Macaulay, the Parliamentary Speaker, 1831–1846

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MACAULAY9 THE PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER, 1831-1846

by M argaret L ou ise Wood Universfty 01 Lvve, l ib r a r y

A d i s s e r t a t i o n su b m itted in p a r t ia l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e r e ­ q uirem ents f o r th e degree o f D octor o f P h ilo so p h y , in th e Department o f S peech, in th e Graduate C o lio g o o f the S ta te U n iv e r s it y o f Iowa June, 1950

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ACKHOWLEDQMEHTS

The w r ite r expresses g ra titu d e to P ro fesso r A. C raig B aird f o r h is in s p ir a tio n a l d ir e c tio n o f th is stu d y . To have had th e guid­ ance of P ro fesso r B aird ’ s p h ilo so p h ica l teach in g has been a ch erish ed p r iv ile g e . G ra te fu l a p p re c ia tio n is a ls o extended to P ro fesso r O rv ille A, Hitchcock f o r h is gener­ ous help and d isc rim in a tin g c r itic is m .

X)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

C hapter

I

In tro d u c tio n . . . . . ........................................ . . . . .

1

The Problem Primary oou rcos A u th e n tic a t io n o f T exts .............................. . . .

15 16

S p eech es on P arliam en tary Reform, March

2, 1831-De camber IS , 1B31 .«*.» B a c k g r o u n d .......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • A udience and O ccasion f o r th e Reform S p eech es B a s ic Prom ises ............. • • .............................. . . . » Forms of Support .............. ...................... ae S tr u c tu r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. Language ............................... A udience R esponse ............ Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

II

20

20

32 66

00 121 137 162 173

The Government o f I n d ia , S p eech ^ Ju ly 10, 181 ............ 1835 ......................... . . . ' ....................... Background and O ccasion .......... B a sic Prom ises ............... Forms o f Support ............ S tr u c tu r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Language . . . . . . . . . . *. ««•« «. c i t . . pp. 217-18. The Lords had a ls o assem bled in tu m u lt, some f i l l e d w ith hop® and o th e rs w ith d e s p a ir.

Through the uproar the canon

boomed out th e approach o f the King.

When His Majesty

ascended th e throne i t was n o tic e d th a t h is crown, put on in h a s te , was p re c a rio u s ly b alanced on one sid e of h is head. In proroguing Parliam ent King William said s

WI have been

induced to r e s o r t to t h i s measure fo r th e purpose of a s co n tain in g th e sense of my p e o p le .1*

The Klng*s speech

67. G. M. Trevelyan,' Lord Grey of the Reform B i l l , p . 296 prorogued Parliam ent w ith a view to i t s Immediate d is s o lu ­ tio n .

This d is s o lu tio n was exhub©rantly c e le b ra te d in some

p la c e s , f o r th© people r e a liz e d th a t th© reform ers had an oppo rtu n ity to gain a m ajo rity in th e forthcom ing © lection. Igs Gain G reater M ajority In E lectio n s During th© g en eral © lections which follow ed the d is s o lu tio n of P arliam en t, th© one questio n put to each candidate concerned h is support of the Reform B i l l .

Up­

wards of on© hundred of those who voted ag a in st th© m in is­ te r s on th© two g re a t d iv isio n s of the b i l l lo s t th e ir se a ts in th e Commons. 68 A fte r th© g en eral e le c tio n s , the Whigs 68. Molesw orth, op, c i t . , p . 257* cam© back w ith a m a jo rity of 156.

fSQ

The King, in a l e t t e r

69. G. M. Trevelyan, B r itis h H istory in the N ineteenth Cen­ tu ry and A fter {x'7^'2 -1919], Hew E d itio n , Longman s , Green,

and Company, law York, 1937, p. 237 a to S a ri Grey on Ju ly 7 , wrote th a t because of th e new r e ­ tu rn s th e Whigs had a g re a t m a jo rity in th e Commons so th a t any o p p o sitio n which Grey fe a re d would be from the Lords. The King was hopeful th a t th e Lords would abandon t h e i r o pp o sitio n f o r f e a r of a c o llis io n between the two houses. Xing W illiam XV was a ls o hopeful of c o n c ilia tin g th e Lords by a lte r in g d e t a il s of th e measure "w ithout a f f e c tin g the p rin c ip le o f th e b i l l * ”70 70* Correspondence o f B ari Grey w ith K in g William IV. Henry Grey, ecu , John Murray, "London, I'8'67, v o l.- I , ' p . 202. F ir s t Reading I s unopposed Xt was obvious th a t popular demand had in c re ase d and th a t the people war® no lo n g er a p a th e tic . s itio n did not r e la x .

Yet th e oppo­

On June 21 the P arliam entary se ssio n

was solemnly opened by th e King in person who, follow ing a w ild ly e n th u s ia s tic re c e p tio n by th e House, commended the q uestio n o f reform to t h e i r e a r l i e s t a tte n tio n . 71 The f i r s t Han sa rd , v o l. 4, p . 84. a c t of the House was to r e e le c t Hr. Manners S utton a® speaker.

There was no debate when R u ssell moved to b rin g

in th e Reform B i ll as S ir Robert Peel s ta te d th a t he did

47 not w ish to d iv id e th© House on th e f i r s t re a d in g . 70

In

70. Annual R e g is te r , v o l. 73, p . 161. June, Macaulay had w ritte n th a t the c out ©at would be on th© second re a d in g and l a t e r :

KI should n o t wonder i f we

had a d isc u ssio n of fiv e n ig h ts .”^* 73* . e l t .» p* 278. Lord A lthorp tr u s te d th a t th© b i l l would go through the committee b efo re th e co ro n atio n on September S.

His

hopes were f u l f i l l e d when th e c o n sid e ra tio n of th e b i l l In committee was completed on September 7.

I t was then ready

fo r i t s l a s t and f i n a l a d o p tio n .8® i$» Annual R e g iste r

v o l. 73, p. 225.

Bus s e l l Moves The Third Heading On September 19, when Lord John R u ssell moved th e th ir d read in g , th e attendance was not la rg e . 84 A c a ll of 84. At th is stag e th e re i s s e t debate in which th e p r in c i­ p les of th e b i l l are a tta c h e d and defended as a t the second re a d in g . Defeat of a government b i l l on i t s t h ir d read in g In th© Commons is alm ost unknown. Michael MacDonagh* The Pageant of P arliam ent. v o l. 1 , p . 32. the House had been suggested but not c a rrie d o u t.

The Times

rep o rted th i s su g g estio n on September 1 9 . They a ls o p re>• "This evening b rin g s th e Reform B ill to i t s th ir d and l a s t reading in th© House of Commons. A c a l l of th© House has been , th e re fo r e , decided on, th a t every man may be a t h is p o s t, and h is name one© more recorded among th© gentlemen of England who are eag er to em ancipate t h e i r c o u n try .w The London Times.

51

September 1 9 , 1851*

d ie te d th a t i f th e Lords threw out th© measure, Parliam ent 88 would be prorogued. Th© r e s u lt s o f th© d iv is io n were 113 86* ”Bo they hope th a t any temporary a b s tra c tio n t o th e Re* form B i ll can e v e n tu a lly f r u s t r a t e th e p assin g of th a t measure In to law? Such a chimera could only proceed from th© most lam entable Ignorance of a g en eral so c ie ty In t h is co u n try , where th e want of a genuine re p re se n ­ ta tio n of th e people has f o r years been as much a f i r e ­ sid e to p ic , from th® fam ily of th© independent g e n tle ­ man to th a t of th e d a y -la b o re rs, as have the means of providing bread f o r our ch ild re n * ” The London Times* September 19, 1831* fo r th e t h ir d re a d in g , 58 a g a in s t, making a m a jo rity of 55* So unexpected was th e d iv is io n th a t upwards of 80 members were shut out of the House*

T heir en tra n ce, a f t e r th e mogw tio n was disposed o f, brought f o r th much la u g h te r.

8?* lanaard, v ol. 7, pp. 141-42* Macaulay>s Third Defense Of The B ill On September 19, when Lord R u ssell moved th a t the b i l l be passed, th© o p p o sitio n began a d iscu ssio n which la s te d th re e n ig h ts .

I t seemed t o Mr, Baring Wall th a t

the b i l l or th e government should be accepted since no other b i l l and government could be found.

He thought th a t th©

b est speaker in fav o r of the measure was Macaulay who had p rev io u sly ap p lied h is arguments s o le ly to the e f f e c t which

52

the measure was lik e ly to produce i f i t were In o p e ra tio n . ttr» Courtenay* on th e o th e r hand, complained t h a t not one of th e m in iste rs had d efin ed th e p rin c ip le of the h i l l nor explained i t s p r a c t ic a l o p e ra tio n .60

Follow ing th ese

88. Hansard, v o l. 7, pp. 271-91. Speakers on September 20, th© second n ig h t o f debate, Macaulay defended th e Reform B i l l f o r a th ir d time b efo re i t was se n t to th e House of Lords. The B i ll Passes The House Th© House divided a t fiv e o»cloek in the morning of September 22.

Thr©@ hundred and f o r ty fiv e were in

favor of the passage of th e b i l l , two hundred and t h i r t y s ix a g a in s t.

So the b i l l on which the Commons had been working

almost co n tinuously f o r th ree months a t l a s t passed w ith a m ajority of on© hundred and n in e . 89 89, Hansard, v o l. 7, pp. 151-464. Th© P ublic Fears That The Lords W ill Re .loot

TheMeasure

I t was no s e c r e t th a t the Lordsp re fe rre d

to d is ­

card the Reform B i l l , b u t i t was hoped th a t they would f e a r th© consequences and re s p e c t th e wishes of th© n a tio n and of th© m ajo rity of th® lower house.

The Times re p o rte d on

53

th© morning on which th© b i l l passed th© Commons th a t th© day b efo re many Whig members met a t Lord E b rin g to n ’s to express an x iety f o r the b i l l about to b© presen ted to th© Lords and t o propose measures in case of r e je c tio n th e re .

90

90. The London Times* September 22* 1831. Every p o ssib le p ressu re was brought to b ea r upon th© Lords.

Through meetings* th© press* and p e titio n s , th©

people urged th® peers to pass the m easure.

Lord Melbourne,

in a l e t t e r to th© King’s s e c re ta ry , wrote th a t p o l i t i c a l unions were com pleting arrangem ents fo r f u r th e r a g ita tio n i f th© Lords did not receiv e the b i l l favorably.® *

Melbourne,

91. Lord Melbourne’s Pagers. Lloyd C, Sanders, e d ., Longmans, $ reeh and 'Company, London, 1889, p. 140. — n

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as Home S ecretary , d id not a t f i r s t encourage th© b i l l .

He

f e l t , however, th a t th e wishes of th© country l e f t the le g is la tu r e no a l te r n a ti v e .

When he f in a ll y agreed to sup­

p o rt reform , he was eager to have th© th ir d b i l l introduced 92 as aoon as p o s s ib le . S8# Ib id . The B ill does To Th© Lords On the evening of September 22 th© b i l l went to

54

the House of Lords*®®

At fiv e In th© aftern o o n when th e

93* im pm l. R e g is te r. v o l. 73, p. 252. Lord C hancellor took h is s e a t, th e re was a la rg e attendance of p e e rs , and the space before the throne was crowded w ith members of the Commons opposed to the measure.

When Lord

Althorp and Lord John R u sse ll e n te re d , follow ed by more than on® hundred stau n ch su p p o rters o f the b i l l , the Lord Chan­ c e llo r advanced to th e b a r.

When R u ssell form ally announced

th a t th© House of Commons d e s ire d the concurrence o f th© lo rd s h ip s , th e d e le g a tio n c r ie d , "Hear, h e a r," and was met by a cry of "Order" from th© p e e rs .

The d e le g a tio n , in ­

stead of r e t i r i n g a® u su a l, remained a t the bar of th© Lord®. I t was agreed th a t th e b i l l would be read a f i r s t time w ith the s tip u la tio n th a t the second reading would b© arranged a t th e ccevenienoe of the Lords.®4 Th© Times re p o rte d th a t 04. Molesworth, op. c l t . . pp. 245-46. t h is was "by f a r th® most im portant and v aluable tr a n s ­ a c tio n In th© n a tu re of a demand by th© Commons of England upon th® peers th a t ev er took place between two branches of the le g i s l a t u r e , s in c e , perhaps, th e House of Commons

55

f i r s t e x i s t e d . . * . 9^ 05, 3fes London Times. September 23, 1851.

The Le??da- B e le o t The Second Reading

On October 3 S a ri Grey moved the second re a d in g . He was so a g ita te d th a t a t f i r s t he could not u t t e r a sound. He soon gained c o n tro l of h im se lf, however, and each word became lo u d er as he p ro g ressed .

He secured the a tte n tio n

of the House by h is d ig n ity and by the Importance of hie s u b je c t.9® 06. W. IT* Molasworth, The His to r? of the Heform 5111 of 1838. p . 850. From October 3 to October 7 many able speakers aro se .

The Duke of W ellington spoke a g a in s t the b i l l .

Lord Brougham implored the House to pass i t .

Lord Lynd-

h u rst p ain ted a dark p ic tu re of the consequences of th e p ass­ ing of the b i l l .

On October 8 by a m ajo rity of 41, the

Lords r e je c te d th e second read in g ; 199 had voted fo r and 158 a g a in st the measure. 97 I f the twenty on© bishops had 97. Hansard, v o l. B, p. 339. voted a ffirm a tiv e ly in s te a d of n e g a tiv e ly , th ere would have been a m ajo rity of on® in fa v o r of refo rm .9® Th© Times

56

98* E. L.. Woodward, The Age of Reform, p. 79 sa id th a t had th e twenty on© bishops voted as t h e i r p red eces­

sors u su a lly d id on la y q u estio n s th© b i l l would have c a rr io d . 99 G re v ille *s d ia ry ex p lain ed th a t some newspapers, The London Times* October 10, 1851. although not th© Times nor th e Mornings: H erald, came out a l l In b lack announcing the d e fe a t of the Hof or m Bill*'*’00 100* The G re v ille Memoirs9 v o l. 2, p. 205. 'S eath Woima to the c o n s titu tio n of the country, to the p e o p le Js r i g h t s , to a fre e re p re s e n ta tio n in Parliam ent has been aimed, has been stru c k } ..,w e s t i l l hope th a t th e re s u b s is ts in the h e a rts of Englishmen a s tre n g th and a re s o lu tio n which w ill enable them to o u tliv e th e blow .” The London Times. October 10, 1851. Th© reform ers d id not speak tb s words which, sin ce fe e lin g ran h ig h , might have produced a re v o lu tio n .

There

were those among th e populace who suggested the a b o litio n of th© House of h o rd s.

On October 10, th© people flanked

th© road from W hitehall to Parliam ent S tre e t to j©er the an ti-refo rm in g peers and to cheer the su p p o rters of the b i l l . Th© herds req u ired p o lic e p ro te c tio n , and the bishops could not appear in th© s t r e e t s w ithout fe a r of perso n al v io len ce. I d 101* Mol©©worth, op. c l t . . pp. 261-65.

57

mmxCLm Supports Lord EbringtonLa Motion On October 10, two day® a f t e r the r e je c tio n by the TJpper House, Lord E brington brought forward a motion whose o b je c t was to keep the m in iste rs from re sig n in g by pledging th e Commons to support them.

He moved a re s o lu ­

tio n which r e s ta te d firm support of the p rin c ip a l p ro v i­ sions of th© b i l l and expressed confidence in the m inistry* That same day Macaulay spoke in favor of the motion*

In

th is fo u rth speech he supported reform along w ith Mr* S h e ll, Mr* O'Connell* and Mr* Duneombe*

Mr* Goulbum, Mr* Wother108 e ll* Mr* Croker* and S ir Peel as usual opposed th© motion. 1 .. --102* Annual H egdater* v o l. *75, p. 278* Macaulay *s s pee oh o f October 10 was given to an i r a t e House, a t a time when th© populace was demanding a c re a tio n of peers in order to pass the measure.

The motion c a rrie d by 529

to 198* a m ajo rity of 151 supporting E b rin g tc n 's reso lu tio n * 105* Hansard* v o l. 8* p . 466*

The King: Prorogues Parliam ent On October 12, a p ro cessio n of 60,000 marched to St# James’ to p rese n t an address to th© King*

This group

Implored him to r e t a i n h is m in iste rs and to use a l l power to encourage the passage o f th© b i l l by removing from co u rt

1C

a l l persons opposed to i t .

Mr. Hum©, speaking fo r th© King, *» f \ A

assured th® d e le g a tio n th a t th ese wishes would be respected* 104* Mole©worth, op. c l t *. pp. 270-71. On October 20, th e King prorogued Parliam ent and promised th a t a tte n tio n would again be c a lle d to th© ques­ tio n o f reform .

When he refu sed to c re a te p eers who would

vot© f o r th e measure, Grey agreed to s ta y in o ffic e only i f th© King would support th e Whigs by recommending a c a re 1 AS f u l c o n s id e ra tio n of th e reform of the Commons. 105* Annual B e e la te r, v o l. 75, p. 297. The People Continue To Although th© T ories were pleased by some e le c tio n s which th ey gained a f t e r Parliam ent was prorogued, they were Considerably d istu rb e d by th© a c tiv i ty of the P o litic a l tlaiona in M anchester, L iverpool, Birmingham* and other la rg e towns*

On October 29, th© B ris to l H lots brought

m atters to a head and convinced even th e reform ers th a t the P o liti c a l Unions wer© dangerous groups. This d e s tru c tio n of l i f e and p ro p erty was accom­ panied by riot® a t Bath, W orcester, Coventry, Warwick, and o th er towns*

Reports from Franc© d escrib in g d istu rb an ces

59

of o more alarm ing c h a ra c te r In Lyons added to the p r e v a il­ in g u n easin ess in the co u n try .

A n ti-refo rm ers pointed to

these dem onstrations as evidence o f what the Reform B i ll would arouse# In th e meantime, tra d e and m anufacturing were IQfi stag n atin g # Or©her wrote Peel in Hovembers tt • *•th e four 106# Moleswortb, on# c l t # , pp. 881-301. M'#i> the Monarch, th e M in istry , th e Members, and the Mul­ titu d e a l l a g a in st us*

The King stan d s on h is government,

the government on the House of Commons, the House of Com­ mons on the people*"^0^ 107# The Croker P apers, op. c l t *. v o l. 2, p. 137. B u ssell Moves The T hird Reform B ill On December 6 His M ajesty opened Parliam ent w ith a speech in which he recommended th© c a re fu l co n sid eratio n of the reform o f th e House of Commons.^08

On December 12

108# Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 74, p . 1* Lord John R u ssell brought forw ard the th ir d Reform B ill# He in d ic a te d the importance of the wishes of th© people and ex p lain ed some p rin c ip a l changes in th© b i l l .

G rev ille

Observed th a t th e excitem ent in th e House had dim inished

sin®* th e l a s t h i l l *

11*• . the House was le s s f u l l , and a

soften ed and subdued s ta te of temper and f e e lin g were evinced,*109 lot* fhe G revllle Memoirs, vol* 2, p. 229*

Speaks For th e F if th Time On December 16 Lord A lthorp moved th a t th© b i l l be read a second tim e. 110 Hot w ishing to have t h e i r h o li110* Hansard, v o l. 9, p . $43, days sh o rten ed , a l l p a r tie s were now eager to end th e d is ­ cu ssio n .

Lord P o rc h este r, however, spoke f o r th e r e je c tio n

of th e h i l l when he moved the amendment th a t i t be read a second time th a t day s ix months.

Lord Mahon attac k ed

Macaulay d ir e c tly by say in g th a t Macaulay considered example more f o rc ib le than argument,

Mahon complained th a t Macaulay

supported th e b i l l in h is f i r s t speech by saying i t would put an end to th e cry f o r the b a llo t j in w ritin g to con­ s titu e n ts a t Leeds he s a id th a t he was in fa v o r of the b a llo t,

Mahon c o n tra ste d Macaulay*s speech in which he

promised th a t the Lords need not fe a r a lo se of th e ir p r i ­ v ile g e s to h is fo u rth speech supporting Ebrington *s re s o lu ­ tio n .

Mahon considered the l a t t e r a p h ill ip ic a g a in st th©

81

Lords from beginning to end and accused Macaulay o f soundlag lik e a R adical*

111

Macaulay roe© to re p ly to Lord Mahon

111* Hansard* v o l. 9 , pp. 377-78* the f i r s t n ig h t of debate*

A fte r two night® of d isc u ssio n

the House d iv id e d 8 For th e second read in g 324, fo r P orchester*s amendment, 162, m a jo rity , 162* *112 According 112* Hansard* v o l. 9 , p . 546. to a r e v i l l e *s d ia ry !

”*Fhe second reading of th e Reform

B ill was c a r r i e d . . .by a m ajo rity of two to on©."'*’13

Par-

113. The Q rev lllo Memoirs, v o l. 2, p. 230, llam ont was then adjourned f o r th© Christmas h o lid a y s. Macaulay Speaks In 1838 $h© year o f 1831 closed w ith a r e p e titio n of in ­ cendiary f i r e s throughout the country, th e a b o litio n of the h e re d ita ry peerage in France acclaim ed by many in Eng­ la n d , and the th r e a t of r e v o lu ti o n .^ ^ 114, Molesworth, op. c i t , , pp. 308-09. Parliam ent reassem bled, and on January 20 the House voted to go in to committee by a m ajo rity of 53. U S On

62

v o l . 9# p* 6 7 6 .

February 28, Macaulay spoke in re p ly to th© Marquess of Chandos and S ir Edward Sugden who ob jected to any in crease in th e number of m etro p o lita n members*^16 116. Hansard, v o l. 10, pp. 915-26. This was M acaulay's s ix th speech.

I t was s h o rte r

and narrow er in su b je c t than any of h is previous ones.

He

questioned on what grounds th© opp o sitio n contended th a t m etro p o litan d i s t r i c t s should not be re p re se n te d .

Ho mat­

t e r what stan d ard of importance was used* ho s a id th a t th e re would b© no reaso n f o r excluding th ese d i s t r i c t s from Schedule I I I . 117 H© reduced to an a b su rd ity th© plan 117. T. B. Macaulay* "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s ,w The Complete Works. U n iv ersity E d itio n , S u lly and H e in te ic h , Hew Tork, 1900, v o l. 9, p. 89. Of w ithholding le g a l power from a community merely because i t possessed n a tu ra l power.

His warning a g a in s t fram ing a

b i l l which was meant to re c o n c ile and unit© in such a way th a t i t would produce i r r i t a t i o n was a d ir e c t th r u s t a t Sugden and Chandos.13"8

Macaulay*© sen ten ce, "But to n ig h t

118* I b id . , p . 94. h© th a t is not w ith us Is a g a in st us" l e f t no qu estio n as

to h ia stand*

Those fa v o rin g an In crease of m etro p o litan 119 members won by a m ajo rity of 80. 1 1 9 . Hansard, v o l. 10, p . 960.

Macaulay Again Be fends The B ill The o p p o sitio n attem pted delay and p ro c ra s tin a tio n , but th e b i l l passed through the committee sta g e on March 14. On March 19 R u s se ll proposed th e t h ir d read in g . again defended th e b ill *

120

Macaulay

On March 22 th® House d iv id ed ,

120. Hansard, v o l. 11, pp. 414-65* $55 fav o rin g , the th ir d read in g , 259 a g a in s t. 121. Hansard* v o l. 11, p . 780. The B i ll does To The Lords For The Last Time The b i l l having passed the Commons, B u ssell once more c a rrie d i t to the House of Lords where i t was read a f i r s t time*

I t was agreed th a t the second read in g should

be on A p ril 5, but Lord W harncliffe, who hoped th a t the second read in g might be avoided, asked fo r a postponement. He was speaking fo r a sm all group of peers c a lle d wave re rs who h eld th e balance between the p a r tie s in th© House of Lords*

This group decided, n e v e rth e le s s, to vote fo r the

64

second read in g r a th e r than encourage a fre s h c re a tio n of p e e rs .122

On A p ril 15 th e m ajo rity in fav o r of the second

122* Molesworth, op* p i t * , pp. 513*14. reading was nine*123 Hansard* v o l. 12, p. 454. fhe M in isters Resign Xn May w hile the b i l l was in committee stag e E arl Grey n o tif ie d th e King th a t he must e ith e r c re a te peers to help c a rry th e b i l l or accept th© re s ig n a tio n of th© m inis­ te rs .

King William X? who had form erly supported reform

began to f e a r re v o lu tio n and th e people*s d is ta s te fo r h ere­ d ita ry a u th o rity .

He th e re fo re accepted the re s ig n a tio n of

the m in iste rs* 12^ Again Macaulay, s ta tin g th a t the House 124. Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 74, p. 166, had a r ig h t to o ffe r i t s r e s p e c tf u l ad v ice, spoke on Ebring* to n ’s r e s o lu tio n which r e g r e tte d the change of m in is try .123 125* Annual R e g iste r, v o l. 74, pp. 158-67. The news o f the re s ig n a tio n of th e m in iste rs pro­ duced a v io le n t re a c tio n in th© country.

One of the e f f o r ts

made to embarrass th e incoming a d m in istra tio n was a run on

65

the b a n k s , T h © country was Indeed rip© f o r a c i v i l war* 126* Molesworth, op* c t t «« pp. 527-28. The King I s Forced fo B a ca ll Th© M inistry W ellington, attem p tin g to c a rry out th© King’s w ishes, f a i l e d to form a government. forced to r e c a l l S a ri Grey, favored reform .

The King was thus

Ten out of th ir te e n papers

In a d d itio n , the King had com pletely l o s t

h is p o p u la rity w ith the p eo p le.

H© was forced to p u t in

w ritin g perm ission f o r Grey and Brougham to c re a te the number of peers necessary* 127. I b id . ■ pp. 528-533.

Popular C ontrol Of The Eouse I s Won Because th© King’s promise had been mad© known, ac­ tiv e o p p o sitio n le a d e rs remained away from the Bouse to give the Whigs a m a jo rity . new p e e rs .

Hence i t was unnecessary to c re a te

In s ix days the b i l l went through the committee.

Go 3hne 4 th e b i l l was read a th ir d time and passed, 106 voting f o r i t and 22 a g a in st i t . ^ 28

Many considered th a t

188« Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 74, p. 194* the v a s t expansion*of tr a d e , commerce, and m anufacturing

66

r e s u lte d in p a r t from th® passage of the Reform B i l l , 3*89 129* Molosworth, op» o i t , , p. 3S8. I t was thus e s ta b lis h e d th a t s e a ts in th e Commons could no longer be purchased o r in h e rite d as p riv a te p ro p erty but must re p re s e n t the p eo p le.

Popular c o n tro l of th e House of

Commons was won in

The speeches on reform in d ic a te d Macaulay*s pro-* greseive Whlggism,

They pleaded fo r a conform ation o f p o li­

t i e s to p a r a l le l changing co n d itio n s in the country.

Tet

an ard en t attachm ent to E n g lish tr a d it io n c h a ra c te riz e d fiv e d e fe n se s. Hot Governmental Theory Hot r e s tin g h is opinions on any th eo ry of govern­ ment* Macaulay considered th a t the q u estio n of Parliam entary reform was a p r a c tic a l one.

He was then u n w illing to s ta te

p o s itiv e ly th a t th e re was any government o rg a n isa tio n which might not be su c c e ssfu l under agm e-oireumstances. not agree w ith James M ill

He did

Jeremy Bent hamJbrho operated

on the assumption th a t p o lit ic s was it sc ien c e.

Macaulayfs

fair®, philosophy considered th a t government could cure only those e v ils due to bad laws p r d e fe c ts of the \

/1

67

C o n s titu tio n ,

Th© narrowness of t h i s view was seen in

economics and f i n a n c e H e

d is tr u s te d a l l th e o rie s of

130* In 1840, th e n a tio n a l debt was la r g e r than In 1830, and the red u ctio n of ta x es had not been la rg e , H, W. C. D avis, The Age o f Grey and P eel, pp, 274-75, government, not even a c c e p tin g u til ita r ia n is m as a th eo ry . Common sense took th e place of p o l i t i c a l philosophy fo r him. A ssuring th e members th a t n e ith e r he nor the e le c to rs expected i t to be a "cure all*’ fo r a l l e v i l s , he defended th e reform b i l l because i t guaranteed degrees o f Improvement which th© p resen t s t a t e of Parliam entary re p re ­ se n ta tio n could not o f f e r ,

H© spok© In fa v o r of gradual

and In d ire c t o p eratio n of the government In order to improve th© p h y sical co n d itio n of th e people*

He remarked th a t

governments d id not and could n o t support th© people, th a t the r e s p o n s ib ility of government was n o t to make people r ic h but to p ro te c t them,^*®^

This was c o n s is te n t w ith

151, T, B, Macaulay, "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s ,” The Com­ p le te Works, v o l, 9 , pp, 3 -4 , Whiggisa and the la ia s e z fair© economic p o lic y ,

Macaulay

b eliev ed th a t th© © lectors were too wise to expect r e lie f * Sis co n jectu re waa not e n t ir e ly c o r r e c t. expecting im possible th in g s from th© b i l l .

The people were Yet h is b e lie f

th a t the b i l l could not do what n e ith e r a c o n s titu tio n nor

a cede of laws could guarantee was sound. uke oould not conoelve of law as * fix e d and a u th o r ita tiv e sc ie n c e . He philosophized soundly on th e f a c t th a t the su p p o rt of the public was needed to put te e th In to any law .15s 152. Macaulay, op. c i t , , pp. 60-61,

Peounlary Q u a lific a tio n For Voting Although bs saw no o b je ctio n to u n iv e rsa l su ffrag e In th© United S ta te s , Macaulay considered i t im perative f o r suffrag e in England to depend upon a pecuniary q u a lif ic a tio n . Laborers in England d id not have p le n tif u l employment, high wages, and cheap food.

These u n c e rta in economic c o n d itio n s,

he b e lie v e d , made u n iv e rs a l su ffrag e a dangerous r is k f o r them.

H© h eld th a t poverty and d is tr e s s made th e most In ­

t e l l i g e n t and s ta b le people su sc e p tib le to quackery and un­ wise d e c is io n s .

