of Crown. The influence of the Crown during the reign of CHAP. I. George IV. came under animadversion in Parliament as The Reign it had done under the rule of his father. On June 24th, George IV. 1822, Mr. Brougham brought forward a motion declaring Influence that the influence of the Crown was 66 unnecessary for of the maintaining the constitutional prerogatives, destructive of the independence of Parliament, and inconsistent with the well-governing of the realm." The mover insisted that the power of the Crown had greatly increased since Dunning's motion in 1780, although the number of placemen in the House had diminished. Lord Londonderry replied that the influence of the Crown was counteracted by the increasing freedom of the press and by other causes, and the motion was negatived by 216 to 101. With regard to the Civil List of George IV., the The Civil King on his accession informed Parliament that he had no wish to alter the settlement of 1816. As the Civil List was now free from the expenses of the late sovereign, it was fixed by the House of Commons at £845,727; but during the whole of his reign George IV. enjoyed, in addition to this income, the hereditary revenues of Scotland and the Civil List for Ireland, which averaged respectively £109,000 and £250,000. He received likewise various Crown, Admiralty, West India, and other dues. List. Death of George George IV. died on June 26th, 1830, in the sixtyeighth year of his age and the eleventh of his reign. He was cruelly selfish and vicious as a man, and unconscientious and obstructive as a sovereign; but he dressed well, and played the flute! England wants something more than this in a ruler. Yet in spite of George IV.'s reactionary policy, she won during his reign some substantial constitutional advantages. These Constitubenefits, which were largely wrung from the sovereign gains in against his will, included the emancipation of the Roman his reign. Catholics and the Dissenters, greater freedom for the press, a considerable relaxation of the criminal code, the reduction of taxation, and the recognition and partial concession of Free Trade. tional William IV. Character of his reign. Wellington on Reform. CHAPTER II. WILLIAM IV. AND PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. WILLIAM IV., "the sailor King," was sixty-five years of age when he ascended the throne. He had married in 1818 the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, by whom he had two daughters, but both died soon after their birth; consequently the heiress-presumptive to the crown was the Princess Victoria, daughter of the late Duke of Kent. The reign of William IV. was very brief, but it is memorable in English history for the number and importance of its reforming statutes. Parliament was dissolved shortly after the King's accession, and at the ensuing elections the progressive party was greatly strengthened. The first session of the new Parliament opened on November 2nd, 1830. The King's speech was disappointingly barren, and during the debate on the Address the Duke of Wellington uttered that unwise and extraordinary declaration on the subject of Reform which proved the death-knell of his Ministry. He said that "the country possessed a Legislature which answered all the good purposes of legislation, and this to a greater degree than any Legislature ever had answered in any country whatever. He would go further and say that the Legislature and the system of representation possessed the full and entire confidence of the country." This statement was notori IV. and Reform, Defeat of ously at variance with popular opinion, which was already CHAP. II. clamouring for Reform. In the House of Commons the same night Mr. Brougham gave notice that he should bring forward in a fortnight the question of the represen- mentary tation. On the 15th Sir Henry Parnell proposed his motion for a committee of inquiry into the Civil List, Ministers. which was carried against the Government by 233 to 204. Ministers thereupon resigned. In addition to the unpopularity incurred by his opposition to Reform, the Duke of Wellington suffered odium through his ill-advised prosecutions of the press in 1830. The prolonged attempts of the Government to suppress the freedom of the press practically came to an end in 1831 with the unsuccessful prosecution of Cobbett by the Whig Attorney-General. becomes Earl Grey became Prime Minister on the resignation of Earl Grey the Duke, and formed a Government out of the Whigs Premier. and the followers of Canning and Grenville. The Ministry included, besides the First Lord, Brougham as Lord Chancellor, Althorp as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Melbourne Home Secretary, Palmerston Foreign Secretary, Lansdowne President of the Council, Durham Lord Privy Seal, Sir J. Graham First Lord of the Admiralty, Goderich War and Colonial Secretary, Mr. Stanley Chief Secretary for Ireland, Mr. Wynn Secretary-at-War, and Messrs. Spring Rice and Ellice Secretaries to the Treasury. Other