Politics, 1846- 1885 Flashcards
Russell’s Government
1846-1852
What state was Britain politically by 1846?
- Peel had to resign due to the CL’s
- The Tories split to protectionsist and Peelites
Protectionists Conservatives:
- Stanley (Lord Derby)
- Benjamin Disraeli
Prominent Peelites:
- Peel
- Aberdeen
- Gladstone
Prominent Whigs:
- Russell
- Pulmerston
Prominent Radicals, what group where they apart?
- Cobden
- Bright
- from the Anti-Corn Law League
How many Irish MPs where in Parliament?
- 105
What can the governments from 1846-1865 be described?
- Named ‘An age of Equipoise”
- Not one of significant domestic reforms
- but significant time in foreign policy
- A lot of Whig-Tory-Whig-Tory
What years defined Lord Russell’s first ministry?
1846- 1852
Ireland, what were the gov doing?
- providing relief, and it was taking a toll (famine, cholera, dysentery)
- even soup kitchens
- By Aug 1847 financial contribution to Ireland reduced
Spite? - Br did not reform Poor Law, and forced population to help themselves
- system designed for 100,000 , but overall 1.5 mil used it
Free Trade, what where the gov doing?
- made trade on sugar freer
- repealed navigation laws in 1849, but actually set restrictive regulations
Chartism, what were the gov doing?
- handeled huge rally at Kennington Common well, thousands of Constables ensuring no violence
- he banned marches and rejected petitions
- he arrested radicals
- used middle class volunteers to put down insurrection
- lead to Chartism no longer being a national force
Factory Act 1847, what did the government pass?
- essentially 10hr Act
10hr movement lost leader when Ashley resigned 1846 - John Fielden took over, Radical Oldham MP
- bill passed without amendment
Why did attitudes change for this Act?
- Russell made it an open q
- Peel had fallen so Tory sympathisers could vote in favour
- some wanted to hurt Tories, due to CL repeal
- due to trade recession, ostensibly just working 10hr days
What were some of the problems with the Act?
- when trade revision occurred, the relay system was reinstated
- adult males now working 12hr days
Public Health Act 1848, why did the gov pass?
- due to serious cholera outbreak
- also, Chadwicks’ ‘Report on the Sanitary Condiitons of he Labouring population’
What were the terms of the Act?
- set up General Health Board in London
- had 3 members, CHadwick, Shaftesbury, Lord Morpeth
- Local health boards with a medical officer were mandatory where the death rate in the area was significantly below national average
What were the limitation of the Act?
- for other areas, where it wasnt mandatory for a health boards, were not always started
Factory Act 1850, what did the government pass?
- factories open max 12hrs, 1 1/2 do that for meals
- for women + children was 10hrs max
- Saturdays, they must close at 2pm, and women and children must work maximum 7 1/2 hrs
What was the impact of this Act?
- a relatively good one
- falls introduction did not happen as was speculated
What year was the Great Exhibition?
1851
What was the Great Exhibition?
- best example of British prosperity
- suggestion from Prince Albert from the Royal Society of Arts
- took place in Crystal Palace
- displayed British machinery and manufacturers
- demonstrated Br as free trade, as exhibitions from other countries were used
- Over 6mil visitors came in 5 months
What year was the “Papal Aggression”?
1851
What was the Papal Aggression?
- Catholic Church proposal of a hierarchy of Bishops across the country
- this led to an expansion of anti-Catholic feeling
- Lord Russell lead cries of outrage
What did the Russell administration pass in retaliation?
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act
What were the terms of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act?
- created criminal sanctions against members of non established church
- but the Intolerant Act repealed this a few days later
What problems were Russell’s gov facing by 1851?
- most specifically, the budget of 1851
- it was unpopular amongst manufactures and businessmen
- this is bcz they wanted income tax abolished
- Russell also seemed against Parliamentary reform, as he voted against new voting regulations
- the budget and Russell’s stance on parliamentary reform annoyed radicals so much they voted for the voting qualifications (so against him)
Why was Russel then forced to resign?
- due to losing support
- but Cons lack majority
- So he comes back for a year
When did Lord Russell resign?
1852