He Im plied th a t because economic con d itio n s

In th e United S ta te s were th e opposite th a t u n iv e rs a l su f­ frag e e x is te d th e re w ithout c re a tin g se rio u s consequences.^53 133*

I b i d . , pp. 3 -4 .

The weakness in h is premise was th a t he f a ile d to give e v i­ dence th a t la b o re rs were uni form ally and c o n s is te n tly se­ cure in th e United S ta te s .

His comparison was incomplete

because he f a i l e d to e s ta b li s h enough d iffe re n c e between th© co n d itio n s in England and the United S ta te s to reaso n th a t th e re would b© a d i s t i n c t c o n tra s t in the th in k in g o f th© p eo p le.

Yet i t was wise of Macaulay to d e c la re h im self

openly on t h is to p ic , fo r many u ltra-co n serv ativ e® f e l t th a t reform advocates favored u n iv e rs a l su ffra g e in order to appease th e R a d ica ls. The form of government, he thought, should b© judged by i t s g en eral te n d e n c ie s, not by i t s happy a c c id e n ts. Thus he did n o t recognize th© argument th a t elos©^54 and 154, Close boroughs were those boroughs closed to open or p u b lic com petition because the landed gentry c o n tro lle d appointm ents of c a n d id a te s. r o tte n boroughs had proved u s e fu l.^ 55

In spit® of Mahon*s

135, Macaulay, op. c i t . , pp, 12-15. fin d in g In Macaulay ano th er proof of th© u t i l i t y and advantag© of the clo se borough,

th is p ersonal a tta c k , in stead

156. ” . . .By what o th e r means could young men of ta le n t and prom ise, having (as perhaps might be h is ca se , and he meant anything but offense and personal r e f le c tio n on th e honorable gentleman) no very ex ten siv e landed pos­ se ss io n s, no in flu en ce in any la rg e commercial or m anufacturing town, o b tain s e a ts in th a t Rouse1?” Hansard, v o l. 2, p. 1206. of harming Macaulay, probably only added to h is s ta tu r e in

70

the House•

He was w illin g t o s a c r if i c e h is s e a t in Par­

liam ent fo r a p r in c ip le in which he believed#

T h e o re tic a lly ,

Englishmen agreed th a t i t was n o t by mere numbers b u t by p rop erty and in te llig e n c e th a t th e n a tio n ought to be governed#

Yet innumerable people of p ro p erty and i n t e l l i ­

gence were excluded from a share in th e government which they were eager to p re s e rv e ,^ 37

The a c tu a l need f o r Par-

157, Macaulay, pp#, c l t . , p* 5. llam entary reform la y in the f a c t th a t th e p resen t govern­ ment, he pointed o u t, was government by p o rtio n s of property se le c te d on no r a tio n a l p rin c ip le # 1^® 158, I b id #, p . 6 , In d ig n a n tly , he p ro te s te d a g a in st the dangerous p ra c tic e of a s c rib in g th e s a n c tity of p ro p erty to th a t which was not pro p erty a t a ll#

He b eliev e d th a t the e le c ­

tiv e fra n c h ise was p riv a te p ro p e rty ,

He fe a re d th a t i f

p o l i t i c a l abuses became endowed w ith the immunities of property th a t i t was in e v ita b le th a t p ro p erty would be su r­ rounded w ith th e h atre d which was ascrib ed to p o lit ic a l abuses#

He pointed out the fa lla c y of ty in g to g e th er two

very u n lik e things#

He warned th a t ig n o ran t minds might

b eliev e th a t i t was no more u n ju st to c o n fisc a te an ©stat©

n than to d is fra n c h is e a g re a t lo rd » s nom ination borough*

159

159. I b id *. m* m~2 3* S&c&ulay was showing how, I f th e an alo g ies o f opponents were c a rr ie d t o a co n clu sio n , the pro p erty owners war© in a p reca rio u s p o sitio n * Macaulay1® major te n e t , a p ro p erty q u a lif ic a tio n fo r v o te rs , was shrewdly form ulated on the fa c t th a t p rese n t government was e s ta b lis h e d on p o rtio n s of p ro p erty only. His premise was not th a t p ro p erty r ig h ts were in a lie n ­ able r ig h ts b u t th a t p ro p erty owners should not be excluded from t h e i r r i g h t f u l re p re s e n ta tio n . Compromise By Reformation Chat as he opposed u n iv e rsa l su ffrag e because he fe a re d th a t i t would produce a re v o lu tio n , ha supported the Reform B i ll in o rd er to avoid a re v o lu tio n ,

He argued

th a t th e b i l l , by improving and p reserv in g th e i n s t i i u t l eras, would prevent ca tastro p h ic® , 140 fhe p rese n t s ta te IdO. I b id . . pp. 4-5. of a f f a i r s m erely encouraged a r e v o lt of the very people whom the government shut out from power. In d isc o n te n t.

He saw an e v il

Because th e people had no confidence in

the p re se n t system and because confidence was necessary ,

n the p re se n t system was u n s a tis f a c to r y ,14*1* He viewed the 141* T, B* Macaulay, ttSpe©ches and Legal s tu d i e s ,” The Complete Works, vol* 9, pp, 10, 11, plan of the m in iste rs as th e only p r a c tic a l plan of recon­ c ilia tio n ,

He m aintained th a t he supported th is b i l l be­

cause i t improved th e i n s t itu ti o n s and because i t would tend to preserv e them.14^ 142. I b id . , pp. 11-14, This unhappy s t a t e of a f f a i r s , he b e lie v e d , would be term inated by wisdom or end in v io le n ce .

Whether the

b i l l was th e p lan asked fo r was h ard ly the question# was the plan th a t the people supported.

It

This acceptance

was, to him, an example of th e ”wlsdom of tim ely co n cessio n ,” He suggested th a t a l i b e r a l government would make a lo y a l n a tio n , the very s ta te of a f f a ir s most dreaded by the ex­ tre m is t p a r tie s o f England.14** This o b se rv a tio n , a b id 143

I b id . , pp. 28-30,

fo r Whiggism, was an a c cu rate sta tem en t. By showing th a t th e T o ries, who a year ago had to decide what t o do w ith two s e a ts in P arliam ent, d e lib e r­ a te ly w ithheld them from th e th re e la r g e s t m anufacturing

73

towns who wore In m&d o f f a i r e r r e p r e s e n ta tio n , he judged what t h i s p a rty would do i f they were in power.

A mock

fo ry performance would r e s u l t in a g ita tio n u n til England would he what Ire la n d was a t the beginning of 1829.

He

hoped to p rev en t any ill- tim e d c o n c ilia tio n such as th a t which caused th e f a l l o f the French a r is to c r a c y In 1789 because th e government had r e s is te d reform in 1783A 44 144. I b id . . pp. 33-34* Beform or compromise, th e n , must be tem perate and tim ely . He agreed w ith Bacon and Burke th a t the o b je ct was to en­ la rg e and r e p a ir the o ld —to modify co n d itio n s r a th e r than t© c re a te them.

The h is to ry of England re v e a ls th a t th is

underlying p rin c ip le was observed.

England obtained by

peacefu l methods what o th er co u n trie s obtained by revolution* H o n -static World Demands Change Another b a s ic premise of h is speeches was th a t because co n d itio n s w ith in the n a tio n had changed, government changes must follow in order to keep up w ith th e advance of s o c ie ty . While Macaulay adm itted th a t the wisdom of an­ c e sto rs must be reco g n ised , he did not agree th a t l e g i s l a tio n o f a n tiq u ity was ap p lica b le f o r p resen t day England. 145

74

145* I b i d . . pp. 2 -9 . He

observed no e v i l in change as change.

He could not b e ­

lie v e th a t the country would c r i t i c i z e th e m in iste rs f o r changing t h e i r m inds.

His b e l i e f th a t u n less th e problems

were s e t t l e d , p ro p e rty , o rd e r, and th e i n s t i t u t i o n s of mon­ archy were in danger was w isely d ire c te d to th e a ris to c ra c y as w ell as to th e middle c l a s s .

With th e excep tio n o f a

few R adicals In th e House, th e se referen ce s probably cam© close to home.

His major co n te n tio n , on© of which he

never l o s t s ig h t, was th a t governmental changes must be a ffe c te d to keep a b re a st of the changing co n d itio n s of the n a tio n .

His re c o g n itio n th a t the world was in flu x , not

s t a t i c , placed him ahead of many of h is tim e.

He asked

the House to r e ly on reaso n , h is to r y , a n tiq u ity , and the signs of th e tim e—th a t th ese fa c to rs should be considered since a n tiq u ity or custom alone d id not d ic ta te an answer . * 46 14B. I b id . . pp. 10— IB . Answering th e q u estio n whether any Reform B i ll could be f i n a l , he s a id th a t i t would be f in a l in the only way in which a wise man used th a t word.

He harbored no

thought th a t th e m in iste rs pretended to le g is la te fo r

75

another g en e ra tio n In which changing co n d itio n s might d emand a new system* 147 147, I b id *. p . 52, While Macaulay proclaim ed th a t England was g reat and th a t she had made p ro g re ss, much of which she owed to h er form of government, t h i s very progress or change was the f a c to r which made reform n ecessary .

In s p ite of the

f a c t th a t Czar P ete r d id much f o r R u ssia, he questioned whether the Russian people should always be d e sp o tic a lly governed Ju st because Czar P e te r was a d esp o t.

This

o v e r-s im p lific a tio n brought h is broad in te r p r e ta tio n of the " l e t w ell enough alone" argument in to bold r e l i e f , Macaulay p h ilo s o p h ic a lly s ta te d th a t sometimes th e govern­ ment was in advance of s o c ie ty but th a t i t was a ls o pos­ s ib le f o r so c ie ty to fo rg e ahead of th e government.

His

co n v ictio n was that re v o lu tio n s arose when n atio n s moved ahead of c o n s titu tio n s .

He quoted the p ra is e of two f o r ­

eig n ers fo r th e E nglish C o n s titu tio n , b u t he showed th a t what one a u th o rity p ra ise d in th e f i f t e e n t h cen tu ry was not th e same as th a t which was p ra ise d in the e ig h te e n th cen tu ry , fo r th e h is to ry of England had been on© of tim ely reforms.*-48

Heel challenged Macaulay to show th a t the

*48. I b i d .* pp. 24, 26.

76

House 08 c o n s titu te d could n o t apply it® own remedies*

149

149« Peel d id not agree w ith Macaulay who wanted to hazard ©wary b le s s in g In th e chance of c o rre c tin g a few de­ f e c ts . Hansard* vol* 4* p* 887* The burden of proof* however, a c tu a lly re s te d upon the op­ p o s itio n who supported th e s ta tu s quo* Macaulay was o f th a t p a rty which wanted to be ju s t enough in advance o f the age to b© u se fu l to it* M iddle-claas R ep resen tatio n Macaulay was the mouth piece of Whig p h ilosop h y when he urged th a t more power be given to the middle class* Since the end of government was the happiness o f the people, the end could be a tta in e d only i f the middle c la sse s favored the government**50

Hi® p rin c ip le was to admit t h is group

'

w in .

Hi■■m i — ■ mnmrn W U M I * — i»i| . — . I — i n » n —

' wm m 'm W W lBrtW

150* Macaulay, op* c i t . , pp* 12-13* t© re p re s e n ta tio n w ithout any v io le n t shock to the i n s t i ­ tu tio n s of th e country*^5*

Macaulay was v o icin g a Bentha-

151* I b id *, pp# 2-3# mite

® p ro p o sitio n of happiness f o r the g re a te s t number or

152* Followers of Jeremy Bentham advocated the g re a te s t happiness f o r th e g re a te s t number as th e ir Id e a l of s o c ia l ju stic e * If* W, C, D avis, The Age of Grey and F e e l* p . 308*

VfPf

more probably Burke’s b a s ic premise # happiness as th e , end of government.

He was not a f r a id th a t th e middle c la s s

would f a i l t o uphold th e Hoyai p re ro g a tiv e and th e const!* tu tlo n a l r ig h t of peers* IBS* Macaulay#

op*

Macaulay b e lie v e d th a t p u b lic

c l t . . p . IS*

a f f a i r s were b e s t re g u la te d when they were in the hands of the middle c la s s supported by an en lig h ten ed a ris to c ra c y and prudent a r t i s a n s . 154 I t was no longer to him a qu estio n I b id . . pp. 77*78. of n e c e s s ity t h a t concessions be made to th e middle c la s s . Whig Optimism

Macaulay# lik e many V ictorians# refu sed to per* eeive s o c ia l problems. how good i t was.

He concentrated on t e l l i n g th e world

He was j u s t i f i e d m a te ria lly and i n t e l l e c ­

tu a lly in h o ld in g th is p o in t of view .

In h is tim e, i t

looked as i f w ealth did keep ahead of the po p u latio n and th a t Mai thus was refu ted *

There was a lso some a d a p ta tio n

to th e new in d u s tr ia l w orld.

Macaulay said th a t in those

th in g s depending upon in te llig e n c e or upon th e in d u stry of in d iv id u a ls England was o u tstan d in g .

Whereas# in those

th in g s which th© s ta te d irected # England had no claim to s u p e r io r ity .

He was a c tu a lly comparing in d u s tr ia lis a tio n

78

w ith J u s tic e to th e advantage of th© f o r m e r * '^

Be had

158* I b id * , pp, 27-88. Juat cause f o r c r i t i c i s i n g th e penal s ta tu te s a t th i s time when England g lo rie d In h e r I n d u s tr ia l p ro g re ss.

From the

year 1840* however* I t was obvious th a t England was n o t econom ically secure and th a t th® government was assuming r e s p o n s ib ilitie s f o r s o c ia l problems* Maoaulay shrewdly o ffe re d th e Reform measure as a means of a tta in in g law and order* goal appealed t o the House o f Lords.

This co n serv ativ e Th© b a sic p rin c ip le s

of th© b i l l * th a t I t would admit th© middle c la s s to a share in government* th a t i t would reduce © lection expenses, and th a t i t would a v e rt re v o lu tio n appealed to the populace. The h is to r y o f England* which proves the re s p e c t hold f o r the Crown, reco rd s th© weakening o f th e House of Lords in favor of th© House of Commons, and reco g n ises th© attem pt to make government a means, not an end, v in d ic a te s Macau* lay*s p o in t of view. Nummary Of Basle Premises Macaulay’s b a s ic p o l i t i c a l philosophy appeared to develop from h i s t o r i c a l preced en ts r e la tin g to th© r ig h ts Of Englishmen.

For example, he b eliev ed in property r ig h ts

and pecuniary q u a lif ic a tio n s f o r v o te rs .

He viewed th©

79

#y©i©eti©n of p ro p erty as th© major r e s p o n s ib ility of th© government.

Although th© ten-pound q u a lif ic a tio n f o r v o t­

ing wa» reco g n ised in 1852, subsequent l e g is la tio n found a pecuniary q u a lif ic a tio n unacceptable*

By I860, Macaulay

argued th a t th© government should assume r e s p o n s ib ilitie s In a d d itio n to th a t of th e p ro te c tio n of property* Yet h is rove rone© f o r th© p ast did not b lin d him to the f a c t th a t reform of parliam entary re p re s e n ta tio n was necessary in o rd er to prev en t rev o lu tio n #

Because he saw

th a t th© world was changing, he r e a lis e d th a t changes in government were therefor© mandatory*

A c tu a lly , he b eliev ed

th a t the Reform B ill was only a means to an end.

Th© f in a l

goal was happiness f o r th© g re a te s t number of people*

His

se a l as a reform er was tempered by cau tio u s maxims * Re­ form, in order to be b e n e f ic ia l, must be both tem perate and tim ely* He recognized th e growing power of th e middle c la s s and t h e i r r ig h ts to rep resen tatio n *

H© b eliev e d th a t

expediency, not governmental th eo ry , was th© se n sib le philosophy*

The middle c la s s or c e n tr a l group, he thought,

acted as a compromising element f o r th© c la sse s above and below them#

His id ea th a t when tho middle c la s s was pros­

perous th© working man would a lso b© secure was fa lla c io u s* He f a ile d to co n sid er th a t a b i l i t y to work or mochan deal

BO

s k i l l m s a ls o a kind of p ro p erty which re q u ire d p ro tec tio n * Macaulay was a ty p ic a l Whig who en v isio n ed the government as an agency t o p r o te c t c itiz e n s but not to make them prosperous* in economics*

Be follow ed th e la i s s e z - f a i r e p o lic y

AS e a rly as 1840* th e f in a n c ia l s ta tu s of

the country in d ic a te d th e narrowness of th is p o in t of view. His re c o g n itio n of the imminence of re v o lu tio n to g eth er w ith h is b e l i e f in the reform measure as a com­ promise s o lu tio n dem onstrated h is a b i l i t y to analyze one of th e o u tstan d in g problems of h is tim e.

His o b serv atio n

th a t change® e ffe c te d in 1831 need n o t be f i n a l suggested the f l e x i b i l i t y o f h is p rin c ip le of expediency. Forms Of Support E qually im portant as a n a ly sis of Macaulay*s b asic premises i s an exam ination of h is su pporting m ater­ i a l or evidence.

Also of primary c o n s id e ra tio n is h is

method of reaso n in g in support of h is p ro p o s itio n s .

Macau­

lay* a f i r s t th re e speeches on th e Reform B i l l were essen ­ t i a l l y re b u tta ls* b u t r e f u ta tio n loomed la rg e in h is l a s t two ad d resses.

F u rth er q u estio n s th e re fo re a r i s e .

What

techniques of r e f u ta tio n d id b© employ in h is fiv e defenses of reform? tion?

What su p p o rtin g m a te ria ls d id he use In r e f u ta ­

81

Hlfi, Answer To Th® O pposition On The Question Of Heed On© typo o f r e f u ta tio n found in a l l h is speeches was exem p lified when he answered th e argument th a t reform was unnecessary*

Macaulay refu sed to b e lie v e th a t clo se

and r o tte n boroughs were u s e fu l and indispensable*

He used

re due t i e ad abaurdum to show th a t some ab le men would be chosen no m a tte r what method was used, w hether the s e le c ­ tio n was determ ined by th e one hundred t a l l e s t men o r from the f i r s t one hundred names on an a lp h a b e tic a l l i s t *

He

gave th© h i s t o r i c a l examples of a king who was e le c te d by the neighing of h is h orse and of men who en tered o ffic e by v ir tu e of drawing lo ts *

From th ese in sta n c e s, he re a ­

soned th a t i t was not a q u estio n of whether th e same men would hold o f fic e i f th e middle c la ss made i t s ch o ice, f o r he d id not see th a t any man was indispensable to th e s t a t e . He summarized h is own th in k in g s

w.* * if we provide th©

country w ith popular i n s t i t u t i o n s , those in s t itu ti o n s w ill provide i t w ith g reat 156. T. B. Macaulay, ^Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s ,” The Complete Works* v o l. 9 , pp. 15-14* Although he adm itted the f a c t th a t the government of h is tim e was more dem ocratic than i t ever was, he denied the in feren c e th a t th e re was s a tis f a c to r y re p re se n ta tio n

and th a t reform was th® r e f ore unnecessary.

He contended

th a t r e l a t i v e mis government s t i l l existed*

While In d ian

su b je c ts subm itted p a tie n tly to a monopoly of s a l t , th e r e la tiv e ly l i g h t stamp duty caused th e P u ritan s to re v o lt.* 67 I'M . 11 * P* 895. large degree of a c tu a l power w ithout any corresponding le g a l r e s p o n s ib ility fo r t h e i r government.

Plunder and g r a f t by

th© agents who c o lle c te d revenues from the n a tiv e s w ithout m aintaining adequate p o lic e and co u rts r e s u lte d In law le ssn e s s. In 1772 a committee of th e House of Commons In­ v e stig a te d the a lle g e d co rru p tio n among th© agents as w ell as th© f in a n c ia l s t r a i t s of the company* 11* II I'

11 *

«— «*■— — iw

p,

mu m u ». . m m

.mi»« iii.M.in m

i. n

Lord North s e -

nm uni

.....

m u

m um

In a d d itio n to a la c k of maintenance of p o lic e and

courts* th© Independence of the th re e p resid e n cie s of Bombay* Madras* and C alcu tta c o n flic te d in d ealin g w ith the n ativ es* I b id ** pp. 595-96.

cured th e passage of th e R egulating Act In 1775 so th a t th e B ritis h Parliam ent would share r e s p o n s ib ilitie s w ith the Bast In d ia Company.

12

H astings became the f i r s t governor

12* I t made the government o f C alcu tta su p e rio r to the o th er two. The f i r s t governors and cou n cilo rs were named by Parliam ent* I b i d . , p . 596. —I' I I I I I M M M.1.

W M . H .E .U M W I I H '.ilil.... .-.n — i I M ..I ..— I W *.n .l » ,I J i..m i . —

under p ro v isio n of t h is a c t.

. . . .■ I " 'I ' — . . . . . .— — . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

. . . .

Although he was In many ways

an ab le and e n e rg e tic f i r s t governor *3*3 in order to finance IS* Macaulay re sp e c te d H astings as a governor.

In h is

186

Speech of 1885* he sa ld s "The a b le s t man who ever governed In d ia was Warren H a stin g s* ,.* ” G, o. Trevelyan, The_.,Mi,e_ and.Mtter;s.,.,of, herd Macaulav. v o l. 2, p. 289, » ' ■ * ' — ........ * ' ' • • • • -

* ■ ■ » —

I M

M

■„ i n , — - . .......—

.■ ■■

,,

............ ............. ... ............

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f.................................................

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m m w ith th e n a tiv e s f o r th e p ro te c tio n of B r itis h t e r r i ­ to ry , he p r a c tic a lly fo rced some weak n a tiv e r u le r s to p ro ­ vide him w ith tr e a s u r e .

His ru le convinced statesm en th a t 14 the R egulating Act was not e f f i c i e n t ,

14, Lunt, op. c i t *, p . 596. R e s p o n s ib ility f o r th e in tro d u c tio n of some mea­ sure to improve co n d itio n s in In d ia f e l l upon P i t t the Ifounger,

His a c t of 1784 provided f o r a system of Dual

Control,

I t gave th e B r iti s h government c o n tro l of p o li­

t i c a l and m ilita ry a f f a i r s and gave the E ast In d ia Company the management of commerce. 1 *5 So i t was acknowledged th a t 18# A new board was then c re a te d headed by th e S ecretary of S ta te , Th® company*® Board of D irecto rs were forced to submit plans to a government board. With th© ex­ ce p tio n of the G overnor-general, th e company s t i l l appointed th e officer® to liv e In In d ia . I b id . th® B r itis h government had a r e s p o n s ib ility f o r n a tiv e s in an area c o n tro lle d by th© company.

”The dual c o n tro l worked

well enough to cause i t s r e te n tio n u n t i l th© Indian Mutiny Of 1 8 3 8 ."16

1 8 . I b id . . p. 597.

187

By 1813* ft tra d e monopoly was u n su ita b le when ether m erchants clamored f o r a share of th e p r o fita b le tra d e In the East*

The E ast In d ia Company* in spit® of a hard

fight* l o s t i t s commercial p riv ile g e s but was allow ed to re ta in i t s monopoly ©f th e te a tra d e and the tra d e w ith 17 China, From t h i s date* th e re was co n sid erab le p ressu re 17* Anderson, op, e i t . . p. 9, from th© p u b lic to open th© tra d e in th© E a st,

In 1830*

Lord Ellenborough in th e Lords and S ir Hebert Peel in the Commons obtained committees f o r a f u l l in v e s tig a tio n of the su b je c t.

The d is s o lu tio n of Parliam ent th a t follow ed the

death of Georg© IV d isap p o in ted those who were making over­ tu res in t h i s d ir e c tio n ,'1’® 18, Arnold* op, c l t , , pp. 155-58, By 1838* because of the demands by p riv a te mer­ chants and the philosophy of fre e trad© popular in England, i t was no longer p o ssib le f o r a p riv a te company to m aintain a monopoly of the China tr a d e ,

The removal of th is remain­

ing eommeroial p riv ile g e * however, obviously would ru in th© East In d ia Company f in a n c ia lly .

I t was Impossible f o r th©

company to govern a la rg e population and s t i l l compete w ith p riv ate merchants In an open m arket.

I t was expected th a t

188

the government would r e a liz e the debt which England owed to the company fo r t e r r i t o r i a l conquests and therefor® would he lo a th e to e n a ct p e n a lty l e g i s l a t i o n ,

The b i l l proposed

by Mr, Charles G rant, P re sid en t of th e In d ia Board, was designed to promote harmony between th e Bast India company and th e Board when th e company l o s t i t s commercial p riv ile g e s but re ta in e d i t s p o l i t i c a l function® . In tro d u ctio n of The Government Of In d ia B ill He*. Grant ^ proposal placed the e n tir e p ro p erty of th® Bast In d ia Company in t r u s t f o r th® Crown and en­ acted th a t ” • . . the ex clu siv e r ig h t of tra d in g w ith th© dominions of th e Emperor of China and of tra d in g In te a s h a ll cease . ”1 9

The b i l l a l so threw India open to E nglish

19. G* 0. Trevelyan, op. e i t . , v o l. 1 , p. 262. su b je c ts , pronounced the end of sla v ery th e re , and announced th a t no n ativ e of the B r itis h t e r r i t o r i e s in the East should be k e p t, by r e lig io n , d e sc e n t, or co lo r from holding

office, 20 SO, I b id .

Th& company was amenable to the p ro v isio n s of the

189

M il#

b u t th ey p o in ted out th a t t h e i r t e r r i t o r i a l revenues

2 1 , Ingland would buy up the a s s e ts and l i a b i l i t i e s of th© company. 11I n te r e s t was to be paid from th® Indian ex­

chequer a t the r a te of te n guineas a year on every hundred pounds of stock* the company was re lie v e d o f i t s commercial a t t r i b u t e s , and became a co rp o ratio n charged w ith th® fu n c tio n of r u lin g Hindoostan* and i t s d ir e c to r s , as has been w ell observed, remained p rin c e s, b u t merchant*.princes no lo n g e r.” a . 0. T revel­ yan, on. c i t . . p* 262.

bad g en e ra lly proved in s u f f ic ie n t to take car© of general ad m in istratio n of government and th a t they had been fo rced gg to us® t h e i r commercial p r o f it s to make good th© d e f i c i t . 22. B. K. Thakore, Indian A d m in istratio n to th e Dawn of ■Hesponalble Governmenta l ^ P. B. Taraporewala Sons arid d o ., Bomba^ 1922, p. 51. In 1833 the House had unusually len g th y s e s s io n s . 23 23# * It ap p ears. . . th a t th e House, during th e p resen t se s­ sio n , has s a t more than twice the number of days, and th re e tim es th e number of hour© th a t were occupied in the se ssio n of 1 8 2 6 * ... Even in the g re a t Reform Ses­ sion of 1831, we s a t only n in ety e ig h t days, or 918 h o u r s . . , i t w ill appear th a t , during th© whole of th is se ssio n , th e House has been occupied nine hours a day on an average* and, f o r much the la rg e r p o rtio n of th e se ssio n —namely, sin ce E a s te r, more than twelve hours each d ay .” The M irror of P arliam ent. John Henry Barrow, e d ., v o l. 5, ~3l^3 3 ,'"p"#'" r On June 18, 1833 to t h i s over-worked House, Mr. Charles Grant introduced the Government of In d ia B i l l . 2^ Ho showed 24. Annual R e g iste r, v o l. 75, 1833, p . 179.

190

ttus Importance of th© re s o lu tio n s concem ing th e Bast In d ia Company*® C h arter by p o in tin g out the v a s t t e r r i t o r y con­ cerned and th e m u ltitu d e of humans whose f a te r e s te d on the question*

Be proposed f i r s t to d iscu ss th e agency by which

the p o l i t i c a l a d m in is tra tio n of In d ia was to b© conducted, and f i n a l l y th e term® made to the company which he was to OR submit to th® House* He contended th a t in s p ite of e x is t95* Hansard* v o l. 18 , p* 698. ing e v i ls , such as too heavy ta x a tio n and delay in ju s tic e , the government of In d ia f o r th© l a s t f o r ty years had been b e n e fic ia l to th© In d ian s, f o r I t lmd assured them o f se ­ c u rity and tr a n q u i l i t y . Because the Bast In d ia Company acted between England and In d ia , In d ia was fre e f ro m fluctuation® of p a r tie s and p o l i t i c a l f e e l i n g s , A f t e r a long speech, 26. I b i d . . p . 704. Sr. O rant, in co n clu sio n , moved th re e r e s o lu tio n s .

27

97, He proposed th a t a l l could trad© w ith China $ th a t I f the Bast In d ia Company tr a n s f e r r e d to th© Crown a l l claims of th© company, the Crown, on b eh a lf of the Indian t e r ­ r i t o r y , should tak© on th© o b lig a tio n s of the company and th a t th© company should re c e iv e from th© revenues of In d ia a sum paid and re g u la te d as Parliam ent should e n a c t; th a t the government In India should be e n tru s te d to th© company under Parliam entary re g u la tio n , Th© re s o lu tio n s were agreed to w ithout any o p p o sitio n , The Bord® agreed to th ese re s o lu tio n s on July 5 w ithout

191

d iv isio n *

Annual R eg ister* v o l. 75, 1833, p. 185.

fijfceaulay d id n o t speak on Mr. G ran tfs p re s e n ta tio n .

He ex­

plained why In a l e t t e r to h is s i s t e r Hannah. You have seen the p a p e rs ...a n d w ill perceive th a t I d id not speak y esterd ay n ig h t. The house was th in . Th© debate was lan g u id . G ran t's speech had done our work s u f f ic ie n tly fo r one n ig h t; and b o th he and Lord A lthorp advised me to reserv e m yself f o r th e second re a d in g . 28 28. G. 0. Trevelyan, op

c l t . . v o l. 1 , p. 268.

