire as +subscribing £5000, Lord Lismore and Mr. White £3000 +each, while the government funds were chiefly expended "in +engaging[<a href="#note-139">139</a>] young barristers of the Four +Courts to write for the Union." But, even if it were true that +corruption was employed to the very utmost extent that was ever +alleged by the most vehement opponent of the measure and of the +government, it may be feared that very few of the last century +Irishmen would have been so shocked at it as to consider that fact +an objection to the Union, especially, it is sad and shameful to +say, among the upper classes. The poorer classes, those who could +render no political service to a minister, as being consequently +beneath official notice, were unassailed by his temptations; but +the demoralization of the men of rank and property was almost +universal, and few seats were disposed of, few votes were given, +except in return for favors granted, or out of discontent at favors +refused. And it cannot be denied that the tendency to political +jobbery had not been diminished by the concessions of 1782, if, +indeed, it may not be said that the increased importance which +those concessions had given to the Irish Parliament had led the +members of both Houses to place an increased value on their +services. Certainly no previous Lord-lieutenant had given such +descriptions of the universality of the demands made on him as were +forwarded to the English government by those who held that office +in the sixteen years preceding the outbreak of the Rebellion.</p> +<p>It is remarkable that the transaction which, as has been said +before, may be conceived to have first forced on Pitt's mind the +conviction of the absolute necessity of the Union—namely, the +course pursued by the Irish Parliament on the Regency +Bill—bore a close resemblance to that which, above all other +considerations, had made the Scotch Union indispensable, namely, +the Act of Security passed by the Scottish Estates in 1703, which +actually provided that, on the decease of Queen Anne without issue, +the Estates "should name her successor, but should be debarred from +choosing the admitted successor to the crown of England, unless +such forms of government were settled as should fully secure the +religion, freedom, and trade of the Scottish nation."[<a href= +"#note-140">140</a>] The Scotch Estates, therefore, had absolutely +regarded the possible separation of the two kingdoms as a +contingency which might become not undesirable; and, though it was +too ticklish an argument to bring forward, it may very possibly +have occurred to Pitt that a similar vote of the Irish Parliament +was not impossible. The claim which Grattan, following Fox, had set +up on behalf of the Prince of Wales, was one of an indefeasible +right to the Regency; and, as far as right by inheritance went, his +claim to the crown, if, or whenever, a vacancy should occur, was +far less disputable. But, as has been mentioned in the last +chapter, a question had already been raised whether his Royal +Highness had not forfeited his right to the succession, and it was +quite possible that that question might be renewed. The fact of the +Prince's marriage to a Roman Catholic was by this time generally +accepted as certain; the birth of the Princess Charlotte gave +greater importance to the circumstance than it seemed to have while +the Prince remained childless; and, if the performance of the +marriage ceremony should be legally proved, and the English law +courts should pronounce that the legal invalidity of the marriage +did not protect the Prince from the penalty of forfeiture, it was +highly probable that the Irish Parliament would take a different +view—would refuse, in spite of the Bill of Rights, to regard +marriage with a Roman Catholic as a disqualification, but would +recognize the Prince of Wales as King of Ireland.</p> +<p>Several minor considerations, such as the desirableness of +uniformity in the proceedings of the two countries with respect to +Money Bills, the Mutiny Act, and other arrangements of +parliamentary detail, all pointed the same way; and, on the whole, +it may be said that scarcely any of the opponents of the government +measure were found to deny its expediency, especially as regarded +the interests of Great Britain. The objections which were made were +urged on different grounds. In the Irish House of Commons, a member +who, though a young man, had already established a very high +reputation for professional skill as a barrister, for eloquence +equally suited to the Bar and to the Senate, and for sincere and +incorruptible patriotism, Mr. Plunkett, took upon himself to deny +the competency of the Irish Parliament to pass a bill not only to +extinguish its own existence, but to prevent the birth of any +future Parliament, and to declare that the act, if it "should be +passed," would be a mere nullity, and that no man in "Ireland would +be bound to obey it." And, in the English House of Commons, Mr. +Grey may be thought to have adopted something of the same view, +when he proposed an amendment "to suspend all proceedings on the +subject till the sentiments of the people of Ireland respecting +that measure could be ascertained." He did not, of course, deny (he +was speaking on the 21st of April, 1800) that the bill had been +passed by both Houses of the Irish Parliament by considerable +majorities.[<a href="#note-141">141</a>] But he contended that that +Parliament did not speak the sentiments of the people; and, that +being the case, that its voice was of no authority. It is evident +that all arguments founded on a denial of the omnipotence of a +Parliament, whether English or Irish, are invalid. The question of +that omnipotence, as has been seen in a former chapter, had been +fully discussed when Mr. Pitt's father denied the power of +Parliament to tax the American Colonies; and that question may +fairly be regarded as having been settled at that time. It is +equally clear that the denial that, on any question whatever, the +House of Commons must be taken to speak the sentiments of the +constituencies, whether the proposal of such question had been +contemplated at the time of their election or not, is the +advancement of a doctrine wholly inconsistent with our +parliamentary constitution, and one which would practically be the +parent of endless agitation and mischief. To expect that the +members could pronounce on no new question without a fresh +reference to their constituents, would be to reduce them from the +position of representatives to that of delegates; such as that of +the members of the old States-general, in France, whose early decay +is attributed by the ablest political writers in no small degree to +the dependence of the members on their constituents for precise +instructions. Another argument on which Mr. Grey insisted with +great earnestness is worth preserving, though subsequent inventions +have destroyed its force; he contended that the example of the +Scotch Union did not, when properly considered, afford any argument +in favor of an Irish Union, from the difference of situation of the +two countries. Scotland was a part of the same island as England; +"there was no physical impediment to rapid and constant +communication; the relative situation of the two countries was such +that the King himself could administer the executive government in +both, and there was no occasion for a separate establishment being +kept up in each." But the sea lay between England and Ireland, and +the delays and sometimes difficulties which were thus interposed +rendered it "necessary that Ireland should have a separate +government;" and he affirmed that "this was an insuperable bar to a +beneficial Union," quoting a saying of Lord Somers, that "if it +were necessary to preserve a separate executive government at +Edinburgh after the Union, he would abandon the measure." Mr. Grey +even denied that the prosperity of Scotland since the Union was +mainly attributable to that measure. "It was not the Union; it was +the adoption of a liberal policy, the application of a proper +remedy to the particular evils under which the country labored, +that removed the causes which had impeded the prosperity of +Scotland." But this argument was clearly open to the reply that the +adoption of that liberal policy had been a direct effect of the +Union, and would have been impracticable without it, and was, +therefore, a strong inducement to the adoption of a similar Union +with Ireland, where the existing evils were at least as great as +those which, a century before, had kept down Scotland. Another of +his arguments has been remarkably falsified by the event. With a +boldness in putting forward what was manifestly, indeed avowedly, a +party objection, and which, as such, must be looked upon as +somewhat singular, he found a reason for resisting the addition of +a hundred Irish members to the British House of Commons in the +probability that they would, as a general rule, be subservient to +the minister. He instanced "the uniform support which the members +for Scotland had given to every act of ministers," and saw in that +example "reason to apprehend that the Irish members would become a +no less regular band of ministerial adherents." It would be +superfluous to point out how entirely contrary the result has been +to the prediction.</p> +<p>It is, however, beside the purpose of this work to dwell on the +arguments by which the minister supported his proposal, or on those +with which the Opposition resisted it, whether apparently founded +on practical considerations, such as those brought forward by Mr. +Grey, or those of a more sentimental character, which rested on the +loss of national "dignity and honor," which, it was assumed, would +be the consequence of the measure. It seems desirable rather to +explain the principal conditions on which the Union was to be +effected, as Pitt explained it to the House of Commons in April, +1800. In the preceding year he had confined himself to moving a +series of resolutions in favor of the principle, which, though they +were adopted by both Houses in England, he did not at that time +endeavor to carry farther, since in the Irish House of Commons the +utmost exertions of the government could only prevail by a single +vote;[<a href="#note-142">142</a>] and he naturally thought such a +majority far too slender to justify his relying on it so far as to +proceed farther with a measure of such vast importance. But, during +the recess, he had introduced some modifications into his original +draft of the measure, which, though slight, were sufficient to +conciliate much additional support; and the consequence was, that +in February of this year both the Irish Houses accepted it by +sufficient majorities;[<a href="#note-143">143</a>] and, therefore, +he now felt able to lay the details of the measure before the +English Parliament. To take them in the order in which he +enumerated them, that which had appeared to the Irish Parliament +"the first and most important, was the share which the Irish +constituencies ought to have in the representation of the House of +Commons." On this point, "the Parliament of Ireland was of opinion +that the number of representatives for Ireland ought to be one +hundred." And he was not disposed to differ from the conclusion to +which it had come. He regarded it, indeed, as "a matter of but +small importance whether the number of representatives from one +part of the united empire were greater or less. If they were enough +to make known the local wants, to state the interests and convey +the sentiments of the part of the empire they represented, it would +produce that degree of general security which would be wanting in +any vain attempt to obtain that degree of theoretical perfection +about which in modern times they had heard so much." He approved of +"the principle which had been laid down upon this part of the +subject in the Parliament of Ireland—a reference to the +supposed population of the two countries, and to the proposed rate +of contribution. The proportion of contribution proposed to be +established was seven and a half for Great Britain, and one for +Ireland; while in the proportion of population Great Britain was to +Ireland as two and a half or three to one;[<a href= +"#note-144">144</a>] so that the result, on a combination of these +two calculations, would be something more than five to one in favor +of Great Britain, which was about the proportion which it was +proposed to establish between the representation of the two +countries." The principle of selection of the constituencies which +had been adopted he likewise considered most "equitable and +satisfactory for Ireland. The plan proposed was, that the members +of the counties and the principal commercial cities should remain +entire.... The remaining members were to be selected from those +places which were the most considerable in point of population and +wealth.... This was the only plan which could be adopted without +trenching on the constitution; it introduced no theoretical reforms +in the constitution or in the representation of this country; it +made no distinction between different parliamentary rights, nor any +alteration, even the slightest, in the internal forms of +Parliament."</p> +<p>Another consideration which he had kept in mind in framing this +measure was this: "By the laws of England care had been taken to +prevent the influence of the crown from becoming too great by too +many offices being held by members of Parliament." And Pitt had no +doubt that there would be a general feeling "that some provision +ought to be made on this subject" in the arrangements for the new +Parliament. At present, among the representatives of the counties +and great commercial towns, whose seats were to be preserved in the +new united Parliament, there were not above five or six who held +offices; and, though it was impossible to estimate the possible +number of place-holders with precision, he thought what would he +most fair for him to propose would be, that "no more than twenty of +the Irish members should hold places, and that if it should happen +that a greater number did hold places during pleasure, then those +who had last accepted them should vacate their seats."</p> +<p>In the House of Peers he proposed that twenty-eight lords +temporal of Ireland should have seats in the united Parliament, who +should be elected for life by the Peers of Ireland—an +arrangement which differed from that which, at the beginning of the +century, had been adopted for the representative Peers of Scotland; +but he argued, and surely with great reason, that "the choice of +Peers to represent the Irish nobility for life was a mode that was +more congenial to the general spirit and system of a Peerage than +that of their being septennially elected, as the nobility of +Scotland were." Of the spiritual Peers, four were to sit in +rotation; to the lay Peers a farther privilege was given, which the +minister regarded as of considerable, and even constitutional +importance. By the articles of the Scotch Union, a Peer, if not +chosen as a representative of the Peerage, was not eligible as a +candidate for the House of Commons in either England or Scotland. +But this bill "reserved a right to the Peers of Ireland who should +not be elected to represent their own Peerage, to be elected +members of the House of Commons of the united Parliament of Great +Britain;" and Pitt urged that this was "a far better mode of +treatment than had been adopted for the nobility of Scotland; so +that a nobleman of Ireland, if not representing his own order, +might be chosen as a legislator by a class of inferior rank, which +he was so far from regarding as improper, that he deemed it in a +high degree advantageous to the empire, analogous to the practice +as well as friendly to the spirit of the British constitution." And +he enforced his argument by pointing out with honest pride the +advantage which in that respect the spirit and practice of our +constitution gave to our nobility over the nobles of other +countries. "We know full well," he continued, "the advantage we +have experienced from having in this House those who, in the course +of descent, as well as in hopes of merit, have had a prospect of +sitting in our House of Peers. Those, therefore, who object to this +part of the arrangement" (for, as he had previously mentioned, it +had been made a subject not only of objection, but of ridicule) +"can only do so from the want of due attention to the true +character of our constitution, one of the great leading advantages +of which is, that a person may for a long time be a member of one +branch of the Legislature, and have it in view to become a member +of another branch of it. This it is which constitutes the leading +difference between the nobility of Great Britain and those of other +countries. With us they are permitted to have legislative power +before they arrive at their higher stations; and as they are, like +all the rest of mankind, to be improved by experience in the +science of legislation as well as in every other science, our +constitution affords them that opportunity by their being eligible +to seats in this House from the time of their majority. This is one +of those circumstances which arise frequently in practice, but the +advantages of which do not appear in theory till chance happens to +cast them before us, and makes them subjects of discussion. These +are the shades of the British constitution in which its latent +beauties consist;" and he affirmed his conviction that this +privilege would prove "an advantage to the nobility of Ireland, and +an improvement in the system of representation in the House."</p> +<p>It will hardly be denied that the arrangement that the +representative Peers of Ireland should enjoy their seats for life +did make it desirable that those who were not so elected to the +Upper House should be eligible as candidates for a place in the +Lower House. Otherwise, those who were not chosen as +representatives of the peerage would have been placed in the +anomalous and unfair position of being the only persons in the +kingdom possessed of the requisite property qualification, and not +disqualified by sex or profession, who were absolutely excluded +from the opportunity of distinguishing themselves and serving their +country in Parliament. How great the practical benefit to the House +of Commons and the country the clause he was recommending was +calculated to confer, was shown in a remarkable manner the very +year of his death, when an Irish Peer was returned to the House of +Commons, who, retaining his seat for nearly sixty years as the +representative of different constituencies, the University of +Cambridge being among the number, during the course of that period +rose through a variety of offices to that of Prime-minister, and, +as is admitted even by those who dissented most widely from some of +his opinions and actions, earned for himself an honorable +reputation, as one who had rendered faithful services to the crown, +and on more than one occasion had conferred substantial benefits on +the country.</p> +<p>The arrangements proposed with respect to the Peers were not +opposed. But Mr. Grey—generally acting as the spokesman of +the Opposition on this question—raised an objection to making +so large an addition as that of one hundred new members to the +British House of Commons. He repeated his prophecy, made on a +previous occasion, of the subserviency to the minister which the +Irish members might be expected to exhibit, and therefore moved an +amendment to reduce the number of Irish representatives to +eighty-five; but, to obviate the discontent which such a reduction +might be expected to excite in Ireland, he proposed to diminish the +number of English members also, by disfranchising forty "of the +most decayed boroughs," a step which would leave the number of +members in the new united Parliament as nearly as possible the same +as it was before. He found, however, very few to agree with him; +his amendment was rejected by 176 to 34; and the minister's +proposal was adopted in all its details.</p> +<p>Mr. Pitt touched lightly on the next article, which limited the +royal prerogative of creating Peers by a provision that the King +should never confer any fresh Irish peerage till three peerages +should have become extinct. This, again, was a point of difference +between the conditions of the Scotch and Irish Unions; since by the +terms of the Scotch Union the King was forever debarred from +creating any new Scotch peerages. But it was pointed out that the +greater antiquity of the Scotch peerages, and the circumstance that +in Scotland the titles descended to collateral branches, were +calculated to make the extinction of a Scotch peerage an event of +very rare occurrence; while the comparative newness (with very few +exceptions) of Irish peerages, and the rule by which they are +"confined to immediate male descendants," rendered the entire +extinction of the Irish peerage probable, "if the power of adding +to or making up the number were not given to the crown."</p> +<p>Recent legislation has given such importance to the next +resolution, that it will be well to quote his precise words:</p> +<p>"5. That it would be fit to propose, as the fifth article of +union, that the Churches of that part of Great Britain called +England and of Ireland shall be united into one Church; and that +when his Majesty shall summon a Convocation, the archbishops, +bishops, and clergy of the several provinces in Ireland shall be +respectively summoned to and sit in the Convocation of the united +Church, in the like manner and subject to the same regulations as +to election and qualification as are at present by law established +with respect to the like orders of the Church of England; and that +the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the said +united Church shall be preserved as now by law established for the +Church of England, saving to the Church of Ireland all the rights, +privileges, and jurisdictions now thereunto belonging; and that the +doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the Church of +Scotland shall likewise be preserved as now by law, and by the Act +of Union established for the Church of Scotland; and that the +continuance and preservation forever of the said united Church, as +the Established Church, of that part of the said United Kingdom +called England and Ireland, shall be deemed and taken to be an +essential and fundamental article and condition of the Union."</p> +<p>Pitt's comment on this article was so brief as to show that he +regarded its justice as well as its importance too obvious to need +any elaborate justification. He pointed out that that portion of it +which related to Convocation had been added by the Irish +Parliament, and "would only say on so interesting a subject that +the prosperity of the Irish Church could never be permanent, unless +it were a part of the Union, to leave as a guard a power to the +United Parliament to make some provision in this respect as a fence +beyond any act of their own that could at present be agreed on." +But, while he thus showed his conviction that the permanent +prosperity of the Irish Church was essential to the welfare of the +kingdom, he was by no means insensible to the claims of the Roman +Catholic Church (as founded not more in policy than in justice) to +be placed in some degree on a footing of equality with it; not only +by a recognition of the dignity of its ministers, but also by an +endowment which should be proportioned to their requirements, and +should place them in a position of worldly competence and comfort +for which hitherto they had been dependent on their +flocks.[<a href="#note-145">145</a>] To use the expression of a +modern statesman, he contemplated "levelling up," not "levelling +down." Perhaps it may be said that he contemplated levelling up, as +the surest and most permanent obstacle to any proposal of levelling +down.</p> +<p>At the same time it is fair to remark, that the argument which +on a recent occasion was so strongly pressed by the champions of +the Church, that it was beyond the power of Parliament to repeal +what was here declared to be "an essential and fundamental article +and condition of the Union," is untenable, on every consideration +of the power of Parliament, and, indeed, of common-sense; since it +would be an intolerable evil, and one productive of the worst +consequences, if the doctrine were admitted that any Parliament +could make an unchangeable law and bind its successors forever; +and, moreover, since the very words of this article do clearly +imply the power of Parliament over the Church, the power asserted, +to "make some provision for the permanence of its prosperity," +clearly involving a power to make provisions of an opposite +character. The expediency or impolicy, the propriety or +unrighteousness, of a measure must always depend on the merits of +the question itself at the time, and not on the judgment or +intentions of legislators of an earlier generation. And advocates +weaken instead of strengthening their case when they put forward +arguments which, however plausible or acceptable to their own +partisans, are, nevertheless, capable of refutation.</p> +<p>The next article related to a question of paramount practical +importance, and of special interest, since, as has been seen +before, there was no subject on which the past legislation of the +English Parliament had been so discreditable. But the jealousy of +English manufacturers, though it had prevailed over the +indifference of William III., who reserved all his solicitude for +matters of foreign diplomacy, could find no echo in the large mind +and sound commercial and financial knowledge of the modern +statesman. He laid it down as the principle of his legislation on +this subject—a principle which "he was sure that every +gentleman in the House was ready to admit—that the +consequence of the Union ought to be a perfect freedom of trade, +whether of produce or manufacture, without exception, if possible; +that a deviation from that principle ought to be made only when +adhering to it might possibly shake some large capital, or +materially diminish the effect of the labor of the inhabitants, or +suddenly and violently shock the received opinion or popular +prejudices of a large portion of the people; but that, on the +whole, the communication between the two kingdoms should in spirit +be free; that no jealousy should be attempted to be created between +the manufacturers of one place or the other upon the subject of +'raw materials' or any other article; for it would surely be +considered very narrow policy, and as such would be treated with +derision, were an attempt made to create a jealousy between +Devonshire and Cornwall, between Lancashire and Durham.... He said, +then, that the principle of the Union on this head should be +liberal and free, and that no departure from it should ever take +place but upon some point of present unavoidable necessity." He was +even able to add (and he must have felt peculiar satisfaction in +making the statement, since the change in the feelings of the +English manufacturers on the subject must have been mainly the +fruit of his own teaching, and was a practical recognition of the +benefits which they had derived from his commercial policy taken as +a whole), that "the English manufacturers did not wish for any +protective duties; all they desired was free intercourse with all +the world; and, though the want of protective duties might occasion +them partial loss, they thought it amply compensated by the general +advantage." He even thought the arrangements now to be made "would +encourage the growth of wool in Ireland, and that England would be +able to draw supplies of it from thence; and he did not fear that +there would be trade enough for both countries in the markets of +the world, and in the market which each country would afford to the +other." The English manufacturers did not, however, acquiesce very +cheerfully in every part of his commercial arrangements. On the +contrary, against the clause which repealed all prohibitions of or +bounties on exportation of different articles grown or manufactured +in either country, they petitioned, and even set up a claim, which +was granted, to be heard by counsel and to produce witnesses. But +Pitt steadily refused the least modification of this part of his +measure, not merely on account of its intrinsic reasonableness and +justice, but because there was scarcely any condition to which the +Irish themselves attached greater importance.</p> +<p>An equally important and more difficult matter to adjust to the +satisfaction of both Parliaments was the apportionment of the +financial burdens between the two nations. It would be tiresome as +well as superfluous to enter into minute details; the more so as +the arrangement proposed was of a temporary character. After a long +and minute discussion, Pitt's appraisement was admitted to come as +near to strict fairness and equity as any that could be made; the +separate discharge of its public debt already incurred was left to +each kingdom; and it was farther settled that for twenty years +fifteen parts of the expense of the nation out of seventeen should +be borne by Great Britain and two by Ireland.</p> +<p>Other articles provided that the laws and courts of both +kingdoms, civil and ecclesiastical, should remain in their existing +condition, subject, of course, to such alterations as the united +Legislature might hereafter deem desirable.</p> +<p>The resolutions, when adopted—as they speedily +were—were embodied in a bill, which passed through the last +stage by receiving the royal assent at the beginning of July. The +state of public feeling in Ireland was not yet sufficiently calmed +down after the Rebellion for it to be prudent to venture on a +general election, and it was, consequently, ordained that the +members for the Irish counties and for those Irish boroughs which +had been selected for the retention of representation should take +their seats in the united Parliament on its next meeting. On the +22d of January, 1801, the united, or, to give it its more proper +designation, the Imperial Parliament held its first meeting, being, +although in its sixth session, so far regarded as a new Parliament, +that the King directed a fresh election of a Speaker.</p> +<p>The Union, as thus effected, was so far a vital change in the +constitution of both Great Britain and Ireland, that it greatly +altered the situation in which each kingdom had previously stood to +the other. Till 1782 the position of Ireland toward England had +been one of entire political subordination; and, though that had in +appearance been modified by the repeal of Poynings' Act, yet no one +doubted or could doubt that, whenever the resolutions of the two +Parliaments came into conflict, the Irish Parliament would find +submission unavoidable. But by the Union that subordination was +terminated forever. The character of the Union—of the +conditions, that is, on which the two countries were +united—was one of perfect and complete equality on all +important points, indeed, in all matters whatever, except one or +two of minor consequence, where some irremovable difference between +them compelled some trifling variations. It was not a connection of +domination on the one side and subordination on the other, where +every concomitant circumstance might tempt the one to overbearing +arrogance, while the other could not escape a feeling of +humiliation. It was rather—to quote the eloquent peroration +of Pitt, when, in the preceding year, he first introduced the +subject to the consideration of the House of Commons—"a free +and voluntary association of two great countries, joining for their +common benefit in one empire, where each retained its proportionate +weight and importance, under the security of equal laws, reciprocal +affection, and inseparable interests; and which wanted nothing but +that indissoluble connection to render both invincible."</p> +<p>On that occasion Pitt had argued, from the great subsequent +increase in the population and wealth of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and +in the prosperity of the whole country of Scotland, that a similar +result might be looked for in Ireland. And the general trade of +Ireland, and especially the linen manufacture, within a very few +years began to realize his prediction. So that it is strange to +find Fox, on the great minister's death, five years afterward, +reiterating his disapproval of the Union as a plea for refusing him +the appellation of a great statesman.[<a href="#note-146">146</a>] +In one point alone the intrigues of a colleague prevented Pitt from +carrying out to the full his liberal and enlightened views, and +compelled him to leave the Union incomplete in a matter of such +pre-eminent importance, that it may be said that all the subsequent +disquietudes which have prevented Ireland from reaping the full +benefit he desired from the Union are traceable to his +disappointment on that subject.[<a href="#note-147">147</a>] We +have seen that he contemplated, as a natural and necessary +consequence or even part of the Union, an extensive reform of the +laws affecting the Roman Catholics. Indeed, the understanding that +he was prepared to introduce a measure with that object had no +small weight in conciliating in some quarters support to the Act of +Union. Accordingly, when describing the arrangements which he had +in view for the Church of Ireland, he indicated his intention with +sufficient plainness by the statement, that "it might be proper to +leave to Parliament an opportunity of considering what might be fit +to be done for his Majesty's Catholic subjects;" words which were +generally understood to express his feeling, that both justice and +policy required the removal of the restrictions which debarred the +Roman Catholics from the complete enjoyment of political +privileges. But the history and different bearings of that question +it will be more convenient to discuss in <a href="#CH7">a +subsequent chapter</a>, when we shall have arrived at the time when +it was partially dealt with by the ministry of the Duke of +Wellington.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-125" id="note-125"> +<!-- Note Anchor 125 --></a>[Footnote 125: Mr. Froude says four +great families—the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, the Boyles, the +Ponsonbys, and the Beresfords—returned a majority of the +House of Commons ("English in Ireland," ii., 5); and besides those +peers, the arrangement for the Union proved that the influence of +the Loftuses and the Hills fell little short of them.]</p> +<p><a name="note-126" id="note-126"> +<!-- Note Anchor 126 --></a>[Footnote 126: Such a system actually +had existed in France, where articles of ordinary trade could not +be transported from one province to another without payment of a +heavy duty; but Colbert had abolished that system in France above +one hundred years before the time of which we are speaking.]</p> +<p><a name="note-127" id="note-127"> +<!-- Note Anchor 127 --></a>[Footnote 127: "History of England," +vol. v., c. xxiii., p. 57.]</p> +<p><a name="note-128" id="note-128"> +<!-- Note Anchor 128 --></a>[Footnote 128: "The English in +Ireland," ii., 39.]</p> +<p><a name="note-129" id="note-129"> +<!-- Note Anchor 129 --></a>[Footnote 129: Fronde's "English in +Ireland," ii., 345. He does not name the author whom he +quotes.]</p> +<p><a name="note-130" id="note-130"> +<!-- Note Anchor 130 --></a>[Footnote 130: <i>Ibid</i>., ii, +42.]</p> +<p><a name="note-131" id="note-131"> +<!-- Note Anchor 131 --></a>[Footnote 131: See <a href= +"#brownlow">p. 164</a>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-132" id="note-132"> +<!-- Note Anchor 132 --></a>[Footnote 132: Mr. Froude imputes to +Grattan a singularly base object. "Far from Grattan was a desire to +heal the real sores of the country for which he was so zealous. +These wild, disordered elements suited better for the campaign in +which he engaged of renovating an Irish +nationality."—<i>English in Ireland</i>, ii., 448. But, +however on many points we may see reason to agree with Mr. Froude's +estimate of the superior wisdom of Fitzgibbon, we conceive that +this opinion is quite consistent with our acquittal of the other of +the meanness of deliberately aiming at a continuance of evils, in +order to find in them food for a continuance of agitation.]</p> +<p><a name="note-133" id="note-133"> +<!-- Note Anchor 133 --></a>[Footnote 133: Froude, "English in +Ireland," i., 304.]</p> +<p><a name="note-134" id="note-134"> +<!-- Note Anchor 134 --></a>[Footnote 134: See especially a letter +of Mr. Windham's. quoted by Lord Stanhope ("Life of Pitt," ii., +288).]</p> +<p><a name="note-135" id="note-135"> +<!-- Note Anchor 135 --></a>[Footnote 135: Mr. Archdall, in his +place in Parliament, denounced the term as utterly inapplicable. +"Emancipation meant that a slave was set free. The Catholics were +not slaves. Nothing more absurd had ever been said since language +was first abused for the delusion of mankind."]</p> +<p><a name="note-136" id="note-136"> +<!-- Note Anchor 136 --></a>[Footnote 136: The first beginning of +the insurrection was at Prosperous, County Kildare, May 24. General +Lake dealt it the final blow on Vinegar Hill, June 21.]</p> +<p><a name="note-137" id="note-137"> +<!-- Note Anchor 137 --></a>[Footnote 137: Mr. Sheridan, Mr. +Tierney, and Lord William Russell led the denunciations of the +government in the English House of Commons. A protest against +Pitt's refusal to dismiss the Lord-lieutenant, Lord Camden, the +Chancellor Fitzgibbon, and the Commander-in-chief, Lord Carhampton, +was signed by the Dukes of Norfolk, Devonshire, and Leinster; Lords +Fitzwilliam, Moira, and Ponsonby, "two of them Irish absentees, who +were discharging thus their duties to the poor country which +supported their idle magnificence."—<i>The English in +Ireland</i>, iii., 454.]</p> +<p><a name="note-138" id="note-138"> +<!-- Note Anchor 138 --></a>[Footnote 138: "Constitutional +History," iii., 451 seq.]</p> +<p><a name="note-139" id="note-139"> +<!-- Note Anchor 139 --></a>[Footnote 139: Massey's "History of +England," iv., 397 (quoting the Cornwallis correspondence).]</p> +<p><a name="note-140" id="note-140"> +<!-- Note Anchor 140 --></a>[Footnote 140: Lord Stanhope's "Reign +of Queen Anne," p. 89.]</p> +<p><a name="note-141" id="note-141"> +<!-- Note Anchor 141 --></a>[Footnote 141: In the House of Commons +by 158 to 115; in the House of Lords, February 10, by 75 to +26.]</p> +<p><a name="note-142" id="note-142"> +<!-- Note Anchor 142 --></a>[Footnote 142: An amendment pledging +the House to maintain "an independent Legislature, as established +in 1782," was only defeated by 106 to 105.]</p> +<p><a name="note-143" id="note-143"> +<!-- Note Anchor 143 --></a>[Footnote 143: In the House of Commons +the majority was 158 to 115; in the House of Lords, 75 to 26.]</p> +<p><a name="note-144" id="note-144"> +<!-- Note Anchor 144 --></a>[Footnote 144: This estimate, which was +but a guess, proved very inaccurate. The first census for the +United Kingdom, which was taken the next year (1801), showed that +Ireland was considerably more populous than its own representatives +had imagined. The numbers returned (as given by Alison, "History of +Europe," ii., 335, c. ix., sec. 8) were:</p> +<pre> + England..................................... 8,382,484 + Wales....................................... 547,346 + Scotland.................................... 1,599,068 + Army, Navy, etc............................. 470,586 + ---------- + Total...................................10,999,434 + Ireland..................................... 5,396,436 +</pre> +<p>So that the proportion of population in Great Britain, as +compared with that of Ireland, only exceeded two to one by an +insignificant fraction.]</p> +<p><a name="note-145" id="note-145"> +<!-- Note Anchor 145 --></a>[Footnote 145: See his letter to the +King, dated January 31, 1801, quoted by Lord Stanhope in the +appendix to vol. iii. of his "Life of Pitt," p. 25.]</p> +<p><a name="note-146" id="note-146"> +<!-- Note Anchor 146 --></a>[Footnote 146: Mr. Fox, called on by +Mr. Alexander to explain his expressions (in the debate relative to +Mr. Pitt's funeral), by which he had declared his disapprobation of +the Union, and his concurrence in opinion with Mr. O'Hara that it +ought to be rescinded. Mr. Fox repeated his disapprobation, but +disclaimed ever having expressed an opinion or entertained a +thought of proposing its repeal, that being now impracticable, +though he regretted its ever having been effected.—<i>Diary +of Lord Colchester</i>, February 17, 1806, ii., 39.]</p> +<p><a name="note-147" id="note-147"> +<!-- Note Anchor 147 --></a>[Footnote 147: It may be remarked that +in another respect also political critics have pronounced the Union +defective. Archbishop Whately, whose long tenure of office in +Ireland, as well as the acuteness and candor which he brought to +bear on every subject he discussed, entitle his opinions to most +respectful consideration, held this view very strongly. In several +conversations which he held with Mr. W.N. Senior, in 1858 and 1862, +he condemned the retention of the Lord-lieutenancy as "a half +measure," which, however unavoidable at the time when "no ship +could be certain of getting from Holyhead to Dublin in less than +three weeks," he pronounced "inconsistent with the fusion of the +two peoples, which was the object of the Union," and wholly +indefeasible "in an age of steam-vessels and telegraphs." And, +besides its theoretical inconsistency, he insisted that it produced +many great and practical mischiefs, among which he placed in the +front "the keeping up in people's minds the notion of a separate +kingdom; the affording a hotbed of faction and intrigue; the +presenting an image of Majesty so faint and so feeble as to be +laughed at and scorned. Disaffection to the English Lieutenancy is +cheaply shown, and it paves the way toward disaffection to the +English crown." And he imputed its continued retention to "the +ignorance which prevails in England of the state of feeling in +Ireland."—<i>Journals and Conversations Relating to +Ireland</i>, by W.N. Senior, ii., 130, 251, and <i>passim</i>. And +it is worthy of observation that a similar view is expressed by a +Scotch writer of great ability, who, contrasting the mode in which +Scotland is governed with that which prevails In Ireland, farther +denounces the Viceroyalty "as a distinct mark that Ireland is not +directly under the sovereignty of Great Britain, but rather a +dependency, like India or the Isle of Man."—<i>Ireland</i>, +by J.B. Kinnear, quoted in the <i>Fortnightly Review</i>, April 1, +1881. It is remarkable that in 1850 a bill for the abolition of the +office was passed in the House of Commons by a large majority (295 +to 70), but was dropped in the House of Lords, chiefly on account +of the opposition of the Duke of Wellington. But it is, at all +events, plain that the reasons, arising from the difficulty and +uncertainty of communication, which made its abolition impossible +at the beginning of the century, have passed away with the +introduction of steam-vessels and telegraphs. Communication of +London with Dublin is now as rapid as communication with Edinburgh, +and, that being the case, it is not easy to see how an +establishment which has never been thought of for Scotland can be +desirable for Ireland.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH6" id="CH6"><!-- CH6 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">A Census is Ordered.—Dissolution of +Pitt's Administration.—Impeachment of Lord +Melville.—Introduction of Lord Ellenborough into the +Cabinet.—Abolition of the Slave-trade.—Mr. Windham's +Compulsory Training Bill.—Illness of the King, and +Regency.—Recurrence to the Precedent of 1788-'89.—Death +of Mr. Perceval.—Lord Liverpool becomes +Prime-minister.—Question of Appointments in the +Household.—Appointment of a Prime-minister.</p> +<p>The Union with Ireland was the last great work of Pitt's first +administration, and a noble close to the legislation of the +eighteenth century. But the last months of the year were also +signalized by another enactment, which, though it cannot be said to +have anything of a character strictly entitled to the name of +constitutional, nevertheless established a practice so valuable as +the foundation of a great part of our domestic legislation, that it +will, perhaps, hardly be considered foreign to the scope and +purpose of this volume to record its commencement. In November, +1800, Mr. Abbott, the member for Helstone, brought in a bill to +take a census of the people of the United Kingdom, pointing out not +only the general importance of a knowledge of the population of a +country in its entire amount and its different classes to every +government, but also its special bearing on agriculture and on the +means requisite to provide subsistence for the people, on trade and +manufactures, and on our resources for war. Such a census as he +proposed had been more than once taken in Holland, Sweden, Spain, +and even in the United States, young as was their separate national +existence; it had been taken once—nearly fifty years +previous—in Scotland; and something like one had been +furnished in England in the reign of Edward III. by a subsidy roll, +and in that of Elizabeth by diocesan returns furnished by the +Bishops to the Privy Council.[<a href="#note-148">148</a>] He +farther argued for the necessity of such a proceeding from the +different notions entertained by men of sanguine or desponding +tempers as to the increase or diminution of the population. "Some +desponding men had asserted that the population had decreased by a +million and a half between the Revolution and Peace of Paris, in +1763; others (of whom the speaker himself was one) believed that, +on the contrary, it had increased in that interval by two +millions." His motion was unanimously adopted by both Houses; and +when the census was taken, its real result furnished as strong a +proof of its usefulness as any of the mover's arguments, by the +extent of the prevailing miscalculations which it detected. For Mr. +Abbott, who had spared no pains to arrive at a correct estimate, +while he mentioned that some persons reckoned the population of +England and Wales at 8,000,000, pronounced that, according to other +statements, formed on a more extensive investigation, and, as it +seemed to him, on a more correct train of reasoning, the total +number could not be less than 11,000,000. In point of fact, +excluding those employed in the army and navy, who were nearly half +a million, the number for England and Wales fell short of nine +millions.[<a href="#note-149">149</a>] It would be quite +superfluous to dilate on the value of the information thus +supplied, without which, indeed, much of our subsequent legislation +on poor-laws, corn-laws, and all matters relating to rating and +taxation, would have been impracticable or the merest +guesswork.</p> +<p>As was mentioned in the preceding chapter, Pitt found himself +unable to fulfil the hopes which, in his negotiations with +different parties in Ireland, he had led the Roman Catholics to +entertain of the removal of their civil and political disabilities. +So rigorous were those restrictions, both in England and Ireland, +that a Roman Catholic could not serve even as a private in the +militia; and a motion made in 1797 by Mr. Wilberforce—a man +who could certainly not be suspected of any leaning to Roman +Catholic doctrine—to render them admissible to that service, +though it was adopted in the House of Commons, was rejected by the +House of Lords. But Pitt, who on that occasion had supported +Wilberforce, did not confine his views to the removal of a single +petty disability, but proposed to put the whole body of Roman +Catholics on a footing of perfect equality with Protestants in +respect of their eligibility to every kind of office, with one or +two exceptions. And during the autumn of 1800 he was busily engaged +in framing the details of his measure, in order to submit it to his +royal master in its entirety, and so to avoid disquieting him with +a repetition of discussions on the subject, which he knew to be +distasteful to him. For, five years before, George III. had +consulted the Chief-justice, Lord Kenyon, and the Attorney-general, +Sir John Scott (afterward Lord Eldon), on the question whether some +proposed concessions to Dissenters, Protestant as well as Roman +Catholic, did not "militate against the coronation oath and many +existing statutes;" and had received their legal opinion that the +tests enacted in the reign of Charles II., "though wise laws, and +in policy not to be departed from, might be repealed or altered +without any breach of the coronation oath or Act of Union" (with +Scotland).[<a href="#note-150">150</a>] Their opinions on the point +were the more valuable, since they were notoriously opposed to +their political convictions, and might be supposed to have carried +sufficient conviction to the royal mind. But his Majesty's scruples +were now, unfortunately, revived by the Lord Chancellor, who, +strange to say, was himself a Presbyterian; and who treacherously +availed himself of his knowledge of what was in contemplation to +anticipate the Prime-minister's intended explanations to the King. +He fully succeeded in his object of fixing the King's resolution to +refuse his assent to the contemplated concessions (which, by a +curious confusion of ideas, his Majesty even characterized as +"Jacobinical"[<a href="#note-151">151</a>]), though not in the +object which he had still more at heart, of inducing the King to +regard him as the statesman in the whole kingdom the most deserving +of his confidence. The merits of the question will be more +appropriately examined hereafter. It is sufficient to say here that +Pitt, conceiving himself bound by personal honor as well as by +statesman-like duty to persevere in his intended measure, or to +retire from an office which no man is justified in holding unless +he can discharge its functions in accordance with his own judgment +of what is required by the best interests of the state, resigned +his post, and was succeeded by Mr. Addington.</p> +<p>Addington's ministry was made memorable by the formation of the +Northern Confederacy against us, and its immediate and total +overthrow by Nelson's cannon; and for the Peace of Amiens, severely +criticised in Parliament, as that of Utrecht and every subsequent +treaty with a similar object had been, but defensible both on +grounds of domestic policy, as well as on that of affording us a +much-needed respite from the strain of war; though it proved to be +only a respite, and a feverish one, since at the end of two years +the war was renewed, to be waged with greater fury than ever. But +it was too short-lived for any constitutional questions to arise in +it. And when, in 1804, Pitt resumed the government, his attention +was too completely engrossed by the diplomatic arrangements by +which he hoped to unite all the nations east of the Rhine in +resistance to a power whose ever aggressive ambition was a standing +menace to every Continental kingdom, for him to be able to spare +time for the consideration of measures of domestic policy, except +such as were of a financial character. But, though his premature +death rendered his second administration shorter than even +Addington's, it was not wholly unproductive of questions of +constitutional interest. It witnessed a recurrence to that which +cannot but be regarded as among the most important privileges of +the House of Commons, the right of impeaching a minister for +maladministration. A report of a commission appointed for the +investigation of the naval affairs of the kingdom had revealed to +Parliament a gross misapplication of the public money committed by +the Paymaster of the Navy. And, as that officer could not have +offended as he had done without either gross carelessness or +culpable connivance on the part of the Treasurer of the Navy, Lord +Melville, who had since been promoted to the post of First Lord of +the Admiralty, the House of Commons ordered his impeachment at the +Bar of the House of Lords; the vote being passed in 1805, during +Pitt's administration, though the trial did not take place till the +year following. In reality, the charge did not impugn Lord +Melville's personal honor, on which at first sight it appeared to +press hardly, Mr. Whitbread himself, the member for Bedford, who +was the chief promoter and manager of the impeachment, admitting +that he never imputed to Lord Melville "any participation in the +plunder of the public;" and, as Lord Melville was acquitted on +every one of the charges brought against him, the case might have +been passed over here with the barest mention of it, were it not +that Lord Campbell has pointed out the mode of procedure as +differing from that adopted in the great trial of Warren Hastings, +twenty years before; and, by reason of that difference, forming a +model for future proceedings of the same kind, if, unhappily, there +should ever be occasion given for a similar prosecution. The credit +of the difference Lord Campbell gives to the Chancellor, Lord +Erskine, who, "instead of allowing the House of Lords to sit to +hear the case a few days in a year, and, when sitting, being +converted from a court of justice into a theatre for rhetorical +display, insisted that it should sit, like every other criminal +tribunal, <i>de die in diem</i>, till the verdict was delivered. +And he enforced both upon the managers of the House of Commons and +on the counsel for the defendant the wholesome rules of procedure +established for the detection of crime and the protection of +innocence."[<a href="#note-152">152</a>] It is well known that on +the trial of Hastings the managers of that impeachment, and most +especially Burke, claimed a right of giving evidence such as no +court of law would have admitted, and set up what they entitled "a +usage of Parliament independent of and contradistinguished from the +common law."[<a href="#note-153">153</a>] But on that occasion Lord +Thurlow, then Chancellor, utterly denied the existence of any such +usage—a usage which, "in times of barbarism, when to impeach +a man was to ruin him by the strong hand of power, was quoted in +order to justify the most arbitrary proceedings." He instanced the +trial of Lord Stafford, as one which "was from beginning to end +marked by violence and injustice," and expressed a "hope that in +these enlightened days no man would be tried but by the law of the +land." We may fairly agree with Lord Campbell, that it is to be +hoped that the course adopted by Lord Erskine in this case has +settled the principle and mode of procedure for all future time; +since certainly the importance of an impeachment, both as to the +state interests involved in it, and the high position and authority +of the defendant, ought to be considered as reasons for adhering +with the greatest closeness to the strict rules of law, rather than +for relaxing them in any particular.</p> +<p>But, as was natural, the public could spare little attention for +anything except the war, and the arrangements made by the minister +for engaging in it with effect; the interest which such a state of +things always kindles being in this instance greatly inflamed by +Napoleon's avowal of a design to invade the kingdom, though it is +now known that the preparations of which he made such a parade were +merely a feint to throw Austria off her guard.[<a href= +"#note-154">154</a>] During Addington's administration Pitt had +spoken warmly in favor of giving every possible encouragement to +the Volunteer movement, and also in support of a proposal made by +an independent member, Colonel Crawford, to fortify London; and one +of his first measures after his resumption of office was a measure, +known as the Additional Force Bill, to transfer a large portion of +the militia to the regular army. It was so purely a measure of +detail, that it would hardly have been necessary to mention it, had +it not been for an objection made to it by the Prime-minister's +former colleague, Lord Grenville, and for the reply with which that +objection was encountered by the Chief-justice, Lord Ellenborough; +the former denouncing it as unconstitutional, since, he declared, +it tended to establish a large standing army in time of peace; and +Lord Ellenborough, on the other hand, declaring the right of the +crown to call out the whole population in arms for the defence of +the realm to be so "radical, essential, and hitherto never +questioned part of the royal prerogative, that, even in such an age +of adventurous propositions, he had not expected that any lord +would have ventured to question it."[<a href= +"#note-155">155</a>]</p> +<p>Pitt died in the beginning of 1806, and was succeeded by an +administration of which his great rival, Fox, was the guiding +spirit while he lived, though Lord Grenville was First Lord of the +Treasury, and, after Fox's death, which took place in September, +the undisputed Prime-minister. But the formation of the +administration was not completed without a step which was at once +strongly denounced, not only by the regular Opposition, but by +several members of political moderation, as a violation, if not of +the letter, at least of the spirit, of the constitution, the +introduction of the Lord Chief-justice, Lord Ellenborough, into the +cabinet. It was notorious that he was invited to a seat among that +body as the representative of a small party, the personal friends +of Lord Sidmouth. For the ministry was formed in some degree on the +principle of a coalition; Lord Grenville himself having been a +colleague of Pitt throughout the greater part of that statesman's +first ministry, and as such having been always opposed to Fox; +while Lord Ellenborough had been Attorney-general in Addington's +administration, which avowedly only differed from Pitt on the +single subject of the Catholic question.</p> +<p>The appointment was at once made the subject of motions in both +Houses of Parliament. In the House of Lords, Lord Bristol, who +brought the question forward, denounced "this identification of a +judge with the executive government as injurious to the judicial +character, subversive of the liberty of the people, and having a +direct and alarming tendency to blend and amalgamate those great +elementary principles of political power which it is the very +object of a free constitution to keep separate and distinct." In +the House of Commons, Mr. Canning took a similar objection; and, +though he admitted that a precedent for the act might be found in +the case of Lord Mansfield who, while Chief-justice, had also been +a cabinet minister in the administration of 1757, he argued +forcibly that that precedent turned against the ministry and the +present appointment, because Lord Mansfield himself had +subsequently admitted that "he had infringed the principles of the +constitution by acting as a cabinet minister and Chief-justice at +the same time." Fox, in reply, relied principally on two arguments. +The first was, that "he had never heard of such a thing as the +cabinet council becoming the subject of a debate in that House. He +had never known of the exercise of the King's prerogative in the +appointment of his ministers being brought into question on such +grounds as had now been alleged." The second, that "in point of +fact there is nothing in the constitution that recognizes any such +institution as a cabinet council; that it is a body unknown to the +law, and one which has in no instance whatever been recognized by +Parliament." He farther urged that as Lord Ellenborough was a privy +councillor, and as the cabinet is only a select committee of the +Privy Council, he was, "in fact, as liable to be summoned to attend +the cabinet, as a privy councillor, as he was in his present +situation."</p> +<p>The last argument was beneath the speaker to use, since not one +of his hearers was ignorant that no member of the Privy Council +unconnected with the government ever is summoned to the +deliberations of the cabinet; and though, as he correctly stated, +"there is no legal record of the members comprising any cabinet," +it may safely be affirmed that since July, 1714, when the Duke of +Argyll and the Duke of Somerset claimed admission to the +deliberations of the ministers, on account of the danger in which +the Queen lay, though they admitted that they had received no +summons to attend,[<a href="#note-156">156</a>] there has been no +instance of any privy councillor attending without a summons; nor, +except at the accession of a new sovereign, of summonses being sent +to any members of the council except the actual ministers. The +second argument was even worse, as being still more sophistical. It +might be true that no law nor statute recognized the cabinet as a +body distinct from the Privy Council, but it was at least equally +true that there was no one who was ignorant of the distinction; +that it was, in truth, one without which it would be difficult to +understand the organization or working of any ministry. The +indispensable function and privilege of a ministry is, to +deliberate in concert and in private on the measures to be taken +for the welfare of the state; but there could be little chance of +concert, and certainly none of privacy, if every one who has ever +been sworn a member of the Privy Council had a right to attend all +its deliberations. Again, to say that the King's prerogative, as +exercised in the choice of his advisers, is a thing so sacred that +no abuse of it, or want of judgment shown in its exercise, can +warrant a complaint, is inconsistent with every principle of +constitutional government, and with every conceivable idea of the +privileges of Parliament. In fact, Parliament has claimed a right +to interfere in matters apparently touching more nearly the royal +prerogative, and it is only in the reign preceding the present +reign that hostile comments have been made in Parliament on the +appointment of a particular person as ambassador to a foreign +power. Yet the post of ambassador is one which might have been +supposed to have been farther removed from the supervision of +Parliament than that of a minister, an ambassador being in a +special degree the personal representative of the sovereign, and +the sovereign therefore, having, it might be supposed, a right to a +most unfettered choice in such a matter.</p> +<p>Stripped of all technicalities, and even of all reference to the +manifest possibility of such a circumstance arising as that the +Chief-justice, if a member of a cabinet, may have a share in +ordering the institution of a prosecution which, as a judge, it may +be his lot to try, one consideration which is undeniable is, that a +member of a cabinet is of necessity, and by the very nature of his +position in it, a party man, and that it is of preeminent +importance to the impartiality of the judicial bench, and to the +confidence of the people in the purity, integrity, and freedom from +political bias of their decisions, that the judges should be exempt +from all suspicion of party connection. Lord Campbell even goes the +length of saying, what was not urged on either side of either House +in these debates, that it was alleged by at least one contemporary +writer that Lord Mansfield's position in the cabinet did +perceptibly influence some of his views and measures respecting the +Press;[<a href="#note-157">157</a>] and, though in both Houses the +ministry had a majority on the question of the propriety of the +appointment, he records his own opinion[<a href= +"#note-158">158</a>] that "the argument was all on the losing +side;" and that Mr. Fox showed his consciousness that it was so by +his "concession that the Chief-justice should absent himself from +the cabinet when the expediency of commencing prosecutions for +treason or sedition was to be discussed." He adds, also, that "it +is said that Lord Ellenborough himself ere long changed his +opinion, and, to his intimate friends, expressed deep regret that +he had ever been prevailed upon to enter the cabinet."</p> +<a name="composition" id="composition"></a> +<p>But, if the composition of the cabinet of 1806 has in this +respect been generally condemned, on the other hand the annals of +that ministry, short-lived as it was, are marked by the enactment +of one great measure which has been stamped with universal +approbation. It may, perhaps, be said that the existence, +promotion, discouragement, or suppression of a branch of trade has +no title to be regarded as a constitutional question. But the +course which the British Parliament, after a long period of +hesitation, has adopted respecting, not only the slave-trade, but +the employment of slave-labor in any part of the British dominions, +is so intimately connected with the great constitutional principle, +that every man, whatever be his race or nation or previous +condition, whose foot is once planted on British soil, is free from +that moment, that it cannot be accounted a digression to mention +the subject here. To our statesmen of Queen Anne's time traffic in +slaves was so far from being considered discreditable, that the +ministry of that reign prided themselves greatly on what was called +the Assiento Treaty with Spain, by which they secured for the +British merchants and ship-owners the privilege of supplying the +West India Islands with several thousand slaves a year. In 1748 the +ministers of George II were equally jealous of the credit of +renewing it. It had even on one occasion been decided in the Court +of Common Pleas that an action of trover could be maintained for a +negro, "because negroes are heathens;" though Chief-justice Holt +scouted the idea of being bound by a precedent which would put "a +human being on the same footing as an ox or an ass," and declared +that "in England there was no such thing as a slave." Subsequent +decisions, however, of two Lord Chancellors—Lord Talbot and +Lord Hardwicke—were not wholly consistent with the doctrine +thus laid down by Holt; and the question could not be regarded as +finally settled till 1772, when a slave named Somersett was brought +over to England from Jamaica by his master, and on his arrival in +the Thames claimed his freedom, and under a writ of <i>habeas +corpus</i> had his claim allowed by Lord Mansfield. The master's +counsel contended that slavery was not a condition unsanctioned by +English law, for villeinage was slavery, and no statute had ever +abolished villeinage. But the Chief-justice, in the first place, +denied that villeinage had ever been slavery such as existed in the +West Indies; and, in the second place, he pronounced that, whether +it had been or not, it had, at all events, long ceased in England, +and could not be revived. "The air of England has long been too +pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it. Every man +who comes into England is entitled to the protection of English +law."[<a href="#note-159">159</a>] But this freedom was as yet held +to be only co-extensive with these islands. And for sixty years +more our West India Islands continued to be cultivated by the labor +of slaves, some of whom were the offspring of slaves previously +employed, though by far the greater part were imported yearly from +the western coast of Africa. The supply from that country seemed +inexhaustible. The native chiefs in time of war gladly sold their +prisoners to the captains of British vessels; in time of peace they +sold them their own subjects; and, if at any time these modes of +obtaining slaves slackened, the captains would land at night, and, +attacking the villages on the coast sweep off the inhabitants on +board their ships, and at once set sail with their booty. The +sufferings of these unhappy captives in what was called the "middle +passage"—the passage between their native land and the West +India Islands—were for a long time unknown or disregarded, +till, early in Pitt's first ministry, they attracted the notice of +some of our naval officers who were stationed in the West Indies, +and who, on their return to England, related the horrors which they +had witnessed or heard of—how, between decks too low to admit +of a full-grown man standing upright, the wretched victims, chained +to the sides of the ships, lay squeezed together in such numbers, +though the whole voyage was within the tropics, that, from the +overpowering heat and scantiness of food, it was estimated that +two-thirds of each cargo died on the passage. Most fortunately for +the credit of England, the fearful trade was brought under the +notice of a young member of Parliament singularly zealous in the +cause of humanity and religion, endowed with untiring industry and +powerful eloquence, and connected by the closest ties of personal +intimacy with Mr. Pitt. To hear of such a system of organized +murder, as the British officers described the slave-trade to be, +was quite sufficient to induce Mr. Wilberforce to resolve to devote +himself to its suppression. He laid the case in all its horrors +before his friend the Prime-minister, a man as ready as himself to +grapple with and extinguish all proved abuses; and Pitt at once +promised him all the support which he could give. It was no easy +task that he had taken on himself. A year or two before, Burke had +applied himself to frame some regulations which he hoped might +gradually remove the evil; but, little as he was moved by +considerations of popularity or daunted by difficulty, he had +abandoned the attempt, as one which would meet with a resistance +too powerful to be overcome. Wilberforce was not a bolder man than +Burke, but he had no other object to divide his attention, and, +therefore, to this one he devoted all his faculties and energies, +enlisting supporters in every quarter, seeking even the +co-operation of the French government, and opening a correspondence +with the French Secretary of State, M. Montmorin, a statesman of +great capacity, and, what was far rarer in France, of incorruptible +honesty. M. Montmorin, however, though alive to the cruelty of the +traffic, was unable to promise him any aid, alleging the fears of +the French planters that its abolition "would ruin the French +islands. He said that it was one of those subjects upon which the +interests of men and their sentiments were so much at variance, +that it was difficult to learn what was practicable."[<a href= +"#note-160">160</a>]</p> +<p>Wilberforce had already found that the English merchants were +still less manageable. Pitt had entered so fully into his views, +that in 1788 he himself moved and carried a resolution pledging the +House of Commons to take the slave-trade into consideration in the +next session. And another friend of the cause, Sir W. Dobben, +brought in a bill to diminish the horrors of the middle passage by +proportioning the number of slaves who might be conveyed in one +ship to the tonnage of the vessel. But those concerned in the West +India trade rose up in arms against even so moderate a measure, and +one so clearly demanded by the most ordinary humanity as this. The +Liverpool merchants declared that the absence of restrictions on +the slave-trade had been the chief cause of the prosperity and +opulence of their town, and obtained leave to be heard by counsel +against the bill. But Fox united with Pitt on this subject, and the +bill was carried. But this was all the practical success which the +efforts of the "Abolitionists," as they began to be called, +achieved for many years. And even that was not won without extreme +difficulty; Lord Chancellor Thurlow opposing it with great +vehemence in the House of Lords, as the fruit of a "five days' fit +of philanthropy which had just sprung up," and pointing to the +conduct of the French government, which, as he asserted, had +offered premiums to encourage the trade, as an example that we +should do well to follow. It was even said that he had contrived to +incline the King himself to the same view; to have persuaded him +that the trade was indispensable to the prosperity of our +manufacturers, and, in the Chancellor's words, "that it was his +royal duty to show some humanity to the whites as well as to the +negroes." And more than once, when bills to limit or wholly +suppress the trade had been passed by the Commons, the same +mischievous influence defeated them in the Lords. The last years of +Pitt's first administration were too fully occupied with the +affairs of Ireland, negotiations with foreign powers, and the great +war with France, to enable him to keep pace with his friend's zeal +on the subject. But in his second administration, occupied though +he was with a recurrence of the same causes, he found time to +prepare and issue an Order in Council prohibiting the importation +of slaves into our fresh colonial acquisitions, and the employment +of British ships to supply the Dutch, French, and Spanish +islands.</p> +<p>And this Order in Council paved the way for the total abolition. +One of the earliest proceedings of the new ministry was the +introduction by the Attorney-general, Sir Arthur Pigott, of a bill +to extend and make it perpetual; to forbid "the importation of +African negroes by British ships into the colonies conquered by or +ceded to us in war; or into the colonies of any neutral state in +the West Indies. For at present every state that had colonies in +America or the West Indies, and that was not actually at war with +us, availed itself of the opportunity of British shipping to carry +on the trade." It was resisted as vehemently as any former measure +with the same object, and partly on the new ground that it would in +no degree stop the trade or diminish the sufferings of the +Africans, but would merely rob our ship-owners of their profits to +enrich the Americans. Mr. Rose, the member for Christchurch, who +advanced this argument, had been a friend of Pitt; yet, though he +quoted an instance of a single vessel having buried one hundred and +fifty-two slaves on one voyage, he was not ashamed to deprecate the +bill, on the plea that "the manufacturers of Manchester, Stockport, +and Paisley would be going about naked and starving, and thus, by +attending to a supposed claim for relief from a distant quarter, we +should give existence to much more severe distress at home." The +bill, however, was carried in both Houses, and received the royal +assent. And Fox, who supported it warmly in his speech on the third +reading (one of the last speeches which he ever addressed to the +House), invited Wilberforce to regard it as a stepping-stone to the +total abolition of the trade, and as an encouragement to renew his +motion for that object; and, though he could not promise him the +support of the government as a government, he "could answer for +himself and many of his friends who held the highest and most +dignified stations in the other House of Parliament. They still +felt the question of the total abolition as one involving the +dearest interests of humanity, and as one which, should they be +successful in effecting it, would entail more true glory upon their +administration, and more honor upon their country, than any other +transaction in which they could be engaged."</p> +<p>Mr. Fox did not live to see the opening of another session; but, +when that time came, the position which he had taken up, that the +measure of which he had thus promoted the passing was an +encouragement to do more, was adopted to its full extent by the +chief of his colleagues, Lord Grenville, who, in February, 1807, +himself brought forward a motion for the entire abolition of the +trade. Though he was Prime-minister, he could not introduce it as a +government measure, since two of his colleagues—Lord +Sidmouth, the President of the Council, and Mr. Windham, the +Secretary of State for the Colonies—opposed it; though the +former professed a desire to see the trade abolished, but would +have preferred to attain that end by imposing such a tax on every +slave imported as should render the trade unprofitable. He had +another obstacle also to encounter, in the vehement opposition of +some of the princes of the royal family, the Dukes of Clarence and +Sussex more especially, who were known to be canvassing against the +bill, and were generally understood, in so doing, to be acting in +accordance with the views of their elder brothers. But he was +confident that by this time the feeling of the whole country was +with him on the subject. He was resolved to rest his case on its +justice, and therefore consented that the House should hear counsel +on the subject, though he resisted their demand to be allowed to +call witnesses. Accordingly, counsel were heard for the whole body +of West India planters, and for those of one or two separate +islands, such as Jamaica and Trinidad; for the Liverpool merchants, +and even for the trustees of the Liverpool Docks. But some of their +reasonings he even turned against themselves, refusing for a moment +to admit "that the profits obtained by robbery could be urged as an +argument for the continuance of robbery." He denounced the trade as +"the most criminal that any country could be engaged in," and as +one that led to other crimes in the treatment of the slaves after +they reached the West Indies. He instanced "three most horrible and +dreadful murders of slaves" that had been committed in Barbadoes, +and quoted the report of Lord Seaforth, governor of the island, +who, on investigation, had found that by the law of the colony the +punishment affixed to such murders was a fine of eleven pounds. He +was opposed by the Duke of Clarence, who directed his remarks +chiefly to a defence of the general humanity of the planters; and +by Lord Westmoreland, who, in a speech of singular intemperance, +denounced the principle of the measure, as one after the passing of +which "no property could be rendered safe which could fall within +the power of the Legislature." He even made it an argument against +the bill that its principle, if carried to its legitimate logical +end, must tend to the abolition of slavery as well as of the +slave-trade. He objected especially to the assertion in the +preamble that the trade was "contrary to justice and humanity," +declaring that those words were only inserted in the hope that by +them "foreign powers might be humbugged into a concurrence with the +abolition," and wound up his harangue by a declaration that, though +he should "see the Presbyterian and the prelate, the Methodist and +pew-preacher, the Jacobin and the murderer, unite in support of it, +he would still raise his voice against it." It must have been more +painful to the minister to be opposed by so distinguished an +officer as Lord St. Vincent, who resisted the bill chiefly on the +ground that "its effect would be to transfer British capital to +other countries, which would not be disposed to abandon so +productive a trade," and declared that he could only account for +Lord Grenville's advocacy of it "by supposing that some Obi man had +cast his spell upon him." But the case was too strong for any +arguments to prevail which were based solely on the profits of a +trade which no one pretended to justify. The bill passed the Lords +by a majority of nearly three to one; in the House of Commons, +where the opposition was much feebler, by one infinitely +larger;[<a href="#note-161">161</a>] and, by a somewhat remarkable +coincidence, it received the royal assent on the same day on which +Lord Grenville announced to his brother peers that his +administration was at an end.</p> +<p>Even before the abolition had thus become law, the member for +Northumberland, Earl Percy, endeavored to give practical effect to +Lord Westmoreland's view, that emancipation of the slaves was its +inevitable corollary, by moving for leave to bring in a bill for +the gradual abolition of slavery in the British settlements of the +West Indies. But he was opposed by Lord Howick,[<a href= +"#note-162">162</a>] though he had been among the earnest advocates +of abolition, partly for the sake of the negroes themselves, and +partly on the ground that the Legislature had no "right to +interfere with the property of the colonists;" little foreseeing +that the measure which he now opposed was reserved for his own +administration, and that its accomplishment would be one of its +chief titles to the respectful recollection of posterity. And, as +the House was presently counted out, the discussion would not have +been worth recording, were it not for the opportunity which it gave +of displaying the practical and moderate wisdom of Wilberforce +himself, who joined in the opposition to Lord Percy's motion. "The +enemies of abolition had," he said, "always confounded abolition +with emancipation. He and his friends had always distinguished +between them; and not only abstained from proposing emancipation, +but were ready to reject it when proposed by others. How much +soever he looked forward with anxious expectation to the period +when the negroes might with safety be liberated, he knew too well +the effect which the long continuance of abject slavery produced +upon the human mind to think of their immediate emancipation, a +measure which at the present moment would be injurious both to them +and to the colonies. He and those who acted with him were satisfied +with having gained an object which was safely attainable."