6. Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill, 1829.—The Government, Parliament, and the majority of English people were all opposed to giving Roman Catholics their rights, but Wellington, who knew what war was, saw it was his duty to yield. The House of Lords, on more than one occasion had prevented justice being done, and now Wellington used his great influence with that body to have a Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill passed in 1829. Wellington and Peel had done their duty, but in so doing had made themselves unpopular with the English people. In 1833, the Quakers were allowed to become members of Parliament, and in 1858 the same measure of justice was meted out to the Jews.
7. William IV.—In June, 1830, George IV. died. His only daughter, the Princess Charlotte, had died in 1817, and this left William, Duke of Clarence, as his successor. William IV. had been a commander in the navy, and hence was called the “Sailor King.” He was a frank, hearty, well-intentioned man, who, in spite of the fact that his private life was none too pure, was popular with the people. He came to the throne at a time of great excitement in Europe. Revolution was in the air. The French drove out Charles X., and put Louis Philippe on the throne, and Belgium separated from Holland and became an independent nation. Had there been an unwise or unpopular king in England at this time, the excitement in favour of political reform might have led to another revolution.
8. Reform Bill of 1832.—While the war with Napoleon was going on, the English people had too much to think about to pay much attention to Parliamentary Reform. Now, however, that the. war was over, a more liberal government in office, and the dread of a revolution passed away, intelligent people began to see how unjust it was that large cities like Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds should have no representatives in Parliament, while many small towns had the privilege of sending one or two. Still worse, quite a number of places that once had a population, but had lost it, continued to send members. In some cases there were only a dozen or a score of voters, and it is stated that in a county in Scotland, only one man voted, and he elected himself. Then there were a great number of small villages that sent members at the command of the land-owners, on whose estate the villages were