Macaulay's Speech On The Government Of In d ia On Wednesday, July 10, Macaulay, among o th e rs, spoke on a motion th a t the East India B ill be read a second time*

His speech follow ed Mr. Buckingham1s long address

which d e p lete d the e v i ls of the company.2® Macaulay*a 29. Hans r d . v o l. 1 ©, p. 579. Account of th e debate was given in a l e t t e r w ritte n July 11. Y esterday n ig h t we read the In d ia b i l l a second tim e. I t was a Wednesday, and th© re p o rte rs gave hardly any account of what passed. They always re se n t being fo rced to a tte n d on th a t day which i s t h e i r h o lid a y . . . . 30 30. G, 0* Trevelyan, op. c l t . , v o l. 1, p. 278, The Times gave l i t t l e space to the q u e s tio n .33- Th©

192

l ^ l . T h© L ondon T im &, July 11, 1035, combination of Wednesday, an Indian q u estio n , and th© f a c t th a t the measure was framed so c a re fu lly as to give l i t t l e «o occasion f o r d eb ate 0 *5 accounted f o r the th in House and the 58* G. 0 , T revelyan, op, c l t . . p. 279. meager re p o rta of the speeches. This concluded h is speaking in th e House f o r s ix y ea rs, f o r he was then se n t to In d ia as a member of th© Supreme Council to govern the E astern Empire,

For M s l a s t

major speech of th® year in P arliam ent, Macaulay drew upon h is b r ie f experience as a commissioner of the Board of Con­ tr o l which rep rese n ted the Crown In i t s r e la tio n s to th© l a s t Indian d ir e c to r s .

In a d d itio n to h is p r a c tic a l exper­

ience he had done some read in g on Indian a f f a i r s .

He wrote

Hannah on June 1 0 , 1832 th a t he was becoming f a m ilia r w ith Indian p o l i t i c s .

He knew something, th en , of the one

53, HX am alread y deep in Zemindars, Ryots, Polygars, Courts or Phoujdary, and Courts of Hiz&mut Adawlut, I can t o l l you which o f th e n a tiv e powers are su b sid iary and which independent, and read you le c tu re s of an hour on our diplom atic tra n s a c tio n s a t the co u rts of Lucknow, Hag*, p o re , Hydrabad, and Foonah, ...Am I not in f a i r tr a in ­ ing to be as g reat a bore as i f I had myself been in In d ia —th a t Is to sa y , as great a bore as the g re a te s t? ” 0, C. T revelyan, The Life and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay, v o l. 1 , p, 252,

xm hundred and f i f t y y ears of q u ie t tra d in g follow ed by f i f t y years of conquest and f i n a l l y of the th ir d period of organ­ ised ru le f o r the In d ian s which was th en in operation* Basic Premises One of th e main iss u e s of Macaulay1s address on the government of In d ia r e s te d on th© f a c t th a t Mr* Grant*© b i l l c a lle d fo r payment to th e company f o r the commercial monopoly which i t was being fo rc ed to give up* pay indem nities to the sto ck h o ld ers? be determined?

Who should

How should the amount

A second iss u e follow ed n a tu ra lly :

India now to b© governed?

how was

Macaulay defended the fa irn e s s

of the indem nities suggested by G rant *3 B i l l .

He a ls o de­

fended the appointment of a Supreme Council which would govern In d ia as a benevolent d esp o t.

As su b -iss u e s , ha

recommended the enactment of a number of reforms f o r the government of In d ia .

The b a sic assumption which underlay

a l l attem pts a t reform concerned th© hope of b rin g in g th© cultu re of th© Western world to the E astern Empire. In h is speech of July 10* on© of the lo n g est in his career* h© follow ed some hypotheses which he had e x ­ pounded in speeches on reform l e g is la tio n .

In a d d itio n ,

he introduced new prem ises to which h© h eld c o n s is te n tly throughout h is l i f e .

194

Qomprgadae On The Pecuniary Issu e Macaulay posed the q u estio n of how the company would be p aid fo r what I t was lo s in g w ith the a b o litio n of the monopoly in t r a d e . 34

He dism issed a d ju d ic a tio n as a

34. By means of a heavy ta x on te a funds had been secured by the company to pay dividends to the sto ck h o ld ers and funds f o r the o p eratio n of th© government. While the monopoly of trad® continued* b o th commerce and t e r r i t o r y were paid a t th e expense of a t h i r d party* th e E nglish people. With the removal of th© monopoly* how were debts to be s e ttle d ? Which were the debts of th® govern­ ment th a t ru le d a t C alcutta? Which belonged to the g reat m ercantile house th a t bought te a a t Canton? T. B. Macaulay* "Speeches and Legal Studies,** The Complete lo rk a . v o l. 9, pp. 129-30. means of se ttle m e n t because th e d i f f i c u l t i e s presen ted were p ra c tic a l ones.

The s itu a tio n In In d ia , he observed, posed

a new problem to which no h is t o r ic a l precedent was a p p li­ cable.

Thus he la id the groundwork fo r a s a tis f a c to r y r e ­

action to the government’s p ro p o sal %th a t i s , compromise. In order th a t i t would not be necessary to re v o lu tio n iz e the whole c o n s titu tio n of In d ia , Mr.

G rant’s b i l l proposed

compromise %th a t i s , a middle course which, i t was hoped, *z CT

would n e ith e r rob nor confer a boon upon the company. 0

35. H© showed th a t compromise was necessary when no evidence was given to p o in t to what f a i r claim s were. He pointed out th a t the dividend which would be given to the pro­ p r ie to r s was p re c is e ly th e same dividend which they had been re c e iv in g during f o rty y e a rs, and which they had expected to receive perm anently. I b id . . pp. 137-38,

195

Uni Ik© Buckingham, who re p lie d to him,

•*«

Macaulay

36. Buckingham f e l t t h a t In d ia was burdened w ith a debt which had been th r u s t upon them, "The debt was in cu rred during expensive wars which a c tu a lly subjugated the people*" He p re fe rre d th a t th© company dispose of i t s p ro p erty , pay i t s d e b ts , and i f lo ss e s remained, they would have to share the f a te of any m ercan tile company f o r th a t was what th ey w ere. Hansard, v o l. 80, p. 84. supported th© company’s i n t e r e s t s .

In t h is re sp e c t he was

p ro tec tin g th e o f f i c i a l s of th e company as Burk© had done . 37 37. In 1767 and 1773 Burk© defended the r ig h ts of th e East In d ia Company a g a in s t an a v a ric io u s m in is try , H# W. C, Davis, The Age of Grev and P e e l. At th© Clarendon P ress, Oxford, 1929, p . 13* He had expressed h is p referen ce f o r th e middle ground or compromise in h is speeches on reform .

H© was co n tinuing th is

Whig tr a d it io n in su p p o rtin g Mr, G ra n t’s proposal on the pecuniary is s u e . Expediency Of Benevolent Despotism With expediency as h is key-note, he asked i f the Company should not continue to govern In d ia .

He did not

believe th a t In d ia was ready f o r a purely re p re s e n ta tiv e form of government.

In keeping w ith h is p rev io u sly u tte re d

basic premise o f f e a s i b i l i t y , he proposed th a t a Supreme Council su b je c t to th e approval of th© d ire c to rs of th e company govern In d ia as a benevolent d esp o t.

He could not

190

in tls a g e

any o th e r n o n -p a rtisa n s u b s titu te f o r the company’s

o ff l e e r s •

He viewed th e company as the n e u tra l and s a t i s ­

factory body,

He assumed th a t the le a s t England could

o ffe r In d ia was a guarantee o f im p a rtia l despotism .

His

proposal was based on th e goal of th e happiness fo r the g re a te st number.

O p tim istic a lly viewing the progress r e -

S uitin g from p ast r u le in In d ia , he hold to the t r a d it io n a l . He sp ecu lated meanwhile upon the p o s s ib ility of I n d ia ’s demanding and deserving h er Independence a t a fu tu re d a te . Mindful th a t th e w orld was not stan d in g s t i l l , he c h a ra c te r­ i s t i c a l l y d id not champion ideas too re v o lu tio n a ry nor unacceptable f o r England of 1853,

He was holding to h is

p rin cip le of gradualism which was so obvious in h is speeches on reform . Whether an o th er form of government could have been worked out w ith th e n a tiv e s w ith sa lu ta ry r e s u lts was questionable, but Macaulay did not e n te r ta in th a t th o u g h t. Judging, In h is c h a r a c te r is tic manner, a government by i t s p ra c tic a l e f f e c t s , he found th a t In d ia had su ffe re d in some resp ects but th a t the government was a c tiv e ly remedying these e v i l s .

A weakness in h is a n a ly s is was th a t he f a ile d

to consider s e rio u s ly th e p o s s ib ility of government w ithout the company’s c o n tro l, and he f a ile d to show th a t the o f f ic ia ls of the E ast In d ia Company were consciously

197

t i d y i n g e v ils •

Macaulay could not a s s e n t to changing to

any o th er system of r u le which was u n trie d .

S t a t i s t i c s of

Increasing p o p u la tio n , expanding commerce, and m u ltip ly in g wealth f o r the p o ssessio n s o f England pleased him.

U tili ty

and expanding m arkets f o r B r ita in were Whig goals shared by Macaulay. H© agreed w ith some well-known a u th o ritie s on In d ia th a t the country was unready f o r a re p re se n ta tiv e c o n s titu ­ tio n .

Macaulay f e l t th a t In d ia deserved a t le a s t the b e s t

government th a t England could offer*

In order to guarantee

th is , he proposed choosing can d id ates f o r governmental p o s i­ tion s by c i v i l se rv ic e exam inations*

The co n v ictio n s which

he s ta te d concerning th e importance of the in te lle c tu a l d is ­ cip lin e to those in government o ffic e s were c o n s iste n t with his a ttitu d e totvard the c o rre la tio n of academic success and success in l i f e .®8 38* When, In 1857, he learn ed th a t th e son of a f rie n d of h is was ra te d low academ ically, he wrote * "A las, what can he do o r be I And f o r what e a rth ly purpose has be spent the l a s t th ree years a t Cambridge? To waste money and to form bad and d isre p u ta b le connections, I suppose. For th a t Is a l l he has done and a l l th a t , a f t e r h is f i r s t s t a r t , he could reasonably be expected to do* The l a s t In d ia C iv il S ervice is q u ite out of th e q u e s tio n .* * .1' Macaulay's Jo u rn a l. v o l. XL, p. 488 quoted In B eatty, PP.* c i t . . p. 174* Also to in su re f a ir n e s s he proposed th a t the

198 government l e g i s l a t e f o r Europeans and Brahmins a lik e so th at th e Europeans would not he u n co n tro lled and the n a tiv e s unprotected*

His f i n a l reoowBaendation was a re c o d ifio a tlo n

Of the laws of India*

T h is, he m aintained, would a t le a s t

secure c e r ta in ty of law*

As he im plied In h is H isto ry * be­

cause he p laced law above ty ra n n ic a l c a rp ic e , he b eliev ed th at the Whig R evolution of 1688 was the main source of the progress of th e country*

A fte r the appearance of Macaulay’s

Penal Code in 1837, Mr. F its James Stephens, a tra in e d law yer, said th a t i t proved Macaulay had a knowledge of E nglish crim inal law which could be c a lle d ex trao rd in ary *

”H© must

have possessed th e g i f t o f going a t once to the very ro o t of the m a tte r, and of s i f t i n g th e corn from th e ch aff to a most unusual degree*”30 Macaulay was a s s a ile d by some f o r 39* G. 0. T revelyan, The L ife and L e tte rs o f Lord Macaulay. Vol. 1, pp* 367-68. his advocacy of the s o -c a lle d Black Act which with-drew from B r itis h su b je c ts in In d ia the so -c a lle d p riv ile g e o f bringing c i v i l appeals b efo re the Supreme Court a t C alcutta instead of acce p tin g th e d ec isio n s of the company’s judges. Ih o ffe rin g th e se concrete su g g estio n s, he was speaking lik e a benevolent despot who was s tr iv in g to be im p artial* Unquestionably Macaulay was committed to the idea

199

of p ro te c tin g E ngland’s expanding market a, b u t he was also m otivated by a deep re s p e c t fo r an Englishman’s duty to a su b je c t n a tio n .

His E ducational Minute and M s Penal

Code were evidence of M s c a rry in g h is co n v ictio n s in to a c tio n .

He p ra c tic e d u n iv e rs a l to le r a tio n not only to groups

who might In crease th e market fo r economic expansion b u t to groups who p resen ted hazards to him.

E a r lie r , f o r in sta n c e ,

he had supported the removal of c i v i l d i s a b i l i t i e s f o r the J e w s L a t e r , he fav o red ©mancipation of the s l a v e s , ^ 40* T. B. Macaulay, "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s ," The Com­ p le te Works, v o l. 9 , pp. 114-27. 41. His speech on th e West In d ia B ill and h is re s ig n a tio n from th e Cabinet when the m in istry d id not support as l i b e r a l a b i l l as he wanted In d icated h is devotion to the cause of th e s la v e s . The Cabinet did n o t accept h is r e s ig n a tio n . G. 0. Trevelyan, op. o i t . . v o l. 1, pp. 273-77. staked M s c a re e r upon h is proposal to give ed u catio n al f a c i l i t i e s to th e C a th o lic s, 42 and was an a c tiv e f rie n d of 42. I b i d .. pp. 372-87. d isse n te rs b45

ijhe p a tte rn o f h is l i f e In d ica ted th a t h is

43. I b i d . , pp. 330-46. desire fo r reform was n o t occasioned by u l t e r i o r m otives.

200

fe fcaramfla For And W estern izatio n Of The Indiana The clau se of th e b i l l which he considered "bene­ v o le n t end n o b le” was th e one which guaranteed th a t no In -

dl&n could be b arred from holding o ffic e because of c o lo r, descent, or re lig io n *

England could not a ffo rd to m aintain

her ru le over In d ia by re fu s in g to give the ru le to n a tiv e s who were ready to assume r e s p o n s ib ility .

There was no

doubt th a t th e p o lic y which was advocated f o r In d ia was the Whig p o licy o f 18253.

A country which had ju s t passed the

Reform Act found monopoly and ex clu siv en ess I n to le r a b le . Because they them selves had ju s t extended t h e i r own f r a n ­ c h ise , Englishmen could h ard ly agree to exclude the Indians from high o ffic e s in t h e i r own country.

On these broad

p h ilo so p h ica l p r in c ip le s of hum an!tarianism and u n iv e rsa l to le ra tio n Macaulay was speaking th e thoughts of h is countrymen. The hum anitarian s p i r i t nourished by Wesley, Burke, and Wllberforo© plus tho d e sire of the n a tiv e s to le a r n from th e West44 encouraged Macaulay to urge a change in 44, George Anderson, B r itis h A dm inistration in In d ia, p. 145. the ed u catio n al p o lic y of the su b je c t n a tio n .

Like Grant

and Indians such as Ram Mohan Roy, he regarded the develop­ ment of an E n g lish system of education as a n e c e s s ity ,

201

Macaulay *a purpose was to e s ta b lis h th e E n g lish language and l i t e r a t u r e in th e same p o s itio n in In d ia which the Greek and L atin c la s s ic s h eld in E nglish u n iv e rs itie s *

By t h i s

method, In d ia would become E n g lish in ideas and cu ltu re*

AU

45* S ir John Cummings, P o l i t i c a l India* 1852-1932* Oxford U n iv ersity P ress, London, T&32, r pT 2 5 ,r ' ‘ """ y©t he showed a d i s t i n c t lack of a p p re c ia tio n fo r the customs, i n s t i t u t i o n s , and achievements of a n a tio n th a t was not comparable w ith England when he spoke of "despotism and p r i e s t c r a f t ” or "the low est depths of slav ery and super­ s t i t i o n ” or Mogul r u le r s as "m iserable ty r a n ts •"

Perhaps

such d isreg a rd of th e c u ltu re of o th e rs in d ic a te d hi® own narrow outlook*

O bjectors to t h i s ideology f e l t th a t th ere

was no p o ssib le reason to t i e English and Indian c u ltu re to g e th er.

He may not have been n e g le c tin g the m atter o f

46* Lord Curson remarkeds "Ever since th e cold b re a th o f Macaulay fs r h e to r ic passed over the f i e l d of Indian language and Indian te x t-b o o k s, th e elem entary educa­ tio n of th e people in t h e i r own tongue has s h r iv e lle d and p in ed ." Anderson, op. o l t *, p* 144* expediency by sponsoring n o n -d iscrim in atio n , f o r he adm itted th at i t was more Im portant to c u ltiv a te customers than I t was to govern slaves* According t o some c r i t i c s , Macaulay’s plans f o r

202

educating and c i v i l i s i n g the Indiana d id n o t work out as to had expected*

B ather, th e group which receiv ed the

b e n e fit of education became sh a rp ly d if f e r e n tia te d from t t o l r fe llo w s so th a t a deeper d iv is io n o f the cast© system developed.

The In d ian s simply refu sed to pass on th e know­

ledge which th ey had gained from E nglish c u l t u r e . ^

Al-

47* Cummings, op . c l t . , p. SO. VW^>e»»M iih iw h— »■

■!■*« * 1>M iim* I n—mm i h u p ' iiwpn M W M W ^ M i W i ww W iiH ih»*mh* i ■■

I

though Macaulay was probably sin c e re In h is recommendations for the government of In d ia , he was speaking the in s u la r ity of th© V ictorian mind which f a i l e d to recognize the fo re ig n culture of the O rien t. Forms of Support Perhaps because th© people were ev in cin g so l i t t l e in te re s t and advancing so few arguments a g a in st Mr. Grant*s b i l l , Macaulay in h is government of In d ia speech devoted considerably le s s tim e to r e f u ta tio n than he d id in h is speeches on reform ,

Ha r e lie d almost e n tir e ly upon lo g ic a l,

co n stru ctiv e argument u n t i l be came to h is p e ro ra tio n when to did u t i l i z e d ir e c t em otional ap p eals. Two main charges he attem pted to answer.

F irs t,

th a t pecuniary arrangem ents f o r the company and stockholders as suggested by G ran t*s b i l l were u n fa ir and second, th a t

005

the plan o ffe re d by th e m in istry f o r th e company to r e ta in the government of th e country was u n sa tisfa c to ry *

I t was

necessary f o r him to show in what way co u n ter-p ro p o sals were in e ff e c tiv e so lu tio n s* le fu ta tto n By The Method Of Residues He was concerned w ith r e f u tin g m isconceptions en tertain e d by Mr# Buckingham and o th e rs who thought th a t although th e monopoly could be removed and the government of India l e f t to th e Company, I t was unnecessary to make any f in a n c ia l arrangem ents.

Macaulay a ls o had to answer

those who objected to the governm ent's suggested s e t t l e ment fo r pecuniary d i f f i c u l t i e s - - a compromise# 48 He found 48* Because i t was Im possible to determine th e d e b its and c r e d its belonging to th e sovereign body or to the tra d in g body, a compromise s o lu tio n was e ffe c te d . The Crown assumed a l l claim s of the Company and th© o b lig a tio n s of th e company# The company was to rece iv e revenues from In d ia as re g u la te d and enacted by P arliam ent. th at he had to speak to those who thought th© compromise was too fav o rab le to th e company as w ell as to those who found i t u n ju st to the company.

What he was r e a lly saying

was th a t i f i t were p o ssib le to give such proof I t would be p o ssib le to give commerce or t e r r i t o r y i t s ju s t dues. He assumed th a t since th e compromise could not be proved

804 u n fair and sine© th© government could not prove i t fa ir# i

th at th e re seemed to b© every in d ic a tio n th a t th e compromise was v in d ic a te d .

The la ck o f proof which he emphasised was

hardly a f a i r t e s t of th e v a lid ity of th© p ro ffe re d solution* He am plified# however# to show th a t th e government’s plan was p r a c tic a b le .

The p ro p rie to rs would re c e iv e th© same

dividend which th ey had re c e iv e d f o r fo rty y e a rs .

Th© t e r ­

r ito r y , i f the a s s e ts in a commercial form should not pro­ duce enough to pay the debts and the dividends of th© com­ pany# would stan d the lo ss and pay th e d iffe re n c e .

The

te r r ito r y was obtaining# on th© o th e r hand# an immediate release from claim s to th e amount of m illio n s .

Macaulay f e l t

th a t the pecuniary measure could be defended# b u t th a t th© method of governing In d ia should c e rta in ly be o f equal im­ portance.

He hoped and b e lie v e d th a t India would not have

to pay anything* but i f she did# and received e f f ic ie n t pro tectio n and good le g is la tio n th a t th is was worth more than what she paid to nominal p rin ces who did nothing f o r h e r* ^ 49. T. B. Macaulay# ’’Speeches and le g a l S tu d ies* w The Com­ p le te Works, v o l. 9* pp. 136-58. B©eo$nising th© need of both a board or m in iste r supported by th e Crown and a n o n -p artisa n body independent of th© drown# he weighed s e v e ra l p o ssib le plans and found

205

All u n s a tis fa c to ry except th e p roposal of Mr* Grant*

He

dismissed commissioners appointed by th© King or by Par­ liament as u n su ita b le because t h e i r p o s itio n would depend upon th e p o l i t i c a l p a rty in power*

He considered Mr* Oharles

wytm*s p lan of having the Grown nominate d ir e c to rs every four years as the very w orst su g g estio n , f o r t h e i r p o sitio n s would depend upon th e m in is try in power and would change when the m in istry went out*

He asked how herd Greyfs M inis­

try would have fa re d i f a l l th© d ire c to rs had been nominated by W ellington In 1850*

He named the company as th© only

body suggested th a t would be Independent of the government* While a d v ise rs of th e Crown were dism issed on© day and r e ­ in state d the n e x t, the company, u n affected by English p o li­ t i c s , ac ted w ith a view to Indians w elfare only*®® By a SO* I b id ** pp* 143-44# system of re sid u e s Macaulay discarded a l l s o lu tio n s except the one recommended by Mr* Grant* He a ls o d iscard ed se v e ra l p o ssib le means of e f f e c t ­ ing a compromise between commerce and t e r r i t o r y by concluding th at the b e st adjustm ent was to make th e p ro p rie to rs of India the stock c r e d ito r s of the Indian t e r r i t o r y .

In th is

manner the revenues of th e country would depend upon th© A dm inistration o f a f f a i r s .

Sine© In d ia could not a t th is

206

%tm have a re p re s e n ta tiv e c o n s titu tio n , he argued th a t th© present su g g estio n o ffe re d th e b e s t p o ssib le c o n s titu tio n . 51 61* I b id . . pp. 152-54.

R efutation By Turning The fa b le s When Mr. Buckingham la id a l l th© e v ils of mis** government a t the f e e t of the Kaat In d ia Company, Macaulay countered th a t th e m in is te rs of th e Crown were more respon­ sib le f o r th ese d e f e c ts , f o r th© d ir e c to rs o f the company could not have c o rre c te d them w ithout th e consent of th e Board of C o n tro l.

Be c ite d the com plaint of the slowness

of th© m ail end showed th a t the d ir e c to rs could n o t a c c e l­ erate th is se rv ic e w ithout th e cooperation of th© Board, whereas the Board a c tin g alone could e a s ily expedite mat­ ters*

Concerning fo re ig n p o lic y he thought th a t the se rv a n ts

of th e King alone were resp o n sib le*

To show th a t th© Board

had approved the w ar-lik e measures, he re fe rre d to the company*a fav o rin g peace under Marquess W ellesley when th e Board urged co n q u est.5® P lacing most of th e blame on the s®* i b i d . . pp. 144-46* servants of th e King d id not com pletely exonerate the re p re ­ se n ta tiv e s o f the E ast In d ia Company, nor was i t proof th at they would ev er operate w ith complete f a ir n e s s .

S07

Macaulay d id succeed in "whit ©-washing” some of t h e i r a c t i ­ v itie s by th i s method of tu rn in g the ta b le s .

Th® f a lla c y

in h is reasoning was th a t o th er a lte r n a tiv e s might have been o ffe re d by th e m in is te rs to c o rre c t mis government In India*

A b e t te r board of c o n tro l or a s e c re ta ry re p re s e n t­

ing Parliam ent might have been o ffe re d by th e m inistry* The government of In d ia was f in a ll y given to a se c re ta ry of s ta te who was to b© a member of the cab in et d ir e c tly responsible to P a rlia m e n t* ^ 55. W» E* h u n t, H istory of England, p . 685. R efutation And A m p lificatio n By Means Of Analogy Macaulay’s fre q u en t an alo g ies were c le a rly i l l u s ­ tr a tiv e but not always com pletely v a lid .

Yet he was aware

of the Importance of o b tain in g a f a i r comparison.

For in -

stance# h© r e fu te d Mr. Buckingham’s a s s e rtio n th a t In d ia was not as f lo u ris h in g now as she had been two hundred years ago.

Because he doubted whether th e re were s u f f ic ie n t

data to prove t h i s point# h© suggested comparing contempor­ ary In d ia w ith In d ia as the E nglish found i t .

To r e c a l l the

calam ities th ere from the f a l l of th© Mogul power

and

establishm ent of E nglish ru le which threw th© country back cen tu ries was as u n fair# he thought, as to say th a t A lfred was a bad king because B r ita in under h is ru le was not so

SOS

c iv iliz e d as in the tim e of th e Romans*5^

He made M s p o in t

54* Macaulay, on# o l t . . p. 146#

th a t s te p s i n th e development of a country must to© analyzed C arefully in o rd e r to a t t a i n a f a i r comparison# He continued to use analogy to compare th© con­ d itio n of In d ia when England found h e r w ith her s ta tu s a t the p resen t time*

The n e a re st p o r a lle l he could d isco v er EC

was th© s ta tu s of Europe in the f i f t h ce n tu ry .

Because

65, I b id . . pp. 146-49. he f a ile d to develop th is p a r a lle l i t lacked fo rce and per­ suasiveness.

H© observed th a t England had e s ta b lish e d o rd er

where confusion re ig n e d , th a t she had conquered p red ato ry tr ib e s , th a t she had preserved th© peace, th a t she had tre a te d c a p tiv e s f a i r l y .

He f e l t th a t w* * ,to the doubtful

splendor which surrounds th e memory of H astings and C live, we can oppose the s p o tle s s g lo ry of E lphinstone and eg

Mmsro.w

I t i s f a i r to ask whether a l l the progress could

56. There i s more g en eral agreement th a t the ru le of E lphinstone and o f Munro were praisew orthy than can be found concerning th e re ig n s of H astings and C live, E lphinstone is s a id to have c a rrie d out th© same p o licy in Bombay of l e t t i n g th® n a tiv e s share in the work of organizing a J u d ic ia l system th a t Munro i n i t i a t e d in Madras. nThese two men helped reform the government of I n d ia ,” ftomesh B u tt, The Economic Hi a t ory of In d ia

20®

tender E arly B r itis h Hule. Eegan P aul, Trench, Trubner and Co*7 I»td. , Lcnido n , 1908, pp. 6-15. honestly b© a c c re d ite d to England or whether o th e r causes were operating*

I t would seem th a t Macaulay*s reasoning

was f a lla c io u s } o th er causes would have e n te re d in*

He

was, however, persuading by am p lified analogy which p ic to r* ia lly p resen ted th© p ro g ress of In d ia . He suggested th a t the burden of proof la y w ith those who b eliev e d th a t d isc a rd in g the p resen t system of government would b® advantageous.

He was q u ite w illin g

to make a change when any s u b s titu te could b© suggested th at was b e t t e r than th e p resen t system . Such a s u b s titu te 57 had not been o ffe re d . Macaulay was merely using an a r t f u l 57. Macaulay, op. p i t . , pp. 151-52. stratagem f o r c a llin g p ro o f from o th e rs.

I t was not sub­

s ta n tia l support fo r th© plan of the m in is te rs . He c a lle d th© government o f In d ia f a r from p er­ f e c t, f o r no n a tio n could b© p e r f e c tly governed u n t i l I t was se lf-g o v ern ed .

He th en compared I t w ith o th er govern­

ments of th© same c la s s such as d espotism a--to th© advantage ©f th e E nglish c o n tro l over In d ia .

To mak© a comparison

with th© governments of England* Prance, or th© United S ta te s , h© th o u g h t, would re q u ire an apology f o r th a t of

2X0

India*

Yet lie saw no reaso n fo r changing to any o th er sy s­

tem which would he e q u a lly condemned in th e o ry . 58

Macaulay

58. I b id . . p. 152. was probably c o rre c t in c i tin g th© company’s government of India as b e t t e r than th a t of o th er governments to which i t was comparable.

That was not conclusive proof th a t i t was

the b e a t form f o r I n d ia .

He was not reasoning unw isely,

though, when he re fu se d to agree to a change w ithout p rin ­ cip les or precedents f o r guidance and as long as he refu sed to agree to change ju s t f o r the sake of change. One example of fig u ra tiv e analogy was not immed­ ia te ly c le a r .

Macaulay had ra is e d the p o s s ib ility of a

d ifferen ce between the Supreme Court and the government on a m atter of le g is la tio n w ith th e only umpire the Im perial Parliament*

He c a lle d th i s p u ttin g one w ild elep h an t be­

tween two tame ones or a tame elep h an t between two w ild ones *5 8

The analogy was f a r-fe tc h e d and lacked co n v ictio n .

I b id *« p, 158. R elying upon s i m i l a r i t i e s , h© reduced to an ab­ su rd ity the p o s s i b ilit y of an e d ic t of th© Governor G eneral’s having fo rce one place in In d ia and being in e ff e c tu a l in another u n less I t were r e g is te r e d by the Judge of the

211

Supreme Court*

Be compared t h i s s itu a tio n w ith the old

law of san ctu ary in England which a u th o rise d th a t a d eb to r migiht he a r r e s te d in F le e t S tre e t who would he exempt from such l e g i s l a t i o n a t White f r i a r s . 6 0

In one case he was speak

60* I b id . . pp. 158-69. ing p rim a rily of th e government of th e company as opposed to th® government o f th e Crown.

In th© l a t t e r case he r e ­

fe rre d to geographical m atters*

The c h a r a c te r is tic s com­

pared were n o t s u f f i c ie n tly a lik e to c re a te a v a lid analogy. Continuing to compare th© s ta tu e of In d ia a f t e r the f a l l of th e Mogul power and th© co n d itio n of Europe a f te r the f a l l of th® Homan Empire, h© found se v e ra l sys­ tems of law e x e rc ise d a t the same tim e.

As I t a l y a t one

time had Boman law , the Lombard law, and the S a lic law, India now had Hindoo law, Mahometan law, and E nglish law .6^ 61. I b id . . pp. 161-64. This comparison a t l e a s t made c le a r th e c u rre n t s ta te of confusion in th© le g a l system o f In d ia . In th is speech Macaulay reasoned ty p ic a lly by h is to r ic a l analogy*

The an a lo g ie s, n o t c o n s is te n tly v a lid

because he did not always compare o b je c ts in the same f i e l d of c l a s s i f ic a ti o n , were Im portant f o r i l l u s t r a t i v e purposes.