</p> +<p>And they had reason to be satisfied. For the good work thus done +was not limited by the extent of the British dominions, vast as +they are. The example of the homage thus paid by the Parliament and +the nation to justice and humanity was contagious; the principle on +which the bill was founded and was carried being such that, for +mere shame, foreign countries could hardly persist in maintaining a +traffic which those who had derived the greatest profit from it had +on such grounds renounced; though our ministers did not trust to +their spontaneous sympathies, but made the abolition of the traffic +by our various allies, or those who wished to become so, a constant +object of diplomatic negotiations, even purchasing the co-operation +of some by important concessions, in one instance by the payment of +a large sum of money. The conferences and congresses which took +place on the re-establishment of peace gave them great facilities +for pressing their views on the different governments. And Lord +Liverpool's instructions to Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of +Wellington, as plenipotentiaries of our government,[<a href= +"#note-163">163</a>] show the keen interest which he took in the +matter, and the skilful manner in which he sought to avail himself +of the predominant influence which the exertions and triumphs of +this country had given her with every foreign cabinet. Though +Portugal was an ally to whom we regarded ourselves as bound by +special ties, as well as by the great benefits we had conferred on +her, yet, as she clung with the greatest pertinacity to the trade, +he did not scruple to endeavor to put a constraint upon her which +should compel her submission, and instructed Lord Castlereagh "to +induce the Congress to take the best means in their power to +enforce it by the adoption of a law, on the part of the several +states, to exclude the colonial produce of those countries who +should refuse to comply with this system of abolition."</p> +<p>And exertions so resolutely put forward were so successful, that +the trade was avowedly proscribed by every European nation, though +unquestionably it was still carried on by stealth by merchants and +ship-owners of more than one country—not, if the suspicions +of our statesmen were well founded, without some connivance on the +part of their governments. Nor were our efforts in the cause the +fitful display of impulsive excitement. We have continued them and +widened their sphere as occasions have presented themselves, +exerting a successful influence even over unchristian and +semi-civilized governments, of which an instance has very recently +been furnished, in the assurances given by the Khedive of Egypt to +our minister residing at his court, that he is taking vigorous +measures to suppress the slave-trade, which is still carried on in +the interior of Africa; and that we may believe his promise that he +will not relax his exertions till it is extinguished, at least in +the region on the north of the equator.</p> +<p>Individuals, as a rule, are slow to take warning from the +experience of others; slower, perhaps, to follow their example in +well-doing. Nations are slower still. When such an example is +followed, still more when it is adopted by a general imitation, it +will usually be found not only that the good is of a very unusual +standard of excellence, but that he or they who have set the +example are endowed with a force of character that predisposes +others to submit to their influence. And credit of this kind +England may fairly claim for the general abolition of the +slave-trade; for the condemnation and abolition of the slave-trade +had this distinguishing feature, that the idea of such a policy was +of exclusively British origin. No nation had ever before conceived +the notion that to make a man a slave was a crime. On the contrary, +there were not wanting those who, from the recognition of such a +condition in the Bible, argued that it was a divine institution. +And they who denounced it, and labored for its suppression, had not +only inveterate prejudice and long custom to contend with, but +found arrayed against them many of the strongest passions that +animate mankind. The natural desire for gain united merchants, +ship-owners, and planters in unanimous resistance to a measure +calculated to cut off from them one large source of profit. +Patriotism, which, however misguided, was sincere and free from all +taint of personal covetousness, induced many, who wore wholly +unconnected either with commerce or with the West Indies, to look +with disfavor on a change which not only imperilled the interests +of such important bodies of men, but which they were assured by +those concerned, must render the future cultivation of estates in +the West Indies impracticable; while such a result would not only +ruin those valuable colonies, but would also extinguish that great +nursery for our navy which was furnished by the vessels at present +engaged in the West India trade. To disregard such substantial +considerations to risk a loss of revenue, a diminution of our +colonial greatness, and a weakening of our maritime power, even +while engaged in a formidable war, under no other pressure but that +of a respect for humanity and justice, was certainly a homage to +those virtues, and also an act of self-denying courage, of which +the previous history of the world had furnished no similar example; +and it is one of which, in one point of view, the nation may be +more justly proud than of the achievements of its wisest statesmen, +or the exploits of its most invincible warriors. For it was the act +of the nation itself. No previous sentiment of the people paved the +way for Pitt's triumphs in finance, for Nelson's or Wellington's +victories by sea and land; but the slave-trade could never have +been abolished by any parliamentary leader, had not the nation as a +whole become convinced of its wickedness, and, when once so +convinced, resolved to brave everything rather than persist in it. +The merit of having impressed it with this conviction belongs to +Mr. Wilberforce, whose untiring, unswerving devotion of brilliant +eloquence and practical ability to the one holy object, and whose +ultimate success, give him a just claim to be reckoned among the +great men of a generation than which the world has seen none more +prolific of every kind of greatness. But the nation itself is also +entitled to no slight credit for having so rapidly appreciated the +force of his teaching, and for having encouraged its +representatives to listen to his voice, by the knowledge that by +adopting his measures they would be carrying out the wish and +determination of the whole people.</p> +<p>A measure for the strengthening of the army, introduced by the +Secretary of State for War, Mr. Windham, though not one of +perpetual force, since it required to be renewed every year, claims +a brief mention, from the extent to which one of its clauses +trenched on the freedom of the subject, by making every man of +military age (from sixteen years old[<a href="#note-164">164</a>] +to forty) liable to be compelled to submit to military training for +a certain period of each year. "Nothing," to quote the Secretary's +words, "was to exempt any man from the general training but his +becoming a volunteer at his own expense, the advantage of which +would be that he could train himself if he chose, and fight, if +occasion required it, in the corps to which he should belong, +instead of being liable to fall in among the regulars.... As out of +the immense mass of the population some selection must be made, +those called on to be trained were to be selected by lot, and he +would have the people divided into three classes, between the ages +of sixteen and forty: the first class to comprehend all from +sixteen to twenty-four; the second, those between twenty-four and +thirty-two; and the third, all from thirty-two to forty. The number +of days for training he proposed to limit to twenty-six, with an +allowance of a shilling a day for each man." The result aimed at by +this part of his measure was the creation of a force different from +and unconnected with the militia; and he did not conceal his hope +that the military habits which it would implant in a large portion +of the population would lead many of those thus about to be trained +to enlist in the regular army. To the militia itself he paid a high +but not undeserved compliment, declaring it "for home service +certainly equal to any part of our regular forces, with the single +exception that it had never seen actual service." But the militia +could not be called on to serve out of the kingdom; and his object +was to increase the force available for foreign service—"to +see the great mass of the population of the country so far trained +as to be able to recruit immediately whatever losses the regular +army might sustain in action." As yet, the number of men yearly +obtained by recruiting fell far short of the requirements of the +service. Wellington had not yet begun that career of victory which +created a national enthusiasm for war, and filled our ranks with +willing soldiers. And another clause of the same bill was framed in +the hope of making the service more acceptable to the peasantry, by +limiting the time for which recruits were to be enlisted, and +entering men, at first, in the infantry for seven years, or in the +cavalry (as that branch of the service required a longer +apprenticeship) for ten; then allowing them the option of renewing +their engagement for two periods—in the infantry of seven +years each, in the cavalry of six and five, with increased pay +during each of the two periods, and a small pension for life, if +the soldier retired after the second period; and "the full +allowance of Chelsea," which was to be farther raised to a shilling +a day, for those who elected to serve the whole twenty-one years. +This principle the present reign has seen carried to a much greater +extent, but the change is too recent for even the most experienced +officers to be agreed on its effects. And it is only because of +this recent extension of it that this clause is mentioned here. But +the enactment of a law of compulsory service was clearly an inroad +on the great constitutional right of every man to choose his own +employment. At the same time, it is equally clear that it was only +such an inroad as under the circumstances, was fully justifiable. +It is true that all danger of French invasion had passed away with +Trafalgar; but the kingdom was still engaged in a gigantic war, and +the necessity of the case—always the supreme law—was so +little denied by the Opposition, that their objections to the bill +were directed entirely against the clause for limited enlistment, +and not against that which abridged the subject's liberty, by +compelling him to learn to serve his country in war.</p> +<p>The reign of George III., which had now lasted fifty years, was +drawing practically to a close. The excitement caused by the +ministerial changes in 1801 had already brought on one relapse, +though fortunately a very brief one, of the King's malady of 1788; +and in the autumn of 1810 the death of the daughter who was +supposed to be his especial favorite, the Princess Amelia, produced +a recurrence of it, which, though at first the physicians +entertained more sanguine hopes of his speedy recovery than on any +former occasion, he never shook off. More than one change of +ministry had recently taken place. In 1807 Lord Grenville had been +compelled, as Pitt had been in 1801, to choose between yielding his +opinions on the Catholic question or resigning his office, and had +chosen the latter alternative. He had been succeeded for two years +by the Duke of Portland; but in 1809 that nobleman had also +retired, and had been succeeded by his Attorney-general, Mr. +Perceval, the only practising barrister who had ever been so +promoted. And he now being Prime-minister, and, as such, forced to +make arrangements for carrying on the government during the illness +of his sovereign, naturally regarded the course pursued in 1789 as +the precedent to be followed. Accordingly, on the 20th of December +he proposed for the adoption of the House of Commons the same +resolutions which Pitt had carried twenty-two years +before—that the King was prevented by indisposition from +attending to public business; that it was the duty of Parliament to +provide means for supplying the defect of the personal exercise of +the royal authority, and its duty also to determine the mode in +which the royal assent to the measures necessary could be +signified. And he also followed Pitt's example in expressing by +letter to the Prince of Wales his conviction that his Royal +Highness was a person most proper to be appointed Regent, and +explaining at the same time the restrictions which seemed proper to +be imposed on his immediate exercise of the complete sovereign +authority; though the advanced age at which the King had now +arrived made it reasonable that those restrictions should now be +limited to a single year. The Prince, on his part, showed that time +had in no degree abated his repugnance to those restrictions, and +he answered the minister's letter by referring him to that which he +had addressed to Pitt on the same subject in 1788. And he induced +all his brothers to address to Perceval a formal protest against +"the establishment of a restricted Regency," which they proceeded +to describe as perfectly unconstitutional, as being contrary to and +subversive of the principles which seated their family upon the +throne of this realm.[<a href="#note-165">165</a>]</p> +<p>Perceval, however, with Pitt's example before him, had no doubt +of the course which it was his duty to pursue; and the Opposition +also, for the most part, followed the tactics of 1789; the line of +argument now adopted by each party being so nearly identical with +that employed on the former occasion, that it is needless to +recapitulate the topics on which the different speakers insisted; +though it is worth remarking that Lord Holland, who, as the nephew +of Fox, thought it incumbent on him to follow his uncle's guidance, +did on one point practically depart from it. As his uncle had done, +he denied the right of the Houses to impose any restrictions on the +Prince's exercise of the royal authority; but, at the same time, he +consented to put what may be called a moral limitation on that +exercise, by adding to an amendment which he proposed to the +resolution proposed by the minister an expression of "the farther +opinion of the House that it will be expedient to abstain from the +exercise of all such powers as the immediate exigencies of the +state shall not call into action, until Parliament shall have +passed a bill or bills for the future care of his Majesty's royal +person during his Majesty's present indisposition."</p> +<p>It is remarkable that the leaders of the Opposition were in a +great degree stimulated in the line they took by the very same +hopes which had animated Fox and his followers in 1789—the +expectation that the Regent's first act would be to discard the +existing ministry, and to place them in office. But again they were +disappointed in their anticipations, of the realization of which +they had made so sure that they had taken no pains to keep them +secret. They even betrayed their mortification to the world when +the Prince's intentions on the subject of the administration became +known by the violence of their language in Parliament, some of +their party denouncing the employment of the Great Seal to give the +royal assent to the bill as "fraud and forgery." Nor, indeed, could +the Regent himself, even while expressing his intention to make no +change in the administration, lest "any act of his might in the +smallest degree have the effect of interfering with the progress of +his sovereign's recovery," suppress an expression of +dissatisfaction at the recent arrangements, which he considered had +placed him in "a situation of unexampled embarrassment," and had +created "a state of affairs ill calculated, as he feared, to +sustain the interests of the United Kingdom in this awful and +perilous crisis, and most difficult to be reconciled to the general +principles of the British constitution."[<a href= +"#note-166">166</a>] There were at this time general and apparently +well-founded hopes of the King's recovery. For at intervals during +the whole of January the Prime-minister had interviews with his +Majesty; and, on the very day on which the bill became law, the +King himself mentioned it to Lord Eldon, the Chancellor, and said +that he acquiesced in it from perfect confidence in the advice of +his physicians, and on the sound judgment and personal attachment +of his ministers.</p> +<a name="endeavors" id="endeavors"></a> +<p>For the present, therefore, no change was made in the +administration; but when, in the spring of the following year, Mr. +Perceval was murdered, the necessity for a new arrangement which +this strange and calamitous atrocity forced upon the +Regent—who by this time had come into possession of his full +authority—led to his making offers of the conduct of affairs +to more than one prominent statesman, all of them, as is somewhat +remarkable, being peers. And, though the proposals eventually came +to nothing, and the negotiations terminated in the re-establishment +of the former ministry, with Lord Liverpool at its head, yet some +of the causes to which their failure was publicly or generally +attributed seem desirable to be recorded, because the first, and +that most openly avowed, bears a not very distant resemblance to +the complication which baffled Sir Robert Peel's endeavors to form +an administration in 1839; and another corresponds precisely to a +proposal which, in 1827, the Regent—then King George +IV.—did himself make to the Duke of Wellington. It is +unnecessary to dwell on the singular manner in which the Regent +first professed to give his confidence to Lord Wellesley, then +transferred it to Lord Moira,[<a href="#note-167">167</a>] and then +to a certain extent included Lord Grey and Lord Grenville in it. +Nor would it be profitable to discuss the correctness or +incorrectness of the suspicion expressed by Mr. Moore, in his "Life +of Sheridan"—who was evidently at this time as fully in the +Regent's confidence as any one else—that "at the bottom of +all these evolutions of negotiation there was anything but a +sincere wish, that the object to which they related should be +accomplished."[<a href="#note-168">168</a>] The reason avowed by +Lord Grey and Lord Grenville for refusing a share in the projected +administration was the refusal of Lord Moira, who had been employed +by the Prince to treat with them on the subject, to allow them to +make a power of removing the officers at present filling "the great +offices of the household"[<a href="#note-169">169</a>] an express +condition of their acceptance of ministerial office. They affirmed +that a "liberty to make new appointments" to these offices had +usually been given on every change of administration. But Lord +Moira, while admitting that "the Prince had laid no restriction on +him in that respect," declared that "it would be impossible for him +to concur in making the exercise of this power positive and +indispensable in the formation of the administration, because he +should deem it on public grounds peculiarly objectionable." Such an +answer certainly gives a great color to Moore's suspicion, since it +is hardly possible to conceive that Lord Moira took on himself the +responsibility of giving it without a previous knowledge that it +would be approved by his royal master. In a constitutional point of +view, there can, it will probably be felt, be no doubt that the two +lords had a right to the liberty they required. And the very men +concerned, the great officers of the household, were evidently of +the same opinion, since the chief, Lord Yarmouth, informed Sheridan +that they intended to resign, in order that he might communicate +that intention to Lord Grey; and Sheridan, who concealed the +intelligence from Lord Grey, can hardly be supposed, any more than +Lord Moira, to have acted in a manner which he did not expect to be +agreeable to the Prince. But, in Canning's opinion, this question +of the household was only the ostensible pretext, and not the real +cause, of those two lords rejecting the Regent's offers; the real +cause being, as he believed, that the Prince himself had already +named Lord Wellesley as Prime-minister, and that they were resolved +to insist on the right of the Whig party to dictate on that point +to the Regent,[<a href="#note-170">170</a>] just as, in 1782, Fox +had endeavored to force the Duke of Portland on the King, when his +Majesty preferred Lord Shelburne. As has been intimated in a +<a href="#endeavors">former page</a>, it will be seen hereafter +that in 1839 a similar claim to be allowed to remove some of the +ladies of the royal household, and the rejection of that claim by +the sovereign, prevented Sir R. Peel from forming an +administration. And, as that transaction was discussed at some +length in Parliament, it will afford a better opportunity for +examining the principle on which the claim and practice (for of the +practice there is no doubt) rest. For the present it is sufficient +to point out the resemblance between the cases.</p> +<p>But it is remarkable that, unwarrantable as the pretension of +the Whig leaders was to dictate to the Regent to whom he should +confide the lead of the government (if, indeed, Canning be correct +in his opinion), yet it was not one to which the Regent felt any +repugnance, since, in 1827, when Lord Liverpool's illness again +left the Treasury vacant, he, being then on the throne as George +IV., proposed to the Duke of Wellington to desire the remaining +members of the administration themselves to select a chief under +whom they would be willing to continue in his service; but the Duke +told him that the plan of allowing them to choose their own leader +would be most derogatory to his position; that the choice of the +Prime-minister was an act which ought to be entirely his own, for +that, in fact under the British constitution, it was the only +personal act of government which the King of Great Britain had to +perform.[<a href="#note-171">171</a>] Though not generally a great +authority on constitutional points, we apprehend that the Duke was +clearly correct in this view, which, indeed, has been so invariably +carried out in practice, that the King's suggestion would not have +deserved mention had it not been a king's. So far from it belonging +to any individual subject or to any party to name the +Prime-minister, to do so is even beyond the province of the +Parliament. Parliament decides whether it will give its confidence +to an administration of one party or the other; but not only has no +vote ever been given on the question whether one member of the +dominant party be fitter or not than another to be its head, but we +do not remember a single instance of any member of either House +expressing an opinion on the subject in his place in Parliament. To +do so would be felt by every member of experience to be an +infringement on the prerogative of his sovereign; and it may be +added that a contrary practice would certainly open the door to +intrigue, or, what would be equally bad, a suspicion of intrigue, +and would thus inevitably diminish the weight which even the +Opposition desire to see a Prime-minister possess both in +Parliament and in the country.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-148" id="note-148"> +<!-- Note Anchor 148 --></a>[Footnote 148: It is somewhat +remarkable that Lord Macaulay, in his endeavors to estimate the +population in 1685, takes no notice of any of these details +mentioned by Mr. Abbott.]</p> +<p><a name="note-149" id="note-149"> +<!-- Note Anchor 149 --></a>[Footnote 149: The details of this +census of 1801 are given in a <a href="#note-144">note</a> in the +preceding chapter (see <a href="#note-144">page 185</a>), from +which it appears that the entire population of the United Kingdom +was in that year 16,395,870. Sir A. Alison, in different chapters +of the second part of his "History of Europe," gives returns of +subsequent censuses, from the last of which (c. lvi., s. 34, note), +it appears that in 1851 the population amounted to 27,511,862. an +increase of 11,116,792 in half a century.]</p> +<p><a name="note-150" id="note-150"> +<!-- Note Anchor 150 --></a>[Footnote 150: "Lives of the +Chief-justices," by Lord Campbell, iii., 87, life of Lord +Kenyon.]</p> +<p><a name="note-151" id="note-151"> +<!-- Note Anchor 151 --></a>[Footnote 151: "What is this," said +George III. to Mr. Dundas, "which this young lord (Castlereagh) has +brought over, which they are going to throw at my head? The most +Jacobinical thing I ever heard of! I shall reckon any man my +personal enemy who proposes any such measure."—<i>Life of +Pitt</i>, iii., 274.]</p> +<p><a name="note-152" id="note-152"> +<!-- Note Anchor 152 --></a>[Footnote 152: "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. clxxxiv., life of Lord Erskine.]</p> +<p><a name="note-153" id="note-153"> +<!-- Note Anchor 153 --></a>[Footnote 153: "Lives of the +Chancellors," c. clix., life of Lord Thurlow.]</p> +<p><a name="note-154" id="note-154"> +<!-- Note Anchor 154 --></a>[Footnote 154: See "Memoires de M. de +Metternich," ii., 156.]</p> +<p><a name="note-155" id="note-155"> +<!-- Note Anchor 155 --></a>[Footnote 155: "Lives of the +Chief-justices," iii., 175.]</p> +<p><a name="note-156" id="note-156"> +<!-- Note Anchor 156 --></a>[Footnote 156: Lord Stanhope, "History +of England," i., 133.]</p> +<p><a name="note-157" id="note-157"> +<!-- Note Anchor 157 --></a>[Footnote 157: "Lives of the +Chief-justices," ii., 451. He is quoting H. Walpole.]</p> +<p><a name="note-158" id="note-158"> +<!-- Note Anchor 158 --></a>[Footnote 158: Ibid., iii., 187.]</p> +<p><a name="note-159" id="note-159"> +<!-- Note Anchor 159 --></a>[Footnote 159: Campbell's "Lives of the +Chief-justices," II., 139, life of Chief-justice Holt; and p. 418, +life of Lord Mansfield.]</p> +<p><a name="note-160" id="note-160"> +<!-- Note Anchor 160 --></a>[Footnote 160: "Life of Wilberforce," +i., 158.]</p> +<p><a name="note-161" id="note-161"> +<!-- Note Anchor 161 --></a>[Footnote 161: The division in the +Lords was 100 to 36; in the Commons, 283 to 16.]</p> +<p><a name="note-162" id="note-162"> +<!-- Note Anchor 162 --></a>[Footnote 162: Afterward the Earl Grey +of 1831.]</p> +<p><a name="note-163" id="note-163"> +<!-- Note Anchor 163 --></a>[Footnote 163: See especially his +"Letters to Lord Castlereagh," p. 814; and "Life of Lord +Liverpool," i., 512; ii., 35, 49, 127.]</p> +<p><a name="note-164" id="note-164"> +<!-- Note Anchor 164 --></a>[Footnote 164: Lord Colchester's +"Diary," ii., 49, dated April 3, 1806, says eighteen years. But Mr. +Windham's speech, as reported in the "Parliamentary History," +second series, vi., 685, says sixteen years; and as he divides the +ages into three classes, the two latter of which, from twenty-four +to thirty-two, and from thirty-two to forty, are of eight years +each, it is probable that the younger class was of the same +duration, i.e., from sixteen to twenty-four.]</p> +<p><a name="note-165" id="note-165"> +<!-- Note Anchor 165 --></a>[Footnote 165: Lord Colchester's +"Diary," ii., 300.]</p> +<p><a name="note-166" id="note-166"> +<!-- Note Anchor 166 --></a>[Footnote 166: See "Diary of Lord +Colchester" (Speaker at the time), c. xxxvi., p. 316. He gives the +whole of the Prince's letter to Perceval (which had been composed +by Sheridan), and of Perceval's reply. The Regency Bill became law +February 5, 1811.]</p> +<p><a name="note-167" id="note-167"> +<!-- Note Anchor 167 --></a>[Footnote 167: A letter of Lord +Wellesley to Lord Grey, June 4 (given by Pearce, "Life of Lord +Wellesley," iii., 270), shows that Lord Moira had been in +communication with Lord Grey and Lord Grenville before Lord +Wellesley had given up the idea of forming a ministry. And though +Lord Grey in his reply (p. 272) expresses his conviction that Lord +Moira's letter was not "an authorized communication," but only "a +private communication," it is clear that it could not have been +written without the privity of the Regent.]</p> +<p><a name="note-168" id="note-168"> +<!-- Note Anchor 168 --></a>[Footnote 168: "Life of Sheridan," ii., +425.]</p> +<p><a name="note-169" id="note-169"> +<!-- Note Anchor 169 --></a>[Footnote 169: Pearce's "Life of Lord +Wellesley," iii., 276. All the letters which passed between Lord +Grey, Lord Grenville, Lord Moira, and Lord Wellesley himself are +given at full length by Mr. Pearce in that chapter.]</p> +<p><a name="note-170" id="note-170"> +<!-- Note Anchor 170 --></a>[Footnote 170: Stapleton's "George +Canning and his Times," p. 202.]</p> +<p><a name="note-171" id="note-171"> +<!-- Note Anchor 171 --></a>[Footnote 171: Mr. Stapleton affirms +that his Royal Highness actually did adopt this plan on this +occasion: "His Royal Highness adopted the unprecedented course of +commanding his servants to elect the First-minister. Their choice +fell on Lord Liverpool."—<i>George Canning and his Times</i>, +p. 208. Mr. Stapleton, however, gives no authority for this +assertion, and he was probably mistaken, since Lord Liverpool's +papers afford no corroboration of it, but rather tend to disprove +it.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH7" id="CH7"><!-- CH7 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">The Toleration Act.—Impropriety of +making Catholic Emancipation (or any other Important Matter) an +Open Question.—Joint Responsibility of all the +Ministers.—Detention of Napoleon at St. +Helena.—Question whether the Regent could Give Evidence in a +Court of Law in a Civil Action.—Agitation for +Reform.—Public Meetings.—The Manchester +Meeting.—The Seditious Meetings Prevention Bill.—Lord +Sidmouth's Six Acts.</p> +<p>The war was daily becoming of more exciting interest, and, so +far as our armies were concerned, was rapidly assuming greater +proportions. While the Duke of Portland was still at the head of +affairs, Napoleon, by his unprovoked attacks on both the Peninsular +kingdoms, had at last opened a field of action to our armies, in +which even the most sanguine of those who placed a loyal confidence +in the old invincibility of English prowess could not have +anticipated the unbroken series of glories which were to reward +their efforts. For four years Lord Wellington had contended against +all the most renowned marshals of the Empire,[<a href= +"#note-172">172</a>] driving them back from impregnable lines of +defence, defeating them in pitched battles, storming their +strongest fortresses, without ever giving them room to boast of +even the most momentary advantage obtained over himself; and he was +now on the eve of achieving still more brilliant and decisive +triumphs, which were never to cease till he had carried his +victorious march far into the heart of France itself.</p> +<p>At such a time it may well be supposed that the attention of the +new ministry was too fully occupied with measures necessary for the +conduct of the war to leave it much time for domestic legislation. +Yet even its first session was not entirely barren.</p> +<p>In the first excitement of the Restoration, when the nation was +still exasperated at the recollection of what it had suffered under +the triumphant domination of the Puritans, two laws had been framed +to chastise them, conceived in a spirit as intolerant and +persecuting as had dictated the very worst of their own. One, which +was called the Conventicle Act, inflicted on all persons above the +age of sixteen, who should be present at any religious service +performed in any manner differently from the service of the Church +of England, in any meeting-house, where more than five persons +besides the occupiers of the house should be present, severe +penalties, rising gradually to transportation; and gave a single +magistrate authority to convict and to pass sentence on the +offenders. The other, commonly known as the Five Mile Act, forbade +all ministers, of any sect, who did not subscribe to the Act of +Uniformity, and who refused to swear to their belief in the +doctrine of passive obedience, from teaching in any school, and +from coming within five miles of any city, corporate town, or +borough sending members to Parliament, or any town or village in +which they themselves had resided as ministers. The latter statute +had fallen into complete disuse, and many of the provisions of the +former had been relaxed, though magistrates in general construed +the relaxing enactments as leaving the relaxations wholly at their +discretion to grant or to withhold, and were very much in the habit +of withholding or abridging them. Other statutes, such as the Test +Act, had subsequently been passed against every sect of Dissenters, +though they had only imposed civil disabilities, and had not +inflicted penalties. But the new Prime-minister was a man to whose +disposition anything resembling persecution was foreign and +repugnant. Before his predecessor's unhappy death he had already +discussed with him the propriety of abolishing laws conceived in +such a spirit; and he no sooner found himself at the head of the +government than he prepared a bill to carry out his views. He drew +a distinction between the acts inflicting penalties and those which +only imposed disabilities. With these latter he did not propose to +interfere; but, in July, his colleague, Lord Castlereagh, +introduced into the House of Commons a bill to repeal the +Conventicle Act and the Five Mile Act altogether, and, when it had +passed the Commons, he himself moved its adoption by the Lords, +enforcing his recommendation by the argument, that "an enlarged and +liberal toleration was the best security to the Established Church, +a Church not founded on the exclusion of religious discussion, but, +in its homilies, its canons, and all the principles on which it +rested, courting the investigation of the Scriptures, upon which it +founded its doctrines." At the same time, while urging the repeal +of acts which he truly branded as a disgrace to the statute-book, +he was not blind to the duty imposed on him, as responsible for the +public tranquillity, of taking care that meetings held ostensibly +for purposes of devotion should not be perverted to the designs of +political agitators; and therefore he provided in the bill for the +registration of all places appropriated to religious worship, and +for the exaction from "the preachers and teachers in those meetings +of some test or security in the oaths to be taken by them." He had +already secured the acquiescence of the bishops, and he was equally +successful now in winning the assent of the House. The conditions, +such as they were, did not prevent the bill from being entirely +acceptable to the Non-conformists; and though their spokesman in +the House of Commons, Mr. W. Smith, member for Norwich, confessed a +wish "that it had gone a little farther, and had granted complete +religious liberty," he at the same time expressed sincere gratitude +on the part of the Non-conformists for what was thus done for them; +and declared that, "as an act of toleration, it certainly was the +most complete which had hitherto been passed in this country." It +was, in fact, the beginning of the abandonment of that system of +discouragement of and hostility to all sects except the Established +Church, which had hitherto been regarded by a large party as one of +the most essential principles of the constitution. And as such it +makes the year 1812 in some respects a landmark in our +constitutional history.</p> +<p>Mr. Smith had referred to an omission which prevented him from +speaking of the bill as complete. He was alluding to the Test and +Corporation Acts, which had been passed ten years later than the +Conventicle Act, in the same reign of Charles II., and which many +of the Non-conformists, and especially the Unitarians, had urged +Lord Liverpool to include in this measure of repeal, but which he +decided on retaining. As has been said above, he drew a distinction +between acts inflicting penalties and those which went no farther +than imposing political disabilities, feeling that any relief of +Protestant Dissenters from such disabilities must inevitably lead +to the concession of a similar indulgence to Roman Catholics, and +not being as yet prepared to admit to Parliament the members of a +Church which recognized the duty of obedience in any matter to a +foreign sovereign; for, as the disabilities had been originally +imposed on the Roman Catholics, so they were now maintained on +political, not religious, grounds; and even those most opposed to a +relaxation of them were careful to explain their resistance to be +one which time and a change of circumstances might +mitigate.[<a href="#note-173">173</a>]</p> +<p>As a fitter opportunity for discussing the question will be +afforded by the Duke of Wellington's bill, in 1829, we should not +have mentioned it at all in this place, had not Lord Liverpool, in +arranging his administration, adopted a mode of dealing with it +which, though rather a parliamentary or departmental than a +constitutional innovation, was, nevertheless, one of so strange a +character as to seem to call for examination. Ever since the +formation of Walpole's ministry it had been the invariable rule and +practice for all the members of the cabinet to act in concert on +all measures of importance, or, indeed it may be said, on all +measures on which a Parliamentary vote was taken. But, in arranging +his administration after Mr. Perceval's death, Lord Liverpool found +it absolutely impossible to form one satisfactory either to the +nation or to himself if it were to be confined to members in +perfect agreement with himself on the subject of the retention of +the disabilities affecting the Roman Catholics; and therefore, in +order to be able to form a ministry generally strong and respected, +he adopted the strange expedient of allowing every member of it to +act independently on this one question. He made it what was called +an open question. The arrangement, as explained to the House of +Commons by Lord Castlereagh, the ministerial leader of that +assembly, was that, "in submission to the growing change of public +opinion in favor of those claims (the Roman Catholic claims), and +the real sentiments of certain members of the government, it had +been resolved upon, as a principle, that the discussion of this +question should be left free from all interference on the part of +the government, and that every member of that government should in +it be left to the free and unbiassed suggestions of his own +conscientious discretion."</p> +<p>It was an arrangement which secured the Prime-minister the +co-operation of Lord Castlereagh himself, and eventually of Mr. +Canning; but it failed to propitiate the Opposition, the leader of +which in the House of Commons, Mr. Ponsonby, turned it into open +ridicule, affirming that "nothing could be more absurd than a +cabinet professing to have no opinion on such an important +subject." And it must be confessed that Mr. Ponsonby's language on +the subject seems the language of common-sense. So far from the +importance of a question justifying such an arrangement, that +importance appears rather to increase, if possible, the necessity +for absolute unanimity in the administration than to diminish it; +and on a grave and momentous subject to leave each member of a +ministry free to pronounce a separate and different judgment, so +that one may resist what his colleague advocates, is to abdicate +the functions of government altogether. To permit such liberty was +either a proof that the ministry was weak altogether—which it +was not—or that its conduct on this question was weak. In +either case, it was a mischievous precedent that was thus +set;[<a href="#note-174">174</a>] and the fact that it has since +been followed in more than one instance, is so far from being any +justification of it, that it rather supplies an additional reason +for condemning it, as being the cause of wider mischief than if it +had been confined to one single question, or had influenced the +conduct of one cabinet only. It has often been said that the name +"cabinet" is unknown to the law, and that what we call the cabinet +is, in fact, only a committee of the Privy Council. As a statement +of law the assertion may be correct, but it is certain that for +more than a century and a half the constitution has adopted the +principle that the cabinet consists of the holders of a certain, to +some extent a fluctuating, number of the principal state officers; +and, recognizing the responsibility of all for the actions of each +member of it, does by that recognition sanction an expectation that +on all questions, or at all events on all but those of the most +trivial character, they will speak and act with that unanimity +which is indispensable, not only to the strength of the government +itself, but to its being held in respect by the people; such +respect being, indeed, among the most essential elements of its +strength.</p> +<p>The incidents of the war itself do not belong to a work such as +this; but, tantalizing as it must be to an historian of any class +to pass over the brilliant series of achievements which gave +Britain the glory of being twice[<a href="#note-175">175</a>] the +principal agent in the deliverance of Continental Europe, the +glories of Salamanca, Victoria, Orthes, and Waterloo must be left +to other writers, who, it is not unpatriotic to hope, may never +again have similar cause for exulting descriptions. But out of the +crowning triumph of Waterloo a difficulty arose which, though it +may be difficult to characterize the principle on which it was +settled, since it was not strictly a question of constitutional, +international, or military law; and though the circumstances were +so peculiar that the conclusion adopted is never likely to be +referred to as a precedent, seems still deserving of a brief +mention, especially as an act of Parliament was passed to sanction +the decision of the cabinet. Baffled by the vigilance of our +cruisers in every attempt to escape from one of the western ports +of France to America, Napoleon was at last compelled to surrender +himself to a British squadron. But, though he was our prisoner, the +Prime-minister considered us, in all our dealings with him, as so +bound by engagements to our allies, that he was to be regarded as +"the common prisoner of all, so far that we should not give him up +or release him without the joint consent of all." The question was +full of difficulty. There were, probably, very few persons in this +or any other country who did not coincide in the impropriety of +releasing him, and so putting it in his power once more to rekindle +a war in Europe. But it was a political view of the case, founded +on a consideration of what was required by the tranquillity of +Europe; and it was not easy to lay down any legal ground to justify +the determination. Some regarded him as a French subject, and, if +that view were correct, he could hardly be detained by us as a +prisoner of war after we had concluded a treaty of peace with +France. But, again, it seemed to some, the Lord Chancellor being +among them, a questionable point whether in the last campaign we +had been at war with France; whether, on the contrary, we had not +assumed the character of an ally of France against him. And, on the +supposition that we had been at war with France, a second question +was raised by Lord Ellenborough, the Chief-justice, "what rights +result on principle from a state of war, as against all the +individuals of the belligerent nations—rights, whatever they +may be, seldom, if ever, enforced against individuals, because +individuals hardly ever make war but as part of an aggregate +nation." The question—as, after consultation with Lord +Ellenborough and his own brother, Sir William Scott, it finally +appeared to Lord Eldon, on whom the Prime-minister naturally +depended, as his chief legal counsellor, though in its political +aspect he judged for himself—was, firstly, "whether it could +possibly be inconsistent with justice or the law of nations that, +till some peace were made by treaty with some person considered as +Napoleon's sovereign, or till some peace were made with himself, we +should keep him imprisoned in some part of our King's dominions." +And, secondly, "whether there were any person who could possibly be +considered his sovereign, after the treaty of 1814 had clothed him +with the character of Emperor of Elba, with imperial dignity and +imperial revenue." Lord Liverpool himself, however, raised another +question: whether, by his invasion of France, he had not forfeited +his right to be regarded as an independent sovereign; resting this +doubt on a suggestion which, among others, he proposed to the Lord +Chancellor, that "at Elba he enjoyed only a limited and conditional +sovereignty, which ceased when the condition on which he held it +was violated."</p> +<p>This last suggestion, it must be confessed, appears untenable, +as totally inconsistent with the language of the Treaty of +Fontainebleau, under the provisions of which Napoleon became +sovereign of Elba, and which does not contain a single article +which bears out the opinion that his sovereignty was limited or +conditional. On the contrary, the words of the treaty expressly +agree that "Elba should form during his life a separate +principality, which should be possessed by him in full sovereignty +and property."</p> +<p>There is no need to discuss the views of Blucher. On the news of +Napoleon's landing at Frejus reaching the plenipotentiaries +assembled at the Congress of Vienna, they at once issued a +declaration that, "in breaking the convention which had established +him at Elba, Buonaparte" (for they refused him his imperial +appellation of Napoleon) "had destroyed the only legal title on +which his existence depended.... He had placed himself out of the +pale of civil and social relations, and, as the enemy and disturber +of the peace of the world, he was delivered over to public +justice." And the old Prussian, burning with a desire to avenge the +indignities and injuries which he had inflicted on Prussia, avowed +his determination to execute him as an outlaw, if he should fall +into his hands. And it is still less worthwhile to +inquire—though Lord Holland in his place in Parliament did +desire the House to consult the judges on the point—whether, +if Napoleon were a prisoner of war, he "were not entitled to his +<i>habeas corpus</i>, if detained after the signature of a treaty +of peace with all the powers, or any of which he could be +considered as the subject."</p> +<p>On the whole, the simplest view of the position and of our +detention of him, the view most reconcilable with the principles +which regulate the waging and the relinquishing a state of war, +seems to be to consider that Napoleon was a sovereign with whom we +were at war; that that war could only be terminated by a treaty of +peace between ourselves and him; that it rested with us to +conclude, or to abstain from concluding, any such treaty; and that, +till we should conclude it, we had clearly a right to detain him as +a prisoner of war. It must, at the same time, be admitted that +modern history afforded no precedent for the detention of a +prisoner for his whole life (unless, indeed, Elizabeth's +imprisonment of the Queen of Scots may be considered as one), and +that the most solid justification for it was necessity. To quote +the language of Lord Eldon, "I believe it will turn out that, if +you can't make this a <i>casus exceptionis</i> or <i>omissus</i> in +the law of nations, founded upon necessity, you will not really +know what to say upon it. <i>Salus Reipublicae suprema lex</i>, as +to one state; <i>Salus omnium Rerumpublicarum</i> must be the +<i>suprema lex</i> as to this case."[<a href= +"#note-176">176</a>]</p> +<p>In the course of the year 1818 a somewhat singular question as +to the position of the Regent was raised by a claim advanced by +Colonel Berkeley to produce his Royal Highness as a witness in a +court of law. The Prince consulted the Prime-minister, and the +Prime-minister referred it to the Attorney and Solicitor General, +not concealing his own impression that it could not be consistent +with his constitutional position and prerogative for the King to +appear as a witness to be subjected to examination and +cross-examination.[<a href="#note-177">177</a>] They, in their +statement of opinion, assumed it to be an undeniable principle of +the constitution that the sovereign, "by reason of his royal +character, could not give testimony." And therefore they had no +doubt that the Regent, exercising his authority, was equally +prevented from so doing. Colonel Berkeley's counsel had urged that, +even if he could not appear in open court and be sworn, he had the +privilege of communicating his evidence in a peculiar mode, by +certificate under the Sign Manual or Great Seal. But the Attorney +and Solicitor General professed that they could not discover whence +this last privilege was derived; they urged, as an insurmountable +objection to such a contrivance, that "all instruments under the +Sign Manual or Great Seal must, in point of form, be in the name of +and on behalf of the King, which would manifestly be incongruous +when the evidence certified was not that of the King, but of the +Regent himself." And they quoted a case in which Lord Chief-justice +Willes had said "that the certificate of the King, under his Sign +Manual, of a fact (except in an old case in Chancery) had always +been refused." As it had been urged also, on Colonel Berkeley's +behalf, that the Prince had formerly "joined in proving the will of +the Duke of Brunswick," his brother-in-law, they farther expressed +an opinion that "he ought not to have done so, but should have left +it to the other executors."</p> +<p>On the point whether "the King himself could give evidence +orally or in any other manner," their opinion expressed very +plainly the principle on which they maintained that he could not. +"That he was not compellable to do so; that he could not be sworn +(there being no power capable of administering an oath to him in a +court of justice). That, whether his testimony be given +<i>vivâ voce</i> or otherwise, no question in chief or on +cross-examination could be proposed to him, was admitted by Colonel +Berkeley's counsel. And that his testimony must be conclusive as to +the facts stated by him, appeared necessarily to follow from the +perfection ascribed by law to his royal character. For such +remarkable exceptions, therefore, to the case of all other +witnesses they could not but think that strong and decisive +authority ought to be produced; while the silence of text-writers +on the subject, so far from being favorable to the notion that the +King can give evidence, appeared to afford a directly contrary +inference." And they summed up their opinion in a few words: "that +his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, while in the personal +exercise of the royal authority, was in the situation of the King +in this respect, and that the King could not by any mode give +evidence as a witness in a civil suit."</p> +<p>It is very improbable that Colonel Berkeley should have made the +application without previously ascertaining the willingness of the +Prince to give evidence, could such a course be permitted. And as +his Royal Highness, on receiving this opinion of the law-officers +of the crown, did not come forward as a witness, that opinion may +be held to have settled the question. And, apart from the +constitutional objections relied on by those able lawyers, it is +evident that there would be serious practical objections to the +sovereign being made a witness. It would be derogatory to his royal +character to put himself in a position where comments could be +made, either by the opposing barrister or by the public outside, on +his evidence. And, on the other hand, it would be perilously unfair +to one litigant for his adversary to be able to produce a witness +who was not subject to cross-examination, nor to remarks upon his +testimony.</p> +<p>The reign of George III. was now drawing to its close, and, if +it produced no legislation affecting the principles of the +constitution (it will presently be seen that it did produce one +measure which its opponents branded as a violation of these +principles), yet in its last years it witnessed the revival of an +agitation which was kept up with varying animation till it was +temporarily quieted by the concession of its demands. We have seen +that one of Pitt's earliest efforts at legislation had been +directed to a reform in Parliament, an object which to the end of +his life he considered of great importance, though the +revolutionary spirit aroused by the troubles in France, and the +open sympathy with the French Jacobins and Republicans avowed by a +party among ourselves—which, if numerically weak, was +sufficiently loud and active to be dangerous—prevented him +from ever re-opening the subject. But, though the French Revolution +in this way proved for the time an insurmountable obstacle to the +success of the reformers, in another way it insured the revival of +the question, by the general spirit of inquiry which it awakened +among the population at large, and which soon went beyond the +investigation of any single abuse or anomaly. For even less +far-sighted statesmen than Pitt confessed the existence of much +that was not only theoretically indefensible, but practically +mischievous. The period, little short of a century, which elapsed +between the death of William III. and Pitt's accession to office +had been one of almost complete stagnation and apathy. The Scotch +Union, the Septennial Bill, the establishment of a militia, and the +Place Bill of 1743 were the only instances of any legislation +deserving the name of constitutional which made the reigns of Anne +and the first two Georges memorable. And in the very nature of +things it was impossible that, after so long a slumber, there +should not be much to do, and many, whether capable or incapable, +eager to bear a share in the work. The sudden cessation of the +excitement of war had begotten a restless craving for some other +excitement to take its place, and none seemed so creditable as +energy and acuteness in the discovery and removal of abuses. +Complaints were made, and not without reason, of the working of the +poor-law; of the terrible severity of our criminal code; of the +hardships and sufferings of the younger members of the working +classes, especially in the factories; of the ignorance of a large +portion of the people, in itself as prolific a cause of mischief +and crime as any other. But, though committees and commissions were +appointed by Parliament to investigate the condition of the kingdom +in respect of these matters, a feeling was growing up that no +effectual remedy would be applied till the constitution of the +House of Commons itself were reformed, so as to make it a more real +representation of the people than it could as yet be considered. +And a farther stimulus to this wish for such a Parliamentary reform +was supplied by the distress which a combination of circumstances +spread among almost all classes in the years immediately following +the conclusion of the second treaty of peace.[<a href= +"#note-178">178</a>] The harvests of the years 1816 and 1817 were +unusually deficient, and this pressed heavily on the farmers and +landed proprietors. The merchants and manufacturers, who, while +every part of the Continent was disturbed or threatened by the +operations of contending armies, had practically enjoyed almost a +monopoly of the trade of the world, found their profits reduced, by +the new competition to which the re-establishment of peace exposed +them, to a point which compelled them to a severe reduction of +expenditure. The uncertainty felt as to the results to be brought +about by the inevitable repeal of the Bank Act of 1797, and the +return to cash payments—results which it was impossible to +estimate correctly beforehand—had a tendency to augment the +distress, by the general feeling of uneasiness and distrust which +it created. And the employers of labor could not suffer without +those who depended on them for employment suffering still more +severely. The consequence was, that there was a general stagnation +of trade; numbers of artisans and laborers of every kind were +thrown out of work, and their enforced idleness and poverty, which +was its result, made them ready to become the tools of demagogues +such as are never wanting in the hour of distress and perplexity. +Meetings were convened, ostensibly to petition for reform, but in +reality to afford opportunities for mob-orators, eager for +notoriety, to denounce the government and those whom they styled +the "ruling classes," as the causes of the present and past evils. +From these meetings multitudes issued forth ripe for mischief. In +some places they rose against the manufacturers, and destroyed +their machines, to the recent introduction of which they attributed +their want of employment. In others, still more senselessly, they +even set fire to the stores of grain in the corn-dealers' +warehouses, aggravating by their destruction the most painful of +their own sufferings. On one occasion, a mob which had assembled in +one of the eastern districts of London, on pretence of framing a +petition to be presented to the Prince Regent, at the close of the +meeting paraded the streets with a tricolor flag, the emblem of the +French Revolutionists, and pillaged a number of shops, especially +those of the gun-makers, spreading terror through all that side of +the metropolis. In at least one instance the violence of the +rioters rose to the height of treason. Assassins fired at the +Regent in the Park as he was returning from the House of Lords, +whither he had been to open Parliament; and when it was found that +they had missed their aim, the mob attacked the royal carriage, +pelting it with large stones, and breaking the windows; nor was it +without some difficulty that the escort of troops cleared a path +for him through the mob, and enabled him to reach Carlton House in +safety.</p> +<p>The first effect of these outrages was to damage the cause of +Reform itself, even such uncompromising reformers as Lord Grey +denouncing "meetings at which extensive schemes of Reform were +submitted to individuals incapable of judging of their propriety." +The second consequence was to compel the ministers to take steps to +prevent a recurrence of such tumults and crimes. At first they were +contented with a temporary suspension of the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> +Act; but, even while that suspension was in force, it did not +entirely prevent meetings, at some of which the language of the +speakers certainly bordered on sedition; and when the suspension +was taken off, fresh meetings on a larger scale, and of a more +tumultuous character than ever, were held in more than one rural +district; finally, in July of 1819, the whole kingdom was thrown +into a violent state of excitement by a meeting held at Birmingham, +at which the leaders, assuming the newly-invented party name of +Radicals, not only demanded the remodelling of the whole system of +government, but, because Birmingham as yet sent no members to the +House of Commons, took it upon themselves to elect Sir Charles +Wolseley, a baronet of respectable family, as their representative +to the Parliament, and charged him to claim a place in the House of +Commons in the next session, by the side of those elected in +obedience to the royal writs. Sir Charles was at once arrested on +the charge of having at this meeting used seditious language +calculated to lead to a breach of the peace; but the Radical +leaders, far from being intimidated by this demonstration of vigor +on the part of the government, immediately summoned a similar +meeting in Manchester, announcing their intention to elect a +representative of that great town likewise, which, though the +largest of all the manufacturing towns, was also unrepresented in +the Imperial Parliament. The magistrates prohibited the meeting. It +was only postponed for a week, when the people assembled in such +formidable numbers (no estimate reckoned them at fewer than +60,000), that the ordinary civil authorities deemed themselves +unequal to dealing with it, and called in the aid first of the +Yeomanry and then of a hussar regiment. The soldiers behaved with +great forbearance, as soldiers always do behave on such occasions; +but they were bound to execute the orders which were given them to +arrest some of the leaders, and, in the tumult which was the +inevitable consequence of their attempt to force a way through so +dense a crowd, three or four lives were, unfortunately, lost.</p> +<p>So unusual a catastrophe called out the energies of both +parties. The Radical leaders published manifestoes declaring the +people had been "massacred" by the soldiers by the orders of the +government. Meetings were held to denounce the conduct of the +ministers, one being even promoted by Lord Fitzwilliam, as +Lord-lieutenant of Yorkshire, a dignity of which he was instantly +deprived; while, on the other hand, the grand-juries of Cheshire +and Lancashire made reports of the condition of those counties to +the Secretary of State, which showed that a most alarming spirit +prevailed over the greater part of the district. "The most +inflammatory publications had been issued in the principal towns, +at a price which put them within the reach of the poorest classes +of society. The training and military drilling of large bodies of +men under regular leaders had been carried on to a great extent for +some time, chiefly by night; and there was no doubt that an +extensive manufacture of arms was going on." What was a hardly +inferior symptom of danger was a system of intimidation which +prevailed to a most serious degree. Many magistrates had received +notices threatening their lives, and combinations had been formed +to withhold custom from publicans and shopkeepers who had come +forward to support the civil power. In many parts of the two +counties the grand-juries declared "that no warrant of arrest or +other legal process could be executed; the payment of taxes had +ceased, and the landlords were threatened with the discontinuance +of their rents."</p> +<p>It was admitted that the spirit of disaffection was local, +confined to three or four counties; but those counties were, next +to Middlesex itself, the most populous and among the most important +in the kingdom, and there was danger lest the feeling, if not +checked, might spread. The crisis seemed so momentous, that some +even of the Opposition leaders volunteered their counsels and aid +to the ministers in dealing with it. And the ministers, after long +deliberation, decided on calling Parliament together in November, +and introducing some bills which they conceived necessary to enable +them to restore and preserve tranquillity. They were six in number; +and—perhaps, with some sarcastic reference to Gardiner's Six +Acts in the sixteenth century—they were very commonly spoken +of as Lord Sidmouth's Six Acts, that noble lord being the +Home-secretary, to whose department they belonged. It is not +necessary here to do more than mention the general purport of five +of them. One prohibited military training without the sanction of +the government; another empowered magistrates to search for arms +which they had reason to believe were collected for illegal +purposes; the third authorized the seizure of seditious and +blasphemous libels; the fourth subjected publications below a +certain size to the same stamp as that required for a newspaper; +the fifth regulated the mode of proceeding in trials for +misdemeanor of a political character. But these enactments were +regarded as little more than arrangements of detail or procedure +involving no principles, and some of them were admitted even by the +most steadfast opponents of the ministers to be necessary. But the +sixth, designed to restrain the practice of holding large open-air +meetings—not, indeed, forever, but for a certain period, +fixed at five years—was strongly resisted by the greater +portion of the Whig party in both Houses, as a denial to the people +of one of their most ancient and constitutional rights.[<a href= +"#note-179">179</a>]</p> +<p>Its principal clauses enacted that "no meeting exceeding the +number of fifty persons (except a meeting of any county or division +of any county, called by the Lord-lieutenant or sheriff of such +county, etc., or by five or more acting justices of the peace for +such county, or by the major part of the grand-jury; or any meeting +of any city, borough, etc., called by the mayor or other head +officer of such city, etc.) should be holden for the purpose or on +the pretext of deliberating upon any public grievance, or upon any +matter relating to any trade, manufacture, etc., or upon any matter +of Church or State, or of considering, proposing, or agreeing to +any petition, address, etc., etc., unless in the parish or township +within which the persons calling any such meeting usually dwell;" +and it required six days' notice of the intention to hold such +meetings, with their time, place, and object, to be given to a +magistrate. It empowered the magistrate to whom such notice was +given to alter the time and place. It forbade adjournments intended +to evade these prohibitions. It forbade any one to attend such +meetings except freeholders of the county, or parishioners of the +parish, or members of the corporation of the city or borough in +which they were held, or members of the House of Commons for such +places. It empowered magistrates to proceed to the places where +such meetings were being held, and, if they thought it necessary, +to require the aid of constables. It enacted that any meeting, the +tendency of which should be "to incite or stir up the people to +hatred and contempt of the person of his Majesty, his heirs and +successors, or of the government or constitution of this country as +by law established, should be deemed an unlawful assembly." It +empowered one or more justices of the peace, in the event of any +meeting being held contrary to the provisions of this act, to warn +every one present, in the King's name, to depart; and made those +who did not depart in obedience to such warning liable to +prosecution for felony, and, if convicted, to seven years' +transportation. It forbade the display of flags, banners, or +ensigns at any meeting, and the employment of any drum, or military +or other music; but it excepted from its operation "any meeting or +assembly which should be wholly holden in any room."</p> +<p>There was one peculiarity in the line taken by the opponents of +the bill, that they did not deny that the meetings which had +induced the ministers to propose it were an evil, dangerous to the +general tranquillity; but it was strongly urged by Lord Erskine and +others that the existing laws were quite strong enough to deal with +them, so that a new enactment was superfluous; and by others, in +both Houses, that such meetings were "an ancient and constitutional +mode of discussing abuses or petitioning Parliament," any +interference with which was a greater evil than the meetings +themselves, as being a violation of the constitution. Mr. Brougham +in particular admitted, to the full extent of the assertions of the +ministers themselves, "the wickedness and folly of many of the +speeches" made at the recent meetings. He expressed with great +force his entire disapproval of the system on which these meetings +had been conducted, and admitted that the martial array which had +been exhibited, and the vastness of the numbers of those who had +attended, were of themselves calculated to excite alarm; but he +declared that "he could not on that account acquiesce in a total +subversion of a popular right." On the other hand, the ministers +themselves did not deny "the general right of the people to +petition the Legislature, or to carry their addresses to the foot +of the throne. And therefore (as Lord Harrowby, the President of +the Council, admitted) there could be no doubt of their right to +assemble, so far as was necessary to agree to their petitions or +addresses. It was a right that did not depend on the Bill of +Rights, on which it was usually grounded, but had existed long +before. But this bill," he contended, "imposed no restrictions on +the legitimate enjoyment of that privilege; it only regulated the +meetings at which it was to be exercised." And Lord Liverpool +affirmed that the bill was not only "consistent with the existing +laws and principles of the constitution, but was even proposed in +furtherance of those principles, and for the purpose of protecting +the people of this country against a series of evils which, if not +checked, must subvert their laws and liberties."</p> +<p>In attempting to form a correct judgment on the question whether +this bill were constitutional or unconstitutional, it must, I +think, be admitted that, as has been remarked before, the terms +"constitutional" and "unconstitutional" are somewhat vague and +elastic. There is no one document—not Magna Charta, nor the +Petition of Eight, nor the Bill of Rights—which can be said +to contain the whole of the British constitution. Its spirit and +principles are, indeed, to be found in all the laws, to which they +give animation and life, but not in any one law. And among its +leading principles are those which embrace the right of every +individual to freedom of action and freedom of speech, so long as +he does not commit any crime himself, nor tempt others to do so. +Yet it does not follow that a new enactment which for a while +abridges or suspends that freedom of action or speech is +inconsistent with those constitutional principles.</p> +<p>Ministers, to whom the government of a country is intrusted, do +wrong if they limit their operations to the punishment of offences +which have been committed. It is at least equally their duty, as +far as possible, to prevent their commission; to take precautionary +measures, especially at times when there is notorious danger of +offences being committed. At the same time they are bound not to +legislate under the influence of panic; not to yield to fears +having no substantial ground. And in their measures of precaution +they are farther bound to depart from or overstep the ordinary law +as little as is compatible with the attainment of their object. In +all such cases each action of theirs must stand or fall by its own +merits; by the greatness of the emergency which has caused it, and +by its sufficiency for its end. For as no law, except such as +forbids moral crimes, is invariable, so even the dearest privileges +of each subject, being his for the common good, are liable to +temporary suspension for that common good. But the burden of +justification lies on those who propose that suspension.</p> +<p>Now, that this bill was such a suspension of the +long-established rights of the subject, and so far an overstepping +of the principles of the constitution, is admitted by the very fact +of its framers only proposing for it a temporary authority. Had it +not invaded a valuable and real right, it might have been made of +perpetual obligation. But it is not easy to see how it can be +denied that the dangers against which it was intended to guard were +also real. It was certain that itinerant demagogues were visiting +districts with which they had no connection, for the sole purpose +of stirring up political agitation. It was clear that such meetings +as they convened, where those assembled could only be counted by +tens of thousands, were too large for deliberation, and were only +meant for intimidation; and equally clear that, though the existing +laws may have armed the magistrate with authority to disperse such +meetings, they did not furnish him with the means of doing so +without at least the risk of bloodshed (for such a risk must be +involved in the act of putting soldiers in motion), and still less +did they invest him with the desirable power of preventing such +meetings. It was necessary, therefore, to go back to the original +principles and objects of every constitution, the tranquillity, +safety, and welfare of the nation at large. And it does not appear +that this bill went beyond what was necessary for that object. +Indeed, though party divisions are not always trustworthy tests of +the wisdom or propriety of a measure, the unusual magnitude of the +majorities by which on this occasion the minister was supported in +both Houses may fairly be regarded as a testimony to the necessity +of the bill,[<a href="#note-180">180</a>] while its sufficiency was +proved by the abandonment of all such meetings, and the general +freedom from agitation in every part Of the country which prevailed +in the following year, though its most remarkable incident was one +of which demagogues might well have taken advantage, if they had +not had so convincing a proof of the power of government, and of +the resolution of the ministers to exert it.[<a href= +"#note-181">181</a>]</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-172" id="note-172"> +<!-- Note Anchor 172 --></a>[Footnote 172: Against Junot, at +Vimiera and Rolica, in 1808; Soult, at Oporto, and Victor, at +Talavera, in 1809; Massena and Ney, at Busaco and Torres Vedras, in +1810; Masséna and Bessiéres, at Fuentes d'Onor, in +1811. Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz had been taken in 1812, in spite +of the neighborhood of Soult and Marmont. In July, 1813, a month +after the formation of Lord Liverpool's ministry, he routed Marmont +at Salamanca; in 1813 he took Madrid, and routed Jourdain at +Vittoria; and, having subsequently defeated Soult at Sauroren, he +crossed the French frontier in October.]</p> +<p><a name="note-173" id="note-173"> +<!-- Note Anchor 173 --></a>[Footnote 173: A resolution, moved by +Mr. Canning, to take the claims of the Roman Catholics into +consideration in the next session had been carried in June by the +large majority of 129; and when Lord Wellesley brought forward a +similar motion in the House of Lords, not only did Lord Liverpool +"protest against its being inferred from any declaration of his +that it was, or ever had been, his opinion that under no +circumstances would it be possible to make any alteration in the +laws respecting the Roman Catholics," but the Chancellor, Lord +Eldon, who was generally regarded as the stoutest champion of the +existing law, rested his opposition entirely on political grounds, +explaining carefully that he opposed the motion, "not because he +quarrelled with the religion of the Roman Catholics, but because +their religious opinions operated on their political principles in +such a way as to render it necessary to adopt some defence against +them," and met the motion by moving the previous question, avowedly +because "he did not wish, at once and forever, to shut the door of +conciliation;" and the previous question was only carried by a +single vote—126 to 125.]</p> +<p><a name="note-174" id="note-174"> +<!-- Note Anchor 174 --></a>[Footnote 174: "It (difference on the +Catholic question) was an evil submitted to by the government, of +which Mr. Fox, Lord Grenville, and Lord Grey were members, in the +years 1806, 1807, as well as by the governments of Mr. Perceval, +Lord Liverpool, and the Duke of Wellington."—<i>Peel's +Memoirs</i>, i., 62. This passage would seem to imply that Peel +believed the Catholic question to have been left "open" in 1806; +but there is not, so far as the present writer is aware, any trace +of such an arrangement on record, and Lord Liverpool's letter to +the King, of November 10, 1826 ("Life," iii., 436), shows clearly +that he was not aware of such a precedent for the arrangement +which, in 1812, "he and others advised his Majesty" to consent to. +Moreover, the condemnation passed on it by Mr. Ponsonby, who had +been Chancellor of Ireland in 1806 and 1807, seems a clear proof +that he knew nothing of it, though it is hardly possible that he +should have been ignorant of it if it had existed.]</p> +<p><a name="note-175" id="note-175"> +<!-- Note Anchor 175 --></a>[Footnote 175: To whom the chief glory +of the Waterloo campaign belongs there can, of course, be no doubt; +and though the Austrians and Prussians put forward a claim to an +equal share, and Russia even to a preponderating one, in the first +deposition of Napoleon, he himself constantly attributed his fall +more to the Peninsular contest than to any of his wars east of the +Rhine. And, indeed, it is superfluous to point out that almost to +the last he gained occasional victories over the Continental +armies, but that he never gained one advantage over the British +force; and that Wellington invaded France the first week of +October, 1813—nearly three months before a single Russian or +German soldier crossed the Rhine.]</p> +<p><a name="note-176" id="note-176"> +<!-- Note Anchor 176 --></a>[Footnote 176: Letter to Sir W. Scott, +Twiss's "Life of Lord Eldon," ii., 272. It is remarkable that in +his "Life of Lord Ellenborough" Lord Campbell takes no notice of +this case.]</p> +<p><a name="note-177" id="note-177"> +<!-- Note Anchor 177 --></a>[Footnote 177: The opinion of the +Attorney and Solicitor General, Sir S. Shepperd and Sir R. Gifford, +is given at length in the author's "Life of Lord Liverpool," ii., +373.]</p> +<p><a name="note-178" id="note-178"> +<!-- Note Anchor 178 --></a>[Footnote 178: It is a shrewd +observation of Sully, that it is never any abstract desire for +theoretical reforms, or even for increased privileges, which +excites in lower classes to discontent and outrage, but only +impatience under actual suffering.]</p> +<p><a name="note-179" id="note-179"> +<!-- Note Anchor 179 --></a>[Footnote 179: The bill (entitled "The +Seditious Meetings Prevention Bill"), 60 George III., c. 6, is +given at full length in Hansard's "Parliamentary Debates," series +1., vol. xli., p. 1655.]</p> +<p><a name="note-180" id="note-180"> +<!-- Note Anchor 180 --></a>[Footnote 180: In the House of Lords +the majority was 135 to 38; in the House of Commons, 851 to 128. +And even of this minority, many would have supported the bill, if +the ministers would have consented to adopt an amendment proposed +by Lord Althorp, to limit its operation to a few of the northern +and midland counties, in which alone, as he contended, any spirit +of dangerous disaffection had been exhibited.]</p> +<p><a name="note-181" id="note-181"> +<!-- Note Anchor 181 --></a>[Footnote 181: It may be as well to +mention that these pages were written in the autumn of 1880.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH8" id="CH8"><!-- CH8 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Survey of the Reign of George III.—The +Cato Street Conspiracy.—The Queen's Return to England, and +the Proceedings against her.—The King Visits Ireland and +Scotland.—Reform of the Criminal Code.—Freedom of +Trade.—Death of Lord Liverpool.—The Duke of Wellington +becomes Prime-minister.—Repeal of the Test and Corporation +Act.—O'Connell is Elected for Clare.—Peel Resigns his +Seat for Oxford.—Catholic Emancipation.—Question of the +Endowment of the Roman Catholic Clergy.—Constitutional +Character of the Emancipation.—The Propriety of Mr. Peel's +Resignation of his Seat for Oxford Questioned.</p> +<p>In the first month of 1820 George III. died. His had been an +eventful reign, strangely checkered with disaster and glory; but, +if we compare its close with its commencement, it was still more +remarkably distinguished by a development of the resources and an +increase in the wealth and power of the nation, to which the +history of no other country in the same space of time affords any +parallel.</p> +<p>Regarded from the first point of view, our successes greatly +outweighed our disasters. The loss of our North American Colonies, +the only event which can be so described, was far more than +counterbalanced by our vast acquisitions in India, at the Cape of +Good Hope, and Malta; while to our maritime supremacy, in the +complete establishment of which Rodney and Nelson had crowned the +work of Anson and Hawke, was now added a splendor of military +renown far surpassing that achieved by any other of the nations +which had borne their share in the overthrow of Napoleon.</p> +<p>The increase of our resources is sufficiently shown by a single +fact. At his accession George III. found the kingdom engaged in the +great seven years' war; one British army employed beyond the Rhine, +another in India; fleets traversing the seas in every direction, +capturing the Havana, in the West Indies; Manilla, in the East; and +routing French squadrons in sight of their own harbors. While, to +maintain these varied armaments, supplies were voted by Parliament +in 1761 to what Lord Stanhope calls "the unprecedented amount of +almost twenty millions." In 1813 the supplies reached nearly six +times that amount,[<a href="#note-182">182</a>] and that prodigious +sum was raised with greater ease than the revenue of 1761, the +interest on the necessary loans being also lower than it had been +on the former occasion.</p> +<p>The philosophical man of science will point with at least equal +exultation to the great discoveries in art and science; to the +achievements of the mechanic, the engineer, and the chemist; to the +labors of Brindley and Arkwright and Watts, to which, indeed, this +great expansion of the resources and growth of the wealth of the +country is principally owing.</p> +<p>While, as the preceding chapters of this work have been designed +to show, our political progress and advancement had been no less +steady or valuable; yet, important from a constitutional point of +view as were many of the labors of our legislators in these sixty +years, they are surpassed in their influence on the future history +of the nation, as well as in the reality and greatness of the +changes which were produced by them in the constitution, by the +transactions of the reigns of the next two sovereigns, though the +two united scarcely equalled in their duration a quarter of that of +their venerable father.