satisfy the house that the dangers which had been stated really existed, and that there were no other means of effectually checking them. The amendment was supported by Messrs. Bulwer and Grote, the former of whom was averse to coercion in any shape, and contended that it would only produce mischief. Mr. Grote admitted that good grounds had been stated why the hands of justice should be strengthened, but he objected very strongly to courts-martial being employed in the administration of justice. To him it appeared that it would be much better if, instead of creating these courts-martial, the bill had granted more extensive, prompt, and efficient powers to the civil courts. Mr. Stanley, in reply to Mr. Grote, said it was true that the committee of last year had recommended a tribunal consisting of the magistrates of the neighbourhood sitting at quarter-sessions, and having power to sit by adjournment from time to time, till tranquillity was restored. He contended, however, that it would be a most objectionable thing to confide the administration of such a law to the local magistracy. The debate was continued up to the 5th of March, the Irish members threatening to have recourse to repeated motions of adjournment if any attempt was made to close the discussion prematurely. The opposition was composed of those who considered that the bill ought to be resisted altogether, as well as of those who thought that delay, as involved in the amendment, should be conceded. The members who opposed it were Messrs. O'Connell, Shiel, O'Connor, Baldwin, Barron, O'Dwyer, and Ruthven, among the Irish members; and Messrs. Romilly and Harvey, with Majors Beauclerk and Fancourt, among the English members. On the other hand, the necessity and efficacy of the bill were maintained by Lord John Russell, Sir R. Peel, and Mr. Macaulay, with other English members; and by Messrs. Carew, Tennent, and Lefroy, Lords Castlereagh and Acheson, and Sirs R. Bateson and C. Coote, among the Irish members. The opposition contended that no necessity for the bill had been made out to any extent, much less to the effect of utterly destroying the constitution over the whole of Ireland; that the "praedial agitation" had no connection with political agitation, and did not require any measure like this to put it down; and that the true cause of these disturbances was the refusal of ministers to abolish tithes, and the true object of it to prevent all expression of public sentiment in Ireland against their faithlessness and misgovernment. Those who supported the bill contended, on the other hand, that not only were the existing outrages such as to require extraordinary measures contrary to the constitution, and that when this necessity for overstepping the constitution once existed, it was safer to err on the side of vigour than to run the risk of a half-measure; but that it was likewise proved that this "praedial agitation," as it was called by the repealers, was closely connected with the political agitation; the principle of both was intimidation. Sir Robert Peel admitted that the measure was one of intolerable severity if there was not a paramount necessity for it; but he denied that it was a suspension of the British constitution. As for the amendment proposing delay, Sir Robert said that he could not listen to it for one moment; the necessity for the measure was urgent. What could be answered to the astounding fact that in one year and in one province there had been one hundred and ninety-six murders and attempts at murder, one hundred and ninety-four burnings, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven burglaries and attacks on houses? How could the state of society be worse! and how could the people of Ireland be better off by persevering in maintaining the existing law! One hundred and ninety-six murders! Why, great battles had been fought, and great victories achieved by this country at a less expense of human blood. The battle of St. Vincent had been gained at less cost of life; the sanguinary bombardment of Algiers had caused less loss of life; and we had rolled back the impetuous tide of French exultation at the battle of Busaco with less loss of life. There was something animating in the idea of a battle; but what horrid recollections haunted the mind which had witnessed a murder! The debate was closed by Mr. O'Connell, who, smarting under the severe remarks made by some of the speakers, delivered a speech of remarkable energy. Ministers, he said, after combating at length the principles of the measures, had done their best by enforcing the tithe act; it was not their fault that the case was not worse. As for the attacks made upon himself he cared nothing for them personally; but the wrongs of his country were mixed up with them. Why, he asked, did they not pass an act to banish him? That would be fair and manly, and he would consent to it; but let them not banish the constitution from Ireland. He stood in a reformed parliament, in the midst of the representatives of the great and glorious people of England, who, disguise it as they might, were about to legislate against a single individual. What mighty work! He felt compassion for them. On a division, the first reading of the bill was carried by a majority of four hundred and sixty-six to eighty-nine. This was a preponderance which seemed to promise an easy passage through its other stages, especially as the discussion which is generally elicited at the second reading took place on the first reading. When, however, the order of the day for the second reading was moved, Mr. Hume opposed it in a violent speech, denouncing the apostasy of ministers: they had forgotten, he said, and violated the principles of which they had been the noisy advocates for twenty-five years, and to which advocacy they were wholly indebted for their political reputation and power. He warned them against "the wickedness of their proceedings," and called on them to pause in their rash career. He moved as an amendment:—"That the house deeply laments the disturbed state of some of the districts in Ireland, and is willing to entrust to his majesty whatever powers may be necessary to control and punish the disturbers of the public peace, and the midnight violators of the law; but is of opinion that it has not been satisfactorily shown that the existing laws are not sufficient for these purposes, and it cannot, therefore, give its consent to a bill which places Ireland out of the pale of the British constitution." Alderman Wood seconded this resolution; but, on a division which took place on the 11th, the second reading being put off on some matter of form to that day, the amendment was rejected, and the second reading carried by three hundred and sixty-three against eighty-four. But notwithstanding this overwhelming majority, the progress of the bill through the committee on the 13th, 15th, 18th, 19th, and 22nd of March was a series of conflicts. On the 13th Mr. O'Connell moved an instruction to the committee to "preserve inviolate and effectual the undoubted right of his majesty's subjects in Ireland peaceably to propose, prepare, and present petitions for redressing grievances to his majesty, and to both houses of parliament." This, he said, would still leave hope to his country. This proposition was rejected by one hundred and twenty-five against sixty-three; and in the committee Mr. O'Connell moved several amendments, which were likewise negatived. In the committee ministers themselves inserted a provision by which, even in proclaimed districts, offences purely political were withdrawn from the cognizance of the military tribunals, and left to be dealt with by the ordinary civil jurisdiction. Ministers, also, of their own accord, omitted, in the clause giving powers to search, arrest, and detain for trial in proclaimed districts, the provision which gave this power to "such other persons as the said lord-lieutenant shall think fit to authorize in that behalf." Divisions took place on the clauses establishing the courts-martial, suspending the Habeas Corpus Act, and protecting those who should act under the bill: but these were all carried by large majorities. The bill finally passed on the 23rd of March, and was immediately sent back to the peers for their concurrence in the alterations which had been made in the commons. Their lordships took these into consideration on the 1st of April; and though much dissatisfaction was expressed by the peers with the amendments, and especially with a proviso inserted in one of the clauses, that no district should be proclaimed because tithes were not paid in it, the bill was finally passed. The effect of the bill was such as was desired. On the 10th of April the lord-lieutenant issued a proclamation suppressing the association of volunteers, after which he applied the provisions of the act to the county of Kilkenny with the best effect. It soon appeared, indeed, that the list of outrageous offenders against the laws decreased throughout the country. The discussions on the coercion act had produced many personal conflicts in debate between Mr. O'Connell and the Irish secretary. O'Connell seemed to regard Mr. Stanley with bitter hostility, arising partly from the vigour with which he repelled the attack of the repealers, and from the supposition that he was not disposed to give up any of the revenues of the Irish church. Mr. Stanley, however, now retired from the battle by accepting the more tranquil office of colonial secretary, which had become vacant by Viscount Goderich being made lord-privy-seal, and advanced a step in the peerage by becoming Earl of Papon. Sir John Cam Hobhouse succeeded Mr. Stanley as Irish secretary.



IRISH CHURCH BILL.