212

And Causal Reasoning Hot only d id bo an^plify by comparison b u t a ls o by sp e c ific in sta n c e and c a u sal re a so n in g .

Sometimes a chain

of s p e c if ic instance® comprised e x p o sitio n necessary to th e development of M s argum ent•

For in s ta n c e , he was unable

to accept th e removal of the commercial monopoly as an un­ complicated s it u a ti o n .

Unlike o th e r members whom he ob­

served# he saw th a t a complete se ttle m e n t re q u ire d th a t a change be made in th e c o n s titu tio n of th© c o rp o ra tio n .

To

show th a t th e re was need fo r such a s te p , he I l l u s t r a t e d h is to r ic a lly th a t th e company, as a tr a d e r and as a sovereign, presented an involved p ic tu r e .

Formerly a ta x on te a pro­

vided revenue fo r th e dividends of the stock h o ld er as w ell as fund® f o r governmental o p e ra tio n .

With th e removal of

the ta x , the company could no longer support i t s government. I t was n ecessary , th e n , to a s sig n a s s e ts and l i a b i l i t i e s to commerce and to t e r r i t o r y | y e t the r e s p o n s ib ilitie s of th e tra d e r and th© sovereign were se p a ra te d .

He asked who was

to decide whether d eb ts would be assig n ed to th e government th at ru le d a t C alcu tta or to th e m ercan tile house th a t go bought te a a t Canton, By means of th is simple ex p lan atio n 62, f 4 B* Macaulay, ,fSpeechos and Legal S tu d ie s ,” Th© Com-

. SIS

Macaulay presented th e problem to th© House,

He viewed the

d ifficu lties as p o litic a l* a r is in g from th© c o n s titu tio n of the company which u n ite d th© commercial and governing p a r­ tie s in one body. ther#

By s p e c if ic instance* be c l a r i f i e d f u r ­

He gave th® h y p o th e tic a l case of a tr e a s u r e r of a

ch a rity who mixed up th© money of th e o rg an isa tio n w ith h is own p riv a te n o te s and dividends and drew on i t fo r perso n al ©r public expenses#

A fte r h is death* I t was im possible to

determine w hether h is © state was In debt to th© c h a rity or the c h a rity to h is e s ta te #

Although Macaulay sa id th a t the

s itu a tio n s were comparable* h is h y p o th e tic a l tr e a s u r e r was guilty of frau d or gross negligence whereas the com plicated a f f a ir s of the E ast In d ia Company were simply due to unusual ©ireumstances®^ which th© company could not control#

A l-

63# Ib id # . P. 131. though th© eases were not com pletely analogous* th© compari­ son helped to convey Macaulay’s point# By tr a c in g th© h is to ry of the company he showed how the expenses of war and government had become entangled with the proceeds from the m ercan tile tra n s a c tio n s .

While

i t was easy to see which a s s e ts of the company were commer­ c ia l and which were p o litic a l* th a t was not th e question# Assets which were commercial In form* he ex p lain ed , might

214

to* t e r r i t o r i a l as re sp e c te d th e r ig h t of p ro p e rty .

He c ite d

example a such as th a t of a f o r t to show th a t i t was not n e c e ss a rily t e r r i t o r i a l p ro p erty since i t might be on gp&md which th e company bought out of t h e i r commercial p r o f it s .

And th u s he a rriv e d a t th e conclusion th a t muni-,

cip al law had n ever contem plated the p o s s ib ility of a controversy such as t h i s .

54

64. I b id . . pp. 150-35. A fte r m entioning the d i f f i c u l t i e s of a d ju d ic a tio n , he adm itted th a t i f th e se could be surmounted I t would be impossible to leave the company any share in th e government ©f India e s p e c ia lly i f l i t i g a t i o n between commerce and

te r r ito r y should a ris e *

By ca u sal reasoning, he concluded

th a t i f th e company were engaged in a la w -su it f o r m illio n s , they could h ard ly be e n tru s te d w ith th e government. 65, I b id . , pp. 155-56. His recommendation th a t the government of In d ia be divided between a m in is te r or board supported by the Crown and some o th e r body independent of the Crown was am plified by s p e c if ic exam ples.

Since India was dependent

upon the p ro te c tio n of England, obviously England should have a share In the d ir e c tio n of th e government of In d ia .

2X5

MftftftuXay, a £ tw blowing th® s t a t i s t i c s w ith reg ard t o the wealth of the dependency, could n o t countenance an army of 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 men, ft revenue of 20 m illio n s a y e a r, and a lu c r a ­

tiv e f i e l d f o r c i v i l se rv ic e p o sitio n s l e f t to th e d isp o sal ftf the Grown w ithout any cheek by the House of Commons*

the

Bouse could not be a check on th e ro y al p rero g ativ e in th e case of I n d ia , Macaulay b e lie v e d , because th e House alread y bad too much business*

By ©numerating the r e s p o n s ib ilitie s

which would f a l l upon th© House, he proved th a t i t had n e ith e r th© tim e, the necessary knowledge, nor th e motives to acquire th® f a c ts th a t were n ecessary f o r an adequate ad m in istratio n of In d ian a f f a ir s *

He found th a t members

in th© p a s t had not evidenced an in te r e s t in th© problems of In d ia and used th i s evidence c a u sa lly to advance h is case*

H® c ite d two cases as proof o f the poor attendance

ftf th® House on q u estio n s concerning th a t country*

For

example, Mr* Grant*s plan which was proposed f o r th e govern­ ment of a hundred m illio n s of In d ian s, a ttr a c te d an audience sm aller th an th a t which a tte n d e d upon the d iscu ssio n s con­ cerned w ith a tu rn p ik e or a r a ilr o a d bill*®® — — W m n n — ■— w

>

— w—

I. m i Min lim p

................................

1*111in

imm—

i » w i# ' »—

■— iin'Miiii.iii 1— mfc— m i. u x n u M i m i mm
p# 144* tie and p e r s is te n t, enabled him to p a in t a scene which rose to a climax*

Yet h is r e c i t a l of the p rogress made in In d ia

was tiresom e in i t s d e t a il s as w ell as in i t s r e p e titio u s sentence s tru c tu re *

His w ritte n s ty le is c r i t i c i s e d by ju s t

th is s o r t of r e p e titio n * The balanced arrangem ent In th® s h o rt sentences summarized preceding example® In Macaulay’s u su al fashion* The company i s an anomaly; b u t i t is p a rt of a system where ev e ry th in g i s anomaly* I t i s th© stra n g e s t of a l l governments; but i t Is d e s i r e d fo r the s tra n g e s t of a l l em pires *101 I see e v i l s ; but I see th® government a c tiv e ly employed In th e work of remedying those ev ils* Th© ta x a tio n is heavy; but th e work of re tre n c h ­ ment i s u n sp arin g ly pursued *102 101 • I b id *, p * 143* 1 0 2 * I b id ** p* 161*

ffl&rltv Through Concreteness Bagehot c a lle d Macaulay’s w ritin g too om niscient, too p la in ;

"A ll is c le a r ; nothing is doubtful *,,1,0S Th©

103* W alter Bagehot, L ite ra ry S tu d ie s * Longmans, Green,and

235

®©mpamy* London* v o l. 2* 1079* p* 250, iteu ran ee of b ein g b o th understood and of n o t being m isunderstood I s of paramount Importance to th e sp eak er.

C la rity

la necessary when th e l i s t e n e r cannot tu rn back to review a page*

Macaulay obtained c le a rn e ss and v iv id n ess by the use

of concrete r a th e r than a b s tr a c t words . 104 104* "Why should we fo rce a lad* who would much r a th e r f l y a kit© or tru n d le a hoop* to le a rn h is L atin grammar? Why should we keep a young man to h is Thucydides or h is La Place* when he would r a th e r be shooting?* Macaulay, op. c l t . * p . 153. "A broken head In Cold Bath F ield s produces a g re a te r sen satio n among us than th re e p itch ed b a t t l e s in I n d ia *11 I b i d . , p . 141. His v iv id fancy and Im agination wore most a t play in c o n stru c tin g h y p o th e tic a l cases which might p resen t them selves.

According to Bagehot, Macaulay had th© fa c u lty

of c re a tin g out of dry b i l l s and dusty tra n s a c tio n s th© fa n c ifu l tu rn of a p o e tic m ind,10S

I t is by means of these

105. W alter Bagehot, op. c l t ** p. 244, s k i l l f u l words th a t Macaulay added I n te r e s t to otherw ise p re tty d u ll m aterial*

While h is il l u s t r a t i o n s were always

colorful* sometimes h is h i s t o r i c a l a llu s io n s were too un­ fa m ilia r to members of the House* sounded lik e mumbo-Jumbo*

Some of h is examples

2m

Th® Ja u ts e s ta b lis h e d them selves on th e Jumna. Th® Seek® d e v a sta te d Lahoo.^05 106. I b id . . p . 147* In t h is r e s p e c t, w hile h® was c o n c re te, he did n o t a d ju s t his i l l u s t r a t i o n s to h is audience* Imagery And K xaggeratlon Perhaps because he was giving a d efense, h© ampli­ fie d h is own p ro p o sitio n s by examples and gave them c o lo r by imagery more than he did in h is r e b u tta ls on reform le g is -

Ution.K” 107* In c a u tio n in g men to proceed slowly in forming a govern­ ment f o r a stran g e co u n try , be sa id ! nWe have to en­ g ra ft on despotism those b le ssin g s which ar© th e n a tu ra l f r u i t s of lib e r ty ,,.T h e lig h t of p o l i t i c a l science and of h is to ry a re withdrawn: w© ar© walking in darkness; w© do n o t d i s t i n c t l y see w hither we are going. I t is the wisdom of a man, so s itu a te d , to f e e l h is way, and not to p la n t h is fo o t t i l l h© is w ell assu red th a t th© ground b efo re him is firm , 11 I b id . „ p, 140, Too many an alo g ies are apt to d u ll the p o in t.

His

argument th a t by means of exam inations over any f i e l d th© most b r i l l i a n t and in d u strio u s young men could be se le c te d for p osts in In d ia was c le a r before he had fin ish e d h is extend© d anal ogle s .^ " ^ 108, **lf th© Ptolem aic system were taught a t Cambridge in ­ ste a d of th e Newtonian, the se n io r w rangler would

257

n e v e rth e le s s be in g en eral a su p e rio r man to the wooden spoon* I f , in s te a d of le a rn in g Greek, we le arn ed the Cherokee, th e m n who understood the Cherokee b e s t, who made th e most c o rre c t and melodious Cherokee v e rse s, who comprehended most a c c u ra te ly th e e f f e c t of th e Cherokee p a r t i c l e s , would g en e ra lly be a super­ io r man to him who was d e s titu t e of th ese accom plish­ ments* I f a s tro lo g y were tau g h t a t our U n iv e rs itie s , the young man who o a s t n a t i v i t i e s b e s t would g e n e ra lly tu rn out a s u p e rio r man. I f alchemy were ta u g h t, the young man who showed most a c t i v i t y in the p u rs u it o f the p h ilo so p h e r’ s stone would g e n e ra lly tu rn out a su p e rio r man,” I b id , , pp, 155-56, In th is speech Macaulay was le s s sure of some so lu ­ tio n s , le s s dogmatic than in many of h is speeches,

fhe f a c t

that he was w illin g to make adm issions and to g ran t p ro b a b il­ i t i e s mad© h is d e f in ite b e l ie f s stan d In dram atic r e l i e f , As u su al, however, he exaggerated in o rd er to o b tain e f f e c t s . I t was p o ssib le th a t th i s drawing of stro k e s too b o ld ly made the d isc rim in a tin g l i s t e n e r wary of Macaulay’s id e a s , dia was d e p icte d as depraved and u n c iv ilis e d ,

In ­

o r ie n ta l

culture rece iv ed no re c o g n itio n , while England was presented as outstanding In m o ra lity , , , , where every d e c isio n (o f law) Is watched by a shrewd and le arn ed audience %where th e re is an i n te lli g e n t and observant pu b lic %where every r e ­ markable ease is f u lly rep o rted in a hundred

newspapem ♦*

109, Macaulay, op, c i t . , p* 165, At tim es h is examples were c a rrie d alm ost to the point of exhaustion so th a t he seemed to b elabor a p o in t.

238

Be was probably s tr i v i n g f o r em phasis, b u t as H arrison s a id ; w***f©r th® peer bangs down h is f i s t to c lin c h every sentone©. 110

I t Is deb atab le whether the many examples he

110« F red erick H arriso n , ” 0n E n g lish P ro se ,” in Brew ster, on. c l t .» p. 323. cited of d iv e rse law s, codes, and tr a d itio n s o p eratin g in India 111 may have tended to obscure h is argum ent--that '----- ~7

-

-------------------------------------------------------------

—

■--------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------

111, Macaulay, op, c l t . , pp. 161-63, India was in need of a code of law s. I t i s q u estio n ab le whether th is f a ls e emphasis and use of hyperbole were a d e fe c t.

For th© most p a r t, he

did make h is d e sire d im pression, but a read e r of th© speech Is bound to keep h is tongue In h is cheek fo r some of th© h is to r ic a l a llu s io n s and over-drawn com parisons.

Yet his

language and sentence s tru c tu re were c le a r , v a rie d , e n e rg e tic , and b r i l l i a n t —a l l q u a litie s d e s ire d by a good speaker. Audience Hespons© A rnold, in r e f e r r in g to th© lo n g e st 1 * 5 speech X12, Macaulay took one and th ree q u a rte r hours to d e liv e r th is July 10 a d d re ss. F red erick A rnold, The Public Life of Lord Macaulay, p . 157.

259 *hlch St&oaul&y ev er d e liv e re d , s a id th a t i t was in many in * respect® th© most rem arkable, u Did colleagues and opponU5# I b id . enis r e a c t in a comparable manner to the Government of In ­ dia speech? Reactions Of Colleagues And Of Opponents Mr. G ra n t’s p ra is e s were recorded by Hansard,

He

referre d to h la ad m iratio n o f th© speech of h is f rie n d , the member fo r Leeds. • • •& speech which, he would venture to a s s e r t, had never been exceeded w ith in those w a lls, f o r th© development of statesm an lik e p o licy and p rac­ t i c a l good se n se . I t e x h ib ite d a l l th a t was noble in o ra to ry , a l l th a t was sublim e, he had almost sa id In p o etry —a l l th a t was tr u ly g re a t, and v irtu o u s In human n a tu re . I f the House a t la rg e f e l t a deep i n t e r e s t in t h i s m agnificent d isp la y , i t might judge of what were h is emotions wissra he p erceiv ed , In the hands of h is honorable f r ie n d , the g re a t p rin c ip le s he had propounded to the House, glowing w ith fre s h .c o lo u rs , and array ed in a l l the beauty of t r u t h . 14 114. Hansard, v o l. 19, p. 547. I t was not s u rp ris in g th a t Grant should bo overwhelmed by a speech supporting h is measure.

Yet th is was unusually gen­

erous p ra is e from a le ad er given to a su b o rd in ate. What was th© re a c tio n of those who wore not in complete agreement w ith th© speaker?

Mr. Wynn, a f t e r

240

pfU islag h ig h ly th e speech of Macaulay expressed h is ag ree meat in alm ost every p r in c ip le la id down although he d i f ­ fered somewhat as to t h e i r a p p lic a tio n to the h i l l before the House*1 * 5

US*

But

the

Hansard* v o l. 19*

response of the R adical, 0*Connell,

p* 536.

was more meaningful. Mr. 0*Connell* a f t e r e u lo g iz in g in very warm tones th© speech of the honorable andlearn ed member f o r Leeds, as on© combining the most statesm an lik e views* th e most en larg ed and en lig h ten ed p r in c i­ p le s of le g i s l a t i o n w ith reg ard to our Indian pos­ s e s s io n s .. .th e n proceeded to d isagree w ith de­ t a i l s . 3-3.®

116* Ib id . » p. 546. Macaulay had t o earn G r e v ille *s concise Tory comment j "Macaulay is s a id to have made an adm irable speech l a s t n ig h t on the Indian q u estio n in th e House of Commons."

117

117. The G re v ille Memoirs. 1814-1860. Lytton Strachey and Roger F u lfo rd , e d s ., v o l. 2 * p . 392. Comparisons Of The 1835 And The 1853 Speeohes^ Qn In d ia Bagehot m aintained th a t Macaulay’s f i r s t speeches were as good as h is l a s t - - t h a t h is mind showed no tra c e of Change, th a t h is creed was s t a t i c .

He concurred w ith others

th at the speech of 1833 was o u tstan d in g .

241

Before ho wont th e re he made a speeoh on the s u b je c t| Lord Canterbury!, who must have heard a m illio n speech es, s a id i t was th e b e st h® had ever h e a r d . . . , Hot f o r g e ttin g , or ex cep tin g , th© o ratio n s of Burke, i t was perhaps as remarkable a speeoh as was e v e r made on In d ia by an E n g lish ­ man who had not been in I n d ia l 118 113# Bagehot, op. c l t . , pp. 224-26. He re g re tte d th a t Macaulay appeared in s e n s ib le to p assin g o bjects, th a t he was n o t su s c e p tib le to p r a c tic a l ex p erien ces, for h is liv in g in India seemed n o t to have improved h is speaking about the a f f a i r s o f th a t country.'*”^ 119. " . . . h r spoke e x c e lle n tly w ithout ex p erien ce, he speaks no b e t te r w ith i t , —i f anything i t r a th e r puts him o u t.* I b id . . p. 226. Macaulay, h im self, considered h is f i r s t speech Oh India su p e rio r to th© one of 1855.

He w rote of h is s a t i s ­

factio n w ith h is f i r s t speech on th© government of In d ia . • . . I made th© b e s t speech, by g en eral agreement and In my op in io n , th a t I ever mad© in my l i f e . I was an hour and th re e q u a rte rs up, and such compliments as X had from Lord A lthorp, Lord Palm erston, Lord John R u sse ll, Wynne, 0*Connell, G rant, th® Speaker, and twenty other p e o p le ... I w ill t e l l you on© compliment th a t was paid mo, and which d e lig h te d me more than any o th e r. An old member s a id to me, " S ir , having heard th a t speech may console the V-pung people f o r never having heard Mr, Burk ©,*120 180# G, 0, Trevelyan, on. o l t . . v o l. 1, p. 278.

242 B* Aid not Include h i a speech of 1853 on th e same topic in

his co llectio n of apeeohes.

He ex p lain ed why he considered

this address u n sa tisfa c to ry .122* was th© d eadest tim e of th e e v e n in g .. .b u t th e House was very w e ll f i l l e d . I spoke fo r an hour and a h a lf , p r e tty w e ll--o th e rs say very w e ll. I d id not s a tis f y myself? b u t, on th® whole, I succeeded b e t t e r than I had expected. X was much exhausted, though I had by no means exhausted my s u b je c t . 11 I b id . , v o l. 2 , p. 286.

121 * wI t

Subsequent Speakers I n The Debate Follow ing Macaulay1s defense of the measure, Mr. Wynp and Mr. O’Connell approved in g en e ra l o f the p rin c ip le s la id down but d isag reed w ith some of the d e ta ils of the b i l l . 188 122. Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 75, 1855, p . 186. — ■ -r “ f

r -Til

r:

IIII II

I

I

;

.... |—

- r .w " - r n

hi u •

n

—-1--■

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— .......... - —

--------- ----------- ---

- - - - - - - - - ....... — ..... .......... — — — ■

On JUly 12 the House went in to committee on the M il. 123

2 hen follow ed days of debate upon se p a ra te c la u se s.

123. Hansard, v o l. 19, p. 617. Mr. Hum© thought twenty years too long a p erio d f o r the ex­ tension of the company’ s c h a r te r .

G rant, however, thought

ten years was to o sh o rt a time to e s ta b lis h s e c u rity and s ta b ility and to encourage the company to develop

India*®

245

resources.1®4 Macaulay p o in ted out th a t a twenty y ear 124« Hansard, v o l. 19, pp. 618-19. period was th e p ro p o sitio n of the company not th e govern­ ment.

He s a id perhaps th© "beat c r ite r i o n by which to know

whether a country was w ell or ill-g o v e rn e d , was th e s ta te of i t s fin a n c e s—c e r t a in ly , th a t was so ."

So I f finances

were in co n fu sio n , th© q u estio n of government should then be weighed by P a rlia m e n t,1®® Mr. Homo *3 proposed amendment ib id . . p. 622. "that a t th e end of te n years th e government should be a t lib e rty t o r e c a l l or amend th© c h a rte r , g iv in g two years* notice th e re o f" rece iv ed 26 ayes and 77 noes.

Macaulay

voted n o ,12® 126, I b id . . pp. 625-27» Subsequent D iscussion On R elig io n And Education On July 17, clau se 89 providing f o r the e c c le s ia s ­ tic a l estab lish m en t of In d ia was re a d ,

Mr. 0*0onn©ll op­

posed th e clause because he considered i t would e s ta b lis h a s ta te re lig io n In In d ia .

Macaulay In d ic a te d th a t he was

not advocating episcopacy.

H© saw no o b jectio n to giving

to the church of the dominant n a tio n when ©very re lig io n

244

m s supported out o f th e revenues of th e s ta te In p ro p o rtio n to I t s e x te n t *'**®'7

two days l a t e r a clau se pro v id in g f o r

IB?. I b id . . p* 800, the appointment of two bishops was debated*

O’Connell again

objected, but th© ayes numbered 85 and the noes 47* la y voted w ith th e m

Macau*

a j o r i t y Then th® clause r e la tin g

188. I b id * * pp. 1019*33. to Haileybury College was re a d . college was too ex p en siv e.

Some complained th a t th©

Macaulay defended the p resen t

system of ed u catio n a t the co lleg e as being the only place in England where the p re p a ra tio n of candidates fo r c i v i l service in In d ia was given.

The p rin c ip le of com petition

rath e r than patronage appealed to

This clause was

189# I b i d .. pp. 1034-56. accepted fo r th e Commons.

Concerning the work of duly 10,

Macaulay wrote Hannah. We went In to committee on the In d ia B i ll a t twelve th is morning, s a t t i l l th ro e , and aro Ju st s e t a t lib e r t y f o r two hours* I t fiv e w© recommence, and s h a ll b© at work t i l l m id n ig h t.. .My work, though la b o rio u s , has been highly s a tis f a c to r y . Ho b i l l , I b e lie v e , of such im p o rtan ce* -certain ly no b i l l In my tim e—has been received w ith such en e ra l ap p ro b atio n . The very cause of the negigene® of th© r e p o r te r s , of the th in n e ss of th®

f

245

House , Is th a t we have framed our measure so c a re ­ f u lly as to give l i t t l e occasion fo r d eb ate, blbiXebon, Denison, and many o th e r members, a s ­ sure me th a t th ey never remember to have seen a b i l l b e t t e r drawn or b e t t e r conducted . 130 ISO. G. 0 . T revelyan, on. c i t . . v o l. 1 , p . 279.

The B i ll Paases The Commons On Ju ly 26 Mr, Grant moved the o rd er of the day for the th ir d read in g of the Bast In d ia Company C h a rte r’s Bill#

I t was passed w ith a d iv is io n of 100 ayes and 30

n c e s ,^ ^

S ir Robert I n g lis f e l t th a t the House had n o t

131. Hansard, v o l. 20, pp. 15-17, given enough a tte n tio n to the ju d ic ia l system in In d ia , Mr, Buckingham suggested th a t the b i l l departed from the p rin cip le of self-governm ent fo r a l l c o u n trie s.

He b eliev e d

th a t the r e te n tio n of th© company would r e ta r d such develop­ ment and f u r th e r th a t In d ia was burdened w ith a debt in cu rred ^during expensive wars tending to t h e i r own su b ju g atio n .* Hto had no sympathy w ith lo sse s which might r e s u lt f o r the Bast In d ia Company which had p ro fite d from years of plunder and which should share th© fat© of any m ercantile company. He co u ld n o t so© why I n d ia sh ou ld pay f o r th e P r o to s ta n t S st& b lish ed Church any more than C a th o lic s o f I r e la n d sh ou ld

246

pay fo r I t .

Although th e q u estio n s of estab lish m en t and

endowment In creased th e le n g th of th© debate and th e num­ ber of d iv is io n s , th e government c a rrie d ©very p o in t by large m a jo r itie s . the Commons

Th© b i l l was read a th ir d time and passed A pparently Macaulay was su c c e ssfu l In

m . Hansard, v o l. 20* pp. 17-50. sensing and in v o icin g the amount of reform accep tab le to the House of 18SS.183 153. Although th e commercial monopoly of th© Bast In d ia was abolished in 1833. i t s c h a rte r was made term inable in 1853 by Parliam ent and appointments were mad© on th© b a sis of com petitive c i v i l se rv ic e in ste a d of p atro n ­ age. The In d ia Mutiny of 1857 was th© f i n a l blow to dual c o n tro l. The In d ia Act of 1858 passed in spit© of a la c k of a Tory m a jo rity . I t tr a n s f e r r e d the p o li­ t i c a l power of th e company to the Crown. The govern­ ment of In d ia was given to a S ecretary of S tate who was a member of P arliam en t. Thus u n ifie d re sp o n si­ b i l i t y of government was achieved f o r In d ia by 1858. I^mt, on* c l t . . pp. 684-85, Subsequent a c ts of 1909 and 195.9 a s s o c ia te d th e people of In d ia to a g re a te r e x te n t w ith th e a c tio n s of th e government. Anderson, on. c i t . . pp. 11-17. By p ro g ressiv e s ta g e s , In d ia procured h er independence from England, Macaulay Continue® To Work For In d ia By th e follow ing August Macaulay was w ritin g Sannah th a t in keeping w ith th© now In d ia B ill one of the aesftiers of the Supreme Council appointed to govern th© ta s te m empire would be a person not a servant of th a t

24*7

country and th a t I t was probable th a t the post would b© 154 offered to him. He accep ted the appointment which came 154« (J. 0, Trevelyans op . c i t . , v o l. 1, pp. 289-90. l a t e r t h a t month.

In India* Macaulay continued to work fo r

what he co n sid ered to be th© b e s t in te r e s ts of both co u n tries and was © sp ecially remembered f o r h is new Fenal Code and his Minute on E ducation. Suromary In one of th© lo n g e st speeches of h is c a re e r, Macaulay expanded and added to some b a s ic premises which be had in tro d u ced in h is speeches on reform le g is la tio n . He continued to fav o r compromise and gradualism and ap p lied these concepts to so lv in g th© problem of how the E ast In ­ dia Company should fee compensated f in a n c ia lly f o r the p riv ­ ileg es which i t was g iv in g up.

While supporting the com­

pany*© I n t e r e s t , he viewed a compromise s o lu tio n , Mr. Grant fs b ill* as th© only s a tis f a c to r y plan f o r In d ia , England, and for the company. Because he argued th a t In d ia was unready f o r a rep rese n tativ e form of government, he proposed th a t a Supreme C ouncil, su b je c t to the approval of th© d ire c to rs Of the E ast In d ia Company, ru le In d ia as a p a te rn a l d esp o t.

248

Because th© company was th e only n e u tra l body which could act as a check on the Crown and because In d ia had progressed under the r u le of th e company, Macaulay was u n w illin g to change to any o th e r form of government*

Judging by prac­

tic a l r e s u l t s , he was p leased w ith in c re a sin g p o p u latio n and expanding commerce*

Be te s te d success by u t i l i t y and

progress, g o als of Whig philosophy* S upporting benevolent despotism , h© recommended the follow ing reform s f o r India*

a choice of candidates

for governmental p o s itio n by means o f c i v i l se rv ic e exam­ in a tio n s, le g is la tio n f o r n a tiv e s and Europeans a lik e , a re c e d ific a tio n of the laws of In d ia , and adm ittance of In ­ diana to o f fic e re g a rd le s s of c o lo r, d escen t, or re lig io n * Although he was committed in previous th in k in g to p ro te c t England*® expanding m arkets, h is lif e - lo n g conduct t e s t i ­ fied to h is in t e r e s t in u n iv e rsa l to le ra tio n *

His recommen­

dations fo r b e t t e r government f o r the n a tiv e s , th e n , could hardly be proved to b© a c tiv a te d e n tir e ly by u l t e r i o r motives* The p o licy which he advocated f o r In d ia was the Whig p o licy of 183$ which found monopoly and exclusiveness in to le ra b le * While h is p h ilo so p h ica l p rin c ip le s of hum anltarianism and u n iv e rsa l to le r a tio n were commendable, h is lack ©f a p p re c ia tio n fo r O rien ta l c u ltu re in d ic a te d an in s u la r outlook*

He encouraged the E nglish system of education and

249

E nglish language f o r th© n a tiv e s .

At th© same tim e, he

adm itted to a d e s ire t o c u ltiv a te customers r a th e r than govern s la v e s .

P robably he s in c e re ly b e lie v e d th a t h©

mas fav o rin g th e b e s t c u ltu re and ed u catio n fo r th© In d ian s, but h is th in k in g r e f le c te d th e I n s u la r ity of the V icto ria n mind* Perhaps because th e p u b lic evinced so l i t t l e in ­ te r e s t In th© Government of In d ia B i l l , Macaulay devoted Considerably le s s tim e to r e f u ta tio n than he did in h is speeches on reform .

For r e f u ta tio n , he r e lie d p rim arily

upon th© method of re sid u e s and the a p p ro p ria tio n of argu­ ments of h is opponents.

He was thus p ersu asiv e in showing

th a t a l l proposals o th e r than h is were u n s a tis fa c to ry . TOtl© he su c c e s sfu lly defended th© East India Company a g a in st charges of raisgovernment by co u n terin g th a t the m in iste rs of the Crown must be h eld p a r t i a l l y re s p o n s ib le , he did not ' prove th a t th e ru le of th e company could ev er operate w ith Complete f a ir n e s s . He re fu te d arguments and am plified h is own propo­ s itio n s by extended a n a lo g ie s.

Although some of them were

fig u ra tiv e and th e re fo re not v a lid p ro o f, h© usually developed h is analogies by s p e c ific in s ta n c e s .

