The Remainder of the Session—The Coercion1 Bill carried—Rejection of the Tithes2 Bill—University Tests—Prorogation of Parliament—Brougham's Tour in Scotland—Burning of the Houses of Parliament—Fall of Melbourne's Ministry4—Wellington sole Minister—Peel forms a Ministry—The Tamworth Manifesto5—Dissolution and General Election—Mr. Abercromby elected Speaker—The Lichfield House Compact—Peel defeated on the Address—Lord John Russell announces a Resolution on Appropriation6—Lord Chandos's Motion—Lord Londonderry's Appointment—The Dissenters7 and London University—Hardinge's Tithe3 Bill—The Appropriation Resolution—The Debate—Peel resigns—Melbourne's second Ministry—Conservative Successes—Lord Alvanley and O'Connell—The Duel8 between Alvanley and Morgan O'Connell—O'Connell and Disraeli—Character of Lord Melbourne—Municipal Reform—Report of the Commission—The Municipal Corporations Act introduced—Its Progress in the Commons—Lyndhurst's Amendments9-It becomes Law—Irish Corporations—Report of the Commission—The Bill is mutilated in the Upper House, and abandoned—It becomes Law in 1840—Municipal Reform in Scotland.
On the 17th of July the new Premier11, Lord Melbourne, who, declining, on the king's suggestion, to form a coalition12 with the Duke of Wellington and Mr. Stanley, had made few alterations13 in the Ministry, announced a less offensive Coercion Bill for Ireland, which led to an animated14 debate, in which Lords Wicklow and Wharncliffe, the Duke of Wellington, and other peers strongly censured15 the conduct of the Government for its alleged17 inconsistency, vacillation18, and tergiversation. The new Coercion Bill passed quickly through both Houses, and became the law of the land before the end of the month. The Tithes Bill was rejected in the House of Lords, on the motion of Lord Ellenborough, by 189 votes to 122.
The English Dissenters were led, notwithstanding the difference in creed20, to sympathise to a considerable extent with Irish Catholics in their agitation21 against the Church establishment. Dissenters felt particularly aggrieved22 by the tests which debarred them from obtaining University degrees, which, they justly contended, should be attainable23 as a matter of right on equal grounds by citizens of all denominations24. A petition was presented by Lord Grey on the 21st of March in the Upper House, and by Mr. Spring-Rice on the 24th in the Commons; but no step was taken in consequence till after the Easter recess26, when Colonel Williams moved an Address to the Crown, praying that the Universities of Oxford27 and Cambridge should no longer act under the letters of James I. Mr. Wood moved an amendment10 to the effect that it was more advisable to proceed by Bill, which was carried by a large majority; but before anything could be done the exclusive spirit of both Universities was roused to a pitch of violent excitement, and in the midst of the controversial storm the quiet voice of reason could not be heard. Mr. Stanley could not see why a man should sign the Thirty-Nine Articles in order to obtain a literary degree, and he deprecated the idea that such a subscription28 should be regarded as a mere29 matter of form. Sir Robert Peel was not yet prepared to carry out fully30 the principle of religious equality. The Bill, he argued, would give to Jews, infidels, and atheists a statutable right of demanding admission into our Universities. Dissenters had been freed from all civil disabilities by the repeal31 of the Test Acts, and the Roman Catholics by the Emancipation32 Act; a vast change had been effected in the constitution of Parliament by the Reform Act: and after all those concessions34, were they now to be deprived of an Established Church? What was the essence of an Established Church? What but the legislative35 recognition of it on the part of the State? Parliament was therefore entitled to say to the Dissenters, "With that legislative recognition you shall not interfere36." In a brief speech, full of sound sense, Lord Althorp showed the absurdity37 of those arguments and apprehensions38. The second reading of the Bill was carried by a majority of 321 to 194. It was opposed by the Speaker in committee, but having there received some amendments, it was read a third time and passed on the 28th of July by a majority of 164 against 75. In the Lords it was denounced by the Duke of Gloucester, Chancellor39 of the University of Cambridge, who moved that it be read a second time that day six months. He was followed by the Duke of Wellington, Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Lord Brougham ably defended the measure, but in vain. The Bill was rejected by a majority of 187 against 85. An attempt made by Lord Althorp to abolish church-rates, and to grant in lieu thereof the sum of ￡250,000 from the land-tax, to effect a[376] commutation of tithes, and to allow Dissenters to get married in their own chapels40, was equally unsuccessful.
On the 15th of August Parliament was prorogued41 by the king in person. The Speech referred to the postponement42 of a final settlement between Holland and Belgium, which his Majesty43 regretted. He expressed lively satisfaction at the termination of the civil war in Portugal, and disappointment at the recurrence44 of disorders45 in Spain. He alluded46 with satisfaction to the numerous and important questions that had engaged the attention of Parliament, more especially the amendment of the Poor Laws, and the establishment of a central court for the trial of offenders47 in the metropolis48 and its vicinity. The important subjects of jurisprudence and the reform of municipal corporations remained to be considered in the next Session.
Immediately on the rising of Parliament O'Connell published a violent attack in the form of a letter to Lord Duncannon. This was taken up by Lord Brougham in the course of an oratorical49 tour which he was making through Scotland, and a mutual50 exchange of compliments ensued. Unfortunately the Chancellor's eccentricity51 did not stop there. Earl Grey was not permitted to retire into private life without some popular recognition of his great public services. On the 15th of September a grand banquet was given in Edinburgh in honour of this illustrious statesman. "Probably," says a contemporary chronicle, "no Minister in the zenith of his power ever before received so gratifying a tribute of national respect as was paid on this occasion to one who had not only retired52 from office, but retired from it for ever. The popular enthusiasm, both in the capital and other parts of Scotland, was extreme, which the noble earl sensibly felt, and gratefully acknowledged as among the proudest circumstances of his life. The dinner took place in a large pavilion, erected53 for the occasion in the area of the High School, and was provided for upwards54 of 1,500 persons, more than 600 having been admitted after the removal of the cloth. The principal speakers were Earl Grey, the Lord Chancellor, and the Earl of Durham. Earl Grey and the Lord Chancellor, in their speeches, said they considered that the Reform in Parliament afforded the means by which all useful improvements might be obtained without violence. Both advocated a deliberate and careful, but steady course of amelioration and reform, and both derided56 the idea of a reaction in favour of Tory principles of government. The Earl of Durham avowed57 his opinions in favour of the ballot58 and household suffrage59, and declared that he should regret every hour which left ancient and recognised abuses unreformed." This involved the Lord Chancellor in a new controversy60 in which more personalities61 were exchanged.
On the 9th of August, 1834, a fire broke out in part of the Dublin Custom House, one of the finest buildings in the United Kingdom. Owing to the immense quantity of combustible62 materials, the fierceness of the conflagration63 was something terrific. By great exertion64 the building was saved. This fire naturally produced a great sensation throughout the United Kingdom, but it was nothing in comparison to the interest excited by the burning of the two Houses of Parliament, which occurred on the 16th of October, 1834. According to the report of the Lords of the Privy65 Council, who inquired into the cause of the fire, the tally-room of the exchequer66 had been required for the temporary accommodation of the Court of Bankruptcy67, and it was necessary to get rid of a quantity of the old exchequer tallies68, which had accumulated till they would have made about two cartloads. These tallies had been used for kindling69 the fires. On one occasion a quantity of them was burned in Tothill Fields. There had been a question as to the best mode of getting rid of them, and it was ultimately resolved that they should be carefully and gradually consumed in the stoves of the House of Lords. But the work had been committed to workmen who were the reverse of careful. They heaped on the fuel, nearly filling the furnaces, and causing a blaze which overheated the flues. The housekeeper70 of the Lords' chamber71 sent to them several times during the day, complaining of the smoke and heat, but they assured her there was no danger. About four o'clock in the afternoon two strangers were admitted to see the House of Lords, and found the heat and smoke so stifling72, that they were led to examine the floor, when they perceived that the floor-cloth was "sweating." At six o'clock the pent-up flames broke forth73 through the windows, and immediately the alarm was spread in all directions. The Ministers, the king's sons, Mr. Hume, and others, were presently on the spot, and did all they could in the consternation74 and confusion. The law courts were saved by having their roofs stripped off, and causing the engines to play on the interior. The greatest efforts were made to save Westminster Hall, which was happily preserved; but the two Houses of Parliament were[377] completely destroyed, together with the Commons' library, the Lords' painted chamber, many of the committee rooms, part of the Speaker's house, the rooms of the Lord Chancellor and other law officers, as well as the kitchen and eating-rooms. The king promptly75 offered Parliament the use of Buckingham Palace; but it was thought best to fit up temporary rooms on the old site, and to have them ready for next Session. The committee of the Privy Council sat for several days, and during the whole of that time the fire continued to smoulder among the débris, and in the coal vaults76, while the engines were heard to play from day to day within the boarded avenues. As soon as possible the temporary halls were prepared. The House of Lords was fitted up for the Commons, and the painted chamber for the Lords, at an expense of ￡30,000.
BURNING OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. (See p. 376.)
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The Ministry had, as a matter of course, been much weakened by the retirement77 of Lord Grey; but, having got through the Session, it might have survived to the next meeting of Parliament but for the death of Earl Spencer, which occurred on the 10th of November—an event which removed Lord Althorp to the House of Peers. It was supposed that this would lead only to a fresh modification78 of the Cabinet, by a redistribution of places. For example, Lord John Russell was to succeed Lord Althorp as the leader of the House of Commons. Lord Melbourne's Administration seemed to be quietly acquiesced79 in, as sufficient for a time; the nation evidently assuming that, in any case, a Liberal Government was the necessary consequence of a reformed Parliament. The public were therefore startled when it was announced on the 15th that the king had dismissed his Ministers. It appeared that Lord Melbourne had waited upon his Majesty at Brighton, on the 14th, to take his commands as to the new arrangements he was about to make. But the king said he considered that Government dissolved by the removal of Lord Althorp; that he did not approve of the intended construction of the Cabinet; that Lord John Russell would make "a wretched figure" as leader of the House, and that Abercromby and Spring-Rice were worse than Russell; that he[378] did not approve of their intended measure with regard to the Irish Church; and concluded by informing Lord Melbourne that he would not impose upon him the task of completing the Ministerial arrangements, but would send for the Duke of Wellington.
Melbourne returned to town that evening, the bearer of a letter to the Duke. He communicated the state of affairs to Brougham under pledge of secrecy80, but the Lord Chancellor promptly went to the Times and gave the editor a report of the circumstances, with the malicious81 addition—"The queen has done it all." The king, furious at the insult, came up to town, and dismissed his Ministers before their successors were appointed. Meanwhile, the Duke went to Brighton on Sunday, and advised the king to send for Sir Robert Peel, who was then in Italy. A messenger was immediately despatched, who in ten days arrived at Rome, and surprised Sir Robert Peel with the announcement of the king's wish that he should return to England forthwith. Next morning the right honourable83 baronet started for home, and arrived in London on the 9th of December. The Duke of Wellington details the circumstances of this Ministerial crisis in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham. According to his account, the death of the Earl Spencer, which removed Lord Althorp from the House of Commons, from the management of the Government business in that assembly, and from the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, occasioned the greatest difficulty and embarrassment85. His personal influence and weight in the House of Commons were the main foundation of the strength of the late Government; and upon his removal it was necessary for the king and his Ministers to consider whether fresh arrangements should be made to enable his Majesty's late servants to conduct the affairs of the country, or whether it was advisable for his Majesty to adopt any other course. The arrangements in contemplation must have reference, not only to men, but to measures, to some of which the king felt the strongest objection. He had also strong objections to some of the members of the Cabinet. The Duke was therefore requested to form an Administration, but he earnestly recommended Sir Robert Peel as the fittest man for the office of Prime Minister. In the meanwhile he offered to hold the offices of First Lord of the Treasury86 and Home Secretary until Sir Robert Peel's return, Lord Lyndhurst holding the Great Seals temporarily, subject, with all the other arrangements, to Sir Robert Peel's approbation87. On the 21st Lord Lyndhurst was gazetted as Lord Chancellor, holding in the interim88 his office of Chief Baron84 of the Exchequer, which Lord Brougham, dreading89 the prospect90 of idleness, offered to fill without salary, thus saving the country ￡12,000 a year, an offer which exposed him to censure16 from his own party, and which he afterwards withdrew.
The plot thickened as it proceeded. It was suspected that the Conservative section of the Whigs wished for office, and that Sir Robert Peel wished to have them. Mr. Stanley (now Lord Stanley in consequence of the death of his grandfather, the Earl of Derby), Sir. J. Graham, and the Duke of Richmond had a meeting at the Duke of Sutherland's, to consider what they should do, in consequence of proposals made to them to join the Administration. But as they would not pledge themselves to forward Conservative measures to the extent required, Sir Robert Peel was obliged to form a Government of Tories exclusively. On the 10th of the month the arrangements were completed, and the following were announced as the members of the Cabinet:—First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Robert Peel; Lord Chancellor, Lord Lyndhurst; Privy Seal, Lord Wharncliffe; Secretary of the Home Department, Mr. Goulburn; Secretary of the Foreign Department, Duke of Wellington; Secretary of the Colonial Department, Lord Aberdeen; First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Ripon; Secretary for Ireland, Sir H. Hardinge; President of the Board of Control, Lord Ellenborough; President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint, Mr. Baring; Paymaster of the Forces, Mr. E. Knatchbull; Secretary at War, Mr. Herries; Master-General of the Ordnance91, Sir G. Murray.
Sir Robert Peel did all in his power to form out of the materials at his disposal a Ministry that should command the confidence of the country. On the 16th he issued an address to his constituents92 at Tamworth, in which he announced the policy that should guide the new Government. He declared his intention to correct all proved abuses and real grievances93; to preserve peace at home and abroad; to resist the secularisation of Church property in any part of the United Kingdom; to fulfil existing engagements with Foreign Powers; to observe a strict economy in the public expenditure95; and promised an impartial96 consideration of what was due to all interests, agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial. He said:—"With regard to the Reform Bill itself, I accept it as a final and irrevocable settlement of a great[379] constitutional question; a settlement which no friend to the peace and welfare of the country would attempt to disturb either by direct or insidious97 means. I will carry out its intentions, supposing those to imply a careful review of old institutions, undertaken in a friendly spirit, and with a purpose of improvement."
The first Reform Parliament was dissolved by proclamation on the 30th of December, after an existence of only one year and eleven months. This proceeding98 was regarded by the Reformers as a sort of political sacrilege; a manifest flying in the face of the people; a clear declaration of an intention to destroy popular rights. But the care bestowed99 on the registries told strongly in favour of the Conservatives at the English elections. The exertions100 they made to secure a majority were immense. It was believed at the time that the Carlton Club had expended101 nearly a million sterling102 in securing the success of their candidates in every possible way in which money could be made available. In the counties and boroughs103 the Whigs and Radicals104 lost about 100 seats, but after all the Conservatives could muster105 only 302 members; against 356. The contests were unusually numerous and severe, but the Reform Act machinery106 worked so well that the elections were for the most part conducted in a very orderly manner. In many places the closeness of the poll was remarkable107. It was a neck and neck race between the rival candidates. In the metropolitan108 boroughs the Ministerialists were everywhere defeated. Not one of the sixteen seats in this vast centre of influence could the Government, with all its lavish109 expenditure, obtain. In some of the provincial110 towns, however—Bristol, Exeter, Newcastle, Hull111, York, Leeds, Halifax, and Warrington—a Tory supplanted112 a Whig. At Liverpool the contest was intensely exciting. During the last hour of polling were seen in every direction vans, gigs, and flies in rapid motion, and the price of a vote rose from ￡15 to ￡25. The result was the return of Lord Sandon, a moderate Tory; Sir Howard Douglas, the other Conservative candidate, being defeated by Mr. Ewart. In Lancashire and Hampshire both the Liberal candidates were defeated. Manchester, Birmingham, Bolton, Sheffield, Preston, and most of the manufacturing towns, returned Liberals. On the whole, the Government had a small majority of the five hundred English members. In Scotland, however, the Reform Act had wrought113 a complete revolution, and the mass of the electors so long excluded from political power used the privileges they had obtained with great zeal114 in favour of the party to which they were indebted for their enfranchisement115. The whole of the burghs, twenty in number, returned Liberal members. Five of the counties were gained by the Tories and three by the Whigs, where respectively they had formerly117 failed. Glasgow, whose voice had been neutralised by returning one representative of each party, now returned two Liberals. Serious disturbances118 took place at Jedburgh when Lord John Scott, the Tory candidate, made his appearance. At Hawick, in the same county, the rioting was still worse. The persons who came to vote for him were spit upon, pelted119 with stones, and severely120 struck. In some cases they were thrown into the stream that runs through the town, and subjected to the most shocking indignities121, which the judges who afterwards tried the cases declared to be "worse than death itself."
But the new Government met its Nemesis122 in Ireland. O'Connell and the priests were resolved that, so far as in them lay, Protestant ascendency should not be re-established in that country. The Anti-Tory Association was but one of many names and forms which the Protean123 agitation had assumed, and all were brought to bear with concentrated power upon every point to secure the defeat of the Ministerial candidates. Minor124 differences were sunk for the occasion, and all forces were combined against the Government. The consequence was that amongst the large constituencies the cause of Reform was almost everywhere successful. In Kerry, in Meath, in Youghal, and Tralee, the candidates returned were the sons and nephew of O'Connell. He himself stood a severe contest for Dublin, and was returned with Mr. Ruthven, but was unseated on petition. It was during this contest that he recommended that a "death's head and cross-bones" should be painted on the door of every elector who would support the "nefarious125 and blood-stained" tithe system.
It was the tremendous exertions of O'Connell and his followers126 that secured the triumph of the Liberal party in this memorable127 struggle. The first trial of strength was on the election of a Speaker. Parliament met on the 19th of February, 1835, and Lord Francis Egerton, one of the members for Lancashire, moved that Sir C. Manners Sutton, who for eighteen years had filled the chair with the unanimous approbation of all parties in the House, should be re-elected. Mr. Denison, one of the members for Surrey, proposed Mr. Abercromby, a gentleman of high position at[380] the bar, and member for the city of Edinburgh. The division, it was felt on both sides, would be decisive as to the fate of the Government, by showing whether or not it was supported by a majority of the new Parliament which was the response given to the Prime Minister's appeal to the country. The house was the fullest on record, there being 626 members present. Mr. Abercromby was elected by a majority of ten, the numbers being 316 to 306. Sir Charles Sutton was supported by a majority of the English members—23, but his opponent had a majority of ten of the Scottish. Still, had the decision been in the hands of the British representatives, Government would have had a majority of 13; but of the Irish members only 41 voted for Sutton, while 61 voted for Abercromby. From this memorable division two things were evident to the Tories, in which the future of England for the next half century was to them distinctly foreshadowed; the first was, that the Ministry was entirely128, on party questions, at the mercy of the Irish Catholic members; the second, that the county members of the whole empire were outvoted by the borough19 members in the proportion of 35 to 20, and that a large majority of the former had declared for the Conservative side.
It was stated that the overthrow129 of Peel's Government was decided130 by what was called the Lichfield House compact, which made a great noise at the time. By this compact it was alleged that a formal coalition had been effected between the Whigs and the Irish Catholics; but they denied that there was anything formal about the arrangement. There was a meeting, it is true, at Lichfield House, when Lord John Russell stated his intentions, and described what would be his Parliamentary tactics. These met the approval of O'Connell and his friends, and to that extent alone, even by implication, did any compact exist. There had also, it appears from Mr. Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell," been certain pour-parlers, the result of a formal circular issued by Lord Duncannon. Mr. O'Connell was accustomed to explain his reason for supporting the Whigs by a comparison which was not the most complimentary131 to them; he said they were like an old hat thrust into a broken pane132 to keep out the cold.
Sir Robert Peel hoped that by earnestly promoting practical reforms, and improving the institutions of the country in the spirit of his manifesto, he would gradually conciliate a number of members of independent position and moderate views, so that he might be able to secure a working majority. He therefore did not resign when defeated in the first trial of strength on the election of a Speaker; and the same consideration induced him to hold his ground when he was defeated on the amendment to the Address. The House of Commons met for the despatch82 of business on the 24th of February. The Speech from the Throne, after lamenting133 the destruction of the Houses of Parliament, congratulated the country on the prevalent commercial prosperity, which, however, was accompanied by a general depression of the agricultural interest. The king, therefore, recommended to the consideration of Parliament whether it might not be in their power, after providing for the exigencies134 of the public service, and consistently with the steadfast135 maintenance of the public credit, to devise a method for mitigating136 the pressure of those local charges which bore heavily on the owners and occupiers of land, and for distributing the burden of them more equally over other descriptions of property. When the Address was moved, an amendment was proposed by Lord Morpeth, which was designed to strike at the very existence of the new Ministry. It was not a direct censure upon their policy, or a formal declaration of want of confidence; but it affirmed a policy materially differing from that which had been announced by Sir Robert Peel. It expressed a hope that municipal corporations would be placed under vigilant137 popular control; that the undoubted grievances of the Dissenters would be considered; that abuses in the Church of England and Ireland would be removed; and it lamented139 the dissolution of Parliament as an unnecessary measure, by which the progress of these and other reforms had been interrupted and endangered. This hostile motion gave rise to a debate of intense earnestness, which lasted four nights. It was not easy to predict, during the course of the conflict, which side would be victorious140. Even the whippers-in were doubtful of the issue; but the contest ended in the triumph of the Liberals, who had a majority of seven, the numbers being 309 to 302. Of the English members, the Government had a majority of 32; and of the English and Scottish together, of 16; but in Ireland Sir Robert Peel's supporters were only 36, while the Liberals mustered141 59.
As Ministers did not resign on being placed in a minority the third time, rumours142 were industriously143 circulated by their opponents that they meant to rule the country despotically; that they were about to dissolve Parliament the second time, and had resolved to maintain the army on their[381] own responsibility, without the Mutiny Act. On the 2nd of March Lord John Russell, referring to these rumours, gave notice that he intended to bring forward the Irish Appropriation question, and the question of Municipal Reform. It was for a test of this kind that Sir Robert Peel waited. In the meantime he denied that he had any such intentions as those ascribed to him, and compelled Mr. Hume to withdraw his proposal to limit the supplies to three months. He promised that Government would bring in a Bill on the Irish Church; but it would adhere strictly144 to the principle that ecclesiastical property should be reserved for ecclesiastical purposes. He declared they would be prepared to remedy all real abuses when the report of the Commissioners145 appointed for their investigation147 was received.
LORD ALTHORP (3RD EARL SPENCER).
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On the 26th of March the Marquis of Chandos made an attempt to obtain some relief for the agricultural interest, which was then in a very depressed148 state, and the measure he proposed was the abolition149 of the malt tax, which brought in the sum of ￡4,812,000. Sir Robert Peel prophesied150 that if this tax were abolished they would be in for a property tax. He said: "My prophecy is, that if you repeal this tax you will make an income tax necessary; to that, be assured, you must come at last, if you repeal the malt tax. You will lay your taxes on articles of general consumption—on tobacco, on spirits, on wine—and you will meet with such a storm that will make you hastily recede151 from your first advances towards a substitute. To a property tax, then, you must come; and I congratulate you, gentlemen of the landed interest, on finding yourselves relieved from the pressure of the malt tax, and[382] falling on a good, comfortable property tax, with a proposal, probably, for a graduated scale. And you who represent the heavy land of this country, the clay soils—the soils unfit for barley—I felicitate you on the prospect that lies before you. If you think that the substitute will be advantageous152 to your interests, be it so; but do not—when hereafter you discover your mistake—do not lay the blame upon those who offered you a timely warning, and cautioned you against exchanging the light pressure of a malt duty for the scourge153 of a property tax." The motion was rejected by a majority of 350 to 192.
The Premier was at this time subjected to a great mortification154 in being compelled by the House of Commons, and public opinion out of doors, to cancel the appointment of the Marquis of Londonderry as ambassador to St. Petersburg. A deep sympathy with the oppressed Poles, and an abhorrence155 of the unrelenting despotism of Russia pervaded156 the public mind in the United Kingdom. The Marquis of Londonderry had distinguished157 himself by sympathies of an opposite kind, and had characterised the Poles as the Czar's rebellious158 subjects. It was generally felt that England could not be fairly represented at the Court of St. Petersburg by a man of such well-known sentiments. The press was loud in its condemnation159 of the appointment, and Mr. Sheil brought the subject before the House of Commons by moving that an Address be presented to his Majesty for a copy of the appointment. As Lord Stanley declared emphatically against the selection of the noble marquis for such a mission, it was evident that if Government had gone to a division they would have been defeated. Sir Robert Peel therefore gave way with a good grace, stating that the appointment had not been formally made out; and though the House seemed to be interfering160 unduly161 with the Royal Prerogative162, he would not advise his Majesty to persist in it. The motion was then withdrawn163, and when Lord Londonderry read the report of the debate in the papers next day, he immediately sent in his resignation. In announcing this in the House of Peers, he said: "Having but one object, and that to serve the king honestly and to the best of my ability, were I to depart from this country after what has passed in the House of Commons, I should feel myself, as a representative of his Majesty, placed in a new, false, and improper164 position. My efficiency would be impaired165, and it would be impossible for me to fill the office to which I have been called with proper dignity or effect. Upon these grounds, I have now to announce that no consideration will induce me to accept the office which his Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer on me."
Meanwhile, Sir Robert Peel applied166 himself with great energy and diligence to the legislative work that he had proposed for his Government. On the 17th he moved for leave to bring in a Bill to relieve Dissenters from the disabilities under which they laboured with regard to the law of marriage. It was felt to be a great grievance94 that Nonconformists could not be married except according to the rites167 of the Established Church, to which they had conscientious168 objections. Attempts had been made by the Whigs to relieve them, but in a hesitating manner, and with only a half recognition of the principle of religious equality. Sir Robert Peel took up the subject in a more liberal spirit and with more enlightened views. He proposed that, so far as the State had to do with marriage, it should assume the form of a civil contract only, leaving the parties to solemnise it with whatever religious ceremonies they chose. The Bill for this purpose met the approval of the House, and would have satisfied the Dissenters if Sir Robert Peel had remained in office long enough to pass it. All the committees of the preceding year were reappointed, in order to redeem169, as far as possible, the time lost by the dissolution. A measure was brought forward for the improvement of the resources of the Church of England, by turning some of the larger incomes to better account, and by creating two additional bishoprics, Ripon and Manchester. The Premier did not act towards the Dissenters in the same liberal spirit with regard to academic education as he did with regard to marriage. They were excluded from the privileges of the Universities; and yet when it was proposed to grant a charter to the London University, that it might be able to confer degrees, the Government opposed the motion for an Address to the king on the subject, and were defeated by a majority of 246 to 136.
On the 20th of March Sir Henry Hardinge brought forward the Ministerial plan for the settlement of the tithe question. It was proposed that in future tithes should be recoverable only from the head landlord, and that the owner should be entitled to recover only 75 per cent. of the amount, 25 per cent. being allowed for the cost of collection and the risk and liability which the landlord assumed. He might redeem it, if he wished, at twenty years' purchase, calculated upon[383] the diminished rate. The purchase-money was to be invested in land or otherwise for the benefit of the rectors and other tithe-owners. The arrears170 of 1834 were to be paid out of the residue171 of the million advanced from the Consolidated172 Fund, and the repayments173 of the clergy174 for the loans they had received were to be remitted175. There was a good deal of discussion on this plan, Lord John Russell contending that it was the same in substance as the one brought forward last Session by the late Government. There was, however, some difference between the two measures. In the former, the landlords were to get two-fifths, or ￡40, out of every ￡100, securing to the clergy 77? per cent., and involving an annual charge of 17? per cent. on the Consolidated Fund. This was the shape the measure had assumed as the result of amendments carried in committee. The Ministerial resolution was carried by a majority of 213 to 198.
But all this was but preliminary to the great battle which commenced on the 30th of this month and decided the fate of the Ministry. Lord John Russell, after the House had been called over, moved, "That the House should resolve itself into a committee of the whole House, to consider the temporalities of the Church of Ireland, with a view of applying any surplus of the revenues not required for the spiritual care of its members to the general education of all classes of the people, without distinction of religious persuasion176." This resolution was skilfully177 framed to secure the support of all the Liberal party, and of the English Dissenters as well as the Irish Catholics; all of them being able to agree upon it, and to act together without inconsistency, though each might act from different motives178 and with different objects. The discussion was particularly interesting, as it turned very much upon the great question of religious establishments. Lord John Russell, Lord Howick, and Mr. Sheil, while fully admitting that an establishment tends to promote religion and to preserve good order, contended that it ought not to be maintained where it fails to secure these objects, and that it must always fail when, as in Ireland, the members of the Established Church are only a minority of the nation, while the majority, constituting most of the poorer classes, are thrown upon the voluntary system for the support of their clergy. Concurring179 with Paley in his view of a Church establishment—that it should be founded upon utility, that it should communicate religious knowledge to the masses of the people, that it should not be debased into a State engine or an instrument of political power,—they demanded whether the Church of Ireland fulfilled these essential conditions of an establishment. They asked whether its immense revenues had been employed in preserving and extending the Protestant faith in Ireland. In the course of something more than a century it was stated that its revenues had increased sevenfold, and now amounted to ￡800,000 a year. Had its efficiency increased in the same proportion? Had it even succeeded in keeping its own small flocks within the fold? On the contrary, they adduced statistics to show a lamentable180 falling off in their numbers.
Such being the facts of the case, the Liberals came to the conclusion that a reform was inevitable181. In order to adapt the Establishment to the requirements of the Protestant population, there must be a large reduction, and the surplus funds that remained ought to be applied to some object by which the moral and religious instruction of the people would be promoted. The least objectionable mode in which the money could be applied was the general education of the poor under the National Board, by which children of all denominations could be educated in harmony together, as they had been ever since its establishment. The reformers denied that there was any analogy between the revenues of the Established Church and private property. The Acts of Parliament securing those revenues had all treated them as being held in trust for the benefit of the nation; and after leaving ample means for the due execution of the trust, so far as it was really practicable, the Legislature was competent to apply the balance in accomplishing by other agency than the Protestant clergy, to some extent at least, the objects originally contemplated182 by the founders183 of the religious endowments.
The case of the Irish Church was stated by Sir Robert Peel, Lord Stanley, and Sir James Graham, who argued that its revenues were greatly exaggerated, subjected to heavy drawbacks and deductions184. The vestry cess had been abolished. A tax exclusively borne by the clergy of three to fifteen per cent. had been laid upon all livings, and the Church Temporalities Act provided that in all parishes in which service had not been performed from 1830 to 1833, when a vacancy185 occurred, there should be no reappointment, and the revenues of that living, after paying a curate, should be destined186 to other parishes differently situated187, but for purposes strictly Protestant. Here was a provision already made for the[384] progressive diminution188 or extinction189 of the Episcopal Church in those districts where it was not called for, and could be of no utility. Whence, then, the anxiety to take away a surplus, which probably would not exceed ￡100,000 a year, from a Church already subjected to such heavy and exclusive burdens? It was not pretended that the object of this appropriation was to apply the income seized to the payment of the National Debt, or that it was justified190 by State necessity. They argued that if the appropriation clause, as now shaped, once passed into law, not only would the Protestant faith cease to be the established religion in Ireland, but the measure would be fatal to the Established Church in England also. In fact, the Conservatives contended that this was only the first of a series of measures avowedly191 intended to annihilate192 the Protestant Establishment. O'Connell proposed to confiscate193 the property of the Church, in order to relieve the land from its appropriate burdens, and to exempt194 it from the support of the poor. They argued, therefore, that on no reasonable ground could it be maintained that this concession33 to Irish agitation could have any other effect than stimulating195 the agitators196 to make fresh demands.
LICHFIELD HOUSE, ST. JAMES'S SQUARE, LONDON.
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The debate lasted four nights, and was kept up with the greatest spirit and vigour197. The division was taken between three and four o'clock in the morning, when it was found that in a House of 611 members the numbers were—for the motion, 322; against it, 289; leaving the Government in a minority of 33. A Cabinet Council was held on the following day, when it was unanimously resolved to await the result of the debate on the Irish Tithe question on the same evening. Lord John Russell, on the report of the committee being brought up, moved the following resolution:—"That it is the opinion of this House that no measure upon the subject of tithes in Ireland can lead to a satisfactory and final adjustment which does not embody198 the principle contained in the foregoing resolution." He referred to the principle of the appropriation clause. On this an animated debate followed, which lasted till one o'clock in the morning. When the House divided,[385] it was found that the resolution was carried by a majority of twenty-seven; the numbers being—ayes, 285; noes, 258. As these divisions took place on a question of vital policy, Sir Robert Peel had no alternative but to resign. Accordingly, he announced his decision in the House next day. After the extraordinary efforts that he had made, and considering the circumstances in which he had been called upon to assume the reins199 of Government, it must have been very painful to him to be thus cut short in his patriotic200 labours; but he bore the disappointment with admirable spirit, and retired from his position so gracefully201 that he was warmly cheered from all parts of the House.
SIR ROBERT PEEL.
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It may be as well to dispose here of the Irish Church question; for although Lord Morpeth, on the part of the Melbourne Administration, brought in a Bill for settling the Tithe question, which passed the House of Commons by a majority of 26 votes, and contained the appropriation clause—in the House of Lords this clause was struck out, and the Bill was otherwise altered in committee so materially that, when sent back to the Commons, they scarcely knew their own offspring. The Bill was therefore disowned, and thrown out.
When Sir Robert Peel delivered up the seals of office, the first thing the king did was to send for Earl Grey, who declined the task of forming an Administration. He advised his Majesty to entrust202 it to Viscount Melbourne. The business, therefore, devolved upon Melbourne, and he hastened to complete it out of such materials as he had at his command. These were substantially the same as those which composed his former Administration. Lord Brougham, however, was now left out, as Lord Melbourne, in a series of plain-spoken letters, had already informed him he would be; also Lord Althorp, who, being in the Upper House[386] as Earl Spencer, did not seem to have any ambition for the toils204 and honours of office. Lord Howick, the eldest205 son of Earl Grey, became a member of the Cabinet. There was no Lord Chancellor appointed for the present, out of consideration for Brougham's feelings. The Great Seal was put in commission, the three Commissioners being the Master of the Rolls, the Vice-Chancellor, and Mr. Justice Bosanquet. The offices were distributed as follows:—Lord Melbourne, Premier; the Marquis of Lansdowne, President of the Council; Lord Palmerston, Foreign Secretary; Lord John Russell, Home Secretary; Mr. Charles Grant, Colonial Secretary; Mr. Spring-Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Viscount Duncannon, Lord Privy Seal and Chief Commissioner146 of Woods and Forests; Lord Auckland, First Lord of the Admiralty; Sir John Hobhouse, President of the Indian Board; Mr. Poulett Thompson, President of the Board of Trade; Lord Howick, Secretary-at-War; Lord Holland, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The appointments not in the Cabinet were—Sir Henry Parnell, Paymaster of the Forces; Mr. Charles Wood, Secretary to the Admiralty; Sir George Grey, Under-Secretary of the Colonies; the Honourable Fox Maule, Under-Secretary for the Home Department; Mr. Labouchere, Vice-President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint; Attorney-General, Sir John Campbell; Solicitor-General, Mr. Rolfe. The Irish appointments were—The Earl of Mulgrave, Lord-Lieutenant; Lord Morpeth, Chief Secretary; Lord Plunket, Chancellor.
The change of Ministers and some additions to the peerage caused several elections. Mr. Littleton was raised to the Upper House with the title of Lord Hatherton, and Mr. Charles Grant as Lord Glenelg. They were promptly replaced by Conservatives. Lord John Russell having lost his election for South Devon, Colonel Fox made way for him at Stroud, which borough continued to furnish a seat for the noble lord during many years. Lord Palmerston had been defeated in Hampshire at the general election; but Mr. Kennedy retired to make way for him at Tiverton, which had the honour of being represented by the Foreign Secretary until his death. Lord Morpeth had to stand a severe contest in Yorkshire, but he was returned by a large majority.
On the 8th of April the dissolution of the Peel Administration took place, and on the 18th Lord Melbourne announced the completion of his arrangements. On that occasion Lord Alvanley asked the Premier if he had secured the assistance of Mr. O'Connell and his friends, and if so, upon what terms. Lord Melbourne answered that he did not coincide in opinion with Mr. O'Connell; that he had taken no means to secure his support; that he gave the most decided negative to Lord Alvanley's question; adding, "And if he has been told anything to the contrary, he has been told what is false, and without foundation." In the House of Commons, a few days after, Colonel Sibthorpe spoke203 of O'Connell as the prompter and adviser206 of the new Ministry, and said: "I do not like the countenances208 of the honourable gentlemen opposite, for I believe them to be the index of their minds, and I will oppose them on every point, from the conviction that they could not bring forward anything that would tend to benefit the country. I earnestly hope that we shall have a safe and speedy riddance from such a band." This escapade roused the ire of O'Connell, who instantly rose and said that he thought the gallant209 colonel's countenance207 was, at all events, as remarkable as any upon the Ministerial benches. He would not abate210 him a single hair in point of good-humour. "Elsewhere," he said, "these things may be treated in a different style. There is no creature—not even a half-maniac or a half-idiot—that may not take upon himself to use that language there which he would know better than to make use of elsewhere; and the bloated buffoon211 ought to learn the distinction between independent men and those whose votes are not worth purchasing, even if they were in the market."
O'Connell was promptly challenged by Alvanley, and declined the combat. But his second son, Morgan, was resolved not to let the matter rest. As soon as he heard of the proceedings212, he wrote to Lord Alvanley a very spirited letter, in which he designated the challenge as a party man?uvre, with no other object than to cast a stigma213 upon his father—upon the party to which he belonged, as well as upon the Government and its supporters. He denounced the proceeding as a wretched man?uvre—as an utterly214 ungentlemanly and braggadocio215 mode of carrying on party warfare216. He adopted his father's insulting language, not, he said, in the vain hope of inducing him to give satisfaction; but, lest he should be wrong in that surmise217, he intimated that he was at his lordship's service. This letter was conveyed through Colonel Hodges. The result was that the parties met at Arlington Street, when they arranged to have a meeting at a short distance beyond the turnpike next the Regent's Park, on the Barnet[387] Road. The ground was measured at twelve paces; the parties took their positions; the word was given, "Ready—fire." O'Connell fired, but Lord Alvanley did not, owing to a mistake, and claimed the right to fire, which was refused. Both parties fired two rounds more without effect, each satisfied that the other had acted with perfect fairness. There was no apology made on either side.
Mr. Morgan O'Connell soon found that he had no sinecure218 in undertaking219 to give satisfaction with the pistol for all his father's violations220 of the code of honour. Shortly after, Mr. Daniel O'Connell referred, in strong language, to an attack made upon him by Mr. Disraeli at Taunton:—"In the annals of political turpitude221, there is not anything deserving the appellation222 of black-guardism to equal that attack upon me.... He possesses just the qualities of the impenitent223 thief who died upon the Cross; whose name, I verily believe, must have been Disraeli. For aught I know, the present Disraeli is descended224 from him; and with the impression that he is, I now forgive the heir-at-law of the blasphemous225 thief who died upon the Cross." When Mr. Disraeli read this tremendous philippic, he wrote to Mr. Morgan O'Connell for satisfaction, which the latter denied his right to demand. He had not seen the attack, nor was he answerable for his father's words, though he had taken up his quarrel with Lord Alvanley. Not being able to get satisfaction by means of pistols, he had recourse to the pen; and, certainly, if O'Connell's attack was violent, the retaliation226 was not of the meekest227. However, ink alone was spilt.
Lord Melbourne on announcing the completion of his arrangements made a general statement of his policy. In forming his Cabinet he had had to contend with difficulties "peculiarly great and arduous229, and some of them of a severe and mortifying230 nature." He had no change of policy to declare. "His Government would be based upon the principles of a safe, prudent231, and truly efficient reform—principles the tendency of which was not to subvert232 or endanger, but, on the contrary, to improve, strengthen, and establish the institutions of the country; and in regard to ecclesiastical government, every measure contemplated in reference to that subject would have for its end the increase of true piety233 and religion through the whole of his Majesty's dominions234." From the disposition235 and character popularly ascribed to Lord Melbourne, it could not be expected that he should prove an energetic Reformer. The Earl of Derby mentions a saying of his which often escaped him as a member of Lord Grey's Cabinet. When they had to encounter a difficulty, he would say, "Can't you let it alone?" This accords with the portrait of him presented by Sydney Smith, in his second letter to Archdeacon Singleton.
Notwithstanding his careless manner, however, there was much sincerity236 in the nature of Lord Melbourne; and there is no doubt that he laboured with an honest purpose to make his Administration useful to the country, though not with so much activity and energy, or with such constant solicitude237 to secure success, as his predecessor238 had brought to the task. As it was now advancing towards the end of the Session, he confined his attention to two great measures of reform—the Irish Tithe question (of which we have already disposed) and the question of Municipal Reform. It is scarcely necessary to remark that abuses in corporations had been a matter of constant and general complaint for two centuries. But it was hopeless to expect a remedy so long as the Parliamentary representation was so inadequate239 and corrupt240. The rotten and venal241 boroughs, of which the franchise116 was abolished or amended242 by the Reform Act, were the chief seats of abuse. The correction of the local evil would have been the destruction of the system by which the ruling party in the State sustained its political power. There were, therefore, the most powerful interests at work, restraining each from attempting the work of reform; but by the Parliamentary Reform Act these interests were abolished, and those local fountains of corruption243 could no longer pour their fetid contents into the legislature. Statesmen now felt at liberty to abate those nuisances. Yet the work was not as speedily accomplished244 as might have been expected. It is true that Lord Grey advised the king to issue a commission of inquiry245 in July, 1833, but it was not until the 5th of June, 1835, that any measure was brought forward upon the subject. Even then Lord Melbourne had to overcome the dislike of the king, who distrusted the measure, and thought that, if the corporations were to be reformed at all, they had best be reformed by granting them new charters. The commission consisted of twenty gentlemen, who were to proceed with the utmost despatch to inquire as to the existing state of the municipal corporations in England and Wales, and to collect information respecting the defects in their constitution, to make inquiry into their jurisdiction246 and powers as to the administration of justice, and in all other[388] respects; and also into the mode of electing and appointing the members and officers of such corporations, into the privileges of the freemen and other members thereof, and into the nature and management of the income, revenues, and funds of the said corporations. They divided the whole of England and Wales into districts, each of which was assigned to two commissioners. Their reports on individual corporations occupied five folio volumes. The whole was presented in a general report, signed by sixteen of the Commissioners.
The number of places in which the inquiries247 under the commission were carried on was 237, having a population of 2,028,513. In twenty-five places the number of corporators was not ascertained248; in the others (212) they amounted to 88,509. The governing body was self-elected in 186 boroughs. This body elected the mayor in 131 boroughs, appointed the recorder in 136, and the town-clerk in 135. The number of corporators exercising magisterial249 functions was 1,086, in 188 boroughs. In 112 boroughs the corporations had exclusive criminal jurisdiction, extending to the trial of various descriptions of offences, and in forty-two their jurisdiction was not exclusive. Seventeen boroughs did not enjoy any income whatever; in eight the precise amount could not be obtained. The total income of 212 boroughs amounted to ￡366,948; their expenditure to ￡377,027. 103 were involved in debts amounting to ￡1,855,371, and were besides burdened with annuities250 amounting to ￡4,463. In twenty-eight boroughs only were the accounts published; in fifteen the annual income was under ￡20; in eleven it was between ￡2,000 and ￡3,000; in five, ￡3,000, and under ￡4,000; in one, ￡4,000, and under ￡5,000; in four, ￡5,000, and under ￡7,500; in five, ￡10,000, and under ￡12,500; in one, ￡12,500, and under ￡15,000; in one, ￡15,000, and under ￡20,000; and in one, ￡91,000.
The measure, which was founded on the recommendations of the report, was advocated principally by Lord John Russell, Lord Melbourne, and Mr. C. Hobhouse. The plan was intended to provide for 183 corporations, extending to a population of at least 2,000,000. Many of these corporations governed large and important towns, of which they did not sufficiently251 represent the property, intelligence, and population. In Bedford the corporation composed only one in seventy of the people, and one-fortieth of the property. In Oxford there were only 1,400 electors, and seldom more than 500 voted at an election. In Norwich 315 of the electors were paupers252. In Cambridge there were only 118 freemen, out of a population of 20,000; and while the annual rental253 was more than ￡25,000, the property of freemen amounted to little more than ￡2,000. These were only samples of the strange anomalies that everywhere prevailed. It was obvious to every one that corporations so constituted were altogether unfitted for the objects which they were originally designed to answer. On the contrary, they tended directly to frustrate254 those objects, and to render the proper government of towns impracticable. They engendered255 jealousy256 and distrust between the small governing power and the body of the people. A few persons carrying on the government for their own benefit were connected with a portion of the lower classes, whose votes they purchased and whose habits they demoralised. With such a monopoly the grossest abuses were inevitable. Charitable funds, often large in amount, which had been left for the benefit of the whole people, were either lavishly257 distributed among the venal dependents of the governing body, squandered258 on civic259 feasts, or spent in bribing260 the freemen in order to secure their votes. In short, the general if not the universal practice had been to use the powers of municipal corporations, not for the good government or benefit of the towns over which they presided—not in order that they might be well and quietly governed in the terms of the charters, but for the sole purpose of establishing an interest which might be useful in the election of members of Parliament.
It was impossible to defend a system like this, and therefore the Conservatives offered no opposition261 to the principle of the Bill; their aim being to save as much as possible of the old system, which had rendered much more service to them than to the Whigs, and presented a number of barriers to the advance of democratic power. Sir Robert Peel, with Lord Stanley and Sir James Graham, who were now the ablest antagonists262 their former Whig colleagues had to encounter, pleaded powerfully for the delinquent263 boroughs; not for absolute acquittal, but for mitigation of punishment. They would not go the length of asserting that freemen were altogether immaculate; for of what body of electors could that be predicated? The question was not whether it was right to admit these men for the first time, but whether they should be deprived of the rights that they and their ancestors had enjoyed for centuries. The Reformers were the first to propose covertly264 and insidiously265, a great and important[389] change in the Reform Bill. What did they mean by first bringing in a Bill which was based on perpetuating266 the rights of freemen and recognising them as an integral part of the Constitution, and now, within three years, bringing in another intending to deprive them of their rights? Was not this a precedent267 for breaking up the final settlement, which might be followed on future occasions? Might not another Ministry deem it for their advantage to extinguish the ￡10 electors? And where was this to stop? Could it stop while a fragment remained of the Reform Act—the boasted second Charter of the people of England? If there were guilty parties, let them be punished. Let convicted boroughs be disfranchised; but let not whole bodies of electors be annihilated268 because some of their members may have been corrupt. Were the ￡10 voters perfectly269 immaculate? and, if not, on what principle were they spared, while the freemen were condemned270? The Whigs had created the Reform Act; but now—infatuated men!—they were about to lay murderous hands upon their own offspring.
THE MANSION271 HOUSE, LONDON, 1891.
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Thus argued the Conservatives, and not without effect, for the clause against disfranchising the freemen was carried only by a majority of twenty-eight; and in the passage through the Lords several important amendments were carried against the Government, owing chiefly to the vigorous opposition of Lord Lyndhurst. He proceeded to convert the Bill into what was called a Conservative arrangement, and when Peel's moderation was brought up against him, is said to have remarked, "Peel! What is Peel to me? D—— Peel!" On an amendment which he proposed—to omit the clause disfranchising the freemen—he defeated the Government by a majority of 93; the numbers being 130 to 37. He followed up this victory by a motion to secure to the freemen their Parliamentary franchise, which was carried without a division. The Commons thought it better to adopt some of these alterations, however repugnant to their feelings, rather than lose the measure. The Bill, as amended, was accordingly passed on the 7th of September. London, with its numerous and wealthy incorporated guilds273, was reserved for future legislation, which the lavish hospitalities of the Mansion House and Guildhall[390] postponed274 to a later date than municipal reformers then thought of.
The Irish corporations were included in the inquiry, which commenced in 1833. The Irish Commissioners took for their local investigations275 the one hundred and seventeen places which had sent representatives to the Irish Parliament. They found everywhere the grossest abuses. By an Act of George II., residence had been dispensed276 with as a qualification for corporate272 offices. The effect of this was to deprive a large number of them of a resident governing body. In some cases a few, very rarely a majority, of the municipal council were inhabitants of the town. In others, the whole chartered body of burgesses were non-resident, and they attended as a mere matter of form, to go through the farce277 of electing members of Parliament, or for the purpose of disposing of the corporate property. In some boroughs the charter gave the nomination25 of a member of Parliament to the lord of the manor278 or some local proprietor279. In others the power of returning the Parliamentary representative was vested in a small self-elected body of freemen; almost invariably the power of nomination was actually possessed280 by the gentleman known as the "patron" or "proprietor," who could dispose of the seat as he thought proper, and if not reserved for himself or some member of his family, it was sold for the highest price it would bring in the market—treated in every respect as absolute property, which was transmitted, like the family estate, from father to son. This property was fully recognised at the union, and it was by buying it up at an exceedingly liberal price that Lord Castlereagh was enabled to carry that measure. By the Act of union a large number of those rotten corporations, some of which had not even a hamlet to represent, were swept away. But a considerable number remained, and of these the Commissioners of inquiry remarked:—"This system deserves peculiar228 notice in reference to your Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects. In the close boroughs they are almost universally excluded from all corporate privileges. In the more considerable towns they have rarely been admitted even as freemen, and, with few exceptions, they are altogether excluded from the governing bodies. In some—and among these is the most important corporation in Ireland, that of Dublin—their admission is still resisted on avowed principles of sectarian distinction. The exclusive spirit operates far more widely and more mischievously281 than by the mere denial of equal privileges to persons possessing perfect equality of civil worth; for in places where the great mass of the population is Roman Catholic—and persons of that persuasion are for all efficient purposes excluded from corporate privileges—the necessary result is that the municipal magistracy belongs entirely to the other religious persuasions282; and the dispensation of local justice, and the selection of juries being committed to the members of one class exclusively, it is not surprising that such administration of the law should be regarded with distrust and suspicion by the other and more numerous body."
In pursuance of this report, Mr. O'Loughlin, the Irish Attorney-General, introduced a Bill, early in the Session of 1836, for the better regulation of Irish corporations. There still remained, he said, 71 corporations, which included within their territories a population of 900,000, while the number of corporators was only 13,000. Of these, no less than 8,000 were to be found in four of the larger boroughs, leaving only 5,000 corporators for the remaining 67 corporations, containing above 500,000 inhabitants. So exclusive had they been, that though, since 1792, Roman Catholics were eligible283 as members, not more than 200 had ever been admitted. In Dublin the principle of exclusion284 was extended to the great majority of Protestants of wealth, respectability, and intelligence. In a word, the Attorney-General said that the management of corporations, and the administration of justice in their hands, was nothing but a tissue of injustice285, partisanship286, and corruption. He concluded by laying down a plan of Reform which would assimilate the Irish corporations to those of England. On the part of the Conservatives it was admitted that the greater part of the corporations in Ireland were created by James I., avowedly as guardians287 of the Protestant interests, and to favour the spread of the Protestant religion; and that ancient and venerable system this Bill would annihilate—a revolution against which they solemnly protested, even though it covered many abuses which had crept into it during the lapse288 of time. They were quite appalled289 at the prospect of the evils that this Bill would produce. Borough magistrates290 were to be elected by popular suffrage. What a source of discord291 and animosity! First, there would be the registration292 of the voters, then the election of the town councillors, and then the election of the mayor, aldermen, and town clerks. What a scene would such a state of things present! How truly was it said that the boroughs would be the normal[391] schools of agitation! Then what was to become of the corporate property, which yielded an income of ￡61,000, while the expenditure was only ￡57,000, and the debt charged on it only ￡133,000? Was all this property to be placed under the control of the priests, whose influence would determine the elections?
The second reading of the Bill was not opposed, but Lord Francis Egerton, with Sir Robert Peel's concurrence293, moved that the committee should be empowered to make provision for the abolition of corporations in Ireland, and for securing the efficient and impartial administration of justice, and the peace and good government of the cities and towns in that country. The Tories thought it better that there should be no corporations at all, than that their privileges should be enjoyed by the Roman Catholics. The motion was lost by a majority of 307 to 64, and the Bill ultimately passed the Lower House by a majority of 61. In the Upper House a motion similar to that of Lord Francis Egerton was moved by Lord Fitzgerald, and carried in a full House by a majority of 84. Other amendments were carried, and it was sent back to the Commons so changed that it was difficult to trace its identity. Lord John Russell said that it contained little or nothing of what was sent up: out of 140 clauses, 106 had been omitted or altered, and 18 new ones introduced. He moved that the amendments of the Lords be rejected, and that the Bill be sent back to the Upper House. The motion was carried by a majority of 66, the numbers being 324 to 258. But the Lords refused by a majority of 99 to undo138 their work; and upon the Bill being returned to the Lower House in the same state, Lord John Russell got rid of the difficulty by moving that the Bill should be considered that day three months.
Notwithstanding the hopes which might have been fairly entertained that the measure of Reform would have been rendered complete throughout the kingdom, a considerable time elapsed before its benefits were extended to the sister country; and a large amount of persevering294 exertion was required before a measure for the purpose was carried through Parliament, although its necessity was unquestionable. This arose from certain difficulties which it was not found easy to overcome, so as to meet the views, or, at least, to secure the acquiescence295, of the various parties in the House. And hence it happened that it was not until 1840 that an Act was passed for the regulation of municipal corporations in Ireland, after repeated struggles which had to be renewed from year to year, and the question was at length only settled by a sort of compromise. On the 7th of February, 1837, Lord John Russell moved for leave to bring in the Irish Municipal Bill, which was passed by a majority of 55; but the consideration of it was adjourned296 in the Peers till it was seen what course Ministers were to adopt with regard to the Irish Tithe Bill. Early in 1838 the Bill was again introduced, when Sir Robert Peel, admitting the principle by not opposing the second reading, moved that the qualification should be ￡10. The motion was lost, but a similar one was made in the Upper House, and carried by a majority of 60. Other alterations were made, which induced Lord John Russell to relinquish297 his efforts for another year. In 1839 he resumed his task, and the second reading was carried by a majority of 26. Once more Sir Robert Peel proposed the ￡10 qualification for the franchise, which was rejected in the Commons, but adopted in the Lords by nearly the same majorities as before. Thus baffled again, the noble lord gave up the measure for the Session. In February, 1840, the Bill was introduced by Lord Morpeth with a qualification of ￡8. Sir Robert Peel now admitted that a settlement of the question was indispensable. With his support the Bill passed the Commons by a majority of 148. It also passed the Lords, and on the 18th of August received the Royal Assent298.
Fortunately, Municipal Reform in Scotland did not give much trouble. It was accomplished almost without any discussion or party contention299. It was based upon the provisions of the Scottish Reform Bill, which settled the whole matter by the simple rule that the Parliamentary electors of every burgh should be the municipal electors; also that the larger burghs should be divided into wards55, each of which should send two representatives to the town council, chosen by the qualified300 electors within their respective bounds; and that the provost and bailies, corresponding to the English mayor and aldermen, should be chosen by the councillors, and invested with the powers of magistrates in the burgh. The functionaries301 were to be elected for three years, and then to make way for others elected in the same manner to succeed them. They were invested with the control and administration of all corporate property and patronage302 of every description.
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coercion
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tithes
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| n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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tithe
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| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
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4
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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5
manifesto
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| n.宣言，声明 | |
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6
appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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7
dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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9
amendments
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| （法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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11
premier
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| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 | |
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12
coalition
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| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
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alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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16
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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17
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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18
vacillation
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| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
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borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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21
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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22
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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23
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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24
denominations
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| n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称 | |
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nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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26
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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27
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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28
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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29
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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30
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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31
repeal
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| n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消 | |
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32
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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34
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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37
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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38
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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39
chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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41
prorogued
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| v.使（议会）休会( prorogue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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43
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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44
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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45
disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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48
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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49
oratorical
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| adj.演说的，雄辩的 | |
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50
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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51
eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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52
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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53
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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54
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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55
wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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56
derided
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| v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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58
ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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59
suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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60
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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61
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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62
combustible
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| a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物 | |
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63
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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64
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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65
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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66
exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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67
bankruptcy
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| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
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68
tallies
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| n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合 | |
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69
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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70
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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71
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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72
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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73
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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74
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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75
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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76
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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77
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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78
modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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79
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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81
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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82
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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83
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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84
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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85
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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86
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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87
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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88
interim
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| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
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89
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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90
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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91
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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92
constituents
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| n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素 | |
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93
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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94
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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95
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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96
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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97
insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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98
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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99
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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101
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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102
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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103
boroughs
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| （尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇 | |
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104
radicals
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| n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数 | |
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105
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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106
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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107
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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108
metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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109
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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110
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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111
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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112
supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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114
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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115
enfranchisement
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| 选举权 | |
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116
franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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117
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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118
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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119
pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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120
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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121
indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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122
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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123
protean
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| adj.反复无常的；变化自如的 | |
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124
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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125
nefarious
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| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
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126
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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127
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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128
entirely
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|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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129
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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130
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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131
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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132
pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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133
lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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134
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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135
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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136
mitigating
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| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 ) | |
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137
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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138
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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139
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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141
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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142
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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143
industriously
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144
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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145
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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146
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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147
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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148
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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149
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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150
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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152
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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153
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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154
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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155
abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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156
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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157
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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158
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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159
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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160
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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161
unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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162
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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163
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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164
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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167
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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168
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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169
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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170
arrears
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| n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作 | |
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171
residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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172
consolidated
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| a.联合的 | |
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173
repayments
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| 偿还，报答，偿付的钱物( repayment的名词复数 ) | |
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174
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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175
remitted
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| v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送 | |
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176
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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177
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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178
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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179
concurring
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| 同时发生的，并发的 | |
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180
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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181
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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182
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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183
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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184
deductions
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| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
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185
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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186
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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187
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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188
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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189
extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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190
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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191
avowedly
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| adv.公然地 | |
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192
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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193
confiscate
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| v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公 | |
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194
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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195
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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196
agitators
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| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
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197
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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198
embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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199
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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200
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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201
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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202
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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203
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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204
toils
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| 网 | |
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205
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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206
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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207
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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208
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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209
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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210
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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211
buffoon
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| n.演出时的丑角 | |
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212
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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213
stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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214
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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215
braggadocio
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| n.吹牛大王 | |
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216
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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217
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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218
sinecure
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| n.闲差事，挂名职务 | |
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219
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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220
violations
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| 违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸 | |
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221
turpitude
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| n.可耻；邪恶 | |
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222
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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223
impenitent
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| adj.不悔悟的，顽固的 | |
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224
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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225
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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226
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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227
meekest
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| adj.温顺的，驯服的( meek的最高级 ) | |
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228
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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229
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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230
mortifying
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| adj.抑制的，苦修的v.使受辱( mortify的现在分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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231
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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232
subvert
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| v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱 | |
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233
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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234
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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235
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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236
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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237
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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238
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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239
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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240
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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241
venal
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| adj.唯利是图的，贪脏枉法的 | |
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242
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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243
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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244
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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245
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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246
jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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247
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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248
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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249
magisterial
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| adj.威风的，有权威的；adv.威严地 | |
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250
annuities
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| n.养老金；年金( annuity的名词复数 )；（每年的）养老金；年金保险；年金保险投资 | |
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251
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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252
paupers
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| n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 )；贫民；贫穷 | |
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253
rental
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| n.租赁，出租，出租业 | |
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254
frustrate
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| v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦 | |
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255
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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256
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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257
lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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258
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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259
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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260
bribing
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| 贿赂 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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delinquent
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| adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者 | |
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covertly
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| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
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insidiously
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| 潜在地，隐伏地，阴险地 | |
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perpetuating
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| perpetuate的现在进行式 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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corporate
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| adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的 | |
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guilds
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| 行会，同业公会，协会( guild的名词复数 ) | |
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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282
persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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Partisanship
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| n. 党派性, 党派偏见 | |
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287
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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291
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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registration
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| n.登记，注册，挂号 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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functionaries
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| n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 ) | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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