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Home Politics and Parties from the Reform Bill of 1832 to that of 1867 The Ministries of Lords John Russell and Aberdeen, 1846-1855 |
The Ministries of Lords John Russell and Aberdeen, 1846-1855Peel, by putting an end to protection, had split his own party. One section, under Bentinck, Stanley, and Disraeli, in theory continued to remain protectionists. Another, to which the Duke of Wellington, Lord Aberdeen, and Gladstone belonged, were known as Peelites, because they remained the faithful supporters of their old leader. As a result of the Tory disunion, the Whigs, under Lord John Russell, returned to office in 1846, and remained there till 18520 The ministry, however, was a Whig ministry of the old type, consisting of peers or the connections of peers, and the more advanced elements of the Liberal party were not represented. Ireland at first claimed the attention of the Government, and the ministry had to propose measures to alleviate the distress and to repress the disorder caused by the famine.A popular movement in Britain, known as the Chartist movement, was the next difficulty which faced the ministry. It obtained this name from the fact that its promoters had drawn up a "People's Charter" which demanded six concessions - manhood suffrage, vote by ballot, annual Parliaments, payment of members, abolition of property qualification for members of Parliament, and equal electoral districts. The movement had reached formidable dimensions in 1838, and had led to serious riots. After that it had been quiescent, only to show increased energy in 1848, owing to the great revolutions in that year all over Europe (Chap. XLVIII). An Irishman, by name Feargus O'Connor, an enormous man with a great capacity for mob oratory, was its leader (He appealed, he said, "to the unshaved chins, the blistered hands, and fustian jackets of the genuine working man"). A monster petition was prepared, containing over five and a half million signatures. O'Connor's idea was to lead a gigantic procession and present the petition to the House of Commons. But the Duke of Wellington, as commander-in-chief, made such an arrangement of the troops that all prospects of disorder were dissipated, and, in addition, one hundred and seventy thousand special constables, drawn chiefly from the upper and middle classes, were sworn in to keep order if the need arose. In the end, on a wet day, the monster petition was taken to the House of Commons in a hackney coach, but the procession was not allowed to cross Westminster Bridge. Then the petition was examined, and more than half the signatures were discovered to be forgeries. The Chartist agitation failed to survive the ridicule and discredit that this revelation brought upon it, and died harmlessly away, though several of its original demands were granted, wholly or in part, in later years. Compared to the revolutions on the Continent, the Chartist movement in Britain was a very small affair; the forces on the side of order in Britain were too strong, and, moreover, the Government being based on popular support, the Chartist movement failed to win much national sympathy. In 1852 Lord John Russell's ministry came to an end. The foreign policy of Lord Palmerston had been severely criticized by the queen, and his methods were so irregular that he was forced by Lord John Russell to resign (1851). A few months later Palmerston had what he called his "Tit-for-tat" with Lord John Russell, and beat him in the House of Commons over an amendment in a Militia Bill, a defeat which led to the resignation of the ministry (1852). On Lord John Russell's resignation, followed by a brief tenure of power by Lord Derby (the Lord Stanley of Peel's ministry), who did not attempt, however, to revive protection, the queen persuaded the leaders of the Peelites and of the Whigs to combine in a coalition ministry. Peel had died in 1850, and the Duke of Wellington in 1852, but Peel's followers held the two most important positions in the ministry - Lord Aberdeen being prime minister, and Gladstone chancellor of the exchequer. The two chief Whigs, Lord John Russell and Lord Palmcrston, made up their dispute, the one becoming leader of the House of Commons, and the other home secretary, whilst Lord Clarendon was made foreign secretary. " England does not love coalitions" was Disraeli's remark upon this ministry, and it lasted but a short time and accomplished little. Gladstone, however, had time to sweep away the remaining protective duties, and made Great Britain a purely free-trade country. In foreign affairs the ministry showed itself somewhat weak and hesitating, as a coalition of such diverse elements was perhaps bound to be, and its mismanagement of the Crimean War led to its resignation in 1855. |
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