H© was

e sp ecially e f f e c tiv e in making c le a r the h is t o r ic a l progress Of In d ia to g e th e r w ith th e need fo r a slngl© le g a l system

050

by neana of com parison. Hla most s u c c e s s fu l form of support was h is use of s p e c ific in sta n c e and cau sal reasoning to ex p lain why the removal of th® commercial monopoly from the company Created a s e rio u s problem*

His recommendations f o r In d ia

were convincing through a m p lific a tio n by s p e c ific examples end c i ta t io n of s t a t i s t i c s * He depended more upon the use o f a u th o rity In th is speech than he did in h is speeches on reform*

With a few

exceptions, he chose a u th o r itie s who. from experience and re p u ta tio n , were w ell ^ q u a lifie d to speak upon co n d itio n s In India* Although h is defense was not devoid of emotional appeal, he u t i l i s e d l i t t l e e th ic a l proof*

As a member of th©

Board of C ontrol of In d ia he could assume th a t th© House considered him q u a lifie d to speak on a q u estio n involving the Bast In d ia Company,

He gained the virtu© o f fa irn e s s

by being le s s dogmatic th an he was in h is speeches on re form*

Persuasion through appeals to duty, p rid e , and pa­

trio tis m . although in term in g led w ith lo g ic a l p ro o f, r e ­ ceived sin g le emphasis in h is p e ro ra tio n .

He succeeded in

un itin g s e l f i s h and u n s e lfis h goals as he sla n te d h is ap­ peals to the economic as w ell as to the hum anitarian i n t e r ­ ests of England.

251

In hid support of the Government of In d ia B ill* Maeaulay prog ro ssed from a d e s c rip tio n o f the com plicated problem# to an a n a ly sis of p o ssib le so lu tj ons, to the prac­ tic a b i lity and d e s i r a b i l i t y o f Mr, Grant«'s measure,

fhrou^h

the p a tte rn of lo g ic a l development he discovered two i s ­ sues:

a pecuniary one and a p o l i t i c a l one*

H© shrewdly

idvoted twice as much tim e to h is second is s u e , the p o l i t i ­ cal one, which ho considered the more im p o rtan t.

I n te r ­

weaving some r e f u ta tio n w ith c o n s tru c tiv e argument, he a r ­ rived in d u c tiv e ly a t the conclusion th a t th© company should not be d iscard ed as a governing body* H© c le a r ly developed fo u r proposals c a lc u la te d to improve th© p re se n t ru le In In d ia ,

Because he gave alm ost

as much time to these fo u r innovations as to h is p o l i t i c a l Issu es, he was convincing th© House th a t while r e ta in in g government by th e company, c e r ta in needed reform could be inaugurated. Coherence and summary of arguments were a tta in e d through t r a n s i tio n a l sentences and r h e to r ic a l q u e s tio n s. His th r e e -p a rt d iv is io n of In tro d u c tio n , body, and conclu­ sion was u n ifie d by h is lo g ic a l p ro g ressio n o f thought, terhaps because th is speech was p rim a rily a defense, th© Structure and arrangem ent of Ideas were more emphatic and bbwlous th an th o se in h is speeches on reform .

252

There was b o th condemnation and c r e d it given to Mftdftttlay'a speeches because they were comparable w ith h is w ritten compositions*

I t can probably be s a id more c o rre c tly

th a t tola e s says were o ra tio n s th an th a t h is o ra tio n s were essays.

In t h i s speech* Macaulay recognized a p a r tic u la r

subject d ire c te d to a s p e c if ic audience* c e r ta in ly a re q u i­ s ite fo r an e f f e c tiv e speaker, H® valued th e n e o e ssity of r e p e titio n of words and phrases combining them w ith balanced sentences to s u b s titu te fbr the w ritte n cues a v a ila b le to a re a d e r.

O ccasionally

his r e c i t a l of d e t a i l s , e s p e c ia lly in r e p e titio u s s tr u c tu r e , became tireso m e.

Although he obtained clearn ess and v iv id ­

ness by concrete r a th e r than a b s tra c t words, a few of h is h is to ric a l a llu s io n s were too u n fam iliar to add weight to his argument.

He am p lified h is p ro p o sitio n s by example and

gave them c o lo r by imagery.

His vocabulary gave l i f e to

what could have been u n in te re s tin g m a te ria l.

O ccasionally

he obscured h is argument by superfluous analogies and ex­ amples.

Some of h is exaggerated p ic tu re s of E ngland's

high le v e l of c u ltu re and I n d ia 's decadent one were drawn too b o ld ly .

For the most p a r t, h is language and sentence »

stru ctu re were c le a r , e n e rg e tic , b r i l l i a n t and em phatic. The recorded p ra is e of colleagues and opponents te s t i f i e d to th e Im pression which t h is speech made upon th®

255

ftoo&o*

Macaulay h im se lf co n sid ered i t one of M s b e a t.

Although the le n g th of debate was in creased by a d isc u ssio n of d e ta ils of th e b i l l , th© measure passed w ith the whole­ hearted support of Parliam ent and of th© country.

254

Chapter I I I CONFIDENCE IN THE MINISTRY OF LORD MELBOURNE, SPEECH, January 29, 1840 Background and Occasion The Whig government which frora 1831 to 1835 had enacted P arliam entary and m unicipal reform s, the now Poor Law, the f i r s t e f f e c tiv e Factory A ct, and th© abolishm ent @f Negro sla v e ry was beginning to in c u r popular d isfa v o r. Although E a rl Grey, th e Prime M in iste r, had been an advo­ cate of P arliam entary reform a l l h is l i f e , he was essen ­ t i a l l y a co n serv ativ e Whig*

When h is cab in et s p l i t on th©

problem of governing I re la n d , he resig n ed in 1834*

The King

chose as h is successor Lord Melbourne, an old C anning!te, who had a c te d w ith the Whigs.

1

1. Melbourne was a lik e a b le , in d o le n t man lack in g In stro n g co n v ictio n s. He d id , however, s e t t l e some of the prob­ lems in Ire la n d by making a p act w ith 0*Connell, an I r is h R ad ical. See W. E. Lunt, H istory of England, Third E d itio n , Harper and B ro th ers, New York, 1947, p. 655. When Melbourne assumed le a d e rsh ip , the Whig cab in et had disagreed not only upon the I r is h q u estio n but a ls o upon whether reform s should be moderate or r a d ic a l.

In th©

f a l l of 1834 when in te r n a l d issen sio n among the Whigs was

255

most d is tu rb in g , Melbourne suggested th a t th e King seek advice from th e T o rie s . and held an e le c tio n #

Peel th e re fo re formed a ca b in et He attem pted to change the Tory

party from one of mere re a c tio n to one of moderate progress# Be convinced many of h is own p a rty . Some Ih ig s a ls o accepted o his point of view# When Peel f a ile d to o b tain a m ajo rity 2* The use of th e term C onservative in place of Tory made these tr a n s i tio n s e a sie r# In th e same way the r a d ic a l Whigs and th e R adicals were jo in in g fo rces under the term L ib e ra ls , I b id ## pp. 656-70# In the e le c tio n of 1634, he re sig n e d , and Lord Melbourne returned to power w ith h is weakened c a b in e t. Two D if f ic u lt Years For The Whigs At the d eath of William IV in 1837, h is n ie c e , V icto ria, ascended th e th ro n e .

In the ensuing Parliam entary

e le c tio n , the Whigs l o s t members.

In 1839 when th e Whig

cabinet re sig n e d , Peel was asked to form a cabinet#

For

some years a f t e r h er ac c e ssio n , Queen V ic to ria , admired by the Whigs, found d isfa v o r among the T o rie s,

She th e re fo re

did not look forw ard to exchanging her old frie n d s f o r the Tory P eel,

When she refu sed to s u b s titu te Tory sym pathizers

for some of h er Whig la d ie s - in - w a itin g , Peel declined to take o ffice#

Melbourne, moved by the Queen1s d is t r e s s ,

consented to resume o ffice#

Peel and the Tories continued

to h arass th© Whig m in is te rs and to raak© th e two years pre­ carious and d i f f i c u l t ones# In The Melbourne M in istry I t was obvious th a t th e government was not lik e ly to remain in peaceable p o ssessio n of power#

Melbourne1®

desertion of Durham on th© Canadian q u e stio n ,^ the p erp lex 3* Lord Durham, wa b r i l l i a n t , e r r a t i c , r a d ic a l Whig," was sent to re p o rt on open r e b e llio n in Canada. His recom­ mendations, although e x c e lle n t, were not immediately lo y a lly supported by th© Whig government# At th is time self-governm ent f o r th e co lo n ies seemed to many lo g ic a lly incom patible w ith c o n tro l by the Crown# Lunt, op# c i t . . pp. 658-89# lag annual d e f i c i t , th e C h a rtis t u p ris in g s , 4 the divided 4* The C h a rtis t movement developed among the la b o re rs who d esired fu rth e r P arliam entary reform# Th® People *s Charter was form ulated to s e t f o rth s ix popular demandsi they wanted u n iv e rsa l manhood su ffrag e and removal of a l l pro p erty q u a lif ic a tio n s connected w ith the r ig h t to vote# They favored equal e le c to r a l d i s t r i c t s , payment of s a la r ie s fo r members of the House, annual e le c tio n s , and th© s e c r e t b a l l o t . opinion on the B a llo t, a l l co n trib u te d to d iv is io n w ithin the Whig party#

From 1835-1840, the government was depen­

dent on 0 ’Connell *s P arliam entary support#

Thomas Drummond,

the u n d e r-se c re ta ry , governed Ire la n d ju s tly , discouraged inform ers, and in tro d u ced C atholics in to the reformed p o lice fere®,

But the Lords hampered th® m in iste rs by re fu s in g to

S357

pass rem edial 1 awa . 5

Haoaulay r e a liz e d th e d i f f i c u l t y ©n-

5* CU M. T revelyan , B r itis h H isto ry in the n in e te e n th Cen­ tury ..an d A fter« (1 7 8 2 -1 0 1 9 }, Hew Edi t i on, Longmans, ' $reen and Company, lew York, 1957, p. 288. countered in th e House of Lords where the T ories had super* ie r lt y in debate as w ell as s u p e r io r ity in number*

6

6 , 0* 0. T revelyan, The L ife end L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay,

Harper and B ro th e rs, New YoFk, v o l, 2, 18^67^^

As e a r ly as 1839, Crcker wrote th® King of Han­ over th a t he b e lie v e d th a t th e p rese n t m in istry would break up but th a t he did not th in k a Conservative government could la s t a s e s s io n . 7

To Peel*s su g g estio n th a t perhaps the

7* The Croker Papers * Louis J , Jennings, e d ., John Murray, I S d 5 n 7 v o r rT T ^ 6 B 5 , pp. 339-40. government had an a c tu a l m inority in the House of Commons, Wellington responded December 1839 y I f we are to make an a tta c k upon th e measures of the government th e re can be no doubt th a t th e proper mod© of proceeding would be a d e c la ra tio n of want of confidence, or a mot ton _f or a com­ m ittee on th e s ta te of the n a tio n . 8 # S ir Bobert P eel, C harles S tu a rt Parker, e d , , John Murray, London, v o l. 2 , 1899, p . 417,

Sir James Graham wrote th a t he thought th a t th e Tory p a rty tould not be h eld to g e th e r much lo n g er w ithout a d ir e c t

258 9

attack on the g o v d iro siit« ro

m il m u

................................ ...

Concoming a proposed motion, bo

n w n w m w w m i H h « i h iii i n

... . . I

m

II

»

m i—

« i . » i i i i . . . iii. ii . . .

9, I f a motion th a t m in is te rs do not possess th e confidence of P arliam ent c a rrie s * th en th e m in is te rs must change places w ith th e o p p o sitio n , Reginald F. D. P algrave, The House o f Commons, Macmillan and Company* London* 1869, p , 25. wrote ? ,*.Th© more d ir e c t in it® avowed o b je c t, and the more g en eral in i t s term s, the b e t t e r w ill i t servo our g en eral p u rp o s e ,• • I th in k , th e re fo r e , th a t a re s o lu tio n d e c la rin g ’th a t th© p resen t ad v isers of the Crown do not possess the confidence of th i s House1• • ,would be s u ite d to th e occasion ,,*A moment should not be l o s t , a f t e r th e meet­ ing of Parliam ent in g iv in g n o tic e of th is m otion, i f i t is to be made 10, S ir Robert P e e l, op. c i t .» pp. 421-22, Ufelllngton agreed s u b s ta n tia lly w ith Graham b u t thought i t b est not to tak e any course which would force them to undertake th© government,13'

Thus th© T ories were lay in g the

11, Ib id . , pp. 424-26, groundwork fo r a more open a tta c k . Melbourne Moves U ncertainly Melbourne moved c a u tio u sly and u n c e rta in ly in the formation of h is p o l i t i c a l p r in c ip le s .

H© wrote to R ussell

in January 1839 2 I am q u ite convinced, and, as f a r as 1 can determine

259

i t , determ ined t h a t th© Com Law should remain open* %•Keeping I t open w ill give us time to see what th e r e a l f e e lin g is* both in and out o f Parliam ent* X am n o t prepared to give my voice f o r a fre e im p o rtatio n of c o r n .1® 19. Lord Melbourne1s P ap ers. Lloyd C* Sanders, e d . , Longmans, Green, and Company, London, 1889, pp* 589*90. In correspondence w ith Melbourne, Lord Spencer wrote th a t possibly th e Whigs could c o n c ilia te Brougham in the House of Lords*

By September Melbourne wrote to R u s s e ll«

By one s e t of people we are to ld th a t w© are ru in in g ourselves and lo s in g support by a lly in g ourselves w ith th e R adicals and Roman C atholics **.by an o th er th a t we are producing th e same e f f e c t by lean in g too much to the T ories and Conserva­ tiv e s . Probably b o th statem ents a re ^ tru e , and w© are lo sin g c r e d it on both s id e s . IS# Ib id * , pp * 401*02* Th© b a ffle d and w earied Melbourne d id not knew what stan d to tak© in o rd er to appease h is party*

© rev ille gave one

explanation of Melbourne*s a c tio n s . Th® p rin c ip a l o b ject of th© more r a d ic a lly in c lin e d was to l o t B a llo t b© an open q u e stio n , and to th is Melbourne has been persuaded to consent, though no doubt quit© co n tra ry to h is own wishes and opinions* But Melbourne M s no stro n g convictions or opinions founded on p o l i t i c a l p r in c ip le s * •.he i s easy#. .p ersu ad ab le, averse to d isp u tes, and p re fe rrin g to s a c r if i c e h is own co nvictions to th© p e r tin a c ity and violence of o th ers, r a th e r than m§ufully and c o n s is te n tly defend and m aintain them . 14 14. Leaves from th® Q rev ille D iary* P h ilip M orrell, ©d.,

260

E veleigh Hash and Gray son L td ., London, 1929, p . 370,

Macaula? Approves Open Quest 1ona Macaulay, Ju st re tu rn e d from In d ia , saw Melbourne *a

m tb s g lo rio u s Whig p a rty of 1832,

The m in iste rs were

eager th a t Macaulay should be th e L ib e ra l candidate fo r Edinburgh,

He agreed to ru n .

His f i r s t speech o f th e

campaign, In whioh he c o n c ilia te d th e R adicals by d ec larin g himself In fav o r the B a llo t, s a t i s f i e d h is e le c to r s . 3-5 1$, £* 0, T revelyan, on. c l t . , v o l. 2 , p. 61. In $me of 1839 Ore v i l l a ro a c te d to Macaulay*s Edinburgh Speech i He made a very elo q u en t, and, to my s u r p ris e , a very R adical speech, d e c la rin g him self fo r B a llo t and sh o rt P arliam en ts. I was the more asto n ish ed a t t h i s , because I knew h© had h eld very moderate language . . . , 3-5 16, Leaves from th e G re v ille D iary, on. c l t . . p. 380. Macaulay won th e e le c tio n .

C o n siste n tly enough,

the f ir s t speech which he made a f t e r h is reappearance in Parliament was on Mr, Grot©♦a motion f o r leave to introduce tbs B a llo t B i l l . 1 7

He argued th a t th© m in istry could p resen t

17, The main issu e of t h i s speech concerned I t s e l f w ith open q u e s tio n s y th a t i s , th e r ig h t of m in iste rs to vote as they pleased re g a rd le ss of p arty o b lig a tio n s , He

261 proved by M a t or l e a l in sta n c e s th a t governments which were re sp o n sib le o r who were concerned w ith the consciences of t h e i r c itiz e n s must recognize th e neces­ s ity Of d e a lin g l i b e r a l l y w ith open q u e s tio n s. He s a id : * . . . W ithin th e memory of many persons now liv in g the ru le was th is # th a t a l l q u estio n s w hatever were open questions in a c a b in e t, except those which came under two c la s s e s —measures brought forward by th© Government as a government, which a l l members of th e Government, were, of co u rse , expected to su p p o rtj and motions brought forward w ith th e purpose of c a stin g a cen su re, express or im plied, on th e Government, or any department of i t , which a l l the members of the Government w ere, of course, expected to oppose.w G. 0. T revelyan, op. c l t . , v o l. 2, pp. 61-63. " a united f ro n t w hile s t i l l giv in g in d iv id u a l members lib e r ty to vote as they p leased on most q u e stio n s.

According to

Trevelyan, up to h is tim e, no adequate answer had been given to Macaulay*a p r o te s t a g a in st n ee d lessly p la c in g men in a positio n where they must re lin q u is h th e i r personal eonvle** tions or be f a ls e to a m in is te r ia l o b lig a tio n . 18 18 * I b id . , p« 63.

The Times A ttacks Macaulay In the f a l l of 1839, Macaulay accepted Melbourne*s offer of the S ecretary sh ip of War.

The Times, f a i t h f u l to

S ir Robert Peel a t ©very tu r n , vented w rath upon the new S ecretary.

An u n fo rtu n ate In cid e n t played in to th e ir hands.

When Macaulay announced to h is c o n s titu e n ts th a t he had accepted h is new c a b in et o f f ic e , he was c a re le ss enough

m2

to writ® h is l e t t e r from Windsor C a s tle .1® 19* ’’•••a s i f he had he com© a fa m ilia r inmate th e re , although the very n ex t morning th e callow c o u n c illo r, having got a broad h in t n o t to prolong h is s ta y (namely, no in v ita ­ t i o n ) , was o b lig ed to tak e wing f o r town. . . Take i t a l ­ to g e th e r, i t Is about th© r ic h e s t piece of v ain g lo rio u s puppism we have ev er met w i t h . . . . * The London Times. October 16, 1839* Two months l a t e r the Times continued to a tta c k the Whigs and Macaulay and to lam ent the **hat©d Popish Pe­ pealers** being appointed to m in is te r ia l o f f ic e . so

Macaulay

90* Macaulay was th u s before fo rty a cab in et member and a member of th e P riv y Council* was accused of advocating the b a llo t in order to b a it the R adicals .®1

The l a s t days of 1839, the Times confided th a t

81* « * .* if th e Whigs continue in o f f ic e , he w ill go on rending h is fro th y r h e to r ic , and adapting h is fle x ib le p r in c ip le s , to any se c tio n or p a rty in Parliam ent th a t may be most disposed to p riz e h is le ad ersh ip and to f a c i l i t a t e h is supremacy .*1 Th© London Times. December 14, 183©* the m in istry , from th© ton© of i t s jo u rn a ls , was about ready to c o lla p s e . 22

By January 29, 1840, th e Times was

8®* The London Times. January 29, 1840,

using more d ir e c t abuse.

They quoted th ese words from

Macaulay*s Edinburgh speech 2

265

fI l o f t th® Whig p a rty u n ite d and dominants stro n g in th® attachm ent and confidence of on® Bouse, and stro n g a lso in th® f e a r s of the other* I s h a l l now f in d them h e lp le s s in th® Lords, and fo rced alm ost every week to b a t t l e fo r e x is ­ tence in th© Commons..«I see th® L ib e ra l govern* mont now r e s t s on the support of the Sovereign. * These w o rd s.. .ad d ressed to the Edinburgh c o n s ti­ tuency b y . • .Mr. T, B. Macaulay, who, having r e ­ ce n tly come home from a fiv e years* fa tte n in g in I n d ia .,.h a d no motive to disparage the Cabinet of which he had since become a member,, .H ere, th e n , we have an unequivocal acknowledgment th a t th e Whigs have l o s t th® confidence of the House of Commons • •, • 25, Thm London Times, January 29, 1840. & reville*s Opinion Of Th® Government In January 1840, G rev ille wrote th a t no one was able to p re d ic t whether th e government would b© able to continue.

04

Unlike Graham, he feared tam pering w ith the

24, Because G re v ille was in touch w ith the c h ie fs of a l l p a r tie s , he was In a p o s itio n to know th® lead in g men of the n in e te e n th ce n tu ry . Although h is p o in t of view was a r i s t o c r a t i c , on th© whole he was to le r a n t and p ro g re ssiv a , government a t th a t tim e.

He even spoke w ell of the m inis­

try as a ca b in et having men of c h a ra c te r, ex p erien ce, and great req u irem en ts.

He f o l t th a t th e members of the Cabinet

were u n ite d on g en eral p rin c ip le s d if f e r in g only to an e x ten t th at any th ir te e n men would d if f e r on p a r tic u la r p o in ts . In f a c t , G re v ille thought th a t th© Tories should l© t th©

264

s ta y in as long as they were J u s t, m oderate, and operating on c o n s titu tio n a l p r in c ip le s .

He r e a lis e d th a t

th is would put th e T o ries to t e s t , f o r b esid es a conscious­ ness of s tr e n g th , th ey h eld b i t t e r anim osity and a d e s ire fo r revenge. The consequence is th a t Queen V ic to ria ’s govern­ ment f in d t h e i r d i f f i c u l t i e s co n sid erab ly Increased by her m a n ife sta tio n of e x c lu siv e p a r t i a l i t y fo r them, and In ste a d of being a source of s tre n g th , i t becom es.• • .one of weakness. 5 28. The G re v ille Memoirs. Lytton Strachey and Roger P u lfo rd , ed3r. , Macmillan and Company, London, v o l. 4, 1938, pp. 224-25. S ir John Y ard s-B u lle r’g Mot ion Obviously a l l the T ories were not so to le ra n t of the m in iste rs as (rre v ille was.

Queen V ic to ria was angered

when she heard th a t B u lls r intended to propose a motion of want of confidence In th© m in is te rs .

She and Melbourne

agreed, however, th a t' the people would be sure to go w ith the government in such an in s ta n c e .

OR

In a l e t t e r to A lb ert,

26. The Girlhood of Q ueen^Victoria. Viscount E sher, e d ., Longmans, Green, and Company, Hew York, v o l. 2, 1912, p. 298. dated January 1840, V ic to ria wrote s We are a l l of us very much preoccupied w ith p o li­ t i c s . The T ories are very astonish!ngs as they

265

cannot and d are not a tta c k us In P arliam en t, they do e v e ry th in g th a t they can to be p erso n a lly rude to me* The Whigs are the only safe and lo y a l peo p le, and th e R adicals w ill a ls o r a l l y round th e i r Queen to p ro te c t h er from th e T o ries; but i t is a cu rio u s s ig h t to see th o se , who as T o ries, used to pique them selves upon t h e i r ex cessiv e lo y a lty , doing e v e ry th in g to degrade t h e i r young sovereign in th e eyes of th© people, 27. 7 ^ .1 ^ t,t8 .r8 0 f, .R uean,,V ictory, A rthur C. Benson and Viscount E sher, M s* , John Murray, London, vol* 1, 1907, p . 268# On January 28, 1840, S ir John Yard©-Bull©r*a motion, of which he had given n o tic e a t th e beginning of the se ssio n , was presented#

He gave as h is c h ie f ground

of com plaint th e d istu rb a n ces and d is s a tis f a c tio n s in Eng­ land which h© a t tr i b u te d to a system of a g ita tio n employed by the m in iste rs f o r the sake of c a rry in g t h e i r measures* Xn a d d itio n , he o b jected to the m in iste rs pursuing a uni­ form lin e of h o s t i l i t y to th© E sta b lish e d Church of England# They had a id e d , he s a id , in plans f o r com pletely se p a ra tin g the church and the sta te #

He questioned the system of edu­

cation w ithout b a s is in r e lig io n which was encouraged by the m inisters#

F u rth e r he accused the® of excess use of

patronage and of u n c e rta in ty and d iv is io n w ith in the party# He r e f e r re d to th e "honorable member fo r Edinburgh1* who favored th e vote by b a llo t while R u ssell did not#

B u iier

re g re tte d a ls o th a t the government did not d eclare i t s in ­ ten tio n s as to th e p ro te c tio n of the com trade*

266

fhMBPapn Also Obleatj. To The VfoiR UliUatpy Alderman Thompson* who seconded th e motion* a ls o sent ended th a t th© d iss e n sio n In th© country was caused by M inisters tam pering w ith th© c o n s titu tio n * meddling w ith social establishm ents* and encouraging people to meet in large bodies to form u n io n s.

He thought th a t th© ex p o sito r

©f Ideas to have r e p re s e n ta tio n w ithout p ro p erty Q u a lifiestio n was Lord John R ussell*

Re reminded th© House th a t f o r

the p a st th ro e y ears exp en d itu re had exceeded th® n a tio n 1® Income*

Thompson*s a tte n tio n focused on Macaulay* who* he

said* f o r the f i r s t time in twenty years of Parliam entary life * was ta k in g a prominent p a r t .®9 S8 . Hansard, v o l. 51, pp. 656-60.

irev Opposes B u llo r fa Motion S ir George Grey, th® f i r s t to d isag ree w ith th e motion* was d e lig h te d th a t th e opposition was a tta c k in g policy* not d e t a i l s .

In answer to those who a s so c ia te d th®

Whigs w ith Chartism* he countered th a t th© fe e lin g which engendered Chartism had i t s o rig in in opposition to the Poor LftW| so perhaps th e re was an a llia n c e between th e T ories and the C h a rtis ts .

S ir George Grey affirm ed th a t the hop© o f

the Whigs was merely to extend the b le ssin g s of education to a l l w ithout any in te rfe re n c e of r ig h ts of conscience.

267 1 » adm itted t h a t , a t on© tim e opposed, h© now sto o d as a

fftlnatant co n v ert to th© B a llo t.

H© r e f e r re d to what looked

lik e an obvious change of sta n d f o r S ir Robert Peel who had previously opposed th© re p e a l of th© Corn haws.

He ©spe­

cially s a ile d a tte n tio n to the f a c t th a t th© Whigs had been id e n tifie d w ith p ro g ressiv e l e g i s l a t i o n . ^ 29.

is to th e se p rin c ip le s th a t we owe th a t re p e a l Of the Test and C orporations A c ts ...th e Act of C atholic Emancipation and re p e a l of laws which put some under p o l i t i c a l d eg rad a tio n . These p rin c ip le s have opened to us th e commerce of the E ast, and in th© West have ra is e d 800,000 from sla v e ry and have su b jected muni­ c ip a l co rp o ratio n s in England and Scotland to popular c o n tr o l.” I b id . . pp. 6 6 6 - 8 8 .

lift speech produced a co n sid erab le im pression and was greatly applauded throughout by the supporters of the government«so 50. Annual R e g iste r, v o l. 82, p. 58.

Graham Objects To Ooen Q uestions S ir James Graham in a len g th y speech quoted unhappy instances of c o n tra d ic to ry opinions being e n te rta in e d by d iffe re n t members of th e same c a b in e t. His speech commanded th© a tte n tio n of the House. SI Graham quoted R ussell as Zkl£«» PP« 64-65.

068 iiy in g , “B a llo t i s s u ite d to an ab so lu te government of tb s

im , os? a fre e government when the su ffrag e i s u n iv ersal* " While R u sse ll d id n o t fav o r i t f o r England# when the p rese n t geveraifisnt came t o o ffice# th e b a llo t became an open ques­ tion* th a t i s , members were f re e to express t h e i r own opin­ ions w ithout re g a rd f o r p a rty commitments*

Graham th en

asked th e House to co n sid er how Macaulay handled th is subin a speech made to hie c o n s titu e n ts a t Edinburgh*

He

said th a t Macaulay d e c la re d him self fav o rab le to household suffrage although he was not q u ite ready f o r u n iv e rsa l su f­ ■\ frage* Graham a ls o poin ted to a d iffe re n c e of opinion be­ tween R u ssell and Macaulay concerning d u ratio n of P a rlia ­ ments which R u ssell d id not want to sh o rten .

Macaulay,

on th© o th e r hand, favored a quadrennial establishm ent* fhen Graham r e f e r r e d to Macaulay*® message to h is c o n s titu ­ ents which be had w ritte n from Windsor Castle*

Graham*®

fin a l a tta c k was th a t not only did cab in et members disagree among them selves b u t th a t th e re was no d iffe re n c e between the m in iste rs and th© C h a rtis ts as f a r as h© could te ll.® ^ 32. BWMMUtft. v o l. 51, pp, 787-814. *g Defense Of The M inistry Graham’s co n stan t n e t tlin g caused Macaulay, not

269 In c ffle c a month, to r i s e to defend th e m inistry*

S ir

£ehn farda-*Bull©r had r e f e r r e d to Macaulay p e rso n a lly as had Thompson and Graham,

I t was u n c e rta in whether Macaulay

would answer only the charges le v ele d a t th e Whig p a rty or reply a ls o t o th o se d ir e c te d to him*

Macaulay’s defense of th e Melbourne M inistry on January 29, 1040, was p rim a rily r e f u ta tiv e .

His purpose was

to v in d ic ate th e a c tio n s of the Whigs* to answer charges d irected toward him and to weaken the Tory p o s itio n » He argued from some f a m ilia r b a sic premises such as th a t every ten»*pound householder should rece iv e th e e le c tiv e fra n c h is e , th a t th© government should reform as much as necessary to Meet the demands of th e tim es, th a t u n iv e rsa l to le r a tio n should be p ra c tic e d in g ran tin g concessions to Ire la n d , and th a t th© la ls s e g - f a ir e p o lic y of th e Whigs concerning trad© and fin an ce should be continued*

Two premises he had not

previously brought out q u ite so stro n g ly —h is b e lie f in the se cret b a l lo t and h is sa n ctio n of a g ita tio n f o r b e n e fic ia l purposes* She S ecret B a llo t The f i r s t premia® which he had not developed in

270

the speeches on reform or in th e government of In d ia speech aosiaersed th e s e c r e t b a l l o t .

