the ingratitude with which the gift was received.* the Man past them, and a general cry arose, "Get in, get in!" Mr. Holmes, who was with Mr. IlusA melancholy catastrophe, which heralded kisson, immediately, with great presence of 60. in vast social changes, diverted for a mind, drew himself close up to the Duke's train, Opening of brief period during this autumn the the only thing to be done in such a situation, chester and public attention in Great Britain from and which insures perfect safety. Mr. HuskisLiverpool the important political revolutions in son unfortunately seized hold of one of the Railway. progress, both abroad and at home. doors of the Duke's train, which was struck by Sept. 15. On the 15th September, the Manches- a projecting part of the other train in passing, ter and Liverpool Railway was opened, being and swung round. This caused Mr. Huskisson the FIRST EVER CONSTRUCTED FOR TRAVELING in to swing round also, and he fell on the other the empire. As such, it excited a very great railway, so that his right leg was passed over interest, for opinions were much divided as to by the engine and instantly crushed. The only the success of the attempt; and some of the words he uttered were, "I have met my death; most eminent scientific characters had confi- God forgive me." This unhappily proved too dently predicted that it would prove a failure, true. He was carried to Eccles, where the best or that at all events the carriages, owing to the medical advice was obtained, but in vain. He friction of the wheels on the rails, could never survived only a few hours in great pain, which be brought to go more than ten miles an hour. he bore with unshrinking fortitude. He reThe Duke of Wellington, Mr. Huskisson, and ceived the sacrament with Mrs. Huskisson, and` several persons of the highest distinction, went his last words were, "The country has had the to Liverpool to be present at the opening, and best of me; I trust it will do justice to my pubset out in ten carriages, three on the southern lic character. I regret not the few years that and seven on the northern line, but traveling might have remained to me, except for those in the same direction, and nearly abreast. It dear ones," added he, grasping Mrs. Huskisson's was deemed an astonishing effort that the car-hand, "whom I leave behind me." 1 Ann. Reg. 1 Ann. Reg. riage which conveyed the Duke went 1830. 145, sometimes at the rate of fifteen miles 146; Chron. an hour!! son. 61. At Parkside station the carriages stopped, and Mr. Huskisson and several of And death of his friends got out. Some of them, Mr. Huskis- with the kind intention of bringing the Duke of Wellington and Mr. Huskisson together after their estrangement, led the latter round to that part of the train where the Duke was seated, who, as soon as he saw him, held out his hand to him, which was shaken cordially. At this instant the train containing the other gentlemen set off, coming up 240. 62. Reflections He expired a few minutes after, and 1830, 145, 2 Porter, 327. * During the heat of this controversy in Ireland, Mr. O'Connell was challenged for some violent expressions he had used in regard to Sir Henry Hardinge, then Secretary for Ireland. He refused to fight, on the ground of a "wow registered in heaven" never again to shed the blood of man in single combat, in consequence of once having done so before; and certainly no reasonable or honorable man will reproach another with abstaining from the absurdity of adding one crime to another by super-ment had been passed to form new lines or exadding murder to insult; but those who adopt this course tend old ones; and the capital aushould be careful to observe the justum moderamen in thorized to be expended on them Progress of their own language, and if they have been casually be- amounted to the enormous sum of the Nation. trayed into an intemperate expression, immediately to make the proper reparation. Instead of this, O'Connell £348,012,188.2 had no sooner registered his vow in heaven against fightA considerable impulse was given to these ing, than he proceeded to apply the most violent and slanderous expressions to all his opponents on earth. It was undertakings in the years 1834 and 63. then he first used his favorite expression, "base, bloody, 1835, which were distinguished by Its vast and and brutal," with regard to the Duke of Wellington and great commercial activity; but by lasting moneMr. Peel, who had earned for him emancipation. His con- far the greater part of the railway's tary effects. duct at this period is thus commented on by one of the ablest of the Liberal annalists: "The correspondence on were set on foot during the joint-stock mania, occasion of this offense to Sir H. Hardinge settles the which lasted from the beginning of 1845 to the matter forever about O'Connell's honor, and the possibil-end of 1847, during which the sums authorized ity of having dealings with him as between man and man; and it is here referred to as evidence that all parties that afterward courted him, or allied themselves with him more or less for political purposes, were not entitled to complain when he betrayed, insulted, or reviled them. That any terms should have been held with O'Connell by Government, English public, or gentlemen in or out of Parliament, after his present agitation for repeal, and his pubin correspondence with Sir H. Hardinge in Oct., 1830, is one of the moral disgraces of our time."-Miss MARTINEAU, ii. 8. These expressions are given as conveying the opinion of a liberal historian of deserved reputation, and of her party on their eminent men, rather than the author's own; for certainly they evince a tendency to slide too much into the very fault which she so justly censures in O'Connell. to be raised by Acts of Parliament were above £230,000,000.