Public School History of England and Canada/England/Chapter 26
CHAPTER XXVI.
HISTORY OF OUR OWN TIMES.
1. Victoria.—William IV., like George IV., left no child as heir to the throne. He was succeeded by Victoria, the daughter of the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. The young queen at the time of her accession was but eighteen years of age, nevertheless, she had been so carefully trained and educated under her mother’s watchful eye that, when she came to the throne, it was with a deep sense of the duties she had to discharge, and with a fixed resolve to keep the good of her people always before her. During the fifty-five years of her rule, she has earned the love and respect not of her subjects alone, but of the people of all nations, by her pure domestic life, and by her faithful discharge of every private and public duty.
Her accession to the throne made it necessary to separate Hanover from the Crown of England, the laws of Hanover not permitting a woman to rule. The queen’s uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, now became King of Hanover, and England was no longer in danger of being drawn into European wars on account of this German kingdom.
2. Rebellion in Canada.—One of the first difficulties to be dealt
with in this reign was a rebellion in Lower Canada. Canada had been divided into two Provinces, in 1791, by a measure known as the Constitutional Act. This Act also gave each Province a Parliament, composed of a Governor, a Legislative Council, and a Legislative Assembly. As Fox foresaw and pointed out at the time, the Act was full of defects, for it did not give the elected Assembly the full control of the revenue, and it did not make the Legislative Council and the Executive responsible to the people. The Act had many other defects besides these mentioned, and resulted in so much bad government in Lower and Upper Canada that some of the more hot-headed and impulsive of the people began a rebellion. The first risings were in Lower Canada, and thence the rebellion spread into Upper Canada in 1837. Lord Durham was sent out to inquire into the cause of the trouble, and he gave a report which pointed out very clearly the evils under which Canada was suffering, and outlined the proper method of dealing with the colony. Durham’s report became, soon after, the basis of a new and better policy towards the colonies. The rebellion did not last long, but its fruits were the union of Upper and Lower Canada in one province in 1840, and the beginning of true responsible government in Canada. The two Provinces remained united till 1867, when owing to a dead-lock between the two great political parties of the colony, the British North America Act was passed, which established a Federal form of government in British North America, leaving the different Provinces the control of their own local affairs, and establishing a Federal Parliament for the management of the general business of the Dominion of Canada. Beyond appointing the Governor-General and arranging treaties of commerce England now leaves Canada to look after her own interests, and interferes as little as possible with her affairs.
3. Rise of the Chartists.—The early years of this reign are marked by the introduction of the electric telegraph, Morse in America, and Wheatstone and Cooke in England, dividing the honour of the invention between them in 1837. In 1838 steamships crossed the Atlantic, and in 1839 Sir Rowland Hill succeeded in getting the Government to carry letters to any part of Great Britain and Ireland for a penny. All these changes were in the interest of trade and commerce, and cheap postage was a great boon to the poor; nevertheless, work was scarce, food was dear, and there was much distress among the working classes. The Reform Bill had given political power to the middle classes, but had left the great mass of working-men without any voice in the affairs of the nation. They began to think that their troubles were mainly due to the bad laws made without their consent, and an agitation began for further reforms. In 1838, at a great meeting in Birmingham, a formal demand was made for the “People’s Charter.” This charter asked (1) that all men should have votes; (2) for annual Parliaments; (3) for voting by ballot; (4) that a man might be a member of Parliament without owning any land ; (5) that members of Parliament should be paid; (6) that the country should be divided into equal electoral districts. Most of these demands have since been granted, but at that time the upper and middle classes felt no inclination to share their power with their less fortunate country-men.
4. Anti-Corn Law League.—Meanwhile it was beginning to be felt that one cause of the poverty of the working classes was to be found in the laws which placed a high tax on food and the raw material of manufactures coming into this country. We have seen that Walpole, Pitt, and Huskisson had each done something to lessen duties and make trade freer. The landowners, however, were very powerful in Parliament, and to keep up their rents they had heavy duties placed on wheat coming into the country. Whenever crops failed, bread became dear, and the poor were often on the verge of starvation. At last, Richard Cobden, a cotton printer, took the lead in forming a league which had for its object the removal of the taxes on food, and the lowering of duties on other imports. This league was formed in 1838, and under the guidance of Richard Cobden, and John Bright, a carpet manufacturer, it soon made its influence felt all over the land. Cobden and Bright were very clear-headed, able men, and by their speeches and writings they convinced the people that the taxes on food were unjust to the poor and the cause of most of the distress that prevailed so frequently. Nevertheless the landowners and farmers bitterly opposed the movement, and it took eight years to convince the government that a change would be in the interests of the nation.