{WILLIAM IV. 1832-1833}

While carrying on their measures for tranquillizing Ireland, ministers had uniformly admitted that grievances existed in Ireland which ought to be redressed. They had also declared their readiness to propose expedients for that purpose. At the head of these grievances, the Irish established church had always been placed, it standing in the peculiar predicament of possessing large revenues, whilst a majority of the people belonged to a faith, the clergy of which had once been the possessors of that opulence. The object of the repealers was to diminish these revenues, while they disclaimed any wish of seeing them bestowed on their own clergy. There were others, at the same time, and those not Irishmen, who, regarding every religious establishment as an evil, considered the property of the church as a fund which might be seized for what they denominated the purposes of the state. It was with this subject that government next dwelt, and in doing so they adopted a middle course—conceding much, but not conceding all that was required of them. The measures which they intended to pursue were unfolded in the commons by Lord Althorp, on the 12th of February. It appeared from his statement that the total revenues of the Irish church were found not to exceed L800,000 per annum. On these funds, he said, it was the intention of ministers, after abolishing first-fruits, to impose a tax varying from five to fifteen per cent. This tax, however, was not to be imposed on clergymen whose livings were under L200 per annum. The larger revenues of the primates, he said, were to be reduced respectively to the amounts of L10,000 and L8000 per annum. The sum thus collected was to be applied under commissioners to the abolition of church-cess; the augmentation of poor livings and building of glebe-houses; the division of unions, and the erection of churches. With respect to the offices of deans and chapters, it was proposed, wherever they were unconnected with the cure of souls, to abolish them altogether, or to unite them to such cure; and with regard to livings, where no duty had been done for the last three years, it was further proposed to suspend the appointment of ministers at the discretion of the commissioners. Ten bishoprics were to be abolished, and the vacated sees were to be annexed to those preserved. With reference to the lands attached to bishoprics the chancellor of the exchequer laid down this principle, namely, that if by the act of parliament to be introduced any new value was given to benefices, that new value not belonging properly to the church might be appropriated to the exigencies of the state. He believed, he said, that L500,000 per annum was the value of all Irish episcopal lands to the lessees or tenants, though the bishops did not receive more than L100,000. By a different mode of granting leases, his lordship showed that a sum of near L3,000,000 might be acquired for the state without any diminution of income to the bishops. His lordship concluded by moving for leave to bring in a bill to alter and amend the laws relating to the established church in Ireland. The plan thus unfolded by Lord Althorp was calculated to produce hostility from two opposite quarters,—from the conservative opposition, who thought its principles destructive to the Irish church; and from the economists, repealers, and radicals, who thought that it left too much of the church untouched. At the same time it was clear that these different kinds of opposition would not endanger the success of the bill in the commons, as ministers were sure of being joined by one of the parties in resisting any amendment proposed by the other. Moreover, most of the Irish members approved of tire plan so far as it went, although Mr. O'Connell denounced the estimate of the Irish church revenues as "a base delusion," and the design of government as one which tended to "relieve no grievance except church-cess, not even suspending the war against the poor man's pig and tenth potato."

Leave was given to bring in the bill; but it was not brought in before the 1st of March. It was read a first time on the same evening; but the proposal to take the second reading on the 13th was successfully opposed by Sir Robert Peel, Sir R. Inglis, and others, ministers consenting to let it stand for the 14th. On the 14th, when the motion was made for reading the order of the day, Mr. C. Wynn objected that the bill was a tax-bill, and therefore could originate only in a committee of the whole house. This view was combated by Lord Althorp, Mr. Stanley, and the solicitor-general; and supported by Sir Robert Peel, and Messrs. Goulburn and others. The objection was so strong that Lord Althorp found himself under the necessity of discharging the order for the second reading; and, on the suggestion of Sir R. Peel, a select committee was appointed to search for precedents, and report its opinion whether the bill should, according to the rules and orders of the house, originate in a committee of the whole house. This committee reported that the bill was a tax-bill; and in consequence of this decision Lord Althorp, on the 1st of April, moved three resolutions with reference to the Irish church in a committee of the whole house. These resolutions having been agreed to, the bill relating thereto, which was a counterpart of the former, was read a first time. The second reading was fixed for the 6th of May, on which day Mr. Shaw met the motion with an amendment that it should be read that day six months. He opposed the bill, he said, because it would violate the rights of property, and because it tended to lower the character of the clergy. If property so fenced by acts of parliament, as church property was, could be assailed, he asked, what species of property could be safe? He admitted that it was desirable to change the system of church-cess; the Irish clergy themselves would not have objected to a proper remedy for this; but he would have sought a substitute for it in the reduction of the incomes of the bishops, and not in the diminution of their number. The amendment was seconded by Mr. Estcourt, one of the members for the University of Oxford, who thought that where the principles of the bill were not mischievous, as involving the first example of a confiscation of property, they were fallacious in the results which it was promised they would produce. Sir Robert Peel said that he approved of many parts of the bill—as that part which required that the spiritual duties of the clergy should be personally discharged, and of that which provided for the abolition of the church-cess. At the same time there were other parts of the bill, he said, which he disliked. Lord Althorp and Messrs. Stanley and Grant maintained that there was no ground for denying the right of parliament to interfere with the church property; and argued with regard to the diminution in the number of bishops, that the bill did not suppress bishoprics, but only consolidated them. The second reading of the bill was carried by three hundred and seventeen to seventy-eight. Before the house went into committee, Mr. Gillon moved an instruction to the committee, that the bill should contain certain provisions for resuming all the temporalities of the Irish church, and applying them after the demise of the present incumbents to purposes of general utility; but this motion was at once negatived. The reduction of the number of bishops was strongly opposed by the committee; but the clause was nevertheless carried. The most important discussion arose on that part of the measure which took L3,000,000 from the church to apply it to state purposes. Both the conservative and radical party were opposed to this; and though there could be no doubt that ministers would be able to carry the clause through the commons, they had ascertained that it would certainly be rejected by the lords. On these grounds, when the house came to that clause, Mr. Stanley moved that it should be omitted. He remarked:—"I am well aware that a strong feeling exists against the alienation of church property, and therefore I propose that the sum alluded to should be paid into, the hands of the ecclesiastical commissioners, to be applied to the same purposes as the other with which they are entrusted." Mr. O'Connell immediately attacked government in a strain of unmeasured reproach. Many other members also contended that ministers, by relinquishing this cause, had degraded themselves in the eyes of the country, and that, if the house was to have tory measures, it ought to have them under a tory ministry. But although many of the supporters of the ministers deserted them from this cause, yet the omission of the clause was carried by a majority of two hundred and eighty against one hundred and forty-eight. In the committee, also, it was agreed that beneficed clergymen in present possession of their livings were to be exempted from the graduated tax: it was only to affect their successors. On the third reading of the bill, Mr. Shiel moved the insertion in the preamble of the following words:—"That whereas the property in the possession of the established church of Ireland is under the control of the legislature, and is applicable to such purposes as may be deemed most fitting for the best interests of the community at large, due regard being paid to the rights of all parties interested." A long discussion took place on this motion, in which old arguments were repeated, and on a division it was rejected. The bill was read a third time on the 8th of July, by a majority of two hundred and ninety-seven against ninety-four.

It was in the upper house, however, that the bill was exposed to the greatest danger, since there existed among the peers a majority capable of defeating ministers on any occasion which they might consider expedient. It was read a first time in that house pro forma, and the second reading was fixed for the 17th of July. In the meantime, the commons, aware of the danger to which the bill was exposed, were on the alert. On the 15th of July Sir J. Wrottesly proposed a call of the house of commons, to promote its success as that of the reform bill had been ensured, namely, by putting the members under arms, as it were, at the critical point of its progress. Ministers deprecated the motion as tending to embarrass the administration, and defeat the very end for which it was proposed. At the same time they declared that their official existence would depend on the success of the bill. The motion was pressed to a division; but it was lost by a majority of one hundred and sixty to one hundred and twenty-five. The debate on the second reading of the bill in the upper house was continued by adjournment on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of July, it being strongly opposed by many of the bishops and peers. After an animated discussion, however, the second reading was carried by one hundred and fifty-seven votes against ninety-eight. In the committee it was proposed by the Duke of Wellington, that instead of all the three civil commissioners being named by the crown, one of them should be named by the head of the church, one by the primate of Ireland, and one by the archbishop of Dublin. Ministers conceded this point; but they successfully resisted another, moved by the Earl of Wicklow, to the effect that the appointment of the four bishops to the board of commissioners should be vested in the bench of Irish bishops. They also successfully resisted an amendment moved by Lord Gage, that the clause imposing the tax should be extended to lay-impropriators as well as clerical. A proposal was next made that the ten bishoprics should not be immediately abolished, but that as they became vacant the crown, if so minded, might grant them to be held in commendam with the see to which the bill proposed to unite them, while it should have power at the same time to grant their revenues to the commissioners. Earl Grey declared that if this amendment were carried it would be fatal to the bill; and it was lost, though only by a majority of fourteen, seventy-six voting for it, and ninety against it. Lord Wharncliffe then moved that the produce of tax imposed upon the clergy should be appropriated to the augmentation of small livings, and that the commissioners should not have power to apply it to other purposes for which parish cess was levied. This amendment was lost by a majority of twenty; but ministers were left in a minority of two, on the clause empowering the commissioners to suspend appointments to benefices in which divine service had not been performed during three years before the 1st of February, 1833. An amendment was agreed to, that in all such cases the bishop of the diocese in which the benefice might be situated, should be entitled to act as a member of the board; and that the revenues of the suspended benefice should be applied to the building or repairing of the church or glebe-house in such benefice; or if they should not require it, that then the revenues should be paid into the general fund, under the management of the commissioners. On this defeat Earl Grey adjourned the committee, in order to allow time for considering whether ministers ought not to throw up the bill and resign. On the next day, however, his lordship stated that they had resolved to proceed with the bill; the effect of the amendment would be far from an improvement to the bill, but he did not deem it such an alteration, affecting the general efficiency of the measure, as would justify him in abandoning the duty he had imposed upon himself of conducting it through the house. At the same time, he said, he would not disguise from their lordships that he laboured under deep sensations of difficulty and embarrassment in consequence of the vote; and he felt that if any further alterations of the like nature should be made, it would be for him to consider how far it would be possible for him, consistently with his duty to his sovereign and his country, to continue the conduct of the measure. Some further alterations were admitted on the bringing up of the report. One of these went to guard against the future contingency of the lord-chancellor and lord-chief-justice of Ireland, members of the board, being Catholics; and another placed at the disposal of the two archbishops ten livings, not exceeding L800 a-year each, connected with the suppressed bishoprics, for the purpose of being bestowed on the junior fellows of the University of Dublin. The bill was passed on the 30th of July, by a majority of one hundred and thirty-five against eighty-one; and on the 2nd of August the commons agreed to the amendments which had been made by the peers. Mr. O'Connell observed that the lords had not made the bill much worse than they found it, and protested against its being considered in any other light than as the first instalment of the debt due to Ireland.