* Not more than £200,000,000 of the whole sums expended on railways has proved productive, or yielded any return whatever; and above £150,000,000 has been absolutely lost in these undertakings, so far as the proprietors or the capital of the nation is con 1 Porter, 64. 66. cerned. It will appear in the sequel how power- | constant intercourse from traveling, the infully this prodigious raising and expenditure of creased facility for the transmission of books money came to influence the fortunes and des- and newspapers, the almost instantaneous transtinies of the State; what unbounded prosperity mission of intelligence by the electric telegraph, it produced at one time, and what terrible dis- which soon after followed, have powerfully con asters at another; and how the existing mone-tributed to equalize the advantages of situation, tary system, encouraging speculations at first, and give to the provinces a large portion, if not and withdrawing the means of completing them the whole, of the intellectual activity which for at last, landed the nation in a series of diffi- merly was peculiar to the metropolis. By enculties, from which it was only extricated by abling troops or police to be sent rapidly from events in the western and southern hemispheres, one part of the country to another, it has augso timely and important that they mented the efficiency of the central govern327, 3d ed. can only be ascribed to Divine inter-ment, and enabled it to provide with fewer position.1 men, and at a less cost, both for defense against But the effects of the railway system have external enemies, and the maintenance of donot been confined merely to the in-mestic tranquillity. That worst of all ascendAnd moral dustrial and monetary concerns of encies in a community, the sway of the mob of and politi- the nation, great and lasting as these the capital over the Legislature, from the mere cal effects. effects have been. It has produced force of proximity of situation, so fatally expesocial and political results of the very highest rienced in Athens, Rome, and Paris, has been importance, and which, like other things in this in a great measure destroyed. A more strikworld, have been partly salutary and partly ing proof of this can not be figured than was pernicious. It has in a great measure destroyed furnished by the fact, that when the disarmaspace, and brought the most distant parts of ment of the National Guard in Belleville and the empire into comparatively close proximity Montmartre was carried into execution, after with its great cities and metropolis. In this the suppression of the great insurrection in way it has, to a most surprising degree, equal- July, 1848, it was effected by the National ized the circumstances of the different parts of Guards of La Vendée, brought up by the Orthe country, and deprived the immediate neigh-leans railway from that distant and secluded borhood of the capital and large towns of the province. exclusive advantages which they have so long There is no unmixed good in human affairs. enjoyed. The markets of London are supplied Advantages, how great soever, are with beef from Aberdeenshire, pork from Ire- invariably attended by correspond- Its evils and land, and vegetables and milk from the mid- ing evils. The railway system is dangers in land counties of England, as regularly as they no exception to this general rule; the undue used to be from the fields of Surrey or the on the contrary, it affords one of sway of the downs of Sussex. Immense and entirely bene- the most striking illustrations of it. ficial have been the effects of this equalization; It is the greatest promoter that ever came into and they have already become most conspic-operation of the centralizing system; but it has uous in the improved cultivation and extended resources of the distant parts of the empire. Nor have the moral and social effects of the increased facilities of communication been less important, or less conducive to human happiness. By reducing to a third the expense, and to a fourth the time of traveling, they have extended its benefits to a proportionally wider circle, and, in particular, brought them within the reach of the middle class, to whom they were previously almost unknown. A tradesman or mechanic can now make the tour of the British Islands, or even of Europe, in a few weeks, which formerly was never attempted but by the nobility, and accomplished in as many years. Immense has been the effect of this happy facility, alike in dispelling prejudice, refining manners, and improving taste; and these changes have powerfully reacted upon capital cities. It is from the railway system, and the desires to which it gave rise among a new and wide circle, that the Great Exhibition of London in 1851, the subsequent ones at New York and Paris, and the glorious Crystal Palace at Sydenham, have taken their rise. In a political point of view, the effects of the railway system have been not less Political ef important. By bringing the disfects of the tant provinces of our empire, comrailway sys- paratively speaking, into close prox imity with the metropolis, it has augmented their intelligence, and in the same proportion increased their political power. The tem 65 capital. induced its evils as well as its advantages. As much as it has brought the physical force of the provinces to the support of Government in the capital, has it brought the intellectual influence of the metropolis down to the provinces. The chief talent of the nation being there concentrated, from the objects of ambition, political, literary, or legal, which are presented, the sway of mind in a particular quarter has become well-nigh irresistible. The empire has become a huge metropolis, which the London press rules with despotic sway. Originality or independence of thought in the provinces is crushed in all save a few intrepid minds, by the overwhelming weight of the capital. 