</p> +<p>It has been seen how Pitt was baffled in his efforts to remodel +the House of Commons, and to remove the disabilities under which +the Roman Catholics labored, the reasons for which, even granting +that they had been sufficient to justify their original imposition, +had, in his judgment, long passed away. His pursuit of the other +great object of his domestic policy, the emancipation of trade from +the shackles which impeded its universal development, was rudely +interrupted by the pressure of the war forced upon him by that very +nation which he had desired to make the first partner, if one may +use such an expression, in the prosperity which he hoped to diffuse +by his commercial treaty with her. But, as in the case of other men +in advance of their age, the principles which he had asserted were +destined to bear fruit at a later period. And the mere fact of a +change in the person of the sovereign seemed to make a change in +the policy hitherto pursued less unnatural.</p> +<p>Yet, memorable as the reforms which it witnessed were destined +to make it, no reign ever commenced with more sinister omens than +that at which we have now arrived. The new King had not been on the +throne a month, when a conspiracy was discovered, surpassing in its +treasonable atrocity any that had been heard of in the kingdom +since the days of the Gunpowder Plot; and, even before those +concerned in that foul crime had been brought to punishment, the +public mind was yet more generally and profoundly agitated by a +scandal which, in one point of view, was still more painful, as in +some degree involving the whole kingdom in its disgrace.</p> +<p>The marriage of the present sovereign to Mrs. Fitzherbert has +already been mentioned. A few years afterward, in the year 1795, +regarding that marriage as illegal, he had contracted a second with +his cousin, the Princess Caroline of Brunswick. But, even in royal +families, a more unfortunate alliance had never taken place. They +had never met till she arrived in England for the wedding; and, as +he had never professed any other motive for consenting to the match +than a desire to obtain the payment of his debts, he did not think +it necessary to disguise his feelings, or to change his habits, or +even to treat her with decency for a single day. On his very first +introduction to her he behaved to her with marked +discourtesy.[<a href="#note-183">183</a>] Shortly after the +marriage he formally separated himself from her, and, both before +and after the separation, lived in undisguised licentiousness. She, +on her part, indignant at his neglect and infidelity, and +exasperated at the restrictions which he presently placed on her +intercourse with their only child, made no secret of her feelings, +and on many occasions displayed such disregard of the ordinary +rules of prudence and propriety, that he had some color for charges +of infidelity to her marriage vows which, after a few years, he +brought against her. The King, her uncle, could not refuse to +appoint a commission to investigate the truth of the accusation; +but the commissioners unanimously acquitted her of any graver fault +than imprudence. She was again received at court, from which she +had been excluded while the inquiry was pending; but her husband's +animosity toward her was not appeased. As time wore on, and as the +King's derangement deprived her of her only protector, it even +seemed as if he desired to give it all the notoriety possible, till +at last, wearied out by his implacable persecution, she sought and +obtained his permission to quit the country and take up her abode +abroad. It was a most unfortunate resolution on her part. She fixed +her residence in Italy, where she gradually learned to neglect the +caution which she had observed in England, till, after a year or +two, reports arose of her intimacy with a servant whom she had +raised from a menial situation to that of the chief officer of her +household, and whom she admitted to a familiarity of intercourse +which others besides her husband thought quite incompatible with +innocence. He sent agents into Italy to inquire into the truth of +those rumors; and their report so greatly confirmed them that, even +before the King's death, he laid it before the Prime-minister, with +a demand that he should at once take steps to procure him a +divorce, in which he professed to believe that the Princess herself +would willingly acquiesce. He was so far correct, that her legal +advisers were willing to advise her to consent to "a formal +separation, to be ratified by an act of Parliament." But such an +arrangement fell far short of the Prince's wishes. The Princess +Charlotte, the heiress to his throne, had died in childbirth two +years before, and he was anxious to be set free to marry again. The +ministers were placed in a situation of painful embarrassment. +There was an obvious difficulty in pointing out to one who already +stood toward them in the character of their sovereign, and who must +inevitably soon become so, that his own conduct made the prospect +of obtaining a divorce from the Ecclesiastical Courts hopeless; and +the only other expedients calculated to attain his end, "a direct +application to Parliament for relief, founded upon the special +circumstances of the case," or "a proceeding against the Princess +for high-treason," were but little more promising. Indeed, it was +afterward ascertained to be the unanimous opinion of the judges +that the charge of high-treason could not be legally sustained, +since the individual who was alleged to be the partner in the +criminality imputed to her was a foreigner, and therefore, "owing +no allegiance to the crown," could not be said to have violated +it.[<a href="#note-184">184</a>]</p> +<p>He chafed under their resistance to his wish, and would have +deprived them of their offices, could he have relied on any +successors whom he might give them proving more complaisant; but, +before he could make up his mind, the death of George III. forced +upon both him and them the consideration of his and his wife's +position, since it made it necessary to remodel the prayer for the +royal family, and instantly to decide whether her name and title as +Queen were to be inserted in it. He was determined that they should +not be mentioned; and, as the practice of praying for a Queen +Consort by name appeared not to have been invariable, they were +willing to gratify him on this point, though it was evidently +highly probable that she would consider this as a fresh insult, +sufficient to justify her in carrying out a threat, which she had +recently held out, of returning to England. Her ablest advisers did +not, indeed, regard it in this light, since the prayer as now +framed implored the Divine protection for "all the royal family" in +general terms, in which she might be supposed to be included, and +made no separate mention of any member of the family.[<a href= +"#note-185">185</a>] But, unfortunately, she was much more under +the influence of counsellors who were neither lawyers nor +statesmen, but who only desired to use her as a tool to obtain +notoriety for themselves. A long negotiation ensued. It was +inevitable that some application should be made to Parliament in +connection with her affairs, since the annuity which had been +settled upon her by Parliament in 1814, on the occasion of her +departure from England, had expired with the life of the late King. +And the ministers proposed that that annuity should now be raised +from £35,000 to £50,000, on condition of her remaining +abroad, having, by their positive refusal to concur in any +proceedings against her while she remained abroad, extorted the +King's acquiescence in this proposal, though he called it a "great +and painful sacrifice of his personal feelings." They sought to +conciliate her acceptance of it by mentioning her in it by her +title of "Queen," and by coupling with it a sanction to her +appointment of her law-officers, an Attorney and Solicitor General, +an act which could only be exercised by a Queen. And, though a part +of the condition of her residence abroad required that she should +do so under some other title, that seemed only a conforming to an +ordinary practice of royal princes on their travels. At the same +time, the ministers stated frankly to Mr. Brougham, a lawyer of the +highest reputation as an advocate, whom she had appointed her +Attorney-general, that, if she should reject the offer, and come to +England, as she had already announced her intention of doing, such +a course would leave them no alternative, but would compel them to +institute proceedings against her.</p> +<p>Eventually she preferred the advice of others to that of Mr. +Brougham, or, as it may, perhaps, be more consistent with the real +fact to say, she yielded to her own feelings of hatred of her +husband, which, it must be confessed, were far from unnatural. She +believed, or professed to believe, that he had more to dread from +an exposure of his conduct than she had from any revelations of her +actions; and, under this impression, in the spring she crossed the +Channel and took up her residence in London. It was a step which +seemed to Lord Liverpool to leave him no alternative, and, in +consequence, he at once took the course which he had from the +beginning conceived her arrival would render indispensable. He +brought down to Parliament a royal message from the King, +announcing that her return to England had made it necessary to +communicate to the Houses documents relating to her conduct since +her departure from the kingdom, which he recommended to their +immediate and serious attention. He proposed the appointment by +ballot of a committee of the House of Lords to examine those +documents; and when the committee had reported that the documents +containing "allegations deeply affecting the honor of the Queen, +etc., ... appeared to the committee calculated to affect not only +the honor of the Queen, but also the dignity of the crown and the +moral feelings and honor of the country, so that in their opinion, +they should become the subject of a solemn inquiry, which might be +best effected in the course of a legislative proceeding," he +introduced a "Bill of Pains and Penalties" to deprive her of her +title of Queen, and to annul her marriage.</p> +<p>No one would willingly dwell on so melancholy and disgraceful a +subject. As far as the Queen was concerned, a protracted +investigation, during which a number of witnesses, favorable and +unfavorable, were examined, left no doubt on the mind of almost all +dispassionate people that the misconduct alleged against her had +been abundantly proved. At the same time there was a feeling +equally general that the King's treatment of her from the very +beginning of their married life had disentitled him to any kind of +relief; and this sentiment was so strongly shown by the gradual +diminution of the majority in favor of the bill, as it proceeded +through its several stages, that Lord Liverpool, who had already +abandoned the clause annulling the marriage, eventually withdrew +the whole bill, perceiving the impossibility of inducing the House +of Commons to pass it when it should go down to that House.</p> +<p>No act of Lord Liverpool's ministry has been attacked with +greater bitterness than that of allowing any proceedings whatever +to be taken against the Queen, partly on the ground that, however +profligate her conduct had been, it had certainly not been more +gross than that of her husband, which had provoked and given +opportunity for her errors; partly because a great scandal was thus +published to the world, and a shock was given to the national +decency and morality which the ministers, above all men, were bound +to avoid; partly, also, because the mode of proceeding adopted was +alleged to be wholly unprecedented; and because, as was contended, +the power of Parliament ought not to be invoked to inflict +penalties which, if deserved, should have been left to the courts +of law. It cannot be denied that there is weight in these +objections; but, in estimating their force, it must be considered +that every part of the conduct of the ministers showed that their +motive was not the gratification of the King's private feelings, +whether directed to the object of indulging his enmity against his +wife or to that of obtaining freedom to contract a second marriage; +on the contrary, so long as the Queen remained abroad, no language +could be more distinct, consistently with the respect due to his +royal dignity, than that in which they expressed to him their +insurmountable objection to every mode of proceeding against her +which he had suggested, founded almost equally on considerations of +"the interests of his Majesty and of the monarchy,"[<a href= +"#note-186">186</a>] and "the painful obligation" under which they +conceived themselves to lie "of postponing their regard for his +Majesty's feelings to great public interests."</p> +<p>But when the Queen came to England the case was greatly altered. +The question now forced on the consideration of the cabinet was, +not the mode of avoiding an intolerable scandal, but the choice +between two scandals, both of the gravest character. The scandal to +be dreaded from the revelations of the conduct of both King and +Queen, that could not fail to result from the investigation which, +in justice, must precede any attempt to legislate on the subject, +was, indeed, as great as ever; but it had now to be compared with +the alternative scandal of allowing a woman lying under such +grievous imputations to preside over the British court, as, if +resident in England, and in undisturbed possession of her royal +rank, she of necessity must preside. The consequence would +evidently have been that the court would have been deserted by all +who could give lustre and dignity to it by their position and +character; and, in the slights thus offered to her, royalty and the +monarchy themselves would seem to be brought into contempt. The +latter scandal, too, would be the more permanent. Grievous and +shameful as might be the disclosures which must be anticipated from +an investigation in which the person accused must be permitted the +employment of every means of defence, including recrimination, the +scandal was yet one which would, to a certain extent, pass away +with the close of the inquiry. But, if she were left undisturbed in +the enjoyment of her royal rank, and of privileges which could not +be separated from it, that scandal would last as long as her +life—longer, in all probability, than the reign. It is hardly +too much to say that the monarchy itself might have been endangered +by the spectacle of such a King and such a Queen; and the ministers +might fairly contend that, of two great dangers and evils, they +had, on the whole, chosen the least.</p> +<p>Lastly, if the Queen's conduct was to be investigated, though +the mode adopted was denounced as unconstitutional by the +Opposition (for, not greatly to their credit, the leading Whigs +made her guilt or innocence a party question), it does not seem to +deserve the epithet, though it may be confessed to have been +unsupported by any direct precedent. Isabella, the faithless wife +of Edward II., had, indeed, been condemned by "the Lords" to the +forfeiture of many of the estates which she had illegally +appropriated; but it does not appear that her violation of her +marriage vows, or even her probable share or acquiescence in her +husband's murder, formed any portion of the grounds of her +deprivation. And the Parliament which attainted Catherine Howard +proceeded solely on her confession of ante-nuptial licentiousness, +without giving her any opportunity of answering or disproving the +other charges which were brought against her. Unprecedented, +therefore, the course now adopted may be admitted to have been. But +it was the only practicable one. The different minutes of the +cabinet, which the Prime-minister laid before the King, established +most conclusively the correctness of their opinion that no +impeachment for high-treason could lie against her. She could not +be an accomplice in such an offence of one who, being a foreigner, +could not have committed it. It was equally impossible for the King +to sue for a divorce, as one of his subjects might have done; +because it was the established practice of Parliament not to +entertain a bill of divorce without the judgment of the +Ecclesiastical Court being previously obtained and produced. And, +under the circumstances, to obtain from the Ecclesiastical Court +such a sentence as could alone lay the foundation for a bill of +divorce was clearly out of the question.</p> +<p>The case was a new and extraordinary one, and, being such, could +only be dealt with in some new and extraordinary manner. And in all +such cases an appeal to Parliament seems the most, if not the only, +constitutional mode of solving the difficulty. Where the existing +laws are silent or inapplicable, the most natural resource clearly +is, to go back to the fountain of all law; that is, to the +Parliament, which alone is competent to make a new law. In one +point of view the question may seem unimportant, since we may well +hope that no similar case will ever arise to require the precedent +now set to be appealed to; but not unimportant, if it in any way or +degree contributes to establish the great principle, that the +solution of all matters of moment to the state belongs to the +Parliament alone: a principle which, in its legitimate +completeness, carries with it a condemnation of many a modern +association whose object, whether avowed or disguised, is clearly +to supersede where it fails to intimidate the sole constitutional +Legislature.</p> +<p>The abandonment of the bill was naturally hailed as a triumph by +the Queen and her partisans; but with the excitement of the +struggle against the government the interest taken in her case died +away. The next year, when she demanded to be crowned with her +husband, his refusal to admit her claim elicited scarcely any +sympathy for her under this renewed grievance; in truth, it was one +as to which precedent was unfavorable to her demand. And the +mortification at finding herself already almost forgotten +contributed to bring on an illness of which she died in less than a +year after the termination of what was called her trial; and in a +short time both she and it were forgotten.</p> +<p>For the next few years the history of the kingdom is one of +progressive correction of abuses or defects. The King paid visits +to Ireland and Scotland, parts of his dominions which his father +had never once visited, and in both was received with the most +exultant and apparently sincere acclamations. And, though one great +calamity fell on the ministry in the loss of Lord +Castlereagh—who, in a fit of derangement, brought on by the +excitement of overwork, unhappily laid violent hands on +himself—his death, sad as it was, could not be said to weaken +or to affect the general policy of the cabinet. Indeed, as he was +replaced at the Foreign Office by his old colleague and rival, Mr. +Canning, in one point of view the administration may be said to +have been strengthened by the change, since, as an orator, Canning +had confessedly no equal in either House of Parliament. Another +change was productive of still more practical advantage. Lord +Sidmouth retired from the Home Office, and was succeeded by Mr. +Peel, previously Secretary for Ireland; and the transfer of that +statesman to an English office facilitated reforms, some of which +were as yet little anticipated even by the new Secretary himself. +The earliest of them, and one not the least important in its +bearing on the well-doing of society, the mitigation of the +severity of our Criminal Code, was, indeed, but the following up of +a series of measures in the same direction which had been commenced +in the time of the Duke of Portland's second administration, and, +it must be added, in spite of its resistance. The influence of +various trades, and of the owners of different kinds of property, +pressing in turns upon our legislators, had rendered our code the +most sanguinary that had, probably, ever existed in Christendom. +Each class of proprietor regarded only the preservation of his own +property, and had no belief in the efficacy of any kind of +protection for it, except such as arose from the fear of death; nor +any doubt that he was justified in procuring the infliction of that +penalty to avert the slightest loss to himself. The consequence was +that, at the beginning of the present century, there were above two +hundred offences the perpetrators of which were liable to capital +punishment, some of a very trivial character, such as cutting down +a hop-vine in a Kentish hop-garden, robbing a rabbit-warren or a +fish-pond, personating an out-pensioner of Greenwich Hospital, or +even being found on a high-road with a blackened face, the +intention to commit a crime being inferred from the disguise, even +though no overt act had been committed. An act of Elizabeth made +picking a pocket a capital offence; another, passed as late as the +reign of William III., affixed the same penalty to shop-lifting, +even when the article stolen might not exceed the value of five +shillings. And the fault of these enactments was not confined to +their unreasonable cruelty; they were as mischievous even to those +whom they were designed to protect as they were absurd, as some +owners began to perceive. In the list of capital offences was that +of stealing linen from a bleaching-ground. And a large body of +bleachers presented a petition to Parliament entreating the repeal +of the statute which made it such on the ground that, practically, +it had been found not to strike terror into the thieves, but almost +to secure them impunity from the reluctance of juries to find a +verdict which would sentence a fellow-creature to the gallows for +such an offence.</p> +<p>Nor was this by any means the only instance in which the +barbarity of the law defeated its object. And its combined impolicy +and inhumanity had some years before attracted the notice of Sir +Samuel Romilly, who had been Solicitor-general in the +administration of 1806, and who, shortly after its dissolution, +began to apply himself to the benevolent object of procuring the +repeal of many of the statutes in question, and in the course of a +few years did succeed in obtaining the substitution of milder +penalties for several of the less flagitious offences. He died in +1818; but the work which he had began was continued by Sir James +Mackintosh, a man of even more conspicuous ability, and one who +could adduce his own experience in favor of the changes which he +recommended to the Parliament, since he had filled the office of +Recorder of Bombay for eight years, and had discharged his duties +with a most diligent and consistent avoidance of capital +punishment, which he had never inflicted except for murder; his +lenity, previously unexampled in that land, having been attended +with a marked diminution of crime. He procured the substitution of +milder penalties in several additional cases; and at last, in 1822, +he carried a resolution engaging the House of Commons "the next +session to take into its serious consideration the means of +increasing the efficacy of the criminal law by abating its undue +rigor." And this success had the effect of inducing the new +minister to take the question into his own hands. Peel saw that it +was one which, if it were to be dealt with at all, ought to be +regulated by the government itself, and not be left to independent +members, who could not settle it with satisfactory completeness; +and therefore, in 1823, he introduced a series of bills to carry +out the principle implied in Mackintosh's resolution of the +preceding year, not only simplifying the law, but abolishing the +infliction of capital punishment in above a hundred cases. He was +unable to carry out his principle as fully as he could have +desired. The prejudice in favor of still retaining death as a +punishment for forgery was too strong for even his resolution as +yet to overbear, though many private bankers supplied him with the +same arguments against it in their case which had formerly been +alleged by the bleachers. But the example which he now set, +enforced as it was with all the authority of the government, was +followed in many subsequent sessions, till at last our code, +instead of the most severe, has become the most humane in Europe, +and death is now never inflicted except for murder, or crimes +intended or calculated to lead to murder. It is worth remarking, +however, that neither Romilly, Mackintosh, nor Peel ever +entertained the slightest doubt of the right of a government to +inflict capital punishment. In the last address which Mackintosh +delivered to the grand-jury at Bombay he had said: "I have no doubt +of the right of society to inflict the punishment of death on +enormous crimes, wherever an inferior punishment is not sufficient. +I consider it as a mere modification of the right of self-defence, +which may as justly be exercised in deterring from attack as in +repelling it."[<a href="#note-187">187</a>] And in his diary, when +speaking of a death-warrant which he had just signed, he says: "I +never signed a paper with more perfect tranquillity of mind. I felt +agitation in pronouncing the sentence, but none in subscribing the +warrant; I had no scruple of conscience on either occasion."</p> +<p>And it seems that his position is unassailable. The party whose +interest is to be kept in view by the Legislature in imposing +punishments on offences is society, the people at large, not the +offender. The main object of punishment is to deter rather than to +reform; to prevent crime, not to take vengeance on the criminal. +And, if crime be more effectually prevented by moderate than by +severe punishments, society has a right to demand, for its own +security (as a matter of policy, not of justice), that the moderate +punishment shall, on that ground, be preferred. That punishments +disproportioned in their severity to the magnitude of the offence +often defeated their object was certain. Not only had jurymen been +known to confess that they had preferred violating their oaths to +doing still greater violence to their consciences, by sending a man +to the gallows for a deed which, in their opinion, did not deserve +it, but the very persons who had been injured by thefts or +forgeries were often deterred from prosecution of the guilty by the +knowledge that the forfeiture of their lives must follow their +conviction. It was almost equally certain that criminals calculated +beforehand on the chance of impunity which the known prevalence of +these feelings afforded them. Wherever the sympathy of the public +does not go along with the law, it must, to a great extent, fail; +and that the terrible frequency of sanguinary punishment had failed +in all its objects, was proved by the fact that, in spite of the +numerous executions which took place, crimes increased in a still +greater proportion than the population. Under the reformed system, +now first inaugurated on an extensive scale, crimes have become +rarer, detection and punishment more certain—a combination of +results which must be the object equally of the law-giver and the +philanthropist.</p> +<p>It is not quite foreign to this subject to relate that, a year +or two before, a mode of trial had been abolished which, though +long disused, by some curious oversight had still been allowed to +remain on the statute-book. In the feudal times either the +prosecutor or the prisoner, in cases of felony, had a right to +claim that the cause should be decided by "wager of battle;" but it +was an ordeal which, with one exception in the reign of George II., +had not been mentioned for centuries. In 1817, however, the +relatives of a woman who had been murdered, being dissatisfied with +the acquittal of a man who had been indicted as her murderer, sued +out "an appeal of murder" against him, on which he claimed to have +the appeal decided by "wager of battle," and threw down a glove on +the floor of the court to make good his challenge. The claim was +protested against by the prosecutor; but Lord Ellenborough, the +Chief-justice, pronounced judgment that, "trial by battle having +been demanded, it was the legal and constitutional mode of trial, +and must be awarded. It was the duty of the judges to pronounce the +law as it was, and not as they might wish it to be."[<a href= +"#note-188">188</a>] He gave sentence accordingly; and, had the two +parties been of equal stature and strength, the Judges of the +Common Pleas might have been seen, in their robes, presiding from +sunrise till sunset over a combat to be fought, as the law +prescribed, with stout staves and leathern shields, till one should +cry "Craven," and yield up the field. Fortunately for them, the +alleged murderer was so superior in bodily strength to his +adversary, that the latter declined the contest. But the public +advancement of the claim for such a mode of decision was fatal to +any subsequent exercise of it; and, in spite of the Common Council +of London, who, confiding, perhaps, in the formidable appearance +presented by some of the City Champions on Lord Mayor's Day, +petitioned Parliament to preserve it, the next year the +Attorney-general brought in a bill to abolish it, and the judges +were no longer compelled to pronounce an absurd sentence in +obedience to an obsolete law, framed at a time when personal +prowess was a virtue to cover a multitude of sins, and might was +the only right generally acknowledged.</p> +<p>The foundation, too, was laid for other reforms. Lord Liverpool +was more thoroughly versed than any of his predecessors, except +Pitt, in the soundest principles of political economy; and in one +of the first speeches which he made in the new reign he expressed a +decided condemnation, not only of any regulations which were +designed to favor one trade or one interest at the expense of +another, but generally of the whole system and theory of +protection; and one of his last measures made an alteration in the +manner of taxing corn imported from foreign countries, which was +greatly to the advantage of the consumer. It was known as the +"sliding-scale," the tax on imported corn varying with the price in +the market, rising when the price fell, and falling when it rose; +the design with which it was framed being to keep the price to the +consumer at all times as nearly equal as possible. At first, +however, it was vehemently denounced by the bulk of the +agriculturists, who were re-enforced on this occasion by a large +party from among the Whigs, and especially by some of those +connected with Ireland. But a more suitable period for discussing +the establishment of Free-trade as the ruling principle of our +financial policy will occur hereafter.</p> +<p>The introduction of the sliding-scale was almost the last act of +Lord Liverpool's ministry. At the beginning of 1827 he was +preparing a fresh measure on the same subject, the effect of which +was intended to diminish still farther the protection which the +former act had given, and which was in consequence denounced by +many landholders of great wealth and influence, led, on this +subject, by the King's favorite brother, the Duke of York.[<a href= +"#note-189">189</a>] But, a few days after the meeting of +Parliament, he was struck down by an attack of paralysis, from +which he never recovered.</p> +<p>In his post as Prime-minister he was succeeded by Canning, not +without great reluctance on the part of the King; not, probably, so +much because he feared to find in him any desire to depart from the +policy of Lord Liverpool, except on the Catholic question (for even +on matters of foreign policy, on which Canning had always been +supposed most to fix his attention, he had adopted the line which +Lord Liverpool had laid down for the cabinet with evident +sincerity),[<a href="#note-190">190</a>] as because his Majesty had +never wholly forgiven him for the attitude which he had taken, +differing on one or two points from that of his colleagues on the +Queen's case. And, as has been mentioned in <a href="#endeavors">a +former chapter</a>, he even, with the object of evading the +necessity of appointing him, suggested to the Duke of Wellington +the singular scheme of allowing the remaining members of Lord +Liverpool's cabinet to select their own chief,[<a href= +"#note-191">191</a>] which the Duke, though coinciding with him in +his dislike of Canning, of whom he entertained a very causeless +suspicion, rejected without hesitation, as an abandonment of the +royal prerogative in one of its most essential duties or +privileges. Another of his Majesty's notions, if it had been +carried out, would have been one of the strangest violations of +constitutional principle and practice which it is possible to +conceive. The Duke of York, who had for many years been +Commander-in-chief, died in January of the same year, and on his +death the King actually proposed to take that office on himself. +For the moment Lord Liverpool was able to induce him to abandon the +idea, and to confer the post on the Duke of Wellington. But it had +taken such possession of his mind that he recurred to it again +when, on Canning becoming Prime-minister, the Duke resigned the +office; and he pressed it on the Cabinet with singular pertinacity +till, on Canning's death, the Duke was prevailed on to resume the +command. It is evident that no arrangement could possibly be more +inconsistent with every principle of the constitution. The very +foundation of parliamentary government is, that every officer of +every department is responsible to Parliament for the proper +discharge of his duties. But the investiture of the sovereign with +ministerial office of any kind must involve either the entire +withdrawal of that department from parliamentary control, or the +exposure of the sovereign to constant criticism, which, however +essential to the efficiency of the department, and consequently to +the public service, would be wholly inconsistent with the respect +due to the crown. The first alternative it is certain that no +Parliament would endure for a moment; the second, by impairing the +dignity of the monarch, could scarcely fail in some degree to +threaten the stability of the monarchy itself.</p> +<p>Canning's ministry was too brief to give time for any +transaction of internal importance. That of Lord Goderich, who +succeeded him, though longer by the almanac, was practically +briefer still, since it never met Parliament at all, but was formed +and fell to pieces between the prorogation and the next meeting of +the Houses. But that which followed, under the presidency of the +Duke of Wellington, though after a few months its composition +became entirely Tory, is memorable for the first great departure +from those maxims of the constitution which had been reckoned among +its most essential principles ever since the Revolution. Of the +measures which bear that character, one was carried against the +resistance of the ministry, the other by the ministers themselves. +And it may at first sight appear singular that the larger measure +of the two was proposed by the Duke after those members of his +cabinet who had originally been supposed to give it something of a +Liberal complexion had quitted it. The Reform Bill of 1832—to +which we shall come in the <a href="#CH9">next +chapter</a>—has been often called a peaceful revolution. The +Toleration Acts, as we may call the bills of 1828 and 1829, are +scarcely less deserving of that character.</p> +<p>The constitution, as it had existed for the last hundred and +forty years, had been not only a Protestant but a Church of England +constitution. Not only all Roman Catholics, but all members of +Protestant Non-conforming sects, all who refused to sign a +declaration against the doctrine of Transubstantiation, and also to +take the Sacrament according to the rites of the one Established +Church, were disqualified for any appointment of trust. That the +object with which the Test Act had been framed and supported was +rather political than religious is notorious; indeed, it was +supported by the Protestant Dissenters, though they themselves were +to suffer by its operation, so greatly at that time did the dread +of Popery and the French King overpower every other +consideration.[<a href="#note-192">192</a>] On the Roman Catholics, +after the reign of James II. had increased that apprehension, the +restrictions were tightened. But those which inflicted disabilities +on the Protestant Non-conformists had been gradually relaxed. The +repeal of two, the Five Mile and the Conventicle Acts, had, as we +have seen in the <a href="#CH7">last chapter</a>, been recent +measures of Lord Liverpool. But the Test Act still remained, though +it had long been practically a dead letter. The Union with +Scotland, where the majority of the population was Presbyterian, +had rendered it almost impossible to maintain the exclusion of +Englishmen resembling the Scotch in their religious tenets from +preferments, and even from seats in the House of Commons, to which +Scotchmen were admissible. And though one Prime-minister (Stanhope) +failed in his attempt to induce Parliament to repeal the Test Act, +and his successor (Walpole) refused his countenance to any +repetition of the proposal, even he did not reject such a +compromise as was devised to evade it; and in the first year of +George II.'s reign (by which time it was notorious that many +Protestant Non-conformists had obtained seats in municipal +corporations, and even in the House of Commons, who yet had never +qualified themselves by compliance with the act of 1673) a bill of +indemnity was introduced by the minister, with at least the tacit +consent of the English bishops, to protect all such persons from +the penalties which they had incurred. And the bill, which was only +annual in its operation, was renewed almost every year, till, in +respect of all such places or dignities (if a seat in the House of +Commons can be described by either of those names), no one thought +of inquiring whether a man, so long as he were a Protestant, +adhered to the Established Church or not; members of the House of +Commons even openly avowing their nonconformity, and at times +founding arguments on the fact.</p> +<p>The practical nullification of the Test Act by these periodical +bills of indemnity had been for some time used by two opposite +parties—both that which regarded the maintenance of the +exclusive connection of the constitution with the Church of England +as of vital importance to both Church and constitution, and that +which was opposed to all restrictions or disqualiflcations on +religious grounds—as an argument in their favor. The one +contended that there could be no sufficient reason for repealing a +law from which no one suffered; the other, that it was a needless +provocation of ill-feeling to retain a law which no one ever +dreamed of enforcing. Hitherto the latter had been the weaker +party. One or two motions for the repeal of the Test Act, which had +been made in former years,[<a href="#note-193">193</a>] had been +defeated without attracting any great notice; but in the spring of +1828 Lord John Russel, then a comparatively young member, but +rapidly rising into influence with his party, carried a motion in +the House of Commons for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the +act, so far as it concerned the Protestant Non-conformists, by a +very decisive majority,[<a href="#note-194">194</a>] in spite of +all the efforts of Peel and his colleagues.</p> +<p>The ministry was placed in a difficult position by his success, +since the usual practice for a cabinet defeated on a question of +principle was to resign; and it is probable that they would not +have departed from that rule now, had not this defeat occurred so +early in their official life. But on this occasion it seemed to +them that other questions had to be considered besides the +constitutional doctrine of submission on the part of a ministry to +the judgment of the Parliament.[<a href="#note-195">195</a>] Theirs +was now the fourth administration that had held office within +twelve months; and their resignation, which would compel the +construction of a fifth, could hardly fail not only to embarrass +the sovereign, but to shake public confidence in government +generally. It was also certain that they could rely on a division +in the House of Lords being favorable to them, if they chose to +appeal from one House to the other. Under these circumstances, they +had to consider what their line of conduct should be, and there +never were two ministers better suited to deal with an +embarrassment of that kind than the Duke of Wellington and Mr. +Peel. The Duke's doctrine of government was that "the country was +never governed in practice according to the extreme principles of +any party whatever;"[<a href="#note-196">196</a>] while Peel's +disposition at all times inclined him to compromise. He was quite +aware that on this and similar questions public feeling had +undergone great alteration since the beginning of the century. +There was a large and increasing party, numbering in its ranks many +men of deep religious feeling, and many firm supporters of the +principle of an Established Church, being also sincere believers in +the pre-eminent excellence of the Church of England, who had a +conscientious repugnance to the employment of the most solemn +ordinance of a religion as a mere political test of a person's +qualifications for the discharge of civil duties. In the opinion of +the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Lloyd), this was the feeling of "a very +large majority of the Church itself," and of the +University.[<a href="#note-197">197</a>] Peel, therefore, came to +the conclusion—to which he had no difficulty in bringing his +colleague, the Prime-minister—that "it might be more for the +real interests of the Church and of religion to consent to an +alteration in the law" than to trust to the result of the debate in +the House of Lords to maintain the existing state of things. +Accordingly, after several conferences with the most influential +members of the Episcopal Bench, he framed a declaration to be +substituted for the Sacramental test, binding all who should be +required to subscribe it—a description which included all who +should be appointed to a civil or corporate office—never to +exert any power or influence which they might thus acquire to +subvert, or to endeavor to subvert, the Protestant Church of +England, Scotland, or Ireland, as by law established. The +declaration was amended in the House of Lords by the addition of +the statement, that this declaration was subscribed "on the true +faith of a Christian," introduced at the instigation of Lord Eldon, +who had not held the Great Seal since the dissolution of Lord +Liverpool's administration, but who was still looked up to by a +numerous party as the foremost champion of sound Protestantism in +either House.</p> +<p>Not that the addition of these words at all diminished the +dissatisfaction with which the great lawyer regarded the bill. On +the contrary, he believed it to be not only a weapon wilfully put +into the hands of the enemies of the Established Church, but a +violation of the constitution, of which, as he regarded it "the +existing securities were a part." He pointed out that "the King +himself was obliged to take the sacrament at his coronation;" and +he argued from this and other grounds that "the Church of England, +combined with the state, formed together the constitution of Great +Britain; and that the acts now to be repealed were necessary to the +preservation of that constitution."</p> +<p>With every respect for that great lawyer, his argument on this +point does not appear sustainable. For the bill in question did not +sweep away securities for the Established Church, but merely +substituted, for one which long disuse and indemnity had rendered +wholly inoperative, a fresh security, which, as it would be +steadily put in force, might fairly be expected to prove far more +efficacious. And it can hardly be contended that it was not within +the province of the Legislature to modify an existing law in this +spirit and with this object, however important might be the purpose +for which that law had originally been framed. Nay, it might fairly +be argued that the more important that object was, the more were +they who strengthened the means of attaining that object entitled +to be regarded as faithful servants and supporters of the principle +of the constitution.</p> +<p>The measure, however, relieved the Protestant Dissenters alone. +Not only did Lord Eldon's amendment preserve the Christian +character of the Legislature, but the requirement to sign the +declaration against Transubstantiation, which was unrepealed, left +the Roman Catholics still under the same disqualifications as +before. But the days of those disqualifications were manifestly +numbered. Indeed, many of those who had followed the ministers in +their original resistance to the repeal of the Test Act had been +avowedly influenced by the conviction that it could not fail to +draw after it the removal of the disabilities affecting the Roman +Catholics. As has been said before, the disabilities in question +had originally been imposed on the Roman Catholics on political +rather than on religious grounds. And the political reasons for +them had been greatly weakened, if not wholly swept away, by the +extinction of the Stuart line of princes. Their retention or +removal had, therefore, now become almost wholly a religious +question; and the late bill had clearly established as a principle +that, though the state had a right to require of members of other +religious sects that they should not abuse the power which might +arise from any positions or employments to which they might be +admitted, to the subversion or injury of the Established Church of +England, yet, when security for their innocuousness in this respect +was provided, it was not justified in inquiring into the details of +their faith. And if this were to be the rule of government for the +future, the conclusion was irresistible that a similar security was +all that the state was justified in demanding from Roman Catholics, +and that it could have no warrant for investigating their opinion +on Transubstantiation, or any other purely theological tenet. There +could be no doubt that the feelings of the public had been +gradually and steadily coming round to this view of the question. +The last House of Commons had not only passed a bill to remove +Roman Catholic disabilities (which was afterward thrown out in the +House of Lords), but had also passed, by a still larger majority, a +resolution, moved by Lord Francis Leveson Gower (who was now the +Secretary for Ireland), in favor of endowing the Roman Catholic +priests in Ireland. And at the late general election the opinions +of the candidates on what was commonly called Catholic Emancipation +had been the great cardinal question with a great number, probably +a majority, of the constituencies.</p> +<p>It may be remarked that it was not the Test Act which excluded +Roman Catholics from Parliament, but a bill which, fifteen years +later, had been passed (probably under the influence of Lord +Shaftesbury) at the time when the whole kingdom was excited by the +daily expanding revelations of the Popish Plot.[<a href= +"#note-198">198</a>] And this bill had a loop-hole which was never +discovered till now but the discovery of which totally changed the +whole aspect of the question. Even before the bill repealing the +Test Act had passed through all its stages, Sir Francis Burdett had +again induced the House of Commons to pass a resolution condemning +the continuance of the Roman Catholic disabilities; to which, +however, the peers, by a far larger majority, refused their +concurrence.[<a href="#note-199">199</a>] But, within a month of +this division, the aspect of the whole question was changed by the +shrewdness of an Irish barrister, who had discovered the loop-hole +or flaw in the bill of 1678 already alluded to, and by the energy +and promptitude with which he availed himself of his discovery. Mr. +O'Connell had a professional reputation scarcely surpassed by any +member of the Irish Bar. He was also a man of ancient family in the +county of Kerry. And, being a Roman Catholic, he had for several +years been the spokesman of his brother Roman Catholics on most +public occasions. He now, on examination of the bill of 1678, +perceived that, though it forbade any Roman Catholic from taking a +seat in either House of Parliament, it contained no prohibition to +prevent any constituency from electing him its representative. And +when, on the occasion of some changes which were made in the +cabinet, the representation of the County Clare was vacated by its +member, Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, accepting the office of President of +the Board of Trade, O'Connell instantly offered himself as a +candidate in opposition to the new minister, who, of course, sought +re-election.</p> +<p>Mr. Fitzgerald was a man who had always supported the demands of +the Roman Catholics; he was also personally popular, and had the +undivided support of nearly all the gentlemen and principal +land-owners of the county, in which he himself had large property. +But O'Connell's cause was taken up by the entire Roman Catholic +priesthood; addresses in his favor were read at the altars of the +different churches; and, after five days' polling, Mr. Fitzgerald +withdrew from the contest. The Sheriff, in great perplexity, made a +special return, reporting that "Mr. Fitzgerald was proposed, being +a Protestant, as a fit person to represent the county in +Parliament; that Mr. O'Connell, a Roman Catholic, was also +proposed; that he, Mr. O'Connell, had declared before the Sheriff +that he was a Roman Catholic, and intended to continue a Roman +Catholic; and that a protest had been made by several electors +against his return."</p> +<p>It was accepted as a return of O'Connell, who, however, made no +attempt to take his seat, though when he first stood he had assured +the electors that there was no law to prevent him from doing so; +but the importance of his success was not to be measured by his +actual presence or absence in the House of Commons for the +remainder of a session. It had made it absolutely impossible to +continue the maintenance of the disabilities; what one Irish +constituency had done, other Irish constituencies might be depended +on to do.[<a href="#note-200">200</a>] And it was quite certain +that, as opportunity offered, almost every constituency in Munster +and Connaught, and many in Leinster, would follow the example of +Clare, and return Roman Catholic representatives; while to retain a +law which prevented forty or fifty men duly elected by Irish +constituencies from taking their seats must have appeared +impossible to all but a few, whom respect for the undoubted +sincerity of their attachment to their own religion and to the +constitution, as they understood it, is the only consideration +which can save them from being regarded as dangerous fanatics. At +all events, the ministers were not among them. And the Duke of +Wellington, though he had previously hoped, by postponing the +farther consideration of the question for a year or two, to gain +time for a calmer examination of it when the existing excitement +had cooled down,[<a href="#note-201">201</a>] at once admitted the +conviction that the result of the Clare election had rendered +farther delay impossible. In his view, and that of those of his +colleagues whose judgment he estimated most highly, the Irish +constituencies and their probable action at future elections were +not the only parties whose opinions or feelings must be regarded by +a responsible statesman; but to them must be added the +constituencies of the larger island also, since, while, to quote +the language of Mr. Peel, "the general election of 1826 had taken +place under circumstances especially calculated to call forth the +manifestation of Protestant feeling throughout the country," they +had returned a majority of members in favor of concession, as was +proved by the recent division on Sir F. Burdett's motion. Moreover, +apart from the merits or demerits of concession, taken by itself, +there was a manifest danger that the keeping up of the excitement +on the subject by a continued adherence to the policy of +restriction might, especially among such a people as the Irish, so +impulsive, and, in the lower classes, so absolutely under the +dominion of the priests, kindle an excitement on other subjects +also, still more difficult to deal with. It was even already +certain that the Roman Catholic priests were endeavoring to tamper +with the loyalty of the soldiers of their persuasion. Nor was it +clerical influence alone that the government had to dread. A year +or two before a Catholic Association had been formed, which +included among its members all the wealthiest and ablest of the +Roman Catholic laymen, noblemen, squires, and barristers. Its +organization had been so skilfully conducted, and all its measures +had been so carefully kept within the requirements of the law, that +the crown lawyers, on being consulted, pronounced it impossible to +interfere with it; and, by what may be called a peaceful agitation, +it had attained such extraordinary power over the minds of the bulk +of the Roman Catholics, that the Lord-lieutenant reported that "he +was quite certain that they could lead on the people to open +rebellion at a moment's notice, and that their organization was +such that, in the hands of desperate and intelligent leaders, they +would be extremely formidable[<a href="#note-202">202</a>]."</p> +<p>Under all these circumstances, the Duke had no hesitation in +deciding that it had become absolutely necessary to concede the +demands of the Roman Catholics and their supporters for a removal +of their political disabilities. And it was equally obvious that, +the more promptly the concession was made, the more gracious it +would seem, and the greater was the probability of its having the +conciliatory and tranquillizing effect the hope of which made it so +desirable. He was not a man to lose time when he had once made up +his mind. It was already too late in the session for anything to be +done in 1828; but the Parliament had scarcely been prorogued before +he put his views on the subject before the King, and began, in +concert with the Home-secretary, to frame a bill such as he hoped +might settle the long-agitated question, without doing more +violence than was necessary to the feelings of those whose +opposition or reluctance he was aware he should have to encounter: +among whom was the King himself, who, though thirty years before he +had, with an ostentation rather unbecoming, considering his +position, put himself forward as an advocate of Emancipation, had +subsequently changed his opinion, and had recently taken more than +one occasion to declare that he had never doubted that, as the head +and protector of the Protestant religion, he was bound to refuse +his assent to any relaxation of the existing law.[<a href= +"#note-203">203</a>] The Duke, however, was too well acquainted +with his royal master's character to apprehend any real firmness of +resistance from him; but he knew that a great majority of the +clergy, and no small portion of the country gentlemen, were +conscientiously and immovably fixed in opposition to any concession +at all, some refusing to regard the question in any but a purely +religious light, and objecting to associate in the task of +legislation for those whom they regarded as adherents of an +idolatrous superstition; while those who mingled political +reasoning with that founded on theology dwelt also on the danger to +be apprehended to the state, if political power were given to those +whose allegiance to the King was divided with another allegiance +which they acknowledged to a foreign prelate. And he had presently +an unmistakable proof afforded him how great was the strength of +this party in the country. Peel was one of the representatives of +the University of Oxford; and, as from his earliest enjoyment of a +seat in Parliament he had been a prominent opponent of the Roman +Catholic claims, he considered that it was to that maintenance of a +policy identified in their eyes with that Protestant ascendency +which his supporters took to be both the chief bulwark and one of +the most essential parts of the constitution that he owed his +position as their member. With a conscientiousness which was rather +overstrained, and not quite consistent with the legitimate position +of a member of the House of Commons as a representative, and not a +delegate, he now conceived that his change of view on the subject +made it proper for him to give his constituents an opportunity of +making choice of some one else who should more faithfully represent +them. He accordingly resigned his seat, offering himself at the +same time for re-election. But he was defeated by a very large +majority, though his competitor was one who could not possibly be +put on a level with him either for university distinction or for +parliamentary eminence.</p> +<p>Not the less, however, for all their difficulties and +discouragements, did the ministers proceed in the course on which +they had resolved. They inserted in the speech with which the King +opened the session of 1829 a recommendation to the Houses "to take +into consideration the whole condition of Ireland, and to review +the laws which imposed civil disabilities on his Majesty's Roman +Catholic subjects." And with as little delay as possible they +introduced a bill to remove those disabilities. But there was +another measure which they felt it to be indispensable should +precede it. A previous sentence of the royal speech had described +the Catholic Association as one "dangerous to the public peace, and +inconsistent with the spirit of the constitution, keeping alive +discord and ill-will among his Majesty's subjects, and one which +must, if permitted to continue, effectually obstruct every effort +permanently to improve the condition of Ireland." And the ministers +naturally regarded it as their first duty to suppress a body which +could deserve to be so described. They felt, too, that the large +measure of concession and conciliation which they were about to +announce would lose half its grace, and more than half its effect, +if it could possibly be represented as a submission to an agitation +and intimidation which they had not the power nor the courage to +resist. They determined, therefore, to render such an imputation +impossible, by previously suppressing the Association. It was +evident that it could not be extinguished by any means short of an +act of Parliament. And the course pursued, with the discussions +which took place respecting it, show in a very clear and +instructive manner the view taken by statesmen of the difference +between what is loyal or illegal, constitutional or +unconstitutional; their apprehension that conduct may be entirely +legal, that is to say, within the letter of the law, but at the +same time perfectly unconstitutional, outside of and adverse to the +whole spirit of the constitution. The royal speech had not ventured +to describe the Association as illegal. The Duke of Wellington +expressly admitted that "in the original institution and formation +of the society there was nothing strictly illegal."[<a href= +"#note-204">204</a>] And its founder and chief, Mr. O'Connell, had +been at all times careful to inculcate on his followers the +necessity of avoiding any violation of the law. But the speech had +also declared the association to be "inconsistent with the spirit +of the constitution." And its acts, as the Duke proceeded to +describe them, certainly bore out that declaration. "Those acts +consisted principally in levying a tax upon certain of his +Majesty's subjects called Catholic rent, and this by means and acts +of extreme violence; by appointing persons to collect these rents; +and farther by adopting measures to organize the Catholic +population; by appointing persons to superintend that organization; +and by assuming to themselves the government of the country; and, +still more, affecting to assume it. Besides, they expended this +rent in a manner contrary to, and utterly inconsistent with, all +law and order and the constitution of the country." No member of +either House denied the accuracy of this description of the +Association's proceedings. And if it were correct, it was +incontrovertible that the denunciation of it as an utterly +unconstitutional body was not too strong. Indeed, the fact of its +"levying a tax" upon a portion of the King's subjects (to say +nothing of the intimidation, amounting to compulsion, by which, as +was notorious, it was in many instances exacted) was the assumption +of one of the most important functions of the Imperial Parliament; +it was the erection of an <i>imperium in imperio</i>, which no +statesmen intrusted with the government of a country can be +justified in tolerating. And this was felt by the Opposition as +well as by the ministers; by the Whigs as fully as by the Tories. +The most eloquent of the Whig party, Mr. Stanley, was as decided as +Mr. Peel himself in affirming that the existence of the Association +was "inconsistent with the spirit of the constitution," and that it +was "dangerous that the people of a country should look up to any +public body distinct from the government, opposed to the +government, and monopolizing their attachment and +obedience."[<a href="#note-205">205</a>]</p> +<p>It was, therefore, with the almost unanimous approval of both +parties that the bill framed for the suppression of the Association +was received. The framing of such a bill was not unattended by +difficulties, as Peel acknowledged,[<a href="#note-206">206</a>] +since "no one wished to declare that every political meeting was +illegal;" while at the same time it was necessary to guard against +"having its enactments evaded, since a more dangerous precedent +than the successful evasion of acts of the Legislature could +scarcely be conceived." But the measure, as it was proposed, +skilfully steered clear of these difficulties. It met them by +intrusting "the enforcement of the law to be enacted to one person +alone." The bill proposed "to give to the Lord-lieutenant, and to +him alone, the power of suppressing any association or meeting +which he might think dangerous to the public peace, or inconsistent +with the due administration of the law; together with power to +interdict the assembly of any meeting of which previous notice +should have been given, and which he should think likely to +endanger the public peace, or to prove inconsistent with the due +administration of the law." And farther, "to interdict any meeting +or association which might be interdicted from assembling, or which +might be suppressed under this act, from receiving and placing at +their control any moneys by the name of rent, or any other name." +But the act was not to be one of perpetual duration. It could not +be concealed that such a prohibition or limitation of the general +right of public meeting and public discussion was a suspension of a +part of the constitution; and therefore the ministers were content +to limit its operation "to one year and the end of the then next +session of Parliament," feeling "satisfied that there would be no +objection to continue it, if there should be any necessity for its +continuance." And this limitation was a substantial mitigation of +its severity. It made the bill, as Mr. Stanley correctly described +it, "not a permanent infringement on the constitution, but a +temporary deviation from it, giving those powers which were +necessary at the moment," but not maintaining them an hour longer +than they were necessary.</p> +<p>And this seems to be the course most in accordance with the +spirit of the constitution, with former practice, with +common-sense. Deeds which violate the letter of the law can be +dealt with by the law. But actions or courses of action which, even +if they may be thought to overstep the law, transgress it so +narrowly as to elude conviction, can only be reached by enactments +which also go in some degree beyond the ordinary law; and, so going +beyond it, are to that extent encroachments on the ordinary +privileges and rights of the subject, and suspensions of the +constitution. But the very term "suspension" shows that the power +conferred is but temporary, otherwise it would be synonymous with +abrogation. And all parties may wisely agree, as they did in this +instance, to a temporary suspension of the people's rights, though +there would be none to whom their permanent abrogation would not be +intolerable.</p> +<p>The bill, then, for the suppression of the Association passed +with universal approval, and it may be regarded as furnishing a +model for dealing with similar associations, if ever they should +arise. And as soon as it was passed Mr. Peel introduced the greater +measure, that for the repeal of the disabilities. In drawing the +necessary bill the ministers had had two questions of special +importance to consider: firstly, whether it should be unlimited +concession which should be granted, such as would throw open to the +Roman Catholics every kind of civil office; and, secondly, whether +it should be accompanied by any other measure, which might render +it more palatable to its adversaries, as diminishing a portion at +least of the dangers which those who regarded the question in a +purely political light most apprehended. On the first point it was +determined that, with the exception of three civil offices, those +of the Lord Chancellors of England and Ireland and the +Lord-lieutenant of Ireland,[<a href="#note-207">207</a>] and some +of a purely ecclesiastical character, such as the Judge of the +Court of Arches, every kind of preferment should be opened to the +Roman Catholics.[<a href="#note-208">208</a>] The declaration +against Transubstantiation and the oath of supremacy, certain +expressions in which were the obstacles which had hitherto kept the +Roman Catholics out of office and out of Parliament, were to be +repealed, and another to be substituted for them which should +merely bind him who took it to defend the King, to maintain the +Protestant succession, and to declare that "it was not an article +of his faith, and that he renounced, rejected, and abjured the +opinion, that princes excommunicated or deposed by the Pope might +be deposed and murdered; and that he disclaimed, disavowed, and +solemnly abjured any intention to subvert the present Church +Establishment as settled by law within this realm, and that he +would never exercise any privilege to which he was or might become +entitled to disturb or weaken the Protestant religion or Protestant +government in this kingdom."[<a href="#note-209">209</a>]</p> +<p>The second question was, it will probably be confessed, even +more important. Pitt, who had always contemplated, and had +encouraged the Irish Roman Catholics to contemplate, the abolition +of their political disabilities as an indispensable appendage to, +or, it may be said, part of the Union, had designed, farther, not +to confine his benefits to the laymen, but to endow the Roman +Catholic clergy with adequate stipends, a proposal which was +received with the greatest thankfulness, not only by the Irish +prelates and clergy themselves, but also by the heads of their +Church at Rome, who were willing, in return, to give the crown a +veto on all the ecclesiastical appointments of their Church in the +two islands.[<a href="#note-210">210</a>] The justice of granting +such an endowment could hardly be contested. The Reformation in +Ireland, if what had taken place there could be called a +reformation at all, had been wholly different from the movement +which had almost extinguished Popery in England. The great majority +of the Irish people had never ceased to adhere to the Romish forms, +and the Reformation there had been simply a transfer of the +property of the Romish Church to the Church of England, +unaccompanied by any corresponding change of belief in the people, +who had an undeniable right to claim that the state, while making +this transfer, should not deprive of all provision the clergy to +whose ministrations they still clung with a zeal and steadiness +augmented rather than diminished by the discouragements under which +they adhered to them.</p> +<p>The policy of granting such endowment was equally conspicuous. +No measure could so bind the clergy to the government; and no such +security for the loyalty and peaceful, orderly behavior of the +poorer classes could be provided, as might be expected from the +attachment to the government of those who had over them an +influence so powerful in its character and so unbounded in its +strength as their priests. And the Duke of Wellington, who had at +one time been himself the Irish Secretary, and, as an intimate +friend of Lord Castlereagh, who held that office at the time of the +Union, had a perfect knowledge of what had been intended at that +time—and who was, of course, aware of the very decided favor +which the House of Commons had so lately shown to the +project—proposed to follow out Pitt's plan in that +particular, and to connect a provision[<a href="#note-211">211</a>] +for the Roman Catholic clergy with the removal of their political +disabilities from the laymen. Unluckily, Peel, who, throughout the +whole transaction, was, of all the cabinet, the counsellor on whose +judgment he most relied, took a different view of the expediency of +making such a provision, having, indeed, "no objection to it in +point of principle." But he saw many practical difficulties, which +he pressed on the Duke with great earnestness. He argued that for +the government "to apply a sum of money to the payment of the +ministers of the Church of Rome in Ireland, granting a license for +the performance of their spiritual functions, would be a virtual +and complete supersession, if not repeal, of the laws which +prohibit intercourse with Rome;" and asked, "Could the state affect +to be ignorant that the bishop whom it paid derived his right to be +a bishop from the See of Rome?" Another difficulty he found in the +apprehension that "the admission of the right of the Roman Catholic +clergy to an endowment might produce similar claims on the part of +the Dissenters in England, who contribute in like manner to the +support of their own religion and of the established religion +also." He suggested, farther, that, if the Roman Catholic priest +were allowed, in addition to his stipend, "to receive dues, Easter +offerings, etc., from his parishioners, his condition would then be +better than that of the ministers of the Established Church in many +of the parishes in Ireland." And, finally, he urged the practical +objection, that the endowment would greatly strengthen the +opposition to the whole measure, by the reluctance which, "on +purely religious grounds," many would feel to the endowment of the +Roman Catholic faith, who would yet be inclined to acquiesce in the +removal of the disabilities, "on grounds rather political than +religious." He was "not insensible to the importance of +establishing some bond of connection between the Roman Catholic +clergy and the state;" but he believed that the omission of a +provision for their endowment "was important to the ultimate +success of the government in proposing the measure before +them."</p> +<p>It is not probable that the Duke was greatly influenced by the +first, or what may be called the constitutional, +objection—that any concert with the Papal Court with respect +to the appointments or endowments of its clergy would be a +violation of the act which prohibited any intercourse with Rome. +The removal of the disabilities required the repeal of one act of +Parliament; and, if the holding communications with Rome on the +subject of clerical appointments should be so construed as to +require the repeal of another, it would hardly seem that there +could be any greater violation of or departure from the principles +of the constitution in repealing two acts than in repealing one. As +to the second of Peel's objections, the English Dissenters could +not possibly be said to stand on the same ground as the Irish Roman +Catholics, since their ministers had certainly never been deprived +by any act of the state of any provision which they had previously +enjoyed; but their position as unendowed ministers was clearly one +of their own making. The possible inferiority in point of emolument +of some of the Protestant cures in Ireland to that which might be +enjoyed by some of the Roman Catholic clergy could hardly be +regarded as the foundation of any argument at all, since no law had +ever undertaken, or ever could undertake, to give at all times and +under all circumstances equal remuneration to equal labors. But the +consideration last suggested was exactly the one to influence such +a mind as that of the Duke of Wellington, generally contented to +deal with a present difficulty. He was determined to carry +Emancipation, because he saw that the Clare election had made it +impossible to withhold or even to delay it; and, being so +determined, he was desirous to avoid encumbering it with any +addition which might increase the opposition to it. At the same +time he was far from being sanguine of its effect, "with whatever +guards or securities it might be accompanied, to pacify the country +or to avert rebellion,"[<a href="#note-212">212</a>] which, in his +apprehension, was undoubtedly impending; and, under the influence +of these combined feelings, he eventually withdrew that clause from +the bill. It was accompanied by another bill, disfranchising the +forty-shilling freeholders in Ireland. They were a class of voters +sunk in the deepest poverty, and such as certainly could not well +be supposed capable of forming, much less of exercising, an +independent judgment on political matters. Yet this bill is +remarkable as having been the only enactment passed since the +Revolution to narrow the franchise. It had no opposition to +anticipate from English or Scotch members, and was accepted by the +Irish members as the price of Emancipation.</p> +<p>No measure that had ever been framed since the Revolution had +caused such excitement in the country; but the preponderance of +feeling in its favor was equally marked in both Houses of +Parliament. In the House of Commons 320 supported it, while only +142 could be marshalled against it. In the House of Lords 213 +divided for it against 109. And in April it received the royal +assent.</p> +<p>The general policy of removing the disabilities it is not +necessary to discuss here. It is quite clear that the Clare +election had rendered it impossible to maintain them. And if some +of those who judge of measures solely by their effects still +denounce this act, as one which has failed in its object of +tranquillizing Ireland, many of those who admit the failure ascribe +it to the omission to accompany it by one securing a state +endowment for the Roman Catholic clergy, pronouncing it, without +that appendage, a half measure, such as rarely succeeds, and never +deserves success. However that may be, it is certain that the +measure, coupled with the repeal of the Test Act of the previous +year, was one which made a great and permanent change in the +practical working of the constitution of the kingdom, as it had +been interpreted for the last one hundred and fifty years. Of that +constitution one of the leading features, ever since the +Restoration, had been understood to be the establishment and +maintenance of the political as well as the ecclesiastical +ascendency of the Church of England. On that ascendency the repeal +of the Test Act in 1828 had made the first, and that a great, +inroad, and the present statute entirely abolished it as a +principle of government. So far as political privileges went, every +Christian sect was now placed on a footing of complete equality. +But so to place them may fairly be regarded as having been required +not only by justice and expediency, but by reasons drawn from the +history of the nation and from the circumstances under which these +disabilities had been imposed. Before the Rebellion no one was +excluded from the English Parliament on account of his religion, +whether he was a Roman Catholic, a Presbyterian, or a member of any +other of the various sects which were gradually arising in the +country. It was not till after the Restoration that a recollection +of the crimes of the Puritans, when they had got the upper-hand, +and the fear of machinations and intrigues, incompatible with the +freedom and independence of the people, which were imputed to the +Roman Catholics, gave birth to the statutes depriving both +Protestant and Roman Catholic Non-conformists of all legislative +and political power. The restrictions thus imposed on the +Presbyterians and other Protestant sects had, as we have seen, been +gradually relaxed by a periodical act of indemnity. Indeed, after +the Union with Scotland, it was impossible with any show of +consistency to maintain them, since, as it has been already pointed +out, after Presbyterianism had been recognized as the established +religion of Scotland, it would have seemed strangely unreasonable +to regard it as a disqualification on the southern side of the +Border. But, as long as the Stuart princes were from time to time +disquieting the government by their open invasions or secret +intrigues, no such relaxation could with safety be granted to the +Roman Catholics, since it could hardly be expected that they would +forbear to employ any power which they might acquire for the +service of a prince of their own religion. That danger, however, +which ever since 1745 had been a very shadowy one, had wholly +passed away with the life of the last Stuart lay prince, Charles +Edward; and his death left the rulers of the kingdom and advisers +of the sovereign free to take a different and larger view of their +duty to the nation as a whole.</p> +<p>It was notorious that the number of Non-conformists was large. +In the middle of the last century it had received a considerable +accession through the institution of the new sect of Wesleyan +Methodists; which, through the supineness of the clergy of the +Established Church in that generation, had gradually increased, +till it was estimated that the various Dissenting sects in England +equalled at least half the number of the members of the Established +Church. In Wales they were believed to form the majority. In +Scotland three-fourths of the people were Presbyterians; and in +Ireland the Roman Catholics outnumbered the Protestants in nearly +the same proportion. Taking England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland +together, a calculation which reckoned the different sects of +Protestant and Roman Catholic Non-conformists united at half the +entire population would probably not have erred very widely from +the truth.</p> +<p>It must have been the aim of every statesman deserving of the +name to weld these different religious parties into one harmonious +whole, as far as their civil position went. And measures which had +that tendency could not be foreign to the constitution, properly +understood. A constitution which confines its benefits to one-half +of a nation hardly merits the title of a constitution at all. For +every constitution ought to extend its protection and its +privileges equally to every portion of the people, unless there be +some peculiarity in the principles or habits of any one portion +which makes its participation in them dangerous to the rest. It had +undoubtedly been the doctrine of Pitt, and of the greater part of +those who since his time had held the reins of government, that if +any portion of the King's subjects did cherish a temper dangerous +to the rest, it was because they were debarred from privileges to +which they conceived themselves to have a just right, and that +their discontent and turbulence were the fruit of the restrictions +imposed on them. In proposing to remove such a grievance Pitt +certainly conceived himself to be acting in accordance with the +strictest principles of the constitution, and not so much +innovating upon it as restoring it to its original +comprehensiveness. And so of the measure, as it was now carried, it +will apparently be correct to say that, though it did make an +important change in the practical working of the constitution, it +made it only by reverting to the fundamental principles of civil +and religious liberty, to which every subject had a right; which +had only been temporarily restrained under the apprehension of +danger to the state, and which the cessation of that apprehension +made it a duty to re-establish in all their fulness.</p> +<p>But it is by no means clear that in the conduct of the measure +the constitution was not violated in one very important point, the +proper relation subsisting between a constituency and its +representative, by Mr. Peel's resignation of his seat for the +University of Oxford. That he was sensible that the act stood in +need of explanation is proved by the careful statement of the +motives and considerations that determined him to it, which he drew +up twenty years afterward. They were of a twofold character. To +quote his own words: "When I resolved to advise, and to promote to +the utmost of my power, the settlement of that question, I resolved +at the same time to relinquish, not only my official +station,[<a href="#note-213">213</a>] but the representation of the +University of Oxford. I thought that such decisive proofs that I +could have no object, political or personal, in taking a course +different from that which I had previously taken, would add to my +influence and authority, so far, at least, as the adjustment of the +particular question at issue was concerned." "I cannot deny that in +vacating my seat I was acting upon the impulse of private feelings, +rather than upon a dispassionate consideration of the +constitutional relations between a representative and his +constituents. I will not seek to defend the resolution to which I +came by arguments drawn from the peculiar character of the academic +body, or from the special nature of the trust confided to its +members; still less will I contend that my example ought to be +followed by others to whom may be offered the same painful +alternative of disregarding the dictates of their own consciences, +or of acting in opposition to the opinions and disappointing the +expectations of their constituents. I will say no more than that my +position was a very peculiar one, that I had many painful +sacrifices to make, and that it would have been a great aggravation +of them, if it could have said with truth that I was exercising an +authority derived from the confidence of the University to promote +measures injurious, in her deliberate judgment, either to her own +interests or to those of the Church."