In th i s premia©, he a ls o made

clear h is a t t i t u d e on open q u e s tio n s.

While he fra n k ly ad­

mitted th a t he was In fav o r of s e c r e t v o tin g and th a t h is friends near him were in fa v o r of open v o tin g , he saw no reason why men should be fo rced to r e lin q u is h t h e ir p ersonal convictions or be c a lle d f a ls e to a m in is te ria l o b lig a tio n . He contended t h a t I f open q u estio n s made th© government un­ worthy of co n fid en ce, then alm ost any government which had existed or would e x i s t was unworthy of confidence.®®

Whether

$5. T* B* Macaulay, "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s ,” The Com­ p le te Works. U n iv ersity E d itio n , Bully and K leintelcK , Hew York, v o l. 9 , 1900, p. 192. his stand on th e b a l lo t was a wise move p o l i t i c a l l y la ques­ tionab le, b u t c e r ta in ly Macaulay was sin cere in h is b e l ie f in the s e c r e t b a l l o t .

In a l e t t e r to h is s i s t e r in 1845 he

wrote th a t he could never be a member of a c o a litio n cab in et prim arily because of h is views on th e ballot#® *

Th© accusation

$4. ”1 have spoken and voted f o r i t | I w ill not vote a g a in s t I t fo r a p lace; and I am c e rta in th a t Peel w ill never consent to l e t i t be an open q u e s tio n .” (S. 0 . Trevelyan, The L ife and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay, v o l. 2, p. 146. that M acaulay's sta n d was assumed fo r th e raer© expediency Of th© moment in o rd er to p lease th© R adicals was u n ju s tif ie d .

071

iitfcer* M s adherence to a b e l i e f In spit® o f p a rty In d ic a te d -fMttftfty'* independence of th in k in g .

By 1872, the E nglish

people accepted h is p o in t of view. For B e n e fic ia l Purpose.* A nother premise not developed In th e speeches on reform or on th e government of In d ia was th a t of th e defense of a g ita tio n by th e people f o r th e purpose of o b tain in g govern­ mental refo rm s.

B u llo r’s su p p o rters blamed the u n s a tis fa c ­

tory s ta te of th e country upon a g ita tio n s ti r r e d up by th e Whigs in p assin g the Reform B i l l ,

Macaulay pointed out

that Graham and S tan ley a ls o a g ita te d fo r reform because they thought i t was good.

I b is was an adm ittance, he

thought, th a t w hether a g ita tio n was good or e v i l depended upon i t s g o a ls.

A ctu a lly Macaulay f i r s t defended a g ita tio n

©a the grounds th a t i t was used to arouse p u b lic fe e lin g in order to c o rre c t ab u ses.

F u rth e r, he did not agree th a t

a g ita tio n and r e b e llio n were synonymous.

S© m aintained

th at a t no time sin ce 1688 was In su rre c tio n J u s tif ia b le , hut th a t a g ita tio n could not be sep arated from popular govern­ ment.

hike a lo y a l Whig, he applauded the reform s which

had accrued from a g i ta t io n .

I t presupposed, he s a id , f r e e ­

dom of d isc u ssio n , the r ig h t o f th e people to be informed through th e w r itte n and th e spoken word.

H© showed th a t

272

Slave trad© and s la v e r y would not have been ab o lish ed nor the penal ood© improved w ith o u t a g i ta t io n .

Macaulay’s en­

tir e e a s e , th e n , re s te d upon th e r ig h t of the people to a g ita te , to use t h e i r freedom of speech f o r debate ju s t as the Commons u t i l i s e d the r i g h t of d e b a te . 05

His discovery

S i, Macaulay, op. e i t . , pp. 196-200. that even th e T o ries judged an a c tio n according to the happiness of th e governed or th e end r e s u lt was a c tu a lly in keeping w ith th e l i b e r a l p o in t of view.

He was emphasis -

lag h is own p rin c ip le th a t the end of government was the happiness of th e p eo p le. Pecuniary Quail f lo a t iona And gradualism Macaulay’s defense of the government In d ica ted his lo y a lty to the Whig cau se.

He observed th a t Graham con­

tended th a t the Melbourne M inistry was a s so c ia te d w ith Ohartism simply because Macaulay wanted to give the e le c ­ tiv e fra n c h ise to every ten-pound householder whether h is house was in th e town or in th e country.

He was su rp rise d

that Graham and o th e rs could n o t d e te c t the d iffe re n c e be­ tween a l l ten-pound householders re c e iv in g the fra n c h ise end every male of twenty one and over re c e iv in g i t . Macaulay’s th in k in g was c o n s is te n t w ith h is views s ta te d

273

fft th® tim® o f th® Reform of 1832, th a t th e © lector should have a pecuniary q u a lif ic a tio n and th a t be considered th© t®h*piiund q u a lif ic a tio n n e ith e r to o high nor to o low *36 36* T. B. Macaulay, ttSp©ech on P arliam entary Reform, March ®* 1831,« m . M l u p . 4* Ala© c o n s is te n t w ith h is philosophy of expediency, ho granted t h a t in tim e changes might make a d if f e r e n t fin a n 37 c ia l estim ate desirable*® He unwaveringly m aintained h is 37* Macaulay, ’’Speeches and Legal S t u d i e s , op. c l t . . v o l. 9, pp. 194-95. Stand on the importance of p ro p erty q u a lif ic a tio n and of gradualism in change of p o lic y , b a s ic te n e ts of Whiggisra. Compromise For Expediency Macaulay m aintained th a t th© q u estio n before the louse was not a p o s itiv e q u estio n b u t on© of comparison.

As

m the q u estio n of P arliam entary Reform, he was suggesting cmapremise.

A dm itting th a t th e p resen t m in iste rs might

not be p e r f e c t, ho saw no reaso n f o r urging a change of government u n less th a t change would be b e n e f ic ia l.

Then he

sh ifte d c r itic is m from h is own p a rty to th a t of th© opposi­ tio n .

He could not see how Peel could conduct a government

S a tisfa c to ry both to him and to M s fo llo w e rs.

While Peel

274 f#eated certa in matter* as q u estio n s of expediency, h is fory co lleag u es co n sid ered them as q u estio n s of moral and re lig io u s p rin c ip le * VSfhon Peel had to choose between d is g u s t­ ing MS p a rty by c o n c ilia tin g th e C ath o lics or ru in in g h is country* he chose to propose to emancipate the C a th o lic s. th is d e c isio n m otivated Macaulay to c a l l Peel a statesm an, a follow er of th e middle co u rse,

I t was not s u rp ris in g th a t

Macaulay admired th© a b i l i t y to compromise in o th e rs since i t was one of th e u n d erly in g p rin c ip le s of h is own thinking* Se admired Peel f o r proposing to emancipate the Homan Catho­ lics*

But th e p o in t was th a t Peel was not supported by a

large p a rt o f h is p a r ty ,

Macaulay thus accounted f o r th e

fa ilu re of th e Tory government in 1829,

Be p re d ic te d , th e re ­

fo re, th a t a Peel a d m in istra tio n would f a i l through in te rn a l SB causes. Time proved h is p re d ic tio n to be c o r r e c t. In 88 * Macaulay, op, c l t ,* pp, 201-04,

1845, Macaulay commented th a t the T ories r e a liz e d th a t they bad been d isap p o in ted a second tim e by p u ttin g t h e i r t r u s t «Ert in feel* Macaulay b e lie v e d in reform ing as much as 89* 0# o, Trevelyan,

op,

c l t *, v o l, 2 , p , 142.

necessary to meet th e demands of th e tim e.

Because ha b e lie v e d th a t th© m ajo rity of Tories wanted th© repeal of the Act for C ath o lic Em ancipation, he accused the o p p o sitio n of an in t e r e s t in measures r a th e r than men#

He la sh ed out condemning th e T ories f o r w anting

^tyranny of race over ra c e , and of creed over creed” in 40 Irelan d . Macaulay showed th a t the Whigs enjoyed th e con40. Macaulay, op. c l t . . pp. 206-11. fldence of I re la n d , a confidence th a t Peel would fin d i t d if f ic u lt to g a in .

In 1844, the debate on th© s ta te o f

Ireland in d ic a te d th e accuracy of Macaulay’s p re d ic tio n th a t the I r i s h q u estio n would always be P e e l’s g rav est problem# C o n sisten t w ith h is p a c if ic p o licy and h is abhor­ rence of a l l d isc rim in a tio n s toward race and cree d , Macaulay stepped ahead of h is time to show th a t p o s te rity would describe Ire la n d of th e n in e tee n th century as a conquered province,whose tro u b le s would be l a i d to the crimes and erro rs of man#^*

He prophesied th a t c r i t i c s would judge

41* ”1» 1835, Lord S tan le y , who was th e n s e c re ta ry f o r Ire la n d , brought in two b i l l s , which mark th e beginning of a ’quick a lte r n a tio n of kicks and caresses* w ith which &r@at B r ita in attem pted to govern Ire la n d during much o f the n in e te e n th c e n tu ry .” bunt, op. c l t . a p. 654, th a t changes which improved England only aggravated the

276

misery of I r e la n d .

42

There was t r u t h In M s statem ent th a t

48. Macaulay# p p ., o i t . . pp. 211-15. the Melbourne m in istry t r i e d to r u le Ire la n d ju s t ly . was one of th e most p eacefu l periods o f

This

B r itis h c o n tro l

In Ire la n d during th e n in e te e n th c e n tu ry . 43 46# hunt, op. o i t . . p. 665.

laissez-faire And Whiff Optimism Optimism c h a ra c te ris e d th e Whig spokesman a t t h i s time ju s t as i t d id a t th e time of h is speeches on reform . Macaulay p ra is e d th e attem pt of th© government to unit© Bngland and Ire la n d and approved of t h e i r stru g g le to make ju stic e p r e v a il.

Optimism and ju s tic e were key-notes of

Ms philosophy.

In t h i s connection# he reviewed th e g lo rio u s

period of 1832.

His h a b it of looking to th© Heform B ill

of 1832 as the g re a t Whig c o n trib u tio n and th© tu rn in g p o in t in Bnglish government was ty p ic a l of Macaulay*s th in k in g as revealed In h is H isto ry , h is essays# and h is speeches.

Al­

though Bngllshmen could r ig h tf u lly b© proud of Parliam entary reform# Macaulay supported the dangerous Whig custom of leaning on th© accomplishments of th© p a s t.

Probably because

the Whigs had provided no s o lu tio n fo r th® annual d e f ic it

277 ©r im the s ta g n a tio n o f tr a d e , Macaulay avoided thee® topics*

C h a r a c te r is tic a lly , he and th e Whigs h eld to th e

la ls M s - f a lr e policy*

Yet th e re was l i t t l e f o r which th e

Melbourne government could be charged except i t s i n a b i l i t y to pass i t s measures through the House of Lords to g e th er with I t s n eg ativ e p o lic y on tra d e and fin a n c e .

Macaulay *s

attempt* th e r e f o r e , to stren g th en th e p resen t m in istry by

asso cia tin g i t w ith p a s t reform s and w ith commendable attem pts to re c o n c ile Ire la n d was d e fe n s ib le . Forms Of Support C onstructive Macaulay assumed the aggressive p o s itio n when he postu lated th a t a Tory a d m in istra tio n would be no h o tte r than the p re se n t m in istry .

This contention was supported

by the reaso n in g th a t the views of Peel and the Tories were unsympathetic.

He supported th is c r itic is m by s ix examples

ef how Peel and the T ories d iffe re d on s p e c ific Issu e s.

For

in stan ce, Peel played an im portant p a r t In the r e s to r a tio n of the currency w hile many of h is follow ers considered th is 44 re s to ra tio n one of the c h ie f causes of c u rre n t d istre ss * 44* T. B. Macaulay, "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s," The Comlat® Works, U n iv ersity E d itio n , S ully and K lein telch , ©W fo rk . Vol. 9 , 1900, pp. 901-04.

f

278

Macaulay r a i l e d on h i s t o r i c a l precedent to prove the.t F e e l’s government would f a l l .

By c a re fu lly tra c in g

d e ta ils from the tim e th a t F eel headed the T ories In 1827, Macaulay showed th a t th e same co n d itio n s of a stro n g minori t , in th e Commons and a m a jo rity in th e Lords accompanied

by the support o f th© church and th© u n iv e r s itie s e x is te d . By comparison, he s ta te d th a t th e n , as now, Feel was ex­ pected to defend th© laws of England a g a in st r e v o lu tio n is ts Snd i t s r e lig io n a g a in s t id o la te rs *

I© reminded th© House

th a t because Peel proposed to emancipate th© Roman Catho­ l i c s , the la rg e p a r t of h is p a rty condemned him.

T herefore,

the stro n g m in istry which had com® in a t th© clo se of 1828 was, a t the clo se of 1829, on© of th© w eakest. 45 another year and f e ll*

I t lin g e re d

45. I b id . . pp. 204-06. He could not see th a t an a d m in istra tio n now formed by Feel would be any d if f e r e n t from the l a s t one.

He formu­

la te d th i s judgment by e v a lu a tin g what had been revealed by public m eetings, jo u rn a ls , and th e p u lp its .

Macaulay’s

Reference to the p u lp its had b e t te r been l e f t unsaid, 46* He s a id th a t th© p u lp its M,» .e v e ry week resound w ith rlb h ld ry and sla n d e r such as would d isg race th© h u st­ in g s .” I b id . . p . 207.

279

im- h» had a lre a d y been accused of n o t upholding the Es­ tab lish ed Church.

His c r itic is m of th© clerg y was undoubtedly

offensive to many peo p le,

Macaulay b eliev e d th a t th© major­

ity of T ories wanted th e Emancipation Act repealed* then gave h is reasons f o r t h i s sta te m e n t,

He

i f th e Tories

wanted the Emancipation Act r e ta in e d , why did they cry out against the th re e Popish P rivy Councilors?

They were saying

V irtu ally th a t they wished to m aintain th e a c t as long as i t remained a dead l e t t e r .

He could not understand how th a t

Act could be accepted v e rb a lly w hile i t was m aintained th a t Catholics enjoyed more than t h e i r share of power and p r o f i t . Macaulay observed th a t w hile o n e-fo u rth of the population was Homan C a th o lic , only o n e-se v en tie th of the Privy Coun­ c ilo rs were C a t h o l i c .^

This fa c tu a l d a ta was unanswer-

47. Ib id . , pp. 206-09, able evidence. In order to e x p la in th a t Peel *s a d m in istra tio n would be in e f f e c tiv e , Macaulay co n cen trated upon th© problem Of Ire la n d ,

He showed how P e e l’s p o lic y toward Ire la n d was

Comparable w ith th a t of Lord Melbourne’s.

Hence he could

not see how Peel and th© T ories could reac h any agreement, MAoaulay reasoned from e f f e c t to cause th a t Peel him self Mast have fe a re d a dilemma comparable to th a t of 1829

280

because ft few months prev io u s when Peel was asked to submit tbs plan of an a d m in is tra tio n to Queen V ic to ria , ha adm itted that h is d i f f i c u l t y would l i e in Ire la n d .

By enum erating

Specific In s ta n c e s , Macaulay r e le n tle s s ly pursued the accuse-* tlo n th a t Peel*s p a rty could n o t govern s u c c e s s fu lly .

He

Convincingly supported h is argument by p o in tin g out a lack of sympathy between Peel and th e T ories on s p e c ific issu es and by r e s ta tin g p a s t h is to ry to describe Peel*s probable downfall.^ 8 PP* 209-11. „ By showing t h a t the Conservative p arty could not cope w ith I re la n d , Macaulay focused a tte n tio n on th is Issue which he knew th a t the Whigs had handled c re d ita b ly .

He

Implied th a t tro u b le w ith Ire la n d was In e v ita b le , f o r the Uhion Joined le g is la tu r e s but nothing e ls e , and C atholic Emancipation came too l a t e .

N ev erth eless, h© gave evidence

Of su ccessfu l Whig p o lic y by c i t i n g the f a c t th a t b a tta lio n s and squadrons were withdrawn from d i s t r i c t s which p rev io u sly were governed by m ilita r y f o r c e H a d he c ite d the pro49* I b id . . pp. 212-13. else number o f b a tta lio n s and squadrons the evidence would have been more p e rsu a siv e .

While he seemed to be giv in g the

House p e rsp e c tiv e on t h i s problem, he was a ls o ap p ealin g to th e ir sense of ju s tic e and f a ir n e s s ,

There was t r u t h

in h is statem en t t h a t th e m in iste rs had t r i e d to ru le I r e ­ land J u s tly , but he overdrew th© magnanimous views of th© Whigs in c o n tra s t to the Ignoble goals of the T o ries.

Because h a lf of Macaulay*s speech was devoted to reply , i t i s Im portant to ev alu ate the refu tativ © methods employed on th is occasion.

He r e s ta te d th© charge th a t he

had been In v ite d to take o ffic e in spit© of the f a c t th a t his opinion on the b a l lo t d if fe re d from th a t of h is colleagues He met th is argument w ith th e rep ly th a t i f such a s itu a tio n mad© a government unworthy of public confidence almost any government which e x is te d was unworthy of confidence.

He

supported th is co n ten tio n s a t i s f a c t o r i l y by g iv in g s p e c ific Instances of previous governments which had held open ques­ tio n s ,

H© attem pted to show th a t the T ories would have a

sim ilar disagreem ent on the q u estio n of p r i v i l e g e , ^

Com-

80. fh© q u estio n of p riv ile g e r e f e r re d to allow ing th© House exemption from a l l censure and allow ing i t p u b li­ c a tio n not lia b le to be q u estio n ed . In 1840 the ques­ tio n of p r iv ile g e arose when Stockdale sued Hansard, A committee of P eel, Lord S tanley and others decided In fav o r of p riv ile g e which would p ro te c t any p u b lic a­ tio n ordered by th e House from being mad© th© su b je c t f o r an a c tio n of l i b e l , But th© court of law ordered Hansard to payj so the re s o lu tio n s of the Commons and

282

the w r it o f th e Queen’s Bench were a t variance* B e g ls t e r , v o l . 82, pp. 17-52*

Annual

farin g t h i s w ith th® b a llo t q u e stio n , Macaulay argued th a t the method of choosing members was unim portant i f they did net possess the powers necessary to perform th e fu n ctio n s of a le g is la tiv e assembly.®^

fhe stro n g e r { to t of Macaulay’s

61* Macaulay, op, c i t *. v o l. 9 , pp. 192-94, ■U t i l ! n m

m — » I......................... I I

■

mi

in ' i

I

■w iiim iin i.i>iiiim » ii m mi m »— in N iW i n n —

mi

In

i»

answer as to why th e b a llo t could rem ain an open questio n lay in h is q u o ta tio n of h is t o r ic a l in stan ce s in which ju s t such a procedure was followed*

His analogy between the

question of b a l lo t and th© q u estio n of p riv ile g e was weak, lb® q u estio n of p r iv ile g e could be and was decided by law, th a t of th® b a llo t rem ained w ith th® E nglish people u n til th® B a llo t Act of 1872 provided f o r a s e c r e t v o te . Macaulay re p lie d to th® charge th a t th© p resen t government was a C h a rtis t government.

He In te rp re te d th is

Statement as an in d ir e c t a tta c k on him, f o r S ir James Gra­ ham’s reasoning was th a t because Macaulay wanted to give th® e lectiv e fra n c h ise to every ten-pound householder whether he liv ed In th© town or the co u n try , i t was a C h a rtist idea*

By means of an o p e ra tio n a l d e f in itio n Macaulay d is ­

tinguished between a ten-pound householder rece iv in g the vote and a l l males of twenty-one re c e iv in g i t .

His

.'i— —

.

i|im* n|* Th© b e tte r s of Queen V ic to ria , op

c i t . , v o l. 9, p. 45

B ill Hasses The Lords In The debate on A p ril 23 and follow ing had no new fe a tu re s.

On May 21 the b i l l was read a th ir d tim e .56

In

86, Hansard, v o l. 80, pp. 621-750. sp ite of th e amendments used to o b stru c t the b i l l , i t f in a ll y passed th© House of Lords on June 16* 57 The g ran t was c a r57. Hansard, v o l. 81, p . 595. rie d by Peel n o tw ith stan d in g th© opposition from h a lf of his p a rty . Macaulay, defending the grant to Maynooth College and c r i t i c i z i n g the A nglican Church of Ire la n d , was In th e p ecu liar p o s itio n of su p p o rtin g a measure presented by a Tory, of r is k in g offen d in g Queen V ic to ria , and of speaking against th e stro n g P ro te s ta n ts .

Unlike D isra e li who opposed

the Maynooth g ra n t because Peel brought i t forw ard, Macau* lay chose to defend b a s ic assum ptions which he had p reviously

345 t» l4 toward the I r i s h Church and which he continued to expound throughout h is career*

He managed, however, to

c r i t i c i s e th e Tory m in is try w ithout fo rsa k in g any o f h is own p r in c ip le s • Basic Premises Macaulay*s Maynooth Speech on A pril 14, 1845 and his Church of I re la n d Speech on A p ril 23, 1845 o ffered an opportunity f o r an ex p ressio n of h is views on the problems presented by th e A nglican Church in Ire lan d and on the un­ just treatm en t of the I r i s h by th© T o rie s,

When th e Tory

m inistry brought in a b i l l providing support fo r Maynooth College which educated C atholic p r i e s t s , Macaulay supported the b i l l even though he f e l t th e m in istry had usurped th e ir l i b e r a l p r in c ip le s from h i a own party*

He favored a

policy of to le r a tio n fo r th e opinions of th© I r i s h Catho­ lic s and a d ig n ifie d support o f a program sponsored by the Bnglish*

At th e same tim e, he atta c k e d Peel and th© p arty

which proposed the measure* main purposes i

His speech, th en , had two

to r e f u te the arguments of those who opposed

a g ran t of 26,000 pounds t o Maynooth and to censure the conduct of th© Tory m in iste rs who proposed th© b ill* Nine days l a t e r h© spoke again on Maynooth de­ fending a motion th a t funds to support th e co lleg e b©

546

taken fv m th e revenues of th e E sta b lish e d Church In I r e ­ land*

He e v a lu a te d th e church o f th e m in o rity of the people

In Ire la n d a s h o p elessly ab su rd .

In a d d itio n , he r e c ite d

England* s u n ju s t trea tm en t of the I r i s h w ith th e blame la id p rim a rily on th e T o rie s.

He l e f t no doubt th a t he

favored th e g ra n t to Maynooth as w e ll as a stren g th en in g of th e Union between th e two c o u n trie s involved i n the con­ tro v ersy .

Two main Issu e s emerged In th is address*

the E stab lish ed Church as c o n s titu te d be m aintained?

S h all Hem

can a Union of two c o u n trie s w ith r e lig io u s d iffe re n c e s b*> preserved? T oleration For M inority Views .fust as he had e a r l i e r expressed the b e l ie f th a t the n ativ es of In d ia deserved re p re s e n ta tio n , f a i r t r e a t meat, and ju s tic e from England,

ju s t as h© l a t e r b eliev ed

58* T. B. Macaulay, ^Speeches and Legal s tu d i e s ,” The Comle te l o r k s . U n iv ersity E d itio n , Sully and K le ln te ic h , ew York, v o l. 9, 1900, pp. 128-68.

f

d isse n tin g r e lig io u s congregations should n o t be deprived of p ro p e rty ,^ 9 he pled f o r ju s tic e and fa irn e s s In x»esponse

m * I b id . . pp. 530-46. to th e demands of th e I r i s h th a t t h e i r wishes be considered.

347

Althoiigh he found th e f a i t h of th e C ath o lics unacceptable to him* he sym pathised w ith t h e i r u n w illin g n ess to support the Anglican Church in Irelan d *

i t was n o t a question* he

reasoned* w hether th e government should give support to Ireland* f o r i t a lre a d y d id so .

The q u estio n was whether

the support should be given t o the r e lig io n of the m inority only.

Was Macaulay c o n s is te n t and s in c e re in h is a t titu d e

toward Ire lan d ?

In 1833 he had spoken on the d istu rb e d

conditions in Ire la n d when King William asked f o r a g ran t of e x tra o rd in a ry powers to m aintain order and to preserve the U n i o n * I n 1840 when he defended th e Melbourne M inis60* Ib id . . pp* 97-113. try he d escrib ed Ire la n d as a conquered province whose troubles a ro se from mis government by the T o rie s. 61

In h is

S M -# PP* 191-214* address on The S ta te of Ire la n d In 1044 he a ls o h eld the Tories accountable f o r the d istu rb e d s ta te of Ire la n d .

He

Spoke of th e u n f a ir t r i a l of 0 ♦Cornell, th e o b jectio n ab le R e g istratio n B i l l , and h in te d a t th e e v ils of the Anglican Church.

He s a id th a t h© hoped to am plify the l a t t e r point

a t a fu tu re d a te .

He concluded by urging a vote of censure

against th e m in istry because o f i t s oppression of the

$48

I ris h C a th o lic s .

go

Ha had c o n s is te n tly , th e n , lamented

62. I b id . . pp. 298-329* the u n fa ir advantage which England held over the I r i s h people. In th e defense of th e Maynooth g ra n t, ha observed th a t a l l arguments were a g a in st the way the E stab lish ed Church was supported because i t was the church of the wealthy few which d id not a d m in ister to th e C atholic m ajority#

H©

could not countenance, however, the burden which paying his p r ie s t would p lace on th e poor man.

He was by t h is

method d isc laim in g support of the voluntary system of e c c le s ia s tic a l support*

Tolerance fo r the re lig io u s b e ­

lie f s which he could n o t accept as w ell as fo r the p o l i t i c a l hopes of th e people of another country was b a sic to h is reasoning in b o th of h is speeches In 1845. Compromise For Expediency True to th e p rin c ip le of compromise which under­ lay M s th in k in g on th e reform o f P arliam ent, on the f in a n ­ c ia l problems governing the trad© and government of In d ia , and on h is com parative e v a lu a tio n o f the success of the Melbourne m in istry in which ho p raise d Peel f o r follow ing a middle course in c o n c ilia tin g the C ath o lics, Macaulay

549

was w illin g to

0 o&sldsi* compromise ni08 isui*63 on th© causa­

tion of th e I r i s h Church.

He faced the problem r e a l i s t i c ­

a lly and was p o s itiv e th a t the m a jo rity of Irishm en could not be converted to P ro te sta n tism .

Yet h© recognized th a t

England and I re la n d could not be a t peace u n t i l th e m ajor­ ity of C ath o lics were appeased.

H© suspected th a t h is p o l­

icy of to le r a tio n would not f in d fa v o r w ith b ig o ted re p re ­ se n tativ es b u t t h a t they would a t l e a s t be impressed w ith the p r a c t ic a b ilit y o f h is sta n d .

His deair© to cotepromls©

in order to appease th e I r i s h and e s ta b lis h peaceful govern­ ment was c o n s is te n t w ith M s p re v io u sly enunciated p o lic ie s . He f e l t th a t the Tory statesm en were w illin g to pay something to -C a th o lic p r ie s ts b u t u n w illin g to touch any of the revenue of the P ro te sta n t Church.

The L ib eral

statesm en, h im self in clu d ed , favored tr a n s f e r r in g a la rg e part of th e I r i s h Church revenues from th e P ro te sta n ts to the C a th o lic s.

e t*at

As e a rly as 1845 he was form ulating h is

63. He wrote t o Kapler in 1845 concerning tra n sfe re n c e o f revenues: B. ..F o r such a measure I should th in k i t my duty to v o te , though I were c e r ta in my vote would c o s t me my se a t in P a rlia m e n t.” 0 . 0. Trevelyan. The L ife and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay, v o l. 2, pp. 131-32. opinion on compromise s o lu tio n s w ith the I r is h C ath o lics. Although he a s s e r te d h is w illin g n ess to take strong measures w ith reg ard to th e E stab lish ed Church on

350

April 23 9 13459 he f e l t i t was unnecessary to say p r e c is e ly how f a r he would go *64 64* ”1 am aware t h a t i t may be n ec essary , in t h i s as i n other c a s e s , to consent t o a compromise* But th© more complete th e reform which may be proposed, provided always th a t v e ste d r ig h ts b e , as I am sure they w ill be, held s t r i c t l y s a c re d , th e more c o r d ia lly s h a ll I support i t * M Macaulay, op* p i t . , p. 405. Macaulay p re fe rre d th a t concessions fo r the safe® Of ju s tic e r a th e r than because of a g ita tio n by th e I r i s h should determ ine th e conduct of England toward Ire la n d , He b eliev ed in m ain tain in g or w ithholding a b so lu te ly as in th© case o f th© Union of the two c o u n trie s but in answer­ ing fra n k ly th© f a i r demands of th e Irish *

In h is second

speech on th e I r i s h Church, b© d e lig h te d in review ing th© compromises which th e Whigs had and were then support­ ings

Em ancipation, the Improved m unicipal system , the

gp?snt to Maynooth, and th e reform of th e E sta b lish e d Church in Ireland*

Because both he and the Whigs did n o t agree

to a re p e a l of th e Union, he held th a t I t was Im portant to a tta in peace through o th e r e q u ita b le concession®. P artisan A ttack But V in d icatio n Of The ffrant Macaulay’s a tta c k upon the Tory m in istry which was in power follow ed th e p a tte rn of a s im ila r a tta c k in M® speech in defense of th e Melbourne government of 1841*

3 SI

He accused Pool of In tro d u c in g th© Maynooth. Grant as a peace o ffe rin g f o r p a s t Tory b lu n d e rs.

He f u r th e r contended

th at Peel a c tu a lly thus a lie n a te d those who put him in of­ fice as w ell as th e I r i s h Catholic® and l i b e r a l statesm en. He was la y in g th e blame f o r o b je c tio n s t o the b i l l upon the In c o n s is te n t p o lic ie s of th e m in is te rs , not upon the measure I t s e l f .

