A HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE GREAT WAR IN 1815 BY SPENCER WALPOLE AUTHOR OF THE LIFE OF THE RIGHT HON. SPENCER PERCEVAL' IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. All rights reserved PREFACE. THESE two volumes form the commencement of a History of England which, it is proposed, should extend from the conclusion of the great European War in 1815 to a very recent time. No other period of English history is of greater interest to the historical student. During the first few years, which succeeded Waterloo, Englishmen enjoyed less real liberty than at any time since the Revolution of 1688. The great majority of the people had no voice in the Legislature. Political power was in the hands of a few fortunate individuals, who were bent on retaining the monopoly which they had secured. The taxpayers were laden with fiscal burdens which were both unequal and ill-devised. Death was the punishment which the law awarded to the gravest and most trivial crimes. The pauper was treated as a criminal, and the administration of the Poor Laws made almost every labourer a pauper. Harsh and oppressive as the laws already were, the oligarchy, by which England was governed, was continually demanding harsher and more oppressive legislation. During the five years which succeeded Waterloo the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended; the liberty of the Press was restricted; the right of public meeting was denied ; domiciliary visits in search of aims were allowed. The first volume of this work is an attempt to relate the history of the unhappy period during which these laws were made. Soon after the accession of George IV. to the throne a new period of English history commenced. Mackintosh, following up the labours of Romilly, reformed the Criminal Code; Huskisson, adopting the doctrines of Adam Smith, reformed the commercial system; Canning, rejecting the principles of Castlereagh, reformed the policy of the Foreign Office; a Tory Government, abandoning the traditions of its party, emancipated the Roman Catholics and the Dissenters; and a Whig Ministry, at length succeeding to power, reformed the constitution of the House of Commons. These five great revolutions in law, in commerce, in foreign policy, in religion, and in internal politics were the memorable achievements of twelve years of progress. An attempt has been made to relate the history of these twelve years in the second volume of this work. It is proposed, in future volumes, to deal with the labours and doings of a Reformed Parliament. It may possibly be objected to the plan of this work that the events of which it treats are too recent to be dealt with judicially. The same objection could, however, have been raised to some of the greatest histories which the world has yet seen. The Author relies for replying to it on the avowed intention of one great authority. Macaulay, when he commenced his immortal history, contemplated as a final halting-place the Reform Bill of 1832. If it were legitimate in 1848 to contemplate writing the history of 1832, it must be legitimate in 1878 to contemplate writing the history of 1862. |