FORCES FOR REFORM. The Unreformed System.
- Parliament hasn’t been changed since 1688 (i.e. PRE-Industrial Revolution) so it hasn’t responded to the growth of cities.
- There are deficiencies in a society being rapidly transformed by urbanisation and industrialisation.
Major features of this system:
- Land = Power
- The system is operated by and in the interests of the aristocracy
- Property determines who can vote and who can become an MP (see later)
- MPs don’t get paid
- Voting is open: secret ballot doesn’t exist
So, VAST NUMBERS OF PEOPLE ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. How the political system works: There are two kinds of seat: County and Borough. COUNTY: Each county sends 2 MPs to Westminster. Under the 1430 Act, you can vote if you are a 40s freeholder. That is, if you own land that has a value of more than 40 shillings (so small farmers upwards can vote). To become an MP, you need to have £600 a year in income from your land. BOROUGH Each borough sends 2 MPs. Boroughs are characterised by the variety of franchises they have: some are wide and some are small:
1)FREEMAN any freeman in the borough can vote 2)SCOT & LOT all adult males who pay local rates can vote 3)BURGESS/BURGAGE only the owners of certain properties in a village can vote (random!) 4)POT WALLOPER anyone who owns a stove big enough to boil a pot on can vote 5)CORPORATION only members of the town corporation (businessmen) can vote.
POCKET BOROUGHS are ones when the borough, and hence the resultant vote, is in the pocket of the landowner. ROTTEN BOROUGHS are so small that they can easily be bribed to vote one way or another. Why does re4m happen in the 1830s?
1)Collapse of the Tory party CAUSED BY CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION (so CE is the issue that starts the whole thing off).
2)Revolution in France the King, Charles X, is overthrown. This scares British politicians for obvious reasons.
3)Weaknesses in the unre4med system there is no secret ballot, which makes it easier for landowners to rig elections. Also, there are unfair political rights: some people can vote, but others can’t.
4)Economic Problems 1829 poor harvest causes discontentment. This causes a resurgence of radicalism. Proof of this are the Swing Riots: agricultural riots, especially in 1830-1. They are a spontaneous reaction in the countryside to economic problems such as technological advances, underemployment and over population. Radicals, such as William Cobett, are revived. In April 1831, the NUWC (National Union for the Working Classes) is founded by Henry Hetherington and William Cobett. The NUWC demanded Universal Suffrage. Another example of this radicalism is Henry Hunt the radical orator @ Peterloo he is elected to Parliament for Preston he is elected because Preston has a wide franchise.
6)Whig Government The Whigs respond to the Swing Riots with repression: people are deported, mass arrests are made, and people are sent to Australia. Whigs are led by Earl Grey, a long standing advocate for re4m. PROOF: Grey had tried to introduce a bill for re4m in 1797.
7)SUPPORT OF THE MOVEMENT FOR RE4M BY THE MIDDLE CLASSES As the growing power of the industrial middle classes is not represented in a political system that is based around the aristocracy. Besides, Parliament are especially afraid of the middle classes as they played an important role in the French Revolution. Unions were set up with this in mind. EG: the Birmingham Political Union (created by Thomas Attwood). This is an example of class collaboration between the working and middle classes. Therefore, Parliament wants to detach the middle classes from the working classes by having moderate reforms to secure the position of the government. Hence, the Whigs are committed to re4m despite the aristocratic nature of their government. The Whig cabinet has ex-Tories and Canningites (because of their ministerial experience), Richmond (an Ultra-Tory), and Henry Brown a radical who is only in to keep him out of trouble! (under control). The unreformed system
COURSE OF REFORM CRISIS Grey became PM in 1830.
Contents of the First Re4m Bill (1st March 1831) Presented to the House of Lords
- Disfranchise and reduce representation of small boroughs.
- Redistribute these seats to underrepresented boroughs and cities.
- County franchises to stay at 40s (see earlier)
- Make the borough franchise a uniform £10 householder franchise
The bill has to get through the Commons, the Lords, and then be approved by the King. Grey wanted to reform to forestall a revolution, but he wanted to do this in sensible moderation to protect the constitution and the Aristocracy. This is supported by the activists of extra-parliamentary unions, such as the Birmingham Political Union (BPU) and the NUWM. Arguments for and against re4m (fom D.G. Wright, pp 117-119) For.
- It is the best security against a revolution
- It acts as a measure on conservation
- Will keep the peace withhold a revolution
- “Reform, that you may preserve”
Against
- Peel “I was unwilling to open a door which I saw no prospect of being able to close”
- The pressure for reform might die down when economic conditions improve
- Will undermine the monarch and destroy the peerage
- Destroys the balance of opposing, but not hostile power
The Bill passes the commons on 22nd March 1831 302-301 (!) but it is thrown out in amendment committees. To try and get it through, Grey persuades the King to dissolve parliament, resulting in a general election. This is done by him arguing that the risk of reform is greater without an election, although there might be disturbances at election time. The 1831 election is essentially a referendum on re4m: Whig landslide: Tories are emasculated in the ‘popular’ constituencies (they are the borough fraction, as 165 of 187 MPs are from rotten boroughs ) John Cannon said: “Never had the Old system shown itself more responsive to public opinion than when it stood on the brink of extinction”. However, the Bill still has to get through the Tory-dominated Lords, who reject the bill in October 1831, and in May 1832. Immediate reaction to rejection: RIOTS The BPU (B’ham political union) holds a tax strike. So, to defeat the Tories’ majority in the Lords, Grey wants 50 Whig peers created. William IV is reluctant, so the Bill doesn’t get through & Grey resigns. Reasons for resigning:
- Demonstrates the inevitability of his leadership: he shows the King that Grey & Re4m is the only option.