5. Troubles at Home and Abroad.—The Liberal party, which carried out so many reforms between 1832 and 1837, gradually lost its popularity; many people growing tired of, and others being offended by, so many changes. The Government at the beginning of the queen’s reign had, as its head, Lord Melbourne, an easy-going, good-natured man, who proved a good friend to the young queen, although he was but an indifferént statesman. In 1841 his ministry had become so weak that it was obliged to resign, and give way to a Conservative government under Sir Robert Peel. In 1840 the queen was married to her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, a prince who proved a devoted husband, and a true friend to the people among whom he cast his lot.
Meanwhile, in 1839, a war had started with China, because English traders insisted on selling opium to the Chinese against the order of the Chinese government. The war came to an end in 1842, by the Chinese being compelled to open their ports to this wicked traffic.
At home, there was trouble in Ireland, and a religious agitation in Scotland. In Ireland O’Connell had begun to agitate for a Repeal of the Union, and so dangerous seemed the movement that O’Connell was at length arrested and tried for sedition in 1843-44. In Scotland the Presbyterian Church was rent by an agitation against the State controlling the Church, an agitation which ended in the “Free Church” being founded in 1843. Nor was England free from excitement and unrest. The Chartists were busy trying to make converts to their views, and the Anti-Corn Law League was equally zealous in showing the evils of the Corn Laws.
But all these troubles seemed small compared with a dreadful disaster which, in 1841, befell British troops in Afghanistan. The English had been gradually extending their territory in India towards the Indus and Afghanistan. This country lies between India and the Russian possessions in Asia, and the English were afraid that its ruler, Dost Mohammed, was too friendly towards Russia. Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India, therefore sent an army to Cabul, the capital of Afghanistan, dethroned Dost Mohammed and put another chief in his place. This led to the fierce and treacherous Afghans murdering the English ambassador, and to a rising under Akbar Khan agajnst the British troops. General Elphinstone, who commanded the army, resolved to retreat to India, and was promised protection for himself and his men, and for the women and children they were forced to leave behind. But when the army, in the depth of winter, tried to go through the rocky and narrow Cabul Pass, the Afghans attacked them so savagely and continuously, firing into and cutting down the wretched and weary soldiers, that only one man succeeded in reaching India alive. Dr. Brydon, the sole survivor of 4,500 soldiers, and 12,000 camp followers, told the sad tale to Sir Robert Sale at Jellalabad, and at once vengeance was determined upon. General Pollock and Sir Robert Sale marched into Afghanistan, retook Cabul, and rescued the women and children that had been left behind.
6. Repeal of the Corn Laws.—Let us now see what success Cobden and Bright were having in their crusade against the Corn Laws. Fora time the speeches and pamphlets of the leaders of the League produced little effect, but the distress among the poor, and the failure of the harvest in 1845 helped along the movement for cheap food. Peel was gradually being convinced that Cobden was right, and when, in 1845, the crops failed so seriously in England and Scotland, and the potato blight destroyed the chief article of food of the Irish, he saw that he had to choose between leaving thousands of people to die of starvation, and taking off the duty on food. Peel had now become fully convinced that the corn laws should be repealed, and as his Ministry did not agree with him, he resigned his post, and advised the queen to call in Lord John Russell. Russell could not form a strong Government, and Peel had to return to office. Aided by the Liberals, and a portion of the Conservatives, he brought in a Bill, in 1846, to repeal the Corn Laws, which was carried in both Houses. The Corn Laws were repealed, but Peel’s political career was ended. He had made bitter enemies of many of his old supporters, who looked upon him as a deserter, and they took their revenge by joining the Liberals to defeat him in 1846, on a “Coercion” Bill for Ireland. Lord John Russell now became Prime Minister.