Obviously he f e l t th a t he could a tta c k

Peel w ithout endangering th e passage of th© Maynooth g r a n t . 65 @3* In 1845 he w rote in re g a rd t o th e Corn laws th a t he would not remark on F e e l’s gross in co n sisten cy u n til the b i l l was out o f danger but th a t no such cau tio n was necessary concerning th e Maynooth g ra n t. tfCn th© May­ nooth q u e s tio n , he ra n no r is k of d e fe a t, and, th e re ­ fo re , I had no sc ru p le about a tta c k in g Mm. But to h i t him hard w hile he i s f ig h tin g th e landowners would be a very d if f e r e n t th in g . 9 G. 0. Trevelyan, op . c i t . . p. 155* Macaulay, h im self, ris k e d m isunderstanding when he ascrib ed to P eel’ s In c o n sis te n c ie s the reasons why many ob jected to th is b i l l . I n te r n a l evidence In d ica ted th a t Macaulay misunder­ stood or m is in te rp re te d h is opponent’s m otives.

Although

Peel had opposed th© Reform B i l l , i t now appeared th a t Ccbden had converted him to lib e ra lism *

Peel had to admit

th at Oobden’s arguments on the Corn Laws wer© unanswerable . 66 65, Th© Com Laws of 1815 which placed a p ro te c tiv e t a r i f f on Imported g ra in gave g re a te r p ro te c tio n to B r itis h -

552

grown g ra in a g a in s t g ra in imported from abroad. In h is budget o f 1842 Peel undertook to sim p lify and reduce the t a r i f f * He was ta k in g a te n ta tiv e ste p toward f r e e trade* While maintenance of th e Corn haw was e s s e n tia l to keep th e support of Peel*a p a rty in 1845, Cob&en’s arguments f o r fre e tra d e g rad u ally convinced him* In 1846 Peel te m p o ra rily suspended th e Corn Law. He him self decided t o propose th© permanent re p e a l of th e law* W* E. Lunt, H istory of England* pp. 666-67* Peel then came t o th e r e a l i s a t i o n th a t member® could not disregard the w ishes of those o u tsid e of Parliam ent*

Al­

though Macaulay was c o rre c t in term ing Peel in c o n s is te n t, Peel was no more In c o n sis te n t th an lib e r a ls who conceded as much a® was necessary*

Th© Whigs to o were guided by

expediency and by the p o l i t i c a l d o c trin e of g iv in g the powerful v o tin g group s u b s ta n tia lly what I t wanted. Yet Macaulay was not com pletely b lin d ed by p a rty s p irit.

Although Peel was in o ffic e and Macaulay was on

the opposition sid e of th e House, Macaulay*s conduct towards the Maynooth b i l l deserved h ig h e st commendation*

H© was

con scien tio u sly convinced th a t th© endowment was proper* T herefore, h® supported th© g ran t ©ven though th© people of Edinburgh, th e c i ty which he rep rese n ted , were f a n a tic ­ a lly opposed, although I t was brought forward by Feel who had b i t t e r l y r e v ile d Macaulay’s own p arty f o r fav o rin g th© I r is h C a th o lic s, and although th e re was tem pting opportunity fo r revenge by combining w ith th© u ltr a - P ro te s ta n ts headed

bf s i r R ob ert I n g lls so as to leave the m in istry in a m inority*

I t I s d i s t i n c t l y to Macaulay’s c r e d it th a t de­ sp ite h is a tta c k upon h is p o l i t i c a l a d v e rs a rie s , he v in ­ dicated th e g ra n t i t s e l f , The C o rru p tib ility Of The I r i s h Church P erceiv in g th a t th o se who disapproved of tak in g funds f o r Maynooth from th o se a p p lic a b le to th e E stab lish ed Church must hold th a t th e p ro p erty of the church was in v io l­ able, Macaulay sa id t h a t he was w illin g to q u estio n whether th© church as such should even be m aintained.

Be d escrib ed

the Anglican Church as an anomaly, f o r nowhere e ls e was exclusive support given to th e r e lig io n of th e m in o rity , lb© f a c t th a t th e I r i s h Church did n o t serve a le g itim a te purpose, th a t i t d id not meet the need fo r which churches ex isted , th a t I t was in e ff e c tiv e as a m issionary church, and th a t I t had n o t co n trib u ted to the peace and s e c u r ity of c i v i l s o c ie ty convinced him th a t he could not sa n ctio n its m aintenance.

He argued th a t th e church could be r e ­

moved w ithout any d i f f i c u l t y but w ith re a l solace to th© amicable r e la tio n s h ip between England and Ire la n d . Mot an I r r e lig io u s man, Macaulay was concerned with C h r is tia n ity in g e n e ra l, not creeds or churches.

His

554

fir s t in te r e s t was the s ta te of the country.67

In 1855 he

• WH© wished a l l th e world to know th a t , however much the people whom he re p re s e n te d might reg ard e c c le s ia s tic c a l m atters from th e s t a n d p o i n t of th e church, he r e ­ garded them* and would always continue to reg ard them, ex c lu siv e ly from th© sta n d p o in t of th© s t a t e , ” a , 0 , Trevelyan, op. c l t *. p. 159, also defended a compromise measure designed to d is tr ib u te more ju s tly th© ta x e s le v ie d in support of the E sta b lish e d Church in Scotland*

A b i l l was before Parliam ent which em­

bodied a scheme f o r paying th e Edinburgh clerg y by a le s s C bjectional method th an th© method employed* the Whig view of the question*®®

Macaulay took

In 1853 he c r i t i c i s e d th®

68 . In 1853, in answer to a q u estio n of why, because he

favored the a b o litio n of th© Anglican Church in Ire la n d in 1845, he was u n w illin g to propose th e same remedy f o r S cotland, he answered th a t h© was asking th a t cer­ ta in abuses be e lim in a te d . H© continued, th e n , to regard th e ste p by ste p c o rre c tio n of e x is tin g abuses by th® government as th© only safe policy* Richard Groom B eatty , Lord Macaulay, pp. 352-54.

E stablished Church of S co tlan d .

go

He c o r r e c tly p red ic ted

69. *The un p o p u larity of an E stab lish ed Church i s a very d if f e r e n t th in g from the unpopularity of th© p reventive s e rv ic e , of th e army, of th© police* Th© p o lic e , the army, and th e co a st-g u ard may be unpopular from th e natur© of the work which they have to doj but of the Churoh i t may be s a id th a t i t is worse than u se le ss i f i t i s unpopular! f o r i t e x is ts only to in s p ire a ffe c tio n and resp e ct} and, I f I t in s p ire s fe e lin g s of a c h a ra c te r opposite to re sp e c t and a f f e c tio n , I t had b e tte r not e x i s t a t a l l , . , 91 0 . 0. T revelyan, op* c i t , * pp. 293-95*

553

th» In e v ita b le f a l l o f th e I r i s h Church*

A b i l l f o r d is ­

establishm ent and d is endowment of th e Anglican Church in 70 Ireland passed in 1869* Macaulay d id n o t, however, a n t i70* Lunt, op* c l t ,* p . 697* eipate the passage of a Home Rule b i l l or s e p a ra tio n of the Hnlon of th e two co u n tries*

The q u estio n of Home Hule

Which had boon b i t t e r l y c o n te ste d f o r over se v en ty -fiv e years was s e t t l e d in 1922 when th e I r i s h Free S ta te was established**7^ lb l d »* p. 819, Th© p r in c ip le s upon which Macaulay based h is sup­ port f o r Maynooth and h is c r itic is m of th® I r i s h Church were h eld c o n s is te n tly throughout h is Parliam entary c a re e r. Although he a ls o chose to d e liv e r a p a rtis a n a tta c k upon th® T ories whom he accused of usurping L ib e ra l p rin c ip le s when th® s ta tu s of the country fo rced them to do so , h© was not b lin d ed by p a rty s p i r i t to such an e x ten t th a t h is de­ cisions were I llo g ic a l*

His brave statem ent of h is own con­

v ictio n s in th e face of In e v ita b le p o l i t i c a l disapproval and h is prophecy concerning th e probable d isestab lish m en t of th© Anglican Church were commendable*

He probably 3

however, m is in te rp re te d Peel *s motives and devoted too much

tin t to an ir r e le v a n t p a r tis a n attac k *

His purpose was

tw o fo ld a to expound h is own views of how b e s t t o m aintain « Union o f Ire la n d and England and to p rese n t a defense of the Whigs*

His dangerous c r itic is m o f Tory In co n sisten cy

weakened r a th e r th an stren g th en ed h is own arguments* Forms of Sup£ort In th e Maynooth ad d re ss, Macaulay answered th re e groups of o b je c to rs t o th e g ra n t to th e c o lle g e which train ed C atholic p rie s ts *

In a d d itio n , he censured the

m inisters who proposed th© measure which he p re fe rre d to embrace as a Whig c o n trib u tio n .

A co n tin u atio n of h is argu­

ment nine days l a t e r was d ire c te d p rim a rily to an a tta c k of the E stab lish ed Church of Ire la n d .

A ctually he was answer­

ing those Who o b je cte d to u sin g revenues from th is church to support Maynooth.

His f i r s t support of th e measure was

a strong one based upon to le r a tio n and upon th e argument that i f patronage was worthy the g reatn ess o f England i t should be extended in a generous way.

His v icio u s a tta c k

upon Peel was probably designed to stren g th en the cause of the Whigs.

What methods of r e f u tin g the o b je cto rs to th e

grant proved e f f e c tiv e ?

How d id he c o n stru c t h is c a s tig a ­

tion o f Peel so a s to v in d ic a te th© p o s itio n of th e Whigs? How d id he develop h is arguments in h is second speech

367

OgKinst tih® Ejstab Itsh o d Ohureh of lF@l&nd 0 0 th a t ho sup* ported th e b i l l ' f o r Maynooth while r e s o lu te ly s ta tin g th© views of th e Whig p a rty concerning the re la tio n s h ip s of England to Irelan d ? His Methods Of R efuting O bjections To The g ran t He s ta te d t h a t he intended to support the b i l l by reviewing th e c h ie f o b je c tio n s to It*

His technique of

re fu ta tio n was p rim a rily by th e us© of c l a s s if ic a tio n o f arguments, by exam ples, by analogy, by h is t o r ic a l p reced en t, and by th e o ccasio n al us© of s t a t i s t i c s and re duct lo ad absurdum. His procedure was to d iv id e the o b je c to rs to the 26,000 pound g ra n t in to th re e c la s s e s 1 those who o b jected net to th e p rin c ip le but t o th e amount of th e g ra n t, those nfcto objected t o g ra n ts because they would co rru p t churches, and those who o b jected on p rin c ip le to a l l g ran ts made to churches*

He employed a n a ly sis to c a te g o rise th e arguments

which were p resen ted by th o se who objected to the p rin c ip le Cf the b i l l .

His c a te g o rie s appeared t o be m utually ex clu ­

sive as w e ll as in c lu siv e of th e arguments o ffe re d by opponents* In answer to the f i r s t group who opposed th e g ra n t, h© re c a lle d th a t th© o ld annual vote a ttr a c te d l i t t l e n o tic e

388

whereas t h i s b i l l had caused v io le n t excitem ent.

I t was

d if f ic u lt fo r him to see why th e re would be few d is s e n tin g votes fo r a 9,000 pound g ra n t but many f o r th is b i l l .

He

could not conceive how minds could d if f e r e n tia te between a g if t of 9,000 pounds and 20,000 pounds and tu rn i t In to a question o f p rin c ip le *

He f a i l e d t o understand reasoning

Which agreed t o give a s s is ta n c e to the C atholic Church b u t In siste d on d o lin g out only a p itta n c e .

He then r e s ta te d

th is general p r in c ip le by means of s p e c if ic examples by Which he t r i e d to envisage why Englishmen wanted to pay professors sm a lle r wages than grooms or why th ey wanted r ite s performed in a chapel w ith a leaky ro o f and a d ir ty floor*

To ac cen tu ate t h i s d e fe n s e le s s a t titu d e , Macaulay

**sed ro d u c tlo ad absundum.

"By a l l means l e t us keep h er a

college, provided only th a t she be a shabby o n e.”

7g

He

72* f , ®* MaOaulay, "Speeches and Legal S tu d ie s," The Com* o le te Works, U n iv e rsity E d itio n , S ully and lO.elnteTch, lew York, v o l. 9, 1900, pp. 372-74. —

If f Hi ■ *

I ll .

h .,.,— ..

.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... III,

, . . . M l . . '. . . I I .—

I

m ill w .i,., .—

»

114. Arnold W right and P h ilip Smith, Parliam ent p ast and P resen t. Hutchinson and Company, London, n. d. pp. 474-

■390

th® P ro te s ta n t T o rie s , he th e n challenged th© Whigs to sup*, port J u s tic e and th© w elfare of the country#

The p o s itio n

i&ieh he m aintained had stro n g e th ic a l proof and was a manly and courageous u tte ra n c e . Xn h is second a d d re s s, he h a l f apologised fo r th© s e lf-e v id e n t t r u t h th a t th e E sta b lish e d Church of Ire la n d was an in e f f e c tu a l i n s t i t u t i o n .

He follow ed th is s t a t e ­

ment by rem inding th e House th a t he had c o n s is te n tly C ritic is e d i t*

He c le a r ly framed th e method whereby he

arriv ed a t h is e v a lu a tio n . I am not speaking in an g e r, or w ith any wish to e x c ite anger in others} I am not speaking w ith r h e to r ic a l exaggerations I am calm ly and de­ l ib e r a te l y ex p ressin g , in th© only a p p ro p riate term s, an opinion which X formed many years ago, which a l l ray observ atio n s and r e f le c tio n s have confirm ed, and which X am prepared to support by reaso n s, when X say t h a t , of a l l th e in s t itu ti o n s now e x is tin g in th e c iv iliz e d w orld, the E stab­ lis h e d Church o f Ire la n d seems to me th© most ab su rd . 1 *5 116* Macaulay, on. c l t . . p. 389, H© was her® c h a ra c te riz in g him self as an unprejudiced, in ­ ductive th in k e r who was courageous enough to s t a t e h is ©valuations to the House.

This was a dangerous technique

before a House th® m a jo rity o f whom adhered to th© Church of England,

However, Macaulay1© re p u ta tio n fo r in te g r ity

and c a re fu l p re p a ra tio n would a t le a s t make them curious to

891

haar his reasoning. Appeals To J u a tle a AM S » » . t t g F or Snpport Of Argumanta Macaulay spent le s s time In d ir e c tin g em otional appeals to th© members th a n he d id In e s ta b lis h in g h is own ch a ra c te r.

His d e ta ile d e x p o s itio n o f why the Anglican

Ghurch should in c re a se i t s g ran t to th e C atholics of I r e ­ land was Ju d ic io u sly phrased and p laced to add b o th emo­ tio n a l and lo g ic a l proof#

The follow ing day S ir John Hammer

re s ta te d Macaulay’s th in k in g In o rd er to t r y t o r id ic u le it#

He re p e a te d th a t Macaulay contended th a t the measure

meant n o th in g b u t th e d iffe re n c e between 9,000 pounds and 26,000 pounds, noth in g b u t decency or d isg race i n an i n s t i ­ tu tio n which was alread y a s so c ia te d w ith th e s t a t e .

He

was reminded th a t Macaulay asked th e House to r e c a l l nwho liv e d in the h a l l b u i l t by W illiam of Wykeham, who had pos­ session of th e foundation of Margaret of Anjou; he re fe rre d to g re a t e c c le s ia s tic a l possessions in Ire la n d once belong­ ing to th e f a i t h of the m a jo rity , now to th a t of th© minor­ i t y of th e I r i s h p eople; and he c a lle d upon you to b© j u s t , as w ell as generous, in remembrance o f these th in g s , 11 Hammer conceded th a t he might be generous and ju s t , b u t th a t in th e name of ju s tic e he would do more than in th© name o f g e n e ro sity .

He begged to know what, In th® name of ju s tic e ,

392

the proponents asked him to do by means o f th is b ill *

His

decision was th a t th e s t a t e should n o t concern i t s e l f w ith e c c le S ia s tie a l relatio n ® o th er than th o se irre v o c a b ly mixed up w ith it® fundam ental law s*^®

I t was tru e th a t Macaulay

116. Hansard, v o l. 79, pp, 751*55. made these id e n tic a l re fe re n c e s when comparing Oxford and Oambridg© T to lv e rsitie s w ith Maynooth C ollege.

He had s ta te d ,

somewhat o b liq u e ly , th a t th e E sta b lish e d Ghurch should, in ju s tic e , give a more re sp e c ta b le e x iste n c e to th e Catho­ l i c co lleg e by th e v ir tu e of what had once belonged to those of th© C ath o lic f a i t h ,

The pa®sags® which Hammer

C ritic is e d were th e very ones which added p a th e tie a l appeal to Macaulay *s argument. By p ic tu rin g th e C atholic p r ie s ts as the down­ trodden u n re le n tin g workers who, in spit© o f m iserable c o n d itio n s, consoled th© poor and held up **th© c r u c if ix before the eyes of th© dying , 11 he was app ealin g to humanity and J u s tic e .

He did n o t, of cours©, blame th© presen t-d ay

P ro te sta n t c le rg y f o r th© inadequacies of t h e i r predeces­ so rs,

He did n o t doubt th a t they were now on a comparable

le v e l w ith th© clerg y of England,

Yet they did as l i t t l e

m issionary work as t h e i r p red ecesso rs; so i t appeared th a t the p rese n t church was n o t changing the r e lig io u s outlook

s

m

117 ef I n l a n d / * 117, Macaulay* ©p. o lt.»* pp* 400*01. Although throughout h is th in k in g he was present* img a to le r a n t and u nderstanding a ttitu d e toward the I r i s h , he was firm ly upholding the cause of the empire * When he maintained t h a t th e Union must s ta n d , he appealed to th e proud i n s t in c t s of a race th a t was not to be in tim id a ted by any armed camps or th re a te n in g a llia n c e s .

There was no

v a c illa tio n in h is d eclared p o licy to th e I r is h . Having branded Peel and h is follow ers and having painted a p a th e tic p ic tu re of th© m istreatm ent of the Cath­ o lic s , he summarised by saying th a t he had c r i t i c i z e d the p ra c tic e of concessions made in fe a r e s p e c ia lly when they were o b s tin a te ly refu sed in p eacefu l periods*

He r e ite r a te d

th a t he was w illin g and had always been w illin g to g ra n t much to Irelan d *

He th en s a id th a t he would give h is vote

”from my h e a r t and so u l f o r th e amendment of my honorable f r ie n d .”

He favored th is concession which should have been

made long ago,

Macaulay confessed th a t h© was sure th a t the

Herns© would vot© a g a in st Mr* 5mrd*a amendment but th a t he p o s itiv e ly b eliev ed th a t they would g ran t i t ev en tu ally when such a r e s u l t would stim u la te f u r th e r a g ita tio n and

594

to a s ig n a l of weakness on th e p a rt of England*^® 110. 1 W * » P* 410* His s ta n d , w hile supported lo g ic a lly by previous reasoning, re c e iv e d added stre n g th from h is c a l l to J u s tic e and sympathy*

He d id n o t over-work hi® p a th e tic proof*

At no time d id he assume th e c h a ra c te r of th e over-dram atic pleader$ r a th e r he was th e advocate asking what f a i r men of noble c h a ra c te r could accept* S tru c tu re The s tr u c tu re of Macaulay1® speeches of 1845 on the I r i s h Church l e f t no q u estio n as to th© p o in ts he was re fu tin g or th e is s u e s he was proving*

Unlike some o f the

Speeches on the reform of P arliam en t, th© In d ia B i ll, and the defense of th e Melbourne m in is try , h is speeches on th© E stablished Church of Ire la n d were organised c le a r ly and d iscrim inately*

His sub-arguments were c a re fu lly u n ifie d

with h is main issues* Emphasis Through order And P roportion Of Argument A r e i t e r a t i o n of h is p o in ts by speakers of th© Opposition in d ic a te d th a t Macaulay’s p ro p o sitio n s were C learly comprehended*

Mr* Gumming Bruce spoke of the

598

t*r&»p&rt d iv is io n of th e Maynooth speech, th e f i r s t g iv in g support to th e measure and the second d ed icated to a b i t t e r party attack *

He accused Macaulay o f being t i r e d of to o

much l i t e r a r y le is u r e and o f b ein g eager to change s e a ts with th© Tories*

He a ls o observed th a t th© f i r s t s e c tio n

of Macaulay*© speech was d iv id ed in to th re e p a r t s ^

Mr*

119* Hansard* vol* 79, pp. 863-66* Bruce a c c u ra te ly d isc lo se d th e th r e e -p a rt development of the f i r s t issue*

The method, however, co n siste d of answers to

three groups of o b je c to rs .

Because tw o -th ird s of h is speech

was devoted to h is f i r s t is s u e , h is speech was p rim a rily r e f u ta tlv e .

Only o n e -th ird was a p erso n al a tta c k of Feel*

Iff&caulay’s p rin c ip a l ta sk was to s ile n c e objecto rs? so his argument was w ell-p ro p o rtio n ed * Th© f i r s t o n e -th ird of h is second speech co n siste d of reasons why th© I r i s h Church was an in e ffe c tiv e i n s t i t u ­ tion*

His method of o rg an isin g h is a tta c k , however, was to

s ta te r e a l and h y p o th e tic a l arguments in favor of such an estab lish m en t, and then to prove them co n clu siv ely wrong* The n ex t o n e -th ird of h is sp e w in g time was devoted to proving th a t w hile the A nglican Church did not meet th© mods fo r whieh i t e x is te d th a t th© Homan C atholic Church wa® m eeting th o se needs.

The l a s t th ir d of h is speech

m determined th a t th e Probe a ta n t E sta b lish e d Church could be removed w ith o u t any u n d esira b le e ffe c ts *

His l a s t b r ie f

plea was th a t a l i b e r a l p a rty would make concessions to Ireland in th e name of ju s tic e in o rd er to guarantee th e rete n tio n of th e Union* Macaulay ju d ic io u s ly spent th e f i r s t p a rt of each speech r e f u tin g r e a l and imaginary arguments a g a in st the measure*

Cn on© occasion ho a tta c k e d Peel and h is p arty )

on the o th e r, th e E sta b lish e d Church as i t existed*

Me

Chose to p lace h is im portant arguments f i r s t and devoted the major p o rtio n of time to them* Coherence Through T ra n sitio n s And Summaries $h© reaso n in g o f h is f i r s t re p ly to those who ob­ jected to th© amount of th e g ran t was in te rru p te d by h is c a llin g a tte n tio n t o what he was doing*

He had already

named the th re e class©® of o b je cto rs which h© would re fu te * Be r e i t e r a t e d , a f t e r beginning to answer the f i r s t group, th a t he was not ta lk in g to th© second class of o b je c to rs nor t o the t h i r d , fo r they adm ittedly objected on p r in c ip le . Hi a ls o understood but d id not agree w ith the proponents of v o lu n tary g i f t s r a th e r th an s t a t e aid*

In a d d itio n , he

understood th© zealous P ro te sta n t who was not in favor o f

397

g iv in g grants t o th e C a th o lic Church.

ISO

In oth er w ords,

ISO. Macaulay,

a fte r naming th© two groups to whom he was n o t speaking, fa® then f u r th e r s p e c ifie d what th ese groups stood f o r .

His

meaning, however, would have been c le a r e r had h is a m p lifi­ catio n imm ediately follow ed th e enum eration of h is g en e ra liz ed objectors#

As i t was, h is o rg a n iz a tio n , in ste a d of c la r ify *

Ing, merely in te rru p te d h is lin e of reaso n in g . By means of a tr a n s i tio n a l sen ten ce, he sa id th a t ha had answered those who m aintained su p p o rt, but parsimony ious support of Maynooth,

H® then in d ic a te d th a t h© was

ready to answer a more form idable c la s s of o b je c to rs whose reasoning he s ta te d s y ll o g is ti c a l l y . 133* H® a ls o allow ed 121. I b id . . pp. 376*77. his audience to know when he was ready to answer the th ir d class of opponents, those who b eliev ed in the v o lu n tary p rin cip le of su p p o rtin g c h u r c h © s . B y means of an 188# *1 now come to th e t h i r d c la s s of our opponents. I moan those who take t h e i r stan d on th© v o lu n tary p r in ­ c ip le * , . w Ib id . . pp. 380*81. in te rn a l summary he m echanically but c le a r ly summed up what

59S

he had said.*® 55 125* "To sum up s h o rtly what I have s a id : i t is c le a r to me In th e f i r s t p lace th a t , i f w© have no r e lig io u s sc ru p le about g ra n tin g t o t h i s College nine thousand pounds f o r one y e a r, we ought t o have no sc ru p le about g ra n tin g tw e n ty -six thousand pounds a year f o r an in d e f in ite terra# ^Secondly, I t seems to me th a t those persons who t e l l us th a t we ought never in any circum stance to c o n trib u te t o th e p ro p ag atio n of e r r o r do In f a c t la y down a ru le which would a lto g e th e r i n te r d i c t th© propagation of tru th # " T h ird ly , i t seems to me t h a t , even on the hypothe­ s i s th a t th e v o lu n ta ry p r in c ip le is the sound p r in c i­ p le , th e p re se n t case i s an excepted e a se , to which i t would be u n ju st and unwise to apply th a t p rin c ip le * ” lb ,id# * pp# 382-83* He in tro d u ced h is second iss u e by on© sentences "So touch, S ir , a s to th is b i l l s

and now l e t me add a few

words about those by whom i t has been framed and ln tr o 184 duced#** Mr* Law complained th a t he d id not see how 124. I b id ** p. 385* Macaulay d eclared th a t th e re was no qu estio n of p rin c ip le involved in th e g ra n t, fo r th is th in k in g was ir r e c o n c il­ able w ith th e l a s t p a rt o f th© speech in which he accused fe e l of in tro d u cin g a measure n o t based on h is former p r in c ip le s . 125 Lav was attem p tin g to place Macaulay in a 125. Hansard, vol., 79, p . 997.

dilemma, b u t f o r tu n a te ly Macaulay se p a ra te d hi a support of the b i l l and h is a tta c k on Poel so d e f in ite ly th a t th is complaint could h ard ly be valid* Although h is second speech was given on an amend­ ment to th© Maynooth G ran t, he d e se rte d th e o r ig in a l motion to d iscover th e b a s ic iss u e underly in g th e a ffirm a tio n of the amendment —th e q u estio n of u sin g revenues from th® B stablished Church to h elp support the Maynooth Bill®

In

order t o explore t h i s q u e stio n , th e f i r s t is s u e , he thought, was w hether th e I n s t i t u t i o n was good o r bad.

He sa id th a t

no one could r e c a l l a defense of the A nglican Church on i t s m erits a lo n e , th a t I t was an anomalous i n s t i t u t i o n , and th a t because i t was a wealthy church d id not c o n s titu te a reason f o r m ain tain in g i t as now c o n stitu ted *

126

He pro-

106* Macaulay, op® P i t ** pp» 889*05* grossed from th® argument th a t th e church had not met th e needs f o r which churches e x iste d to another su pporting point* 107 An in te r n a l summary made up of questions and 127* wObserve, i t is not only th e comparative number of Roman C atholics and P ro te s ta n ts th a t may J u s tly fu rn is h us w ith m atter f o r se rio u s re fle c tio n * Th® q u a lity a® w ell as th e q u a n tity o f I r i s h Romanism deserves to be c o n s id e re d .” I b id *■» pp* 597-98*

400

uunrera r e tr a c e d f o r h is audlene# what h® had Ju st proved .'1'2 8

ISBi

$

p * 402 *

tTnitv through R h e to ric a l S tru c tu re On P e e l's motion fo r th© second read in g o f th©

Maynooth College B i l l , Macaulay d id not open h is defense w ith an ©motional appeal nor an a tte n tio n - g e ttin g d e v ise . Bather he promised th a t he would n o t re a c t to Ward's In ­ tended motion f o r a means of c o lle c tin g money to supply a grant to Maynooth u n t i l th© motion had been made.

Bis pur­

pose was m erely to e x p la in th© reasons why he would vote f o r a second re a d in g of t h i s b i l l .

Without any d ig re s s io n s ,

then, Macaulay s ta te d h is th e s is .

I t was d isc rim in a tin g

of him not to consume tim e n e e d le s s ly .

He intended to ex­

p la in h is reaso n s f o r su p p o rtin g th e b i l l by "passing in * 129 review #,,th© c h ie f o b je ctio n s made to it/. Obviously,

129# Ib id ,* p, 572, then, he began w ith re fu ta tio n # In h is speech of 1844 concerning th© s ta te o f I r e ­ land, he in tim ated th a t he would speak on the I r is h Church a t a l a t e r d a te ,

H© began h is speech upon Ward's amendment

of 1845 by saying th a t h© had not y e t had an opportunity

401

to ex p lain h is views on the s u b je c t of th© I r i s h Church•

H©

re fe rre d to the tim e when he was not In England b u t when th is very su b je c t "produced a schism ” in th© Lord Grey m inis­ try and overthrew the s h o rt a d m in istra tio n of f e e l ,

Macau­

lay perceived th a t War&*s motion opened th© whole ques150 tlon* Again th e re was noth in g c o n c ilia to ry about h is iso* ibid, a p, see. opening remarks#

He merely u til iz e d h is to ry to introduce

the b asic is s u e of th e debate. Th© conclusion of h is f i r s t speech emphasized th a t In s p ite of any la ck of confidence In the m in istry , he intended to vote f o r th© Maynooth g ran t and urged a l l who wished to promote the union of th© two co u n trie s to do likew ise* 131 His d ir e c tly p erso n al recommendation was in 131* I b id , , p* 387# keeping w ith h is e n tir e approach to the defense of th e b i l l . N either In t h i s speech nor in h is second on© did he us© sum m arization in h is p e ro ra tio n .

He d id r e i t e r a t e

th a t he condemned th e p ra c tic e of making concession in time of danger when g ran ts wore w ithheld from Ire la n d In time of tra n q u ility *

He p erso n a lly d ec lared th a t nothing

could in tim id a te him to grant more than h© considered ju s t .