</p> +<p>No one would willingly censure too severely an act dictated by a +sense of honor, even if somewhat overstrained and too scrupulously +delicate; but when Mr. Peel speaks of "defending" or not defending +his deed, he clearly admits it to be one open to impeachment. And +when he forbears to "contend that his example ought to be +followed," he seems practically to confess a consciousness that any +defence against such impeachment must fail; while the last sentence +quoted above involves an assertion that a constituency (in this +instance one of the two most important constituencies in the +kingdom) could be justified in regarding a measure required by the +safety, or at least by the welfare, of the state, as injurious to +its own interests; and so far admits a possible severance between +the interests of a particular class or body and those of the whole +community, which can have no real existence. That, however, is not +the point to be investigated here. The charge, as it seems, to +which Mr. Peel's deed lays him open is, that by it he lowered the +position and character of a member of Parliament from those of a +representative to those of a delegate. It was an adoption of the +principle laid down for his own guidance by a colleague of Mr. +Burke above fifty years before, and indignantly repudiated by that +great political philosopher, as proceeding from an entire +misapprehension of the rights of a constituency and of a +member[<a href="#note-214">214</a>] of Parliament. He told the +electors of Bristol that "when they had chosen their member, he was +not a member of Bristol, but a member of Parliament; and that if +the local constituent should have an interest, or should form an +opinion, evidently opposite to the real good of the rest of the +community, the member for that place ought to be as far as any +other from any endeavor to give it effect;" that a representative +"owes to his constituents, not his industry only, but his judgment, +and betrays instead of serving them, if he sacrifices it to their +opinion." And in so saying he carried with him the concurrence and +approval of all his contemporaries whose sentiments on such a +question were entitled to weight.</p> +<p>In the States-general of France each member was, by the original +constitution of that body, a delegate, and not a representative. He +could not even remonstrate against the most oppressive grievance of +which the previous instructions of the constituent body had not +instructed him to complain; and this limitation of his duties and +powers was, undoubtedly, one very principal cause which led to the +States-general so rapidly falling into utter disrepute. It was no +light thing to take a step which had a tendency to bring down the +British Parliament to the level of the despised and long-disused +States-general. And it is the more necessary to put the case in a +clear and true light, because at the present day there is an +evident disposition on the part of constituencies to avail +themselves of Peel's conduct in this instance as a precedent, in +spite of his protest against its being so regarded, and to fetter +their representatives with precise instructions; and a +corresponding willingness on the part of candidates to purchase +support at elections by a submissive giving of pledges on a variety +of subjects, so numerous as to leave themselves no freedom of +judgment at all. On the great majority of subjects which come +before Parliament, a member of Parliament, if he be a sensible and +an honest man, has a far better opportunity of obtaining correct +information and forming a sound opinion than can be within reach of +any constituency, whose proneness to misjudge is usually in exact +proportion to the magnitude of its numbers. Every elector +justifiably may, and naturally will, seek to ascertain that between +the candidate whom he supports and himself there is a general +conformity of opinion; an absolute identity he will never find, and +he has no right to ask.[<a href="#note-215">215</a>]</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-182" id="note-182"> +<!-- Note Anchor 182 --></a>[Footnote 182: £118,776,000. +Alison, c. lxxvi.]</p> +<p><a name="note-183" id="note-183"> +<!-- Note Anchor 183 --></a>[Footnote 183: See Lord Malmesbury's +account of their first interview.—<i>Diaries of Lord +Malmesbury</i>, iii., 218.]</p> +<p><a name="note-184" id="note-184"> +<!-- Note Anchor 184 --></a>[Footnote 184: "Parliamentary Debates," +series 2, ii., 632.]</p> +<p><a name="note-185" id="note-185"> +<!-- Note Anchor 185 --></a>[Footnote 185: Mr. Brougham gave his +opinion that if the Duke of York, or any other member of the royal +family, had been named, it would have been offensive to the Queen; +but the measure adopted he regarded as of a neutral character. +(Mentioned by Lord Liverpool, "Life of Lord Liverpool," iii., +55.)]</p> +<p><a name="note-186" id="note-186"> +<!-- Note Anchor 186 --></a>[Footnote 186: "Minutes of Cabinet," +dated 10th and 14th February, 1820, forwarded the King by Lord +Liverpool ("Life of Lord Liverpool," iii., 35-88).]</p> +<p><a name="note-187" id="note-187"> +<!-- Note Anchor 187 --></a>[Footnote 187: "Life of Sir J. +Mackintosh," by R.J. Mackintosh, ii., 110, 116.]</p> +<p><a name="note-188" id="note-188"> +<!-- Note Anchor 188 --></a>[Footnote 188: "Lives of the +Chief-justices," iii., 171.]</p> +<p><a name="note-189" id="note-189"> +<!-- Note Anchor 189 --></a>[Footnote 189: In a letter on the +subject to Lord Liverpool, the Duke goes the length of calling the +proposed bill "an experiment which, should it fail, must entail the +dreadful alternative of the entire ruin of the landed interests of +the empire, with which he is decidedly of opinion that the nation +must stand or fall."—<i>Life of Lord Liverpool</i>, iii., +434.]</p> +<p><a name="note-190" id="note-190"> +<!-- Note Anchor 190 --></a>[Footnote 190: At one time it was the +fashion with writers of the Liberal party to represent Lord +Liverpool as led by Lord Castlereagh in the earlier, and by Canning +in the later, part of his administration; but Lord Liverpool's +correspondence with both these ministers shows clearly that on +every subject of foreign as well as of home policy he was the real +guide and ruler of his cabinet. Even the recognition of the +independence of the South American provinces of Spain—which +is so often represented as exclusively the work of +Canning—the memorandum on the subject which Lord Liverpool +drew up for the cabinet proves that the policy adopted was entirely +his own, and that as such he adhered to it resolutely, in spite of +the avowed disapproval of the Duke of Wellington and the known +unwillingness of the King to sanction it; and it may be remarked +(as he and Lord Castlereagh have sometime been described as +favoring the Holy Alliance), that the concluding sentence of his +letter to the Duke on the subject expresses his hostility, not only +to that celebrated treaty, but to the policy which dictated and was +embodied in it. (See Lord Liverpool's memorandum for the cabinet +and letter to the Duke of Wellington, December 8, +1824.)—<i>Life of Lord Liverpool</i>, iii., 297-305.]</p> +<p><a name="note-191" id="note-191"> +<!-- Note Anchor 191 --></a>[Footnote 191: See ante, <a href= +"#endeavors">p. 222</a>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-192" id="note-192"> +<!-- Note Anchor 192 --></a>[Footnote 192: "With much prudence or +laudable disinterestedness," says Hallam ("Constitutional History," +ii., 532).]</p> +<p><a name="note-193" id="note-193"> +<!-- Note Anchor 193 --></a>[Footnote 193: The last time had been +in 1790, when there had been a majority of 187 against +it.—<i>Peel's Memoirs</i>, i., 99.]</p> +<p><a name="note-194" id="note-194"> +<!-- Note Anchor 194 --></a>[Footnote 194: 237 to 193.]</p> +<p><a name="note-195" id="note-195"> +<!-- Note Anchor 195 --></a>[Footnote 195: "Peel's Memoirs," i., +68.]</p> +<p><a name="note-196" id="note-196"> +<!-- Note Anchor 196 --></a>[Footnote 196: "Wellington's Civil +Despatches," iv., 453.]</p> +<p><a name="note-197" id="note-197"> +<!-- Note Anchor 197 --></a>[Footnote 197: See his letter to Peel, +March 23 ("Peel's Memoirs," i., 92-100).]</p> +<p><a name="note-198" id="note-198"> +<!-- Note Anchor 198 --></a>[Footnote 198: The entry of this bill +in Cobbett's "Parliamentary History" is: "The House of Commons +testified a very extraordinary zeal in unravelling the Popish Plot, +and, to prevent mischief in the interval, passed a bill to disable +Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament," to which the +Lords, when the bill came up to their House, added a proviso +exempting the Duke of York from its operation. An. 1678; October 26 +to November 21.—-<i>Parliamentary History</i>, iv., +1024-1039.]</p> +<p><a name="note-199" id="note-199"> +<!-- Note Anchor 199 --></a>[Footnote 199: In the House of Commons +the majority for Sir F. Burdett's resolution was six—372 to +266. But, in the House of Lords, Lord Lansdowne, moving the same +resolution, was defeated by forty-five—182 to 137.]</p> +<p><a name="note-200" id="note-200"> +<!-- Note Anchor 200 --></a>[Footnote 200: See Fitzgerald's letter +to Peel ("Peel's Memoirs," i., 114).]</p> +<p><a name="note-201" id="note-201"> +<!-- Note Anchor 201 --></a>[Footnote 201: "Peel's Memoirs," i., +121.]</p> +<p><a name="note-202" id="note-202"> +<!-- Note Anchor 202 --></a>[Footnote 202: See "Lord Anglesey's +Letters," <i>ibid.</i>, pp. 126, 147.]</p> +<p><a name="note-203" id="note-203"> +<!-- Note Anchor 203 --></a>[Footnote 203: As early as the year +1812, on the negotiations (mentioned in <a href="#endeavors">a +former chapter</a>) for the entrance of Lord Grenville and Lord +Grey into the ministry, the Duke of York mentioned to both those +noblemen that the Regent had an insuperable objection to the +concession of Emancipation. And it seems probable that it was the +knowledge of his sentiments on that point that greatly influenced +the course which Lord Liverpool subsequently pursued in regard to +that question.—See <i>Life of Lord Liverpool</i>, i, +381.]</p> +<p><a name="note-204" id="note-204"> +<!-- Note Anchor 204 --></a>[Footnote 204: Speech on moving the +second reading of the bill in the House of Lords, February 19, 1829 +("Hansard," xx., 389).]</p> +<p><a name="note-205" id="note-205"> +<!-- Note Anchor 205 --></a>[Footnote 205: Speech on the first +reading of the bill, February 10 ("Hansard," xx., 208).]</p> +<p><a name="note-206" id="note-206"> +<!-- Note Anchor 206 --></a>[Footnote 206: Speech on the first +reading ("Hansard," xx., 198).]</p> +<p><a name="note-207" id="note-207"> +<!-- Note Anchor 207 --></a>[Footnote 207: An amendment was +proposed by Lord Chandos to add the office of Prime-minister to +these three, on the ground that if a Roman Catholic were +Prime-minister "he might have the disposal of all the patronage of +the state and the Church vested in his hands." But Mr. Peel pointed +out that the law of England "never recognized any such office as +that of Prime-minister. In the eyes of the law the ministers were +all on an equality." And the position, such as it was, being a +conventional one, was not necessarily connected with the office of +First Lord of the Treasury. "In a recent instance his late right +honorable friend, Mr. Canning, had determined to hold the office of +Prime-minister with that of Secretary of State. And when Lord +Chatham was Prime-minister, he did not hold the office of First +Lord of the Treasury." At the same time he explained that the +impropriety of intrusting a Roman Catholic with Church patronage +was already guarded against in the bill, a clause of which provided +that "it should not be lawful for any person professing the Roman +Catholic religion directly or indirectly to advise the crown in any +appointment to or disposal of any office or preferment, lay or +ecclesiastical, in the united Church of England and Ireland, or of +the Church of Scotland."—<i>Hansard</i>, xx., 1425.]</p> +<p><a name="note-208" id="note-208"> +<!-- Note Anchor 208 --></a>[Footnote 208: Many years afterward the +restriction as to the Lord Chancellorship of Ireland was +abolished.]</p> +<p><a name="note-209" id="note-209"> +<!-- Note Anchor 209 --></a>[Footnote 209: The plan which Pitt had +intended to propose was to substitute in lieu of the Sacramental +test a political test, to be imposed indiscriminately on all +persons sitting in Parliament, or holding state or corporation +offices, and also on all ministers of religion, of whatever +description, etc., etc. This test was to disclaim in express terms +the sovereignty of the people, and was to contain an oath of +allegiance and "fidelity to the King's government of the realm, and +to the established constitutions of Church and state."—Letter +of Lord Grenville, given in <i>Courts and Cabinets of George +III.</i>, and quoted by Lord Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iii., +270. This plan seems very preferable to that now adopted, since it +removed every appearance of making a distinction between the +professors of the different creeds, when the same oath was to be +taken by all indifferently.]</p> +<p><a name="note-210" id="note-210"> +<!-- Note Anchor 210 --></a>[Footnote 210: The question had been +discussed with the highest Papal authorities more than once since +the beginning of the century. In 1812 Mgr. Quarantotti, the prelate +who, during the detention of the Pope in France by Napoleon, was +invested with the chief authority in ecclesiastical affairs at +Rome, in a letter to the Vicar-apostolic, Dr. Poynter, formally +announced the consent of the Papal See to give the King a veto on +all ecclesiastical appointments within the United Kingdom; and, +after his return to Rome, Pio VII. himself confirmed the former +title by a second addressed, by his instructions, to the same Dr. +Poynter, which letter, in 1816, was read by Mr. Grattan in the +House of Commons, it being throughout understood that this +concession of the veto to the King was conditional on the abolition +of the disabilities and the endowment of the priesthood. And in +1825, after Lord Francis Egerton's resolution had been carried in +the House of Commons, Dr. Doyle, one of the most eminent of the +Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland, in an examination before a +committee of the House of Lords, expressed the willingness of the +Roman Catholic clergy to accept a state provision, if it were +permanently annexed to each benefice, and accompanied with a +concession of an equality of civil rights to the Roman Catholic +laity.—See <i>Life of Lord Liverpool</i>, ii, 145; <i>Diary +of Lord Colchester, March</i> 17, 1835, iii., 373; <i>Peel's +Memoirs</i>, i., 306, 333 <i>seq.</i>]</p> +<p><a name="note-211" id="note-211"> +<!-- Note Anchor 211 --></a>[Footnote 211: The sum to be thus +employed seems to have been intended to be £300,000 a +year.—<i>Peel's Memoirs</i>, i., 197. On the whole question +of the payment and Peel's objections to it, see <i>ibid.</i>, pp. +197, 306.]</p> +<p><a name="note-212" id="note-212"> +<!-- Note Anchor 212 --></a>[Footnote 212: See his "Civil +Despatches," iv., 570. In February, 1829, he said to Lord Sidmouth, +"It is a bad business, but we are aground." "Does your Grace think, +then," asked Lord Sidmouth, "that this concession will tranquillize +Ireland?" "I can't tell; I hope it will," answered the Duke, who +shortly discovered, and had the magnanimity to admit, his +mistake.—<i>Life of Lord Sidmouth</i>, iii., 453. It is +remarkable that the question of endowing the Roman Catholic clergy +was again considered by Lord John Russell's ministry in 1848. A +letter of Prince Albert in October of that year says, with +reference to it: "The bishops have protested against Church +endowment, being themselves well off; but the clergy would +gratefully accept it if offered, but dare not avow +this."—<i>Life of the Prince Consort</i>, ii., 186.]</p> +<p><a name="note-213" id="note-213"> +<!-- Note Anchor 213 --></a>[Footnote 213: This first extract +refers in part to the proposal which he made to the Duke to resign +his office as Secretary of State, and to support the Emancipation +as a private member, a design which he only relinquished at the +Duke's earnest entreaty. The second extract refers to the seat in +Parliament alone.—See <i>Peel's Memoirs</i>, i., 310, +312.]</p> +<p><a name="note-214" id="note-214"> +<!-- Note Anchor 214 --></a>[Footnote 214: Speech to the electors +of Bristol on being declared by the sheriffs duly elected member +for that city, November 3, 1774.—<i>Burke's Works</i>, iii., +11, ed 1803.]</p> +<p><a name="note-215" id="note-215"> +<!-- Note Anchor 215 --></a>[Footnote 215: It is worth pointing +out, however, that, as if it were one of the natural fruits of the +Reform Bill, the Liberal Committee of the Livery of London in 1832 +passed a series of resolutions asserting the principle of +delegation without the slightest modification; one resolution +affirming "that members chosen to be representatives in Parliament +ought to do such things as their constituents wish and direct them +to do;" another, "that a signed engagement should be exacted from +every member that he would at all times and in all things act +conformably to the wishes of a majority of his constituents, or +would at their request resign the trust with which they had honored +him."—<i>Annual Register</i>, 1832, p. 300; <i>quoted by +Alison</i>, 2d series, v., 355.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH9" id="CH9"><!-- CH9 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Demand for Parliamentary Reform.—Death +of George IV., and Accession of William IV.—French Revolution +of 1830.—Growing Feeling in Favor of Reform.—Duke of +Wellington's Declaration against Reform.—His Resignation: +Lord Grey becomes Prime-minister.—Introduction of the Reform +Bill.—Its Details.—Riots at Bristol and +Nottingham.—Proposed Creation of Peers.—The King's +Message to the Peers.—Character and Consequences of the +Reform Bill.—Appointment of a Regency.—Re-arrangement +of the Civil List.</p> +<p>One of Pitt's great measures of domestic, apart from financial +or commercial, policy having become law, it seemed in some degree +natural to look for the accomplishment of the other, a reform of +the House of Commons, which, indeed, after the conclusion of the +war, had been made at times the subject of earnest petition, being +one in which a far greater number of people had a lively interest +than that excited by Catholic Emancipation. The Englishmen who had +advocated that measure had been striving for the adoption of a +principle rather than for a concession from which they could expect +any personal benefit, since very few in any English or Scotch +constituency were Roman Catholics, or desired to return a Roman +Catholic representative. But thousands in every county, including +the whole body of citizens of some of the largest and most +flourishing towns, felt a personal concern in the attainment of +Parliamentary Reform, as the measure which would give them, and +which could alone give them, that voice in the affairs of the +kingdom to which they felt themselves entitled, but which they had +never yet enjoyed.</p> +<p>And before the end of the next session the prospect of the early +success of their aspirations was greatly increased by the death of +the King. George IV., who in his early manhood had attached himself +to the Whigs with an ardor and ostentation altogether unbecoming +his position as heir to the throne, had formally separated himself +from them after the death of Fox in 1806, and had gradually come to +regard their adversaries with a favor as exclusive as he had +formerly shown to themselves. But the Duke of Clarence, who now +succeeded to the throne, had always shown a leaning toward the +Whigs, who of late had been commonly regarded as the reforming +party. While the war lasted, and during the few remaining years of +the reign of George III., no active steps toward Reform were taken +in Parliament; but under George IV. more than one borough convicted +of gross and habitual corruption, as has been mentioned, was +disfranchised. Grampound was so punished in the time of Lord +Liverpool, and its members were transferred to Yorkshire, so as to +give that largest of the counties four representatives; and it may +be remarked that this arrangement caused the Prime-minister to +suggest an improvement in the details of an election—which +was afterward universally adopted—when, in reply to a remark +on the great inconvenience that was found to exist in taking the +poll at once in so large a county as Yorkshire, he hinted at the +possibility of obviating that difficulty by allowing polls to be +taken in different parts of the county. And, since the Duke had +been in office, two more boroughs, Penrhyn and East Retford, had +also been disfranchised; though the Reformers failed in their +endeavor to get the seats thus vacated transferred to Manchester +and Birmingham. With the accession of the new sovereign, however, +they became more active. They found encouragement in other +circumstances also. Many of those who were commonly called the +Ultra Tories had been so alienated from the Duke's government by +the Emancipation Act, that they were known to be ready to coalesce +with almost any party for the sake of overturning his +administration. Moreover, as forty years before, the French +Revolution of 1789 had caused great political excitement in +England, so now the new French revolution of July acted as a strong +stimulus on the movement party in this as well as in other +countries; and altogether there was a very general feeling that the +time for important changes had come. The Duke of Wellington was not +blind to the prevalence of the idea; and, being by no means willing +to admit that his own policy of the preceding year had in the least +contributed to strengthen it, he conceived it to be his duty to +discountenance it by every means in his power; but the steps which +he took with that object only invigorated and inflamed it. As +Prime-minister, he inserted in the speech with which the new +sovereign opened his first Parliament in the autumn after his +accession a general panegyric on that "happy form of government +under which, through the favor of Divine Providence, this country +had enjoyed for a long succession of years a greater share of +internal peace, of commercial prosperity, of true liberty, of all +that constitutes social happiness, than had fallen to the lot of +any other country of the world." And in his own character, a few +nights afterward, he added a practical commentary on those +sentences of the royal speech, when, in allusion to Lord Grey's +expression of a hope that the ministers would prepare "to redress +the grievances of the people by a reform of the Parliament," he +repudiated the suggestion altogether, avowing that the government +were contemplating no such measure, and adding that "he would go +farther, and say that he had never read or heard of any measure up +to that moment which in any degree satisfied his mind that the +state of the representation could be improved or rendered more +satisfactory to the country at large than at that moment. He was +fully convinced that the country possessed at that moment a +Legislature which answered all good purposes of legislation to a +greater degree than any Legislature had ever answered them in any +country whatever.... And he would at once declare that, as far as +he was concerned, as long as he held any station in the government +of the country, he should always feel it his duty to resist any +measure of Reform when proposed by others."</p> +<p>Such uncompromising language was, not unnaturally, regarded by +the Opposition in both Houses as a direct defiance, and the +challenge was promptly taken up both in and out of Parliament. It +happened that at this moment the ministry was extremely unpopular +in the City; not, indeed, on account of his hostility to Reform, +but in consequence of the recent introduction by the Home-secretary +of a police force in London, on the model of one which the Duke +himself, when Irish Secretary, had established in Dublin. The old +watchmen had been so notoriously inefficient that it might have +been expected that the change would have been hailed with universal +approval and gratitude, but it met with a very different reception. +Many of the newspapers which had not yet forgiven the passing of +Catholic Emancipation made it a ground for the strongest +imputations on the Duke himself, some of them even going the length +of affirming that he aimed at the throne, and that the organization +of this new force was the means on which he reckoned for the +attainment of his object. No story is too gross for the credulity +of the populace. To hear of such a plot was to believe it; to +believe it was to resolve to defeat it; and at the beginning of +November the government received several warnings that a plan was +in agitation to raise a formidable riot on Lord Mayor's Day, when +the King and the Duke himself were expected to dine with the Lord +Mayor. The Lord Mayor even wrote to the Duke to suggest the +prudence of his coming "strongly and sufficiently guarded," and the +result of this advice was certainly strange. The Duke cared little +enough about personal danger to himself, but he regarded himself as +specially bound by his office to watch over the public +tranquillity, and to do nothing that might be expected to endanger +it. He was at least equally solicitous that a new reign should not +open with a tumult which could in any way be regarded as an insult +to the King; and, under the influence of these feelings, he took +the responsibility of giving the King the unprecedented advice of +abandoning his intention of being present at the Guildhall banquet. +Such a step had an inevitable tendency to weaken the ministry still +farther by the comments which it provoked. Even his own brother, +Lord Wellesley, did not spare his sarcasms, pronouncing it "the +boldest act of cowardice he had ever heard of;" while the Reformers +ascribed the unpopularity which it confessed to the Duke's +declaration against any kind or degree of Reform; and, to test the +correctness of this opinion, Mr. Brougham, who, in the House of +Commons, was the most eloquent champion of Reform, gave notice of a +motion on the subject for the 16th of November. Before that day +came, however, the ministry had ceased to exist. On the preceding +evening it had been defeated on a proposal to refer to a select +committee the consideration of the Civil List, a new settlement of +which was indispensable at the beginning of a new reign, and on the +morning of the 16th the Duke resigned, not only advising the King +to intrust the formation of the new cabinet to Lord Grey—who +was universally recognized as the head of the Whig party—but +recommending his Majesty also to be prepared to consent to a +measure of moderate Reform, which, though he could not bring +himself to co-operate in it, he was satisfied that the temper of +the House of Commons, if not of the people out-of-doors also, +rendered unavoidable.[<a href="#note-216">216</a>] The advice was +taken. Lord Grey had no difficulty in forming a ministry in which +the Whigs were aided by the junction of several of the more +moderate Tories, who had regarded Canning as their leader; and from +the very beginning Parliamentary Reform was proclaimed to be the +one great object of his government. It would be more correct to +call it a Reform of the House of Commons, since there was no idea +of interfering with the House of Lords, even in those parts of it +which were of a representative character, the Scotch and Irish +peers. But, by whatever title the ministerial policy was +designated, no one misunderstood what was intended; and as +Parliament was, after a few days, adjourned over the Christmas +holidays, the recess was spent by a sub-committee of the cabinet in +framing a measure.</p> +<p>The great extension of our trade, which was the fruit partly of +his wise commercial policy, and partly of the long war; the rapid +and prodigious growth of our manufactures, developed by the +inventive ingenuity of our mechanics and engineers, had given a +consideration and influence to the commercial, manufacturing, and +moneyed classes which could not be disregarded. The land-owners, +who had previously almost monopolized the representation, no longer +constituted the wealthiest class of the community. Pitt himself had +raised a banker to the peerage. More recently, men closely +connected with the commercial classes had become cabinet ministers, +one of whom had even subsequently sacrificed office to his feeling +of the propriety of enfranchising a single town, Birmingham. But +there were other towns at least equal in importance to Birmingham +which were unrepresented, and it was clearly impossible to maintain +a system which gave representatives to boroughs like Gatton, Old +Sarum, or Corfe Castle—where the electors scarcely +outnumbered the members whom they elected—and withheld them +from large and opulent manufacturing centres like Manchester, +Leeds, and Sheffield. The enfranchisement, therefore, of these +towns, and of others whose population and consequent importance, +though inferior to theirs, was still vastly superior to those of +many which had hitherto returned representatives, was so manifestly +reasonable and consistent with the principles of our parliamentary +constitution, that it was impossible to object to it. And their +enfranchisement unavoidably led to the disfranchisement of the +smaller boroughs, unless the House of Commons were to be enlarged +to a number which was not likely to tend to the facilitation of +business. Indeed, in the opinion of the framers of the bill, the +House was <i>already too large</i>, and they proposed to reduce its +number by upward of sixty—a step to which it is probable that +many of those whose opposition contributed to defeat it +subsequently repented of their resistance. Nevertheless, the line +adopted by the Duke of Wellington's ministry showed that there was +still a large party to whom reform on a large scale was altogether +distasteful; and accordingly the bill which, under the influence of +these considerations, Lord Grey's administration brought forward in +the spring of 1831, gave rise to the fiercest struggles in both +Houses of Parliament that had been witnessed for many generations. +One Parliament was dissolved; two sessions of that which followed +were opened in a single year; once the ministry itself was +dissolved, though speedily reconstructed; and three bills were +framed, each in some degree differing from its predecessor in some +of its details, though all preserved the same leading principles of +disfranchising wholly or partially the smaller boroughs; of +enfranchising several large and growing towns; of increasing the +number of county representatives; and of enfranchising also some +classes which previously had had no right of voting. It would be a +waste of time to specify the variations in the three bills. It is +sufficient to confine our attention to that which eventually became +law. Fifty-six boroughs were wholly disfranchised; those in which +the population fell short of a certain number (2000), and where the +amount of assessed taxes paid by the inhabitants was +correspondingly small. Thirty more were deprived of one of their +members, being those in which the population was between 2000 and +4000. And the seats thus vacated were divided between the towns +which since the Revolution had gradually grown into importance, the +suburbs of the metropolis, and the counties, the majority of which +were now divided into two halves, each half returning two members, +as many as had previously represented the whole. The boundaries of +the boroughs, too, were in most cases extended.</p> +<p>More important, perhaps, in its influence on subsequent +legislation was the alteration made in the qualifications which +constituted an elector. Hitherto the franchise, the right of voting +at elections, had been based on property. The principle had not, +indeed, been uniformly adhered to in the boroughs, where, as Lord +John Russell, in the speech with which he introduced the bill, +pointed out, a curious variety of courses had been adopted. "In +some," as he described the existing practice, "the franchise was +exercised by 'a select corporation;' that is to say, it was in the +possession of a small number of persons, to the exclusion of the +great body of the inhabitants who had property and interest in the +place represented. In ancient times, he believed, every freeman, +being an inhabitant householder resident in the borough, was +competent to vote. As, however, this arrangement excluded villeins +and strangers, the franchise always belonged to a particular body +in every town—a body undoubtedly possessed of property, for +they bore the charges of their members, and on them were assessed +the subsidies and taxes voted by Parliament. But when villeinage +ceased, various and opposite courses seemed to have been pursued in +different boroughs. In some, adopting the liberal principle that +all freemen were to be admitted, householders of all kinds, down to +the lowest degree, and even sometimes beyond, were admitted. In +others, adopting the exclusive principle that villeins and +strangers were no part of the burgesses, new corporations were +erected, and the elective franchise was more or less confined to a +select body." But all these diversities and varieties were now +swept away, and a uniform franchise was established, all tenants +whose rent amounted to £10 receiving the franchise in +boroughs, while by a kindred amendment, which was forced on the +ministers at a very early stage of the measure, tenants at will +whose tent amounted to £50 became entitled to vote in the +counties.</p> +<p>The arrangements for taking the poll were also greatly changed. +Instead of the fifteen days which had of late been allowed for a +county election, two were now thought sufficient.[<a href= +"#note-217">217</a>] In boroughs the time was abridged in a similar +proportion, and the arrangement was facilitated by a division of +counties into several convenient polling districts, so that no +elector should require to travel more than a few miles to record +his vote.</p> +<p>This last change was universally accepted as a great practical +improvement, from its tendency to lessen the expense of election +contests, which had risen to an enormous and ruinous height. But +every other part of the scheme was viewed with the greatest +repugnance, not to say dread, by the Opposition; and every one of +the bills was fought step by step in the House of Commons. The +first bill was only carried by a majority of one; the second was +absolutely rejected by the House of Lords; and on the third the +ministers, after carrying it triumphantly through the Lower House, +were defeated in the Upper House on a point of detail, which, +though of no great importance in itself, they regarded as an +indication that the peers, though they had consented to read it a +second time, would insist on remodelling it to a great degree, and, +if they were not allowed to do so, would again reject it +altogether.</p> +<p>Meanwhile, the people were wrought up to a pitch of frenzy +absolutely unprecedented. Never had agitators, among whom some of +the ministers themselves were not ashamed to appear, been so +unscrupulous in their endeavors to excite discontent. One cabinet +minister wrote inflammatory articles in the newspapers; another +publicly called the legitimate opposition of the peers "the whisper +of a faction." And their exertions soon bore fearful fruit. In +London some of the peers who had been most prominent in their +objections to the bill were hooted and pelted, and one, Lord +Londonderry, was nearly murdered. The King and Queen were insulted +by mobs in the Park, some of the rioters even openly threatening +the Queen with death, because she was believed to be favorable to +the anti-Reformers. In some of the most important provincial towns +the discontent broke out into actual insurrection. At Bristol a +tumultuous mob, whose numbers were swelled by crowds of the worst +ruffians of the metropolis, sought to murder the Recorder, Sir +Charles Wetherall, when he came down to that city to hold the +quarter-sessions; and, when defeated in their attack on him, +stormed the Mansion House, and set it, with the Bishop's Palace and +other public buildings, and scores of private houses, on fire, +several of the rioters themselves, who had got drunk, perishing in +the flames. A similar mob rose in arms at Derby, but did less +mischief, as there the magistrates knew their duty better. But +Nottingham almost equalled Bristol in its horrors. Because the Duke +of Newcastle was a resolute anti-Reformer, a ferocious gang +attacked and set on fire the fine old Castle; and, not content with +committing fearful ravages in the town, roamed over the adjacent +district, attacked the houses of many of the leading country +gentlemen, plundering and burning the dwellings, and in more than +one instance murdering some of the inhabitants.</p> +<p>The King had hitherto borne himself between the contending +parties in the state with scrupulous fairness to both. Though, he +had, probably, been taken by surprise by the sweeping character of +the changes his ministers had proposed, he had given them a frank +support, consenting, even at a moment's notice, to dissolve the +Parliament after the unfavorable division in the House of Commons +on the first bill; but he had, at the same time, warned them that +he would never consent to employ any means of coercion to overbear +the free decision of the House of Lords. And he had more than once +rejected as unconstitutional their solicitations to allow them to +make peers with that object. At last they endeavored to compel his +consent by resigning their offices, though the ground for so +decided a step can hardly be deemed sufficient, since the +provocation which they alleged was only Lord Lyndhurst's success in +carrying an amendment to take the enfranchising clauses of the bill +before those of disfranchisement, so as to give the latter a more +gracious appearance, as if the boroughs to be extinguished were +made to suffer, not so much for their own positive unworthiness as +in order to make room for others which had become of undeniably +greater importance. The King took the strictly constitutional line +of accepting their resignation and intrusting the Duke of +Wellington with the task of forming a new administration, warning +the Duke, at the same time, that he considered himself now pledged +to grant a large measure of Reform; but the Duke found the task +impracticable, and then, as the only means of averting farther +insurrectionary tumults, which bore no slight resemblance to civil +war, and might not impossibly end in it, the King did at last +consent to permit the creation of a sufficient number of peers to +insure the passing of the bill. But he could not overcome his +repugnance to the measure as a severe blow to the +constitution—one which would in effect be tantamount to the +extinction of the independence of the Upper House as a legislative +body; and, thinking no means unjustifiable that would avert the +necessity of such a creation, he conceived the idea of authorizing +his private secretary, Sir Herbert Taylor, to request the chief +peers on the Opposition side to absent themselves from the division +on the third reading. It seemed to him, and indeed to many of them, +the only thing that could be done. Their judgment of the character +and eventual consequences of the ministerial bill was unaltered; +but they saw the violence of the public feeling on the subject, and +the danger to the state of too stubborn and uncompromising a +resistance to it, and, yielding loyal obedience to their royal +master's wish, they retired from the House without voting. Those +who remained passed the bill, and in the beginning of June, 1832, +it became law.</p> +<p>We have ventured in a previous chapter to call in question the +propriety of the conduct of the King's father, George III., in +using his personal entreaties to influence the House of Lords +against the India Bill of Mr. Fox. The transaction which has been +related here is the second and only other instance since the +Revolution of a sovereign having recourse to such a device to sway +the votes of members of either House. But the circumstances were so +entirely different, nay, so diametrically opposite, that an opinion +of the impropriety of the sovereign's deed in the former case +imposes no obligation on the ground of consistency to censure it in +the later instance. The interference of George III. was designed to +thwart and defeat his ministers on a measure of which he had not +previously intimated any disapproval. William IV., on the other +hand, was exerting himself to support his ministers, not, as it +seems probable, without some sacrifice of his own judgment. His +father acted as he did to avert an inroad on his prerogative and +independence, which he had been persuaded to apprehend, but the +danger of which can hardly be said to have been proved beyond all +question; so that even those who think the result of his action +fortunate for the nation cannot defend the action as one that on +any constitutional principle can be justified. The son, at a far +more critical moment, adopted the course which he did adopt as the +only means which he saw of extricating the state and the nation +from an alternative of great calamities: the extinction of, or at +least a deep wound to, the legislative independence of the House of +Lords, by the following of a single precedent[<a href= +"#note-218">218</a>] which had ever since been universally +condemned; or, on the other hand, a continuance of outrages and +tumults which had already disgraced the nation in the eyes of the +world, and which, if renewed and continued, could not fail to +imperil the safety of the state. Such a motive may certainly be +allowed to excuse the irregularity of the act.</p> +<p>When, however, we come to consider the proposal to create peers, +which drove the King to take such a step, that is a question on +which, while it is still more important, it is also more difficult +to form a satisfactory judgment. It was denounced by the Duke of +Wellington and other peers as utterly unconstitutional and +revolutionary; as a destruction of the great principle of the +equality of the two Houses; as a denial to the peers of their right +to form and act upon their own deliberate judgment; and as a +reduction of their position to that of a body existing merely to +register the decrees of the other House. Indeed, that it had this +character was admitted by Lord Grey himself, with no abatement +beyond such mitigation as might be found in the idea that it was +only intended to affect their decision on a single question. So far +it may be said that even while defending it he condemned it; +<i>Habemus confitentem reum</i>. But the task of a ruler or +legislator is often but a choice between difficulties, or even +between manifest evils. And, even if an act or course be admitted +to be intrinsically evil, taken by itself, yet, if the evil which +it is calculated or designed to avert be a greater evil still, the +defence is complete, or, at all events, sufficient. And this, in +fact, is the principle of the justification which Lord Grey +alleged. He was, perhaps, unconsciously referring to a passage in +Mr. Hallam's great work on "Constitutional History" (then very +recently published), in which, while discussing Sunderland's +Peerage Bill, and admitting that "the unlimited prerogative of +augmenting the peerage is liable to such abuses, at least in +theory, as might overthrow our form of government," he proceeds to +point out that in the exercise of this, as of every other power, +"the crown has been carefully restrained by statutes, and by the +responsibility of its advisers;" but that, while "the Commons, if +they transgress their boundaries, are annihilated by a +proclamation" (that is, by a dissolution) "against the ambition, +or, what is much more likely, the perverse haughtiness of the +aristocracy, the constitution has not furnished such direct +securities.... The resource of subduing an aristocratical faction +by the creation of new peers could never be constitutionally +employed, except in the case of a nearly equal balance; but it +might usefully hang over the heads of the whole body, and deter +them from any gross excesses of faction or oligarchical spirit. The +nature of our government requires a general harmony between the two +Houses of Parliament."[<a href="#note-219">219</a>] In the present +case no one could impute the difference between the two Houses to +any "perverse haughtiness" on the part of the peers. But the +difference existed, and was too deeply founded on the cautious +principles of the Tory party to be surmountable by ordinary means. +It was certain also that the Commons would not give way; that, +without danger to the public peace, they could not give way. And +this was, in fact, Lord Grey's contention: that a crisis had arisen +in which compulsion must be exercised on one or other of the +disagreeing parties; and that coercion of the peers by an +augmentation of their number, or a threat of it, was the only +compulsion practicable. In upholding this position, however, it +must be remarked that he was betrayed into the use of language +which was as great a violation of constitutional and parliamentary +principle and usage as the action which he was recommending; +language, too, which was quite unnecessary to strengthen his +argument. He accused the Lords of "opposing the declared and +decided wishes both of the crown and the people;" of "acting +adversely to the crown;" and this introduction of the sovereign's +name to overawe the assembly was unconstitutional in the highest +degree. For, constitutionally, the sovereign has no right to +signify his opinion, nor, indeed, any recognized means of +signifying it but by giving or withholding his royal assent to +measures which the two Houses have passed. On any bill which has +not yet been passed by them he has, as has been already implied, no +legitimate means whatever of expressing his judgment. The time has +not come for him to do so. Moreover, the statement was, probably, +not believed by any one to be strictly true, for it was pretty +generally understood that the King would have preferred a far more +moderate measure. But, indeed, in the very speech in which the +Prime-minister made this use of the King's name he presently added +an observation which was a sufficient condemnation of his previous +language. For, in denouncing the "vile attacks which had been made +on his Majesty in the public press," and disclaiming all share in +them (a disclaimer which however true of himself, could not, it is +believed, have been uttered with equal truth by all his +colleagues), he pointed out that "it ought always to be recollected +that it is contrary to the principles of the constitution to +arraign the personal conduct of the sovereign." It follows, as a +matter of course, that it is equally contrary to those principles +to allege his personal opinions in either House on any measure +before it, since, if alleged, they must be open to criticism; +unless, indeed, the mere allegation of the royal sentiments were to +be taken as decisive of the question, in which case all freedom of +discussion would be at once extinguished.</p> +<p>But this irregularity, into which the Prime minister was +apparently betrayed by his desire of victory, must not be allowed +to affect our verdict on the main question; and, now that the lapse +of time has enabled us to contemplate dispassionately the case on +which he had to decide, it will, probably, be thought that his +justification of his conduct in recommending a creation of peers is +fairly made out. That, under any pressure short of that, the peers +would have again rejected the Reform Bill, or at least would have +pared it down to much smaller proportions than would have satisfied +the popular demand for Reform, may be regarded as certain; and +equally certain that such a line of conduct would have led to a +renewal of disgraceful and dangerous tumults. The minister, +therefore, as has been said before, had to choose between two +evils. It was a grievous dilemma; but those who had to deal with it +(even while it may be admitted that they cannot be held wholly free +from blame, as having themselves contributed by their own language +to the popular excitement and irritation)[<a href= +"#note-220">220</a>] may be excused for thinking the wound +inflicted on the constitution, by thus overbearing the voice of one +House of Parliament on a single occasion, less formidable in its +immediate fruit, and more capable of being remedied and retrieved, +than that which would have followed from a renewal of +insurrectionary tumults, even if they should have come short of +actual civil war.</p> +<p>One critic of these transactions[<a href="#note-221">221</a>] +whose experience and high reputation entitle his opinion to +respectful consideration, after reminding his readers that, +"although Parliament is said to be dissolved, a dissolution +extends, in fact, no farther than to the Commons, and that the +Peers are not affected by it; no change can take place in the +constitution of their body, except as to a small number of Scotch +representative peers," proceeds to argue that, "so far as the House +of Peers is concerned, a creation of peers by the crown on +extraordinary occasions is the only equivalent which the +constitution has provided for the change and renovation of the +House of Commons by a dissolution. In no other way can the opinions +of the House of Lords be brought into harmony with those of the +people." But it may be feared that this comparison is rather +ingenious than solid. Indeed, the writer himself limits such an +expedient as a creation of peers to insure the passing of a +particular measure to "extraordinary occasions." But a dissolution +of the House of Commons is so far from being so limited, that it is +the natural and inevitable end of every House of Commons after an +existence which cannot exceed seven years, and which is very rarely +so protracted. And though it may be, and probably has been, the +case that a House of Commons has passed measures to which it had no +great inclination, lest it should provoke a minister to a premature +dissolution, yet no submission on its part can long postpone it; +and a threat or apprehension of a dissolution would certainly fail +to overcome the opposition of the House of Commons, or of a party +within it, if the measure before them seemed open to serious +objection. The presumed or presumable immortality of the one body, +and the limited existence of the other, seem to constitute so +essential a difference between them as must prevent the measures +adopted toward one being fairly regarded as any guide to a +justification of those employed in the case of the other.</p> +<p>The Reform Bill of 1832 has sometimes been called a new +Revolution, and to some extent it deserved the name; for it was +not, like the Catholic Emancipation Act, a mere restoration of +privileges to any class or classes of the people which had once +been enjoyed by them, and had subsequently been withdrawn, but it +was a grant of a wholly new privilege to places and to classes +which had never enjoyed it; while it was manifest that the +political power thus conferred on these classes involved a +corresponding diminution of the powers of those who had hitherto +monopolized it. It was also the introduction of a new principle. +The old doctrine of the constitution had been, that the possession +of freehold property, as the only permanent stake in the country, +was the only qualification which could entitle a subject to a voice +in the government and legislation of the kingdom. The new doctrine +was that, as others besides owners of land contributed to the +revenue by the payment of taxes, those who did so contribute to a +sufficient amount had a right to a voice, however indirect or +feeble, in the granting of those taxes; and so far it was the +extension and application to subjects at home of the principle for +which Lord Chatham and Burke had contended sixty years before in +the case of the American Colonies, that taxation and a right to +representation went together; a principle which, many ages before, +had been laid down by the greatest of our early kings as the +foundation of our parliamentary constitution and rights. But this +principle, however generally it may have been asserted, had +hitherto been but very partially carried out in practice, and the +old borough system had been skilfully devised by successive kings +and ministers to keep the political power in the hands of the crown +and the aristocracy. It was with that object that most of the +boroughs which were first allowed to return members under the +Tudors had been enfranchised,[<a href="#note-222">222</a>] a great +noble or landholder, whose affection to the government could not be +doubted, being often able to obtain the promotion of some village +or petty town in the neighborhood of his estates to the dignity of +a parliamentary borough, and thus acquiring a great addition to his +political and social importance by his power of influencing the +election. No one could deny that the existence of such boroughs was +an abuse, or at least an anomaly, rendered the more conspicuous as +time went on by the denial of representatives to towns which +contained as many thousands of citizens as they could boast single +burgesses. At the same time it was equally undeniable that the +aristocracy, generally speaking, exerted their influence +advantageously for the state. A peer or great squire who could +return the members for a borough took a worthy pride in the +abilities and reputation of those whom he thus sent to Parliament; +especially the leaders of the two parties sought out promising +young men for their seats; and it has often been pointed out that, +of the men who in the House of Commons had risen to eminence in the +country before the Reform Bill, there was scarcely one who had not +owed his introduction to Parliament to the patron of one of those +boroughs which were now wholly or partially disfranchised; while on +one or two occasions these "rotten boroughs," as, since Lord +Chatham's time, they were often derisively called, had proved +equally useful in providing seats for distinguished statesmen who, +for some reason or other, had lost the confidence of their former +constituents. So, when Bristol had disgraced itself by the +rejection of Burke, Malton had averted the loss with which +Parliament and the country were threatened by again, through the +influence of Lord Rockingham, returning the great statesman as +their representative. So, to take a later instance, Westbury, under +the influence of Sir Manasseh Lopes, had provided a refuge for Sir +Robert Peel, when the course which he had taken on Catholic +Emancipation had cost him his seat for Oxford. And these practical +uses of these small boroughs—anomalies in a representative +system, as they were called in the debates on the subject, and as +they must be confessed to have been—were so important, that +some even of those who felt compelled by their principles to vote +for their parliamentary extinction have, nevertheless, confessed a +regret for the sacrifice, lamenting especially that it has, in a +great degree, closed the doors of the House of Commons against a +class whose admission to it is on every account most desirable, the +promising young men of both parties.</p> +<p>In one point of great importance the framers of the Reform Bill +of 1832 proved to be mistaken. They justified the very +comprehensive or sweeping range which they had given it by their +wish to make it a final settlement of the question, and by the +expression of their conviction that the completeness with which it +had satisfied all reasonable expectations had effectually prevented +any necessity for ever re-opening the question. Their anticipations +on this head were not shared by their opponents, who, on the +contrary, foretold that the very greatness of the changes now +effected would only whet the appetite for a farther extension of +them; nor by a growing party, now beginning to own the title of +Radicals, which till very recently had only been regarded as a +reproach, and who, even before the bill passed,[<a href= +"#note-223">223</a>] expressed their discontent that it did not go +farther, but accepted it as an instalment of what was required, and +as an instrument for securing "a more complete improvement." And +their expectations have been verified by subsequent events. Indeed, +it may easily be seen that the principles on which one portion of +the bill—that which enfranchised new classes of +voters—was framed were such as, in shrewd hands, might easily +be adduced as arguments in favor of the necessity of +reconsideration of the question from time to time. So long as the +right of voting was confined to owners of property, or members of +corporate bodies, the line thus laid down was one which was not +liable to be crossed. But the moment that tenancy was added to +ownership, and a line was drawn distinguishing electors from +non-electors, not by the nature of their qualifications, but by the +amount of their rent, detail was substituted for principle; and the +proposer or maintainer of the rule that the qualification should be +a yearly rental of £10 might be called on to explain why, if +£10 were a more reasonable limit than £15, £8 +were not fairer than £10. Or again, if the original argument +were, that a line must of necessity be drawn somewhere, and that +£10 was the lowest qualification which seemed to guarantee +such an amount of educated intelligence in the voter as would +enable him to exercise the franchise conferred on him judiciously +and honestly, such reasoning would from time to time invite the +contention that the spread of education had rendered £8 +tenants now as enlightened as £10 tenants had been some years +before. And thus the measure of 1832, instead of forever silencing +the demand for Reform by the completeness of its concessions, did +in fact lay the foundation for future agitation, which has been +farther encouraged and fed by farther submission to it, and which +its leaders, who have so far triumphed, show no purpose to +discontinue. To discuss whether such extensions of the franchise as +have already been adopted, and those farther steps in the same +direction which are generally understood to be impending, will +eventually be found compatible with the preservation of our ancient +monarchical constitution, is a fitting task for the statesmen and +senators whose duty it is to examine in all their bearings the +probable effects of the measures which may be proposed. But the +historian's business is rather "to compile the records of the past" +than to speculate on the future.[<a href="#note-224">224</a>] And +the course which was too perilous or difficult for Mr. Hallam to +undertake we will follow his example in avoiding. But it cannot be +denied that, if the Reform Bill of 1832 transferred the chief +political power of the state from the aristocracy to the middle +classes, a farther lowering of the qualification for the exercise +of the franchise must transfer it from the middle to the lower +classes; and that those who view such transfer with alarm, and +deprecate it as fraught with peril to all our ancient institutions, +maintain their opinions by arguments as old, indeed, as the days of +the Roman republic,[<a href="#note-225">225</a>] but which have not +lost strength by lapse of time, if indeed, they have not been +fortified by events in the history of more than one modern +nation.</p> +<p>Even before the introduction of the first Reform Bill one +measure had been passed of constitutional importance, though the +concurrence of both parties in its principle and details prevented +it from attracting much notice. Two daughters who had been born to +the King and Queen had died in their infancy, and the royal pair +were now childless; and, as some years had elapsed since the birth +of the last, it was probable that they might remain so. The +presumptive heiress to the throne was, therefore, the daughter of +the deceased Duke of Kent, the Princess Victoria, our present most +gracious sovereign, and, as she was as yet only eleven years of +age, it was evidently necessary to provide for the contingency of +the death of the King before she should attain her majority. A +Regency Bill for that purpose had, therefore, been prepared by the +Duke of Wellington's cabinet, and had been introduced by Lord +Chancellor Lyndhurst in the House of Lords before the resignation +of the ministry. It could not be so simple in its arrangements as +such bills had sometimes been, since there was more than one +contingency possible, for which it was requisite to provide. It was +possible not only that William IV. might die within the next seven +years, but also that at his death he might leave a child, or his +widow in a state which warranted the expectation of one, the latter +case being the more difficult to decide upon, since no previous +Regency Bill furnished any precedent for the ministers' +guidance.</p> +<p>The first point, however, to be settled was, who was the most +proper person to administer the affairs of the kingdom as Regent, +in the event of the heiress to the crown being still a minor at the +King's death. It was a question on which it was evidently most +desirable that no difference of opinion should be expressed. And, +in fact, no difference existed. The leaders of both +parties—the Duke and his colleagues, who had framed the bill, +and Lord Grey, with his colleagues, who adopted it—agreed +that the mother of the young sovereign would be the fittest person +to exercise the royal authority during the minority; and, farther, +that she should neither be fettered by any limitations to that +authority, nor by any councillors appointed by Parliament nominally +to advise and assist, but practically to control her. It was felt +that a Regent acting for a youthful daughter would need all the +power which could be given her; while, as she could never herself +succeed to the throne, she could be under no temptation, from views +of personal ambition, to misuse the power intrusted to her.</p> +<p>At first sight it seemed a more difficult and delicate question +what course should be pursued with reference to the possible event +of the King dying while the Queen, his widow, was expecting to +become a mother. As has been said above, no precedent was to be +found in any former bill; yet it seemed to be determined by the old +constitutional maxim, that the King never dies. Not even for a +moment could the throne be treated as vacant, and, therefore, it +was proposed and determined that in such a case the Princess +Victoria must instantly be proclaimed Queen, and the Duchess of +Kent must instantly assume the authority of Regent; but that, on +the birth of a posthumous child to the Queen Dowager, the Princess +and the Duchess, as a matter of course, should resume their +previous rank, and Queen Adelaide become Regent, and govern in the +name of her new-born infant and sovereign. The strict +constitutional correctness of the principle elaborately and +eloquently expounded to the peers by Lord Lyndhurst was unanimously +admitted, and the precedent now set was followed, with the needful +modification, when, ten years afterward, it became necessary to +provide for the possibility of Queen Victoria dying during the +minority of her heir. The parent of the infant sovereign, Prince +Albert, was appointed Regent, with the cordial approval of the +nation; the dissent of the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex who, +with a very misplaced ambition, urged instead the appointment of a +Council of Regency, of which he hoped to become the most +influential member, only serving to make the unanimity of the rest +of the Parliament more conspicuous.</p> +<p>A somewhat kindred question, inasmuch as it affected the +personal arrangements, if they may be so termed, of the sovereign, +was settled in the same session, and on a new principle. What was +called the Civil List had hitherto been placed on a footing which +was at once unintelligible and misleading. The expression was first +used at the Revolution, and was applied not only to that portion of +the revenue which was devoted to the personal expenses of the +sovereign, but also to many branches of the civil expenditure of +the state, with which, in fact, he had no concern whatever. Not +only the salaries of the great officers of the household, but those +also of the ministers, ambassadors, and of the judges, were paid +out of it, as well as those of many place-holders of various +classes, and pensions to a large amount. Amounts embracing such a +variety of miscellaneous and unconnected expenses could hardly be +expected to be kept with regularity, and there was lavish waste in +every department. Burke's bill had rectified some of the abuses, +and had also pointed out the way to some other reforms which were +gradually adopted; but still numbers of charges were left +untouched, and there was scarcely any one subject which afforded +more topics to unscrupulous demagogues than the amount of the Civil +List, which the ignorant multitude were constantly assured that the +King enjoyed to squander on his own pleasures, though, in fact, the +greater part of it was expended in the service of the state, and +was entirely free from his control. Only a portion of the sum which +went under this name was voted annually by the Parliament. A +portion was derived from the Crown Lands, from duties known as +Droits of the Crown and Droits of the Admiralty, etc., the amount +of which fluctuated, and with which Parliament was admitted to have +no right to interfere. But the working of the whole was +satisfactory to no one—neither to the King himself, nor to +those who upheld the right of the Parliament to have a predominant +control of every branch of expenditure of the public money. The +feeling that the whole of the royal income and expenditure should +be placed on a different footing was general, and the fall of the +Duke of Wellington's ministry had been immediately caused by the +success of a proposal that, before fixing the new sovereign's Civil +List, Parliament should refer the matter to a committee, that +inquiry might be made into every part of it. Lord Grey's ministry +were bound to act in conformity with a resolution on which they +had, as it were, ridden into office; and the arrangement which they +ultimately effected was one in which common-sense and the royal +convenience and comfort were alike consulted. That portion of the +Civil List of his predecessor which was voted by Parliament +amounted to nearly £850,000 a year; but, besides that sum, +George IV. enjoyed the income already mentioned as derived from +Crown Lands, Droits, etc., while a farther large sum was furnished +by the ancient revenue of the crown of Scotland, and another was +received from Ireland. The ministers now proposed that all these +sources of income should be handed over to the Treasury, and that +the Civil List should henceforward be fixed at £510,000, +being at the same time relieved from all the foreign and extraneous +charges on it which had invidiously swelled the gross amount, +without being in any way under the control of the sovereign, or in +any way ministering to his requirements, either for personal +indulgence or for the maintenance of the state and magnificence +imposed on him by his position.</p> +<p>Such a change was on every ground most desirable. It was clearly +in accordance with our parliamentary constitution that grants of +money made by the Parliament should express distinctly and +unmistakably the objects to which they were really to be applied; +and that the charges of departments connected with the government, +the administration of justice, or the foreign service of the +country, should not be mixed up with others of a wholly different +character, so as to make what was, in fact, the expenditure of the +nation wear the appearance of being the expenditure of the +sovereign. Moreover, the assignment of many of the charges to the +Civil List even gave a false character to the appointments +themselves. If a sovereign was to pay ambassadors and judges out of +what seemed to be his private income, the logical conclusion could +hardly be avoided that he had a right to lower those salaries, or +even to diminish the number of those appointments. And it may even +be said that the less any real danger of such a right being so +exercised was to be apprehended, the more unadvisable was it to +retain an arrangement which in theory could be described as liable +to such an abuse.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-216" id="note-216"> +<!-- Note Anchor 216 --></a>[Footnote 216: But it may be remarked +that till very recently the people out-of-doors had ceased to show +any great anxiety about Reform. Two or three years before, Lord +Althorp, who, in Lord Grey's ministry, was Chancellor of the +Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons, told Peel that the +people had become so indifferent to it, that he never meant to +bring forward the question again, and in the last seven years only +fourteen petitions had been presented to Parliament in favor of it. +In reality, such a feeling in the people would have been eminently +favorable to a calm framing of a Moderate measure; but this +indifference was soon changed into a more violent and widely +diffused excitement than there was any record of since the days of +the Popish Plot; that excitement, however, according to the +confession of the historian of the Whig ministry and the Reform +Bill, himself an ardent reformer, being "no spontaneous result of +popular feeling, but being brought about by the incessant labors of +a few shrewd and industrious partisans forming a secret, but very +active and efficient, committee in London."—Roebuck's +<i>History of the Whig Ministry</i>, etc., ii., 309.]</p> +<p><a name="note-217" id="note-217"> +<!-- Note Anchor 217 --></a>[Footnote 217: In 1835 the two days +were reduced to one.]</p> +<p><a name="note-218" id="note-218"> +<!-- Note Anchor 218 --></a>[Footnote 218: The creation of twelve +peers, in the reign of Queen Anne, to secure a majority in favor of +the Peace of Utrecht.]</p> +<p><a name="note-219" id="note-219"> +<!-- Note Anchor 219 --></a>[Footnote 219: "Constitutional +History," iii., 331. See the whole passage.]</p> +<p><a name="note-220" id="note-220"> +<!-- Note Anchor 220 --></a>[Footnote 220: Lord John Russell had +publicly described the language of the Tory Peers in the debate on +Lord Lyndhurst's amendment as "the whisper of a faction." And many +articles of most extreme violence which appeared in the +<i>Times</i> about the same time were generally believed to have +been written (in part at least) by the Lord Chancellor, Lord +Brougham.]</p> +<p><a name="note-221" id="note-221"> +<!-- Note Anchor 221 --></a>[Footnote 221: "Constitutional History +of England," by Sir J.E. May, 1., 262.]</p> +<p><a name="note-222" id="note-222"> +<!-- Note Anchor 222 --></a>[Footnote 222: Elizabeth enfranchised +no fewer than sixty-two in the course of her reign, "a very large +proportion of them petty boroughs, evidently under the influence of +the crown or the peerage."—Hallam, <i>Constitutional +History</i> i., 360.]</p> +<p><a name="note-223" id="note-223"> +<!-- Note Anchor 223 --></a>[Footnote 223: Sir A. Alison, "History +of Europe," xxiii., 55, quotes a paragraph from the <i>Examiner</i> +newspaper, which says: "The ground, limited as it is, which it is +proposed to clear and open to the popular influence, will suffice +as the spot desired by Archimedes for the plant of the power which +must ultimately govern the whole system. Without reform, convulsion +is inevitable. Upon any reform farther reform is inevitably +consequent, and the settlement of the constitution on the +democratic basis certain."]</p> +<p><a name="note-224" id="note-224"> +<!-- Note Anchor 224 --></a>[Footnote 224: Hallam, "Constitutional +History," c. xvi., <i>in fin.</i>]</p> +<p><a name="note-225" id="note-225"> +<!-- Note Anchor 225 --></a>[Footnote 225: "Semper in +republicâ timendum est ne plurimum valeant +plurinn."—Cicero.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH10" id="CH10"><!-- CH10 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Abolition of Slavery.—Abridgment of the +Apprenticeship.—The East India Company's Trade is Thrown +Open.—Commencement of Ecclesiastical Reforms.—The New +Poor-law.—State of Ireland.—Agitation against +Tithes.—Coercion Bill.—Beginning of Church +Reform.—Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime-minister.—Variety +of Offices held Provisionally by the Duke of Wellington.—Sir +Robert Peel Retires, and Lord Melbourne Resumes the +Government.—Sir Robert Peel Proposes a Measure of Church +Reform.—Municipal Reform.—Measures of Ecclesiastical +Reform.</p> +<p>Apart from the consideration of the abstract principle, on which +the advocates of Parliamentary Reform had insisted, of the light of +many classes hitherto unrepresented to representation, they had +also dwelt on the practical advantage which might be expected to +ensue from the greater degree in which public opinion would +henceforth be brought to bear on the action of the Houses, and, by +a natural consequence, on the administrative government also. And +the bill had hardly passed when this result began to show itself, +not only in transactions of domestic legislation, but in others +which affected our most remote dependencies, both in the East and +West. We have seen in a <a href="#composition">previous chapter</a> +how Wilberforce, after twenty years of labor and anxiety, reaped +the reward of his virtuous exertions in the abolition of the +slave-trade. But he had not ventured to grapple with the +institution which gave birth to that trade, the employment of +slaves in our West India Islands. Yet it was an evil indefensible +on every ground that could possibly be alleged. It was not only a +crime and an injustice, but it was an anomaly, and a glaring +inconsistency, in any British settlement. The law, as we have seen, +had been laid down as absolutely settled, that no man within the +precincts of the United Kingdom could be a slave; that, even had +such been his previous condition, the moment his foot touched +English soil he became a free man. By what process of reasoning, +then, could it be contended that his right to liberty according to +English law depended on what portion of the British dominion he was +in—that what was incompatible with his claims as a human +being in Kent ceased to be so in Jamaica? The sentiment that what +was just or unjust in one place was just or unjust in every place; +that a man's right to freedom did not depend on the country of his +birth or the color of his skin, had naturally and logically been +widely diffused and fostered by the abolition of the slave-trade. +It was but a small step from admitting that there could be no +justification for making a man a slave, to asserting that there was +an equal violation of all justice in keeping one in slavery; and +this conclusion was strengthened by tales, which were continually +reaching those most interested in the subject, of oppression and +cruelty practised by the masters, or oftener by their agents and +overseers, on the unfortunate beings over whom they claimed power +and right as absolute as any owner could pretend to over any +description of property. They made so general an impression that, +ten years before the time at which we have now arrived, a society +had been formed in London whose object was the immediate extinction +of slavery in every British settlement; and Canning, then Secretary +of State, had entered warmly into the general object of the +society; not, indeed, thinking the instant abolition practicable, +but inducing Parliament to pass a body of resolutions in favor of +at once improving the condition of the slaves, as the best and +necessary preparation for their entire enfranchisement;[<a href= +"#note-226">226</a>] and the next year, 1824, the subject was +recommended to the attention of the Houses in the King's speech, +and an Order in Council was issued enjoining the adoption of a +series of measures conceived in the spirit of those resolutions, +among which one was evidently meant as a precursor of the slaves' +entire emancipation, since it gave the "negro who had acquired +sufficient property" a title "to purchase his own freedom and that +of his wife and family." And it was, probably, from regarding it in +this light that the planters (as the owners of estates in the West +Indies were generally called) selected that provision as the object +of their most vehement remonstrances. But, though they were not so +open in their remonstrances against the other clauses of the order, +they did worse, they disregarded them; and the stories of the +ill-treatment of the slaves were neither less frequent nor less +revolting than before.</p> +<p>Fresh Orders in Council, avowedly designed as the +stepping-stones to eventual emancipation, were issued; and one +which reached the West Indies at the end of 1831 was, unhappily, so +misconstrued by the slaves in Jamaica, who regarded it as +recognizing their right to instant liberation, that, when their +masters refused to treat it as doing so, they broke out into a +formidable insurrection, which was not quelled without great loss +of life and destruction of property. The planters were +panic-stricken; many of them, indeed, were almost ruined. The +colonial Legislatures,[<a href="#note-227">227</a>] which had been +established in the greater part of the islands, addressed the +ministers with strong protests against the last Order in Council; +and the mischief which had confessedly been already done, and the +farther mischief which was not unreasonably dreaded, were so great +that the cabinet consented to suspend it for a while; and the House +of Commons made a practical confession that the planters were +entitled to sympathy as well as the slaves, by voting nearly a +million of money to compensate those of Jamaica for their recent +losses.</p> +<p>But out-of-doors the feeling rather was that the insurrection +had been caused, not by the unreasoning though natural impatience +for freedom entertained by the negro—whom Canning had truly +described as "possessing the form and strength of a man, but the +intellect of a child"—but by the slackness and supineness of +the local Legislature, too much under the influence of the timid +clamors of the planters to listen to the voice of justice and +humanity, which demanded to the full as emphatically, if somewhat +less vociferously, the immediate deliverance of the slave. The +object, however, thus desired was not so free from difficulty as it +seemed to those zealous but irresponsible advocates of universal +freedom; for, in the first place the slaves were not the only +persons to be considered; the planters also had an undoubted right +to have their interests protected, since, however illegitimate +property in human beings might be, it was certain that its +existence in that portion of the King's dominions had been +recognized by Parliament and courts of justice for many +generations, and that suddenly to withdraw a sanction and abrogate +a custom thus established, and, as it might fairly be believed, +almost legalized by time, would be not only ruinous to the +planters, who would have no other means of cultivating their lands, +but, as being ruinous to them, would also manifestly be most +unjust. Even in the interests of the slaves themselves, instant +emancipation before they were fit for it might prove to them a very +doubtful blessing. The state, too, and the general interests of the +kingdom had to be considered, for the shipping employed in the West +India trade, and the revenue derived by the Imperial Exchequer from +it, were both of great amount. It was a very complicated question, +and required very cautious handling; but it was plain that the +people were greatly excited on the subject. One or two of the +ministers themselves had deeply pledged themselves to their +constituents to labor for the cessation of slavery; and eventually, +though by no means blind to the difficulty of arriving at a +thoroughly safe solution of the question, the ministry decided that +"delay was more perilous than decision," and they brought in a +bill, in which they endeavored to combine the three great +objects—justice to the slave, by conferring on him that +freedom to which he, in common with all mankind, had an inviolable +right; justice to the slave-owner, by compensating him fairly for +the loss of what (however originally vicious the practice may have +been) he was entitled by long usage and more than one positive law +to regard as property; and a farther justice to the slave, that +justice which consists in being careful so to confer benefits as to +do the greatest amount of good to the recipient. The first object +was attained by enacting that those who had hitherto been slaves +should be free; the third was arrived at by making the freedom thus +given, not instantaneous, but by leading them to it, and preparing +them for its proper and useful enjoyment, by a system of +apprenticeship. The slave was to be apprenticed to his master for +seven years, receiving, partly in money and partly in kind, a +certain fair amount of wages, and having also one-fourth of his +time absolutely at his own disposal. And the second was secured by +granting the planters the magnificent sum of twenty millions of +money, as compensation for the injury done to them; or, in other +words, as purchase-money for the property they were compelled to +surrender. The apprenticeship system did not wholly succeed. The +slaves were not sufficiently enlightened to appreciate the +character of the new arrangement; and, as the light in which it +appeared to them was rather that of deferring than of securing +their emancipation, it made them impatient rather than thankful. In +the majority of cases it proved difficult to induce them to work +even three-fourths of their time, and eventually the planters +themselves were driven to the conclusion that it was best to +abridge the period of apprenticeship. By the act of the colonial +Legislatures themselves it was shortened by two years, and the +emancipation was completed on the 1st of August, 1838.