7. Had of the Chartist Agitation—The duties on food were gradually reduced, and, in 1849, the Navigation laws were repealed. Step by step England removed the duties on nearly all the articles brought into the country, until now her revenue from that source is raised on a few luxuries such as tea, tobacco, and liquors of all kinds.
The repeal of the Corn Laws helped to make the poor more contented with their lot, and gave a great impulse to British manufactures and commerce. It was well that it did for, from 1846 to 1849, stirring events were taking place abroad and at home. In 1847 there was a dreadful famine in Ireland and millions died or emigrated to America. The poverty and misery of the Irish led to a rising under Smith O’Brien, but it was soon put down. In England, the Chartists drew up a monster petition to be presented to Parliament. It was said to be signed by five millions of people. Fergus O’Connor, the weak-headed leader of the Chartists, called a great meeting to be held on Kensington Common, and proposed that the people should go to the House of Commons to back up the petition. So loud were the Chartists in their boasts of what they would do, that all London grew alarmed, and 200,000 men were sworn in as special constables for the occasion. Wellington posted soldiers at various points to defend the city, and everybody awaited the great. procession. But when the day came only 25,000 assembled, and the procession did not take place. The petition when presented was found to have less than two million names attached, and of these many were forged. This ended the Chartist agitation, although many of the reforms demanded were afterwards granted. Cheap food had killed the Chartist movement.
8. Extension of Territory—Meanwhile, in India, Britain was extending her empire. Sir Charles Napier conquered Scinde in 1843, and in 1845 a war began with the brave Sikhs of the Punjaub, which ended in the apnexation of that fine territory in 1849. The discovery of gold, in 1851, in Victoria, Australia, led to a large emigration to that colony, which greatly increased its population and resources. In Africa, too, British territory was extending, and Natal and Cape Colony became important colonies. New Zealand began to be colonized in 1839, and in spite of fierce wars with the Maori chiefs the whole island became a British possession. In 1850 a Bill was passed giving self-government to the Australian colonies, and, in 1852, New Zealand was given the same boon.
9. The Eastern Question.—The year 1851 was noted for the first great Exhibition of the industries of all nations. It was very largely an idea of Prince Albert, who, with others, thought it would bring about an age of peace and good-will among all peoples. It was held in London, and although many greater Exhibitions have since been held, yet none aroused so great curiosity and so much hope for the future.
The same year Prince Louis Napoleon, the President of the French Republic, by a treacherous massacre of his opponents in the streets of Paris, succeeded in obtaining the control of French affairs, and a year later made himself Emperor. He was the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the British naturally feared that this second Napoleon might try to imitate the policy of his uncle, and plunge Europe into another great war. Their fears led to regiments of volunteers being formed in 1852, and so we have the beginning of the volunteer system now so popular and useful.
Napoleon, however, was friendly to England, and it was not long before France and England were fighting side by side to save Turkey from the ambition of Russia. Russia had for many years looked with longing eyes on Constantinople, and when a quarrel broke out, in 1852, about the rights of the Greek and Latin Churches over the Holy Places in Jerusalem, the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, thought it a good opportunity to demand the right to protect the Greek Christians that lived in the Sultan’s dominions. Nicholas wished England to join Russia in making a division of Turkey’s possessions, but this England would not do. Then, when Turkey refused to admit Russia’s claim to protect the Sultan’s Christian subjects, Nicholas took the law into his own hands, and sent troops into the Turkish provinces on the Danube.
10. The Crimean War.—War now began and the Turks, who when aroused are brave soldiers, defeated the Russians near the Danube. France and England, in 1854, came to the aid of the Turks, for England feared Russia’s influence in Asia, and the Emperor Napoleon thought a successful war would make the French forget the loss of their freedom. England had not taken part in a great war for nearly forty years, and she was wholly unprepared for such a conflict as she was now entering upon. Lord Aberdeen, the Prime Minister, was a lover of peace, and not fitted to manage affairs at such a time. The chief seat of the war was the Crimea, on the Black Sea, although the Baltic, the White Sea, and Russian Armenia were the scenes of strife. Kars, a fortress in Armenia, was bravely defended by the Turks under General Williams (afterwards the commander of the British troops in Canada), but at last surrendered with honorable terms near the close of the war.