IRISH TITHE BILL.

Another measure connected with Ireland arose from the difficulty of collecting tithes. It has been seen that in the preceding year an act was passed, enabling government to advance to the Irish clergy such amount of tithes as had been illegally withheld during the year 1833, and empowered the executive, on making such advance, to levy the arrear itself. This expedient only inflamed the animosity of the tithe-payers, since it created a creditor whom it was apprehended would be more difficult to resist. Ministers, therefore, resolved to relinquish this plan; and they proposed instead of it that government should be empowered to abandon all processes under the existing law, to pay up all arrears, and to seek reimbursement in a different manner. On the 12th of June Lord Althorp moved that it was the opinion of this committee that an advance of money should be paid to the clergy of the established church in Ireland, in order to relieve the occupying tenants from payments on account of arrears of tithes, or composition of tithes in the year 1833, such advance to be paid within a limited time by a land-tax chargeable on all land liable to the payment of tithes, the owners of which should not have paid the tithes, or composition of tithes, which became due during such years. This was generally approved of by O'Connell and the Irish members, though they insisted that it should be extended to lay-impropriators as well as clerical. There were others who opposed it because they thought it would be holding out a premium to lawless violence, and an invitation to resistance to the payment of tithes. Moreover, a third party were for rejecting it, because instead of involving the principle that the Catholic population should not be taxed in any shape for the Protestant church, it seemed to contemplate the perpetuation of the impost. In accordance with the expressed opinion of the committee, a resolution was moved to the effect:—"That his majesty be enabled to direct exchequer-bills to an amount not exceeding L1,000,000 to be issued, for the purpose of advancing, under certain conditions, the arrears of tithes due for 1831 and 1832, subject to a deduction of 25 per cent., and the value of tithes for 1833, subject to a deduction of 15 per cent., to such persons as may be entitled to such arrears on such tithes, and as may be desirous of receiving such advances; and that the amount advanced shall be included in the tithe-composition, so as to be repaid in the course of five years, being payable by half-yearly instalments." This plan was strongly opposed, principally on the ground that the money would never be repaid, since repayment was still to depend on a collection of tithe, which never would succeed. The pretended loan would be converted into a gift, and England, besides paying its own tithes, would also be paying those of Ireland. The resolution was carried by eighty-seven to fifty-one, and a bill founded on it was brought in and passed both houses without any important alteration. The measure was regarded by the Conservatives as a mischievous precedent, and they asserted that any existing necessity for it had been produced by ministers' own misgovernment.



FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

The budget was opened on the 1st of April. As this was the first occasion of bringing any financial statement before a reformed parliament, the chancellor of the exchequer said that he thought it right to state what progress had been made in redeeming that pledge of economy on which the administration had taken office. In the number of places abolished, he showed that there had been a saving effected of L192,000, and he said that the diplomatic expenses had been reduced by L91,735. A saving of L28,000 had also been effected by bringing a number of persons from the retired list in the revenue department, and placing them on active service. The state of the finances was more satisfactory than during the last session. The chancellor of the exchequer stated that the amount of the income and expenditure of the year was respectively L46,853,000 and L45,366, leaving an excess of income over expenditure of L1,487,000, an excess which would be more than sufficient to cover the deficiency of L1,240,412 of the preceding year. He estimated the revenue for the present year at L46,494,128, and the expenditure at L44,922,219, which would leave a surplus of about L1,572,000. He thought it desirable, he continued, that a reduction of taxes should be made to the extent of this surplus. He proposed to make the reductions on taxes chiefly which fell on industry; and he selected tiles, marine insurance, advertisements, the assessed taxes, cotton, and soap, as the taxes to be reduced. The estimated loss to the revenue by these reductions was L1,056,000, which would leave a surplus for the year, after the above reductions, of L516,000. Mr. Hume thought the reductions were neither sufficiently great nor sufficiently numerous; they ought to be pushed at least to the extent of the estimated surplus. On the contrary, Sir Robert Peel was disposed to think that the chancellor of the exchequer had carried reduction too far: it was dangerous, he said, to reduce taxes to such an extent as might affect our ability to keep faith with the public creditor. He concurred, however, in the general view the noble lord had taken of the subject: he had acted wisely in maintaining the system of taxation as it stood at present. The financial statements of the chancellor of the exchequer appear to have given general satisfaction, for there was no discussion on the details.



BANK OF ENGLAND CHARTER RENEWED.

On the 31st of May Lord Althorp brought the subject of the renewal of the Bank of England charter before the commons. In doing so he stated at great length the terms on which government had determined to consent to a renewal of that charter; after which he laid the following-resolutions on the table of the house, that they might be considered:—"That it is the opinion of the committee, that it is expedient to continue to the Bank of England, for a limited period, the enjoyment of certain privileges now vested in law in that corporation, subject to provisions to be hereafter made: That provided the Bank of England continued liable, as at present, to defray, in the current coin of the realm, all its existing engagements, it was expedient that its promissory note should be constituted a legal tender for sums of L5 and upward: That one-fourth part of the debt at present due by the public to the Bank be repaid during the present session of parliament: That the allowances to the Bank on the management of the national debt, and other public business be continued, subject to an annual deduction of L120,000 from the remuneration at present assigned for that purpose: That the laws restricting the interest of money to five per cent, be repealed, so far as concerned bills not having more than three months to run before they become due: That it is expedient that royal charters be granted for the establishment of joint-stock banks, within a certain distance from London: That all banks should enter into a composition, in lieu of stamp-duties, at present chargeable at the rate of seven shillings for every one hundred pounds issued in notes: That it is expedient that a bill should be introduced into parliament to regulate country banks, the provisions of which should be such as to encourage joint-stock banking companies in the country to issue the notes of the Bank of England." These resolutions were moved on the 1st of June, and the first of them was met by an amendment to the effect of delaying the consideration of the measure till the ensuing session. The opposition proceeded principally from members hostile to the renewal of the privileges of the Bank; and to that hostility they now added objections to particular parts of the proposed plan. They demanded delay in order that there might be more full inquiry, and they contended that such inquiry would make it manifest, that the exclusive privileges of the Bank ought not to be renewed. The amendment, however, was lost by three hundred and sixteen to eighty-three, and the first resolution, affirming the propriety of continuing the privileges of the Bank was agreed to without a division. The second resolution, making the notes of the Bank of England a legal tender for sums of L5 and upwards was opposed still more energetically, as being both unnecessary and mischievous; but it was carried by a majority of fifty-eight. Lord Althorp, however, agreed so far to modify the proposal as to make it incumbent to pay all L5 notes in gold, if demanded. To the resolution which provided for the continuance of remuneration, a counter resolution was moved, to the effect that it was, in the opinion of the committee, expedient that the remuneration now insured by law to the Bank of England for the management of the public debt and other public business should cease; but this was also lost by a large majority. The sixth and eighth resolutions, which went to regulate the establishment of joint-stock banking companies were abandoned for the present, Lord Althorp conceiving that the opposition was so strong that he should not be able to carry them, at least during this session. A bill founded on these resolutions was brought in and read the first and second time without a division. On the motion for going into the committee, Mr. Gisborne moved as an amendment that the committee should be taken that day six months; but this was lost by a majority of one hundred and nineteen against forty. In the committee multifarious amendments were proposed, but without success. One alteration, however, was made by ministers themselves. They had believed that the existing law prohibited deposit-banks, no less than banks of issue, consisting of more than six partners, from being established in the metropolis, or within a short distance of it; but the solicitor-general had now satisfied himself that, as the law stood, no such restriction existed, and a clause was introduced declaring such to be, and to have been the law, although there were legal opinions the other way, and although the Bank, and all mercantile men, had acted on the belief that the restriction did exist. As the bill passed the commons, its chief provisions were, a monthly publication of the Bank accounts; the repayment of a portion of its capital; a partial repeal of the usury laws which impeded its action; an annual payment of L120,000 in return for privileges conceded; its notes made a legal tender except at the Bank itself, or its branches; a quarterly return of the amount of circulation of all other banks; and certain regulations for the improvement of joint-stock banks. The bill passed the upper house without alterations: an amendment moved by Lord Whynford to leave out the declaratory clause regarding deposit-banks, as being contrary to law, mercantile understanding, and good faith, having been rejected. Government, also, refused to allow the opinion of the judges to be taken regarding the legality of such companies under the existing law.