posts were occupied by Lords Holland and Auckland, Mr. Charles Grant, Lord John Russell, and the Duke of Richmond. Mr. Macaulay, the future historian, joined later as Secretary to the Board of Control. The Ministry was thus distinguished in talent. Lord Grey stipulated in the outset that Reform should be a Cabinet question. The King at first viewed the Reform policy with distrust and apprehension, but Ministers at length convinced him of its necessity. Parliament adjourned to February 3rd, 1831, to prepare its measures, and during the recess there were tumultuous processions and meetings in Ireland, and popular discontents, with machine-breaking and other outrages, in VOL. II. 29 The first Bill. William Parlia Reform. CHAP. II. England. Shoals of petitions in favour of Reform were sent up to London. The Reform Bill was entrusted to Lord John Russell, and the ability with which he conmentary ducted this great measure widely enhanced his reputation and his popularity with the country. The bill was brought forward by his lordship in the House of Commons on March 1st. It proposed to disfranchise 60 of the smallest boroughs; to take one member each from 47 others; and to effect various other changes. After a considerable distribution of seats, the House of Commons would be reduced from 658 to 596 members. A £10 household franchise was to be established in boroughs instead of the old rights of election; and corporations were to be deprived of their exclusive privileges. Altogether about five hundred thousand persons would be enfranchised. The measure was too sweeping for the opponents of Reform, and not sweeping enough for the Radicals; but the Reform party generally accepted it for its meritorious features and its bold dealing with corruption. Some thought the power of the aristocracy would be destroyed by the bill, but Lords Grey and Althorp held that it was an aristocratic measure. The debate lasted for seven nights, and 71 members took part in it. The first reading was agreed to, and out of doors the people raised the cry which was to be heard for many months to come: "The bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill!" On March 21st the second reading was carried by a majority of one only-302 to 301-this being the fullest House which had ever divided up to this time. On April 18th the bill went into committee, when General Gascoyne's amendment that the number of members of Parliament for England and Wales ought not to be diminished was carried against the Government by eight votes-299 to 291. On the 21st Ministers announced that they should not proceed with the bill, and on the morning of the 22nd they were again defeated on a question of adjournment, by a majority of 22. Parliament dissolved. This was the real crisis in the history of the measure. Ministers demanded a dissolution, to which the King, after William Reform. much demur, assented. In the House of Lords, on the CHAP. II. afternoon of the 22nd, Lord Wharncliffe rose to move an address to the Crown against a dissolution, when cries of "The King! the King!" were heard. The House was mentary in a state of confusion, and Lord Mansfield attacked Ministers for "conspiring against the safety of the State and making the sovereign the instrument of his own destruction." A scene equally extraordinary was proceeding in the Commons, where Sir Robert Peel, Lord Althorp, Sir F. Burdett, and others were vainly endeavouring to obtain a hearing. Black Rod appeared in the midst of the uproar, and members were summoned to the Upper House. The agitation in the Lords had somewhat subsided, when the King announced the prorogation of Parliament with a view to its immediate dissolution. The exciting scene, which had not been paralleled since the time of Cromwell, then ended. Parliament was dissolved by proclamation on the following day, and the new writs were made returnable on June 14th. Bill. The new House of Commons contained a great majority Second of reformers. The second Reform Bill was introduced Reform on June 24th; but the second reading was put off till July 4th, in order that the Scotch and Irish Reform Bills might be brought in. Three nights were given to the debate on the second reading, and the division resulted in a majority of 136 for Ministers-Ayes, 367; Noes, 231. The discussions in committee were most protracted, the opponents of the bill hoping to wear out the patience of its supporters. The discussions frequently went on until some hours after sunrise. At one of the August sittings the Marquis of Chandos carried a clause, by a majority of 84, conferring the county franchise on £50 tenants-at-will. The newspapers protested against the obstructive proceedings of the minority; the people demonstrated in the same sense; and the political unions of Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow held a conference to determine how much longer they would wait. It was not until September 21st that the division was taken on the question, "That this bill do pass," when |