It was the beginning of September when the Allies reached the Crimea, and not long after, September 20, they defeated the Russians at the River Alma. The Russians now retreated to Sebastopol, a strong fortress in the Crimea, and the delay of the Allies gave them time to strengthen its defences. The French were commanded by Marshal St. Arnaud, and the English by Lord Raglan. Both commanders died before the war ended, and were replaced by General Pélissier and General Simpson. The siege of Sebastopol began, but it was found that the Russian engineer, Todleben, had done his work well, and the Allies were for nearly a year held at bay. At times the Russians strove to drive the Allies back, and at Balaclava a fierce contest took place, which served to bring out the heroic qualities of the British soldier. Lord Cardigan, the commander of the Light Brigade, was ordered to charge the enemy and retake some guns which had fallen into their hands, but he mistook the order, and, instead, commanded his men to charge the main body of the Russian army. His men knew it was almost certain death, but not a man hesitated. Six hundred men rode head-long into the midst of the Russian army, cutting down the Russian gunners on their way, and then rode back amid a deadly hail from Russian muskets and artillery. Six hundred went into that “valley of death,” less than two hundred returned to the ranks of the British army. This was on the 25th October, and on the 5th November a bloody battle was fought at Inkermann, in which the British private showed that his intelligence was more than a match for the brute force of the brave but ignorant Russian soldiery.
The siege of Sebastopol went on throughout the winter in spite of the terrible sufferings of the British soldiers. Mismanagement at home and in the Crimea left the soldiers without proper clothing shelter, and food. Shiploads of food were sent, which never reached the men. A cargo of boots did reach the half-shod men, but the boots were found to be all for one foot. These are but illustrations of the management of the war. The soldiers fell sick and could not be properly nursed and cared for. The result was that many died whose lives might have been saved under proper care. At last, Miss Florence Nightingale and a band of devoted women went out to nurse the sick and wounded. Very soon there was a marked change for the better in the condition of the patients, and from that time the value of women in army hospitals has been fully recognized. As time passed the war was better managed; there was less sickness among the soldiers, and better means were found of providing them with the necessary food, clothing, and shelter. In England, the discontent with the way things were going on led to Lord Aberdeen resigning, and to Lord Palmerston becoming Prime Minister. The siege of Sebastopol still went on, and at length attempts were made to carry it by storm. The first assault failed; the second was more successful. The French carried the Malakoff Tower, and although the English were repulsed at the Redan, the Russians blew up the forts, and left Sebastopol to the Allies, September, 1855. Soon after, in March, 1856, peace was made, and Russia, in the Treaty of Paris, agreed not to rebuild the fortifications of Sebastopol, and not to keep a fleet on the Black Sea.
11. The Indian Mutiny.—Scarcely was the Russian war ended, when a more serious trouble arose in India. The natives of India were not kindly treated by the English, and the discontent aroused was such that some fresh grievance was all that was needed to cause an outbreak. This grievance was found in the introduction of greased cartridges for the rifles of the Sepoys or native soldiers. The Sepoys thought it a great sin to use grease in any way, and when the Government found how much they were excited, they changed the greased for smooth paper. It was of no avail, the feeling grew that the Hneglish sought to make the soldiers lose their caste. Gradually the discontent increased, until three Sepoy regiments mutinied at Meerut near Delhi, and marched to Delhi, where an aged native king lived. Him they took out of his palace and made emperor. The rebellion now spread rapidly through Upper India, and the few thousand Englishmen in the country had to defend themselves against a host of enraged natives., Lord Canning, the Governor-General, was a brave, capable man, and he was supported by able officers and brave soldiers. Sir John Lawrence sent his Sikhs and a few British troops to besiege Delhi, and Sir Henry Lawrence the Governor of Oude, gathered the British residents into the Governor's residence at Lucknow, where it was hoped they could hold out till relief came.