67 Nor has the material and political influence of great cities been less increased by the change than their intellectual Its political sway. The facility of reaching the effects metropolis has caused the great and the affluent to transfer nearly all their purchases to London, the attractions of Manchester, Birming ham, Liverpool, and Glasgow, have drawn the most part of the purchases of the middle classes in the provinces to these great emporiums of wealth and industry. The small towns have dwindled, or become stationary, because they have lost their purchasers; the great ones have swelled into Babylons because they have tripled theirs. Politically speaking, the change has been of incalculable importance. The landed proprietors have ceased to influence the small boroughs, because all their purchases are made in the great ones, or the metropolis. The great manufacturing towns have become the rulers, because it is from them that the employment which feeds the lesser towns flows. The only influence which can be reckoned on as durable is that which gives bread or employment. When it is recollected that threefifths of the House of Commons consist of the members for boroughs, it may be conceived how important an influence this change has come to have on the balance of parties in the State. 68. incendia Parliament, symptoms of discontent, attended with some danger, and more alarm, be- 70. gan in some of the agricultural coun- Disturbties. Many of the numerous county pe- ances and titions, which had been presented on rism in the the subject of agricultural distress for southern some years past, had predicted that, if counties. some measures calculated to afford relief were not adopted, it would be impossible to prevent the working classes from breaking into open acts of violence. This prediction was now too fatally verified. The disturbances began in Experience has not yet enabled us to determ-Kent, from whence they rapidly spread to Surine what influence the railway sys-rey, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, and BuckMilitary re- tem, when generally introduced, is inghamshire. Night after night new conflagrasults of fitted to have on military operations the railway the attack or defense of nations; system. for the only great wars which have taken place since its introduction-viz., those in Italy and Hungary in 1849, and Turkey in 1854-took place in countries where it had not been at all, or only partially introduced. It is usually considered as having strengthened the means of defense rather than attack, by facilitating the concentration of troops, which it certainly does, on the menaced point. Yet must this be taken with some limitations; for if it facilitates the concentration of the defending, it in an equal degree aids the accumulation of the attacking force: if it will bring the military strength of all France in three days to the menaced point in Belgium or the Rhine, it will not less certainly bring the whole invading force of Germany in as short a time to the same point. If generally introduced into Russia, it would double the already overgrown military strength of the Czar, by more than halving the distance which his troops have to march, and rendering the translation of them from the Baltic to the Euxine, or from Poland to the Caucasus, the work of few days only, and of no fatigue or tions were lighted up by bands of incendiaries; corn-stacks, barns, farm-buildings, and live cattle, were indiscriminately consumed. Bolder bands attacked mills and demolished machinery; thrashing-mills were in an especial manner the object of their hostility. During October and November, these acts of incendiarism became so frequent as to excite universal alarm. The first rioters who were seized were treated, from feelings of humanity, with undue lenity by the county magistrates, which, of course, augmented the disorders; and it was not till severe examples were made, by a special commission sent into the disturbed districts, and a large body of military was quartered in them, that they were at length put down. From what came out at the trials, it did not appear that these outrages had been the result of any general political design against the Government, but had rather arisen from great distress among the working classes, stimulated into acts of violence by the example of successful revolution at Paris, and similar acts of Jacobin atrocity in Normandy, where they had been very frequent. The Duke of Richmond stated the truth when he said in Parlia 1 Mirror of loss to the men. ment, "I believe a feeling now ex- Parliament, Undoubtedly, however, upon the whole, it ists among the laboring classes, that 1830, 42, favors the arms of civilization in a your lordships and the upper class- Ann. contest with barbarism; for it re- es of society are to be regard- 149, 150; quires an effort of skill and expend-ed rather as their foes than their Martineau, the means of iture of capital for its general adop-friends."1 defending na- tion which can only be looked for Parliament met on the 26th October; but in a wealthy and enlightened state. some days having been consumed 71. If it is equally adopted by two countries in a in swearing in members, the ses- King's speech similar state of civilization, as France and Ger- sion was not opened till the 2d Nov. 2. many, and suffered to exist, it may cause war to November. On that day, the King's speech alresemble more closely a game at chess, by ena-luded slightly to the recent overthrow of the bling the players to make the moves at pleasure. But if one, when invaded, has the courage or the patriotic spirit to break up the system, it may give a very great, perhaps a decisive advantage, to the party making the sacrifice; for if the retiring army tears up the railway lines and breaks down the bridges, it retains the ad vantages of the system to itself, and takes them away from its opponent. In this way it may be rendered an essential element in the defense, and important in maintaining the independence of nations. Probably, to take advantage of it, fortresses will come hereafter to be constructed in the heart rather than the frontiers of king doms, in order that an invading enemy may find his own facilities diminish, and the forces of his adversary increase as he approaches the centre of his power. 