EAST INDIA QUESTION.

Another monopoly with which the government had to deed was that of the East India Company, their charter approaching its termination. The arrangements which government proposed should be adopted with the company were explained in a committee of the whole house by Mr. C. Grant, on the 13th of June. He stated first that the political government of India was to be continued in the hands of the company for some time longer; the reasons for it being the good which that government had done. That there were evils in the system of administration in India he would admit; but he argued, that they were more than counterbalanced by the security of life and property, which had been secured to the natives by the rule of the company. The next great question was, he said, the company's monopoly of the trade with China. Public opinion had decided that it should no longer exist; and it was only justice to the expression of the public opinion in this case to state that it was not the clamour of the moment—that it was the voice of an enlightened community formed during a succession of years. After detailing various facts, to show that from the competition of private traders the monopoly of the company could not long continue, even if parliament did not interfere, Mr. Grant said that government proposed the monopoly should cease in April, 1834, and that the trade to China should then be open to all the merchants of this country. In consideration of the East India Company surrendering all its rights and privileges, Mr. Grant said it was proposed that the government of India should be continued in the hands of the company for the period of twenty years, and that an annuity of L630,000 per annum should be granted to them, to be charged on the territory of India. At the end of twenty years, he said, if the East India Company should be deprived of the government of India, then the payment of their capital might be demanded; and if not, the payment of the annuity was to be continued for forty years. He explained further, that certain alterations were likewise to be introduced in the frame of the government of India; and he said that he should further have to call the attention of the house to the state of the ecclesiastical establishments in that country. He concluded by moving the following resolutions:—"That it is expedient that all his majesty's subjects should be at liberty to repair to the ports of the empire of China, and to trade in tea and in all other productions in the said empire, subject to such regulations as parliament shall enact for the protection of the commercial and political interests of this country: That it is expedient that, in case the East India Company shall transfer to the crown, on behalf of the Indian territory, all assets and claims of every description belonging to the said company, the crown on behalf of the Indian territory, shall take on itself all the obligations of the said company, of whatever description; and that the said company shall receive from the revenues of the said territory such a sum, and paid in such a manner as parliament shall enact: That it is expedient that the governments of the British possessions in India be entrusted to the said company, under such conditions and regulations as parliament shall enact, for the purpose of extending the commerce of this country, and of securing the good government, and promoting the moral and religious improvement of the people of India." These resolutions were agreed to without any opposition; and on the 5th of July they passed the lords without a division, although they were sternly opposed by Lord Ellenborough, who denounced the whole scheme as being a crude and ill-digested plan, the offspring of unfounded theories, formed by men who knew nothing, and desired to know nothing of India. A bill was subsequently brought into the house of commons founded on the resolutions, and, after some unsuccessful motions of amendment, was carried. In the upper house Lord Ellenborough renewed his opposition, and moved, "That all provisions in the bill, which went to alter the existing laws in the East Indian presidencies, should be omitted." This amendment, however, was not pressed to a division; and the bill was finally passed. One of the greatest advantages which the public gained by this important measure, was that which opened a rich field for the enterprise and industry of our merchants by destroying the monopoly of the trade in tea. Facilities for conducting this branch of commerce, together with a considerable relief from taxation on the article of tea, was given try a subsequent bill for regulating its importation. It must be confessed, indeed, that the adoption of this measure by parliament was highly beneficial to the interests of the community at large. By it the long and complicated account between commerce and territory was settled; the pernicious union of imperial and economical functions in the body of proprietors of East India stock was at an end; every office under the company was thrown open to British subjects without distinction, and the whole of India was opened to European enterprise and European capital. A grand feature of the bill, also, was that which provided for extending the influence and utility of the Anglo-Indian church.



ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES.