</p> +<p>Still, though on this single point the success of the scheme did +not fully correspond to the hopes of those who had framed it, it +was one which did great honor to their ingenuity as well as to +their philanthropy (Lord Stanley, as Colonial Secretary, being the +minister to whose department it belonged). And the nation itself is +fairly entitled to no small credit for its cordial, ungrudging +approval of a measure of such unprecedented liberality. Indeed, the +credit deserved was frankly allowed it by foreign countries. To +quote the language of an eloquent historian of the period, "the +generous acquiescence of the people under this prodigious increase +of their burdens has caused the moralists of other nations to +declare that the British Act of Emancipation stands alone for moral +grandeur in the history of the world."[<a href="#note-228">228</a>] +And, in respect of the personal liberty of the subject, it may be +said to have completed the British constitution; establishing the +glorious principle, that freedom is not limited to one part of our +sovereign's dominions, to these islands alone, but that in no part +of the world in which the British flag is erected can any sort of +slavery exist for a single moment.</p> +<p>The abolition of the political authority of the East India +Company, which took place some years after the time at which we +have arrived, and which will be mentioned in a <a href= +"#firstweek">subsequent chapter</a>, would make it unnecessary to +mention the renewal of its charter, which took place at this time, +were it not that the force of public opinion again made itself felt +in some important limitations of its previous rights. The monopoly +of the trade with China which the Company had hitherto enjoyed was +resented as an injustice by the great body of our merchants and +ship-owners, who contended that all British subjects had an equal +right to share in advantages which had been won by British arms. +The government and Parliament adopted their view, and the renewed +charter extinguished not only that monopoly, but even the Company's +exclusive trading privileges in India itself, though these, like +the rights of the West India planters over their slaves, were +purchased of it by an annuity for forty years, which was estimated +as an equivalent for the loss of profit which must result to the +proprietors of the Company's stock from the sudden alteration. It +cannot be said that any constitutional principle was involved in +what was merely a commercial regulation, or relaxation of such +regulations. Yet it may not be thought inopportune to mention the +transaction thus briefly, as one important step toward the +establishment of free-trade, which, at the end of fifty years from +the time when Pitt first laid the foundation of it, was gradually +forcing itself on all our statesmen, as the only sound principle of +commercial intercourse between nations. The laborious historian of +Europe during these years finds fault with the arrangements now +made, but only on the ground that they did not go far enough in +that direction; that, while "everything was done to promote the +commercial and manufacturing interests of England, nothing was done +for those of Hindostan;"[<a href="#note-229">229</a>] that, "while +English cotton goods were admitted for a nominal duty into India, +there was no corresponding advantage thought of to the industry of +India in supplying the markets of the country." The objection was +not unfounded; but the system of which it complains was too +one-sided to be long maintained, and in less than ten years a great +financial reform had swept away the great mass of import duties, +and so far had placed the Indian manufacturer on the same level +with his fellow-subjects of English blood.</p> +<p>The disturbances which agitated the first years of the reign of +William IV. were not caused solely by the excitement attendant on +the passing of the Reform Bill. There had been extensive +agricultural distress in England, which had shown itself in an +outbreak of new crimes, the burning of ricks in the farm-yards, and +the destruction of machinery, to which the peasantry were persuaded +by designing demagogues to attribute the scarcity of employment. +But statesmen of both parties were agreed in believing that a great +deal of the poverty which, especially in the agricultural counties, +had become the normal condition of the laborer, might be ascribed +to the pernicious working of the Poor-law, which subsisted with +scarcely any alteration as it had been originally enacted in the +reign of Elizabeth. There was even reason to doubt whether the +slight changes which had been made had been improvements. If they +had been in the direction of increased liberality to the poor man +who needed parish relief, and had to some extent lessened his +discomforts, they had at the same time tended greatly to demoralize +both him and his employer, by introducing a system of out-door +relief, which, coupled with the practice of regarding such relief +as a legitimate addition to wages, led the former to feel no shame +at underpaying his workmen, and the workman to feel no shame at +depending on the parish for a portion of his means of subsistence. +It was not to be wondered at that under such a system the +poor-rates gradually rose to the prodigious amount of seven +millions and a quarter of money; or that the rate-payers began to +clamor against such a state of things, as imposing on them a burden +beyond their power to bear. It was evident that it was an evil +which imperatively demanded a remedy; and accordingly one of the +first objects to which Lord Grey's Cabinet turned its attention +after the completion of the Reform Bill was the amendment of the +Poor-law.</p> +<p>The scheme which in the spring of 1834 they introduced to +Parliament was the first instance of the adoption in this country +of that system of centralization which has long been a favorite +with some of the Continental statesmen, but which is not equally in +harmony with the instincts of our people, generally more attached +to local government. But, if ever centralization could commend +itself to the English mind, it might well be when a new law and a +new principle of action were to be introduced, in the carrying out +of which uniformity of practice over the whole kingdom was +especially desirable. Accordingly, the government bill proposed the +establishment of a Board of Commissioners to whom the general +administration of the Poor-laws over the whole kingdom was to be +intrusted. They were to have power to make rules and regulations as +to the mode or modes of relief to be given, subject to the approval +of the Secretary of State, that thus the establishment of one +uniform system over the whole country might be secured. Power was +to be given to unite several parishes into one union, and to erect +large workhouses for the several parishes thus massed +together;[<a href="#note-230">230</a>] and every union was to be +under the management of boards of guardians, elected by the +rate-payers of the different parishes, with the addition of the +resident magistrates as ex officio guardians. Lord Althorp, who +introduced the bill, admitted that such extensive powers as he +proposed to confer on the Board of Commissioners were "an anomaly +in the constitution," but pleaded the necessity of the case as +their justification, since it was indispensable to vest a +discretionary power somewhere, and the government was too fully +occupied with the business of the nation, while the local +magistrates would be destitute of the sources of information +requisite to form a proper opinion on the subject. The +commissioners alone, being exclusively devoted to the subject, and +being alone in possession of all the information that could be +collected, were really the only body who could fairly be trusted to +form correct opinions on it.[<a href="#note-231">231</a>] The fact +of the creation of such a board being "an anomaly," or, as it might +rather have been called, a novelty in the constitution, does not +seem an insuperable objection, unless it were also inconsistent or +at variance with the fundamental principles of the constitution, +and that can hardly be alleged in this instance. It is true that +local management, whether its range were wide or narrow, whether +covering the business of a county or limited to a single parish, +had been the general rule; but, like every other arrangement for +the conduct of affairs of any kind, that local management was +inherently subject to the supreme authority and interference of +Parliament. Nor, as the maintenance of this Parliamentary +authority, as the supreme referee in the last resource, was +provided for by the subordination of the commissioners for the +approval of their regulations to the Secretary of State, does it +seem that the arrangement now proposed and adopted can be said to +have been inconsistent with constitutional principle. And the +necessity for some change of that nature was clearly made out by +the abuses which, undeniably, had been suffered to grow up under +the old system.</p> +<p>If the habitual condition of the Irish peasant were to be taken +into account, it would be correct to say that there was less +distress at this time in England than in Ireland; but there was +still greater discontent, and infinitely more of dangerous +disturbance. Catholic Emancipation had stimulated the agitators, +not pacified them; they regarded it as a triumph over the English +government; and, being so, as at once a reason for demanding, and a +means of extorting, farther concessions. But this notion of theirs, +when inculcated on the peasantry, bore terrible fruit, in such an +increase of crime as had probably never been known in any country +in the world. In the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught +murders, deeds of arson, and rapine were of far more than daily +occurrence.[<a href="#note-232">232</a>] Lord Althorp asserted in +the House of Commons that more lives had been sacrificed in Ireland +by murder in the preceding year than in one of Wellington's +victories. And what was, if possible, a still worse symptom of the +disposition of the common people, was exhibited in the +impossibility of bringing the criminals, even when well known, to +justice. Jurors held back from the assizes, witnesses who had seen +murders committed refused to give evidence. The Roman Catholic +prelates, and the higher class of the Roman Catholic +clergy—most of whom, greatly to their credit, exerted +themselves to check this fearful progress of wickedness—found +their denunciations unheeded; while O'Connell, in his place in the +House of Commons, used language which to an ignorant and ferocious +peasantry looked almost like a justification of it, affirming it to +be caused wholly by the "unjust and ruinous policy of the +government" in refusing to abolish tithes. It was not the first +time that the existence of tithe had been alleged as an Irish +grievance. In the three southern provinces by far the greater +portion of the tenantry were Roman Catholics, and they had long +been complaining that they were forced to pay for the support of +the Protestant clergyman of their parish, whose ministrations they +could not attend, as well as for the maintenance of their own +priest, whose livelihood depended on their contributions. According +to strict political economy, there could be no doubt that the +burden of the tithe fell, not on the tenant, but on the landlord, +in the calculation of whose rent the amount of tithe to which each +holding was liable was always taken into consideration; and that +being the true doctrine, it was equally plain that in reality the +Protestant clergy were paid, not by Roman Catholics, but by +Protestants, since it was not disputed that by far the greater part +of the land-owners in every province were Protestants.[<a href= +"#note-233">233</a>] But an ignorant peasant is no student of +political economy or of logic; and the fact that the payment of the +tithe passed through his hands was in his eyes, an incontrovertible +proof that it came out of his pocket. The discontent had gradually +begotten an organized resistance to the payment, and the mischief +of allowing the continuance of such a state of feeling and conduct, +which was manifestly likely to impair the respect for all law, made +such an impression on the government that, in the royal speech with +which he opened the session of 1832, the King recommended the whole +subject to the consideration of Parliament, urging the Houses to +inquire "whether it might not be possible to effect improvements in +the laws respecting this subject."</p> +<p>In compliance with this recommendation, committees were +appointed by both Houses; and the result of their investigations +was a recommendation that a new arrangement should be made, under +which the tithe should be commuted to a rent-charge. Accordingly, +the next year the ministers proceeded to give effect to this +recommendation. But they reasonably judged that an alteration of a +particular law in compliance with the clamor raised against it +would be a concession pregnant with mischief to the principle of +all government, if it were not accompanied, or rather preceded, by +a vindication of the majesty of all law; and therefore the first +measure affecting Ireland, which they brought in in 1833, was a +"Coercion Bill," which empowered the Lord-lieutenant not only to +suppress the meetings of any assembly or association which he might +consider dangerous to the public peace, but also to declare by +proclamation any district in which tumults and outrages were rife +to be "in a disturbed state;" and in districts thus proclaimed no +person was to be permitted to be absent from his house from an hour +after sunset to sunrise. Houses might be searched for arms, martial +law was to be established, and courts-martial held for the trial of +all offences except felonies; and the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> Act was +suspended for three months. O'Connell and his party protested with +great vehemence against such an enactment, as a violation of every +right secured to the subject by the constitution. And a bill which +suspended the ordinary courts of justice must be admitted to have +been incompatible with the constitution as commonly understood and +enjoyed. But if the measure thus proposed was extraordinary, the +state of affairs which had led to its proposal was so also in a far +greater degree. The records of no nation had ever presented such a +fearful catalogue of crimes as was now laid before the Parliament, +and at such a crisis the statesmen to whom the tranquillity of the +country and the safety of the citizens were intrusted were +undoubtedly called upon to go back from the letter of the +constitution to that which is the primary object of every +constitution—the safety of those who live under it. <i>Salus +populi suprema lex</i>. And the argument of necessity was regarded, +and rightly regarded, by both Houses of Parliament as a sufficient +and complete justification of even so exceptional an enactment.</p> +<p>And concurrently with this enactment, which, however +indispensable for the repression of crime, no one could deny to be +severe, the ministers endeavored also to remove the causes of +discontent by a large measure of Church reform, not confining their +aim to settling the tithe question, but dealing with the whole +question of the Irish Church in such a way as to lay down, as an +undoubted principle of the constitution, the doctrine that the +Church existed for the benefit of the nation; that its property was +bestowed on it for the same object; and that, consequently, the +nation, or in other words the Parliament, had a perfect right to +deal with its property and endowments of all kinds, always keeping +the same end in view, the general advantage of the whole nation. +Proceeding on these maxims, they introduced a Church Reform Bill, +in which, perhaps, the most remarkable circumstance of all was, +that the evil which had been the original cause of their taking up +the subject at all was the last thing settled, not, indeed, being +finally arranged for four years; while the principal detail in the +way of reform which was completed in this first session was one +which, however reasonable, had hitherto received but little +attention, and had certainly provoked no great outcry. It could not +be denied that the Episcopal Establishment in Ireland was out of +all proportion to the extent of the country and the number of the +Protestant population, or of the parishes. The entire population in +communion with the Church fell short of 900,000. The number of +parishes scarcely exceeded 1400. But over this comparatively scanty +flock were set no fewer than eighteen bishops and four archbishops; +while England, with 12,000 parishes, was contented with twenty-four +bishops and two archbishops. It was proposed to consolidate these +bishoprics into ten, the archbishoprics into two, a reduction which +could hardly fail to commend itself to all. But with this reduction +was combined a variety of other details relating to the Episcopal +revenues, to the right of the bishops to grant leases, and other +matters of finance, which the ministers proposed so to remodel as +to create a very large fund to be at the disposal of the state. On +this point the greater part of the ministerial scheme was wrecked +for the time. They succeeded in carrying that part of it which +consolidated the bishoprics, and in inducing the House of Commons +to grant, first as a loan, which was originally turned into a gift, +a million of money to be divided among the incumbents of the +different parishes, who were reduced to the greatest distress by +the inability to procure payment of their tithes, the arrears of +which amounted to a far larger sum.</p> +<p>But the assertion that any surplus fund arising from +redistribution of the Episcopal revenues ought to belong to the +state, not only called forth a vigorous resistance from the whole +of the Tory party at its first promulgation, but, when the subject +was revived the next year, and one of the supporters of the +ministry, Mr. Ward, proposed a resolution that any such surplus +might be legitimately applied to secular purposes, it produced a +schism in the ministry itself. The resolution was cordially +accepted by Lord John Russell, but was so offensive to four of his +colleagues, Mr. Stanley and Sir James Graham being among the +number, that they at once resigned their offices. The breach thus +made was not easily healed; and before the end of the session other +dissensions of a more vexatious and mortifying character led to the +retirement of the Prime-minister himself. All attempts to deal with +the tithe question failed for the time, four more years elapsing +before it was finally settled. But, curtailed as it was, the bill +of 1833 still deserves to be remembered as a landmark in +constitutional legislation, since it afforded the first instance of +Parliament affirming a right to deal with ecclesiastical dignities +and endowments, thus setting a precedent which, in the next reign, +was followed with regard to the Church of England.</p> +<p>Lord Melbourne succeeded Lord Grey at the Treasury; but every +one saw that the ministry was greatly weakened. The King, too, had +become greatly dissatisfied both with their general policy, +especially in regard to the Irish Church—which he took an +opportunity of assuring the Irish bishops he was unalterably +resolved to uphold—and also with the language and conduct of +one or two individual ministers, to which it is not necessary to +refer more particularly; and when, on the death of Lord Spencer, +father of Lord Althorp, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which took +place in November, 1834, it became necessary for Lord Melbourne to +propose to him a re-arrangement of some of the cabinet offices, he +at once dismissed the whole body of the ministers. It was a +somewhat singular step to take, for they had not been defeated in +Parliament, and he did not himself allege any special +dissatisfaction with anything which they had yet done, though he +did apprehend that some of them would press upon him measures +disadvantageous to "the clergy of the Church of England in +Ireland," to which he had an insuperable objection; and, moreover, +that the subject would cause fresh divisions in the ministry, and +the resignation of one or two more of its most important members. +He had, indeed, six months before, given a practical proof of his +distrust of the ability of Lord Melbourne and the colleagues who +remained to him to carry on the government of the kingdom +satisfactorily, by desiring the new Prime-minister to enter into +communication with the leaders of the Opposition, "to endeavor at +this crisis to prevail upon them to afford their aid and +co-operation toward the formation of an administration upon an +enlarged basis, combining the services of the most able and +efficient members of each" party.[<a href="#note-234">234</a>] Nor +had he relinquished the idea of bringing about such a coalition, +till he learned that both Lord Melbourne and Sir Robert Peel +considered the differences which divided them to be too deeply +founded on principle to render their union in one administration +either beneficial to the state or creditable to themselves. And it +may be said that the letter in which Lord Melbourne had in November +announced to his Majesty the death of Lord Spencer, and the +necessity for new arrangements which that event had created, by the +expression that "in these new and altered circumstances it was for +his Majesty to consider whether it were his pleasure to authorize +Viscount Melbourne to attempt to make such fresh arrangements as +might enable his present servants to continue to conduct the +affairs of the country, or whether his Majesty deemed it advisable +to adopt any other course," and that "Lord Melbourne earnestly +entreated that no personal consideration for him might prevent his +Majesty from taking any measures or seeking any other advice which +he might think more likely to conduce to his service and to the +advantage of the country," did not only contemplate, but to a +certain degree even suggested, the possibility of his Majesty's +preferring to have recourse to fresh advisers.</p> +<p>The King's subsequent acts and their result, however, certainly +took the kingdom by surprise. He applied to the Duke of Wellington +to undertake the formation of a new ministry; and the Duke, +explaining to the King that "the difficulty of the task consisted +in the state of the House of Commons, earnestly recommended him to +choose a minister in the House of Commons," and named Sir Robert +Peel as the fittest object for his Majesty's choice. Sir Robert was +in Italy at the time; but, on receiving the royal summons, he at +once hastened to England, the Duke of Wellington in the mean time +accepting the offices of First Lord of the Treasury and Secretary +of State, as a provisional arrangement, till he should arrive in +London.</p> +<p>Sir Robert reached England early in December; and though, if "he +had been consulted beforehand, he would have been inclined to +dissuade the dismissal of the last ministry as premature and +impolitic," he did not consider it compatible "with his sense of +duty" to decline the charge which the King laid upon him, and at +once accepted the office of Prime-minister, being fully aware that +by so doing he "became technically, if not morally, responsible for +the dissolution of the preceding government, though he had not had +the remotest concern in it."[<a href="#note-235">235</a>] In the +formation of his ministry he so far endeavored to carry out the +views which the King had suggested to Lord Melbourne in the summer +as to invite the co-operation of Mr. Stanley (who, by the death of +his grandfather, had recently become Lord Stanley) and Sir J. +Graham, who, as has been mentioned before, had retired from Lord +Grey's cabinet. A new name, that of "Conservative," had recently +been invented for the more moderate section of the old Tory party; +and it was one which, though Lord Grey had taunted them with it, as +betraying a sense of shame at adhering to their old colors, Peel +was inclined to adopt for himself, as characteristic of his +feelings and future objects; and perhaps he thought it might help +to smooth the way for a junction with him of those who would flinch +from proclaiming so decided a change in their opinions as would be +implied by their becoming colleagues of one who still cherished the +name of Tory. But they declined his offers; and consequently he was +forced to select his cabinet entirely from the party of +anti-Reformers. He dissolved Parliament, a step as to which it +seemed to him that the universal expectations of, and even +preparation for, a dissolution, left him practically scarcely any +option;[<a href="#note-236">236</a>] but he soon found, as, indeed, +he had feared he should find, the attempt to establish a +Conservative government premature. The party of the late ministry, +following the example set by Mr. Fox in 1784 with better fortune, +divided against him in the House of Commons on every occasion, +defeating him in every division; and at the beginning of April he +retired, and Lord Melbourne and his former colleagues resumed their +offices with very little change.</p> +<p>They had, as was natural, not been contented with opposing the +Conservative ministry in its general policy, but in both Houses +they had attacked it with great energy. They had begun the battle +in both Houses in the debate on the address, in which they selected +three points in the recent transactions for special condemnation, +affirming that in every one of them the royal prerogative had been +unconstitutionally exercised—the dismissal of the late +ministry, the dissolution of Parliament, and the appointment of the +Duke of Wellington to a variety of offices. In the House of Commons +the attack was led by Lord Morpeth and Lord John Russell; in the +House of Lords by Lord Melbourne himself. It was urged that, though +the prerogative of the sovereign to dismiss his ministers was +undoubted and inalienable, yet the Houses had a clear right to sit +in judgment on any particular exercise of it; and that the +circumstances of the late ministry having been but recently formed, +of its possessing in a conspicuous degree the confidence of the +great majority of the House of Commons, and of its being occupied +at the moment of its dismissal with matters of high national +concern, justified the House in calling on the new ministers to +show valid reasons for its sudden dismissal. As to the dissolution, +it was asked what misdemeanor the late House of Commons had +committed? No difference had occurred between it and the other +House of Parliament. It had passed no hostile vote against any +administration. It had been in existence but a very short time. All +these circumstances, they affirmed, made it reasonable for the +Houses to express to his Majesty their disapprobation of the +dissolution. Lord Morpeth argued, moreover, that the right of the +House of Commons to inquire into such an exercise of the royal +prerogative was proved by the example of Mr. Pitt, who, in 1784, +had introduced into the speech from the throne a paragraph inviting +Parliament to approve of the recent dissolution; and what +Parliament could be asked to approve of, it manifestly had an equal +right to censure. But the most vehement of the censures of the +Opposition were directed against what Lord Morpeth called "the most +unseemly huddling of offices in the single person of the Duke of +Wellington; an unconstitutional concentration of responsibility and +power, at which there was hardly an old Whig of the Rockingham +school whose hair did not stand on end." He admitted that in the +present instance the arrangement had only been provisional and +temporary, and that "no harm had been done;" but, he asked, "what +harm might not have been done? If the country had been suddenly +obliged to go to war, who would have been responsible for the +Foreign Department? If an insurrection of the negroes had occurred, +who was responsible for the Colonial Office? If in Ireland any +tithe dispute had arisen, who was responsible as Home-secretary?" +And Lord Melbourne, though a speaker generally remarkable for +moderation, on this subject went much farther; and, after urging +that, "if one person held the situation of First Lord of the +Treasury, and also that of Secretary of State for the Home +Department, it would not only place in his hands without any +control the appointment to every great office in the state, but a +person so situated would also have the pecuniary resources of the +state at his disposal without check or investigation," he proceeded +to assert that "an intention to exercise those offices would amount +to a treasonable misdemeanor." He did not, indeed, go so far as his +late Attorney-general, Sir J. Campbell, who, in vexation at his +loss of office, had even threatened the Duke with impeachment; but, +though he admitted that the Duke had been free from the guilty +intention of exercising the authority of these offices, he +suggested that "the Lords ought to pass some resolution calculated +to prevent so great a breach of the constitution from being drawn +into a precedent."</p> +<p>On the first point thus raised, for the dismissal of the late +ministry without any such cause as is usually furnished by an +adverse vote of one of the Houses of Parliament, Peel frankly +admitted that his acceptance of office rendered him +constitutionally responsible, though, as he also said, it was +notorious that in fact he had, and could have had, no previous +knowledge of it; but he denied that any constitutional question +whatever was involved in it, since the King's right was denied by +no one; and he could, therefore, only consent to discuss it as a +question of policy and expediency. And, looking at it in this +light, he regarded his defence as easy and complete. He contended +that the events of the past year, the resignation of several of the +subordinate ministers, and finally of Lord Grey himself, and the +proposal which had been made to him (Peel) and several of his +friends to coalesce with Lord Melbourne, rendered the act by which +the late government had been removed perfectly justifiable on the +part both of the King and of himself; that the King was justified +in thinking a wholly fresh arrangement preferable to a +re-arrangement of Lord Melbourne's cabinet; and he himself in +obeying his sovereign's commands to form a new administration.</p> +<p>The wisdom and propriety of the dissolution, too, could only be +examined as a question of expediency; but in this instance every +consideration not only recommended but compelled it. "When he +undertook the arduous duties now imposed upon him, he did determine +that he would leave no constitutional effort untried to enable him +satisfactorily to discharge the trust imposed in him. He did fear +that if he had met the late Parliament he should have been +obstructed in his course, and obstructed in a manner and at a +season which might have precluded an appeal to the people. It was +the constant boast of the late government that the late Parliament +had unbounded confidence in them. And, if that Parliament was, as +had been constantly asserted, relied upon as ready to condemn him +without a hearing, could any one be surprised at his appeal to the +judgment of another, a higher and a fairer tribunal, the public +sense of the people?" Precedent, too, was in his favor on this +point, since, "whenever an extensive change of government had +occurred, a dissolution of Parliament had followed;" and he +referred to the year 1784, and to 1806, when the administration of +which Lord Grey was the leading member at once dissolved the +existing Parliament on coming into office; though he believed "the +present to be the first occasion on which a House of Commons had +been invited to express its dissatisfaction at the exercise of the +prerogative of dissolution."</p> +<p>To the strictures of Lord Melbourne and Lord Morpeth on the Duke +of Wellington's temporary assumption of a combination of offices, +it was replied by Sir Robert and the Duke that, though there might +be inconvenience from the assumption of all those powers by one +individual, it was so far from being unconstitutional, that it was +a common practice for the Secretary for one department to act for +another during intervals of recreation, or periods of ill-health; +that there was ample precedent for such a proceeding. In the last +week of the life of Queen Anne, the Duke of Shrewsbury had united +three of the greatest posts of the kingdom, those of Lord +Treasurer, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, with +the sanction of that great constitutional lawyer, Lord Somers. And +in 1827 Mr. Canning had retained the seals of the Foreign Office +for some weeks after his appointment as First Lord of the Treasury. +Moreover, there was actually a law which provided that when the +office of Chancellor of the Exchequer is vacant the seals of that +office shall be delivered to the Chief-justice; and under this +rule, in the latter part of the reign of George II., Chief-justice +Lord Mansfield had continued finance-minister for above three +months. And, as to the practical result of what had been done in +the present instance, the Duke affirmed, what, indeed, was +universally admitted, that the arrangement had from the first been +understood to be merely temporary; that no inconvenience had +resulted from it; indeed, that "not a single act had been done in +any one of the offices which had not been essentially necessary for +the service of the country."</p> +<p>The first two points on which the ministry was assailed it seems +superfluous to examine, since it is clear that the position taken +up by Sir Robert Peel is impregnable: that, on every view of the +principles and practice of the constitution, there was no doubt of +the right of the sovereign to dismiss his ministers or to dissolve +the Parliament at his pleasure; and that those acts can only be +judged of by a consideration of their expediency. Inexpedient, +indeed, the dismissal of the preceding ministry is generally +considered to have been, even in the interest of the Conservatives +themselves. But inexpedient the dissolution can hardly be +pronounced to have been, since, though the new election failed to +give them a majority in the House of Commons, it beyond all doubt +greatly strengthened their minority. On the other hand, though it +cannot be denied that the House of Commons has a perfect right to +express its disapproval of any or every act of the minister, it is +not so clear that Lord Morpeth's invitation to it to express its +dissatisfaction with this particular act of dissolution was, on +general principles, expedient or safe; since such a vote is making +a perilous approach to claiming for the House the right of being +asked for its consent to its own dissolution, a claim the admission +of which had been one of the most fatal, if not the most fatal, of +all the concessions of Charles I.</p> +<p>As to the Duke of Wellington's assumption of a variety of +offices, it is probable that when he first proposed to the King to +confer them on him, he anticipated no objection whatever from any +quarter, since he had so little idea of there being any impropriety +in holding two offices, were they ever so apparently incongruous, +if his Majesty should have directed him to do so, that seven years +before, when he became Prime-minister, he had at first designed +permanently to retain the command of the army in conjunction with +the Treasury, and had only been induced to abandon the intention by +the urgent remonstrance of Sir Robert Peel; and, constitutionally, +there does not seem to be any limitation of the sovereign's power +to confer offices, to unite or to divide them. Indeed, the +different Secretary-ships of State seem to owe their existence +entirely to his will, and not to any act of Parliament. He can +diminish the number, if he should think fit, as he did in 1782, +when, on the termination of the American war, he forbore to appoint +a successor to Lord George Germaine, in Lord Rockingham's +administration; or he can increase the numbers, as he did in 1794, +when he revived the third Secretaryship, which he had suppressed +twelve years before, without any act of Parliament being passed to +direct either the suspension or the revival. He can even leave the +most important offices vacant, and intrust the performance of their +duties to a commission, as was done in this very year 1835, when +the Great Seal was put in commission, and the duties, for above two +years, were performed by commissioners, who had other duties also +to discharge; and these instances may, perhaps, warrant the +conclusion that the distribution of the different posts in what is +generally known as the cabinet is dictated by considerations of +what is practicable and expedient rather than by any positive and +invariable rule or principle.</p> +<p>Yet it does not follow that, because the constitution was not +violated or endangered by such an arrangement, the leaders of the +Opposition did other than their duty in calling attention to it. +Unquestionably, it is historically true that the liberties of the +people owe their preservation, growth, and vigor to the jealous +watchfulness to check the first and slightest appearance of any +attempt to encroach upon them, which has been constantly exercised +from the very earliest times by an almost unbroken series of +fearless and independent patriots. And in this instance the very +novelty of such an arrangement as had taken place did of itself +make criticism a duty; though it may also be thought that the +critics acted wisely in contenting themselves with calling notice +to it, and abstaining from asking Parliament to pronounce a formal +judgment on it, since any express censure would have been +unwarranted either by the facts of the case or by any inference to +be drawn from previous usage, while an approval of it would wear +the appearance not only of sanctioning, but even of inviting a +repetition of an arrangement which, if ever attempted to be carried +out in actual practice, must tend to grave inconvenience, if not to +discredit.</p> +<p>Lord Melbourne resumed office, and, being strengthened by the +manifest inability of the opposite party to command the confidence +of the House of Commons, began to apply himself with vigor to the +carrying out of several measures of internal reform, some of which +involved not only the property but the long-established rights of +very considerable bodies, and, as so doing, have an importance in a +constitutional point of view, besides that arising from their +immediate effects. Peel had been equally alive to the +desirableness, so cogent as almost to amount to a moral necessity, +of introducing reforms into more than one old institution, such as +should bring them more into harmony with the spirit of the age, +remodelling or terminating some arrangements which were manifest +abuses, and others which, though, if dispassionately examined and +properly understood, they, perhaps, were not really grievances, yet +in their operation caused such discontent and heart-burnings that +they were as mischievous as many others far more indefensible in +theory. And, short-lived as his administration had been, he had +found time to frame and introduce an extensive measure of Church +reform, not only dealing with the question of tithes, the levy and +collection of which in some of their details had long been made +subjects of bitter complaints by the farmers, but including also +provision for the creation of two new bishoprics, those of Ripon +and Manchester. No part of his measure was more imperatively called +for by the present circumstances of the nation, or of greater +importance in its future operation. There had been no increase in +the number of bishops since the reign of Elizabeth; but since her +time not only had the population of the entire kingdom been +quadrupled, but some districts which had then been very scantily +peopled had become exceedingly populous. These districts had +hitherto been almost destitute of Episcopal supervision, which now +was thus to be supplied to them. But the new legislation did more. +It might be expected that the growth of the population would +continue, and would in time require a farther and corresponding +increase of the Episcopate; and the erection of these new dioceses +was, therefore, not only the supplying of a present want, but the +foundation of a system for increasing the efficiency of the Church +which should be capable of gradual progressive expansion, as the +growth of the population in various districts might be found to +require additional facilities for supervision. And the judgment +with which the new arrangement met the requirements of the +community may be regarded as proved by the circumstance that now, +after the lapse of nearly half a century, it is maintained in +active operation, and is admitted by all parties not only to be of +the greatest practical benefit, but also to have a moral effect +scarcely less valuable in the degree in which it has stimulated the +application of private munificence to the great work of Church +extension.</p> +<p>But before Lord Grey quitted office his government had also +called the attention of Parliament to the necessity of a large +municipal reform, which, indeed, it seemed to them that the Reform +Bill had bound them, in all consistency, to introduce. In the +speech with which the King had closed the session of 1833, he had +informed the Houses that he had "directed commissions to be issued +for investigating the state of the municipal corporations +throughout the United Kingdom, the result of whose inquiries would +enable them to mature some measure which might seem best fitted to +place the internal government of corporate cities and towns upon a +solid foundation in respect of their finances, their judicature, +and their police." He reminded them that they had recently passed +acts "for giving constitutions upon sound principles to the royal +and parliamentary boroughs of Scotland," and warned them that +"their attention would hereafter be called to the expediency of +extending similar advantages to the unincorporated towns in England +which had now acquired the right of returning members to +Parliament." The commission of which his Majesty thus spoke had now +presented its report, strongly condemnatory of the existing system +in almost every point of view; of the constitution and mode of +election of the existing corporations, and of their government of +the towns over which they presided. It declared that "even where +they existed in their least imperfect form, and were most +rightfully administered, they were inadequate to the wants of the +present state of society." But they charged them also with positive +offences of no venial kind. "They had perverted their powers to +political ends, sacrificing local interests to party purposes. They +had diverted from their legitimate use revenues which ought to have +been applied for the public advantage, wasting them in many +instances for the benefit of individuals; sometimes even employing +for purposes of corruption funds originally intended for charitable +uses." And they asserted that this too common misconduct of these +bodies had engendered "among a great majority of the inhabitants of +the incorporated towns a general and just dissatisfaction with +their municipal institutions, a distrust of the self-elected +municipal councils, and of the municipal magistracy, tainting with +suspicion the local administration of justice." And therefore they +"felt it their duty to represent to his Majesty that the existing +municipal corporations of England and Wales neither possessed nor +deserved the confidence and respect of his Majesty's subjects; and +that a thorough reform must be effected before they could become +what they ought to be, useful and efficient instruments of local +government."</p> +<p>It would be superfluous here to repeat the story of the rise of +the boroughs, whose gradual acquisition of charters, with +privileges and powers of various degrees, has been sufficiently +investigated by Hallam.[<a href="#note-237">237</a>] What the +Parliament had now to deal with was the way in which the system +worked in the nineteenth century; and here it must be confessed +that the report of the commissioners, severe as it was, did in no +degree exaggerate the prevailing evils. The corporations had +gradually become self-elected oligarchies of the worst kind. It +must be admitted that, in perverting their authority to political +purposes, they might plead the excuse that they were but following +the example set them by the ministers of William III., who +introduced into their bill for restoring the corporations which +James II. had suppressed clauses manifestly intended to preserve +the ascendency of the Whig party, "by keeping the Church or Tory +faction out of"[<a href="#note-238">238</a>] them. But no such +palliation (if, indeed, that had any right to be called a +palliation) could be alleged for their abuse of the trusts +committed to them; abuse which, if committed by single individuals, +would have been branded, and perhaps punished, as malversation and +fraud of the deepest dye. A sufficient specimen of the kind and +extent of their misdeeds in one branch of their duties was afforded +by a single paragraph of Lord John Russell's speech, in which he +affirmed that, in some of the reports of their management of +charitable estates committed to their care, it was proved that "the +property, instead of being employed for the general benefit of the +town, had been consumed for the partial benefit of a few +individuals, and not unfrequently in the feastings and +entertainments in which the mayor and other corporators had been in +the habit of indulging. In some not very large boroughs these +expenses had amounted to £500 and £600 a year; and the +enjoyment had been confined to freemen of only one party." And the +perpetuity of this mismanagement was in most instances secured by +the members of the corporation themselves electing their new +colleagues on the occasion of any vacancy.</p> +<p>To put an end to this discreditable state of affairs, the +government had prepared a very sweeping scheme of reform, though +that it was not too sweeping was proved by the approval with which +not only its principle but most of its details were received by the +greater part of the Opposition; the leading principle being, to +quote the words of the minister in introducing the bill, "that +there should be one uniform government instituted, applicable to +all; one uniform franchise for the purpose of election; and a like +description of officers in each, with the exception of some of the +larger places, in which there would be a recorder, or some other +such magistrate. The first thing to be amended was the mode of +election to the corporation, which was now to be intrusted to all +such rate-payers in each borough as had paid poor-rates for three +years, and resided within seven miles of the place." Lord John +Russell had considered, he said, "whether this franchise should be +limited to those paying a certain amount of rates; to the ten-pound +householders, for instance, to whom the parliamentary franchise was +confined;" but he decided on proposing to extend it to <i>all</i> +rate-payers, because, according to the established principle, to +the known and recognized principle of the constitution, it is right +that those who contribute their money should have a voice in the +election of the persons by whom the money is expended. The old +modes of acquiring the freedom of a corporation, such as birth, +apprenticeship, etc., were to be abolished, as also were all +exclusive rights of trade, vested rights, however, being preserved. +The next point to be decided was the composition of the corporation +which these rate-payers were to elect, and the ministerial proposal +was that each corporation should consist of a mayor, aldermen, and +councillors, possessing a certain amount of property as a +qualification, and varying in number according to the population of +the borough; the larger towns being also divided into wards, with a +certain number of common-councilmen and aldermen to be chosen in +each ward. The mayor was to be a yearly officer; of the aldermen +and councillors a certain number were to retire each year, being, +however, capable of re-election. The mayor was to be elected by the +councils, and was to be a magistrate during his year of office. And +the body thus constituted was to have the entire government of the +borough; of its police, its charities, and generally, and most +especially, of the raising and expenditure of its funds,[<a href= +"#note-239">239</a>] which had been too often dealt with in a +manner not only wasteful, but profligate. Cases had been brought +forward in which "corporations had been incurring debts year by +year, while the members were actually dividing among themselves the +proceeds of the loans they raised." The revenue derived from +charitable estates had been "no less scandalously mismanaged." And +the bill provided for the appointment of finance committees, +trustees, auditors, and a regular publication of all the accounts, +as the only efficient remedy and preventive of such abuses. The +whole police of the town and administration of justice was also to +be completely under the control of the council; and for the +appointment of magistrates the council was to have the power of +recommending to the crown those whom they thought fit to receive +the commission of the peace; and in the large towns it should have +power also to provide a salary for stipendiary magistrates. Another +clause provided that towns which could not as yet be included in +the bill, since they had never been incorporated, might obtain +charters of incorporation by petition to the Privy Council.</p> +<p>Such were the general provisions of this great measure of +reform; a bill similar in principle having already been enacted for +Scotland, and another being shortly after passed, with such +variations of detail as the differences in the circumstances of the +country required, for Ireland. Some of the clauses, especially +those which preserved the vested rights of freemen and their +families, and which required a certain amount of property or rating +qualifications in the town councillors, were not originally +included in the bill, but were inserted as amendments in the House +of Lords; and it may be remarked that the result of the discussion +in that House afforded a proof of the sagacity of those peers who, +though conscientiously opposed to the Reform Bill, preferred +allowing it to pass by their own retirement from the final +divisions to driving the minister to carry his point by a creation +of peers, since the avoidance of such an addition to their numbers +as had been threatened enabled them now to force the adoption of +these amendments on a reluctant minister. And it seems difficult to +deny that the first was required by justice, and that the second +was most desirable in the interests of the measure itself. Without +it the town councillors, from among whom the mayor was to be +chosen, might have been selected from the poorest, the least +educated, and least independent class of the rate-payers. In some +boroughs, or in some wards of many boroughs, it may be regarded as +certain that they would have been so chosen; and such an admixture +of unfit persons would have tended to bring some degree of +discredit on the whole council, while to the successful +inauguration of a new system the establishment of a general feeling +of respect for it and confidence in it was of primary importance. +The danger, too, of so ill-judged a selection would have been +greatest in the larger boroughs, those being, at the same time, the +very places in which the occasional difficulty of maintaining order +and tranquillity made it even more necessary than in smaller towns +that the council should enjoy the esteem and confidence of their +fellow-citizens.</p> +<p>The principle that every man who contributed to the rates had a +right to claim a voice in the election of those who were to expend +them, which the minister laid down as the justification of the +clause conferring the municipal franchise on all the rate-payers, +was strongly contested by Sir Robert Peel, though neither he nor +those of his party in the Upper House proposed any alteration of +the bill in this respect; but he pointed out that, though Lord John +affirmed it to be the known and recognized principle of the +constitution, he had not acted on it in the Reform Bill; and it is +certainly open to question whether the adoption of some limitation +would not have been an improvement on the present measure. The +doctrine established in this instance by Lord John gave a +preponderance at every municipal election to mere numbers, since +the poorest class is everywhere the most numerous, and its +admission led almost inevitably to a reduction of the parliamentary +franchise at some future day, though certainly at this time, and +for many years afterward, Lord John was far from contemplating any +alteration of the Reform Bill, but, on the contrary, took every +opportunity of proclaiming his adherence to it as a final solution +of the question.</p> +<p>But though in this particular it is possible that the bill might +have been improved, it must be allowed to have been a measure very +creditable to its framers. Few reforms have been conceived in a +more judicious and more moderate spirit; few have been so carefully +limited to the removal of real and proved abuses, and the +prevention of their recurrence, while avoiding any concessions to +the insidious demands of revolutionists, or the ill-regulated +fancies of metaphysical theorists. It was a reform strictly in +accordance with some of the most important principles of the +constitution, as they have been gradually developed by the +practical experience of successive generations. It combined with +felicitous skill representative with local government; it secured +uniformity in working, and that peculiarly English principle of +publicity, without which the best-devised system cannot long be +preserved from degeneracy.</p> +<p>The Church reforms in England and Ireland, which were carried +out about the same time, cannot be said to have involved any +constitutional principle, though one of them greatly extended the +principle of religious toleration and indulgence to the Dissenters +of various sects. No alteration had been made in the Marriage Act +of 1754, which declared it indispensable to the validity of a +marriage that it should be performed in a church and by a clergyman +of the Established Church. And it was not strange that this should +be felt as a grievance by those who were not in communion with that +Church. But some of the Dissenting sects had an additional cause of +discontent in the words of the marriage service, which gave a +religious character to the ceremony, while they regarded it as a +civil contract. In his short administration Sir Robert Peel had +recognized the validity of the arguments against the unmodified +maintenance of the existing law, and had framed a measure +calculated, in his view, to give the Dissenters the relief their +title to which could not be denied. But his bill had been +extinguished by his retirement. And Lord John Russell now availed +himself of the machinery of another measure, which he introduced at +the same time, to make the relief somewhat wider and more +effective.</p> +<p>Hitherto there was no record of births and marriages beyond that +which was preserved in the registers of different parishes, which +in former years had in many instances been carelessly and +inaccurately kept. But at the beginning of 1836, the ministers, +justly urging that it was important, in a national point of view, +both with regard to the security of titles to property, and to that +knowledge of the state of population the value of which was +recognized by the establishment of the practice of taking a +decennial census, that there should be a general register of all +such occurrences, introduced a bill to establish a registry and +registrar in every Poor-law union, with a farther registry for each +county, and a chief or still more general one in London for the +whole kingdom, subject to the authority of the Poor-law +Commissioners. And by a second bill they farther proposed that the +registries to be thus established should be offices at which those +who desired to do so might contract purely civil marriages. +Previous clauses in it provided that members of any sect of +Protestant Dissenters might be married in their own chapels, and by +ministers of their own persuasion. After enactments removing all +the civil disabilities under which Nonconformists had labored for +one hundred and fifty years had been placed on the statute-book, it +was clearly inconsistent in the highest degree to retain still more +offensive and unreasonable religious disabilities, and to deny to +them the right of being married by their own ministers, according +to the rites most agreeable to their consciences or prejudices. And +though some of the details of the ministerial measure were objected +to and slightly altered in its passage through Parliament, the +general principle was admitted by the warmest friends and most +recognized champions of the Established Church, who wisely felt +that a bulwark which is too ill-placed or too unsubstantial to be +defended, is often a treacherous source of weakness rather than +strength, and that a temperate recognition of the validity of +claims founded on justice was the best protection against others +which had no such foundation, and that measures such as these +adopted in a spirit of generous conciliation could only strengthen +the Church by taking at least one weapon from the hands of its +enemies.</p> +<p>Another of the measures relating to the Church, of which Peel +had prepared a sketch, had for its object the removal of a +grievance of which the members of the Church itself had long been +complaining, the mode of the collection of tithe. It would be +superfluous here to endeavor to trace the origin of tithes, or the +purposes beyond the sustentation of the clergymen to which they +were originally applied.[<a href="#note-240">240</a>] They had +undoubtedly been established in England some time before the +Conquest, and the principle that the land should support the +National Church was admitted by a large majority of the population; +it may probably be said with something nearly approaching unanimity +on the part of those who really paid it, namely, the land-owners. +The objection to the tithe system was founded rather on the way in +which it worked, operating, as Lord John Russell described it, as +"a discouragement to industry; a penalty on agricultural skill; a +heavy mulct on those who expended the most capital and displayed +the greatest skill in the cultivation of the land." The present +mode of levying the tithes forced the clergy to forbearance at the +expense of what they deemed to be their rights, or led them to +enforce them at the expense of the influence which they ought to +possess with their parishioners, compelling them to lose either +their income by their indulgence, or their proper weight and +popularity in the parish by the exaction of what the law gave them +for "the support of themselves and their families." And this +dilemma was felt so keenly by the clergy themselves, that it had +become a very general feeling with them that, "if any sort of +commutation could be devised, they would be delighted to be +delivered from this objectionable mode of payment." Indeed, Sir +Robert Peel, whose measure of the preceding year had been chiefly +directed to the encouragement of voluntary commutations, had stated +to the House that there were already two thousand parishes in the +kingdom in which a commutation between the clergyman and his +parishioners had been agreed upon, and established as a durable +settlement by separate acts of Parliament. Indeed, arrangements of +this kind existed very generally; the parishes in which the tithe +was taken in kind being comparatively few, and the plan usually +adopted being for the occupier of land to pay the incumbent a fixed +annual sum bearing a certain proportion to his rent. But +arrangements which were optional were, of course, liable to be +rescinded; and Peel desired to establish a system which should be +universal and permanent. And with this view he had designed the +appointment of a temporary commission, one member of which should +be nominated by the Primate, as the representative of the Church, +under whose supervision the tithes of every parish in the kingdom +should be commuted into a rent-charge, regulated partly by the +composition which had hitherto been paid, and partly by the average +price of grain—wheat, barley, and oats. It was no new idea, +since as far back as 1791 Pitt had proposed a general commutation +of tithes for a corn rent, and had submitted a plan with that +object to the Primate, though circumstances of which we have no +accurate knowledge prevented him from proceeding with it.[<a href= +"#note-241">241</a>] Objections[<a href="#note-242">242</a>] were +taken to this last part of the arrangement, chiefly because it +would render perpetual the terms of existing compositions, the +extreme augmentation of them which was provided for in the bill +being only ten per cent., while it was notorious that the majority +of incumbents had shown such liberality in these matters that the +compositions rarely amounted to two-thirds of the sum to which they +were legally entitled. And it was hardly denied that the measure +did involve some sacrifice of the extreme legal rights of the +clergy; but it was urged and generally felt by the most judicious +friends of the Church that the peace and harmony which might be +expected to be the fruit of the measure was worth some sacrifice, +and the bill was passed with very general approval; a bill on +similar principles, with such variations as were required by the +differences between the two countries, being also passed for +Ireland.</p> +<p>The last measure on ecclesiastical subjects was also chiefly of +a financial character, though its details were calculated, some +directly, others indirectly, to produce benefits of a still more +important nature. The condition of the property of the bishops and +the ecclesiastical chapters had long been a subject of censorious +remark. The various dioceses differed greatly in extent, as did, +therefore, the labors of the diocesans. Some sees contained above +1000, one (London) even above 1200 parishes; others contained under +150. The revenues of some were very large, in one or two instances +approaching £20,000 a year, while those of others scarcely +exceeded £1000 or £1500 a year, thus affording incomes +palpably inadequate to the support of the Episcopal dignity; so +inadequate, indeed, that they were generally supplemented by the +addition of some better endowed deanery or canonry. It was +universally felt that such a deficiency and such a mode of +supplying it were in themselves a scandal, which was greatly +augmented by the system of translations to which it had given +birth. The poorer bishoprics would hardly have been accepted at all +had they not been regarded as stepping-stones to others of greater +value; and the hope of such promotion had in some cases the not +unnatural, however deplorable, effect of making the bishop anxious +to please the minister of the day, to whom alone he could look for +translation, by parliamentary subservience; and the still more +mischievous result (if possible) of rendering the whole Bench +liable to the same degrading suspicion; while the canonries and +prebends in the different chapters, whose revenues also varied +greatly, were in every diocese so numerous that they had become +nearly sinecures, the duties rarely exceeding residence for a +month, or, at the outside, six weeks in a year.</p> +<p>These abuses (for such they could not be denied to be) had +attracted the attention of Sir Robert Peel, who had appointed a +commission, of which many of the highest dignitaries of the Church +were members, and who, after very careful investigation and +deliberation, presented a series of reports on which the ministry +framed its measure. They proposed, as has already been mentioned in +connection with the labors of Sir Robert Peel, an amalgamation of +four of the smaller bishoprics at their next vacancy, in order +hereafter to provide for the addition of two new ones at +Manchester, or Lancaster, and Ripon, without augmenting the number +of bishops. Lord Melbourne apparently feared to provoke the +hostility of some of the extreme Reformers, who had recently +proposed to deprive the bishops of their seats in the House of +Lords, if he should attempt to increase the number of the spiritual +peers; though, as their number had been stationary ever since the +Reformation, while that of the lay peers had been quadrupled, such +an objection hardly seemed entitled to so much consideration. +Another clause was directed toward the establishment of greater +equality between the revenues of the different bishoprics, a step +which, besides its inherent reasonableness and equity, would +extinguish the desire of promotion by translation, except in a few +specified instances. Various reasons, sufficiently obvious and +notorious, rendered the two archbishoprics, and the bishoprics of +London, Durham, and Winchester, more costly to the occupants than +the other dioceses; and these were, therefore, left in possession +of larger revenues than the rest, proportionate to their wider +duties or heavier charges. But all the others were to be nearly +equal, none exceeding £5500, and none falling below +£4500; while the five richer sees were also the only ones to +which a prelate could be translated from another diocese. It +followed, almost as a matter of course, that the practice of +allowing a bishop to hold any other preferment was to cease with +the cessation of the cause that had led to such an abuse.</p> +<p>Another part of the bill provided for the suppression of such +canonries or prebends as might fairly be considered superfluous. +Four were considered sufficient for the proper performance of the +duties of each cathedral; and the extinction (after the lives of +the present holders) of the rest was designed to form a large fund, +to be at the disposal of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,[<a href= +"#note-243">243</a>] and to be applied by them chiefly to meet the +wants of the more populous parishes in different large towns, for +which it had hitherto been difficult to make any +provision,[<a href="#note-244">244</a>] by contributing to the +erection of additional churches, by increasing the incomes of the +incumbents in cases where it was insufficient, or in any other way +which the practical experience of the members of the commission +might suggest. One very important reform of a different kind was +also provided for in the abolition of pluralities, the bill +prohibiting the holding of two livings by the same person except +they were within ten miles of each other. The measure was objected +to by Sir Robert Inglis, who had represented Oxford as the peculiar +champion of Protestant and Church principles ever since 1829, and +by a party which shared his views, as one calculated to be "fatal +to the best interests of the Church." They looked on the property +of the Church and everything connected with it as invested with so +peculiar a character, that they not only contested the right of +Parliament to take any step to diminish its revenues or to change +the employment of them, but they even "disputed its right to +deprive one class of the clergy of any portion of their revenues +for the purpose of distributing it among another." But the +distinction thus made between Church property and that of any other +public body seems one which can hardly be supported. The purposes +for which ecclesiastical chapters or officials have been endowed +with possessions and revenues are undoubtedly of a more sacred +character than the duties imposed on lay corporations; but that +consideration cannot be regarded as affecting the tenure of those +possessions, or as inconsistent with the doctrine that they are +national property, bestowed by the nation on the Church for the +service and advantage of the people; deeply interested not only in +the maintenance of an Established Church, but in that Church being +in the highest possible degree efficient for its holy objects. +Being so bestowed and appropriated, that property must, on every +principle of the constitution, be subject to the control of the +national Parliament. And surely that control could never be more +legitimately exerted than in carrying out the recommendations of a +commission which numbered among its members several of the prelates +of the Church, whose profession and position were a guarantee for +their anxiety to preserve all the rights of the Church which +contributed to its credit or efficiency; while their matured +experience enabled them better than any other men to judge how to +reconcile the maintenance of its dignity with the extension of its +usefulness.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-226" id="note-226"> +<!-- Note Anchor 226 --></a>[Footnote 226: The second resolution +affirmed that "this House looks forward to a progressive +improvement in the character of the slave population, such as may +prepare them for a participation in those civil rights and +privileges which are enjoyed by other classes of his Majesty's +subjects." (Stapleton's "Life of Canning," iii., 98, where also +large extracts from the minister's speech are given.)]</p> +<p><a name="note-227" id="note-227"> +<!-- Note Anchor 227 --></a>[Footnote 227: Trinidad, St. Lucia, and +Demerara were the only British islands which had not separate +Legislatures.]</p> +<p><a name="note-228" id="note-228"> +<!-- Note Anchor 228 --></a>[Footnote 228: Miss Martineau. "History +of the Thirty Years' Peace," book iv., c. viii.]</p> +<p><a name="note-229" id="note-229"> +<!-- Note Anchor 229 --></a>[Footnote 229: Alison, "History of +Europe," 2d series, c. xxxi., sec. 74.]</p> +<p><a name="note-230" id="note-230"> +<!-- Note Anchor 230 --></a>[Footnote 230: In the debate on the +Registration Bill, in 1836, Lord John Russell stated that two +hundred and twenty eight unions had already been formed in England +and Wales, and that it might be calculated that when the whole +country was divided into unions the entire number would amount to +something more than eight hundred.]</p> +<p><a name="note-231" id="note-231"> +<!-- Note Anchor 231 --></a>[Footnote 231: See Lord Althorp's +speech, of parts of which an abstract is given in the +text.—<i>Parliamentary Debates</i>, xxii., April 17.]</p> +<p><a name="note-232" id="note-232"> +<!-- Note Anchor 232 --></a>[Footnote 232: Lord Althorp made the +following frightful statement of the crimes committed in the +province of Leinster alone in the last three months of 1832 and the +first three of 1833: 207 murders, 271 cases of arson. The assaults +attended with grievous personal injury were above 1000; burglaries +and robberies, above 3000.]</p> +<p><a name="note-233" id="note-233"> +<!-- Note Anchor 233 --></a>[Footnote 233: It was often asserted +that fourteen-fifteenths of the land in Ireland belonged to +Protestants, but this estimate was, probably, an exaggeration.]</p> +<p><a name="note-234" id="note-234"> +<!-- Note Anchor 234 --></a>[Footnote 234: "Memoirs of Sir Robert +Peel," ii., 3, 19.]</p> +<p><a name="note-235" id="note-235"> +<!-- Note Anchor 235 --></a>[Footnote 235: "Memoirs of Sir Robert +Peel," pp. 31, 32.]</p> +<p><a name="note-236" id="note-236"> +<!-- Note Anchor 236 --></a>[Footnote 236: "One important question +I found practically, and perhaps unavoidably, decided before my +arrival, namely, the dissolution of the existing Parliament. Every +one seemed to have taken it for granted that the Parliament must be +dissolved, and preparations had accordingly been made almost +universally for the coming contest."—<i>Peel's Memoirs</i>, +ii., 43.]</p> +<p><a name="note-237" id="note-237"> +<!-- Note Anchor 237 --></a>[Footnote 237: "Middle Ages," ii., 31 +<i>seq</i>. See also Stubbs, "Constitutional History," i., 82-92 +<i>et seq.</i>]</p> +<p><a name="note-238" id="note-238"> +<!-- Note Anchor 238 --></a>[Footnote 238: See Hallam's +"Constitutional History," ii., 155.]</p> +<p><a name="note-239" id="note-239"> +<!-- Note Anchor 239 --></a>[Footnote 239: This was a matter of no +small importance. The number of boroughs included in the bill was +183, having a population of about two millions. Their annual income +was stated by Lord John Russell to be as nearly as possible +£2000 a year for each, being £367,000; but their annual +expenditure exceeded that amount by £10,000, being +£377,000; "besides which there was a debt of £2,000,000 +owing by these bodies."]</p> +<p><a name="note-240" id="note-240"> +<!-- Note Anchor 240 --></a>[Footnote 240: See Hallam, "Middle +Ages," ii., 205-207.]</p> +<p><a name="note-241" id="note-241"> +<!-- Note Anchor 241 --></a>[Footnote 241: "Life of Pitt," ii., +131. Lord Stanhope imagines that the plan was relinquished in +consequence of discouraging comments by the Archbishop (Dr. +Moore).]</p> +<p><a name="note-242" id="note-242"> +<!-- Note Anchor 242 --></a>[Footnote 242: These objections were +founded on the following calculations, or something similar to +them. The tithe was the tenth of the produce. In letting estates it +was estimated that a farm ought to produce three rents; in other +words, that a farm let at £1 an acre ought to produce yearly +£3 an acre. One-tenth of three pounds, or 6s., therefore, was +what the clergyman was entitled to claim. Out of this, however, he +had to defray the cost of collection, which might, perhaps, be one +shilling, leaving him five shillings. But the average of +compositions over the whole kingdom was under 2s. 9d., or +eleven-twentieths of what he was entitled to; and if augmented by +ten per cent., it would not exceed three shillings.]</p> +<p><a name="note-243" id="note-243"> +<!-- Note Anchor 243 --></a>[Footnote 243: The fund so created was +expected to amount to £130,000 a year.]</p> +<p><a name="note-244" id="note-244"> +<!-- Note Anchor 244 --></a>[Footnote 244: As instances of the want +of church-room in such towns, Lord John cited the dioceses of +London, Chester, York, Lichfield, and Coventry, containing a +population of 2,590,000 persons, with church accommodation for only +276,000, or one-ninth of the population; the Commissioners, from +whose report he was quoting, reckoning that church-room ought to be +provided for one-third.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH11" id="CH11"><!-- CH11 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Death of William IV., and Accession of Queen +Victoria.—Rise of the Chartists.—Resignation of Lord +Melbourne in 1839, and his Resumption of Office.—Marriage of +the Queen, and Consequent Arrangements.—The Precedence of the +Prince, etc.—Post-office Reform.—War in +Afghanistan.—Discontent in Jamaica.—Insurrection in +Canada.—New Constitution for Canada and other +Colonies.—Case of Stockdale and Hansard.</p> +<p>The reforms mentioned in the preceding chapter were the last +measures of the reign of William IV. In the summer of the next +year, 1837, he died, and was succeeded in his British, though not +in his Hanoverian, dominions by our present gracious sovereign, who +had only just arrived at the age which entitled her to exercise the +full authority of the crown. The change was calculated to +strengthen the crown, by enlisting the chivalrous feelings of all +that was best in the nation in the support of a youthful Queen, and +in a lesser degree it for a time strengthened the ministry also; +but, with respect to the latter, the feeling did not last long. For +the next three years the summers were very unfavorable to the +farmer; the harvests were bad; the inevitable accompaniment of a +rise in prices had caused severe and general distress, and distress +had produced clamorous discontent, and in some districts formidable +riots. It had been greatly aggravated in the manufacturing counties +by the operations of the trades-unions, which had gradually put +forth pretensions to regulate the wages and other conditions of +work, and had enforced them with such tyrannical violence, not +flinching from the foulest crimes, that in many instances they had +driven the masters to close their factories rather than submit to +their mandates; and in others had compelled the workmen themselves +to discontinue their labors, thus spreading destitution among +thousands whose earnings, if they had been allowed to consult their +own wishes, would have been amply sufficient for the support of +their families;[<a href="#note-245">245</a>] and the evil had grown +to such a height, that in 1838 a committee was appointed by the +House of Commons to investigate the whole subject of trade +combinations. But the turbulent spirit excited by this distress did +not now confine itself to single outbreaks of violence, but, under +the guidance of some demagogues of a more methodical turn of mind +than usual, developed itself in a systematic organization having +for its object what they called "the people's charter," which aimed +at a total revolution of the existing parliamentary system, with +the avowed design that, when adopted, it should eventually lead to +an entire reconstruction of the government. The Chartists, as they +called themselves, had advocates even in Parliament, who presented +their petitions to the House of Commons, and tried, though +unsuccessfully, to give them importance by the appointment of a +committee to investigate the character of the reforms which they +demanded. They were not, however, contented with peaceful modes of +pressing their demands, but, in the course of the summer of 1839, +broke out in formidable riots in different parts of the country. At +Birmingham they set fire to different parts of the town, carrying +on their work of pillage and destruction to such a pitch that the +Duke of Wellington compared the condition of the town to one taken +by storm in regular warfare; and at Newport, in Monmouthshire, they +even planned and carried out an attack on the troops quartered in +the district. But this violence led for a time to the suppression +of the movement, the leaders in the Newport riots being convicted +of high-treason; and, though the government forbore to put the +extreme severities of the law in force against them, those who +remained unconvicted had been taught by their example the danger +which they incurred by such proceedings; and some years elapsed +before a series of revolutionary troubles on the Continent again +gave a momentary encouragement to those in this country who +sympathized with the revolutionists, and prompted them to another +attempt to force their views upon the government and the +people.</p> +<p>It had nearly, however, been another ministry on whom the task +of quelling these riots had fallen. Though, as has been already +said, Lord Melbourne's cabinet derived a momentary strength from +the accession of a young Queen, the support it thus acquired did +not last; and in May, 1839, having been defeated on a measure of +colonial policy, which will be mentioned <a href= +"#govcarried">hereafter</a>, the cabinet resigned. The Queen +intrusted the task of forming a new administration to Sir Robert +Peel, who undertook it with a reasonable confidence that he should +be able to hold his ground better than formerly, now that the +retirement of his predecessors was their own act, and admitted by +them to have been caused by a consciousness of the divisions among +their supporters and their own consequent weakness. He had the +greater reason for such confidence, since two of the colleagues of +Lord Grey who had refused his offers in 1834, Lord Stanley and Sir +James Graham, were now willing to unite with him; and he had almost +completed his arrangements, when he was stopped by an unexpected, +though not altogether unprecedented, impediment. It will be +recollected that, in 1812, some of the arrangements for the +formation of a new administration on the death of Mr. Perceval were +impeded by a doubt which was felt in some quarters whether the new +ministers would be allowed to remove one or two officers of the +household, to whom the Regent was generally understood to be +greatly attached, but who were hostile to the party which hoped to +come into power, though it was afterward known that these officers +had felt themselves bound to retire as soon as the arrangements in +contemplation should be completed.