69. On the whole, it augments tions. Before the great strife of parties began in Reg. 1830, ii. 12. elder branch of the house of Bourbon in France, but more specifically to foreign events in Belgium and Portugal. "The elder branch of the house of Bourbon no longer reigns in France; and the Duke of Orleans has been called to the throne by the title of King of the French. Having received from the new sovereign a declaration of his earnest desire to cultivate the good understanding, and maintain inviolate all the engagements with this country, I did not hesi tate to continue my diplomatic relations and friendly intercourse with the French court. have viewed, with deep regret, the state of affairs in the Low Countries. I lament that the enlightened administration of the King of the Netherlands should not have preserved his dominions from revolt; and that the wise and prudent measure of submitting the complaints and desires of his people to an extraordinary I meeting of the States-General should have led | the late transactions in France, by the adoption to no satisfactory result. I am endeavoring, in concert with my allies, to devise such means of restoring tranquillity as may be compatible with the welfare and good government of the Netherlands, and with the future security of other states. I have not yet accredited my embassador to the court of Lisbon; but the Portuguese government having determined to perform a great act of justice and humanity, by the grant of a general amnesty, I think that the time may shortly arrive when the interests of my subjects will demand a renewal of those relations which have so long subsisted between the two countries. I place, without reserve, at your disposal my interest in the hereditary revenues, and in those funds which may arise from any droits of the Crown or of the Admiralty, from the West India duties, or from any Parl. Deb. casual revenue, either in my foreign 1. 2, 3 (new possessions or in the United Kingseries). dom." of something like parliamentary reform. The noble earl has stated that he is not prepared himself to come forward with any measure of the kind; and I will tell him further, neither is the Government. Nay, I will go further, and say that I have not heard of any measure, up to this moment, which could in any way satisfy my mind, or by which the state of the representation could be improved, or placed on a footing more satisfactory to the people of this country than it now is. I will say that I am thoroughly convinced that England possesses at this moment a Legislature which answers all the good purposes of a Legislature, in a higher degree than any scheme of government whatever has ever been found to do in any country in the world; that it possesses the confidence of the country; that it deservedly possesses that confidence; and that its decisions have justly the greatest weight and influence with the people. Nay, I will go yet further, and say These words were of deep and important that if, at this moment, I had to form a Legissignificance as regarded the policy lature for any country, particularly for one like Lord Grey's which the Duke of Wellington's ad- this, in the possession of great property of va ministration was prepared to pur-rious descriptions, although, perhaps, I should not form one precisely such as we have, I would endeavor to produce something which should give the same result-viz., a representation of the people, containing a large body of the property of the country, and in which the great landed proprietors have a preponderating influence. Farther still, I beg to state, that not only is the Government not prepared to bring forward any measure of this description, but, in so far as I am concerned, while I Ann. Reg. have the honor to hold the situa- 1630, 155, tion which I now do among his Mirror of Majesty's counselors, I shall always 1830, 6 it. feel it my duty to oppose any such p. 18. Parl. measures when brought forward by Deb. i. 52 others." 72. declaration on reform. sue in reference to the important Parliament, 1830, 153, 154. 73. Duke of Wellington's fa mous speech against any reforin Parliament, (new series). Such was the Duke of Wellington's famous declaration against reform, which 74. immediately blew up the smoulder- Immense ing elements of innovation in the na- effect pro ration. tion into a flame. No words from duced by this declaany statesman in English history produced such an impression. The transports became universal: all ranks were involved in it; all heads, save a few of the strongest and most far-seeing, swept away by it. Nearly all classes, though from different motives, had concurred in desiring reform, and with the characteristic dogged resolution of the English character, all, now that it was refused, resolved to have it. The High-Church party wished to raise a barrier against the Roman Catholics, against whom experience had shown the existing constitution afforded no sufficient security; the old Tories desired reform, be cause it would, as they hoped, restore the influ ence of landed property in the Legislature, and open the doors of Parliament to the petitions for agricultural relief the Radicals longed for it, as a stepping-stone for themselves to su preme power; the great towns were unant mous for it, as conferring upon them their just share in the government of the country. The Whigs in secret were, for the most part, adverse to the change, as likely to undermine the influ ence by which they had, for a century after the Revolution, governed the country; but the current of public opinion was so strong that they, as popular leaders, were obliged to go along with it, and in public stand forth as the chief promoters of the desired change. The only considerable body in the State who steadily opposed reform in the abstract were the hold ers of the close boroughs, and the members whom they had introduced into Parliament; but their numbers were too inconsiderable to form any counterpoise to the formidable phalanx arrayed on the other side; and such as they were, their numbers had been lessened to an unprecedented extent by the result of the last elections, conducted under the pressure of internal distress, and the fervor of the French Revolution. 75. This strange, and, in English history, unprecedented combination of parties in Mr. Brough- favor of reform, appeared on the am's plan of very first night of the session in the reform. House of Commons. There was no division on the Address; but in the course of the debate on it, Mr. Brougham gave notice of a motion on the subject on the 16th November. He said he had been described by one party as intending to bring forward a very limited, and therefore a very useless and insignificant plan; by another he was said to be the friend of a radical, sweeping, and innovating, and I may add-for I conscientiously believe it would prove so-a revolutionary reform. Both these schemes I disavow. I stand on the ancient ways of the constitution. To explain at this moment what I mean by that, would be inconvenient, indeed impossible; but my object in bringing forward this question is not revolution, but restoration; to repair the constitution, not to pull it down." From the manner in which this announcement was received by the old Tories, it was evident that a most formidable coalition of parties was likely to take place upon it. "I must be allowed," said Lord Winchelsea, who represented that body, "to say, that if the assertion of the noble duke (Wellington), made on a former night relative to parliamentary reform, was framed with a view of conciliating and gaining the support of the noble and high-minded persons with whom he had been usually united, I can tell the noble duke he might as well attempt to take high heaven by storm. These are times of danger and peril, in which we require to see efficient men at the head of the Government of the country. Now we see the consequence of having not long given up a great question, not upon the ground of justice or equity, but upon the ground of fear. So far from creating confidence, the yielding up of that question has created a feeling of distrust in the minds of the people. They no longer rely on the Government to afford them redress, or to mitigate their sufferings; they know that Ministers will grant nothing but upon compulsion. I am one of those who feel the necessity of having competent men at the head of the administration in the present situation of the country; and I feel bound to say, that those who compose the higher branches of his Majesty's government at this moment, are not, in my opin-1 Mirror of ion, worthy of the confidence of Parliam nt, the people in this hour of imminent 1830, 11. peril." p. 81. When such was the language of the most steady and consistent supporters of 76 Government in former times, it was Postponeevident that its overthrow was only ment of the a question of time; and the whole King's visit to the City. attention of parties, and of the coun- Nov. 9. try, was fixed on the question, on what point the decisive division was to take place. A fortuitous event, however, accelerated the catastrophe somewhat sooner than was expected. It had been an ancient custom for the monarchs of England to partake, soon after their accession to the throne, of the splendid hospitality of the City of London; and on this occasion the day was fixed for the 9th November, being the one on which the lord mayor elect came into office. Magnificent preparations had been made for the monarch's recep tion, and all London was in anxious expectation of the splendid procession, when, on the even Mr. Brougham's plan of reform, which was laid before his party on the 13th November, was as follows termined to stand on the ancient ways of the constituing of the 7th, the lord mayor received curious commentary on his assertion, that he "was de tion." This is what Mr. Brougham called Stare super an tiquas vias. His panegyrist, Mr. Roebuck, more correct ly designated it when he said. By this scheme the whole character of the House of Commons would have been changed."-ROEBUCK, 1.421. Undoubtedly it would have been so Household suffrage in the boroughs-that is, in three-fifths of the House-was "the class government of the laboring classes, that is, revolution. The £10 clause in the Reform Bill avoided this danger, but only by running the nation into another, viz, the class gov ernment of shop-keepers, under which we have since lived. Nov. 7. a note from the Home Secretary, stating "London meets on Tuesday next an opportunity not to be lost for revenging the wrongs we have suffered so long. Come armed, be firm, and victory must be ours AN ENGLISHMAN " Englishmen, Britons, and honest |