{WILLIAM IV. 1832-1833}

At the commencement of this session, the minds of reflecting persons were fixed with intense anxiety on the subject of West India slavery. The excitement attending the reform act, indeed, had not been neglected by the friends of emancipation. Meetings were held and petitions got up: and government found themselves under the necessity of framing a measure for the gradual abolition of the trade in the bones and the sinews of man. The subject was brought before the commons by Mr. Stanley on the 14th of May, when he explained the ministerial scheme in a committee of the whole house. Government, he said, impelled by the force of public opinion, resolved to propose a plan which would insure the extinction of slavery, and manumit not only future generations, but likewise the existing generation, providing at the same time against the dangers of a sudden transition. It was proposed, he said, to place the slave for a limited time in an intermediate state of apprenticeship. He was to enter into a contract, by which his master would be bound to give him food and clothing, or in lieu thereof a pecuniary allowance; for which consideration he, on his part, was to give his master three-fourths of his time in labour, leaving it to be settled between them whether that should be for three-fourths of the week or of each day. The remaining fourth of his time, Mr. Stanley said, the slave would be at liberty to transfer his labour elsewhere; but if he were inclined to give it to his master, then his master would be obliged to find him employment according to a fixed rate of wages. It was a difficult point, he said, to settle the scale of wages; and he could devise no better mode than that of compelling the planter to fix a price on the labourer at the time of his apprenticeship, and by enacting that the wages to be paid by the master should bear such a proportion to the price fixed by him, that for the whole of his spare time he should receive one-twelfth of his price annually. In this manner, he said, the slave and his master would both act in reference to each other: if the master fixed a high price on his negro, he would have to pay him proportionate wages; and if a low price, then upon the payment of that price by any other person on his behalf, the negro would be free. This measure, he continued, must necessarily occasion loss to many of the West Indian proprietors; and, as it was not fitting that they alone should lose by the destruction of this species of property, the legality of which had at least been recognised by parliament, ministers proposed to advance to the West Indian body a loan to the amount of ten years' purchase of their annual profits on sugars, rum, and coffee, which would amount to L15,000,000. It was for parliament to say in what manner, and upon what condition, that loan should be repaid to the country; it might be considered equal to one-fourth of the proceeds of the slaves' labour; and with that sum and the other three-fourths of his labour, the planter, at the end of twelve years, would have received a just compensation for the price of his slave, and for all the expense to which the slave might have put him for food and clothing. It was right, however, to state that during that time the planter would have to pay interest for his loan, and to that amount, perhaps, he might be the loser. In conclusion, Mr. Stanley said, he would call upon the house to aid the local legislatures in the West Indies in establishing schools for the religious and moral education of the slave population. He moved the following resolutions:—"That it is the opinion of this committee that immediate and effectual measures be taken for the entire abolition of slavery throughout the colonies, under such provisions for regulating the condition of the negroes as may combine their welfare with the interest of the proprietors: That it is expedient that all children born after the passing of any act, or who shall be under the age of six years at the time of passing any act of parliament for this purpose, be declared free, subject, nevertheless, to such temporary restrictions as may be deemed necessary for their support and maintenance: That all persons now slaves be entitled to be registered as apprenticed labourers, and to acquire thereby all the rights and privileges of free men subject to the restriction of labouring under conditions, and for a time to be fixed by parliament, for their present owners: That, to provide against the risk of loss which proprietors in his majesty's colonial possessions might sustain by the abolition of slavery, his majesty be enabled to advance by way of loan, to be raised from time to time, a sum not exceeding in the whole L15,000,000, to be paid in such manner, and at such rate of interest, as shall be prescribed by parliament: That his majesty be enabled to defray any such expense as he may incur in establishing an efficient stipendiary magistracy in the colonies, and in aiding the local legislatures in providing for the religious and moral education of the negro population to be emancipated." The consideration of these resolutions was adjourned to the 30th of May. On that day the first resolution, after considerable debate on the character of the planters, and on the subject of the compensation to be given to them, was agreed to without a division. Sir Robert Peel said that he would have preferred a declaratory resolution, it appearing to him that the co-operation of the colonial legislative was indispensable to tire success of the measure. He doubted the policy of using the words "immediate and effectual measures shall be taken for the entire abolition of slavery throughout the colonies;" they were calculated to raise expectations unwarranted by the measure; it was a great evil in establishing a preliminary resolution. The first impression of any man upon reading this resolution, and especially the first impression of an illiterate and ignorant man would be this:—"You never meant to subject me to coerced labour for twelve years." The second resolution also passed without a division; but the third, which involved the principle of the compulsory apprenticeship, was met with a direct negative by Mr. Fowell Buxton, on the ground that it was unnecessary and impracticable. It was founded on this assertion—that emancipated negroes would not work, or, at least, would not work more than was necessary to supply the mere wants of life. This opinion he showed by facts was ill-grounded; and he proved to demonstration that the negroes, if free, would work more cheerfully than while enslaved. He moved that the resolution be rejected. He was supported by Mr. Halcomb and Buford Howick, the latter of whom said that it was not necessary as a groundwork for future proceedings; and that, on the other hand, if the house agreed to it, they would pledge themselves to a system of apprenticeship of which they did not yet know the full effect. This was dealing rather hardly by the house; government should avoid calling upon the house, at this stage of the proceeding, distinctly to pledge themselves to do that of which they had not yet heard a satisfactory account. It was easy to talk of apprenticing negroes; but the plan was neither more nor less than a subversion of the existing relations of society in the colonies, and organising an untried system, the adoption of which must be attended with difficulties. His objection to the provision was, that the labour of the negro was, for the greater part of his time, to be obtained by direct compulsion; his opinion was that the negroes would be in a worse condition at the termination of the experiment than they were at the present moment. Ministers replied that the question was not, as it had been represented, merely one of gradual or immediate abolition; no matter what might be the period of apprenticeship, whether ten or twelve years, from the moment the bill passed, slavery in the British colonies, in its offensive and essential features, was for ever annihilated. The bill recognised the rights of property; it conferred freedom from corporal punishment; it respected the domestic ties of the negro in their tenderest relations; and it ensured to him a considerable portion of the fruits of his own labour: with these great enactments surely it was not too much to say that slavery, in its obnoxious features, could not be said to exist. Mr. Buxton, having been assured that the resolution did not bind the house to any particular period of compulsory labour, withdrew his motion to reject it, and proposed to insert words declaring that the labour was to be for wages. He withdrew this likewise; but Mr. O'Connell insisted on dividing the house on the original resolution, when it was carried by three hundred and twenty-four to forty-two. The fourth resolution, respecting the compensation to planters, was attended with still greater difficulty. The original proposal was a loan of L15,000,000, for which they were to pay interest; but ministers found such stern opposition from the West India planters, that they were compelled to convert this loan into an absolute payment of L20,000,000. Mr. Stanley, after admitting the difficulty of ascertaining what the amount of compensation ought to be, moved that "Towards the compensation of the West India proprietors, his majesty be enabled to grant a sum not exceeding L20,000,000, to be appropriated as parliament may hereafter think fit." This proposition called forth much opposition and many amendments; but it was finally earned by a majority of two hundred and ninety-six against seventy-seven. The fifth and last resolution was carried by a majority of two hundred and ninety-six against seventy-seven; and the whole were then sent to the peers, who agreed to them on the 25th of June. On the motion for going into committee on the bill brought in pursuant to the resolutions, Mr. Buxton again discussed the question of compulsory apprenticeships. He moved, that it be an instruction to the committee that they shall not, for the sake of the pecuniary interests of the masters, impose any restraint or obligation on the negro which shall not be necessary for his own welfare, and for the general peace and order of society; and that they shall limit the duration of any temporary restrictions which may be imposed upon the freedom of the negroes, to the shortest period which may be necessary to establish, on just principles, the system of free labour for adequate wages. He was supported by Lord Howick and Mr. Macaulay, who before had opposed him on the same question, but who now declared that he had an insurmountable objection to the transition state, which was to be interposed between the cessation of slavery and complete freedom. If it could be proved, he said, that any restraint was proposed, the effect of which was to improve the morals of the negro, to promote his habits of industry, and to enable him better to discharge the duties of a freeman and citizen, he would give his assent to such a restraint; but he thought that the restraint was not laid upon the negro, as it ought to be, with the sole view of improving his character: one of the objects was, not his own advantage, but as a compensation to the planter. In reply, Mr. Stanley said that the compensation was of two sorts: one was a sum to be paid down now for the remission of one-fourth of the labour of the slave, and the whole would be paid by the end of twelve years, when the negro would be completely free. The sum to be paid to the colonies was taken with reference to the estimated value of the slave, and to the interest of money: taking that value at L30,000,000 for 800,000 slaves, would give L37 10s. for each. It was not extravagant to say that such a sum was about the average value of a slave. He went on to say that one-fourth of the labour of the negro was to be taken from the master, and placed at the disposal of the negro himself; but for the remaining three-fourths he was to be maintained by the master. Now the maintenance, taken at a moderate average, was calculated at fifty shillings each; this for 800,000 negroes would be L2,000,000 per annum, and the one-fourth of this would be L500,000; and this at the end of twelve years would make a great difference in the sum to be paid to the master. Calculations would show that if the value of L30,000,000, or L37 10s. each were taken, and the interest of money calculated at six per cent., the sum to be paid to the master would be L27,000,000; but if the value of the slaves were taken at L24,000,000, and the interest of money at six per cent., L15,000,000 would be the sum to be paid to him. Besides this, the allowance for the advances for the support of the slave would, at ten per cent., amount to L3,406,000; at eight per cent., to L3,786,000; and at six per cent, to L4,900,000. This would show that the apprenticeship materially came into the account, in estimating the compensation to the master for his loss; and the compensation would not be made in a state of slavery, but in a state of comparative freedom. Mr. Stanley said that if the West India proprietors were asked what they thought of the plan of apprenticeship, they would say that they could not go on without it; and that without the application of such a principle in the bill, the colonies would go to ruin, and the proprietors be reduced to beggary. In fact, he said, if Mr. Buxton's motion should be carried, he must be prepared to see the whole frame of civilization in the colonies destroyed, and a state of things brought about which, however they might in time settle down into some improvement, must at least begin in barbarism. On a division, Mr. Buxton's amendment was lost by a majority of only seven, one hundred and fifty-one having voted for it, and one hundred and fifty-eight against it. The result of this division convinced government that they must make some concession on this point; and on the following day Mr. Stanley resolved to reduce the period of prodial apprenticeship from twelve years to seven, and of non-prodial from seven to five years. This was adopted, and clauses were added, empowering the commissioners for the management of the national debt to raise the money by a loan, specifying the manner in which the operation was to be conducted after which the bill passed. In the upper-house some amendments were added to the bill, which did not affect its substance, and these were finally agreed to by the commons. Thus the dark spot of slavery was wiped out of the British annals; we had no slaves at home, and now it was nobly resolved that we should have none abroad—that wherever Britain's power was felt, mankind should feel her mercy also.



FACTORY BILL.