At Cawnpore, Nana Sahib, a native prince, when he heard Sir Henry Havelock was coming to the rescue, massacred the men, women, and children of the Europeans, July 15, 1857, The news of the horrible cruelties of Nana Sahib filled the British troops with a burning desire for revenge, which was with difficulty restrained by Canning. Soon the tide of war changed against the Sepoys. Delhi was taken, and Lucknow was relieved by Havelock, after a four months’ siege. Highland regiments came on the scene under Sir James Outram and Sir Colin Campbell, and gradually the rebellion was crushed. The brutal massacre at Cawnpore was avenged by blowing from the cannon's mouth several of those who had taken an active part in that dreadful tragedy.
12. India under the Crown.—The Mutiny had some important results. Havelock, the brave Christian soldier, and the hero of the war, died of the-hardships of the campaign. The British Government now resolved to take away from the East India Company its right of governing India. In 1858 India was placed under the Crown, and from that time has been governed by a Viceroy and Council under a Secretary for India, who is a member of the British Cabinet. The result is better government, and greater attention is paid to the feelings and prejudices of the natives, who are an intelligent and sensitive people.
13. Recent Wars.—Since the Indian Mutiny, Britain has been engaged in no great war. Several minor wars have, however, taken place, of which the following are the most important: (1) a war with China in 1855, and another in 1860, which led to opening up more of the Chinese ports to foreign trade; (2) an invasion of Afghanistan in 1879-80 to avenge the murder of an English envoy, Sir Louis Cavagnari; (3) two wars against the Zulus and Boers in South Africa in 1879-81 in which there was great loss of life; (4) a war in the Soudan in 1884-5 to support the Khedive, or ruler of Heypt, against the Arabs. It was in this war that General Gordon lost his life while defending Khartoum, and that Canadian boatmen helped to take a British army up the Nile in boats.
14. Reform Bills.—Let us new turn from these events in other lands and see what changes were taking place at home. While Lord Palmerston lived great reforms were not encouraged, but after his death the question of giving more political power to the working classes came to the front. Lord John Russell tried to pass a Reform Bill in 1866, and failed. Then Mr. Disraeli took office and, under his leadership, the Conservatives helped in carrying through a Reform Bill much more radical than that of Lord John Russell. The Reform Bill of 1867 gave votes to householders and lodgers in boroughs who paid rates and £10 rent, while in counties those who paid £12 rates were allowed to vote. Voting by ballot was made law in 1872, and a third Reform Bill was passed in 1884, by Mr. Gladstone, which gave votes to nearly every man, whether in town or county, and added 2,500,000 voters to the roll of electors, In 1885 a Redistribution Bill divided the country into more equal electoral districts, and increased the number of members for Scotland. In 1858 the volunteers were more thoroughly organized, and, in 1860, Cobden succeeded in making a treaty with France which encouraged freer trade between the two countries.
14. American Civil War.—In 1861 a civil war broke out in the United States of America, which led to great suffering among the operatives in the cotton factories of Lancashire. Most of the raw cotton used by England was brought from the Southern States, and as the war closed the ports of the South, its cotton could not find its way to the English markets. Thousands of workers were, in consequence, thrown out of employment when the mills were closed for want of raw cotton, and large sums of money had to be raised to keep the families of the operatives from starving. Nor was this the only bad effect of the war. Some of the British people were in sympathy with the South, and their desire to see the revolt successful led to allowing the Southerners to have ships built in British dockyards. One of these, the Alabama, did a great deal of injury to the merchant vessels of the North, and when the war was over England had to pay a heavy bill of damages for allowing the Alabama to escape from British ports.
15. Important Acts.—The year 1861 is memorable for the death of Prince Albert, and 1863, for the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Alexandra, daughter of the King of Denmark. In 1869, a long delayed measure of justice was meted out to Ireland. The English Church in Ireland was disestablished and its revenues, after making due provision for the existing clergy, were set. aside for the relief of the poor in Ireland. This Act was followed in 1870 by an Irish Land Act, which gave the tenants a more secure hold on their land, and did not leave them so much at the mercy of their landlords. They had henceforth a right to compensation for improvements they might make, in case they were turned out of their holdings.