[<a href="#note-246">246</a>] Sir +Robert Peel was now met by a difficulty of the same kind, but one +which the retiring ministers had the address to convert into a real +obstacle. The Queen, who had warm affections, but who could not +possibly have yet acquired any great knowledge of business, had +become attached to the ladies whom Lord Melbourne had appointed to +the chief places in her household. It had never occurred to her to +regard their offices in a political light; and, consequently, when +she found that Sir Robert considered it indispensable that some +changes should be made in those appointments, she at once refused +her consent, terming his proposal one "contrary to usage and +repugnant to her feelings." Sir Robert, however, felt bound to +adhere to his request for the removal of some of the ladies in +question; for, in fact, they were the wives and sisters of his +predecessors, and a continuance of their daily intercourse with the +Queen might reasonably be expected to have some influence over her +Majesty's judgment of the measures which he might feel it his duty +to propose. Such a difficulty could not have arisen under a male +sovereign; but Lord Melbourne himself had departed from the +ordinary practice when he surrounded his royal mistress with ladies +so closely identified with his cabinet. It is very possible that he +had originally made the appointments without any such design, from +the careless indifference which was his most marked characteristic; +but he cannot be so easily acquitted when, in reply to the Queen's +application to him for advice on the subject, he, being joined in +his assertion by Lord John Russell, assured her that Sir Robert +Peel's demand was unjustifiable and unprecedented. Supported by the +positive dictum of the ministers on whose judgment she had hitherto +been bound to rely, the Queen naturally adhered to her decision of +refusing to permit the removal of the ladies in question, and the +result was that Sir Robert Peel declined to take office under +circumstances of difficulty beyond those to which every new +minister must of necessity be exposed, and Lord Melbourne and his +colleagues resumed their posts. The transaction was, of course, +canvassed in both Houses of Parliament. Sir Robert Peel and the +Duke of Wellington, who was the spokesman of the party in the House +of Lords, defended their refusal to undertake the government on any +other condition than that for which they had stipulated, on the +ground that the authority to make such changes in the household as +they had proposed was indispensable, as a proof of their possession +of her Majesty's confidence; while Lord Melbourne, with a strange +exaggeration, defended the advice which he had given her Majesty by +the assertion that to have complied with Sir Robert Peel's proposal +would have been "inconsistent with her personal honor." Other +arguments on the same side were based on the alleged cruelty of +separating her Majesty "from the society of her earliest friends, +her old and constant companions;" an argument which was disposed of +by Lord Brougham's remark, that till she had become Queen (not yet +two years before) she had had no acquaintance with them +whatever.[<a href="#note-247">247</a>]</p> +<p>But it is needless to dwell at any length on the case, in which +all subsequent historians and political critics, however generally +prepossessed in favor of the Liberal ministers, have given up their +position as untenable. Her Majesty herself kept strictly on the +path of the constitution in guiding herself by the counsels of +those who, till their successors were appointed, were still her +responsible advisers. But the course which they recommended was +absolutely irreconcilable with one fundamental principle of the +constitution—the universal responsibility of the ministers. +In denying the right of the incoming ministers to remodel the +household (or any other body of offices) in whatever degree they +might consider requisite, they were clearly limiting the +ministerial authority. To limit the ministerial authority is to +limit the ministerial responsibility; to limit the ministerial +responsibility is to impose some portion of responsibility (that +portion from which it relieves the minister) on the sovereign +himself, a dangerous consequence from which the constitution most +carefully protects him. In fact, that the advice Lord Melbourne +gave was indefensible was tacitly confessed by himself, when, on +the recurrence of the same emergency two years later, he was +compelled to recommend a different course;[<a href= +"#note-248">248</a>] and the ladies whom Sir Robert had considered +it necessary to remove anticipated their dismissal by voluntary +resignation. It may be added that, at the close of this same year, +Lord Melbourne himself insisted on nominating the private secretary +to the Prince whom the Queen was about to marry, though no one +could pretend that offices in his household were as important as +those in that of the sovereign; and though, if there was any post +in which the Prince might have been supposed to have a right to an +unfettered choice, that might have been supposed to have been the +office of his private secretary.[<a href="#note-249">249</a>]</p> +<p>Her Majesty's marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, her +first cousin—one tending as greatly to the happiness of +herself and the advantage of the nation as any royal marriage +recorded in history—took place in the beginning of 1840; and +in the preparatory arrangements—matters of far greater +consequence to the Queen's feelings than any appointments in the +household—the ministry, by singular mismanagement, contrived +to force the consideration of other constitutional questions on +Parliament in such a way that the conclusions which were adopted, +however inevitable, could hardly fail to be mortifying and +vexatious to her Majesty, in whose cup of happiness at such a +moment special care ought rather to have been taken to prevent the +admixture of any such alloy. In the matter of the annuity to be +settled on the young Prince, the Opposition must, indeed, share the +blame with the minister. If it was unpardonable carelessness in the +latter to omit the usual practice of previously consulting the +leaders of the Opposition on the amount of the grant to be +proposed, it was not the less impolitic and unworthy of such men as +the Duke and Sir Robert Peel to show their disapproval of the +inattention by a curtailment of the grant. The sum proposed, +£50,000 a year, was fairly justified by the fact of its being +the same which twenty-four years before had been settled on the +Prince's uncle, Leopold, on his marriage with the Princess +Charlotte. Indeed, if there were to be any difference, the +circumstances might have been regarded as warranting an increase +rather than a diminution of it. Money was certainly more plentiful +in 1840 than in 1816, and the husband of an actual Queen occupied, +beyond all question, a higher position than the husband of the +heiress-presumptive, who might never become Queen, and who, in +fact, never did. We cannot think, therefore, that the reduction of +£20,000, which Sir Robert Peel proposed and carried, was +reasonable or becoming, but regard it as neither called for by the +circumstances of the kingdom, nor as befitting its liberality, nor +as in harmony with its practice.</p> +<p>But on the two other questions—one immediately affecting +the constitution, and the other not absolutely unconnected with +it—no defence of the minister seems available. At the opening +of Parliament in 1840, her Majesty commenced her speech by the +announcement of her intended marriage, describing the bridegroom +simply as "the Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha," the same +expression which she had used in addressing the Privy Council a few +weeks before. That description of him had at once struck her uncle, +Leopold—who, since the death of his English wife, the +Princess Charlotte, had become King of Belgium—as so +imperfect and insufficient, that, on reading her address to the +Privy Council, he at once wrote to her to point out that it would +have been desirable to mention the fact of the Prince being a +Protestant,[<a href="#note-250">250</a>] and that the omission +would inevitably cause discontent. But, in spite of this warning, +Lord Melbourne refused to advise the Queen to insert a statement of +the Prince's religion in her speech, though it was by no means +superfluous on such an occasion, since, if he were a Roman +Catholic, a marriage with him would have incurred a forfeiture of +the crown. The Duke of Wellington, on the other hand, regarded it +as a positive duty to require that the fact of the Prince being a +Protestant should be mentioned, so as to show the care of +Parliament to prevent any constitutional precautions from being +overlooked, such statement having, indeed, been usually made on +similar occasions. When he, therefore, moved an amendment to insert +the word "Protestant" in the description of the Prince, Lord +Melbourne did not venture to divide the House against it; but still +his management gave an ungracious appearance to the transaction, as +if there had been in any quarter an unwillingness to recognize the +fact of the Prince's Protestantism till the recognition was forced +on the government by the action of the Parliament.</p> +<p>The third question, as affecting the relative ranks and +positions of the different members of the royal family, cannot be +said to have been wholly unconnected with the provisions of the +constitution; and the mismanagement of the minister was, perhaps, +even more sure to attract notice in this case than in the other, +since to introduce into a bill a clause which had no connection +whatever with its title had something of the appearance of a +deliberate slight to the two Houses. A bill to naturalize the +Prince was, of course, indispensable. But into it the ministers, +without any notice, had introduced a clause enabling him "during +his life to take precedence in rank after her Majesty in Parliament +and elsewhere as her Majesty might think fit and proper, any law, +statute, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." It was +admitted that no such precedence had been given to Prince George of +Denmark, nor to Prince Leopold. And there were obvious difficulties +in the way of conferring such a life-long precedence, because, as +Lord Brougham had pointed out, it was possible that the Queen might +die without issue, in which case the King of Hanover would become +King of England also, and his son the Prince of Wales; and it would +have been an inconceivable anomaly that a foreign naturalized +prince should take precedence of the Prince of Wales, whose special +rank and importance was recognized in many acts of Parliament. This +objection was so clearly insuperable, that Lord Melbourne consented +to alter the clause so as to give the Prince precedence only "after +the heir-apparent." But even this concession failed to satisfy the +objectors, the King of Hanover, among others, positively refusing +to waive his precedence over any foreign prince. And eventually the +minister withdrew the clause altogether, and the bill, as it was +passed, was confined to the naturalization of the Prince. Lord +Melbourne had thus contrived to make the Queen and Prince appear as +if they were desirous to induce the two Houses by a sort of trick +to confer on the Prince a precedence and dignity to which he was +not entitled, and to render the refusal of Parliament to be so +cajoled a fresh cause of mortification to the royal pair. The +course that was eventually adopted is understood to have been +suggested by the Duke of Wellington—to withdraw the affair +altogether from the cognizance of Parliament, and to leave it to +the Queen to confer on the Prince whatever precedence she might +choose, as it was certainly within her right to do. And so, a few +days after the bill had passed, she did by letters-patent give him +precedence next to herself "on all occasions and in all meetings, +except when otherwise provided by act of Parliament," as, seventeen +years later, she, in the same way, with the cordial approval of the +whole nation, conferred on him the title of Prince Consort. And +apart from its convenience, as avoiding all unseemly discussions, +this would seem to have been the most natural and proper mode of +settling such a matter. The Queen is the fountain of honor in this +kingdom, and at her own court she can certainly confer on any of +her own subjects whatever precedence she may think fit, while it +may be doubted whether any act of a British Parliament could give +precedence at a foreign court. It was, probably, not in his +character of Duke of Cumberland, but as an independent sovereign, +that the King of Hanover maintained his claim to superior +precedence; and it was plain that the most illustrious subject +could not possibly at any court be allowed to rank above a king. +With reference to its possible effect on the subsequent relations +of Peel and his followers with the court, it was, perhaps, well +that a few months later they had the opportunity of proving that no +personal objection to the Prince himself had influenced their +course in these transactions, by giving a cordial assent to the +ministerial proposal of conferring the Regency on him in the event +of the Queen giving an heir to the throne, and dying while he was +still a minor. The principle was the same as that which had guided +the arrangements for a Regency ten years before; but it was not +inconceivable that Parliament might have hesitated to intrust so +large an authority to so very young a man, and him a comparative +stranger, such as the Prince still was, had the leaders of the +Opposition given the slightest countenance to such an +objection.</p> +<p>Lord Melbourne's ministry was hardly strengthened by the +circumstances under which it resumed office. Yet the close of the +same year witnessed a reform of which it is hardly too much to say +that no single measure of this century has contributed more to the +comfort of the whole mass of the people, with which it has also +combined solid commercial benefits. Hitherto the Post-office had +been managed in a singular manner, and the profit derived from it +had been treated as something distinct from the ordinary revenue of +the kingdom. In the reign of Charles II. it had been given to the +Duke of York, and the grant was regarded as conferring on him such +extensive rights, that when, some years afterward, an enterprising +citizen set up a penny post for the delivery of letters in the City +and its precincts, the Duke complained of the scheme as an +infraction of his monopoly, and the courts of law decided in his +favor. That grant ceased, as a matter of course, on the Duke's +accession to the throne; and in the reign of Queen Anne a portion +of the Post-office proceeds was appropriated, with the general +consent of a grateful country, to reward the great achievements of +the Duke of Malborough, a perpetual charge on it of £5000 a +year being annexed to the dukedom. In those days the postage of a +letter was twopence for short distances, and threepence for any +distance beyond eighty miles.[<a href="#note-251">251</a>] But +those charges had been gradually increased; about the middle of the +century the lowest charge was fixed at fourpence, rising in +proportion to the distance, till the conveyance of a single letter +from one extremity of the kingdom to the other cost eighteen-pence. +Such a rate could not fail to be very profitable; and by the +beginning of the present reign the yearly profit exceeded a million +and a half of money. The heaviness of the charge, however, had +latterly attracted attention, and had been the cause of many +complaints, as being a great discouragement, and, in the case of +the poorer classes, a complete obstacle to communication. However, +neither the ministers nor the Parliament had succeeded in devising +any remedy, since a system affording so large a return was not a +thing lightly to tamper with, when those who complained suddenly +found a practical leader in Mr. Rowland Hill, who published a +pamphlet on the subject, in which he affirmed the cost of the +conveyance of each letter even for such a distance as from London +to Edinburgh to be infinitely less than a farthing; and that, +consequently, all the rest of the postage was a tax for the +purposes of revenue. When this fact was once established, it needed +no argument to prove that to increase the tax paid by each +recipient of a letter in proportion to the distance at which he +lived from the writer was an indefensible unfairness; and, after +much investigation and discussion, Mr. Hill succeeded in converting +the ministers to his view. Accordingly, the Budget for 1839, +introduced by Mr. Spring Rice, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, +contained a clause which reduced the postage for every letter +weighing less than an ounce to a uniform charge of a penny, to be +prepaid by means of a stamp to be affixed to each letter by the +sender. It was not without plainly-expressed reluctance that the +scheme was consented to by the Opposition; nor can their hesitation +be considered as unreasonable, in the very unsatisfactory condition +of the finances of the kingdom at the time. The balance-sheet of +the preceding year showed a considerable deficiency. There was a +large unfunded debt; and even Mr. Hill's most sanguine calculations +admitted a probable loss to the Post-office of £1,200,000 for +the first year or two; though he expressed his confidence that +eventually the correspondence of the kingdom would be found to +increase so largely as to make up for the greater part, if not the +whole, of the deficiency. His anticipations were far outran by the +reality.</p> +<p>In 1839 the Postmaster-general estimated the number of letters +sent yearly by the post at less than twenty-five millions. They are +now upward of a thousand millions, a number the conveyance of which +(with the addition of newspapers, whose circulation had also been +greatly augmented by a recent reduction of the tax to a penny) +would have severely taxed the whole carrying power of the kingdom +before the introduction of railroads. Nor have the benefits of the +new system been confined to ourselves. Foreign nations have +followed our example, though not quite in the same degree, till an +international postage is at length established throughout the whole +of the civilized world. And it has not been only the happiness of +private individuals that has been augmented by this facility of +communication. In its gradual development it has largely promoted +the extension of trade of every kind, and, by facilitating a +commercial intercourse between nations, it cannot but contribute to +the maintenance of friendship and peace.</p> +<p>The full advantages of this reform could not be seen at first; +but, even had it been appreciated as fully as we appreciate it now, +no approval of it could have counterbalanced the general +dissatisfaction with which the ministry was regarded. At home the +finances were falling into great disorder, the expenditure of the +year greatly exceeding the income; while the feeling that their +Irish policy was dictated by a wish to purchase at any price the +support of O'Connell, was still more injurious to them, for he was +already beginning to renew agitation in Ireland, inaugurating a new +association, which, though its purposes were faintly veiled for a +time under the title of the Precursor Association, was understood +to point at a repeal of the Union; while the ministers, though they +denounced such a measure as ruinous to every part of the kingdom, +seemed willing to give it practical encouragement by a bill which +they introduced, which bore the name of a Registration Act for +Ireland, but which was not confined to that object. On the +contrary, it contained a provision for lowering the qualification +for the franchise by one-half; so that it was, in fact, a new +Reform Bill for Ireland,[<a href="#note-252">252</a>] calculated +greatly to increase his influence by the number of voters of the +poorer classes whom it would create. The bill was defeated, but the +odium of having proposed it remained.</p> +<a name="afghan" id="afghan"></a> +<p>But, besides these home difficulties, there were troubles +abroad, both in the East and in the West. In the East, the +complications inseparable from a dominion like that of ours in +India, where constant expansion seemed to have become a law of its +existence, had involved us in a war with a new enemy, the warlike +Afghan nation; in the West, both Jamaica and Canada were in a state +threatening insurrection. Indeed, the troubles in Jamaica had been +the immediate cause of that resignation of the ministry in 1839 +which has already been mentioned. Measures adopted in the English +Parliament with reference to the termination of that apprenticeship +system which, as we have seen, formed a part of the bill for the +abolition of slavery, and another for the regulation of the prisons +in the island, had given such offence to the colonial Assembly, +never very manageable, that the members passed a resolution that +their legislative rights had been violated, and that they would +abstain from all exercise of their legislative functions, except +such as might be necessary "to preserve inviolate the faith of the +island with the public creditor, until" (by the rescinding of the +resolutions, etc., of which they complained) "they should be left +to the free exercise of their inherent rights as British subjects." +And this resolution was seconded by an insulting protest, in which +they drew an offensive comparison between the state of crime in the +island and that which prevailed in Great Britain, taunting the +British Parliament with the murders and acts of incendiarism which +terrified Ireland night and day, with the murders of Burke and Hare +in Scotland, with the law of divorce and <i>crim. con.</i> trials +in England, and "a Poor-law which has taken millions from the +necessities of the destitute to add to the luxuries of the +wealthy." The Governor dissolved the Assembly, but that which +succeeded re-adopted the resolutions of its predecessor, and the +ministers, in consequence, brought in a bill "to suspend the +existing constitution of the island for a limited number of years, +and to provide that during that interval its legislative functions +should not be exercised by a Governor, a Council, and a House of +Assembly, but should reside in the Governor and Council alone." The +emergency was too great and undeniable, the remedy proposed was +also too unprecedented in its stringency, to be dealt with without +the gravest deliberation; and the House of Commons accordingly gave +the matter the patient consideration which became both it and +themselves. They allowed the island to appear by counsel against +the bill, and listened for many hours to an elaborate defence of +the conduct of the Assembly, which if it failed to change the +intention of the ministers, convinced Sir Robert Peel and his party +that their measure was doubtful in its justification and impolitic +in its severity. He pointed out that "the bill was neither more nor +less than one for the establishment of a complete +despotism—one which would establish the most unqualified, +unchecked, unmitigated power that was ever yet applied to the +government of any community, in place of that liberal system which +had prevailed for upward of one hundred and fifty years." And, +though he did not for a moment question the power of Parliament to +pass such a measure, he greatly doubted the policy of such an +exertion of it. A somewhat similar measure affecting Canada they +had been compelled to enact in the preceding year, and he feared +lest "it might seem to be coming to be a practice of Parliament to +suspend a constitution every session." And he quoted a speech of +Canning, delivered fifteen years before, in which that eloquent +statesman, a man by no means inclined to a timorous policy, had +declared that "no feeling of wounded pride, no motive of +questionable expediency, nothing short of real and demonstrable +necessity, should ever induce him to moot the awful question of the +transcendental power of Parliament over every dependency of the +British crown. That transcendental power was an ordinance of +empire, which ought to be kept back within the penetralia of the +constitution. It exists, but it should be veiled. It should not be +produced on trifling occasions, or in cases of petty refractoriness +or temporary misconduct."</p> +<p>And Sir Robert, "looking at all the papers before the House, +could not say that there was here any vindication for bringing +forward this transcendental power." He asked whether "they had ever +treated with so much severity a conquered colony amid the first +heat of animosity after the contest." And he traced the history of +our government of the island back to the time of Charles II., +pointing out (as Burke had formerly argued with respect to our +Colonies in North America) that "Jamaica owed its colonization by +British subjects to the conquest that was made of it by the arms of +Cromwell; that its first English population was composed of those +who, disgusted with the excesses of the civil wars, there found a +refuge," and who had carried with them that attachment to liberty +which, as early as 1678, had led them successfully to repel the +attacks made on the privileges of their House of Assembly by the +ministers of Charles II. He warned the House, also, that if this +measure were passed, "a sympathy for the people of Jamaica would be +excited throughout the other West Indian possessions of the crown." +And, while fully admitting that the conduct of the Assembly had +been "foolish and unjustifiable," he still recommended that it +should be treated in a conciliatory spirit, which as yet had not +been shown toward it.</p> +<a name="govcarried" id="govcarried"></a> +<p>The government carried their proposal by a majority of no more +than five in a very full house, a success which they regarded as a +defeat, and, as has been already mentioned, resigned. But as the +state of the question and of the island did not admit of delay, on +their resumption of their offices they introduced a fresh measure, +which the Conservatives again curtailed of its most severe clauses, +and which, in the form in which it was eventually passed, gave the +Assembly time to reconsider its conduct, and, without the +humiliation of confessing itself guilty, to give a practical +recantation of their offensive resolutions, by resuming its work of +legislation, any farther delay of which would on many subjects be +very mischievous to the island itself. The distinct assertion by +both parties of the power of the Parliament to inflict even the +severest penalty enabled the Houses to take this conciliatory +course without loss of dignity; while the stern disapproval of the +conduct of the Assembly which the Conservative leader had +expressed, even when pleading for a milder treatment of it, +convinced the colonists that any protracted contumacy would be +dangerous, and would deprive them for the future of all title to +even the modified protection which on this occasion had saved +them.</p> +<p>In the discussion of these transactions, Peel, as we have seen, +had alluded to the affairs of Canada, which had been of a still +more serious complexion; since there the discontent of the +colonists in the Lower Province had developed into armed +insurrection. We have seen that, from the first moment after the +country had passed into our possession, there had been almost +constant dissensions between the old French colonists and the +English immigrants who crossed over both from England and from the +colonies on the southern side of the St. Lawrence in the early part +of the reign of George III. The desire of terminating these +divisions, which had their root in a difference of religion as well +as of race, the French settlers being Roman Catholics, had been one +of the chief motives which had led Pitt in 1791 to divide the +country into two provinces.[<a href="#note-253">253</a>] And for +many years the scheme was fairly successful; but, toward the end of +the reign of George IV., the political excitement caused by the +agitation in England of the question of Catholic Emancipation, and +subsequently of Reform, spread across the Atlantic to the Canadas; +and the French portion of the colonists, who almost monopolized the +representation in Lower Canada, began to urge the adoption of +changes utterly inconsistent with the existing constitution of the +colony. In the hope of compelling the compliance of the home +government with their demands, in 1832 and the following years they +refused to vote the necessary supplies; and, gaining courage, as it +were, from the contemplation of their own violence, and under the +guidance of a leader of French extraction, a M. Papineau, who +scarcely concealed his hope of effecting the complete severance of +the Lower Province from the British dominion, they proceeded to put +forth farther demands, which they regarded as plausible from the +apparent resemblance of the changes which they required to the +system of the English constitution, but which, to use the words in +which Sir Robert Peel described them, would have established "a +French republic." The most important of them were that the Upper or +Legislative Council should, like the Assembly, be rendered +elective, instead of, as had hitherto been the case, being +nominated by the crown. And another asked that the Executive +Council should be made responsible to the Assembly, in the same +manner as in England the ministers of the crown were responsible to +Parliament. As it was at once shown that the ministry at home had +no intention of granting these demands, Papineau collected a band +of malcontents in arms, with whom he took possession of one or two +small towns, and ventured even to measure his strength with the +Commander-in-chief of the province, Sir John Colborne, one of the +most distinguished of Wellington's comrades and pupils. His force +was utterly routed, and he himself fled across the frontier to New +York. A similar outbreak, excited in the Upper Province by a +newspaper editor, was crushed with equal ease and +rapidity.[<a href="#note-254">254</a>] And the next year, 1838, +Lord John Russell brought forward a bill to suspend the +constitution of the colony, and to confer on a new Governor, who +was at once to proceed thither, very ample powers for remodelling +the government of the province, subject, of course, to the sanction +of the home government. In the previous year he had succeeded in +carrying some resolutions announcing the determination of +Parliament not to concede the demands of the Assembly of the Lower +Province, which have been already mentioned. And the reasons which +he gave for this course are worth preserving, as expressing the +view recognized by Parliament of the relations properly existing +between the mother country and a colony. It was on a proper +understanding of them that he based his refusal to make the +Executive Council in Canada responsible to the Assembly. He held +such a step to be "entirely incompatible with those relations. +Those relations require that his Majesty should be represented, not +by a person removable by the House of Assembly, but by a Governor +sent out by the King, responsible to the King, and responsible to +the Parliament of Great Britain. This is the necessary constitution +of a colony; and if we have not these relations existing between +the mother country and the colony, we shall soon have an end of +these relations altogether." And he pointed out the practical +difficulties which might reasonably be apprehended if such a change +as was asked were conceded. "The person sent out by the King as +Governor, and those ministers in whom the Assembly confided, might +differ in opinion, and there would be at once a collision between +the measures of the King and the conduct of the representatives of +the colony."</p> +<p>The plan of sending out a new Governor free from any previous +association with either of the parties, or any of the recent +transactions in the colony, was, probably, the wisest that could +have been adopted. Unfortunately, it was in some degree marred by +the choice of the statesman sent out, Lord Durham, a man of +unquestioned ability, but of an extraordinarily self-willed and +overbearing temper. He drew up a most able report of the state of +the provinces, combined with recommendations of the course to be +pursued toward them in future, so judicious that subsequent +ministers, though widely differing from his views of general +politics, saw no better plan than that which he had suggested; but, +unhappily, the measures which he himself adopted, especially with +respect to the treatment of those who had been leaders in the late +rebellion, were such manifest violations of law, that the +government at home had no alternative but that of disallowing some +of them, and carrying a bill of indemnity for others. He took such +offence at their treatment of him, though it was quite inevitable, +that he at once resigned his appointment and returned home. But the +next year the Queen sent down a message to the Houses recommending +a union of the two provinces (a measure which had been the most +important, and the very foundation, of his suggestions), and Lord +John Russell introduced a bill which, as he described its object, +he hoped would "lay the foundation of a permanent settlement of the +affairs of the entire colony." The main feature of the government +policy was the formation of "a legislative union of the two +provinces on the principles of a free and representative +government," and the establishment of such a system of local +government as amounted to a practical recognition of the principle +so earnestly repudiated, as we have seen, by Lord John Russell a +year or two before. It was not, perhaps, fully carried out at +first. Lord Sydenham, who had succeeded Lord Durham, reported to +the home government, as the result of a tour which he had taken +through a great part of the country, that in the whole of the Upper +Province, and among the British settlers of the Lower Province, "an +excellent spirit prevailed, and that he had found everywhere a +determination to forget past differences, and to unite in an +endeavor to obtain under the union those practical measures for the +improvement of the country which had been too long neglected in the +struggle for party and personal objects." But of the French +Canadians he could not give so favorable a report. Efforts were +still made by some of the old Papineau party to mislead the people; +but he was satisfied they would not again be able to induce the +peasantry to support any attempt at disturbance. It was natural +that that party should still feel some soreness at the utter +failure of their recent attempts and the disappointment of their +hopes; and affairs took the longer time in being brought into +perfect order and harmony through a strange mortality which took +place among the first Governors-general. Lord Sydenham died the +next year of lockjaw, brought on by a fall from his horse; Sir +Charles Bagot was forced to retire in a state of hopeless bad +health after an administration equally brief; two years later, Sir +Charles Metcalfe, who succeeded him, returned home only to die; and +it was not till a fourth Governor, Lord Elgin, succeeded to the +government that it could be said that the new system, though +established five years before, had a fair trial.</p> +<p>Fortunately, he was a man admirably qualified by largeness of +statesman-like views and a most conciliatory disposition for such a +post at such a time; and he strictly carried out the scheme which +was implied by the bill of Lord John Russell, and to a certain +extent inaugurated by Lord Sydenham, selecting his advisers from +the party which had the confidence of the Legislative Assembly, and +generally directing his policy in harmony with their counsels; so +that under his government the working of the colonial constitution +was a nearly faithful reproduction of the parliamentary +constitution at home. Such a policy was in reality only a +development of the principle laid down by Pitt half a century +before, and warmly approved by his great rival, that "the only +method of retaining distant colonies with advantage is to enable +them to govern themselves."[<a href="#note-255">255</a>] And since +that day similar constitutions have been established in our other +distant dependencies as they have become ripe for them—in New +Zealand, the Cape, and the Australian colonies—almost the +only powers reserved to the home government in those colonies in +which such constitutions have been established being that of +appointing the governors; that of ratifying or, if necessary, +disallowing measures adopted by the colonial government; and, in +cases of necessity, that of prescribing measures for the adoption +of the local Legislatures, and even of compelling such adoption, in +the event of any persevering opposition. The act of 1850, which +established a constitution in Victoria, went even farther in the +privileges it conferred on the colonists, inasmuch as it gave power +to the Legislative Council to alter some of its provisions, and +even to remodel the Legislative Council and Assembly. It may be +doubted whether this last concession did not go too far, since in +more than one important instance the government of that great +colony has availed itself of it so liberally as to render it +necessary to pass a fresh act of Parliament to enable her Majesty +to give her royal assent to some of the changes which the Assembly +had enacted.[<a href="#note-256">256</a>] Indeed, it cannot be said +that the system has worked in every part or on every occasion quite +as well as might have been hoped; nor can it be denied that the +colonies have occasionally claimed a power of independent action in +opposition to the home Parliament in a way to try severely the +patience of the home government. After the British Parliament had +adopted the policy and system of free-trade, the Canadian Assembly +adhered to the doctrine of protection so obstinately that it +actually established a tariff of import duties injurious to the +commerce of the mother country, and apparently intended as a +condemnation of its principles. But its contumacy showed how wholly +different was the spirit of the British government from that which +had prevailed in the last century; for though the home government +had unquestionably the right of disallowing the offensive tariff, +it forbore to exercise it; and, probably, by this striking proof +that it considered a complete recognition of the principle of local +self-government more important than any trifling financial or +commercial advantage, contributed greatly to implant in Canada and +all the colonies that confidence in the affectionate moderation of +the home government which must be the strongest, if not the only +indissoluble, bond of union.</p> +<p>On the whole, it is hardly too much to say that no more +statesman-like, and (if sentiment may be allowed a share in +influencing the conduct of governments) no more amiable spirit +animates any act of our modern legislation than is displayed in +these arrangements for the management of our colonies. They are a +practical exemplification of the idea embodied in the expression, +"the mother country." A hundred years ago, Burke sought to impress +on the existing ministers and Parliament the conviction that, "so +long as our Colonies kept the idea of their civil rights associated +with our government, they would cling and grapple to us, and no +force under heaven would be of power to tear them from their +allegiance." In the case of which he was speaking his warning, as +we have seen, fell on deaf ears; but the policy of the present +reign is a willing and full adoption of them, on a far larger scale +than even his farseeing vision could then contemplate. Within the +century which has elapsed since his time the enterprise of Britain +has sent forth her sons to people another hemisphere; and they, her +children still, cling to the parent state with filial affection, +because they feel that, though parted from her by thousands of +miles and more than one ocean, they are still indissolubly united +to her by their participation in all the blessings of her +constitution, her generous toleration, her equal laws, her +universal freedom.</p> +<p>On one transaction of these years the leaders of the Opposition +were found acting in close agreement with the ministers. We have +seen how, in the early part of the reign of George III., the House +of Commons threw the sheriffs of London into prison, on account of +their performance of what they conceived to be their duty as +magistrates; and in 1840 it subjected the same officials to the +same treatment on a question of the same character—the extent +of the privilege of the House of Commons to overrule the authority +of the courts of law. The question was in appearance complicated by +the institution of several suits at law, and by the fact that the +House was not consistent in its conduct, but allowed its servants +to plead to the first action, and refused the same permission in +the second, when the result of the first trial had proved adverse +to them. The case was this: some inspectors of prisons has +presented a report to Parliament, in which they alleged that they +had found in Newgate a book of disgusting and obscene character, +published by a London publisher named Stockdale. The House of +Commons had ordered the report to be printed and sold by Messrs. +Hansard, the Parliamentary publishers, and Stockdale brought an +action against Messrs. Hansard for libel. Chief-justice Denman +charged the jury that "the fact of the House of Commons having +directed Messrs. Hansard to publish their reports was no +justification to them for publishing a Parliamentary report +containing a libel;" and Stockdale obtained damages, which were +duly paid. Stockdale, encouraged by this success, when, in spite of +the result of the late trial, Hansard continued to sell the report, +brought a fresh action; but now the House forbade the publishers to +plead to it; and, as they obeyed the prohibition, and forbore to +plead, the case eventually came before the Sheriff's Court; fresh +damages were given, and, in obedience to the writ of the Queen's +Bench, the sheriffs seized Hansard's goods, and sold them to +satisfy the judgment. Lord John Russell, as leader of the House, +moved to bring to the Bar of the House all the parties concerned in +the action—the plaintiff, his attorney, the sheriffs, and the +under-sheriffs. He was opposed by nearly all the legal members of +the House except the crown lawyers, Sir Edward Sugden especially +warning the House that "a resolution of the House was of no avail +in a court of justice;" while others taunted the House with want of +courage in not proceeding against the judges themselves, rather +than against their officers, which in this case the sheriffs +were.</p> +<p>There could be no doubt of the importance of the question, since +it was no less, as the Attorney-general, Sir J. Campbell, put it, +than a question whether Parliament or the courts of law had the +superiority; and now Sir Robert Peel, as leader of the Opposition, +came to the support of Lord John Russell, declaring his opinion to +be, first, that "the House possessed every privilege necessary for +the proper and effectual discharge of its functions;" secondly, +that "the publication of evidence which had led the House to adopt +any course was frequently essential to justify that course to the +nation;" and thirdly, that "to judge of the extent of their +privileges, and to vindicate them by their own laws, belonged to +the House alone." And he pressed strongly on the House that it was +"the duty of the House to fight the battle to the last," though he +confessed that "it was with pain that he had come to the +determination of entering into a contest with the courts of law." +On one point the judges agreed with the House of Commons. The House +committed the sheriffs; but, when they sued out their <i>habeas +corpus</i>, the judges decided that the return of the +Sergeant-at-arms that they were committed by the House for breach +of privilege was a sufficient return. Stockdale brought fresh +actions. But meantime the case was arousing a strong excitement in +the country.[<a href="#note-257">257</a>] The singular hardship of +the position of the sheriffs excited general sympathy: if they +obeyed the House of Commons, which prohibited them from paying over +to Stockdale the damages which they had received for him, the Court +of Queen's Bench would be bound to attach them for disobedience to +its order. If they obeyed the Queen's Bench, the House would +imprison them for breach of privilege. And the national feeling is +always in favor of the strictly defined authority of the courts of +law, rather than of the somewhat indefinite claims of Parliament to +interpret, and even to make, privilege. Another consideration, +probably, weighed a little with the champions of the +House—that their power of imprisonment ended with the +session. As matters went on, it was found that even the Attorney +and Solicitor-general differed as to the course to be pursued; and +eventually Lord John Russell consented to adopt the advice which +had been given by a former Attorney-general, Sir F. Pollock, and to +bring in a bill to legalize all similar proceedings of Parliament +in future, by enacting that a certificate that the publication of +any document had been ordered by either House should be a +sufficient defence against any action. The introduction of such a +bill was in some degree an acknowledgment of defeat; but it can +hardly be denied to have been not only a judicious step, but the +only one practicable, if the contest between Parliament and the +courts of law were not to be everlasting; and it met with general +approval. If it was a compromise, it was one that satisfied both +parties and both ends. It upheld the authority of the courts of +law, and at the same time it practically asserted the +reasonableness of the claim advanced by the House of Commons, by +giving it for the future the power which it had claimed. Nor were +people in this day inclined to be jealous of the privileges of +Parliament, so long as they were accurately defined. They felt that +it was for the advantage and dignity of the nation that its powers +and privileges should be large; what they regarded with distrust +was, a claim of power of which no one knew the precise bounds, and +which might, therefore, be expanded as the occasion served.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-245" id="note-245"> +<!-- Note Anchor 245 --></a>[Footnote 245: Fifty-two mills and +30,000 persons were thrown out of employment for ten weeks at +Ashton in 1830 by the turning out of 3000 "coarse spinners," who +could clear at the time from 28s. to 31s. per week. The following +passage is extracted from an oath said to have been administered by +the combined spinners in Scotland in 1823: "I, A B, do voluntarily +swear, in the awful presence of God Almighty, and before these +witnesses, that I will execute with zeal and alacrity, as far as in +me lies, every task or injunction which the majority of my brethren +shall impose upon me in furtherance of our common welfare, as the +chastisement of <i>knobs</i>, the assassination of oppressive and +tyrannical masters, or the demolition of shops that shall be deemed +incorrigible."—<i>Annual Register</i>, 1838, pp. +204-207.]</p> +<p><a name="note-246" id="note-246"> +<!-- Note Anchor 246 --></a>[Footnote 246: See <a href= +"#endeavors">page 221</a>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-247" id="note-247"> +<!-- Note Anchor 247 --></a>[Footnote 247: The question was +examined with great minuteness by Lord Brougham a fortnight after +the ministerial explanation. See "Parliamentary Debates," 3d +series, xlvii., 1164.]</p> +<p><a name="note-248" id="note-248"> +<!-- Note Anchor 248 --></a>[Footnote 248: It is stated on good +authority that Lord Melbourne, in private conversation, justified +or explained the line he had taken by his consideration for his +friends, scores of whom would have had their hopes blighted by his +retirement.]</p> +<p><a name="note-249" id="note-249"> +<!-- Note Anchor 249 --></a>[Footnote 249: See "Life of the Prince +Consort," i., 55.]</p> +<p><a name="note-250" id="note-250"> +<!-- Note Anchor 250 --></a>[Footnote 250: "Life of the Prince +Consort," i., 57.]</p> +<p><a name="note-251" id="note-251"> +<!-- Note Anchor 251 --></a>[Footnote 251: Macaulay's "History of +England," i., 386.]</p> +<p><a name="note-252" id="note-252"> +<!-- Note Anchor 252 --></a>[Footnote 252: This is the name which +the Liberal historian of the time, Miss Martineau, gives it. "The +so-called Registration Bill was, in fact, an unannounced new Reform +Bill for Ireland."—<i>History of the Peace</i>, book v., c. +vi.]</p> +<p><a name="note-253" id="note-253"> +<!-- Note Anchor 253 --></a>[Footnote 253: See <i>ante</i>, +<a href="#canadaconst">p. 127</a>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-254" id="note-254"> +<!-- Note Anchor 254 --></a>[Footnote 254: In one instance the +rebels were aided by a party of citizens of the United States, who, +without any sanction from their own government, seized an island on +the St. Lawrence belonging to us, and attacked some of the Canadian +villages. And this led to the discussion of a question of +international combined with constitutional law, which Lord Campbell +thus describes: "'Whether, if the subjects or citizens of a foreign +state with which we are at peace, without commission or authority +from their own or any other government, invade the English +territory in a hostile manner, and levy war against the Queen in +her realm, we are entitled to treat them as traitors?' The Canadian +courts held that we could not, as they had never acknowledged even +a temporary allegiance to our sovereign. And of this opinion was +Sir William Follett. But, after reading all that is to be found on +the subject, I come to the conclusion that they owed allegiance +when, as private individuals, they voluntarily crossed the English +frontier; that it was no defence for them to say that they then had +arms in their hands and intended to murder the Queen's +subjects."—<i>Life of Lord Campbell</i>, ii.,119. It +certainly would have been no <i>defence</i>; but would it not have +taken their conduct from under the definition of <i>treason</i>, +and made it an act of <i>piracy</i>?]</p> +<p><a name="note-255" id="note-255"> +<!-- Note Anchor 255 --></a>[Footnote 255: See Fox's words, quoted +by Lord Stanhope.—<i>Life of Pitt</i>, ii., 90.]</p> +<p><a name="note-256" id="note-256"> +<!-- Note Anchor 256 --></a>[Footnote 256: A couple of years after +the period which is the boundary of the present work, this Canadian +constitution of 1841 was superseded by a measure uniting Canada, +Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in one federal government, with, as +the act recites, "a constitution similar in principle to that of +the United Kingdom." The act farther provided for the admission of +other dependencies of the crown in North America, Newfoundland, +Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, and Rupert's Land into the +union, and established as the constitution of the whole one +scarcely differing from that of 1841, with the exception that both +the Houses of the Legislature—called in the act the Senate +and the House of Commons—were to be representative bodies, +and that powers were conferred on them so absolutely free and +independent, that it was thought necessary to add a clause +providing that their "privileges, immunities, and powers were never +to exceed those at the passing of the act held, enjoyed, and +exercised by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom +of Great Britain and Ireland, and by the members thereof."]</p> +<p><a name="note-257" id="note-257"> +<!-- Note Anchor 257 --></a>[Footnote 257: Lord Campbell, in his +autobiography, puts the transaction, in the phase at which it had +now arrived, in a very serious light: "Next came a proceeding which +placed me in a most difficult position; and the public never knew +the danger which then existed of a convulsion unexampled in our +history. The sheriffs sued out a writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>, +directed to the Sergeant-at-arms, commanding him to produce before +the Court of Queen's Bench the sheriffs of Middlesex, alleged to be +illegally in custody, with the cause of their detention. Wilde, the +Solicitor-general, was strong for refusing to make any return to +the writ, and for setting the Court of Queen's Bench at defiance. +Had I concurred in this opinion it would certainty have been acted +on. The consequences would have been that the Sergeant-at-arms, +even with the mace in his hand, would have been sent to Newgate by +the Court of Queen's Bench. The House must have retaliated by +committing the judges. The crown would then have had to determine +on which side the army should be employed, and for a time we must +have lived under a military government" (ii., 129). The noble and +learned autobiographer does not explain why it should have been +indispensable to employ the army on either side.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH12" id="CH12"><!-- CH12 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Sir Robert Peel becomes +Prime-minister.—Commercial +Reforms.—Free-trade.—Religious +Toleration.—Maynooth.—The Queen's +University.—Post-office Regulations.—The Opening of +Letters.—Naturalization of Aliens.—Recall of Lord +Ellenborough.—Reversal of the Vote on the Sugar +Duties.—Refusal of the Crown to Sanction a Bill.—The +Question of Increase in the Number of Spiritual Peers.—Repeal +of the Corn-laws.—Revolution in France, and Agitation on the +Continent.—Death of Sir Robert Peel.—Indifference of +the Country to Reform.—Repeal of the Navigation +Laws.—Resolutions in Favor of Free-trade.—The Great +Exhibition of 1851.</p> +<p>The transactions mentioned in the last chapter were among the +last events of Lord Melbourne's ministry. He had for some time been +aware of his impending defeat in the House of Commons, and, greatly +to his credit, had endeavored to make the return to office easier +to his successors by the friendly counsels he had given to the +Queen on the subject.[<a href="#note-258">258</a>] A dissolution of +Parliament in the summer of 1841 only weakened his party, and in +September he resigned, and was succeeded by Sir Robert Peel, who, +comparatively short as was his tenure of office,[<a href= +"#note-259">259</a>] found it long enough to establish for himself +a reputation as the greatest financier of Europe since the days of +Pitt. It may be worth remarking that, in the "Memoirs of the Prince +Consort," it is mentioned that in the course of his administration +Peel found reason to change his judgment on the question of which +House of Parliament it was the more desirable for the +Prime-minister to be a member. Canning had more than once asserted +his conviction that the public business would be more +satisfactorily conducted when the Prime-minister was a commoner, +founding his opinion chiefly on the paramount importance of +financial questions, the discussion of which is almost confined to +the House of Commons, and conceiving it to be supported by the +history of the administration of Pitt, from whom, indeed, he had +imbibed the idea; and in former years Peel had more than once +expressed his concurrence with that view of the subject. But, from +papers which were intrusted to him for the execution of his great +work, Sir Theodore Martin learned that Peel had subsequently found +reason to come to the opposite conclusion, not from any change in +his view of the relative importance of the different departments of +administration, but solely because "the amount of work imposed upon +the first minister in the House of Commons, in addition to what he +had to go through elsewhere, was too great for any human strength. +In the House of Lords the Prime-minister would escape the necessity +for being in a position to vindicate all the details of +administration, and to answer the multiplicity of questions on all +sorts of subjects, the putting of which has almost degenerated into +a vice. He had, therefore, come to the conclusion that it was there +he ought to be."[<a href="#note-260">260</a>] And, indeed, the +subjects which demanded the care of the minister, and attracted the +attention of Parliament, were constantly increasing in number, +variety, and importance to the very end of his administration. Not +only were the financial difficulties of the country, the depressed +state of agriculture and commerce (the result of a succession of +bad harvests), sufficient causes for grave anxiety, but the +terrible war, of which <a href="#afghan">mention has already been +made</a>, which we had now been carrying on for nearly three years +in Afghanistan, and which, before the end of this very year, was +about to be signalized by a disaster such as had never before +befallen a British army, threatened to kindle the flames of war in +Europe also, from the share which the intrigues of Russia had had +in fomenting the quarrel; and the same danger was more than once in +the course of the next five years imminent, from the irritation +with which France regarded us, and which, commencing in Syria, +while Lord Melbourne was still at the helm, lost no opportunity of +displaying itself, whether in transactions in the remote Pacific +Ocean or the old battle-field of the two nations, the Spanish +peninsula; and finally, these embarrassing perplexities were +crowned by the appalling visitation of famine, which, at the end of +the fourth year of the administration, fell upon Ireland with a +severity surpassing any similar event in modern history.</p> +<p>With all these multiform difficulties the new minister grappled +with unflinching courage, and with conspicuous success. Peace was +preserved abroad, and financial prosperity was restored at home. +Into the details of his measures devised for this last-mentioned +object, though the leading features of his administration, and +those on which his fame chiefly rests, it would be beside the +purpose of the present work to enter. It is sufficient to say here +that, in the spirit of Pitt's great financial reform of 1787, he +revised the whole of the import duties of our commercial tariff, +especially reducing the duties on raw material;[<a href= +"#note-261">261</a>] making up the deficiency so caused by an +income tax, which he described as a temporary imposition, since he +doubted not that the great increase of lawful trade, which would be +the consequence of the reduction of duties, would soon enable the +revenue to dispense with a tax to the objections of which he was +not blind. In recommending this great change to the House, he laid +down as the soundest maxim of financial legislation, in which "all +were now agreed, the principle that we should buy in the cheapest +market and sell in the dearest," a doctrine which, when more fully +carried out, as it was sure to be, led almost inevitably to the +great measure for which his administration is most celebrated, the +repeal of the Corn-laws. There could be no doubt that, in the most +modified application of it, it struck at the root of the principle +of protection, which had hitherto been the fundamental principle of +our finance, and made a farther extension of it inevitable.</p> +<p>And, as he had been one of the leading members of the ministry +which carried Catholic Emancipation, so he now proceeded on the +same path of religious toleration; and, in the session of 1844, +successfully recommended to the House of Commons a bill which had +already been passed by the Lords, repealing a number of penal acts +affecting the Roman Catholics, which, though they had long been +practically obsolete, still encumbered, and it may be said +disgraced, the statute book, and were, so to say, a standing +degradation of and insult to the Roman Catholic body. One of them, +passed in the reign of William and Mary, still forbade any Roman +Catholic to come within ten miles of London, to have either sword +or pistol in his house, or to possess a horse worth more than five +pounds. Another, enacted under Elizabeth, still made every Roman +Catholic who omitted to take certain oaths guilty of high-treason, +though no attempt to administer those oaths had been made since the +Revolution. Another, of the time of Charles I., deprived any Roman +Catholic who should send his son to a foreign school of all +protection of the law; he could neither sue nor defend an action. +It may fairly be said that the credit of Parliament and of the +nation was concerned in the abrogation of laws so ridiculously +oppressive, and not the less obnoxious for being practically +invalid. And in the same spirit another measure was framed and +carried by the Lord Chancellor, whose object was the confirmation +of religious endowments belonging to different sects of Protestant +Dissenters, and their protection from vexatious and unjust +litigation, by making a continued possession of any kind of +endowment or property for twenty years a valid title.</p> +<p>These enactments may be regarded as indispensable supplements to +the repeal of the Test Act and Catholic Emancipation. They were the +coping-stone of the great edifice of religious toleration, of which +the former acts had laid the foundation. And the next year Peel +carried out still farther the same principle, by a measure which +could not fail to be regarded as an especial boon in Ireland, since +the great majority of the population of that kingdom were of the +Roman Catholic persuasion. It has been seen that when the troubled +state into which the Continent was thrown by the French Revolution +threw hinderances in the way of the Irish students designed for the +Roman Catholic priesthood going to one of the great Continental +colleges, such as St. Omer or Salamanca, for their education, Pitt +established for them a college at Maynooth, for the endowment of +which Parliament was annually asked for a grant of about +£9000. The sum had long been felt to be altogether inadequate +to the requirements of the foundation. As early as the year 1807, +Lord Liverpool, then Home-secretary, had contemplated a large +increase of the grant, though the weakness of the government, then +presided over by the Duke of Portland, prevented him from carrying +out that and other measures which he had conceived in a kindred +spirit. Moreover, the grant was rarely proposed without giving rise +to a warm debate raised by a party whose too tender consciences +forbade them to sanction any measure appearing to foster a religion +from which they dissented. And to remedy the two evils (the one +arising from the want of a sufficient provision, the other from the +spirit of religious controversy, for which the House of Commons was +certainly very ill-calculated), Peel, in 1845, proposed to treble +the grant, so as to put the college on a more satisfactory footing, +by providing sufficient incomes for the professors, and a revenue +adequate to the respectable maintenance of an increased number of +pupils; and also to place the charge for the future on the +Consolidated Fund, by which step its yearly discussion in +Parliament would be altogether avoided. The measure was vigorously +resisted, partly on the religious ground already mentioned, and +partly by an argument, urged with some plausibility, that the +design with which the college had originally been founded had not +been realized; that, in fact, it had not proved a benefit to the +country, but rather the reverse, by tempting into the service of +the Roman Catholic Church a humbler and poorer class of students +than could devote themselves to it when the preliminary education +involved the expense of a protracted residence in a foreign +country. But the obvious advantages of the change prevailed over +these considerations, and the bill was carried by large +majorities.[<a href="#note-262">262</a>]</p> +<p>And now that the long cessation of controversy on the +subject—which, indeed, has been not the least beneficial +fruit of this bill of 1845—permits a candid consideration of +it in all its bearings, it will probably be thought that Parliament +had not often come to a wiser decision, one more dictated by +judicious liberality of sentiment, and more imperatively required +on every ground of statesman-like policy. If the countervailing +objections and advantages be calmly weighed, it may almost be said +that there was no alternative between enlarging the endowment and +putting it on a new footing, or suppressing the college altogether. +In its existing condition it was notoriously inadequate to fulfil +the design of its founder; and any establishment visibly inadequate +to its design tends to bring the design itself into some degree of +contempt. Yet even if it should be granted that there might have +been no fair ground of complaint if the college had never been +founded, to close it after its benefits, however scanty, had been +enjoyed for half a century, could not fail to have been regarded as +an unpardonable injustice and injury. The other alternative, +therefore, was practically the only one that remained; and in +embracing it Peel was but carrying out the original principle on +which the college was founded. It had been intended to be +efficient; through lack of means it had proved inefficient. The +obvious and just remedy was to supply such increased means as to +create or bestow the efficiency originally aimed at. And it was a +felicitous idea to place the charge for the future on such a +footing as to combine with such an increase an avoidance of the +irritation which its yearly discussion had never failed to +excite.</p> +<p>And at the same time, to carry still farther the principle of +religious toleration, or rather of religious equality, he induced +the Parliament to found a new university, consisting of three +colleges, one in each of the three provinces of Ulster, Munster and +Connaught (Leinster, as having Trinity College and Maynooth, being +regarded as already sufficiently provided with university +education), which should be open to students of every religious +denomination, and at which, while every kind of secular education, +both literary and scientific, should be given, the stirring up of +religious controversy and animosity should be guarded against, by +the absence of any theological professorships. He did not, indeed, +design that the still greater benefits of religious education +should be withheld from the pupils, but he proposed to provide for +that object by confiding their religious education to the care of +the clergy of each persuasion, some of whom in each town which was +the seat of a college—Belfast, Cork, and Galway—might +be trusted for willingness to superintend it. It was hoped that one +fruit of this scheme, and that by no means its least valuable +result, would be that the association of pupils of various creeds +in their studies and amusements from an early age would lead them +to maintain, in their more mature years, the harmony of which the +foundation had thus been laid in their youth; and that thus the +religious animosities which were the principal obstacle to the +prosperity of the country would be softened, and in time +extinguished. And this object has been achieved to a great extent, +though the disfavor with which the Roman Catholic Church regards +any educational system which is not under the superintendence of +its priesthood has prevented the scheme from attaining the full +development which was hoped for. The number of students of each of +the principal sects—the Church of Ireland, the Roman +Catholics, and the Presbyterians—steadily increases.[<a href= +"#note-263">263</a>] Members of each religious body are among the +professors in each college, and all accounts represent the most +perfect harmony and cordiality as existing throughout the whole +body.</p> +<p>Yet, important as was the principle contained in these measures, +none of them, perhaps, caused such excitement at the moment as an +exercise by the government of what was, in point of fact, one of +its most ancient, as well as most essential, powers: the occasional +opening of letters which passed through the post, in compliance +with a warrant of the Secretary of State. England had at all times +been the refuge of those unquiet spirits who, in pursuit of their +schemes of rebellion and revolution, had incurred the displeasure +of their own governments, and had too easily found accomplices +here. And in the course of the summer some notorious offenders of +this class found a member of the House of Commons to present a +petition, in which they complained that some letters which they had +posted had been stopped and opened by the officers of the +Post-office. The member who presented the petition appears to have +fancied it an unprecedented and wholly unlawful exercise of +authority; but Sir James Graham, the Home-secretary, not only at +once avowed that the statement was true, and that he had issued his +warrant for the opening of the letters mentioned, but also showed +that the power to issue such an order was reserved to the Secretary +of State in all the statutes which regulated the proceedings of the +Post-office. The clause in the act which conferred the power had +been originally framed by Lord Somers, a statesman certainly as +little open as any of his time to the suspicion of desiring to +encroach on the rightful liberty of the subject; and it had been +exercised from time to time in every reign since the Revolution. It +was a power intrusted to the Secretaries of State for the public +safety, and exercised by them on their own responsibility. The +practice and its justification were assailed in both Houses of +Parliament by members of the extreme Liberal party; but, though no +distinct motion on the subject was made, the general feeling of +both Houses was plainly evinced, that it was a power which might at +times be highly useful for the prevention of crime, or for the +hinderance of conspiracies which might be dangerous to the general +welfare and tranquillity, and that the constitutional +responsibility attaching to every minister for every official act +was a sufficient security against its being improperly +used.[<a href="#note-264">264</a>]</p> +<p>And it will, probably, be generally admitted that this was the +statesman-like view of the subject. There is no doubt that the +practice in question does infringe the great constitutional right +of every individual in these kingdoms to absolute freedom of +communication with his friends. But the most important and the most +cherished constitutional rights must possess something of +elasticity. It must be necessary at times to go back to the +original object for which those rights have been conferred and +secured. That original object is the safety and welfare of the +whole body corporate—of the entire nation. And if that safety +and welfare at times require the sacrifice, a wise ruler will not +hesitate to demand it of the people, or to impose it on them for +their own good. So another principle of the constitution is the +absolute freedom of action for all the subjects of the sovereign; +yet that principle is infringed by more than one statute: Factory +Acts, which limit the hours of even voluntary labor; Education +Acts, which compel the parent to a certain line of conduct toward +his children; each in their way substitute another rule for that +entire freedom of action which, as has been said before, is the +fundamental principle of the constitution; but they make the +substitution on the reasonable ground that the course of action +which they compel is for the benefit, not only of the individual +constrained, but of the whole community of which he is a member, +and for whose welfare all laws and constitutions exist.</p> +<p>One of the grounds of complaint against the exercise of this +power, which had been alleged by some of the opponents of the +government, had been that Sir James Graham's conduct had been +dictated by an unworthy subservience to some of the despotic +sovereigns of the Continent. The fact was indignantly denied in the +House of Lords by the Duke of Wellington; and in the course of the +session a remarkable proof was afforded how little influence such +motives had on the decisions of our government, when they +acquiesced in the passing of a bill which was a virtual repeal of +the Alien Act, which had existed for more than half a century, and +of which more than one Continental sovereign would certainly have +desired the retention. Of late, indeed, it had been so modified, +that practically it had become little more than a dead letter; and +now, in 1844, without being formally repealed, it was virtually +abrogated by an act which enabled all foreigners to obtain letters +of naturalization, which conferred on them every right of British +subjects, except those of becoming members of Parliament,[<a href= +"#note-265">265</a>] or of the Privy Council.</p> +<p>Generally speaking, few governments had enjoyed more of the +confidence of the nation than Peel's did in 1844; yet in this year +it was exposed to two remarkable mortifications. The charter of the +East India Company, as framed by Pitt in subsequent events, which +has led to the entire extinction of the political power of the +Company, makes anything beyond this brief mention of the +transaction superfluous at the present time.</p> +<p>The other mortification of the ministry to which allusion has +been made fell upon it at home in the Parliamentary discussion of +the Prime-minister's financial measures, on which his judgment was +usually regarded as pre-eminent, and on which a large majority of +the House was generally disposed implicitly to follow his guidance. +Sir Robert was not, indeed, himself Chancellor of the Exchequer, +that office being filled by Mr. Goulburn, but it was certain that +the Budget was inspired by a deference to the Prime-minister's +views. And, among the arrangements which it proposed, one consisted +of a relaxation of the sugar-duties, which was regarded with dread +by those interested in the West Indies, as a farther step in the +direction of free-trade, and as depriving them of the modified +protection which they were as yet enjoying. To preserve that +protection to them, Mr. Miles, the member for Bristol, proposed an +amendment which, after an animated debate, was carried by a +majority of twenty. Three months before, on the Factory Bill and +the question whether the hours of labor should be limited to ten or +to twelve, the minister had also found himself defeated, though by +a much smaller majority; but in that case the defeat had been the +less pronounced from the inconsistency of the votes on the +different limits.[<a href="#note-266">266</a>] And he extricated +himself from that difficulty by abandoning the bill altogether, and +introducing a new one, not without angry resistance on the part of +Lord John Russell and other members of the Opposition. They +denounced such a manoeuvre as alike unconstitutional and +unparliamentary; while he, on the contrary, insisted that the House +had always jealously retained the right of reconsidering its own +decisions. In that instance, however, the introduction of a new +bill might have been regarded as the simplest mode of harmonizing +the variety of views which had been represented by the discussion +of and votes on the ministerial proposal and the amendments; but no +such expedient was practicable in this case, that of the +sugar-duties. A defeat on an important clause in the Budget by a +majority of twenty was a far more serious matter; it was such a +blow as had generally been reckoned sufficient to require a +resignation of a ministry. But on this occasion Peel did not feel +himself called on to take that step; nor was he inclined to +dissolve Parliament, which some regarded as his only legitimate +alternative, though he had little doubt that, if he did so, he +should be supported by the confidence of the country. After careful +reflection, the course on which he eventually decided was to adhere +to the principle of a relaxation of duties, but to consent to a +moderate variation from his original proposal as to the amount. And +in pursuit of this plan, on the next discussion of the Budget, he +proposed an amendment to that effect, making the adoption of it by +the House a test of its confidence in the administration. Lord John +Russell opposed the amendment with great vehemence, pronouncing the +acceptance of it, if it should be accepted, and the House should +thus consent "to retract its previous vote, a lamentable proof of +subserviency, which would disgrace it with the country." What Sir +Robert now asked was, substantially, that they should now declare +that to be expedient which they had declared to be inexpedient only +three nights ago; and Lord Palmerston insisted that the proper +course to be taken by the government was to resign; while Mr. +Labouchere, who had also been a member of Lord Melbourne's +cabinet,[<a href="#note-267">267</a>] though he admitted that there +might be "circumstances under which a minister might without +impropriety ask the House to reconsider a vote," denied that the +present was such a case, and especially denounced the importation +of the question of confidence or no confidence in the ministry into +the discussion as "dangerous and unconstitutional." Another section +of the Opposition agreed in taking the same line; Mr. Disraeli +(then beginning to lay the foundations of his reputation and +influence) strongly denouncing the conduct of the minister, as +degrading both to his own supporters and still more to the whole +House, and recommending him to say frankly to both, "We have gauged +your independence, and you may have a semblance of parliamentary +freedom as far as this point, but the moment you go farther, you +must either submit to public disgrace, or we must submit to private +life." The end of the discussion was, that the minister prevailed +by a majority a trifle larger than that which had defeated him +before. This is not the place to discuss the difference between one +principle of taxation and another; but the question whether a +minister when defeated is justified in asking either House of +Parliament to reconsider its vote, seems one that could only have +been raised in a House under the influence of unusual excitement of +some kind. The charge that such a request was unconstitutional only +serves to show how loosely the words "constitution" and +"unconstitutional" are often used even by those from whom precision +of language might most be expected; for Sir Robert Peel's proposal +that the House should retract its vote was not unprecedented, the +very same demand having been made in 1833 by Lord Althorp, then +Chancellor of the Exchequer of Lord Grey's ministry, of which those +very men were members who were now loudest in denouncing the +conduct of the present government. And on that occasion it is worth +remarking that, though Lord Althorp's demand was resisted in one or +two quarters, he was vigorously supported by Sir Robert Peel, on +the ground that, though to rescind one night a vote passed on a +former one might be not altogether free from objection, it would be +a far greater evil that questions of importance should be held to +be in all cases finally decided by a single vote, passed, it might +be, in a thin House, or in obedience to some sudden impulse.</p> +<p>And this seems to be the view of the case commended not only by +constitutional and parliamentary practice, but by common-sense. It +would be strange, indeed, when the questions submitted to the +British Parliament and the decisions of that Parliament on them are +so often of paramount importance to the whole world, if the +Parliament should be the only body in the world denied the right of +revising its own judgments, the only one whose first resolution is +so irrevocable that even itself may not change or modify it. To +rescind a recent vote is, no doubt, as Sir Robert Peel said, a step +not wholly free from objection. It should be an exceptional act, as +one which, if often repeated, would give an appearance of +capricious fickleness and instability to the opinions of +Parliament, calculated to impair that respect for it which the +whole state and nation are deeply concerned in upholding; but to +refuse, under any circumstances, to confess a change of judgment, +would lay the Parliament open to an imputation at least equally +dangerous to that respect—that of an obstinacy which refuses +to confess the possibility of being mistaken, or to hear reason. It +would not be well, therefore, that the abrogation of a previous +vote should become an ordinary practice; but it would be equally +undesirable that any fixed or unchangeable rule should be +interposed to prevent a second discussion of an important question, +with the possibility of its leading to a reversal of the opinion +first expressed.</p> +<p>In the same year (1844) the ministers felt compelled to raise a +constitutional point of singular refinement, which had the effect +of arresting the progress of a bill, in which one part of the +kingdom took a lively interest, which a division in its favor +proved to be fully shared by the House of Lords.[<a href= +"#note-268">268</a>] It has been already mentioned that in the last +year of the preceding reign a bill had passed for creating, when +opportunity offered by the sees affected becoming vacant, two new +bishoprics at Ripon and Manchester, the incomes of which were to be +provided by the union of some of the smaller existing bishoprics, +Gloucester with Bristol, St. Asaph with Bangor. But the Welsh +regarded with great disapproval any reduction of the number of +bishoprics in the principality, and Lord Powis now brought in a +bill to repeal so much of the act as provided for the union of two +Welsh sees, urging not only their great extent, which he stated at +3000 square miles of very mountainous country, but the fact that +the population of North Wales was steadily and largely increasing. +The bill, as has been intimated, was favorably received by the +Lords, who passed the second reading by a majority of twelve; but, +before it could be read a third time, the Duke of Wellington, as +leader of the ministry in that House, announced that the bill was +one which touched the prerogative of the crown, and therefore could +not be proceeded with without the consent of her Majesty, which he +was not authorized to express.