During the former session, Mr. Sadleir had introduced a bill for shortening and regulating the employment of children of certain ages in cotton and other factories, and protecting them against maltreatment, to which it was alleged they had long been exposed. Evidence had been taken regarding the subject matter of the bill before a committee of the house of commons, and in this session a similar measure to that of Mr. Sadleir's was introduced by Lord Ashley. The bill was opposed by the great body of the manufacturing capitalists, many of whom had been sent into the house by the reform act, and who possessed powerful interest out of it. Mr. Patten moved an address to the king to name a royal commission, for the purpose of collecting evidence anew, founding his motion on the ground that the evidence taken before the committee was partial, defective, and untrue. Lord Ashley, and others, contended that this motion was not only uncalled for, but would be detrimental: fresh inquiry was needless, inasmuch as the house was in a condition to legislate on the subject, not only in consequence of the information obtained from the committee of last year, but also of that furnished by the other house of parliament. Mr. Patten's motion was negatived, and the bill was read a second time; and then ministers, alarmed at the probable success of a measure which, as it stood, would seriously interfere with the manufacturers of the country, arrayed themselves more openly against it. Lord Althorp opposed the motion for going into committee, and moved, "That the bill be referred to a select committee, with this instruction—that the committee should make provision in said bill, that no children who had not entered into their fourteenth year should be allowed to work for more than eight hours a-day; and that in the intervals of their labour, care should be taken for their education, and that inspection of the mills should take place, in order to secure the operation of the above provisions." This motion was rejected, and Lord Ashley's bill was carried into committee, by one hundred and sixty-four to one hundred and forty-one. Government, however, did not give up its opposition. The bill had adopted ten hours as the maximum of labour daily, which extended to all persons under eighteen years of age; and when the second clause, which involved the principle, was moved in committee, Lord Althorp opposed it. He proposed as an amendment, that instead of the word "eighteen," the word "thirteen" should be inserted; expressing, at the same time, his intention of following that up by substituting "eight" instead of "ten". The amendment was carried by a large majority, and Lord Ashley abandoned the bill to the chancellor of the exchequer, in whose hands its enactments were considerably mitigated. As altered, the bill provided that the labour of children in factories under thirteen years of age should be limited to eight instead of ten hours a-day; that the provisions of Sir J. Hobhouse's bill should be extended to other mills besides cotton mills; and that persons under eighteen years of age should not be required to work more than sixty hours in the week. It also provided that it should be illegal to employ any children under nine years of age; that inspectors should be appointed to see that the provisions of the bill are duly enforced; and contained provisions for introducing a general system of education amongst the children in all the manufacturing districts. In the committee Mr. Wood proposed an amendment, to the effect, that at the expiration of six months after the passing of the act, no child under eleven years of age should be permitted to work more than eight hours a-day; that no child under the age of twelve years should be permitted, after the expiration of eighteen months from the passing of the bill, to work for more than eight hours a-day; and that after the expiration of two years from the passing of the bill, no child under the age of thirteen years should be permitted to work more than eight hours a-day. This amendment was opposed by Lord Althorp, on the ground that it would postpone the operation of the measure, but it was carried against him and it formed a part of the measure.



THE CORN LAWS.

The people had long been taught to consider the corn laws as unjust monopolies, which enriched the landowner, by depriving the poor of "cheap bread," and they firmly expected that reforming ministers and a reformed parliament would forthwith abolish them. Ministers, however, were not inclined to take up the question, and parliament was not yet prepared to respond to the general demand. On the 17th of May, Mr. Whitmore moved the following resolutions:—"That the present system of corn laws, founded on a high and ever-varying scale of duties, while it fails of conferring permanent benefit on the agricultural interest, tends to cramp the trade, and impair the general prosperity of this country; that an alteration of these laws, substituting in their stead a moderate duty, fixed at all periods except those of extreme dearth, while it indemnified the agriculturists for the peculiar burthens which press upon them, would, by restoring the commercial relations between this kingdom and foreign countries, increase the manufactures, and render more equal the price of the produce of the country." Lord Althorp objected to the resolutions principally on account of the time at which they were brought forward, considering the many important questions which yet remained for the consideration of parliament; he therefore moved the previous question, which was carried by three hundred and five against two hundred and six. A few days previously certain resolutions relative to the same question were negatived in the house of lords without a division; and in the commons, on the 18th of June, a motion for leave to bring in a bill to alter the corn laws was rejected. The corn laws, therefore, were yet retained in the British code.



RESOLUTIONS AGAINST BRIBERY, ETC.

The result of the elections showed that the first reformed parliament had no small quantity of bribery to deal with. The prevention of this evil, therefore, was an object which a reformed house of commons was especially bound to secure. On the 6th of February, Lord John Russell moved the same resolutions which had been adopted by the preceding house, and which diminished obstacles that stood in the way of effectually questioning a corrupt election. According to the resolutions which had hitherto been adopted as the standing orders of the house on this subject, the return of a member could be questioned only within fourteen days after the assembling of parliament, or after his return, if the house were then sitting; and it was the practice of persons who made use of bribery to secure their elections, not to make any payments till that period was passed, in order to avoid the penalties attached to such conduct. In the hope of checking this evil, Lord John Russell moved, "That all persons who question any future return of members to serve in parliament upon any allegation of bribery or corruption, and who shall in their petition specifically allege any payment of money or other reward to have been made by any member, or on his account, or with his privity, since the time of such return, in pursuance of, or in furtherance of, such bribery and corruption, may question the same at any time within twenty-eight days from the time of such payment; or if this house be not sitting at the expiration of the said twenty-eight days, then within fourteen days after the day when the house shall next meet." This resolution was agreed to, many members regretting that it did not go further, and maintaining that a bribery-oath should be administered to the members as well as to the electors. Subsequently petitions were received from Liverpool, Warwick, Stafford, Hertford, Londonderry, Carrickfergus, and Newry; and in all these cases it was proved that gross bribery had been resorted to at the elections. Writs were suspended for Warwick, and bills were brought in for the disfranchisement of Stafford, Hertford, and Carrickfergus, while several individuals were ordered to be criminally prosecuted. As the session was drawing to a close, the bills were not persevered in before its termination. An attempt was made by Mr. Grote, one of the members for the city of London, to establish voting by ballot; that alone, in his estimation, being the only means of securing purity of election. This, however, was negatived, after a long and earnest discussion, by two hundred and eleven against one hundred and six. Another discussion relative to the constitution arose on a motion by Mr. Tennyson, for leave to bring in a bill to shorten the duration of parliaments. In support of his motion, Mr. Tennyson enforced the ordinary topics, that the septennial act had been passed to meet a temporary emergency; that it had originally been an exception from the rules of the constitution; that the consequence of it had been general corruption both among the electors and the representatives; and that it rendered the members too independent of their constituents, and in so far defeated the object of a representative government, and prevented the operation of the public opinion. There was a difference of opinion, he said, as to the number of years which ought to be fixed for the duration of parliaments, some being in favour of five, others of four, and others of three years. He thought they were bound to consult the general wishes of the people, and it appeared to him that they were in favour of triennial parliaments. At the same time, in the bill which he proposed to bring in, he intended to leave the term of future parliaments unfixed, so that it might form a subject of debate in committee. His bill contained two clauses, one to repeal the septennial act, and the other to determine the period of each parliament's existence. The resistance of the proposition was left to ministers themselves, and Lord Althorp's mode of getting rid of it was by moving the previous question. He was ready to acknowledge, he said, this was a question which he would support, if parliament were in the same situation as heretofore; but things were now changed, and he believed that the feelings and opinions of the people were fairly represented in that house. He did not think, therefore, that the same necessity existed for abridging the duration of parliaments, as before the passing of the reform bill. The motion was supported by Messrs. Cobbett, Kennedy, Shiel, and other members, and opposed by Lord John Eussell and Mr. Stanley. On a division, the previous question was carried by a majority of forty-nine, two hundred and thirteen having voted for it, and one hundred and sixty-four for the motion.



BILL TO REMOVE THE CIVIL DISABILITIES OF JEWS.—PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

At this period the Jews alone were the only class of the community whose religion affected their rights. Towards the close of the session Mr. Goulburn brought in a bill to remove their civil disabilities, and it passed the commons, but was thrown out on the second reading in the house of lords. The session was closed on the 29th of August by his majesty in person, who in his speech touched upon the various important measures that had this session occupied the attention of parliament. It may be mentioned that government had recently appointed a commission for inquiring into the state of corporations, and for digesting into one body the enactments of the criminal law, and inquiring how far, and by what means, a similar process might be extended to the other branches of our jurisprudence. It may also be mentioned that two important acts had been passed for giving constitutions upon sound principles to the royal and parliamentary burghs of Scotland, a change by which the whole system of self-election was entirely abolished. His majesty embraced all these topics in his speech. On the subject of Ireland his majesty expressed his regret that coercive measures had been necessary; but he had not found it desirable, except in a very limited degree, to use the powers confided to him, and he hoped that the time was not far distant when repressive laws might be no longer unavoidable.



FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

{WILLIAM IV. 1832-1833}

During this year a prospect of the close of the dreadful calamities which had so long weighed down the people of Portugal dawned upon them. At its commencement Oporto still continued to be the scene of operations; the regent occupying that city, and Don Miguel maintaining his positions and his battery on the left bank of the river and to the north of the city itself. The operations continued to consist of partial bombardments across the river, or engagements of detachments, occasionally varied by more regular attacks and sallies to destroy works already erected, or prevent new ones from being raised. There was not much blood shed, and the results of the operations made no decisive or permanent change in the relation of the armies to each other. At the beginning of March, indeed, a battle was fought, in which it was stated that the Miguelites lost fifteen thousand men, and their adversary only one hundred; but still it left matters where it found them—Oporto was still besieged. At length, however, a decisive blow was struck at the power of Don Miguel on the seas. While the operations on land were going forward, Don Pedro was involved in a dangerous quarrel with his admiral, Sartorius, which resulted in his giving up the command of the fleet, and with his being replaced by another British officer, Captain Napier. Under his command an expedition sailed to the Algarves, the most southern province of the kingdom, having on board two thousand five hundred men, commanded by the Duke of Terceira, for the purpose of invading that part of the country. The cities of Tavira, Faro, and Lagos were soon captured, and in the course of a week the whole province of Algarves was in possession of Don Pedro. But a still heavier blow awaited Don Miguel. Admiral Napier, having disembarked the troops and witnessed their success, set sail to return to the mouth of the Tagus to watch the squadron of Don Miguel, or bring it to battle. He fell in with it on the 2nd of July, off Cape St. Vincent, and a battle ensued, in which the squadron of Don Miguel was annihilated. He had now only the land to trust to, and there he was soon defeated. Having regained the province of Algarves, the Duke of Terceira marched towards Lisbon, and having reached the left bank of the Tagus he was encountered by an army said to have consisted of five thousand men, under the command of Talles Jordao. The battle was brief, and the victory complete: Jordao was routed, his army scattered, and he himself killed. The effect of the battle was to put Don Pedro's troops in possession of Lisbon: they entered unmolested on the 24th of July, and Donna Maria was immediately proclaimed Queen of Portugal. As soon as Don Pedro received intelligence of what had taken place at Lisbon, he sailed from Oporto to assume the government. The war was now transferred to Lisbon; and a series of battles took place between the troops of Don Pedro and those of Miguel, and the year closed before the contest was decided. Donna Maria, however, ruled in Portugal, and a British minister again presented himself at the court of the rightful sovereign of the country. The English government at the same time strictly adhered to the neutrality which it had imposed on itself; but, taught by experience, it did not trust to assurances of the same line of conduct from other powers, and especially from the court of Madrid. It prepared itself, indeed, for all events, by sending a powerful squadron under Admiral Parker to the Tagus, with orders to take an active part for Don Pedro the moment a Spanish force should appear in Portugal to assist Don Miguel.

Early in this year Greece received her youthful monarch. Otho was welcomed by the various chiefs and populace with all due marks of respect and obedience; and awakening from the torpor of ages, Greece took her place among the civilized nations of Europe. The kingdom was divided into ten departments:—1. Argolis and Corinth; 2. Achaia and Elis; 3. Messene; 4. Arcadia; 5. Laconia; 6. Acarnania and AEtolia; 7. Locris and Phocis; 8. Attica and Beotia; 9. Eubcea; 10. the Cyclades. The local government of each department was assisted by a council; and at the head of each circle or district into which they were subdivided, was placed an eparch, with a distinct board. The first acts of the government were to disband the irregular troops, to organise a new and regular army, and to endeavour to provide something like an administration of justice. The disbanding of the irregular troops, however, did not contribute to the internal tranquillity of the country; on the contrary, it threw large numbers of savage men out of employment, and many of them formed themselves into bands for the purposes of plunder. One of these bands sacked the Turkish town of Arta, in Epirus slaughtering the inhabitants, and setting their houses on fire. The massacre lasted three days; after which the marauders, laden with booty, took refuge in the mountains.

While Turkey was thus shorn of one of her European provinces, she was doomed to see a rebellious, but victorious vassal make himself master of her Asiatic territories. Ibrahim Pacha, who had during the last year opened a way across Mount Taurus, lost no time in descending into the plains of Caramania. Here he fought a great battle with the Turkish troops, under the command of the grand vizier, Redschid Pacha, whom he utterly defeated and took prisoner. Constantinople was almost at his mercy; there was no obstacle between Ibrahim and the shores of the Bosphorus; and he seemed to be only waiting for the arrival of fresh troops, which were on their march through Syria to join him, to traverse Anatolia and assail the capital. The danger, however, was averted by the exertions of the British government, assisted by that of France. The Egyptian army retired from Asia Minor; and the Russians, whom the Sultan had called in for its defence, and from whom he was in no less danger than from the sword of Ibrahim, left Constantinople. By a treaty which was concluded between the Sultan and Mehemet Ali, the former gave up the whole of Syria, granting at the same time an amnesty to all its inhabitants for the conduct which they might have followed during the expedition of Ibrahim. The Pasha of Egypt became by this treaty more powerful than the master from whom he had revolted; his rule extended from the limits of Asia Minor to the mouth of the Nile. A treaty was subsequently concluded between the Porte and Russia, in which the preponderating power of the latter was fully established. Russia was to aid the sultan in repressing all disturbances, and the sultan was to shut the Dardanelles, in particular circumstances, against all other nations. Both England and France complained that such a treaty had been concluded without their concurrence, and each of them had a fleet near the Sea of Marmora; but their remonstrances were unheeded, and their fleets returned. The popular and prophetic belief of the Byzantines, namely, that "the Russians in the last days should become masters of Constantinople," seemed to be rapidly approaching its fulfilment.

The Belgian question had its origin in events antecedent to the formation of the present British cabinet, so that ministers were compelled to follow a course which had been adopted by their predecessors. When the revolution first broke forth in the Netherlands, the king called on his allies for troops. These were refused by the English government; but his next request, for the assembling of a conference, was granted. By subsequent acts of that assembly, the principle of separation between the two countries was established; and the task imposed on the present government was to settle the terms on which a separation should take place, so as to provide for the interest and security of all parties. The difficulties encountered in performing this task arose from the obstinacy of the Dutch monarch. By the armistice which his majesty had invoked in November, 1830, the citadel of Antwerp was to be evacuated in fifteen days; but the possession of that fortress enabled him to harass the Belgians, and to intercept their trade on the Scheldt, and therefore he refused to give it up. England and France, failing to obtain the co-operation of the other three powers, were obliged to have recourse to force: Antwerp was besieged by the French troops, and an embargo was laid on Dutch vessels by Great Britain. These vigorous measures disconcerted all the calculations of the Dutch monarch and of his partizans. At the beginning of this year Antwerp, supposed to have been impregnable, surrendered to Marshal Gerard. This event, together with the embargo laid on Dutch vessels, produced the convention of the 21st of May, by which the Belgian question was settled. This convention provided, "That immediately on the ratifications being exchanged, the embargoes laid on by Great Britain and France should be removed, and the vessels and cargoes restored, and that the Dutch garrison which had defended the citadel of Antwerp should return to Holland with all their arms and baggage: That Holland should not recommence hostilities against Belgium so long as a definite treaty had not settled their mutual relations; that the navigation of the Scheldt should be free, which was explained in a supplementary article to mean, that it was to be placed on the same footing as it had been prior to the 1st of November, 1812: That the navigation of the Meuse should be opened, subject to the provisions of the convention of Mayence of the 31st of March, 1831, relative to the navigation of the Rhine: That the communications between the frontier of North Brabant and Maestricht, and between that fortress and Germany, should be unimpeded: That the contracting parties should occupy themselves immediately with the definitive treaty, to which Austria, Prussia, and Russia should be invited to become parties." The King of Holland having agreed to these articles, the principal point of discussion remaining was that of compensation: in the meantime Europe was secured against the danger of a general war, arising from the differences which had existed between Holland and Belgium.