- Protest @ an attempt by Lords to dictate to the Commons.
Wellington tries to form a ministry. He accepts the inevitability of some measure of reform. The main reason that Wellington can’t 4m a government is because Peel refuses to serve: he doesn’t want to re-inforce his reputation as a turncoat by betraying his party again. So William IV is 4ced to accept Grey’s terms, and agrees to create 50 new Whig peers if needed. But the threat of this is enough to get the Bill passed: the Tories don’t want their majority wiped out. Summary:
1)Commons passed by dissolving Parliament 2)Lords passes by threat of new Peers 3)King passed by being shown that reform is the only option.
Revolution Avoided? Pp40-48 D.G. Wright: Democracy and Reform Revn in 1831-52 was only avoided by concessions in the Reform Act: “Britain was within an ace of revolution” (in autumn 1831 and Days of May) E.P. Thompson, Left-Wing historian. Because of:
- Economic problems
- Influence of July revolution in Paris
- Ruling classes were divided.
- Radical movement was well-organised (e.g. B’ham Political Union) mass meetings (Oct.31 by BPU) helped
- Organised violence to drive message home: Days of May, Bristol.
Professor Hamburger rhetoric by Mill & Benthamite radicals made revn ingredients more potent than they were.
Mill: Aristocracy wouldn’t concede power voluntarily but from self-interest. So Benthamite radicals convey message of impatience to the gvmt with news reports, BPU/NPU bills and placards. (J.A. Roebuck, Benthamite, : “to attain our end, much was said that no-one really believed”). Between Nov. 1830 and March 1831: 600+ petitions to Parliament for the re4m Bill.
Professor Briggs: Working Classes wanted re4m to improve their economic conditions, and because they wanted to play a part in a new society. Riots: London in October 1831 involved a petition & was relatively peaceful
Bristol: Sir Charles Wetherall visited: he=Tory and anti-re4m. 12 Killed and 100+ wounded in riot that ensued.
Army was weak: overall shortage of troops. The fact that army didn’t have to do much and was not deployed shows how the weak threat of revolution was. Conclusion: If the politicians had known what general feeling in the country was, then they wouldn’t have ‘relied’ on Benthamite propaganda, so a compromise Bill might have been reached, as opposed to the Great Re4m Act. Main contents of the re4m act:
1) 56 English boroughs lose both members (ones whose population < 2,000) 20 English boroughs lose one member (ones whose population = 2-4,000)
2)22 new boroughs created with 2MPs
3) 62 additional county seats created.
6)Total electorate is up by c.478,000 to c.814,000 (about 1/30 of the pop’n).
BUT the above isn’t a dramatic change because:
- The majority of people are still not represented
- No secret Ballot (introduced in 1872)
- No payment of MPs (1911)
- No control over electioneering (bribing) (1883)
- The Commons is still 71% Peers & Landowners so the government is still run by (and thus for) the aristocracy.
- Incomplete distribution, for example:
- Unbalance between North & South: most people live in the North, where there are only 120MPs as opposed to the South’s 370.
- Over 120 constituencies have electorate <1000, so there are still pocket boroughs ‘reserved’ for men of talent! E.g.: in 1832, Gladstone is elected in the Rotten Borough of Newark, controlled by Duke of Newcastle (Tory).
This lack of change shouldn’t be surprising, because Grey didn’t set out to destroy the old system, only to moderately reform it to stop the threat of revolution. Grey wanted enough reform to satisfy the middle classes and “draw the teeth” of revolution. The terms of the act confirm the Whigs’ declared intentions. Why was the Great Reform Act so important? The importance lies in the fact that it was passes at all, not in its contents. It shows
1)Parliament can reform itself 2)The system was capable of adapting 3)It prevents a revolution of the same calibre than the one in Europe. Does this mean that Britain is insulated now the middle classes are part of the system? 4)Shows reform is possible without apocalyptic consequences. 5)Breaks the logjam for reform sets a precedent for further reform 6)Gives Whig rule for a decade, in which social and economic reforms are undertaken. 7)Forces the transformation of the Tories into the Conservatives.
WHIG REFORMS OF THE 1830S.
1834Grey resigns (he is 70, disillusioned by the divisions over Ireland, and thinks he has completed his life’s work). He is replaced by MELBOURNE, who is a Canningite.
Melbourne’s government is dismissed by William IV, and he calls Peel to form a government in December 1834. Peel thus forms a minority government, which is repeatedly defeated. So William has no choice but to bring back Melbourne. He does this in April 1835. Reforming ministries. There are debates about the effectiveness and the motives for the reforms: is this still ‘reform to preserve’, or are there other forces behind the changes? One major influence on reform is Benthamism (aka: Philosophic Radicalism, Utilitarianism), - Jeremy Bantam. They believe in the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This implies that institutions entrusted with the common good were only of value if they are efficient and useful in promoting the above philosophy. The Benthamites believed that less law meant more liberty, and therefor they are individualistic and anti-government interference. They are interested in social/political/economic/legal reform: they wanted laws that restricted people to be removed. In economic affairs, they accepted the free trade ideas of Adam Smith. The Benthamites influenced, John Stuart Mill, Edwin Chadwick, and younger Whigs, such as Broughton and Russell. |