</p> +<p>As the matter was explained by the Chancellor, Lord Lyndhurst, +the manner in which the bill touched the royal prerogative was +this: as, during the vacancy of any see, its temporalities belonged +to the crown, any alterations in a see affected the direct +pecuniary interests of the crown, and he, as Speaker of the House, +doubted whether he should be justified in putting a question which +so touched the royal prerogative without the sovereign's consent. A +committee which was appointed to investigate the case fully +confirmed the view thus taken by the ministers, and the bill was +dropped.</p> +<p>It was, however, an exercise of the royal prerogative which was +received by the House in general with great dissatisfaction. +Certainly, since the Civil List and royal income had been placed on +their present footing, it was only by a very forced construction +that the pecuniary interests of the sovereign could be said to be +affected. And it seemed a very insufficient plea for evoking the +exercise of a power which, as it was said, had certainly never been +exerted before since the accession of the Hanoverian dynasty. Nor +was it made more acceptable by the explanation of Lord Brougham, +who on this occasion came to the support of the minister, that the +refusal of the crown's consent at this stage was "a warning, as it +were, a polite and courteous communication between the sovereign, +as guardian of the privileges of the crown, and the two Houses of +Parliament, that if they passed a certain bill it would not receive +the royal assent;" for, though the right to refuse the royal assent +to any bill was incontestable, it had not been exercised since the +time of William III., and to put it in force for the protection of +an imaginary interest of the crown itself would have been so +unpopular an exercise of it that no administration could have +ventured to advise it.</p> +<p>One of the arguments which the Duke of Wellington brought +forward in the discussion, and which, probably, contributed to +induce him thus to strangle Lord Powis's bill, has had an influence +on subsequent legislation. He urged that its adoption—since +the resolution to establish bishoprics at Manchester and Ripon was +one which every one desired to carry out—would increase the +number of bishops, "and thus make an organic change in the +constitution of the House of Lords." It is not very clear how the +addition of a single spiritual peer could have that effect. But the +Duke had dwelt upon the same argument before in the debate on the +proposed union of the sees affected, urging that there was such a +jealousy of the Church in many quarters, and especially in some of +the large towns, that it would be very undesirable to pass any +measure the effect of which would be to increase the number of +Episcopal peers. Even if there was any general reluctance at that +time to see such an increase (a fact which was by no means +ascertained), it may be doubted whether it was founded on any +sufficient reason. It is not easy to see why, when there is no +limit to the augmentation of the number of lay peers, it should be +judged impolitic or unjust to make even so small an addition to the +number of spiritual peers. At the Restoration the spiritual peers +were, probably, more than a fifth of the entire House. From the +great number of subsequent creations of lay peers they were now +less than a sixteenth, so that there could be no ground for +apprehending that a slight re-enforcement of the Episcopal bench +would disturb the balance, or give the Church an undue +preponderating weight in the decisions of the House. The +difficulty, however, such as it appeared to the Duke then, has had +such weight with subsequent administrations, that a new principle +has been established of creating bishoprics which shall not at +first confer seats in the Upper House till their holders become +entitled to them by seniority. As they are peers from the moment of +their consecration, it may be doubted whether this creation of +peers, without seats in Parliament, does not deserve the name of +"an organic change in the constitution," far more than the addition +of one or two ecclesiastical peers to the Episcopal bench; and also +whether it has not established a dangerous principle and precedent; +the disconnection of bishoprics from seats in Parliament, in even a +single instance, seeming to furnish an argument in favor of the +exclusion of the whole order, a measure which, if unjust and +injurious to the Church, would be at least equally injurious to +Parliament itself, and to the whole state.</p> +<p>But all questions of this kind were presently lost sight of in +the excitement produced by the measure which more than any other +has stamped Sir Robert Peel's administration with a lasting +character, the repeal of the Corn-laws. Many statesmen, even of +those who were most in favor of free-trade in other articles of +commerce, made an exception in the case of corn, partly from a +feeling of the necessity of encouraging agriculture, and partly +from a conviction of the danger of in any way contributing to +create or increase a dependence on foreign countries for the food +of the people. Both Whigs and Tories were generally thus agreed on +the necessity of maintaining the principle of protection; the +dispute between the two parties being whether it were best achieved +by a fixed duty on imported corn, or by what was commonly known as +a sliding scale: a scale, that is, which varied inversely with the +price of the grain itself, rising as the price in the home market +fell, and falling as it rose. In the manufacturing districts a +different feeling had prevailed for some years. In the first years +of the present reign severe distress in Manchester and others of +the chief manufacturing towns had led to the formation of an +association whose chief object was sufficiently indicated by its +title of the Anti-Corn-law League. At first Mr. Villiers, the +member for Wolverhampton, was its principal spokesman in the House +of Commons, but at subsequent elections two manufacturers of great +eloquence obtained seats, and year after year urged the entire +repeal of all duties on corn with great earnestness, though for +some time their arguments made but little impression on the House. +Their motions were rejected in 1842 by a majority of 300; in 1843 +by one exceeding 250; in 1844 by above 200; and in 1845 by one of +more than 130 in a much smaller House. But this last division had +scarcely been taken when an unprecedented calamity—the almost +entire failure of the potato crop, which was attacked in nearly +every part of both islands by a new disease, the cause of which is +not to this day fully ascertained—suddenly changed the aspect +of the subject. To the English farmer and laborer it was a severe +loss; to the Irish farmer it was ruin; to the Irish peasant famine. +The grain harvest, too, was generally deficient. And it was evident +that rigorous measures, promptly taken, were indispensable, if a +large portion of the peasantry in the southern and western +provinces of Ireland were not to be left to perish of actual +starvation. In the face of so terrible an emergency Peel acted with +great decision. On his own responsibility he authorized the +purchase of a large supply of Indian corn from the United States, +hoping, among other indirect effects of such a step, to accustom +the Irish to the use of other kinds of food besides the root on +which hitherto they had too exclusively relied.[<a href= +"#note-269">269</a>] And he laid before his colleagues in the +cabinet a proposal to suspend the existing Corn-law "for a limited +period," a measure which all saw must lead to its eventual repeal. +It would be superfluous now to recapitulate the discussions which +took place, the various alternative proposals which were suggested, +or the dissensions in the cabinet to which his proposal gave birth; +the resignation of the ministry, and its subsequent resumption of +office, when Lord Stanley and Lord John Russell had found it +impossible to form an administration. It is sufficient to say that, +as soon as Parliament met, Sir Robert brought forward a bill to +reduce the duty on corn to four shillings, a price only half of the +lowest fixed duty that had ever been proposed before, that +reduction, too, being a stepping-stone to the abolition of all +duties, at the end of three years, beyond a shilling a quarter, +which was to be retained, in order to acquire an accurate knowledge +of the quantity of grain imported. The diminution, however, of this +duty was not the whole object of his new measure. It included other +arrangements which would serve as a compensation to the +agriculturists, by relieving them from some of the peculiar burdens +to which the land was subjected; and it contained, farther, a +reduction or abolition of import duties hitherto levied on many +other articles, especially on such as "formed the clothing of the +country," on the fair ground that if the removal of protection from +the agriculturist were "a sacrifice for the common good," the +commercial and manufacturing interests might justly be required to +make a similar sacrifice for the same patriotic object.</p> +<p>Though opposed in both Houses with unusual bitterness, the +ministry carried their measure, which, indeed, in all probability, +even if the destruction of the potato crop had not come to +accelerate the movement, could not have been long delayed, the +continual and rapid increase of the population adding yearly +strength to the arguments of those who denounced the imposition of +any tax which had the effect of increasing the price of the +people's food. But, however inevitable it may have been, we are not +the less compelled to regard it as indirectly bringing about a +great constitutional change, or rather as consummating that which +had been commenced by the Reform Bill. Till the year 1832 the +territorial aristocracy had exerted a predominating influence in +the government of the state. The Reform Bill, which deprived the +wealthier land-owners of the greater part of their power at +elections, struck the first blow at that influence. The abolition +of the Corn-laws inflicted on it a still more decisive wound, by +its extinction of the doctrine that there was any such peculiar +sacredness about the land and its produce as entitled them to +protection beyond that enjoyed by other kinds of property. Placing +in that respect the commercial and manufacturing interest on a +level with the landed interest, it made us, in a farther and a +somewhat different sense from that in which Napoleon had used the +phrase, a nation of shopkeepers.[<a href="#note-270">270</a>]</p> +<p>The repeal of the Corn-laws had another result: it divided the +Conservative party, and, as a necessary consequence, led to the +downfall of the ministry. The same session which witnessed its +success in carrying that repeal witnessed also its defeat on a +coercion bill, which they regarded as indispensable for the +"protection of life in Ireland," where actual murders had reached +the appalling amount of nearly three hundred in two years. The +ministry at once resigned, and Lord John Russell had no difficulty +in forming an administration, now that the question of the +Corn-laws was finally settled. It was, however, no bed of roses to +which the new ministry succeeded; the famine in Ireland exceeded +the worst anticipations; and, though prodigious efforts were made +by the government and Parliament to relieve it, though large sums +were placed at the disposal of the Lord-lieutenant, aided by +contributions from private sources in England to an enormous +amount; though the small remnant of the import duty on corn which +had been left on it by the measure of the preceding year was taken +off, and the navigation laws suspended, in order that no obstacle +interposed to the acquisition of food from every available quarter, +it was estimated that more than half a million of people perished +through actual famine or the diseases which scarcity brought in its +train.[<a href="#note-271">271</a>] A severe monetary crisis was +one not unnatural result of this distress, so severe that the Funds +fell to a price below any that had been quoted for many years, and +the reserve in the Bank of England to an amount lower than it had +been at any period since 1828. And these difficulties had hardly +been surmounted when a new revolution in France overturned the +dynasty of Louis Philippe and established a republic. The +revolutionary contagion spread to Italy, where, indeed, the +movement had begun. The Pope—Pius IX.—who had but +lately succeeded to the tiara, was forced to flee from Rome in the +disguise of a foreign courier, after his Prime-minister had been +murdered by the mob. Germany was scarcely less disturbed. The +administration of Metternich, who had governed Austria with +authority little less than absolute for nearly forty years, was +overthrown in a tumult in which he himself escaped with difficulty +from the violence of the populace; dangerous riots took place at +Munich, at Berlin, and at the capitals of most of the smaller +principalities, and for some time everything seemed to portend the +outbreak of a general war, likely to be the more formidable as +being a war of the revolutionary and republican against the +monarchical principle. Happily, that danger was averted. The only +war which broke out between different nations was a brief contest +in the north of Italy, which the superior numbers of the Austrian +armies and the skill of Marshal Radetsky, a veteran who had learned +the art of war under Suvarof nearly sixty years before, decided in +favor of Austria, and which in the spring of 1849 was terminated by +a peace on less unfavorable terms to Sardinia than she could well +have expected. And in the same season tranquillity was +re-established even at Rome, which, from the peculiar character of +the Papal power, contained special elements of provocation and +danger.</p> +<p>But, though peace was thus generally maintained, these various +events had produced a ferment of spirits which required some time +to calm down, and so greatly embarrassed the government, that in +the spring of 1852 Lord John Russell's administration was +dissolved, and a new ministry was formed by Lord Derby[<a href= +"#note-272">272</a>]. But the causes which had overthrown his +predecessor remained to weaken him; so that for some time it seemed +impossible to form a ministry which afforded any promise of +stability. Such a rapid succession of changes as ensued had had no +parallel since the first years of George III. Between February, +1852, and February, 1855, the country had no fewer than four +different Prime-ministers, a fact which was at once both the proof +and the parent of weakness in every administration. Lord John +Russell had attempted to procure a factitious support in the +country by stimulating a fresh demand for parliamentary reform. A +year or two before, he had provoked the dissatisfaction of the +"Advanced Liberals," as they called themselves, by insisting on the +finality of the Reform Bill of 1832, and by advising his followers +"to rest and be thankful" for what had been then obtained. But now +he began to advance an opinion that that act required "some +amendments to carry into more complete effect the principles on +which it was founded." He inserted an intimation of that doctrine +in the Queen's speech; and endeavored to give effect to it by +bringing in a bill to lower the franchise, having, it seems, +persuaded himself that a five-pound franchise would create a more +Conservative class of voters.[<a href="#note-273">273</a>] He had +scarcely introduced it when the fall of his ministry led to its +abandonment; but, though it was coldly received by the House of +Commons, the idea was taken up by the other political parties, who +can hardly be acquitted of having used the question merely as an +instrument of party warfare, trying, with an unstatesmanlike +indifference to the danger of re-awakening the old frenzy on the +subject, to rouse the nation to take an interest in it; but trying +in vain. The nation was no longer in the same temper as it had +displayed twenty years before. The Reform Bill of 1832 had been +demanded and carried with a frantic vehemence of enthusiasm such as +could only have been excited by real defects and grievances. But +those grievances had been removed and redressed. And the bulk of +the people could take no interest in schemes whose sole end seemed +to be either to satisfy the theories of some political doctrinaires +or to embarrass an adversary; till at last, as Reform Bill after +Reform Bill was framed, brought in, and defeated, or dropped, it +became plain, "as the Prince Consort noted in a private memorandum +at the end of 1859, that what the country wanted, in fact, was not +reform, but a bill to stop the question of Reform."[<a href= +"#note-274">274</a>] And, at last, the prevalence of this feeling +Lord John Russell could not conceal even from himself, but +confessed to Lord Palmerston, then Prime-minister, who had always +silently discouraged the movement, that "the apathy of the country +was undeniable; nor was it a transient humor. It seemed rather a +confirmed habit of mind. Four Reform Bills had been introduced of +late years by four different governments, and for not one of them +had there been the least enthusiasm. The conclusion to which he had +come was, that the advisers of the crown of all parties having +offered to the country various measures of reform, and the country +having shown itself indifferent to them all, the best course which +could now be taken was to wait till the country should show a +manifest desire for an amendment of the representation."[<a href= +"#note-275">275</a>]</p> +<p>There was, however, in these years one subject in which the +country did take a real interest; that was the development and +extension of the principles of free-trade. On that the national +view had become so decided that in 1848 the Parliament even +abolished the navigation laws, which had subsisted so long, the +first act on the subject dating from the reign of Richard II., that +the adherence to the principle contained in them of confining both +the export and the import trade of the kingdom, with but few +exceptions, to British shipping, seemed almost an essential article +of the constitution. It was the dearer, too, to the national +prejudices, from the sense universally entertained of the paramount +importance of maintaining the pre-eminence of our navy, and from +the belief that the commercial marine was a nursery for the royal +fleets, with which they could not dispense. But latterly the laws +had become unpopular even with some of those who had formerly been +supposed to derive the greatest benefit from them. Many of our +colonies had complained of their operation, and several of the +ablest of our colonial governors had recommended their repeal. They +had been found, too, to present frequent and considerable +difficulties in our commercial negotiations with other countries, +and many naval officers of large experience and sound judgment +expressed a decided belief that they were of no practical use to +the naval service. The result of a long and able debate was that +the laws were repealed, with the exception of that portion of them +which preserved the monopoly of the coasting trade to our own +seamen and vessels, that exception being chiefly dictated by +considerations connected with the prevention of smuggling.</p> +<p>The ground on which the ministers relied in proposing this +repeal of laws so ancient was that, when protection had been +removed from every other trade, those concerned in these different +trades had an irresistible claim for its removal from the shipping. +And on general principles, both of commerce and statesmanship, the +claim was, as they urged, irresistible, unless some object of +greater importance still than uniformity of +legislation—namely, the national safety, bound up as it +unquestionably was in the perpetual pre-eminence of the national +navy—required an exception to be made. But for the +maintenance of our maritime supremacy it was, as Burke had preached +three-quarters of a century before, better to trust to the spirit +of the people, to their attachment to their government, and to +their innate aptitude for seamanship, which they seem to have +inherited from the hardy rovers of the dark ages, and which no +other nation shares with them in an equal degree. And if that may +safely be trusted, as undoubtedly it may, to maintain the supremacy +of our warlike fleets, the preponderance of argument seemed greatly +on the side of those who contended that our commercial fleets +needed no such protection; to which it may be added that exceptions +to a general rule and principle are in themselves so questionable, +that the burden of proof seems to lie upon those who would +establish or maintain them. But the advocates of free-trade were +not content even with this triumph, though it might have been +thought a crowning one, and in the course of the next year they +succeeded in carrying a resolution which (though Lord Derby and the +opponents of the act of 1846 were now in office) was not resisted +even by the ministry, being, in fact, the result of a compromise +between the different parties; and which asserted that "the +improved condition of the country, and especially of the +industrious classes, was mainly the result of recent legislation, +which had established the principle of unrestricted competition, +... and that it was the opinion of the House that this policy, +firmly maintained and prudently extended, would, without inflicting +injury on any important interest, best enable the industry of the +country to bear its own burdens, and would thereby most surely +promote the welfare and contentment of the people." Such a +resolution was, in fact, the adoption of free-trade as the +permanent ruling principle of all future commercial legislation. +And even before the adoption of this resolution, the feeling in +favor of free-trade had been greatly strengthened by the Great +Exhibition, which not only delighted the world for six months with +a spectacle of such varied and surpassing beauty as even its +original projector, the Prince Consort, had not pictured to +himself, but which had also the farther and more important effect +of instructing the British workman in every branch of manufacture, +by bringing before his eyes the workmanship of other nations; and, +as we may well believe (though such a result is not so easily +tested), of improving the mutual good-will between rival nations, +from the respect for each which the experience of their skill and +usefulness could not fail to excite.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-258" id="note-258"> +<!-- Note Anchor 258 --></a>[Footnote 258: On the 20th of February, +1840, Baron Stockmar writes: "Melbourne told me that he had already +expressed his opinion to the Prince that the Court ought to take +advantage of the present movement to treat all parties, especially +the Tories, in the spirit of a general amnesty." To the Queen his +language was the same: "You should now hold out the olive-branch a +little."—<i>Life of the Prince Consort</i>, i., 83.]</p> +<p><a name="note-259" id="note-259"> +<!-- Note Anchor 259 --></a>[Footnote 259: He became Prime-minister +in September, 1841, and retired in June, 1846—four years and +three-quarters afterward.]</p> +<p><a name="note-260" id="note-260"> +<!-- Note Anchor 260 --></a>[Footnote 260: "Life of the Prince +Consort," i., 266. It may be remarked that, in spite of the opinion +thus expressed by Sir Robert Peel, of those who, since his +retirement in 1846, have held the same office, the majority have +been members of the House of Commons. The peers who have since been +Prime-ministers have been Lord Aberdeen and Lord Derby; the members +of the House of Commons have been Lord John Russell, Lord +Palmerston, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Gladstone; though it may be +thought that in his second ministry Mr. Disraeli showed his +concurrence in Sir Robert Peel's latest view, by becoming a peer in +the third year of his administration.]</p> +<p><a name="note-261" id="note-261"> +<!-- Note Anchor 261 --></a>[Footnote 261: Lord Stanhope tells us +"the remedial resolutions moved by Pitt in the House of Commons, as +abolishing the old duties and substituting new ones in a simpler +form, amounted in number to no less than 2537."—<i>Life of +Pitt</i>, i., 330. Peel, in his speech, March 21, 1842, states that +he reduces or takes off altogether (wherever the duty is trifling, +but is practicable) the duty on 750 articles of import.]</p> +<p><a name="note-262" id="note-262"> +<!-- Note Anchor 262 --></a>[Footnote 262: In the Commons by 307 to +184; in the Lords by 226 to 69.]</p> +<p><a name="note-263" id="note-263"> +<!-- Note Anchor 263 --></a>[Footnote 263: The following statements +of the members of colleges and of the three denominations for 1879, +1874, and 1869 appear in the last <i>Queen's University +Calendar</i>:</p> +<pre> + 1879. 1874. 1869. +Church of Ireland ....... 201 189 211 +Roman Catholics ....... 223 188 161 +Presbyterians .......... 388 249 227 +Other denominations...... 88 87 83 + -- -- -- + 900 713 682] +</pre> +<p><a name="note-264" id="note-264"> +<!-- Note Anchor 264 --></a>[Footnote 264: In the course of the +session, in order to tranquillize the public mind on the subject, +secret committees were appointed by both Houses of Parliament to +investigate the subject, from whose inquiries it appeared that, +since the days when the government was endangered by the plots of +the Jacobites, the power had been very sparingly used. The most +conspicuous instance of its employment had been in the case of +Bishop Atterbury, several of whose letters had been opened, and +were produced in Parliament to justify the bill of "pains and +penalties" which was passed against him. The power had been +confined to Great Britain till the latter part of the last century, +when it was judged desirable to extend it also to the +Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. But, since the Peace of Amiens, the +number of letters opened in a year had not, on an average, exceeded +eight; nor was there the least ground for suspecting that a single +one had been opened except on such information as fully warranted +suspicion.</p> +<p>The practice, however, was not confined to our own government. +In the second volume of the "Life of Bishop Wilberforce" a page is +given of his diary, dated July 18, 1854, which records a +conversation in which the Duke of Newcastle and Lord John Russell +took part, and in which it is mentioned that the French government, +under the administration of M. Guizot, opened letters, and that the +practice was not confined to monarchical or absolute governments, +for "the American government opens most freely all letters." And, +with reference to this particular case, the Duke of Newcastle said +that "Sir James Graham really opened Mazzini's letters on +information which led to a belief that a great act of violence and +bloodshed might be prevented by it."—<i>Life of Bishop +Wilberforce</i>, ii., 247.]</p> +<p><a name="note-265" id="note-265"> +<!-- Note Anchor 265 --></a>[Footnote 265: A subsequent act, passed +since the date at which the present history closes, has repealed +even this exception. By the 33d Victoria, c. 14 ("Law Reports," p. +169), it is enacted that "an alien, to whom a certificate of +naturalization is granted, shall in the United Kingdom be entitled +to all political and other rights, powers, and privileges, and be +subject to all obligations to which a natural born British subject +is entitled as subject in the United Kingdom," etc.; and at the +general election of 1880 the Baron de Ferrieres, a Belgian +nobleman, who had been naturalized in 1867, was elected M.P. for +Cheltenham.]</p> +<p><a name="note-266" id="note-266"> +<!-- Note Anchor 266 --></a>[Footnote 266: In one instance—on +the question whether twelve should be the number of hours, as +proposed by the Government—the majority against that number +was 186 to 183. But immediately afterward a majority of 188 to 184 +decided against Lord Ashley's alternative proposal of ten +hours.]</p> +<p><a name="note-267" id="note-267"> +<!-- Note Anchor 267 --></a>[Footnote 267: As President of the +Board of Trade. He afterward was raised to the Peerage as Lord +Taunton.]</p> +<p><a name="note-268" id="note-268"> +<!-- Note Anchor 268 --></a>[Footnote 268: The second reading was +carried in the House of Lords by 49 to 37.]</p> +<p><a name="note-269" id="note-269"> +<!-- Note Anchor 269 --></a>[Footnote 269: See "Peel's Memoirs," +ii., 173.]</p> +<p><a name="note-270" id="note-270"> +<!-- Note Anchor 270 --></a>[Footnote 270: It has been observed +that till the Corn-laws were repealed there had been no instance +whatever of any person who had been engaged in trade becoming a +cabinet minister. Since that time there have been several, some of +whom only relinquished their share in houses of business on +receiving their appointments, and some who are generally understood +to have continued to participate in the profits of trade while +members of an administration.]</p> +<p><a name="note-271" id="note-271"> +<!-- Note Anchor 271 --></a>[Footnote 271: Alison, quoting the +General Report of the Census Commissioners, estimates the deaths +caused by famine and the diseases engendered by it at the appalling +number of 590,000, and states the sums advanced under different +acts of Parliament to meet the emergency at +£7,132,268.—<i>History of Europe</i>, vii., 274, 276, +2d series.]</p> +<p><a name="note-272" id="note-272"> +<!-- Note Anchor 272 --></a>[Footnote 272: The same statesman who +has previously been mentioned as Lord Stanley, and whom the death +of his father had recently raised to the House of Peers.]</p> +<p><a name="note-273" id="note-273"> +<!-- Note Anchor 273 --></a>[Footnote 273: In 1853 he said to Lord +Clarendon, speaking of a new bill which he was pressing on Lord +Aberdeen, then Prime-minister, "I am for making it as Conservative +as possible, and that by a large extension of the suffrage. The +Radicals are the ten-pound holders. The five-pound holders will be +Conservative, as they are more easily acted upon."—<i>Life of +the Prince Consort</i>, ii., 503. It was the same idea that +inspired some of the details of the Reform Bill subsequently passed +by Lord Derby's third ministry.]</p> +<p><a name="note-274" id="note-274"> +<!-- Note Anchor 274 --></a>[Footnote 274: "Life of the Prince +Consort," iv., 395.]</p> +<p><a name="note-275" id="note-275"> +<!-- Note Anchor 275 --></a>[Footnote 275: "Life of the Prince +Consort," v., 56.]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="CH13" id="CH13"><!-- CH13 --></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +<p class="blockquote">Dismissal of Lord Palmerston.—Theory of +the Relation between the Sovereign and the +Cabinet.—Correspondence of the Sovereign with French +Princes.—Russian War.—Abolition of the Tax on +Newspapers.—Life Peerages.—Resignation of two +Bishops.—Indian Mutiny.—Abolition of the Sovereign +Power of the Company.—Visit of the Prince of Wales to +India.—Conspiracy Bill.—Rise of the +Volunteers.—National Fortifications.—The Lords Reject +the Measure for the Repeal of the Paper-duties.—Lord +Palmerston's Resolutions.—Character of the Changes during the +last Century.</p> +<p>The frequency of ministerial changes at this time has already +been mentioned, and the first of them took place at the beginning +of 1852, under circumstances which throw some light on a question +which has never been exactly defined—the duty of the +different members of a cabinet to one another, to the +Prime-minister, and to the sovereign.</p> +<p>Queen Victoria had a high idea of her duties and +responsibilities. From any legal responsibility she was aware that +she was exempt; but she did not the less consider that a moral +responsibility rested on her not to be content to give her royal +sanction as a mere matter of form to every scheme or measure which +might be submitted to her, but to examine every case for herself, +to form her own opinion, and, if it differed from that of her +ministers, to lay her objections and views fairly before them, +though prepared, as the constitution required, to act on their +decision rather than on her own, if, in spite of her arguments, +they adhered to their judgment. And in carrying out this notion of +her duty she was singularly aided by the Prince, her husband, a man +of perfectly upright character, of great general ability, and who, +from the first moment of his married life, regulated his views of +every question, domestic and foreign, by its bearing on English +interests and English feelings, to which he early acclimatized +himself with a remarkable readiness of appreciation.</p> +<p>In the administration of Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston was +Foreign Secretary, and during its latter years foreign affairs +occupied more of the attention of the country than matters of +domestic policy.</p> +<p>The revolution of 1848, which overthrew the Orleans dynasty, had +produced in France a state of affairs but little removed from +anarchy, which was scarcely mitigated by the election of Prince +Louis Napoleon to the Presidency of the new republic for four +years, so constant was the opposition which the Republican party in +the Assembly offered to every part of his policy. They even carried +their opposition so far as to form a deliberate plan for the +impeachment of his minister and himself, and for his arrest and +imprisonment at Vincennes. But he was well-informed of all these +dangers, and on the morning of the 2d of December, 1851 (the day, +as was commonly believed, having been selected by him as being the +anniversary of his uncle's great victory of Austerlitz), he +anticipated them by the arrest of all the leading malcontents in +their beds; which he followed up by an appeal to the people to +adopt a new constitution which he set before them, the chief +article of which was the appointment of a President for ten +years.</p> +<p>No one could avoid seeing that what was aimed at was the +re-establishment of the Empire in his own person. And so arbitrary +a deed, as was inevitable, produced great excitement in England and +anxious deliberations in the cabinet. Their decision, in strict +uniformity with the principle that rules our conduct toward foreign +nations, was to instruct our ambassador in Paris, Lord Normanby, to +avoid any act or word which could wear the appearance of an act of +interference of any kind in the internal affairs of France. But, on +Lord Normanby reporting these instructions to the French Foreign +Secretary, M. Guizot, he learned, to his surprise and perplexity, +that Lord Palmerston had interfered already by expressing to the +French ambassador in London, M. de Walewski, his warm approval of +the President's conduct;[<a href="#note-276">276</a>] and Lord +Normanby, greatly annoyed at being directed to hold one language in +Paris, while the head of his department was taking a widely +different tone in Downing Street—a complication which +inevitably "subjected him to misrepresentation and +suspicion"—naturally complained to the Prime-minister of +being placed in so embarrassing a situation.</p> +<p>Both the Queen and the Prime-minister had for some time been +discontented at the independent manner in which Lord Palmerston +apparently considered himself entitled to transact the business of +his department, carrying it so far as even to claim a right to send +out despatches without giving them any intimation of either their +contents or their objects. And the Queen, in consequence, above a +year before,[<a href="#note-277">277</a>] had drawn up a +memorandum, in which she expressed with great distinctness her +desire to have every step which the Foreign Secretary might +recommend to be taken laid clearly before her, with sufficient time +for consideration, "that she might know distinctly to what she had +given her royal sanction;" and "to be kept informed of what passed +between him and the Foreign Ministers before important decisions +are taken," etc., etc. And, after such an intimation of her wish, +she not unnaturally felt great annoyance at learning that in a +transaction so important as this coup d'etat (to give it the name +by which from the first it was described in every country) Lord +Palmerston had taken upon himself to hold language to the French +Ambassador "in complete contradiction to the line of strict +neutrality and passiveness which she had expressed her desire to +see followed with regard to the late convulsions at Paris, and +which was approved by the cabinet."[<a href="#note-278">278</a>] +The Prime-minister seems to have taken the same view of the act, +and remonstrated with Lord Palmerston, who treated the matter very +lightly, and justified his right to hold such a conversation, which +he characterized as "unofficial," in such a tone and on such +grounds that Lord John considered he left him no alternative "but +to advise the Queen to place the Foreign Office in other +hands."</p> +<p>A careful and generally impartial political critic has recently +expressed an opinion "that Lord Palmerston made good his +case;"[<a href="#note-279">279</a>] but his argument on the +transaction seems to overlook the most material point in it. Lord +Palmerston's own defence of his conduct was, that "his conversation +with Walewski was of an unofficial description; that he had said +nothing to him which would in any degree or way fetter the action +of the government; and that, if it was to be held that a Secretary +of State could never express any opinion to a foreign minister on +passing events except as the organ of a previously consulted +cabinet, there would be an end of that easy and familiar +intercourse which tends essentially to promote good understanding +between ministers and government;" and he even added, as a personal +justification of himself as against the Prime-minister, that three +days afterward Lord John Russell himself, Lord Lansdowne (the +President of the Council), and Sir Charles Wood (the Chancellor of +the Exchequer) had all discussed the transaction with M. de +Walewski at a dinner-party, "and their opinions were, if anything, +rather more strongly favorable than his had been."</p> +<p>This personal aspect of the case it is impossible to discuss, +since there are no means of knowing whether the ministers mentioned +would have admitted the correctness of this report of their +language. If it were confessed to be accurate, it would only show +them to have been guilty of equal impropriety, and to a great +extent justify him as against the Prime-minister, whose +condemnation of his language, if he were conscious that he had held +the same himself, would be inexplicable. But it certainly does not +justify him in respect of her Majesty or the cabinet collectively, +since the Queen's complaint was, not that he held unofficial +conversations as a private individual, and not as "the organ of a +previously consulted cabinet," but that the tenor of the +conversation which he had held was in direct contradiction to the +tone which the cabinet had decided should be taken on the subject; +that his language was calculated to draw the government into a +course of action which it had been deliberately resolved to avoid. +And, in spite of the deference due to Lord Palmerston's great +experience, it is hard to see how a conversation between our +Foreign Secretary and the French Ambassador on an action, the +result of which is as yet undecided, can be wholly unofficial, in +the sense of having no influence on the conduct of affairs, or, as +he expressed it, "in no degree or way fettering the action of the +government."</p> +<p>The result was, as has been mentioned before, that the +Prime-minister recommended the removal of Lord Palmerston from his +office, and that he was removed accordingly. And this conclusion of +the case seems to show that the statement of the position of the +Prime-minister in the cabinet is rather understated by Mr. +Gladstone in one of his essays,[<a href="#note-280">280</a>] where +he says: "The head of the British government is not a Grand Vizier. +He has no powers, properly so called, over his colleagues; on the +rare occasions when a cabinet determines its course by the votes of +its members, his vote only counts as one of theirs." He admits at +the same time that "they are appointed and dismissed by the +sovereign on his advice." And surely to have the right of giving +this advice is to have the greatest possible power over his +colleagues; not power, perhaps, to change their opinions (though it +possibly at times has had power to prevent the expression of them), +but power to compass their immediate removal from the +administration, as was exercised in this instance, and as had been +exercised by Pitt with regard to Lord Thurlow. That a difference of +opinion, even on an important subject, is not always regarded as a +sufficient cause for such a dismissal; that a Prime-minister, +especially if conscious of his strength, occasionally consents to +retain colleagues who differ from him on some one subject, the same +work to which we are partly indebted for our knowledge of the +details of this affair—the "Life of the Prince +Consort"—furnishes two remarkable instances in which the +Prime-minister, then Lord Palmerston himself, submitted to be +overruled. We read there that on one occasion, when "Count Persigny +sought the active intervention of England by the way of 'moral +support' to a demand" which France proposed to address to Austria, +"Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell (then Foreign Secretary) +were disposed to accede; but a different view was taken both by her +Majesty and by the cabinet, and Count Persigny's request was +accordingly declined."[<a href="#note-281">281</a>] On this +occasion, it is true, he was yielding to an overwhelming majority +of his colleagues (her Majesty's approval must, of course, have +been expressed subsequently to their decision). But in another +instance we find the same Prime-minister consenting to the +introduction of a bill by one of his colleagues, Mr. Gladstone, +then Chancellor of the Exchequer, of which he disapproved so highly +that, after it had been passed by a very slender majority of the +House of Commons,[<a href="#note-282">282</a>] he expressed to the +Queen a hope that the closeness of the division "might encourage +the House of Lords to throw out the bill when it should come to +their House, and that he was bound in duty to say that, if they +should do so, they would perform a good public service;" and after +they had rejected it by a majority of eighty-nine, he pronounced +that "they had done a right and useful thing," reporting to her +Majesty, as a corroboration of this opinion, and as a proof that it +was largely shared by the public out-of-doors, that "the people in +the gallery of the House of Lords are said to have joined in the +cheers which broke out when the numbers of the division were +announced."[<a href="#note-283">283</a>] And on a third occasion +also he bore with the same colleague's opposition to a measure +which he and all the rest of the cabinet justly thought of vital +importance to the best interests of the country, the fortification +of our great seaports, allowing him to object for a time in +private, and even to threaten public opposition to it the next +year, since he felt assured that his opposition, if carried out, +which he doubted, would be wholly ineffectual.[<a href= +"#note-284">284</a>]</p> +<p>The personal interest in politics which this laudable habit of +judging of everything for herself naturally engendered in the +Queen's mind led, however, to the adoption by her Majesty, in more +than one instance, of a course at variance not only with all +historical precedent, but, with deference be it said, with +constitutional principle, sanctioned though it was by more than one +ministry. When the First Napoleon, after his elevation to the head +of the French government as First Consul, proposed, by an autograph +letter to George III., to treat with that sovereign for the +conclusion of peace between the two nations, Pitt, to whom his +Majesty communicated the letter, had no difficulty in deciding that +it would be unseasonable for the King "to depart from the forms +long established in Europe for transacting business with foreign +states,"[<a href="#note-285">285</a>] and, under his guidance, the +cabinet instructed Lord Grenville, as Foreign Secretary, to address +the reply to the First Consul's letter to the French Foreign +Secretary, M. de Talleyrand.</p> +<p>But this reign has witnessed several departures from the old and +convenient rule. Its violation was not begun by her Majesty, but by +the Emperor Nicholas of Russia in the year preceding the Crimean +war. He wrote to the Queen herself to discuss some of the points in +dispute, and she answered his letter with her own hand.[<a href= +"#note-286">286</a>] The outbreak of war which soon ensued +prevented any continuation of that correspondence; but the close +alliance which that war for a time produced between England and +France, strengthened as it was by an interchange of visits between +the royal and imperial families, which led to the establishment of +a strong mutual friendliness and regard, led also to an occasional +interchange of letters on some of the gravest questions affecting +the policy of the two nations. The correspondence was sanctioned by +successive English cabinets, every letter which the Queen either +received from, or sent to, any foreign prince on political affairs +being invariably communicated by her either to the Prime-minister +or to the Foreign Secretary; and they, in one instance, even +suggesting to her Majesty to write to Louis Napoleon[<a href= +"#note-287">287</a>] with an object so delicate as that of +influencing the language with which he was about to open his +Chambers.</p> +<p>But we must think the line recommended by Pitt to George III. +both more constitutional and more safe. A letter from one sovereign +to another on political subjects cannot be divested of the +character of a state-paper, and for every state-paper some one must +be responsible. The sovereign cannot be, but for every one of his +actions the ministers are. And it follows, therefore, that they are +thus made responsible for documents of which they have not been the +original authors; of which, were it not for the courtesy of the +sovereign, they might by possibility be wholly ignorant; and with +parts of which, even with the knowledge which that courtesy has +afforded them, they may not fully coincide, since they could hardly +venture to subject a composition of their royal mistress to a +vigorous criticism. Such a correspondence, therefore, places them +so far in a false position, and it runs the risk of placing the +sovereign himself in one equally false and unpleasant, since, if +the opinions expressed or the advice given fail of their effect, +the adviser is so far lowered in the eyes of his correspondent and +of the world.</p> +<p>As has been incidentally mentioned, in the spring of 1854 war +broke out with Russia, nominally on account of the Sultan's refusal +to concede some of the Czar's demands concerning the condition of +the Greek Church in Palestine, but more really because, believing +the Turkish empire to be in the last stage of decay, he hoped by +hastening its destruction to obtain the lion's share of its spoils. +And for the first time for two centuries an English and French army +stood together in a field of battle as allies. In the field our +armies were invariably victorious, inflicting severe defeats on the +enemy at Alma and Inkerman, and wresting from them the mighty +fortress of Sebastopol, in the Crimea, which hitherto they had +believed to be absolutely impregnable. Our fleet was, if possible, +still more triumphant, destroying Bomarsund and Sweaborg, in the +Baltic, without the Russian ships daring to fire a single gun in +their defence, while their Black Sea fleet was even sunk by its own +admiral, as the only expedient to save it from capture. And in the +spring of 1856 the war was terminated by a treaty of peace, in +which, for the first time since the days of Peter the Great, Russia +was compelled to submit to a cession of territory. But (it may +almost be said) to the credit of the nation these successes, +glorious and substantial as they were, made at the time scarcely so +great an impression on the people as the hardships which, in the +first winter of the war, our troops suffered from the defective +organization of our commissariat. Want of shelter and want of food +proved more destructive than the Russian cannon; presently our +gallant soldiers were reported to be perishing by hundreds for lack +of common necessaries; and the news awakened so clamorous a +discontent throughout the whole of the United Kingdom as led to +another change of ministry, and Lord Aberdeen was succeeded by Lord +Palmerston. While a war on so large a scale was being waged there +was but little time to spare for the work of the legislator, though +it is not foreign to our subject to relate that in 1855 the last of +those taxes which the political economists denounced as taxes on +knowledge, the tax on newspapers, was abolished. Originally it had +been fourpence; in 1836 Mr. Spring Rice, Chancellor of the +Exchequer in Lord Melbourne's ministry, had reduced it to a penny; +and now, with a very general acquiescence, it was abolished +altogether.</p> +<p>The entire abolition of a tax is not properly to be called a +financial measure, that epithet belonging rather to those which aim +at an augmentation of revenue by an increase in the number of +contributors to a tax, while lessening the amount paid by each. But +the abandonment of the tax in question should rather be regarded as +a sacrifice of revenue for the instruction of the people in +political knowledge; a price paid to enable and induce the poorer +classes to take a well-instructed interest in the affairs of the +state and the general condition of the country. And, viewed in this +light, the abolition of this tax must be allowed to have been a +political measure of great importance, and to have contributed +greatly to the end which was aimed at. Till 1836 a daily paper, +costing sevenpence, was the luxury of the few; and the sale even of +those which had the largest circulation was necessarily limited. +But the removal of the tax at once gave birth to a host of penny +newspapers, conducted for the most part with great ability, and +soon attaining a circulation which reached down to all but the very +poorest class; so that the working-man has now an opportunity of +seeing the most important questions of the day discussed from every +point of view, and of thus acquiring information and forming a +judgment on them which the subsequent extension of the franchise +makes it more than ever desirable that he should be able to form +for himself. Every movement in that direction renders it the more +necessary to raise the intelligence of the great mass of the people +to a level which may enable them to make a safe and salutary use of +the power placed in their hands. And no mode of implanting a +wholesome political feeling in the masses can equal candid +political discussion: discussion one ruling principle of which +shall be to teach that the greatest differences of opinion may be +honestly entertained; that, with scarcely an exception, the leading +men of each party, those who have any title to the name of +statesman, are animated with an honest, patriotic desire to promote +the best interests of the nation; and that the elucidation of truth +is not aided by unreasoning invective and the undeserved imputation +of base motives.</p> +<p>One of the last topics discussed by Mr. Hallam was the +introduction of a bill to limit for the future the prerogative of +the crown in a field in which its exercise had previously been +unrestrained, the creation of peers;[<a href="#note-288">288</a>] +and among the last which we shall have to examine was one of an +exactly opposite character, though relating to the same subject, +the creation of a life peerage. In the winter of 1855 Sir James +Parke, one of the Barons of the Exchequer, was created Lord +Wenslydale, by letters-patent which conferred the title limiting it +also to the new peer's own life. The professed object of the +measure was to strengthen the judicial power of the House of Lords. +But it was not denied that the limitation of the peerage conferred +on him for his own life (a limitation which made no practical +difference to Sir James himself, since he had no children) was +intended to raise the question whether the crown could or could not +create a life peerage with a seat in the House of Lords. A creation +so limited was so novel, or at all events so long disused a +proceeding, that it inevitably provoked examination and discussion. +And, as it was found that the lawyers in general regarded it as +indefensible, at the beginning of the session of 1856 Lord +Lyndhurst brought the matter before the House of Lords by a motion +for the appointment of a committee of privileges to investigate and +report upon it. There were two aspects of the case which naturally +came to be considered in the debates on it which ensued: the +advantages or disadvantages, in other words, the political +expediency, of such a form of letters-patent, and their legal or +constitutional propriety. It was, of course, with the latter alone +that the committee of privileges had to deal. And this part of the +question was examined with great legal and antiquarian learning, +though, as was almost inevitable, it was argued as a party +question, except, indeed, by the lawyers. They, with the exception +of the Chancellor, Lord Cranworth, who had advised the measure, +were unanimous in their condemnation of it; the Whig peers, Lord +Brougham and Lord Campbell, then Chief-justice, being as positive +in their denial of the right so to exercise the prerogative as +those on the Opposition side of the House, Lord Lyndhurst or Lord +St. Leonards.[<a href="#note-289">289</a>]</p> +<p>The arguments against the measure were chiefly these: The +objectors drew a distinction between what was legal according to +the strict letter of the law, and what was constitutional; +contending that there might be exercises of the prerogative which +could not be affirmed to be illegal, but which no one would deny to +be altogether inconsistent with the principles and practice of the +constitution, since a great part of the constitution rested on +unwritten law, on long-continued usage, <i>Lex et consuetudo +Parliamenti</i>. And they affirmed that this measure was so opposed +to that usage, that "no instance had occurred within a period of +four hundred years in which a commoner had been raised to a seat in +the House of Lords by a patent of peerage containing only an estate +for life;"[<a href="#note-290">290</a>] one most essential, if not +the most essential character of the peerage being that it was an +hereditary dignity, and one which combined with its rank an +hereditary seat in the House of Lords. That one or two instances of +life peerages were to be found in the annals of the Plantagenet +kings was not denied, though none exactly similar in +character.[<a href="#note-291">291</a>] But Lord Lyndhurst argued +that precedents which had occurred "at a time when the constitution +of the country was neither understood nor fully formed" were +entitled to but little respect; and Lord Derby, limiting the age of +valid precedents a little more strictly, "said frankly that he had +no respect for any precedent affecting the prerogatives of the +crown that dated farther back than the year 1688." And since that +time, or indeed since the time of Henry VIII., it was certain that +no life peerage had ever been granted, except by Charles II., James +II., and George I. and II., to some of their mistresses, instances +wholly beside the present case, since, of course, none of those +ladies could claim seats in the House of Lords. Indeed, it was +believed that both Mr. Pitt, at the time of the Union, and Lord +Grey, in 1832, had considered the question, and had both decided +against the propriety of advising a creation of life peerages.</p> +<p>In defence of the measure Lord Granville refused to admit the +distinction between what was legal and what was constitutional; if +a measure were both legal, that is, warranted by the letter of the +law, and also expedient, these two concurrent qualities, he +contended, made it constitutional. He denied, also, that any legal +prerogatives of the crown could be held to have lapsed through +disuse; <i>nullum tempus occurrit Regi</i>; and he challenged any +peer to assert that the sovereign had lost the right of refusing +his royal assent to a measure passed by the two Houses, merely +because no sovereign since William III. had so exercised his royal +prerogative. And against the authority of Mr. Pitt and Lord Grey he +quoted that of Lord John Russell, who, in 1851, had offered a life +peerage to an eminent judge, who, though he had declined the offer, +had been influenced in his refusal by no doubt of the right of the +crown to make it.</p> +<p>On the expediency of the measure its opponents had urged that it +would effect a remodelling of the House of Peers, a total change of +its constitution, by the introduction of a second and distinct +class of peerages; and Lord Campbell, with a not unbecoming +jealousy for what he regarded as the interests of his brother +lawyers, argued that it would "henceforth prevent any lawyer, +however eminent he might have been as an advocate, whatever +services he might have rendered to the state in the House of +Commons, whatever fame or fortune he might have acquired, from +aspiring to an hereditary peerage, or to becoming the founder of a +family, since, to make a distinction between the Chancellor and the +Chief-justice, between one Chancellor or Chief-justice and another, +when coming into the Upper House, as to the tenure of their honors, +would be intolerable; all must be under the same rule, 'no son of +theirs succeeding.'" And Lord Lyndhurst closed his argument by +drawing a comparison between the House of Lords and the French +Senate: "It was but a few weeks since he had read an official +comment in the <i>Moniteur</i>, coming from the highest source, on +the inefficiency, the want of patriotism, energy, and the +backwardness to fulfil the high destinies to which they were +called, that characterized that illustrious body, the Senate of +France. He had no disposition to cut down our tribunal to that life +interest on which the Senate of France is based, as he believed the +hereditary character of the House of Lords to be one from which +great and important advantages are derived.... The hereditary +principle," he added, "is intwined in every part of our +constitution; we in this House enjoy our hereditary rights in +common with the crown; we mutually support and assist each other, +and we form a barrier and defence to protect both those branches of +the constitution against any by whom they may be assailed."</p> +<p>As Lord Granville had made the expediency of any measure the +quality which, combined with legality, was sufficient to establish +its constitutional character, he naturally labored this point with +especial diligence. He dwelt upon the great importance of +strengthening the judicial element in the House, since it was the +great ultimate court of appeal. He produced a letter of the great +Chancellor, Lord Eldon, which quoted instances in which various +administrations had found difficulties in the way of introducing +eminent lawyers into the House, because their want of adequate +fortune to support the rank had disinclined them to encumber their +descendants with an hereditary peerage. He showed also that that +difficulty had made so great an impression on their own Chairman of +Committees, Lord Redesdale, that on one occasion he had intimated a +feeling in favor of allowing "the Law, in the same way as the +Church, to be, to a certain extent, represented in the House by the +holders of certain offices, who should be admitted to that House as +Peers of Parliament during the continuance of holding such office" +(to which argument Earl Grey added another, that the instance of +bishops, who were but life peers, proved that the holders of life +peerages were not considered inferior to hereditary peers).</p> +<p>He dwelt, too, on the evil consequence of the Lords "placing +themselves before the country as seeking to limit the prerogative +of the crown, when that prerogative was exercised with a view to +remedy something that was weak, and to remove a certain imminent +danger." What the danger was he certainly did not explain. But Lord +Grey, in supporting him, took wider ground, and, applying the +argument derived from Lord Eldon's letter to other professions, +extolled the idea of instituting life peerages as one whose effect +would be "more easily to open the doors of the House to men whom it +was desirable should be admitted—to distinguished officers; +to eminent writers; to members of the House of Commons, who in +their different lines might have rendered good service to the +state, but who, though possessing means amply sufficient to support +their rank during their own life, yet, from having only a life +income, or a numerous family to be provided for, might be unable to +accept an hereditary peerage without injury to their family. In +such instances," he contended, "it would be most desirable to grant +peerages for life only. Such a proceeding would, he was convinced, +by no means disincline others in different circumstances to accept +hereditary titles, nor indispose the ministry to confer them. Nor +did he see any reason for fearing that the practice of creating +life peerages would be more likely to be abused for the purpose of +increasing the power of the minister than the creation of +hereditary peerages."</p> +<p>The committee of privileges was appointed, and reported it as +the opinion of the members that "neither the letters-patent by +themselves, or with, the addition of the usual writ of summons, +could entitle the grantee to sit and vote in Parliament." And the +House, by a majority of ninety-two to fifty-seven, adopted their +report. The ministers yielded to its judgment, and ennobled Lord +Wenslydale by a new patent in the usual form, as Lord Derby had +suggested. But Lord Derby desired to show that his objection had +been founded on principle only; and, as he was willing to admit +that, apart from the principle involved, "some advantages in +certain cases, and under certain modifications, might arise from +peerages for life," he proposed the appointment of a select +committee "to consider the expediency of making provision for the +more efficient discharge of the duties of the House as a court of +appeal." The committee was appointed, and, after careful +consideration, recommended the creation of two new offices, to be +held by two law lords, as "Deputy Speakers of the House of Lords," +who should be judges of at least five years' standing, and should +be enabled "by authority of Parliament to sit and vote in the +House, and enjoy all the rights and privileges of a peer of +Parliament under a patent conferring a peerage for life only, if +the crown may have granted or shall grant the same to such persons +in preference to an hereditary peerage, provided always that not +more than four persons shall have seats in the House at one time as +peers for life." Such an arrangement would have introduced a new +practice, but not a new principle, since the annexation of a seat +in the House of Lords to certain offices had existed from time +immemorial in the case of the bishops. And the bill was carried in +the House of Lords, but defeated in the Commons by a motion to +refer it to a committee, which was adopted by a small majority, in +a not very full House,[<a href="#note-292">292</a>] toward the end +of the session.</p> +<p>Those who look at the question apart from all preference of one +minister or one party to another will, probably, be of opinion that +the decision of the committee, that a life peerage thus created by +the crown could not confer a seat in Parliament, was conformable to +the most legitimate view of the constitution. It was, indeed, +matter of history that in the Middle Ages the crown had exercised +its prerogative in many ways which it had since abandoned. Boroughs +had been enfranchised, and again disfranchised, apparently from no +motive but pure caprice; writs of summons had been withheld from +peers.[<a href="#note-293">293</a>] But no one would have justified +the repetition of such acts now. And common-sense, as well as +recognized usage, favored the doctrine that long disuse was a +sufficient and lawful barrier against their revival. That the power +of conferring life peerages with a seat in Parliament—of +which, perhaps, the only undeniable instances were the cases of the +brothers of Henry V., whose royal blood would in those days, +probably, have been held to warrant an exception in their +favor—had not been exercised for full four hundred years, was +admitted; and the assumption that so long a disuse of a power was +tantamount to a tacit renunciation of it, is quite compatible with +a loyal and due zeal for the maintenance of other parts of the +prerogative which have suffered no such abatement.</p> +<p>If, however, we consider the expediency of the measure, or, in +other words, the possible advantage that might ensue from the +existence of a power to create life peerages with a seat in +Parliament, opinions will probably be more divided. We have seen +that Lord Derby allowed that there might be advantages in such an +exercise of power under certain limitations; and the existing +system does, undoubtedly, appear open to improvement in certain +cases. At present the only mode of rewarding naval or military +commanders who have performed brilliant and useful service, or a +Speaker of the House of Commons, whose public career, though less +showy and glorious, may at times have been scarcely less valuable, +and has certainly been by far more irksome, is the grant of a +peerage with a pension for lives. Without the peerage they cannot +have the pension.[<a href="#note-294">294</a>] And, consequently, +many most distinguished officers, whose conspicuous merits well +deserved conspicuous honors, have gone unrewarded except by some +promotion of knighthood, which carries with it no substantial +benefit; while the descendants of some of those who have been +ennobled have openly lamented that the only mode which could be +found of honoring their fathers proves a punishment to their heirs, +by encumbering them with an empty title, which they are unable +adequately to support, and practically closing against them avenues +to possible wealth and distinction which custom pronounces +derogatory to their rank. So, not to mention the names of living +worthies, no reward could be found for Sir W. Parker, that brave +and skilful seaman who conducted a British fleet two hundred miles +up a Chinese river, and crowned his exploits by the capture of a +mighty city, which had never before beheld a European flag; nor for +Inglis, who, when the safety of our Indian Empire hung upon his +gallantry, successfully sustained a siege whose hardships and +dangers are surpassed by none in ancient or modern history. Many +will, probably, be of opinion that it is not for the honor of +England that such services should want due recognition; and that +for men like those life peerages with liberal pensions would be an +appropriate recompense. It would, of course, be impossible to limit +the number of them beforehand, but it would also be needless, since +the nature of the services by which alone they could be deserved +would act of itself as a sufficient limitation.</p> +<p>One of the expedients which had been mentioned in this +discussion had been the annexation of peerages to certain offices, +to which it had been regarded as an unanswerable objection that +this would be the creation of an absolutely unheard-of tenure, the +peer thus created being able at pleasure to lay down his peerage, +or even, it might be, being removable. But before the end of the +session an emergency arose which induced Parliament to sanction the +principle, novel though it was, that an official peerage, if a +bishopric may be so called, might be laid down with the sanction of +Parliament when the holder was no longer able to discharge its +duties. Two of the most eminent members of the Episcopal bench, Dr. +Blomfield, Bishop of London, and Dr. Maltby, Bishop of Durham, had +become wholly incapable of discharging their duties, the one having +been struck down by paralysis, and the other being almost blind. +And they now proposed to the Prime-minister that he should make +some arrangement by which they might be allowed to relinquish their +offices, retaining a certain portion of the income of their sees as +a retiring pension. There was no precedent for such an arrangement, +but the necessity of the two cases was so manifest, the injury +which the Church must suffer if the superintendence of two such +important dioceses were to be neglected, was so palpable, and the +conditions of the retiring pensions asked were so moderate and +equitable, that Lord Palmerston had no hesitation in sanctioning +the introduction of a bill to give effect to the arrangement +proposed.</p> +<p>It did not pass without vigorous resistance from more than one +quarter. The Bishop of Exeter complained of it as incompatible with +the great Church principle, that a bishop could only resign his +office to the archbishop of his province; others opposed it as a +violation of the common law, which forbids any bargain being made +for the resignation of an office; while some, referring to the +prohibition of simony (a word, perhaps, as much misunderstood and +as often misapplied as any in the language), denounced the +arrangement that the retiring prelates were to have pensions as +simoniacal.[<a href="#note-295">295</a>] The most reasonable +objection made to the proceeding was, that such exceptional +legislation to meet an isolated case tended to establish a +dangerous precedent, and that, as there were other men of great age +on the bench, it would be better to effect the end now aimed at by +a large general measure providing means for the retirement of all +clergymen, those of inferior rank as well as bishops, whom age or +infirmity might incapacitate. But the general feeling was against +delay. The bill passed, and served in some degree as a model for +that general measure which was soon afterward introduced, and +which, as was suggested on this occasion, provided for an +arrangement similar in principle being carried out whenever a +priest holding any kind of ecclesiastical preferment should become +disabled for the performance of its duties.</p> +<p>There can be no doubt that such legislation was absolutely +necessary in the interests of the Church, taking that expression to +include, not the clergy alone, but the whole congregation of +Churchmen. But it introduced a remarkable change into the system of +ecclesiastical peerages, and, so far, into the constitution of the +House of Lords. What was resigned by the two prelates was not the +peerage (they had still the right to be styled "my lord"), but the +seat in the House of Lords, which was a part, and which had +hitherto been regarded as an inseparable part of it, or, at least +(as it should, perhaps, rather be said, since the recent regulation +that the junior bishop should not have a seat was a clear violation +of that principle), which hitherto no one had been able to +dissociate from the peerage after it had been once enjoyed.</p> +<p>The treaties which terminated the war with Russia were not +concluded till the spring of 1856; and it was well, indeed, that +the country had no longer a foreign war on her hands, for a +twelvemonth had scarcely elapsed when the very continuation of her +existence as a great Eastern power was suddenly imperilled by what, +regarded in one aspect, was a mutiny of her troops on a most +extensive scale; in another, a civil war, waged by a combination of +native princes, Hindoo as well as Mohammedan,[<a href= +"#note-296">296</a>] for the total extinction of our power, and the +expulsion of the British race from Bengal. As early as the first +week of February several commanders of regiments and other +authorities received warnings of the organization of a wide +conspiracy against our power; and in the second week of May the +troops at Meerut broke into open mutiny, set fire to the public +buildings, murdered their officers, and even their wives and +children, and then marched off to Delhi, where the garrison was +prepared to receive them with open arms, and to imitate their +atrocities. The contagion spread, and in a few weeks nearly all +Bengal was in arms. In one or two instances the native chiefs stood +by us, but the greater number joined the insurgents, some from the +desire to throw off our yoke, but others, probably, from constraint +and through fear. Whatever were their motives, before the end of +June nearly all the principal cities and fortresses of Bengal, up +to the very gates of Calcutta, were in the hands of the insurgents, +the chief exception being at the great city of Lucknow, where, +though the mutineers got possession of the city, a British garrison +held the Residency, in the centre; and, maintaining themselves with +heroic fortitude, unsurpassed in all the history of war, for nearly +nine months, contributed more than any other body of men to the +final suppression of the revolt. It would be beside our purpose +here to dwell upon the great deeds by which in that terrible year +our army, in all its branches, maintained its old renown; upon the +recapture of Delhi; the deliverance of the incomparable defenders +and preservers of Lucknow; the exploits of Lawrence, and Inglis, +and Havelock, and Outram, and Peel, and Campbell; and, if we are +forced to deny ourselves the proud gratification of dwelling on +their combined heroism and wisdom, we may for the same reason be +spared the pain of recounting the horrid cruelties wreaked in too +many instances not only on the officers who fell into the rebels' +hands, and on the civil magistrates, but on the helpless women and +children. In the first excitement of fear and horror those +cruelties were, no doubt, greatly exaggerated, but still enough +remains proved to stamp the insurrection as one branding with the +foulest disgrace the race which perpetrated and exulted in +them.</p> +<p>It was not till the last week of 1858 that the last sparks of +rebellion were finally extinguished by the defeat in Oude of the +last body of rebels who remained in arms, and the flight of the +remnant of their force across the frontier of Nepaul; but, even +before that day came, the ministry at home had been led to see the +necessity of putting the government of the country for the future +on a different footing. It could hardly be doubted that the prompt +suppression of a revolt of so unprecedented a magnitude, and the +proof given in the course of our operations that the British +soldier still maintained the same superiority over the native +trooper as in the days of Clive, had heightened our reputation and +the belief of our power among the native tribes. But, speedily and +decisively crushed though it had been, the revolt had given too +terrible a proof of the inconstancy and treachery of the native +tribes not to act as a warning to our statesmen; and the reflection +that was thus forced upon them showed that a company of merchants, +however distinguished by general courage and sagacity they had +shown themselves, was no longer qualified to exercise imperial +dominion over a territory which now extended over more than a +million of square miles, and more than a hundred and fifty millions +of native subjects.</p> +<a name="firstweek" id="firstweek"></a> +<p>Accordingly, in the first week of the session of 1858, Lord +Palmerston, as Prime-minister, introduced a bill to transfer the +government of British India from the East India Company to the +crown. It was natural that the principle of such a measure should +be opposed by the Directors of the Company, though it was supported +by more than one person who had held high civil office in India; +and equally natural that the arrangement of its details should call +forth a minute and rigorous examination, and on many points a very +determined opposition. We need not, however, say more about this +bill, since circumstances prevented its being proceeded with; and +the history of those which succeeded it is now only worth referring +to as showing the extreme difficulty of the task of framing a +government on new principles for a dependency of such vast +magnitude and importance.[<a href="#note-297">297</a>]</p> +<p>Lord Palmerston's bill was dropped, in consequence of the fall +of his ministry, before the time came for its second reading; but +the discussion on it had to some extent smoothed the way for that +of his successor, Lord Derby. A great impression on the Parliament, +and on the country in general, had been made by a very able speech +of Sir G.C. Lewis, Chancellor of the Exchequer. He traced the whole +history of the Indian government from the day of Plassy, and +substantiated the right of the home government and Parliament to +remodel it as they might judge best, by proving that ever since the +passing of Pitt's first bill, in 1784, the Company had been +constantly subject to Parliamentary control. He showed, too, most +convincingly, that a petition which the Company had presented to +the House of Commons, deprecating any change in the existing system +which should tend to diminish the authority of the Directors, was +based on one great fallacy—speaking, as it did, of the +Company as one and indivisible, and unchanged in character, +functions, and influence, down to the date of the last renewal of +its charter, only five years previously; whereas the truth was, +that in the one hundred years since Plassy the system had undergone +as many changes as the English constitution between the Heptarchy +and the reign of Queen Victoria.</p> +<p>He had thus removed some of the obstacles out of the way of the +measure of the new government, though Lord Derby would have +preferred postponing it till tranquillity should have been restored +to the country by the complete suppression of the revolt, had not +the large majority[<a href="#note-298">298</a>] which had +sanctioned the introduction of Lord Palmerston's bill, in his +opinion, "placed the Company in such a situation that they could no +longer command the same amount of public confidence and public +support as they were entitled to receive previously to that vote of +the House of Commons." It may be added that the first bill on the +subject which was introduced by his government bore evident marks +of the difficulties under which it was framed—difficulties +existing from the unexpected suddenness of his accession to office; +so that, after a not very short discussion, it was eventually +withdrawn, and it was not till the end of June that the measure +which was finally adopted was introduced.</p> +<p>The leading enactments of the measure[<a href= +"#note-299">299</a>] provided that for the future the government of +India, described as having been hitherto vested in, or exercised +by, the Company in trust for her Majesty, should be vested in her +Majesty, and exercised in her name; that one of her Majesty's +principal Secretaries of State should have and perform all such +powers and duties relating to the government or revenues of India +as had formerly belonged to the Court of Directors, as the Court of +Proprietors of the Company; that a Council of the Governor-general +should be established, consisting of fifteen members, seven of whom +should be appointed by the Court of Directors, being persons who +were, or had formerly been, Directors of the Company, and eight +should be nominated by the crown. And as to both classes, it was +provided that the majority should consist of persons who had served +or resided in India for ten years at the least, and should not have +left India more than ten years when appointed. They were to hold +their offices during good behavior, to receive salaries, and to be +entitled to retiring pensions, but to be incapable of sitting in +Parliament. The appointment of Governor-general and Governor of +each Presidency was to belong to the crown. The expenditure of the +revenues of India, both in India and elsewhere, was to be subject +to the control of the Secretary of State in Council; other clauses +provided for the dividends of the Company, for the admission of +persons into the civil service; and, with reference to existing +establishments, one clause provided that "the Indian military and +naval forces should remain under existing conditions of +service."