CHAPTER XLIV.

{WILLIAM IV. 1834}

Meeting of Parliament..... Mr. O'Connell's Motion for the Repeal of the Union..... Divisions in the Cabinet..... Commission issued to inquire into the state of the Irish Church..... Irish Tithe Question..... Renewal of Irish Coercion Bill..... Resignation of Earl Grey, etc...... Rejection of the Irish Tithe Bill by the Peers..... State of Ecclesiastical Questions, and the Claims of Dissenters..... Poor Laws Amendment Act..... The Corn-Law Question..... Financial Statements, etc...... Bill for the Removal of the Civil Disabilities of the Jews, etc...... Disputes with France regarding the Newfoundland Fisheries, etc...... Steam Navigation..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Dissolution of the Cabinet..... Sir Robert Peel appointed Prime-Minister..... Dissolution of Parliament..... The Act abolishing Slavery in the West Indies carried into effect..... The Affairs of Ireland..... State of the Continent, etc.



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1834}

On the 4th of February the session was opened by the king in person. In his speech his majesty alluded to the slavery abolition bill introduced last year, stating that the manner in which that beneficent measure had been received throughout the colonies, and the progress made in carrying it into effect by the legislature of Jamaica, afforded just grounds for anticipating the happiest results. Among the various important subjects still calling for consideration, his majesty enumerated reports from the commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of municipal corporations, into the administration of the poor laws, and into the ecclesiastical revenues of England and Wales. His majesty also recommended the early consideration of such a final adjustment of the tithes in Ireland as might extinguish all just causes of complaint, without injury to the rights and property of any class of his subjects, or to any institution in church or state. Concerning the state of Ireland, his majesty remarked that the public tranquillity had been generally observed, and that the state of Ireland presented a more favourable appearance than at any period during the last year. The speech then reverted to the agitations in Ireland for the repeal of the legislative union, which it denounced in the strongest terms. The chief point in our foreign policy noticed by the king related to the government of Spain. He remarked:—"Upon the death of the late King of Spain, I did not hesitate to recognise the succession of his infant daughter; and I shall watch with the greatest solicitude the progress of events which may affect a government, the peaceable settlement of which is of the utmost importance to this country, as well as to the general tranquillity of Europe." On the motion for an address in the house of lords, the whole policy of government, both domestic and foreign, was vehemently attacked by the Duke of Wellington, but no amendment was moved. In the commons, Mr. Hume, in opposition to the address said, that although there was a great deal in the speech about the independence of Turkey, and something about Portugal, &c, yet there was not one word about poor tax-ridden England. He moved an amendment to the effect, that the house would pledge itself to take into its immediate and serious consideration the state of the established church, as regarded its temporalities and the maintenance of the clergy, and also with a view to the removal of complaints which arose out of the mode in which tithe and church-rates were levied, in order to accomplish such changes as might give effectual relief both to churchmen and dissenters. This amendment was negatived by a large majority; and another, altering the paragraph in the address to his majesty, expressive of the satisfaction of the house at the "uninterrupted enjoyment of the blessings of peace," shared the same fate. Mr. O'Connell moved that the clause referring to the agitation for the repeal of the union should be omitted; but this was also negatived by an overwhelming majority. On the bringing up of the report on the address, an incidental discussion arose on the coercion bill of last session, which gave rise to an extraordinary scene, and to the committal of Lord Althorp and Mr. Shiel to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms. A charge had been made by Mr. Hill, one of the members for Hull, that one of the Irish members who had voted against the coercion bill, went secretly to one of the ministers, urging him not to bate a single jot of that bill, or it would be impossible for any man to live in Ireland. Mr. O'Connell referred to this charge, and he put two questions to the chancellor of the exchequer respecting it—namely, whether he, or any other member of the cabinet, had ever stated that an Irish member had acted in such a manner, and whether any Irish member ever went to the noble lord, or any other minister, and made the statement which had been imputed to him. Lord Althorp replied in the negative to both these questions; but, he added, that he should not act a manly part, if he did not declare that he had good reason to believe that more than one Irish member who voted and spoke against the bill, did in private conversation use very different language. A scene of confusion and crimination then ensued, in which Lord Althorp charged Mr. Shiel with being one of the gentlemen who had so acted, which Mr. Shiel denied in terms which left the house under the impression that a duel between those two members would ensue. Upon the motion of Sir Francis Burdett, both were placed under arrest until assurances were given that the matter should not lead to the apprehended results. Subsequently a committee of privileges was appointed to examine into this affair, and it appearing to the committee that there was no evidence to establish the charge, they made their report in favour of Mr. Shiel. Mr. Hill himself, finding that he had been deceived, acknowleged his error; and Lord Althorp said, that if Mr. Shiel would distinctly say that he had not done what his lordship had stated he had done, he should be bound to believe his assertion. Mr. Shiel readily made this statement, and thus ended this ridiculous interlude. Many believe that the subject was obtruded upon the house as much from a hope of embarrassing a rival in the work of agitation, as from a desire to vindicate the character of a friend. The public in general, however, looked on the matter with indifference.



MR. O'CONNELL'S MOTION FOR THE REPEAL OF THE UNION.

Mr. O'Connell had long made his boast in Ireland, that he would bring forward the question of the repeal of the union in the British parliament. His courage, from his non-performance of this promise, began to be doubted; and to save his credit, he was obliged to bring himself to trial. On the first day of the sessions he had given notices of two motions: one that the house should take the act of union into consideration, with a view to its repeal; the other for the appointment of a "select committee to inquire and report on the means by which the dissolution of parliament was effected—on the effects of that measure upon Ireland, and upon the labourers in husbandry, and the manufacturers in England—and on the probable consequences of continuing the legislative union between both countries." He proceeded only with the last of the two motions, and he brought that forward on the 22nd of April. He commenced by declaring that there had never existed a greater mistake than to suppose that England possessed any right of dominion over the former country. He then entered at great length into the incompetency of parliament to pass the act of union; and having detailed the means by which it was accomplished, he proceeded to prove that the financial and legislative terms on which the great question had been settled were in their very nature fraudulent and unjust. Looking at these circumstances, he said, he dreaded the probable consequences of a continuance of the union. Ireland felt strongly on the subject; and he demanded that the bitter recollection of the past should be for ever effaced by the restoration of her people to their inalienable rights. Mr. O'Connell was answered at great length by Mr. Spring Rice, who enumerated the manifold advantages gained by Ireland from the union. He moved, therefore, that an address be presented to his majesty, expressive of the fixed and steady determination of the commons to maintain inviolate the legislative union between Great Britain and Ireland—a determination to be justified, not only on general grounds, but by reasons of special application to Ireland itself; declaring also, that while the house endeavoured to remove all just causes of complaint alleged by the Irish people, it would promote every well-considered measure of rational liberty. The debate on the subject was continued by adjournment for several days. The members who took part in it were—for the original motion, Messrs. O'Connor, Barron, Ruthven, Shiel, and others; and for the amendment, Messrs. Tennent, Littleton, Sandford, Lambert, and Sir Robert Peel, and others. Perhaps the most effective speech was that which was delivered by Sir Robert Peel, who said, he believed that no array of official documents, and no force of argument, could strengthen the conviction of the great majority of the house—a conviction that lay deeper than any argument could reach—that they would on no account consent to dismember the British empire. There were convictions connected with the feelings of the heart as well as with the faculties of the mind. Mr. Canning had said, "Repeal the union! re-enact the heptarchy!" The security of the empire depended on the maintenance of that union; without it England would be reduced to the condition of a fourth-rate power in Europe, and Ireland to the desolation of a wilderness. On a division the amendment was carried by the triumphant majority of five hundred and twenty-three against thirty-eight; the minority, with one exception only, consisting of Irish members. On the 30th of April the commons, in a conference, communicated their address to the lords, who, in one spirit, unanimously concurred in its sentiments, and ordered the blank, which was purposely left, to be filled up with the words, "lords spiritual and temporal." It was then presented to the king as the joint address of both houses; and his majesty, in reply, expressed the great satisfaction with which he had received the solemn and united declaration of both houses to maintain the union inviolate.



DIVISIONS IN THE CABINET.

In opposing the repeal of the union, ministers carried along with them the sense and feeling of the people; that was a question on which no man differed from them except O'Connell and his followers. Questions, however, connected with the Irish church stood in a different light.