A very important measure was the Education Act of 1870, which was brought into Parliament by Mr. Foster. It provided for the building and support of schools at the expense of the ratepayers, where there were not enough schools to educate all the children of the parish. Before this Act was passed, the masses had to depend for their education on private schools, and on schools under the control of the different Churches. ‘To carry out this law School Boards were formed, the members of which were elected by the people. A few years later, parents were compelled by law to send their children to school; and, very recently, steps have been taken to make the education of a child in the Public Schools nearly as free as in Ontario. Religious tests, too, were done away with, in 1871, in the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, so that all classes and creeds can attend these great seats of learning and get the advantage of a university education. Quite recently, in 1888, a measure was passed which gave the people of England a greater control over their own. local affairs. These are perhaps the most important measures that have been passed in recent years, most of them under the leadership of Mr. Gladstone. In May, 1886, this great statesman joined Mr. Parnell, the leader of the Irish members, in a demand for Irish “Home Rule,” that is, a demand for a Parliament in Dublin to look after Irish affairs. A “Home Rule” Bill was introduced into Parliament, but it failed to carry, and in the general election that followed Mr. Gladstone was defeated and gave way to Lord Salisbury. Mr. Parnell, the Irish leader, died in 1891, but “Home Rule” is to-day the great question in British politics.
16. Advances in the Last Fifty Years.—The history of the reign of Victoria is the history of great advances in art and science,
and of remarkable inventions of time and labour-saving machines. Ships now cross the Atlantic ocean in less than six days, and trains travel at marvellous rates of speed. By the aid of the electric telegraph messages are carried across oceans and continents with the speed of lightning, while the more recent invention of the telephone enables us to carry on a conversation with friends many miles away. The phonograph keeps a record of the voices of the living and the dead, while the photograph keeps fresh in our memory the features of the absent. Electricity is now extensively used as a motive power to drive machinery, to propel trains, and to furnish light for our homes, shops, and streets. Science has made wonderful progress in nearly every department of human knowledge. Geology, biology, chemistry, history, political economy, language, medicine, theology, and politics, have each and all felt the influence of the scientific spirit and its methods of discovery and investigation. The age has been particularly great in writers of history, such as Hallam, Macaulay, Grote, Green, Froude, Freeman, Gardiner, Leckey, and Carlyle. In fiction, we have had Thackeray, Dickens, George Eliot (Mrs. Cross), Charlotte Bronté, and a host of others only second to these great names. Tennyson (still living), the poet Laureate, and Robert Browning are great names in the realm of poetry, while Matthew Arnold has taught us the art of a true and lofty criticism of life and literature.
17. Conclusion.—These are a few, and only a few, of the names of English writers of the present century. So widespread has education become, and so numerous the fields of human activity, that where, a century ago, ten men distinguished themselves in art, science, or literature, a thousand now can be found. We have followed the stream of English history down from its small beginnings in the first century to the present day. We have seen the gradual rise of parliamentary government and the steady growth of political freedom under the Plantagenets and the Lancastrians. We have seen, also, the struggle against despotism and tyranny under the Tudors and Stuarts, and the recovery of lost liberties by the Revolution of 1688. We have watched the steady increase in wealth and material prosperity under the Georges, and we have rejoiced at the success of the great moral movement in the 18th century, which roused England from spiritual deadness, and gave her strength to free herself from the shackles of political and social corruption. We have seen England standing almost alone against the giant power of Napoleon, fighting the battles of the world’s freedom, undaunted by reverses, and gloriously successful through the courage and steadfastness of her sons. Not less interesting to us has been the marvellous growth of Britain’s empire in the last hundred years. Her colonies and possessions are found on every continent, and her flag floats on every sea. She is still “Mistress of the Sea,” and her navy carries British goods and manufactures to every land. Her commerce is great beyond comparison, and her language and civilization are finding a sure foothold in every nation. But better than all, England’s influence for truth, justice, and righteousness, is greater than ever. She still leads all peoples in the struggle against vice, ignorance, and tyranny. Her shores are still a safe refuge for the oppressed of all nations, and from her the patriots of all lands derive hope and encouragement. At no period in her history have her people been so earnest in the pursuit of great moral reforms, and in removing the wrongs of centuries of misrule, as at the present day. After nineteen centuries of strife and struggle, England stands in the fore-front of nations, fresh and vigorous, every pulse throbbing with a healthy national life, her “eyes not dim and her natural strength not abated.”