</p> +<p>This last clause was strongly objected to by the Queen,[<a href= +"#note-300">300</a>] as "inconsistent with her constitutional +position as head of the army, which required that the +Commander-in-chief should be put in communication with the new +Secretary of State for India, in the same manner in which he is +placed with regard to the troops at home or in the colonies toward +the Secretary of State for War.... With regard to the whole army, +whether English or Indian, there could, with due regard to the +public interest, be only one head and one general command." She +yielded her opinion, however, to the resolute objections of the +Prime-minister, with whom on this point his predecessor,[<a href= +"#note-301">301</a>] Lord Palmerston, agreed; but the result proved +the superior soundness of her Majesty's view. It was not only a +most anomalous arrangement, since the supreme control of all the +warlike forces was one of the most inalienable prerogatives of the +crown, but it had the strange fault of preserving the double +government in the case in which, above all others, unity of system +and unity of command were most indispensable. And, what weighed +more than either consideration with the generally practical views +of English statesmen, it was from the beginning found to work +badly, creating, as it did, great and mischievous jealousies +between the two divisions, the Royal and the Indian army. It was +found that all the generals then in the highest commands in +India—Lord Clyde (Sir Colin Campbell having been ennobled by +that title), Sir Hugh Rose, and Sir William +Mansfield—strongly disapproved of it, and recommended a +change; and consequently, in the summer of 1860, Lord Palmerston, +who in the mean while had returned to the Treasury, came round to +the Queen's view of the subject, and a new act was passed which +amalgamated the two armies into one Imperial army, taking its turn +of duty throughout all parts of the British empire.[<a href= +"#note-302">302</a>]</p> +<p>A letter addressed by Lord Palmerston to the Queen in the autumn +of 1857, which appears to have been his first statement to her +Majesty of the opinion which he had formed of the necessity of +abolishing the governing authority of the Company, states the +principal arguments in favor of such a measure with great +clearness, as arising from "the inconvenience and difficulty of +administering the government of a vast country on the other side of +the globe by means of two cabinets, the one responsible to the +crown and Parliament, the other only responsible to the holders of +Indian stock, meeting for a few hours three or four times a year, +which had been shown by the events of the year to be no longer +tolerable." His disapproval of parts of Lord Ellenborough's policy +probably prevented him from alluding to his recall from India by +the Directors, in direct defiance of the opinion of the +government,[<a href="#note-303">303</a>] though that strange step +can hardly have been absent from his mind. But, in fact, the case +for taking the whole rule of so vast a dominion wholly into the +hands of the Queen's government at home was so irresistible, that +it did not require to be strengthened by reference to any +individual instances of inconvenience. When the double government +was originally established, the English in India were still but a +small mercantile community, with very little territory beyond that +in the immediate neighborhood of its three chief cities. Of the +conduct of the affairs of such a body, still almost confined to +commerce, the chief share might not unreasonably be left to the +merchants themselves, subject to such supervision on the part of +the government at home as was implied in the very name of the +department invested with that supervision, the Board of Control, +which, as Pitt explained the name, was meant to show that it was +not to be, like the measure proposed by the Coalition Ministry, a +board of political influence.[<a href="#note-304">304</a>] But the +case was wholly altered when British India reached from Point de +Galle to the Himalayas, and spread beyond the Ganges on the east, +to beyond the Indus on the west; when the policy adopted in India +often influenced our dealings with European states, and when the +force required for the protection of those vast interests exceeded +the numbers of the royal army. India, too, is a country the climate +of which prevents our countrymen from emigrating to it as settlers, +as they do to Canada or Australia, and where, consequently, the +English residents are, and always must be, a mere handful in +comparison with the millions of natives. In such a case their +government must at all times rest mainly on opinion, on the belief +in the pre-eminent power of the ruler; and it was obvious that that +belief would be greatly fortified by the sovereign of Britain +becoming that ruler.[<a href="#note-305">305</a>] The great rajahs +cordially recognized the value of the transfer of power considered +in this light, and felt their own dignity enhanced by becoming the +vassals of the sovereign herself.</p> +<p>Turning to French affairs, a brilliant French writer has +remarked, that his countrymen are, of all peoples, the least suited +to be conspirators, since none of them can ever keep a secret. But +it was the ill-fortune of Louis Napoleon that he had provoked +enmities, not only among his own countrymen, but among the +republican fanatics of other nations also, who saw in his zeal for +absolute authority the greatest obstacle to their designs, which +aimed at the overthrow of every established government on the +Continent, and shrunk from no crimes which they conceived to be +calculated to promote their object. To free themselves from such an +antagonist, the most wholesale murders seemed by no means too large +a price. And in the middle of January, as the Emperor and Empress +were going to the Opera, a prodigious explosion took place almost +beneath the wheels of their carriage, from the effect of which they +themselves had a most narrow escape, both being struck in the face +by splinters, the aide-de-camp in their carriage also being +severely wounded on the head; while their escort and attendants +were struck down on all sides, ten being killed and above one +hundred and fifty wounded.[<a href="#note-306">306</a>] It was soon +found out that the authors of this atrocious crime were four +Italians, of whom a man named Orsini was the chief, and that he, +who had but recently escaped from a prison in Mantua, had fled from +that town to England, and had there concocted all the details of +his plot, and had procured the shells which had been his +instruments.</p> +<p>It was not unnatural that so atrocious a crime, causing such +wide-spread destruction, should awaken great excitement in France, +and in many quarters violent reclamations against England and her +laws, which enabled foreign plotters to make her a starting-place +for their nefarious schemes. Even in the French Chambers very +bitter language was used on the subject by some of the most +influential Deputies, for which our ministers were disposed to make +allowance, Lord Clarendon, the Foreign Secretary, writing to the +Prince Consort that "it was not to be expected that foreigners, who +see that assassins go and come here as they please, and that +conspiracies may be hatched in England with impunity, should think +our laws and policy friendly to other countries, or appreciate the +extreme difficulty of making any change in our system."[<a href= +"#note-307">307</a>]</p> +<p>But a different feeling was roused by a despatch of the French +Secretary of State to the ambassador here, which seemed to impute +to this country that it deliberately sheltered and countenanced men +by whose writings "assassination was elevated into a doctrine +openly preached, and carried into practice by reiterated attacks" +upon the person of the French sovereign, and asked, in language +which had rather an imperious tone, "Ought the English Legislature +to contribute to the designs of men who were not mere fugitives, +but assassins, and continue to shelter persons who place themselves +beyond the pale of common right, and under the ban of humanity? Her +Britannic Majesty's Government can assist us in averting a +repetition of such guilty enterprises, by affording us a guarantee +of security which no state can refuse to a neighboring state, and +which we are justified in expecting from an ally. Fully relying, +moreover, on the profound sagacity of the English Cabinet, we +refrain from indicating in any way the measures which it may seem +fit to take in order to comply with this wish. We confidently leave +it to decide on the course which it shall deem best fitted to the +end in view." Still, though the charge that our Legislature +contributed to the designs of assassins was some departure from the +measured language more usual in diplomatic communications between +friendly powers, under the circumstances this remonstrance might +have been borne with. Unluckily, it was not all, nor the worst, +that we were called upon to bear. A few days afterward some +addresses to the Emperor from different military corps were +published in the <i>Moniteur</i>, which not only poured forth +bitter reproaches against the whole English nation, but demanded to +be led to an invasion of the country, "as an infamous haunt for the +carrying out of infernal machinations." Political addresses seem to +our ideas inconsistent with military discipline; but the army had +been permitted, and even encouraged, to make them ever since the +days of the Consulate, though such addresses never received the +recognition of a publication in the official journal till they had +been subjected to careful revision, and, if necessary, expurgation. +On this occasion, however, that supervision had been carelessly +performed, and the offensive passages were left standing, though, +when the Emperor learned the indignation which they had excited +even among his well-wishers in England, he instructed his +ambassador to apologize for their retention and publication, as an +act of inadvertence on the part of the officials whose duty it had +been to revise such documents. So far all was well. And had the +English ministers replied to the despatch of M. de Persigny in firm +and temperate language, they would have escaped the difficulties +which eventually overthrew them. There was no doubt that, according +to diplomatic usage, a written despatch formally communicated to +the Secretary of State required a written reply.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, a written reply was not given. Lord Clarendon was +too apprehensive of the mischief which might possibly arise from a +protracted discussion, leading, perhaps, to an angry controversy; +and under the influence of this feeling contented himself, when the +despatch was presented, with giving the ambassador a verbal answer, +that "no consideration on earth would induce Parliament to pass a +measure for the extradition of foreign political refugees; that our +asylum could not be infringed, and that we adhered to certain +principles on that subject which were so old and so sacred that +they could not be touched;"[<a href="#note-308">308</a>] adding, +however, at the same time an assurance that the Attorney-general +was already, at his request, examining our law of conspiracy, to +see whether it was sufficiently comprehensive or stringent. The +purport of this answer was all that could have been desired; but +there was a very general impression that the omission to reply by a +written despatch was a sacrifice of the national dignity, if not an +unworthy submission to scarcely disguised menace; though at the +same time there was also a feeling among both parties in Parliament +that our laws with respect to the conduct of foreigners residing +among us were, perhaps, susceptible of improvement. On the very +first night of the session, in allusion to the attack on the French +Emperor, Lord Derby had said that "he could wish to hear the +opinion of the ministers whether the existing laws of this country +were adequate to afford security for the lives of foreign princes +against plots contrived in this country; and, if they were not, +whether they might not be amended, so as to meet the case of such +crimes as had recently been perpetrated, which were so heinous and +revolting to every feeling of humanity." And even before that +speech the ministers had applied themselves to frame a measure to +amend the law, which in the second week of February the +Prime-minister himself introduced to the House of Commons.</p> +<p>It was read a first time, though not without some opposition; +but before it arrived at the second reading, though only a week +afterward, the feeling of the country, reflected in this instance +by the House, had become so inflamed, that the measure was not +discussed on its own merits, but on the point whether, since no +other answer had been given to the French despatch, this must not +be regarded as the ministerial answer, and therefore whether it +were such an answer as it befitted England to send. Had it been +examined on its own merits solely, it could hardly have provoked +much adverse criticism. It was entitled, "A bill to amend the law +with relation to the crime of conspiracy to commit murder," and it +merely proposed to establish in England a law which had long +existed in Ireland. Hitherto, as Lord Palmerston explained the +matter, England had treated conspiracy to murder as a misdemeanor, +punishable with fine and imprisonment. In Ireland it had long been +a capital crime; and, though he did not propose to assimilate the +English to the Irish statute in all its severity, he proposed to +enact that conspiracy to murder should be a felony, punishable with +penal servitude, by whomsoever the conspiracy might be concocted, +or wherever the crime might be designed to be committed.</p> +<p>The principle of such a law, supported as it was by the +precedent of Ireland, could hardly be resisted. And Mr. Walpole, +who had been Home-secretary in Lord Derby's ministry, avowed his +determination to support the bill, "as being right in principle." +But even he limited his promise of support by a condition "that the +honor of England should be previously vindicated;" arguing that the +French despatch bore the character of a demand, based upon +allegations which were contrary to truth, and which, therefore, the +ministers were bound to repudiate; and that to pass such a bill +without putting on record a formal denial of those allegations +would, in the general view of Europe, imply a confession that to +them we had no answer to give. And it was this consideration which +eventually determined the decision of the House, Mr. Disraeli, who +closed the debate on his side, condemning the conduct of the +ministers as "perplexed, timid, confused, wanting in dignity and +self-respect. In not replying to the despatch, they had lost a +great opportunity of asserting the principles of public law." The +House, taking his view of their conduct, threw out the bill by a +majority of nineteen;[<a href="#note-309">309</a>] and the ministry +resigned, and was succeeded by one under the presidency of Lord +Derby.</p> +<p>Many of those who on this occasion combined to form the majority +had denounced the bill, as an infringement of the principles of our +constitution. It is, however, evident that, had it passed, it would +not have deserved such a description. It would in no degree +whatever have deprived a foreign resident of safety and the +protection of English law, so long as he should obey that law; and +that is all the indulgence that the constitution ever gave or ought +to give. Foreigners had always been amenable to our courts of +justice for any violation of the law. And Lord Palmerston's bill +not only went no farther than removing a certain class of offences +from the category of misdemeanors to that of felonies, but it also +imposed no liability in that respect on foreigners which it did not +at the same time impose on all the Queen's subjects. Indeed, the +bill was so moderate, and the improvement it proposed so desirable, +that, in a subsequent discussion in the House of Lords, Lord +Campbell, the Chief-justice, expressed a hope that Lord Derby's +government would take it up; though Lord Derby, in view of the +existing feeling of the country on the subject, prudently forbore +to act on that suggestion. But, as one of Orsini's most guilty +accomplices, a man named Bernard, was still in London, he caused +him to be indicted for murder, as having incurred that guilt as +accessary to the death of some whom the explosion had killed. The +excitement on the question had, however, not died away when the +trial came on; and, though it will, probably, be generally admitted +that the evidence was sufficiently clear, Bernard was +acquitted.</p> +<p>Lord Derby, however, did not long retain his office. Indeed, the +Earl was so conscious that, on questions of general policy, the +House of Commons was inclined to views differing from his own, that +he would have preferred declining the task of forming a ministry, +had he not conceived that, in the difficulty in which the Queen was +placed by recent circumstances, he was bound by his duty to make +the attempt, even if the result of it were merely to obtain a kind +of respite for his sovereign and the country, which might give time +for the present excitement of feeling to calm down. He was not +deceived in his forebodings of his inability to maintain his +position. In the course of the next spring he was twice defeated in +the House of Commons—once by the House which he found in +existence, and a second time in one which was the fruit of a +general election. And in the summer of 1859 Lord Palmerston +returned to office, with power increased by the junction of many of +those who had helped to overthrow him in 1858, but who now combined +with him to strike a similar blow at his Conservative +successor.</p> +<p>Yet, brief as was Lord Derby's tenure of power, it was made +memorable by the commencement of a movement which cannot be +regarded as devoid of constitutional importance, since, though +originally it was only designed to supply a temporary +re-enforcement to our ancient constitutional forces, the regular +army and the militia, it has eventually created a force which, to +the great honor of those who constitute it, has become a permanent +addition to them. In the great war against Revolutionary France, +when it was generally believed that those who held rule in Paris +were contemplating an invasion of these islands, Pitt, as we have +seen, had encouraged the formation of corps of volunteers, which +continued to be of great use till the very end of the war, by +performing, in conjunction with the militia, a great portion of the +home duties which must otherwise have fallen on the line regiments, +and thus disengaging the regular army for service on the Continent. +There was now no such formidable enemy to be dreaded as the first +Napoleon, but in every part of Europe affairs were in a state so +unquiet that every kingdom seemed at times on the very brink of +war; and since, if it should once break out, no one could feel +confident that we should not be involved in it, or, if we should +be, who would be our allies or our enemies, measures of precaution +and self-defence seemed as needful now as they had been sixty years +before. Our boldest statesmen were disquieted and anxious; and the +nation at large, sharing their uneasiness, kindled with the feeling +that it was a time to show that the present generation inherited +the self-denying patriotism of their fathers. Leaders were not +wanting again to prompt the formation of a volunteer force. The +government at once saw the value of the scheme. Fortunately, the +Secretary for War, Colonel Peel, happened to be an old soldier, a +veteran who had learned the art of war under Wellington himself; +and he, having great talents for organization, placed the force +from its infancy on a sound footing. How thoroughly the movement +harmonized with the martial spirit of the nation—to which, +indeed, it owed its birth—is shown by the history of the +force, which now, above twenty years after its original formation, +maintains its full numbers and yearly improves its efficiency. +Though there has not for many years been any apprehension of war, +above one hundred and twenty thousand men still annually devote no +small portion of their time to the acquisition of military +discipline and science, and that so successfully, that, by the +testimony of the most experienced judges, they have attained a +degree of efficiency which, if the necessity for their services +should ever arise, would render them valuable and worthy comrades +to the more regularly trained army. Lord Derby retired from office +while the force was still in its infancy; but Lord Palmerston was +equally sensible of its value, and gave a farther proof of his +appreciation of the vast importance of measures of national defence +by the vigor with which he carried out the recommendations of a +royal commission which had been appointed by the preceding ministry +to investigate the condition of our national defences. Its report +had pointed out the absolute necessity of an improved system of +protection for our great dockyards and arsenals, which, from their +position on the coast, were more liable to attack than inland +fortresses would have been, had we had such. And, in accordance +with that warning, in the summer of 1860, Lord Palmerston proposed +the grant of a large sum of money for the fortification of our +chief dockyards. It was opposed on a strange variety of grounds; +some arguing that the proposed fortifications were superfluous, +because our navy was the defence to which the nation was wont +deservedly to trust; some that they were needless, because no other +nation was in a condition to attack us; others that they were +disgraceful, because it was un-English and mean to skulk behind +stone walls, and because Lycurgus had refused to trust to stone +walls for the safety of Sparta; and one member, the chief spokesman +of a new and small party, commonly known as the "peace-at-any-price +party," boldly denounced the members of the commission as a set of +"lunatics" for framing such a report, and the ministers as guilty +of "contemptible cowardice" for suggesting to the nation that there +was any danger in being undefended. But the ministry prevailed by a +large majority;[<a href="#note-310">310</a>] the money was voted, +and the nation in general warmly approved of the measure. As Lord +Palmerston subsequently expressed it, "the government, the +Parliament, and the nation acted in harmonious concert"[<a href= +"#note-311">311</a>] on the subject.</p> +<p>One of the arguments against it which the objectors had brought +forward was, that the ministry was not unanimous in the conviction +of the necessity; and we learn from the "Life of the Prince +Consort"[<a href="#note-312">312</a>] that Mr. Gladstone, the +Chancellor of the Exchequer, was vehement in his resistance to it, +threatening even to carry his opposition so far as to resign his +office, if it were persevered in. And, as has been intimated on a +previous page, this was not the only question on which in the +course of this year the Prime-minister did in his heart differ from +his Chancellor of the Exchequer, though he did not think it +expedient to refuse his sanction to his proposals on a matter +belonging to his own department, the Exchequer. The subject on +which he secretly doubted his colleague's judgment was one of the +proposals made in the Budget of the year. As has already been +mentioned, the transaction throws a rather curious light on the +occasional working of our ministerial system; and the fate of the +measure in the two Houses of Parliament is also deserving of remark +and recollection, as re-opening the question, which had not been +agitated for nearly a century, as to the extent of the power of the +House of Lords with respect to votes of money. In a <a href= +"#horton">former chapter</a>[<a href="#note-313">313</a>] we have +had occasion to mention the angry feeling on the part of the House +of Commons which, in the year 1772, had been evoked by the act of +the House of Lords, in making some amendments on a bill relating to +the exportation of corn which had come up to them from the Commons. +A somewhat similar act had, as we have also seen, revived the +discussion a few years later, when the minister of the day had +shown a more temperate feeling on the subject. On neither occasion, +however, had the question of the privileges of the Lords been +definitively settled; and no occasion had since arisen for any +consideration of the subject. But the Budget of 1860 contained a +clause which, in spite of the deserved reputation of the Chancellor +of the Exchequer as a skilful financier, was not regarded with +general favor. There was a large deficiency in the revenue for the +year; but while, among his expedients for meeting it, Mr. Gladstone +proposed an augmentation of the income-tax, he proposed also to +repeal the excise duty on paper, which produced about a million and +a quarter. It is now known that the Prime-minister himself highly +disapproved of the sacrifice at such a time of so productive a +tax.[<a href="#note-314">314</a>] And, if that had been suspected +at the time, the House of Commons would certainly not have +consented to it; even when the ministry was supposed to be +unanimous in its approval of it, it was only carried by a majority +of nine; and, when the bill embodying it came before the House of +Lords, a Whig peer, who had himself been formerly Chancellor of the +Exchequer in Lord Melbourne's administration, moved its rejection, +and it was rejected by a majority of eighty-nine.</p> +<p>The rejection of a measure relating to taxation caused great +excitement among a large party in the House of Commons—so +violent, indeed, that the only expedient that presented itself to +the Prime-minister, if he would prevent the proposal of some step +of an extreme and mischievous character, was to take the matter +into his own hands. Had he been able to act entirely on his own +judgment, it may, perhaps, be thought that, with his sentiments on +the inexpediency of the measure which had been rejected, he would +have preferred a silent acquiescence in the vote of the Lords; but +he would have been quite unable to induce the majority of his own +supporters, and even some of his own colleagues, to adopt so +moderate a course; and accordingly he moved the appointment of a +committee to examine and report on the practice of Parliament in +regard to bills for imposing or repealing taxes. And when it had +made its report, which was purely of an historical character, +setting forth the precedents bearing on the subject, he proposed +three resolutions, asserting "that the right of granting aids and +supplies to the crown is in the Commons alone, as an essential part +of their constitution, etc.; that, although the Lords had exercised +the power of rejecting bills of several descriptions relating to +taxation by negativing the whole, yet the exercise of that power by +them had not been frequent, and was justly regarded by the Commons +with peculiar jealousy, as affecting their rights, etc.; and that, +to guard for the future against an undue exercise of that power by +the Lords, and to secure to the Commons their rightful control over +taxation and supply, the Commons had it in their power so to impose +and remit taxes, and to frame bills of supply, that their right, +etc., might be maintained inviolate."</p> +<p>In the debate which ensued his chief opponents came from his own +party, and even his own colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, +displayed a fundamental difference of feeling from his on the +subject, a difference which was expressed by one of the most +eloquent supporters of the resolutions, Mr. Horsman, M.P. for +Stroud, saying that "Lord Palmerston wished to make the +independence of the House of Lords a reality, while Mr. Gladstone +seemed to desire that it should be a fiction." Lord Palmerston, +indeed, showed the feeling thus attributed to him in a +statesman-like declaration that, if "this nation had enjoyed a +greater amount of civil, political, social, and religious liberty +than, as he believed, any other people in the world, that result +had been accomplished, not by vesting in either of the three +estates, the Crown, the Lords, or the Commons, exclusive or +overruling power over the others, but by maintaining for each its +own separate and independent authority, and also by the three +powers combining together to bear and forbear, endeavoring by +harmonious concert with each other to avoid those conflicts and +clashings which must have arisen if independent authority and +independent action had been exerted by each or by all." He entered +into the history of the question, explaining that, though "each +branch of the Legislature retained its respective power of +rejecting any measure, the Commons had claimed from time immemorial +particular privileges in regard to particular measures, and +especially the exclusive right of determining matters connected +with the taxation of the people. They claimed for themselves, and +denied to the Lords, the right of originating, altering, or +amending such measures; but, as long ago as 1671, the +Attorney-general, in a memorable conference between the two Houses, +had admitted that the Lords, though they could not originate or +amend, had, nevertheless, power to reject money-bills;" and this +admission he regarded as consistent with common-sense, for "it was +well known that, though the Commons contended for the right of +originating measures for the grant of supply, and of framing bills +with that object, according to their belief of what was best for +the public interest, yet such bills could not pass into law without +the assent of the Lords; and it was clear that an authority whose +assent was necessary to give a proposal the force of law, must, by +the very nature of things, be at liberty to dissent and refuse its +sanction."</p> +<p>The committee had enumerated a large number of precedents (above +thirty) in which, since that conference, the Lords had rejected +such bills; but the cases were not in general exactly similar to +that now under consideration, since the bills which they had +rejected had commonly, if not in every case, been for the +imposition and not for the repeal of a tax; and in most cases some +question of national policy had been involved which had influenced +their vote. But the view which Lord Palmerston pressed on the House +was that the present was "a case in which party feelings ought to +be cast aside. It was one in which higher and larger interests than +those of party were concerned, and in which the course that the +House now took would be a precedent to guide future Parliaments." +He pointed out, moreover, that the smallness of the majority in the +House of Commons had been to the Lords "some encouragement to take +this particular step," and that "he was himself led to think that +they had taken it, not from any intention to step out of their +province, and to depart from the line of constitutional right which +the history of the country has assigned them, but from motives of +policy dependent on the circumstances of the moment; and therefore +he thought it would be wise if the Commons forbore to enter into a +conflict with the Lords on a ground which might really not exist, +but satisfied themselves with a declaration of what were their own +constitutional powers and privileges. It was of the utmost +importance in a constitution like ours, where there are different +branches, independent of each other, each with powers of its own, +and where cordial and harmonious action is necessary, that care +should be taken to avoid the commencement of an unnecessary +quarrel, and the party that acted otherwise would incur a grave +responsibility."</p> +<p>Mr. Gladstone, however, though he ended by expressing his +concurrence in the resolution proposed by his chief, used very +different language respecting the vote of the House of Lords, +characterizing it as "a gigantic innovation, the most gigantic and +the most dangerous that had been attempted in our time," since "the +origination of a bill for the imposition of a tax, or the amendment +of a money-bill, was a slight thing compared with the claim to +prevent the repeal of a tax;" and, dealing with assertions which he +had heard, that in this instance "the House of Commons had been +very foolish and the House of Lords very wise," he asked whether +that really described the constitution under which we live. The +House of Commons could not be infallible in matters of finance more +than in other matters. It might make errors, but he demanded to +know whether those errors in finance were or were not liable to +correction by the House of Lords. If they were, "what became of the +privileges of the Commons?" On the other hand, Mr. Disraeli, as +leader of the Opposition or Conservative party, supported the +resolutions, and applauded the speech of the Prime-minister, as "a +wise, calm, and ample declaration of a cabinet that had carefully +and deliberately considered this important subject. It had +acknowledged that the conduct of the Lords was justified by law and +precedent, and sanctioned by policy," and he maintained that it +showed that "the charge made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was +utterly untenable, and had no foundation." And Mr. Horsman, taking +a large general view of the legitimate working of the parliamentary +constitution, argued that, while it was an undoubted rule that "all +taxes should originate with the Commons, as that elective and more +immediately responsible assembly that is constantly referred back +to the constituencies, the reviewing power of a permanent and +independent chamber was no less essential;" and that, considering +that "the Reform Bill of 1832 had given a preponderance of powers +to the Commons, and that the tendency of any farther Reform Act +must be in the same direction, so far from narrowing the field of +action for the peers, the wiser alternative might be to adopt a +generous construction of their powers, with a view to preserving +the equilibrium that is held to be essential to the safety and +well-working of the constitution. The House of Commons," he +concluded, "is perpetually assuming fresh powers and establishing +new precedents. Virtually all bills now originate with the Commons; +but this is not the consequence of any aggressive spirit in them, +but is the necessary and inevitable result of the historic working +of the constitution; and so this act of the Lords was but the +natural working of the constitution to meet a definite emergency." +The resolutions were passed, the first and third without a +division; the second, to which an amendment had been proposed, +designed to limit the force of the precedents alleged as justifying +the act of the Lords, by a majority of nearly four +hundred.[<a href="#note-315">315</a>] In their form and language +the resolutions cannot be said to have greatly affected the power +claimed by the Lords, and exercised by them in this instance. The +first two were simply declaratory of acknowledged principles or +facts, and the third intimated no desire to guard against anything +but an undue exertion by the Lords of the right which they were +admitted to possess. But it can hardly be doubted that the +intention even of Lord Palmerston, dictated by the strong feeling +which he perceived to prevail in the House of Commons on the +subject, was to deter the Lords from any future exercise of their +powers of review and rejection of measures relating to taxation, +when, perhaps, the Commons might be under less prudent guidance; +nor that the effect of the resolutions will correspond with the +design rather than with the language of the mover, and will prevent +the Lords, unless under the pressure of some overpowering +necessity, from again interfering to control the Commons in such +matters. At the same time it seems superfluous to point out that +one claim advanced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was +apparently carried beyond his usual discretion by his parental +fondness for the rejected bill, is utterly unreconcileable with the +maintenance of any constitution at all that can deserve the name. +When there are three bodies so concerned in the legislation that +the united consent of all is indispensable to give validity to any +act, to claim for any one of them so paramount an authority that, +even if it should adopt a manifestly mischievous course, neither of +the others should have the right to control or check or correct the +error, would be to make that body the irresponsible master of the +whole government and nation; to invest it with that "overruling +power" which Lord Palmerston with such force of reasoning had +deprecated; and to substitute for that harmonious concert of all to +which, in his view, the perfection of our liberties was owing, a +submission to one, and that the one most liable to be acted upon by +the violence or caprice of the populace. He was a wise man who said +that he looked on the tyranny of one man as an evil, but on the +tyranny of a thousand as a thousand times worse. And for this +reason also the resolutions which were now adopted seem to have +been conceived in a spirit of judicious moderation, since, while +rendering it highly improbable that the Lords would again reject a +measure relating to taxation, it avoided absolutely to extinguish +their power to do so. Lord Palmerston, it may be thought, foresaw +the possibility of an occasion arising when the notoriety that such +a power still existed might serve as a check to prevent its +exercise from being required. In the very case which had given rise +to this discussion he regarded it as certain that the feeling of +the majority of the nation approved of the action of the peers; +and, as what had occurred once might occur again, it was certainly +within the region of possibility that another such emergency might +arise, when the Lords might interfere with salutary effect to save +the country from the evil result of ill-considered legislation; +finance being, above all others, the subject on which a rash or +unscrupulous minister may find the greatest facility for exciting +the people by plausible delusions. There is, moreover, another +reason why it would not only be impolitic, but absolutely unfair, +to deprive the Lords altogether of their power of rejection even in +cases of taxation; namely, that the Commons, when imposing taxes, +are taxing the Lords themselves, as well as the other classes of +the community; while the Lords alone of the whole nation are +absolutely unrepresented in the House of Commons. There is a +frequent cry for a graduated income-tax; and surely if an +unscrupulous demagogue in office were to contrive such a graduation +as would subject a peer to three times the income-tax borne by a +commoner, it would be a monstrous iniquity if the peers were to +have no power of protecting themselves in their own House.</p> +<p>In the last sentence of his speech the Chancellor of the +Exchequer had "respectfully reserved to himself the freedom of +acting in such a way as should appear to offer any hope of success +in giving effect by a practical measure to the principle contained +in the first resolution." And it was, probably, an exemplification +of the power of which he thus bespoke the use that he the next year +struck out a scheme for insuring the repeal of the paper-duties, +including it in one bill with all his other financial propositions, +instead of dividing them in the ordinary way in several distinct +bills. It was a manoeuvre which too much resembled the system of +"tacking," which had been so justly denounced as one of the most +unseemly manoeuvres of faction in the previous century.[<a href= +"#note-316">316</a>] But, as some of the principal reasons which in +the preceding year had led the Lords to condemn the repeal had +ceased to exist, and the deficiency of the revenue had been +converted into a surplus, they thought it wiser to prove their +superiority of wisdom to the House of Commons by showing a more +conciliatory spirit, and passed the bill; though the course +adopted, which had the effect of depriving the Lords of that power +of examination of the details of the financial scheme of the +government which they had hitherto enjoyed without any question or +dispute, was strongly protested against in both Houses, and by some +members who were not generally unfriendly to the +administration.</p> +<p>A hundred years had now elapsed since George III. ascended the +throne. It had been a period full of transactions of great +importance, developing the constitution in such a manner and to +such an extent as to make a change in its character but little +inferior to those which had been produced by the contests of the +preceding century. One principal result of the Revolution of 1688 +has been described as having been the placing of the political +power of the state chiefly in the hands of the aristocracy. The +Reform Bill of 1832, which has been sometimes called a "second +Revolution," transferred that power to the middle classes.[<a href= +"#note-317">317</a>] And what may be called the logical sequence of +the later measures is the contrary of that which was designed to +flow from the earlier ones. The changes which were effected in 1688 +were intended to promote, and were believed to have insured, +stability; to have established institutions of a permanent +character, as far as human affairs can be invested with permanency. +And down to the death of George II. the policy of succeeding +ministers, of whom Walpole may be taken as the type, as he was +unquestionably the most able, aimed chiefly at keeping things as +they were. <i>Quieta non movere</i>. The Peerage Bill, proposed by +a Prime-minister thirty years after the Revolution, was but an +exaggerated instance of the perseverance with which that object was +kept in view. But the Reform Bill of 1832, like the Emancipation +Act which preceded it, on the contrary, contained in itself, in its +very principle, the seeds and elements of farther change.</p> +<p>The Emancipation Act, following and combined with the repeal of +the Test Act, rendered it almost inevitable that religious +toleration would in time be extended to all persuasions, even to +those adverse to Christianity. And the Reform Bill, as has been +already pointed out, by the principles on which it based its +limitations of the franchise, laid the foundation for farther and +repeated revision and modification.[<a href="#note-318">318</a>] +The consequence is, that the aim of statesmen of the present day +differs from that which was pursued by their predecessors. The +statesman of the present day can no longer hope to avoid farther +changes, and must, therefore, be content to direct his energies to +the more difficult task of making them moderate and safe, +consistent with the preservation of that balance of powers to which +the country owes the liberty and happiness which it has hitherto +enjoyed.</p> +<p>It is in this point of view that the diffusion of education, +beyond the blessing which it confers on the individual, is of +especial importance to the state. Political theorists affirm that +all men have an equal right to political power—to that +amount, at least, of political power which is conferred by a vote +at elections. Men of practical common-sense affirm that no one has +a right to power of any kind, unless he can be trusted to forbear +employing it to the injury of his fellow-creatures or of himself. +And the only safeguard and security for the proper exercise of +political power is sound and enlightened education. It is +unnecessary to dwell on this point, because our statesmen of both +parties (to their honor) give constant proof of their deep +conviction of its importance.</p> +<p>But, in closing our remarks, it may be allowable to point out +the political lesson which, above all others, the teachers of the +masses should seek to inculcate on their pupils. The art of +government, and each measure of government, is, above all other +things, the two-sided shield. There are so many plausible arguments +which may be advanced on each side of almost every question of +policy, that no candid man will severely condemn him who in such +disputable matters forms an opinion different from his own. Age and +experience are worse than valueless if they do not teach a man to +think better of his kind; and the history of the period which we +have been considering teaches no lesson more forcibly than this, +that the great majority of educated men, and especially of our +leading statesmen, are actuated by honest and patriotic motives. +And we would presume to urge that more important than a correct +estimate of any one transaction of the past, or even of any one +measure to influence the future, is the habit of putting a candid, +and therefore a favorable, construction on the characters and +intentions of those to whom from time to time the conduct of the +affairs of the nation is intrusted.</p> +<p>Notes:</p> +<p><a name="note-276" id="note-276"> +<!-- Note Anchor 276 --></a>[Footnote 276: "Life of Palmerston," +vol. i., c. vii.]</p> +<p><a name="note-277" id="note-277"> +<!-- Note Anchor 277 --></a>[Footnote 277: "Life of the Prince +Consort," ii, 303.]</p> +<p><a name="note-278" id="note-278"> +<!-- Note Anchor 278 --></a>[Footnote 278: <i>Ibid</i>., p. +412.]</p> +<p><a name="note-279" id="note-279"> +<!-- Note Anchor 279 --></a>[Footnote 279: Amos, "Fifty Years of +the English Constitution," p. 289.]</p> +<p><a name="note-280" id="note-280"> +<!-- Note Anchor 280 --></a>[Footnote 280: "Past Gleanings," i., +242.]</p> +<p><a name="note-281" id="note-281"> +<!-- Note Anchor 281 --></a>[Footnote 281: "Life of the Prince +Consort," iv., 458.]</p> +<p><a name="note-282" id="note-282"> +<!-- Note Anchor 282 --></a>[Footnote 282: 219 to 210.]</p> +<p><a name="note-283" id="note-283"> +<!-- Note Anchor 283 --></a>[Footnote 283: "Life of the Prince +Consort," v., 100.]</p> +<p><a name="note-284" id="note-284"> +<!-- Note Anchor 284 --></a>[Footnote 284: <i>Ibid</i>., p. +148.]</p> +<p><a name="note-285" id="note-285"> +<!-- Note Anchor 285 --></a>[Footnote 285: "Life of Pitt," by Earl +Stanhope, iii., 210.]</p> +<p><a name="note-286" id="note-286"> +<!-- Note Anchor 286 --></a>[Footnote 286: "Life of the Prince +Consort," iv., 329.]</p> +<p><a name="note-287" id="note-287"> +<!-- Note Anchor 287 --></a>[Footnote 287: <i>Ibid.</i>, p. +366.]</p> +<p><a name="note-288" id="note-288"> +<!-- Note Anchor 288 --></a>[Footnote 288: "Constitutional +History," iii., 319, 3d edition.]</p> +<p><a name="note-289" id="note-289"> +<!-- Note Anchor 289 --></a>[Footnote 289: It should be added that, +on a subsequent occasion, Mr. Roundell Palmer, member for Plymouth +(now Lord Chancellor Selborne, and even then in the enjoyment of +the highest professional reputation), declared his opinion to be in +favor of the legality and constitutional propriety of the +proceeding.]</p> +<p><a name="note-290" id="note-290"> +<!-- Note Anchor 290 --></a>[Footnote 290: To illustrate this +position, Lord Lyndhurst said: "The sovereign may by his +prerogative, if he thinks proper, create a hundred peers with +descendible qualities in the course of a day. That would be +consistent with the prerogative, and would be perfectly legal; but +everybody must feel, and everybody must know, that such an exercise +of the undoubted prerogative of the crown would be a flagrant +violation of the principles of the constitution. In the same manner +the sovereign might place the Great Seal in the hands of a layman +wholly unacquainted with the laws of the country. That also would +be a flagrant violation of the constitution of this +country."—Hansard's <i>Parliamentary Debates</i>, cxl., +February 7, 1856. In the same debate Lord Derby defined +"prerogative" as "the power of doing that which is beside the law." +Hallam, in discussing the prosecution of Sir Edward Hales, fully +recognizes the principle contended for by Lord Lyndhurst, saying +that "it is by no means evident that the decision of the judges" in +that case "was against law," but proceeding to show that "the +unadvised assertion in a court of law" of such an exercise of the +prerogative "may be said to have sealed the condemnation of the +house of Stuart."—<i>Constitutional History</i>, vol. iii., +c. xiv., p. 86.]</p> +<p><a name="note-291" id="note-291"> +<!-- Note Anchor 291 --></a>[Footnote 291: In the reign of Richard +II. the Earl of Oxford had been made Marquis of Dublin for life, +but he already had a seat in the House as Earl. Henry V. had +originally made the peerages of his brothers, the Dukes of Bedford +and Gloucester, life peerages; but these were afterward surrendered +and regranted "in the usual descendible form," so that they rather +made against the present case than for it. Henry VIII. had created +the Prince of Thomond Earl of Thomond for his life, but he had at +the same time granted him the barony of Inchiquin "for himself and +his heirs forever." It was also alleged that these life peerages +had not been conferred by the King alone, but by the King with the +authority and consent of Parliament, "these significant words being +found in the patents."]</p> +<p><a name="note-292" id="note-292"> +<!-- Note Anchor 292 --></a>[Footnote 292: The division was 153 to +133. Some years afterward, however, a clause in the act, which +created a new appellate jurisdiction, empowered the sovereign to +create peerages of this limited character, one of the clauses +providing that "every Lord of Appeal in Ordinary should be entitled +during his life to rank as a Baron by such style as her Majesty may +be pleased to appoint, and shall during the time that he continues +in office as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and no longer be +entitled to a writ of summons to attend, sit, and vote in the House +of Lords. His dignity as a Lord of Parliament shall not descend to +his heirs." As this act was passed long after the period at which +the present volume closes, it does not belong to the writer to +examine how far this act, in providing that every Lord of Appeal +shall for the time rank as a Baron (the Lords of Appeal being, of +course, appointed by the crown), is entitled to be spoken of as +introducing a great constitutional innovation, big with future +consequences, as it has been described by some writers.]</p> +<p><a name="note-293" id="note-293"> +<!-- Note Anchor 293 --></a>[Footnote 293: In one notorious +instance, that of the Earl of Bristol (<i>confer</i> Hallam, i., +518), in the time of Charles I., the House of Lords had interfered +and compelled the issue of the writ; their action forming a +precedent for their right of interference in such matters, which in +the present case the Lord Chancellor denied.]</p> +<p><a name="note-294" id="note-294"> +<!-- Note Anchor 294 --></a>[Footnote 294: The grant of a pension +of £1000 a year, with a baronetcy, to General Havelock, and +more recently to Sir F. Roberts, are, it is believed, the only +exceptions to this rule.]</p> +<p><a name="note-295" id="note-295"> +<!-- Note Anchor 295 --></a>[Footnote 295: Bishop Lonsdale, of +Lichfield, in reference to Simon Magus, from whose offer of money +to the Apostles the offence derives its name, denying that there +was any similarity between his sin and the act of purchasing an +advowson or presentation, remarked that it might just as fitly be +called magic as simony.]</p> +<p><a name="note-296" id="note-296"> +<!-- Note Anchor 296 --></a>[Footnote 296: It has been, and will +probably continue to be, a matter of dispute whether the first +conception and plan of the insurrection originated with the +restless boldness of the Mohammedans or the deeper fanaticism of +the Hindoos. It is notorious that the prophecy that a century had +been assigned by the Almighty as the allotted period of our +supremacy in India had for many years been circulated among both; +and, though the conspiracy was at first generally attributed to the +Mohammedans, the argument that the period from the battle of +Plassy, in 1757, to the outbreak in 1857, though an exact century +according to the Hindoo calendar, is three years longer according +to the Mohammedan computation, seems an almost irresistible proof +that the Brahmins were its original authors. Sir John Kaye, in his +"History of the Sepoy War," at the end of book iii., c. iii., +prints the following note, as furnished to him by Mr. E.A. Reade, a +gentleman of long experience in India: "I do not think I ever met +one man in a hundred that did not give the Mohammedans credit for +this prediction. I fully believe that the notion of change after a +century of tenure was general, and I can testify, with others, to +have heard of the prediction at least a quarter of a century +previously. But, call it a prediction or a superstition, the credit +of it must, I think, be given to the Hindoos. If we take the Hejira +calendar, 1757 A.D. corresponds with 1171 Hejira; 1857 A.D. with +1274 Hejira; whereas, by the lunisolar year of the Sumbut, 1757 is +1814 Sumhut, and 1857 is 1914 Sumbut."]</p> +<p><a name="note-297" id="note-297"> +<!-- Note Anchor 297 --></a>[Footnote 297: It is worthy of remark +that, as early as 1829, the Earl of Ellenborough, then President of +the Board of Control, had come to the conclusion that the Company +was no longer competent to govern so vast a dominion as that of +British India had gradually become. In his Diary, recently +published (ii., 131), he expresses his firm conviction that, "in +substituting the King's government for that of the Company, we +shall be conferring a great benefit on India, and effecting the +measure which is most likely to retain for England the possession +of India;" and from the same work (ii., 61) we learn that Mr. +Mountstuart Elphinstone, one of the ablest servants of whom the +Company could boast, and who had recently been Governor of Bombay, +even while confessing himself prejudiced in favor "of the existing +system, under which he had been educated and lived," admitted that +"the administration of the government in the King's name would be +agreeable to the civil and military services, and to people in +England. He doubted whether, as regarded the princes of India, it +would signify much, as they now pretty well understood us." See +also <i>ibid</i>., p. 414.]</p> +<p><a name="note-298" id="note-298"> +<!-- Note Anchor 298 --></a>[Footnote 298: 318 to 173.]</p> +<p><a name="note-299" id="note-299"> +<!-- Note Anchor 299 --></a>[Footnote 299: The whole bill is given +in the "Annual Register" for the year 1858, p. 226.]</p> +<p><a name="note-300" id="note-300"> +<!-- Note Anchor 300 --></a>[Footnote 300: See her letter to Lord +Derby on the subject, given in the "Life of the Prince Consort," +iv., 308; <i>confer</i> also a memorandum of the Prince Consort, +<i>ibid.</i>, p. 310.]</p> +<p><a name="note-301" id="note-301"> +<!-- Note Anchor 301 --></a>[Footnote 301: <i>Ibid.</i>, p. +106.]</p> +<p><a name="note-302" id="note-302"> +<!-- Note Anchor 302 --></a>[Footnote 302: It should be remarked +that the arrangement originally carried out awoke among the +European troops of the Company so deep and general a spirit of +discontent as at one time threatened to break out in open mutiny; +the ground of their dissatisfaction being "the transfer of their +services in virtue of an act of Parliament, but without their +consent." Accordingly, "on the announcement of the proclamation +transferring the possessions of the East India Company to the +crown, some of the soldiers of the Company's European force set up +a claim for a free discharge or a bounty on re-enlistment." Lord +Clyde's recommendation "that a concession should be made" was +overruled by the government of India, and "pronounced inadmissible +by the law-officers of the crown" in England. The dissatisfaction +was allayed for the time by the judicious measures, equally +conciliatory and firm, adopted by Lord Clyde, in whom all ranks of +both armies felt equal confidence; but eventually the government +became convinced of the necessity of granting discharges to every +man who wished for one, provided he had not misconducted +himself.—Shadwell's <i>Life of Lord Clyde</i>, ii., +407-416.]</p> +<p><a name="note-303" id="note-303"> +<!-- Note Anchor 303 --></a>[Footnote 303: See <i>ante</i>, p. +385.]</p> +<p><a name="note-304" id="note-304"> +<!-- Note Anchor 304 --></a>[Footnote 304: Stanhope's "Life of +Pitt," i., 173.]</p> +<p><a name="note-305" id="note-305"> +<!-- Note Anchor 305 --></a>[Footnote 305: Sir Theodore Martin +quotes a passage from a letter of the <i>Times</i> correspondent, +giving a report of the effect of the proclamation on the natives: +"Genuineness of Asiatic feeling is always a problem, but I have +little doubt it is in this instance literally sincere. The people +understand an Empress, and did not understand the Company. +Moreover, they (I am speaking of the masses) have a very decided +notion that the Queen has hanged the Company for offences 'which +must have been very great,' and that fact gives hope of future +justice."—<i>Life of the Prince Consort</i>, iv., 337.]</p> +<p><a name="note-306" id="note-306"> +<!-- Note Anchor 306 --></a>[Footnote 306: The "Annual Register" +says that "neither the Emperor nor the Empress was touched;" but +Sir Theodore Martin ("Life of the Prince Consort," iv., 155) says +that "the Emperor's nose was grazed, and that the Empress received +a blow on the left eye which affected it for some time."]</p> +<p><a name="note-307" id="note-307"> +<!-- Note Anchor 307 --></a>[Footnote 307: "Life of the Prince +Consort," iv., 156.]</p> +<p><a name="note-308" id="note-308"> +<!-- Note Anchor 308 --></a>[Footnote 308: Speech of Lord +Palmerston, February 19.]</p> +<p><a name="note-309" id="note-309"> +<!-- Note Anchor 309 --></a>[Footnote 309: It is remarkable that it +was not a very full House, the numbers of the division being only +234 to 215. Many members absented themselves, being equally +unwilling to condemn the bill or to approve the silence of the +ministry.]</p> +<p><a name="note-310" id="note-310"> +<!-- Note Anchor 310 --></a>[Footnote 310: 268 to 39.]</p> +<p><a name="note-311" id="note-311"> +<!-- Note Anchor 311 --></a>[Footnote 311: "Life of the Prince +Consort," v., 131.]</p> +<p><a name="note-312" id="note-312"> +<!-- Note Anchor 312 --></a>[Footnote 312: "Life of the Prince +Consort," i., 99.]</p> +<p><a name="note-313" id="note-313"> +<!-- Note Anchor 313 --></a>[Footnote 313: Chapter II., <a href= +"#horton">p. 54</a>.]</p> +<p><a name="note-314" id="note-314"> +<!-- Note Anchor 314 --></a>[Footnote 314: It is known, from two +letters from Lord Palmerston to the Queen, published in the "Life +of the Prince Consort," v., 100—in one, written before the +debate in the House of Lords, he expresses a hope that the +smallness of the majority in the House of Commons will encourage +the Lords to throw it out, and he "is bound in duty to say that, if +they do so, they will perform a good public service;" and in +another, the day after the division in the Lords, he writes again +"that they have done a right and useful thing," adding that the +feeling of the public was so strong against the measure, that those +in the gallery of the House are said to have joined in the cheers +which broke out when the numbers were announced.]</p> +<p><a name="note-315" id="note-315"> +<!-- Note Anchor 315 --></a>[Footnote 315: 433 to 36.]</p> +<p><a name="note-316" id="note-316"> +<!-- Note Anchor 316 --></a>[Footnote 316: See the proceedings of +1700 (Macaulay, "History of England," v., 278; and of 1704, Lord +Stanhope's "Reign of Queen Anne," p. 168). The Whig and the Tory +writer equally condemn the "Tackers."]</p> +<p><a name="note-317" id="note-317"> +<!-- Note Anchor 317 --></a>[Footnote 317: In the debate on life +peerages ("Parliamentary History," cxl., 356), Lord Grey spoke of +"that great transfer of political power from one class to another +which was accomplished by the Reform Bill" And Lord Campbell, +speaking of Lord Grey himself in connection with that measure, +says: "His Reform Bill ought to place him in a temple of British +worthies by the side of Lord Somers, for it wisely remodelled the +constitution, and it is hardly less important than the Bill of +Rights."—<i>Life of Lord Campbell</i>, ii., 201.]</p> +<p><a name="note-318" id="note-318"> +<!-- Note Anchor 318 --></a>[Footnote 318: A recent writer, +professedly belonging to the Radical party, claims for it the +credit of "being the legitimate issue of the Reform Bill of 1832." +("The State of Parties," by J.E. Kebbel, <i>Nineteenth Century</i>, +March, 1881, p. 497.)]</p> +<hr /> +<a name="IDX" id="IDX"><!-- IDX --></a> +<h2>INDEX.</h2> +<pre> +ABBOTT, Mr., proposes a census. +Addington, Mr., becomes Prime-minister, See Sidmouth. +Additional Force Bill. +Albert, Prince, marries Queen Victoria. +Alien' Act, the. +Althorp, Lord, introduces a bill for the reform of the Poor-laws; + his speech on the condition of Ireland; + invites the House of Commons to rescind a vote. +Amelia, Princess, death of. +Archdall, Mr., on Catholic Emancipation, note. +Association, Catholic, suppression of. +</pre> +<pre> +BAKER, Mr., moves a resolution on the dismissal of the Coalition + Ministry. +Barrington, Lord, moves the expulsion of Wilkes. +Battle, wager of, abolished. +Bernard, trial of, as accomplice of Orsini. +Bishoprics, provision for the increase of; + exclusion of the occupants of the junior bishoprics from the House of + Peers; + resignation of, by aged bishops. +Blucher, Field-marshal, proposes to put Napoleon to death. +Boston, United States, tea ships at, boarded by rioters, and the cargo + thrown into the sea. +Bristol, Lord, denounces the appointment of the Chief-justice to a seat + in the cabinet. +Brougham, Mr., afterward Lord Chancellor, the chief adviser of the + Queen; + defends the ministry for stopping Lord Powis's bill. +Brownlow, Mr., opposes Pitt's commercial reforms. +Buonaparte, Napoleon, detention of. +Burdett, Sir F., carries a motion for repeal of Roman Catholic + disabilities. +Burke, Mr. B., opposes the expulsion of Wilkes; + supports Mr. Grenville's act; + complains of the insolence of the House of Peers; + supports the repeal of the bill for taxing the American Colonies; + on annual Parliaments; + brings in a bill for economical reform; + his "short account of a late administration"; + asserts the right of the House of Peers to examine the public + accounts; + his violent language on the Regency Bill; + member of Lord Rockingham's second ministry; + his view of the attachment of the Colonies to England. +Bute, Earl of, Prime-minister in 1762; + resigns office. +</pre> +<pre> +CABINET, character of. +Camden, Earl of, approves the resolution of the House of Commons; + opposes the Royal Marriage Act; + supports Lord Chatham's views on the American question; + moves the Regency bill of 1788. +Campbell, Lord, his "Lives of the Chancellors" referred to; + his denunciation of the Declaratory Act; + and of the Regency bill; + on the Chief-justice in the cabinet. +Canada, disquietude in; + union of the two provinces. +Canning, Lord, grants the right of adoption to the Hindoo feudatories. +Canning, Mr. G., attacks the appointment of the Chief-justice to a seat + in the cabinet; becomes Prime-minister; + dies; + his opinion on the question in which House of Parliament the + Prime-minister should be. +Caroline, Princess of Brunswick, marries the Prince of Wales; + investigations into her conduct; + she dies. +Cave, Mr., punished for publishing reports of debates. +Census established. +Charlotte, Princess, birth of. +Chartists, rise of; + outrages of, at Birmingham and Newport. +Chatham, Earl of, Secretary of State in 1760; + Lord Privy Seal in 1767; supports Lord Rockingham's resolution on the + expulsion of Wilkes; + denies the power of the Parliament to tax America. +Church reform, sketched out by Sir Robert Peel; + earned by Lord Melbourne's ministry. +Clarence, Duke of, opposes the abolition of the slave trade; + his leaning toward the Whigs. +Clarendon, Earl of, omits to reply to the despatch of the French + minister. +Clergy, Roman Catholic, question of endowing the. +Colborne, Sir John crushes the insurrection in Canada. +Colonies, general grant of constitutions to, in New Zealand, the Cape, + and Australia. +Commons, House of privileges of, with respect to money bills. +Conventicle Act, repeal of. +Conway, General, Secretary of State, introduces a bill of indemnity. +Cornwallis, Lord, surrenders in America. +Corporations, reform of. +Crosby, Brass, Mr, Lord Mayor, commits a messenger of the House of + Commons, and is himself committed to the Tower. +Cumberland, Duke of, marries Mrs Horton. +Cust, Sir J, Speaker of the House of Commons. +</pre> +<pre> +DASHWOOD, Sir F., his revels at Medmenham Abbey. +Declaratory Act. +De Grey, Mr, Attorney-general, supports the resolutions against Wilkes. +Denbigh, Lord, defends the employment of Hanoverian troops at Gibraltar. +Denman, Lord Chief justice, his charge to the jury in the case of + Stockdale v. Hansard. +Disraeli, Mr B, his act for the trial of election petitions; + he denounces Sir Robert Peel for not resigning when defeated on the + sugar-duties; + condemns Lord Clarendon's omission to reply to the French despatch; + supports the House of Lords on the paper duties. +Dowdeswell, Mr, opposes the Royal Marriage Act. +Dundas, Mr, moves an amendment to Mr Dunning's resolution. +Dunning, Mr, afterward Lord Ashburton, supports Mr Glenvilles act; + criticizes a resolution on the influence of the crown. +Dunham, Lord, Governor of Canada. +</pre> +<pre> +EDUCATION, influence of the penal laws on in Ireland. +Eldon, Lord, on the coronation oath in connection with the Catholic + question; + on the detention of Napoleon; + on life peerages. +Elgin, Lord, Governor general of Canada. +Ellenborough, Lord, supports the Additional Force Bill; + becomes a member of the Cabinet; + is recalled from the government of India by the Company. +Emancipation of Roman Catholics designed by Pitt; + concurred by the Duke of Wellington. +Erskine, Lord, as Chancellor, presides over the impeachment of Lord + Melville; + resists Lord Sidmouth's Six Acts. +</pre> +<pre> +FITZGERALD, LORD E., opposes the English government. +Fitzgerald, Mr Vesey, is defeated in Clare. +Fitzgibbon, Mr (afterward Lord Clare), opposes the convention of + delegates in Dublin; + Attorney-general in Ireland, prosecutes the sheriff of Dublin; + supports the Regency bill. +Fitzwilliam, Earl, is dismissed from the Lord-lieutenancy of Yorkshire. +Five Mile Act repealed. +Fox, Mr C., opposes Mr Grenville's act; + on the privileges claimed by the House of Commons respecting + money-bills; + <i>note</i>, on Parliamentary reform and annual Parliaments; + urges the appointment as Prime-Minister of the Duke of Portland; + resigns office; + becomes Secretary of State; + his India Bill; + violence of his attacks on Pitt at the beginning of his ministry; + his opinions on Colonial policy; + denies the Prince's marriage; + opposes the Regency bill; + opposes the Alien Act and other bills; + opposes Pitt's commercial reforms; + becomes Secretary of State; + supports the abolition of the slave trade; + dies. +France, new revolution in 1848. +Franklin, Dr, is examined by the House of Commons on Mr Glenville's + measures of taxation. +</pre> +<pre> +GEORGE III., state of affairs at the accession of; + illness of in 1764; + firmness in the Gordon riots; + becomes deranged; + is attacked on the street; + resists the relaxation of Catholic restrictions; + becomes permanently deranged; + dies; + character of his reign. +George IV. succeeds to the throne. +Gladstone, Mr W.E., opposes the fortification of the dockyards; + proposes to repeal the paper-duties; + carries the repeal of the paper-duties; + desires to weaken the power of the House of Lords. +Gloucester, Duke of, marries Lady Waldegrave. +Gordon, Lord George, the Gordon riots. +Goulburn, Mr. H, is Chancellor of the Exchequer. +Grafton, Duke of, Prime-minister in 1767; + disapproves of American taxation. +Graham, Sir J., as Home-secretary, orders the opening of letters. +Grampound disfranchised. +Granville, Earl, defends life peerages. +Grattan, Mr. H., moves the repeal of Poynings' Act; + opposes Pitt's commercial reforms; + opposes Pitt's Regency bill. +Grenville, Mr. G., becomes Prime minister; + opposes the expulsion of Wilkes; + brings in a bill for the investigation of election petitions; + imposes taxes on the North American Colonies. +Grenville, Lord, introduces the Alien Bill; + opposes the Additional Force Bill; + brings in a bill for the abolition of the slave trade; + refuses a seat in the cabinet in 1812. +Grey, Mr. (afterward Earl), opposes the Regency bill; + opposes the Alien Act; + opposes the union with Ireland; + proposes to diminish the number of members of the House of Commons; + opposes the abolition of slavery; + refuses a seat in the cabinet in 1812; + becomes Prime minister; + his ministry brings in Reform Bill; + defends a proposed creation of peers; + mentions the sovereign's opinion unconstitutionally; + letters from office. +Grey, Earl (son of the preceding), his doctrine on the true principles + of colonial government; + on life peerages. +Gower, Lord F.L., carries a resolution for the endowment of the Roman + Catholic clergy. +Girizot, M., Foreign Secretary in France. +</pre> +<pre> +HALIFAX, Earl of, issues a general warrant against the publishers, etc., + of <i>The North Briton</i>. +Hanoverian troops, employment of, at Gibraltar. +Hansard, Mr., publishes the Parliamentary debates. +Hardy, General, taken prisoner by Sir J. Warren. +Hill, Mr. Roland, proposes a reform of the Post-office. +Hillsborough, Lord, writes a circular letter to the North American + Colonies. +Hoche, General, sails for Ireland. +Holdernesse, Earl of, Secretary of State in 1760. +Holland, Lord, opposes the Regency Bill. +Holt, Chief justice, his decision on the question of slavery. +Holsmann, Mr., supports the House of Lords on the paper duties. +Humbert, General, taken prisoner in Mayo. +</pre> +<pre> +INDIA, Fox's India Bill; + Pitt's India Bill; + Mutiny in; + transfer of the authority of the Company to the crown; + establishment of the Order of the Star of India; + is visited by the Prince of Wales. +Ireland, affairs of; + connection with France; + rebellion in. +</pre> +<pre> +JAMAICA, planters in, compensated for the diminution of the value + of their property by the abolition of slavery; + disturbances in; + its constitution is suspended. +Judges, new tenure of their office. +</pre> +<pre> +KING, the, cannot be a witness in any legal proceeding. +</pre> +<pre> +LABOUCHERE, Mr. H., reproaches Sir Robert Peel for not resigning. +Leopold, King of Belgium, points of the insufficiency of the description + of Prince Albert. +Lewis, Sir. G.C., speech on the history and power of the East India + Company. +Liverpool, Lord, earnest for the universal abolition of the slave trade; + becomes Prime minister; + makes the Catholic question an open question in the cabinet; + brings in, and subsequently withdraws, a "Bill of Pains and + Penalties"; + against the Queen; + attacked by apoplexy and dies; + contemplates an increased grant to Maynooth. +Lopes, Sir M., procures the return of Mr. Pool for Westbury. +Louise, Princess, marriage of. +Lowther, Sir John, obtains a grant of Inglewood Forest. +Luttrell, Mr., is declared elected for Middlesex. +Lyndhurst, Lord, carries an amendment on the Reform Bill; + introduces a Regency bill. +</pre> +<pre> +MACINTOSH, Sir J., applies himself to mitigate the severity of the law. +Mahon, Lord, brings in a bill to diminish the expenses of elections. +Mansfield, Lord, condemns general warrants; + insists on the necessity of a bill of indemnity; + vindicates the supremacy of Parliament; + his house is burnt by the rioters in 1780. +Martin, Mr., wounds Wilkes in a duel. +Massachusetts, riots in. +Maynooth, foundation of a college at; + is enlarged and more fully endowed. +Melbourne, Lord, becomes Prime-minister; + resigns; + resumes office; + mismanages the arrangements for Prince Albert. +Melville, Lord, is impeached. +Metternich, Prince, is driven from Vienna. +Miles, Mr., defeats the government on the sugar-duties. +Moira, Lord, employed by the Regent to negotiate with the Whig leaders + in 1812. +Money-bills, power of the House of Lords as to. +Montesquieu, M. de, his opinion of the English constitution. +Montmorin, M., Wilberforce writes to him on the subject of the + slave-trade. +</pre> +<pre> +NAPOLEON, Louis, is elected President of the French Republic; + his <i>coup d'état</i>; + conspiracy against. +Navigation laws, the, repeal of. +Nelson, Lord, his victory at Copenhagen. +Newcastle, Duke of, Prime minister in 1760. +New Shoreham, disfranchisement of for bribery. +Newspapers, tax on, reduced and afterward abolished. +Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, writes to the Queen. +Normanby, Lord, ambassador in Paris, complains of Lord Palmerston. +North, Lord, supports the decision in favor of Mr. Luttrell; + opposes Mr. Grenville's act; + opposes Mr. Seymour's bill to limit the <i>Nullum Tempus</i> Act; + opposes reform of Parliament; + rejects the demands of Ireland. +Northington, Lord C., defends the embargo on corn; + indicates the supremacy of Parliament. +<i>Nullum Tempus</i> Act, the, extended. +</pre> +<pre> +O'CONNELL, Mr. D., is returned for Clare; + is chief of the Catholic Association. +Octennial act for Ireland. +"Olive Branch, the," +Onslow, Colonel, complains of the publication of the debates. +Orsini, conspiracy of. +</pre> +<pre> +PALMERSTON, Lord, is dismissed from the Foreign-office; + introduces the bill for the transfer of the government of India to + the crown; + writes to the Queen on the abolition of the authority of the East + India Company; + is defeated on the Conspiracy Bill and resigns; + returns to office; + disapproves of the reduction of the paper-duty; + desires to uphold the House of Lords. +Papineau. M., organizes an insurrection in Canada. +Parke, Sir J., is created a peer for life. +Parliament, first meeting of the United. +Peel, Sir Robert, responsible for the change of ministry in 1834; + becomes Home-secretary; + resigns his seat for Oxford and fails to be re-elected; + impropriety of his resignation; + speech on introducing the bill for Catholic Emancipation; + becomes Prime-minister; + declines to form an administration in 1839; + supports Lord J. Russell's resolutions in the case of Stockdale <i>v.</i> + Hansard; + his opinion on the question in which House the Prime-minister should + be; + becomes Prime-minister in 1841; + revises the commercial tariff; + suspends the Corn-law; + causes its abolition. +Peel, Colonel, organizes the Volunteers. +Peerages, life, legality of. +Peers, the House of, strikes out of a corn bill some clauses giving + bounties; + their right to inquire into the public expenditure asserted by Lord + Camden and others; + their privileges as to money-bills; + provisions as to Irish peers in the Act of Union; + proposed creation of peers to carry the Reform Bill considered; + the House of Peers rejects the abolition of the paper-duty. +Penal laws, in Ireland; + repeal of; + in the United Kingdom. +Penu, Mr., sent from America to England with "the Olive Branch." +Perceval, Mr., becomes Prime-minister; + proposes a Regency bill; + is murdered. +Percy, Lord, proposes the entire abolition of slavery. +Persigny, M. de, French Secretary of State, his despatch on Orsini's + conspiracy. +Pigott, Sir A., brings in a bill on the slave-trade. +Pitt, see Earl of Chatham. +Pitt, Mr. T., denounces the influence of the crown. +Pitt, Mr. W., on the privileges of House of Commons respecting + money-bills; + <i>note</i>; + becomes Prime-minister; + his long struggle against, and eventual defeat of the Opposition; + comparisons between his father and him; + his India bill; + his Quebec bill; + his Regency bill; + founds Maynouth; + carries the Irish Union; + resigns on the Catholic question. +Plunkett, Mr., opposes the Irish Union. +Ponsonby, Mr. G., condemns the policy of open questions. +Poor-law, the, reform of. +Portland, Duke of, becomes Prime-minister; + again. +Post-office, reform of; + letters opened by the order of the Secretary of State. +Powis, Earl, brings in a bill to preserve the Welsh sees. +Pownall, Governor, introduces a corn bill. +Poynings' Act; + repeal of. +</pre> +<pre> +RADETSKY, MARSHAL, his campaign in North Italy. +Reform of Parliament, Alderman Sawbridge proposes a measure of; + Mr. Pitt brings in a bill for; + agitation for, in 1818; + introduced and carried by Lord Grey's administration; + the people indifferent to farther reform. +Regency bill of 1764; + of 1840; + former Regency bills had been passed in the reigns of Edward III., + Richard II., Henry VI., and George II.; + in Ireland; + bill of 1810. +Registration, extension of, 342. +Rice, Mr. Spring, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduces + Post-office reform; + as Lord Monteagle proposes the rejection of the paper-duty bill. +Roberts, Mr., returning officer for New Shoreham. +Rochfort, Lord, introduces the Royal Marriage Act. +Rockingham, Marquis of, Prime-minister in 1768; + moves a resolution condemning the proceedings against Wilkes; + Prime-minister a second time; + repeals the American taxes; + disapproves of the employment of Hanoverian troops at Gibraltar; + wisdom of his policy toward America; + his speech on the influence of the crown; + becomes Prime-minister a second time. +Rolle, Mr., moots the question of the Prince's marriage. +Romilly, Sir S., opposes the Regency bill; + applies himself to reforms of the law. +Rose, Mr., opposes Sir A. Pigott's bill on the slave-trade. +Russell, Lord J., his opinion on Fox's conduct in Opposition; + on the Regency bill; + carries the repeal of the Test Act; + introduces the Reform Bill; + introduces a bill for municipal reform; + his resolutions in the case of Stockdale v. Hansard; + becomes Prime—minister. +Russia, war with. +</pre> +<pre> +SANDWICH, EARL OF, denounces Wilkes's "Essay on Woman." +Sarsfield, General, takes refuge in France. +Savile, Sir G., his bill for the limitation of the <i>Nullum Tempus</i> Act. +Seaforth, Lord, reports of the treatment of slaves in Barbadoes. +Seditious Meetings Act. +Shelburne, Lord, denounces the employment of Hanoverian troops at + Gibraltar; + becomes Prime-minister. +Sheridan, Mr. R., his language on the Prince's marriage; + opposes the Alien Act; + conceals Lord Yarmouth's intention to resign. +Sidmouth, Lord, as Home-secretary, introduces six bills for the + suppression of sedition; + resigns office. +Slavery, abolition of. +Slave-trade, abolition of. +Smith, Mr. W., M.P. for Norwich, on repeal of the Five Mile Act. +Somersett, is released by Lord Mansfield. +Stamp Act, imposed on the American Colonies by Mr. Grenville; + repealed by Lord Rockingham. +Stanley, Mr., afterward Lord, and afterward Lord Derby, denounces the + Catholic Association; + brings in a bill for the abolition of slavery; + fails in the attempt to form a ministry in 1845; + becomes Prime-minister in 1852; + proposes a committee on life peerages; + becomes Prime-minister; + resigns. +St. Vincent, Lord, opposes the abolition of the slave-trade. +Stockdale, Mr., brings an action against Messrs. Hansard. +Sugar-duties, Sir Robert Peel's ministry is defeated on a reduction of. +Sussex, Duke of, protests against some clauses of the Regency Act. +Sydenham, Lord, Governor-general of Canada. +</pre> +<pre> +TANDY, NAPPER, proposes a congress. +Temple, Earl, his interview with George III. +Test and Corporation Acts are repealed. +Thurlow, Mr., afterward Lord Chancellor, on the case of Wilkes; + defends the employment of Hanoverian troops at Gibraltar; + denounces Fox's India Bill; + approves of the King's employment of Lord Temple. +Tone, Wolfe, commits suicide. +Townsend, Lord, Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. +Townsend, Mr. C., re-imposes taxes on North America. +Traitorous Correspondence Bill. +Troy, Dr., petitions for a Roman Catholic college in Ireland. +</pre> +<pre> +UNION, the Irish. +Union with Scotland, obstacles to, and advantages resulting from. +</pre> +<pre> +VICTORIA, Queen, succeeds to the throne; + marries; + her careful exercise of her duties; + draws up a memorandum for the guidance of the ministers; + writes to foreign sovereigns. +Victoria, the province of, grant of a constitution to. +Villiers, Mr. C., advocates the repeal of the Corn-laws. +Volunteers, rise of the Irish, 158; rise of the English. +</pre> +<pre> +WALES, Prince or, son of George III., his conduct and establishment; + marries Mrs. Fitzherbert; + is attacked in the streets; + See George IV. +Wales, Prince of, son of the Queen, visits India. +Walpole, Sir R., the case of; + on election petitions; + refuses to repeal the Test Act; + his general policy. +Walpole, Mr. Spencer, supports the Conspiracy Bill. +Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester, denounces Wilkes. +Ward, Mr., his motion on the appropriation of Church funds. +Wedderburn, Mr., on the case of Wilkes; + supports Mr. Grenville's act; + his opinion on the Riot Act; + the chief legal adviser of the Prince of Wales; + suggests the Traitorous Correspondence Bill; + excites the King to resist the removal of Catholic disabilities. +Wellesley, Marquis, proposed to be appointed Prime-minister. +Wellington, Lord, afterward Duke of, his victories in the Peninsula and + in France; + becomes Commander-in-chief; + advises the King to decline dining with the Lord Mayor; + fails in the endeavor to form an administration; + becomes temporary Prime-minister, holding several offices; + condemns the recall of Lord Ellenborough. +Westmoreland, Lord, opposes the abolition of the slave-trade. +Wetherall, Sir Charles, is attacked at Bristol. +Weymouth, Lord, Secretary of State, writes a letter to the Surrey + magistrates. +Whately, Archbishop, his opinion on the Lord-lieutenancy of Ireland; + <i>note</i>. +Whitbread, Mr., promotes the impeachment of Lord Melville. +Wilberforce, Mr. W., proposes the admission of Roman Catholics to the + militia; + devotes himself to the abolition of the slave-trade. +Wilkes, Mr., sets up <i>The North Briton</i>; + criticises the King's speech; + is apprehended; + is expelled the House of Commons for printing the "Essay on Woman;" + is elected for Middlesex, expelled, and re-elected; + as Lord Mayor behaves with spirit during the Gordon riots; + procures the expunction of the resolutions against him. +William IV., his conduct on the Reform Bill; + dies. +Windham, Mr., brings in a bill for reenforcing the army. +Wolseley, Sir C., is elected M.P. by a Birmingham convention. +</pre> +<pre> +YARMOUTH, Earl of, Lord Chamberlain. +</pre> +<center>THE END.</center> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10807 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |