Lord Liverpool and his Opponents Flashcards
What did Liverpool he planned to do in office?
‘endeavoured to make the principles of Mr Pitt chief guide of our politics conduct’
When did Liverpool’s government introduce the corn laws ?
1815
What did the corn laws do?
Excluded foreign grain corn until British corn reached 80s
What was national debt in 1793?
£238m
What was the national debt in 1816?
£902m
How much of gov. spending went to interest charges on the National Debt between 1816 and 1820?
£32 million per year (80% of gov.spending)
When was income tax repealed ?
1816
What did Liverpool do to the defense budget to reduce spending?
Decreased it by £340,000
How much did Liverpool reduce government salaries by?
10%
By what time did Liverpool’s government have a balanced budget?
1818
When was the Bullion committee established ?
1819
When did the Bullion Committee recommend returning to gold standard by?
1823 (in reality back by 1821)
When was the select committee of government finance established ?
1819
What did Liverpool say in terms of what kind of trade he wanted Britain to have?
‘unrestricted freedom of trade’
When did Liverpool suspend Habeas Corpus?
1817
When was machine breaking made a hanging offence ?
1812
Figures of death sentences given out 1811-1819
359 per year to 1206 per year
Figure of executions 1811-1819
45 to 108
When was the seditious meetings act repealed?
1824
What does Evans say to legitimise the revolutionary threat ?
‘An assassin’s bullet needs to hit the intended target only once’
How many troops did the government station in industrial areas in response to Luddism?
12,000
What did Southey call the period 1815-1820?
A period of ‘wretchedness, disaffection and political insecurity’
How many soldiers were demobilised at the end of the war?
300,000
When was the poor law made?
1601
What did Disraeli call Liverpool and his cabinet?
‘the Arch-Mediocrity who presided, rather than ruled, over this Cabinet of Mediocrities’
How did Gash describe Liverpool ?
‘even tempered’
Which Grenvillite did Liverpool promote to the cabinet ?
Charles Wynn
What was Charles Wynn’s position?
President of the Board of Control
When did Charles Wynn become president if the Board of Control?
1822
Which Prime Minister’s assassination led to Liverpool becoming Prime Minister ?
Perceval
What did the Secret committee say in February 1817?
The current ‘distress’ of the labouring classes has been used by dangerous radicals to attempt ‘a total other throw of all existing establishments’
What did Cobbet say?
‘I defy you to agitate a man with a full stomach’
What was liberal Toryism?
The name given to the second shorter half of Liverpool’s administration after 6 of the 13 cabinet positions were changed
What did Evans say about why Liberal Toryism should be treated with caution?
‘It is seductive, but misleading, to see the suicide of Castleraugh and the resignations of Sidmouyh and Vansjttarr as initiating a new more enlightened form of story government’
3 main points on why Liberal Toryism should be treated with caution
1) no conversion
2) remain anti-parliamentary reform
3) continuity
What motivated the cabinet changes in 1822-23?
1) Sidmouth and Vansittart resigned
2) Castleraugh committed suicide
3) wanted to improve orbital talents (Queen Caroline affair exposed lack of gifted speakers)
Who did Peel replace as Home Secretary in 1822?
Sidmouth
What were Peels previous qualifications?
1) chaired Bullion Committee
2) Chief Secretary for Ireland during union between GB and Ireland
What happened to Sidmouth after Peel replaces him as Home Secretary in 1822?
Became a minister without portfolio until 1825 (remained in cabinet with no responsibilities)
Who did Canning replace as Foreign Secretary?
Castlereagh
Evidence of cooperation between Canning and Castelraugh?
Strong evidence that Castleraugh had help from Canning on a state paper in May 1820
Who did Robinson replace as Chancellor of the Exchequer?
Vansittart
What happens to Vansittart after Robinson replaces him as Chancellor of the Exchequer?
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1823-1827)
Evidence for continuity on Board do trade
Wallace remains Vice President
What did Huskisson become in Jan 1823?
President of the Board of Trade
What did Robinson do?
Reduced many taxes (halved the window tax and reduced duties on foreign imports)
What did the Trade Reciprocity act of 1823 do?
Set the Maximum duty on imports at 30%
By how much did customs revenue increase between 1821 and 1827 as a result of Robinson and Huskisson’s reforms?
64%
How much higher during the 1820s than during the 1800s was the value of British
a) imports
b) exports
a) 33%
b) 81%
How much did GNP increase due to the reforms of Robinson and Vansittart?
Almost 17%
What difficulties was Peel facing ?
1) increase in the population
2) increase in crime rate due rural urban migration
3) poor enforcement of existing laws and penalties
When Peel become Home Secretary how many offences warranted the death penalty ?
200 (mainly trivial meaning there was a poor enforcement of existing laws)
When did Peel reduce the number of offences worthy of the death penalty ?
1823
When were the consolidating statutes passed ?
1826 and 1827
What did the first and second consolidating statutes do ?
1) aimed to improve administration of central justice
2) replaced 92 statutes on theft with 5
What percentage of the most common offences did the consolidators acts cover ?
80%
What did Peel do to laws relating to criminal offences 1825-1828?
Repealed then and replaced them with 8 new laws
When did Peel create the Metropolitan Police for London?
1829
When was the Banking crisis under Liverpool?
1825
Who founded the Catholic Association on 1825?
O’Conell
When was the Catholic Association formed?
1823
What were the dates of Liverpool’s time in office?
1812-1827
what instability proceeded Liverpool?
6 ministries in 12 years
what instability followed Liverpool?
4 ministries in 3 years
what did Boyd Hilton say the 5 years after Liverpool’s death were like?
‘The next five years [after Liverpool’s death] were characterised by ideological confrontation and political confusion’
why was Liverpool so conservative?
1) memories of 1789 remained vivid
2) he had witnessed the storming of the Bastille aged 19
3) his predecessor (Perceval) had been assassinated
what did Liverpool’s gentle and conciliatory personality allow?
allowed him to hold together headstrong colleagues such as Liverpool and Canning
when Liverpool became Prime Minister in 1812 what experience did he have?
1) Foreign Secretary 1801-3 (under Addington)
2) Home Secretary 1804-6 (under Pitt), and 1807-9 (under Portland)
3) Secretary for War and Colonies 1809-12 (under Perceval)
how did Liverpool deal with Catholic Emancipation?
left in an open question in government as he knew how divisive the issue was
what happened when Wellington passed Catholic Emancipation in 1829?
the Tory Party split into three feuding factions:
- supporters of Wellington and Peel
- the ‘Ultras’
- the Huskissonite liberals
Catholic Empancipation was passed when and by who?
1829 by Wellington
what was the period after the war like?
a period of ‘drift and confusion’
between 1814 and 1816 what happened to the UK’s overseas trade?
the volume of the UK’s overseas trade fell by one third (due to Continental System since 1806)
how many people were unemployed in the London district of Spitalfields alone after the war?
over 20,000
what industries were particularly hard hit in the post-war depression?
those which had been in high demand during the war (e.g. iron industry in the Midlands and shipbuilding in the North-East)
what did the 1810s see?
the highest average price of wheat in the nineteenth century
why did Liverpool impose the Corn Laws in 1815?
1) to provide a strong incentive to domestic producers and ensure a steady supply of wheat at a stable price
2) Low bread prices would have depressed wages, causing distress in countryside
3) MPs predominantly land owners so pressured Liverpool
why did people criticise the Corn Laws in 1815?
1) protesters believes that the interests of consumers were being sacrificed to those of landowners
2) Fear that high bread prices would keep wages high, threatening trade due to high labour costs making British exports less competitive
what measures did Liverpool implement to reduce gov. spending?
1) defence budget decreased by £340,000
2) gov. salaries reduced by 10%
3) cut government departments
Liverpool quote on returning to the gold standard
‘no country in the world had ever established a currency without a fixed standard of value’
what was significant about the budget of 1819?
balanced budget restored confidence
when did the Luddite outbreaks begin?
1811
what were wheat prices in 1812 and why?
due to a severe drought 126 shillings a quarter (highest price in the period 1783-1900)
when did Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt hold a meeting calling for parliamentary reform?
November 1816
how many people attended Hunt’s meeting in November 1816?
10,000
what happened to the meeting held by Hunt in November 1816?
hijacked by Thomas Spence who engaged some crows members to march on the Tower of London
when was the march of the blanketeers?
March 1817
who orchestrated the march of the blanketeers?
John Johnson (Hampden Club ‘missionary’) and Salford Tailor
what was the march of the blanketeers protesting?
the hardships of the handloom weavers in the northwest of England
what happened to the march of the blanketeers?
Broken up by troops at Stockport (7 miles from the start) and Johnson and fellow organisers were arrested
when was the Derbyshire rising?
June 1817
who participated in the Derbyshire uprising?
300 iron workers and stocking makers from northeast Derbyshire
what happened to the Derbyshire uprising?
1) infiltrated by ‘Oliver the spy’ and its plans were betrayed
2) 45 men were arrested and 3 leaders executed
when was Peterloo
16th August 1819
how many people were present at Peterloo?
50,000-60,000 had gathered on St Peter’s field to hear Hunt speak
how many troops were assembled at Peterloo?
over a thousand
what triggered the deaths at Peterloo?
the order to arrest Hunt which was subsequently resisted by the crowds
how many people died and were wounded at Peterloo?
11-17 people were killed and 400 wounded in the struggle
what did the martyrs at Peterloo become?
vital propaganda tools for radicals (e.g. black edged editions of the radical press paid homage to the deceased)
what triggered the Cato Street Conspiracy?
Government spy George Edwards encouraged a group of radicals to plan to murder the cabinet as it assembled for dinner in Grosvenor Square
when did the Cato Street Conspiracy plan to murder the cabinet?
23rd February 1820
what did the radicals involved in the Cato Street Conspiracy plan to do after murdering the cabinet?
‘Committee of two hundred’ planned to launch a nationwide rebellion
what happened to the leaders of the Cato Street Conspiracy?
1 killed in struggle, 5 transported for life, 4 hanged and Thistlewood was hanged and beheaded in May 1820
what was the Queen Caroline Affair in terms of the radical movement as a whole?
the last throw of the radical die
when was the Queen Caroline affair started?
June 1820
what happened in the Queen Caroline affair?
1) In June George IV’s estranged wife, Caroline, returned to England in order to claim her right to be Queen
2) George persuaded Liverpool to introduce a bill to end the marriage in order to prevent this
3) Liverpool withdrew the bill in November 1820 as it only passed by 9 votes in the House of Lords
what did Caroline say?
‘All classes will ever find in me a sincere friend to their liberties and a zealous advocate of their rights’
what pension did Caroline
a) refuse
b) accept in March 1821
a) £350,000
b) £500,000
what did Caroline’s acceptance of a pension of £500,000 in March 1821 do?
deprived her of the moral high ground and caused radical support for her to fizzle out
when and by whom were the Hampden Clubs formed?
1812 by Cartwright alongside other radical agitators
where were Hampden Clubs established?
predominantly in the north of England (e.g. Manchester, Middleton, Stockport)
evidence of the Hampden Clubs’ popularity
1) large number of regular attendees (e.g. 300 in Birmingham)
2) 50,000 people are reported to have attended the Spa Fields meeting in 1819
3) BUT in the end clubs depended on the working class distress fuelled by trade slumps
details of Cobbet’s radical newspaper
The Political Register (1802) had a circulation of 40,000
evidence of the fragmented nature of the radical movement as a whole being showcased through the radical press
1) Leeds Mercury advocated extending the right to vote only to direct tax payers
2) Sheffield independent appealed for changes in economic policy and freer trade
what loyalist journals were launched during the Queen Caroline Affair?
The British Freeholder and True Blue
what did Percy Shelley’s poem ‘England in 1819’ reference?
‘leaders who neither see not feel nor know’
when did Liverpool revive Pitt’s Gagging Acts of 1795?
December 1816
when did Liverpool establish a ‘secret committee’?
1817
what was the statement made by the ‘secret committee’ in February 1817?
the current ‘distress’ of the labouring and manufacturing classes had been used by dangerous radicals to attempt ‘a total other throw of all existing establishments’
when did LIverpool introduce the Six Acts?
1819 after the Peterloo massacre
how long did the Six Acts last?
only a year
what were the Six Acts?
1) training prevention act
2) seizure of arms act
3) seditious meetings act
4) misdemeanours act
5) blasphemous and seditious libels act
6) newspaper and stamp duties act
what did the training prevention act do?
made any person attending a gathering for the purpose of training or drilling liable to arrest (culprits could be transported for 7 years)
what did the seizure of arms act do?
gave power to local magistrates to search any property or person for weapons
what did the seditious meetings act do?
prohibited the holding of public meetings of more than 50 people without the consent of a sheriff or magistrate
what did the misdemeanours act do?
reduced the delay in bringing those convicted of treasonous acts to trial
what did the blasphemous and seditious libels act do?
provided much stronger punishments, including banishment for those involved in publishing writing thought to be against the church or state
what did the newspaper and stamp duties act do?
put a duty on journals and newspapers even if they only contained opinions and not news, hitting low cost radical publications
evidence for how the implementation of justice became more severe
1) Number of death sentences given out rose from 359 per annum to 1,206 from 1811-19
2) Actual executions increased from 45 to 108 from 1811-19
what were the cabinet changes which ushered in the age of Liberal Toryism?
1) Peel replaced Sidmouth in 1822
2) Canning replaced Castlereagh in 1821
3) Robinson replaced Vansittart in 1823
how old were Sidmouth and Peel when Peel replaced Sidmouth as Home Secretary?
Sidmouth was 65 and Peel 34
when was the Trade Reciprocity Act implemented and by whom?
1823 by Huskisson
what did Husskisson so to tariffs on imports?
1824-5 Huskisson reduced tariffs and rationalised the whole duty system under 8 headings
when was the combinations of workmen act introduced and by whom?
1825 by Huskisson
what did the Combination of Workmen Act do?
strengthen existing laws against criminal conspiracies
how much did foreign direct investment increase by during the 1820s?
60%
evidence for increasing crime rate
The number of criminal convictions rose from nearly 30,000 1809-16 to over 63,000 1817-25
what did Peel remove the death penalty from in 1823?
offences involving 40s worth of property and 200 other trivial crimes (laws were rarely enforced at time)
what offences other than murder still continued to carry the death penalties after Peel’s reform in 1823?
making counterfeit coins and horse stealing etc.
what was the Peel’s aim when reducing the number of events which warranted the death penalty?
to ensure that the laws gained more credibility so were shown greater respect (prerogative of mercy to those facing the death sentence should be exercised more sparingly) as opposed to decreasing the number of executions
when did Peel introduce the Gaols Act?
1823
what did the Gaols Act do?
required all counties and major towns and cities to maintain a prison, which were to be inspected to ensure equal treatment of prisoners – national policy on prisons
when was the Juries Regulation Act introduced?
1825
what did the Juries Regulation Act do?
regulated qualification for jury service to make it uniform throughout England and Wales by rationalising over 80 existing statutes
what did Boyd Hilton say Peel wanted to achieve with the Juries Regulation Act?
‘citizens to make rational prudential calculations on the disutility of criminal behaviours’
when did Peel change Judge’s pay from fees to salaries?
1826-8
who did the question of Catholic Emancipation divide and unite?
1) divided those who agreed on most other issues (e.g. Peel and Huskisson)
2) united foes (e.g. Castlereagh and Canning)
what did the anti-reform coalition see an attack on the Church of England as?
an ipso facto attack on the state
what did the Navigation Acts do?
made it cheaper and easier for foreign ships to access British ports
what were Canning and Peel’s backgrounds?
both not of agriculturalist, landed backgrounds so were more prone to pro-industry policy
what did Blake say the Corn Laws were?
‘the most naked piece of class legislation in British history’
what was the national debt in 1816?
£902 million
what was the standing force that Liverpool had at his disposal to deal with radicalism?
60,000
what did Evans describe the Cato Street Conspiracy as?
‘a genuinely revolutionary attempt’