402

His p r e d ic t io n t h a t England w ould f i n a l l y make c o n c e s s io n a t a tim e when i t c o u ld n o t be g iv e n g r a c e f u lly was im p ress iv e %

132 B ecause o f h i s r e p u t a tio n f o r c a r e f u l p r e p a r a tio n

132* I b id .# P . 410* and i n t e g r i t y , me tubers would be in c lin e d t o l i s t e n t o h is prophecy* The t h r e e - p a r t r h e t o r i c a l s t r u c t u r e o f h is two d efen ses employed* s h o r t I n tr o d u c tio n s embodying a sta tem en t o f h is f i r s t I s s u e , w e ll- o r g a n iz e d d evelop m ents o f M s argument in c lu d in g c le a r t r a n s i t i o n s and I n t e r n a l r e c a p it u ­ l a t i o n , and s h o r t c o n c lu s io n s d e sig n e d t o im press h is audience r a th e r than t o summarize h is argum ents*

Such

w e ll- c o n s t r u c te d o r g a n iz a tio n str e n g th e n e d h is p e r s u a siv e r e a so n in g .

Language P erson al D ir e c t n e s s And Im p erative Commands Macaulay *s s im p le , f o r t h r ig h t lan gu age was more p e rso n a l th an t h a t o f h is p r e v io u s sp e ech es*

The t h e s i s o f

h is f i r s t sp eech s t a t e d fr a n k ly h is p e r s o n a l r e a c t io n t o the seco n d r e a d in g o f the Maynooth B i l l * At p r e s e n t I s h a l l c o n te n t m y self w ith e x p la in in g th e r e a s o n 3 w h ich co n v in c e me th a t i t I s my duty

403

to vote f o r th e second read in g of th is b i l l ? and I can n o t, 1 th in k , b e t t e r ex p lain those reasons than by p assin g in review , as ra p id ly as I can, the c h ie f o b je c tio n s which have been mad© to the b i l l here and elsew here 135. Macaulay, on. o f t ,* p . 372. S h o rtly th e r e a f te r , he spoke d ir e c tly to th© memberss

•Observes

I am n o t now answering those who m a in ta in ..

154. I b id . . p. 373. On se v e ra l o ccasio n s, ho addressed th e House in fo rm ally by phrases such as nLat me be c le a r ly understood* 135. I b id . . p. 377. He a ls o seemed fonder than usual of im perative sentences.

H© challenged D is ra e li by fo u r consecutive

sentences beginning w ith ^Loi; him show men to prove th a t th© s itu a tio n of th© Wesleyan M ethodists was id e n tic a l w ith th a t of th© C atholics in Ireland* climax of h is demand!

His summation was th©

nI f he can show me t h i s , I promise

him t h a t , wherever th© Wesleyan M ethodists s h a ll ask fo r 26,000 pound® a year to educate t h e i r m in is te rs , I s h a ll grant t h e i r r e q u e s t . ”*^6

Ho d ire c te d p erso n al ta u n ts to

156. Macaulay, op. c l t *, p. 582*

404

fe e l follow ed by im perative statem en ts in d ic a tin g what fe e l was o b lig a te d to show In o rd er to prove th a t he had n o t been u n p rin c ip le d . There you s i t , doing penance f o r the d isin g en ­ uousness of y e a rs . I f i t be not so , sta n d up m anfully, and c le a r your fame before the House and th® co u n try . Show us th a t some stead y p r in ­ c ip le has guided your conduct w ith re s p e c t to I r i s h a f f a i r s . Show us h o w .... Explain to us why, a f t e r having goaded Ire la n d to madness f o r the purpose of in g r a tia tin g yourselves w ith the E n g lis h ...* dive us some reaso n which s h a ll prove th a t th e p o lic y which you are fo llo w in g , as M in iste rs, i s e n t i t l e d to su p p o rt, and which s h a ll n o t e q u a lly prove you to have been the most fa c tio u s and u n p rin cip led opposition th a t ever th is country saw .I ®7 157. I b i d ., pp. 386-87. The concluding remarks o f h is f i r s t speech pro­ mised how he would vote re g a rd le ss of the f a c t th a t h is c o n stitu e n ts might thereupon be convinced to vote a g a in st him,

Trevelyan c a lle d Macaulay’s sentences w...mor© honor­

able to him who spoke them than the most fin is h e d and 138 famous among a l l h is p e r o r a tio n s .” These ea rn e st words 138. G, 0. T revelyan, The L ife and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay. v o l. 2, p. 141, were spoken In s p ite of th e p recario u s s itu a tio n which they crea ted , Tea, S ir , to t h i s b i l l , and to ©very b i l l which

s h a ll seem to me lik e ly t o promote the r e a l Union of Great B r ita in and Irelan d * I w ill give my sup­ port* re g a rd le s s of obloquy* re g a rd le s s of the r is k which 1 may ru n of lo s in g my s e a t in P a r lia ­ ment. For such obloquy I have learn ed to co n sid er as tru e g lo ry 5 and as to my s e a t, I am determined t h a t I t never s h a ll be h eld by an ignominious te n u re j and I am sure th a t i t can never be l o s t in a more honorable c a u s e . * 0 © 139. Macaulay* op, e l t , . p . 387. The pronouns I.* you, and phrases le v e le d to p a r t i ­ cu lar groups c h a ra c te ris e d h is second ad d ress.

Eleven o f

his tw en ty -six p u b lish ed speeches given in Parliam ent began with I*

The l a s t th re e o f h is s ix reform speeches

and the

l a s t th re e of h is fo u r speeches on Ire lan d

as the second o f h is co p y rig h t debate®.

did so , as w ell

With the excep tio n

of h is speech on Jewish D is a b ilitie s in 1838 and h is l a t e r reform speeches* h is in tro d u c to ry sentence® did n o t begin w ith th e f i r s t person pronoun u n t i l a f t e r h is re tu rn from Ihdla In 1840.

Perhaps as he gained p re s tig e In Parliam ent

and confidence by speaking a number of tim es on the ques­ tio n of reform* th® copyright* and the I r i s h Church, he more w illin g ly s ta te d h is own co n clu sio n s. Be expressed openly* w ith no attem pt a t s u b te r­ fuge* h is a t t i t u d e toward th e P ro te sta n t E stab lish ed Church in Ire la n d ,

His unmoderated but unashamed sta n d was rev ealed

throughout by h is d ire c tn e s s o f language.

He seemed almost

406

to d e lig h t In shocking a ora© o f h is co lleag u es when he s ta te d In f i r s t person th a t he thought th e I r i s h Church a bad in s t itu ti o n .

Having d e c la re d h is view s, he demanded th a t

others d eclare t h e i r s :

“E xplain th is to me,

1 speak to

you, th© aealous P ro te s ta n ts on th© o th e r aid© of th© House,” His Imagined what he would say I f h© were a Homan C ath o lic, and ag ain tu rn ed to th© P ro te s ta n ts s w© are to s a y . . . ”14^

MT e ll u s, then what

L ater on, he p led w ith d efen d ers of

140, I b id , , p , 397, th© I r is h Church:

”In th© name of common sen se, then, t e l l 141 us what good end t h i s church has a t t a i n e d ? , . . ” As h© 141* Ifrid . , p . 402. spoke In th e f i r s t person, he became quit© dogmatics

”1

t e l l you t h a t , i f you had adhered to the mad scheme o f hav­ ing a re lig io u s union w ith Scotland you never would have had c o rd ia l p o l i t i c a l union w ith h e r . ”142

And again he

142. I b i d . . p, 404. firm ly s t a t e d t

*%, , 1 am f u l l y prepared to take stro n g

measures w ith reg ard to th e E sta b lish e d Church o f I r e la n d ,” 143. Ib id , , p , 405.

143

407

10 wan ex p re ssin g h is Ideas and ch a lle n g in g those who d is ­ agreed w ith him.

Se th en spoke

of th e sta n d o f the ih lg s s we ever made or are now mak­

11But I defy you t o show us th a t

ing to Ire la n d a s in g le concession

which wasnot in s t r i c t

conformity w ith our known p r in c ip le s ." 1 4 4

144. Ib id . . p . 408. Hestatem ent And D irect Q uotations Macaulay was fond o f r e s ta tin g the arguments of M s opponents in t h e i r own words so as to u n d erlin e the absurdity of t h e i r reasoning*

"Whether th© Homan C atholic

Church teach es t r u t h or erro r# she ought to have no a s s i s t anee from th e s t a t e . " 145 His rep h rasin g of arguments of 145, I b id . . p . 573* the o p p o sitio n made them appear r id ic u lo u s . In s p ite of th e e rro rs of th© Roman C atholic Church, I th in k th a t she ought t o have some a s ­ s is ta n c e from the s ta te | but I am bound to mark my abhorrence o f h e r e rro rs by d o lin g out to her a m iserable p i t t a n c e . . , . Her r i t e s are so s u p e rs titio u s th a t I w ill talc© care th a t they s h a ll be performed in a chapel w ith a leaky roof and a d ir ty f lo o r ...,^ * ® I b id . , p . 374. He a ls o dram atised th e reaso n in g of th© Whigs by

408

translat in g t h e i r arguments in to d ir e c t q u o ta tio n s. You asked f o r em ancipation: i t was ag reeab le to our p r in c ip le s th a t you should have i t s and we a s s is te d you to o b tain I t . You wished f o r a m unicipal system *..** This g ra n t to Maynooth i s , in our o p in io n , p ro p er; and w© w ill do our b e s t to o b ta in i t f o r you, though i t should c o s t us our p o p u la rity and our s e a ts in P arliam en t . , . * 47 147. I b id . * p. 408.

Repetition And Balanced S tru ctu re In some of h is balanced c o n s tru c tio n s , Macaulay also used r e p e t itio n f o r im pressiveness of Id e a s .

In one

of h is most elo q u en t contrast® he dwelt a t la rg e upon th© physical a t t r i b u t e s of Oxford and Cambridge a® compared w ith the squalor of Maynooth C ollege.

In th is d e s c rip tio n , c a l ­

culated to e x c ite th e f e e lin g s , d e t a i l and expansion were e ffe c tiv e ly combined.

His d e sc rip tio n was couched in a

sentence of 509 words, b u t th e r e p e titiv e clau se s could be e ffe c tiv e ly broken In d e liv e ry .

Mid-way in th© sentence,

fo r in sta n c e , he was s t i l l dw elling upon th© p h y sic al com­ fo rts o f E nglish u n iv e r s itie s . • * .when 1 th in k of th e spacious and s t a t e l y man­ sio n s o f the heads of houses, of the commodious chambers of th© feX lors and s c h o la rs , of the r e f e c to r ie s , th e com bination rooms, the bowling greens, the s ta b lin g , of th© s ta te and luxury of the g re a t f e a s t d ays, of the p ile s o f old p la te on th© ta b le s , of th© savory steam of the k i t ­ chens, of the m u ltitu d es of gees© and capons

409

Which tu r n a t once on th e s p i t s , of th e oceans of e x c e lle n t al© in th© b u tte rie s } and when I remember from whom a l l t h i s splendor and p le n ty i s derived} when 1 remember what was th e f a i t h of Edward the T hird and Henry th e s ix th , of Mar* g aret of Anjou and M argaret of Richmond, of Wil­ liam of Wykeham and W illiam of Wayne f l e e t , of Archbishop Chiceley and C ardinal Wolseyj when I remember what w© have taken from th© Roman Catho­ lic s # King’s C ollege, Hew C o lleg e, C h rist Church, my own T rin ity } and when X look a t th e m iserable Dotheboys H all which w© have given them in ex­ change, X f e e l , I must own, le s s proud than I could w ish of being a P ro te s ta n t and a Cambridge man#^46 148# Macaulay, op# e i t ## pp* 575-76* In h is len g th y p o r tra y a l, he moved from a glimpse of the outside yards and b u ild in g s to th® p h y sic al comforts pro­ vided fo r in s tr u c to r s and stu d e n ts , th en to th e famous C atholics who endowed some p a r tic u la r c o lle g e s,

Th© found­

ing of Queen *s College by Margaret of Anjou could be a t ­ trib u te d mainly to th e in flu en ce of Henry th© S ix th . l a t t e r a ls o helped w ith King’s C ollege.

The

His u n iv e rs ity

policy formed a connecting lin k between t h a t of Wykeham and th a t of Wolsey.

His conversion of fo re ig n m onasteries in to

English s e c u la r co lleg e s and h is displacem ent of re g u la r clergy paved th e way f o r an im portant asp ect of the Reforma­ tion*

W illiam of wykmbara was founder of A ll Souls College

as w ell as of Hew C ollege, Oxford.

At f i r s t glance, th is

d e sc rip tio n m i^ it appear to be in f lo r i d sty lo w ith p o ssib le

410

emotional ap p eal o nly, b u t i t embodied s p e c ific d e ta ils which showed how indebted th e u n iv e r s itie s o f England were to the Homan C atholics*

R e p e titio n and balanced s tr u c tu re

helped to emphasise t h i s idea* O ccasionally he combined consecutive q u estio n s with re p e titio n *

**But are your t r a c t s p e rfe c t?

schoolm asters i n f a l l i b l e ?

Are your

Are your m issio n arie s in sp ire d ?"

149

149. I b id *. p . 578* To th e se q u estio n s h is l i s t e n e r s could answer only nto; so they were fo llo w in g him a c tiv e ly as he le d them in h is p ath of reasoning. In a d d itio n to u sin g r h e to r ic a l q u estio n s and r e p e titio n in o rd e r t o h elp h is audience r e f l e c t upon sp e c i­ f ic asp ects of iss u e s which he intended to e x p lo re , he em­ ployed q u estio n s to help members a rriv e a t th© conclusion th a t the E sta b lish e d Church which had receiv ed adequate support had c o n trib u te d l i t t l e * What could have been done fo r i t in the way of a u th o rity , p r iv ile g e s , endowments, which has not been done? Did any o th er s e t of bishops and p r ie s t s in the w orld ever receiv e so much fo r doing so l i t t l e ? Way, did any o th er s e t of bishops and p r ie s ts in th e w orld ever rece iv e h a lf as much f o r doing twice as much? And what have we to show f o r a l l th is la v is h expenditure? What but th e most zealous Homan C atholic population

411

on th® f&oo of th e e a rth ? 150 150* IM d >, pp. 598-97* By m an s of r e p e t i t i o n and s im ila r ity he in te n s i­ fied the e f f e c t o f th e p e ro ra tio n in h is second speech*

He

prophesied th a t th e House would refuse to make the conces­ sion f o r which Peel asked b u t th a t such a concession would be subsequently g ran ted to Ireland* You w ill make i t as every concession to Ire la n d has been made* You w ill make i t when i t s e f f e c t w ill b e , n o t to appease, but to stim u la te a g ita ­ tion* You w ill make i t when i t w ill be regarded, not as a g re a t a c t of n a tio n a l J u s tic e , b u t as a ccn feasio n o f n a tio n a l weakness* You w ill make i t in such a way, and a t such a tim e, th a t ther© w ill be but to o much reaso n to doubt whether more m ischief has been don® by your long r e f u s a l, or by your ta rd y and enforced com pliance *151 15!* I b id ** p* 410*

i m a m And Connot&tive Meaning Macaulay used l i t t l e Imagery In h is speeches on the I r is h Church, b u t he d id win approval by means of connotativ© expressions*

In order to prove th a t w ith th®

dissem ination of tr u th i t was probable th a t th e re would be dissem ination of e r r o r , he employed a metaphor; rays wer® doming from th e “g re a t source of l i g h t ” which were “r e f ra c te d , d isco lo red , and obscured” when th ey en tered the “gross and

412

dark atmosphere" of th© w orld.

Because he was speaking of

the a b s tra c tio n t r u t h he could a ffo rd to apply imagery* His a tta c k on Peel was v itu p e r a tiv e , f i e r y , and f u ll of im p licatio n * A ll those f ie r c e s p i r i t s , whom you hallooed on to h arass u s , now tu rn round and begin to worry you. The Orangeman r a is e s h is war whoops Exeter H all set® up i t s brays: Mr. MacW eill shudders to see more c o s tly cheer th an over provided fo r th© p r ie s t s of Baal a t th© ta b le of the Q ueens... There you s i t , . . . 152 162. I b id .* p . 386. War whoon and b ray were ©nomat©poetic.

E xeter C ollege,

which by th© m iddle of th e fo u rte e n th century became E xeter B all, re p re se n te d Oxford and th e E stab lish ed Church.

Mr.

Hugh MacWei 11, founder of T rin ity C ollege, D ublin, held strong e v a n g e lic a l opinions and opposed the church o f Home, Hence, Macaulay was c a llin g up the geographical fro n ts of Irelan d and England which stren u o u sly opposed P eel.

As he

presented th is form idable opposition in s im ila rly co nstructed clau ses, he emphasised th© tu rm o il of th© c o u n trie s . Although he used l i t t l e imagery, an occasional comparison or sim ile added v iv id n e ss.

Ward*s amendment,

he thought, “resem bles an a c tio n of ejectm ent brought fo r a sin g le farm , w ith th© view o f try in g the t i t l e to a la rg e r

413

Such a comparison was more v iv id th an a g en e ra l 153* Xbld. . p # 388.

phrase lik e a " t e s t o a s e .” He d escrib ed a C ath o lic peasant ih© received no o ra l in s tr u c tio n on r e lig io n as knowing as l i t t l e of C h r is tia n ity a s a w ild H o t t e n t o t H e found 154. I b id , a pp. 393-94. 'I"

» "■■■ '«» '■

'

■'

' ■'

II........... —

-

—

th© s itu a tio n of q u a rte rin g "a h o s tile church on a conquered people 11 analogous to " q u a rte rin g s o ld ie ry ” b u t w ithout the comparable e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f th e l a t t e r . 155 These coraparl165. I b i d . . pp. 389-99. sons undoubtedly helped th e members to v is u a lis e th© argu­ ment and to remember i t . The eonnotatlv© meaning of some of h is words, w hile adding to em otional p ro o f, a lso c a lle d up images le s s luxur­ ious b u t not le s s e f f e c tiv e th an exaggerated fig u re s would have done.

He spoke of th e T ories attem p tin g to seduce the

I r is h reform ers and r e f e r r e d to th e Tory appeal to the F if th A rtic le of th e Union as being c h ild is h .

By two words,

Macaulay s la n te d h is p ic tu re of th e Tories so a? to place them In m unenviable l i g h t .

He spoke of t h e i r defending

the church by c a v ils such as the form of th© amendment*

414

This word had more s i n i s t e r cormo t a t ions th an q u ib b lin g # He foresaw t h a t in th® fu tu re men would admit th a t he had p redicted th e In c o n sis te n c ie s of th e T ories to a t i t t l e . This was a p ic tu re sq u e and ab b rev iated way of saying t o frhe minute p a r t * He spoke of th e E n g lish tr y in g to fore® p relacy on the Scotch.

Sine® t h i s was a hostll© name f o r episcopacy,

i t connoted h is a t titu d e toward a church to which th© major­ ity of the people were unsym pathetic.

Speaking o f a w ealthy

man* Macaulay s a id h© might "commune w ith th© minds of Hooker, L eighton, and Barrow ,” This was a shortened way of saying th a t men who could buy books might le a rn from the m in iste rs of th e sev en teen th ce n tu ry , fo r Hooker sup­ ported A nglicanism , Leighton wrote a book a g a in st Komanism, and Barrow was an E nglish P u ritan and S e p a r a tis t.

He was

thus naming th© th re e types of e c c le s ia s tic a l p o lity , E pis­ copacy, P resb y terian ism , and Separatism .

He reminded Eng­

land th a t ah© had governed Ire la n d f o r many generations ju st as she had governed Scotland in the days of Lauderdale and Dundee.

Those two names c a lle d up the sev en teen th

Century when Lauderdale p e rm itte d , i f not a s s is te d , in the re s to ra tio n of Episcopacy In Scotland and Dundee who used te r r o r is in g measures to defend the C av alier king a g a in st the P re sb y te ria n s.

These names did not r e c a ll noble and

'

416

hum anitarian lo a d e rs of th® E n g lish .

I t s u ite d Macaulay *s

purpose to remind th e House of the rig o ro u s measures which were one® a p p lie d to S cotland w ith unhappy r e s u l t s .

By

means of examples charged w ith e onnotativ© meaning, Maeaulay achieved a te rs e n e s s of s t y l e . Perhaps because Macaulay defended a Tory mensure in th® face o f c r iti c is m from h is own p a rty and from lo y a l P ro te sta n ts , h is language was more p e rso n a lly d ir e c t than th a t of previous speeches.

His ev a lu a tio n , w ith no attem pt

at su b te rfu g e, of th e P ro te s ta n t E sta b lish e d Church in Ire* land was unmoderated.

By means o f d ir e c t q u o tatio n s from

opponents and f r ie n d s , he o v e r-sim p lifie d and dram atised arguments.

Im pressiveness of Ideas was achieved by r e p e t i­

tio u s and balanced co n stru c tio n s*

Although he seldom r e ­

lie d on imagery in th e se a d d re sse s, he in te n s if ie d lo g ic a l development by co n n etatlv e phrases which added ©motional appeal. Audience Response What impact d id Macaulay*a speech have upon h is frie n d s and upon h is enemies?

What e f f e c t d id h is d eclared

stand have upon h is p o l i t i c a l career?

What was the r e s u lt

of the passage of th e Maynooth B ill f o r th© Whig and Tory p a rtie s?

4X6

Th« iKtadon tlw » . BftBBOnas To Macaulay The London Tlgse® which d ire c te d some v ic io u s a t ­ tacks toward Macaulay in 1840 supported him throughout h is discussion on I r i s h Reform,

An e d i to r i a l fo r A p ril 16, 1845

c a rrie d t h i s d e sc rip tio n # Mr* Macaulay i s always sp len d id and w eighty, b u t never more so th an in the e x h ib itio n o f some re* markable moral v a r ie ty . He adorns and d ig n ifie s the s u b je c t, w hether of h is p ra is e or of h is blame, w ith ev ery circum stance of c r e d i t, or of grandeur, or of ex te n u a tio n th a t may be law fu lly allowed* He d istin g u ish e d between th e motive and th e a c t , and between th e persons and the tim es*.*15® 1 5 6 1 ?hs London Times* A p ril 16, 1846.

These comments were a p p lic a b le to th e Maynooth speech where he used copiousness of d e t a i l and where he d if f e r e n tia te d between th e measure and Reel who proposed i t .

By May 5,

however, th e Timas recorded the W aterford C hronicle, an Iris h p ap er, as warning Macaulay and o th ers th a t th e Repeal A ssociation was making demands th a t must be lis te n e d to In sp ite o f Hthe unreasoning vehemence of th® Whig Macaulay.”

1 F7

157, The London Timas. May 3 , 1845. This re a c tio n to h is speech of A p ril 83 in which he defended the Union was to be expected from th e R ep ealers.

417

Of Other C r itic s The Tory G re v ille admired th e a peaking of Macaulay but a p p a re n tly f e l t th a t he d id n o t use d is c re tio n in c r i t i ­ cisin g F eel a t t h i s time* Then cam© th e speech o f Macaulay, which was very fin e* and ended a ls o w ith a se v e re , b u t grave and d ig n ifie d p h ilip p ic a g a in st P eel *1£>8 158* Th© O r o v ille Memoirs, on. c l t . . v o l. 5, p . 215.

He explained t h a t Macaulay»a speech was deplored by moderate

mn who f e l t th a t although Peel may have deserved reproaches th at t h i s was n o t the time to censure him.

ftrevill© thought,

on the o th e r hand, th a t B u s s e ll’s speech, w hile not elo q u en t, was p e rfe c t because of i t s to n e , temper, and p r o p rie ty .3,5^ 16®. | b i d . , pp. 214-15. O revllle did not r e a liz e th a t Macaulay was convinced th a t th© measure would pass and th a t he had d ed icated him self to examining th e o p p o sitio n a t every tu rn during th is s e s ­ sion .

In 1855, when h© was p rep arin g h is speeches f o r pub­

lic a tio n , Macaulay r e f e r r e d to th e c o n f lic t o f p a r tie s . A fter b re a k fa s t X wrote out th e c lo sin g passages of Maynooth, How whit© poor Peel looked while I was speaking! 1 remember the e f f e c t of th e words, ’There you s i t —, * I have a l e t t e r from my Dutch t r a n s l a t o r . He i s s t a r t l e d by the s e v e rity o f some o f my speeches, and no wonder.

41 8

B© knows n o th in g of th© c o n f lle t of p a rtie s# 160 . 0 * 0* T revelyan, Th© L ife and L e tte rs o f Lord Macaulay, v o l. 2# p# 142, Concerning Macaulay’s speech on th e I r i s h Church, Grevlll© w rote i

"Macaulay mad© an other m agnificent speech

th® n ig h t b efo re l a s t —& sla sh in g a tta c k on and exposure ©f the I r i s h Church—-very fin©#**

161

161# Th© G re v llle Memoirs# op. c i t . , p. 217# C o tter Morison considered th a t Macaulay’s e s­ say on Mr. G ladstone’s Church and S tate and th© Maynooth speech d e a lt w ith p r a c tic a lly th e same q u estio n b u t th a t "few persons would h e s ita te to give preference to the speech*" I© added th a t "Macaulay’s speeches on Ire la n d would alone su ffice to p lace him in the rank of high, fa r-s e e in g statesmen." ^ 62 162. 1. C o tter Morison, Macaulav* Harper and B ro th ers, Hew f o rk , 1808, p. 131 I f f e e t Of Macaulay’s Speeches Upon His Career A pparently th e Free Churchmen and th© D issen ters In Scotland organised a g a in st Macaulay who supported Maynooth. Although he was re tu rn e d to Edinburgh in 1846, h© l o s t the

4X0

© lection In 1047 and th l a In spit© of h ia d isap p ro v al of th© way the E n g lish t r i e d to le ad th© Scotch P re sb y teria n s In th e sev en teen th century*

T revelyan suggested th a t

in th© Edinburgh e le c tio n of 1847 Macaulay was a "scape­

goat f o r th e sin s of a l l h is colleagues,** th e p u b lic lead** ©rs who were in d if f e r e n t to r e lig io u s opinion in Scotland. Although he could have m itig a te d some o f th e abuse which th© Edinburgh e le c to r s heaped upon him, the Maynooth ques­ tio n compelled him to d ec lare h is views on the q u estio n of re lig io u s endowments.

He made c le a r in speeches on th e

busting© th a t he would always co n sid er ©c o le s ia s iic a l mat­ te r s , n o t from th e sta n d p o in t of the church, b u t of the Because of th e h a tre d of popery among the Scotch165* G. 0* T revelyan, on. c l t . * p. 159. men and because of t h e i r common P ro testan tism w ith England, many of th e Edinburgh e le c to r s considered th e Maynooth Grant a n a tio n a l s i n .

These two speeches were c o n trib u to ry f a c ­

to rs to Macaulay*s d e fe a t in 1847.

Two years la t e r the

H alvarsity of Glasgow, shaming th e ir countrymen of Edin­ burgh, co n ferred upon Macaulay th© remarkable honor of Lord le c to r .

184

In 1852 Edinburgh again e le c te d Macaulay as

164* F red crick A rnold, Lord Macaulay, pp. 318-19,

420

th eir represen tativ e • W riting to Hannah in Deoomber 1845, Macaulay’s a ttitu d e toward b ein g o ffe re d a place in th e cab in et in the ©tent th a t Lord John R u ssell and Peel coalesced was unfavor­ able* •«*But, a f t e r th e language, which X have h eld re s p e c tin g P e e l, and which I am le s s than e v e r disposed to r e t r a c t , I f e e l th a t I cannot, w ith ­ out a lo s s of p erso n al dignity* and w ithout exposing m yself to su sp icio n s and in sin u a tio n s which would b© in su p p o rtab le to me, hold any s it u a ti o n under*. 165* 0* 0 . T revelyan, op* c i t . , p* 146. His s in c e re ly d isapproving opinions of Peel were matched by his a ttitu d e on th e I r i s h Churchs

tt...M y opinions about th©

I r is h church are stro n g er th a n those o f my f r ie n d s , and have r e c e n tly been expressed in a manner Which has e x c ite d a tte n tio n *8^66

H© was aware before he took M s stand on

166* I b i d . . p* 146. th© I r is h Church and afterw ard s th a t h is statem ents created h o s t i l i t y toward him.

His courageous u tte ra n c e s had th©

uncomplimentary e f f e c t , th e n , which he p re d ic te d . E ffect Of The Maynooth B ill On The Government Although the Maynooth B ill c a rrie d , i t did not

421

Appear th a t f e e l stren g th en ed h is p o s itio n w ith h is p a rty ©r w ith th e co u n try .

In August i t was apparent th a t ra in s

were b lig h tin g th e p o ta to crop and th a t th e re would be a g i­ ta tio n f o r rep eal of th e Corn Laws,

f e e l therefor© reso lv ed

to attem pt to re p e a l th e Corn Laws provided th a t he could do so w ith a unanimous c a b in e t.

This was not p o s s ib le .

167. The G re v ille Memoirs, pp. c i t . , v o l. 5, pp. 2150— 52. By December Peel had re s ig n e d , and the Queen c a lle d upon Lord John B u ssell to form a government.

By the end o f De­

cember, Queen V ic to ria accepted the re s ig n a tio n of R ussell who was b ein g in v ite d to assume le a d e rsh ip w ith a m inority of one hundred In th e Commons.

Many of the Whig country

gentlemen p ro te s te d B u s s e ll’s p o licy on re p e a l of the ta x on co m .

Palm erston was one of h is s e v e re s t c r itic s #

Con­

sequently R u ssell could not g et enough support to form ^ 168 a c a b in e t. 168. E ll Halevy, The Age of Peel and Cobden, pp. 101-02. Some people thought i t wise fo r the Whig© to r e ­ fuse to take o f f ic e , th a t i t would wipe out the r e c o lle c tio n Of th e two years of Melbourne’s M inistry when they had stayed In to o long.

To t h i s Idea Macaulay remarked;

don’t know th a t a t a ll*

n%

I t may only in crease the blame.

422

I# stay ed In whan we ought to have gone o u t, and now we stay out when we ought to have gone l n . ”* ^ 169. The O re v llie Memoirs. op. c l t ,» v o l. 5, pp. 265-72.

Summary Macaulay *s Maynooth Speech on A p ril 14, 1845 and his Church o f I re la n d Speech on A p ril 25, 1845 affo rd ed hi® an o p p o rtu n ity to express to le ra n c e f o r the C atholic re lig io n , th e f a i t h of th e m a jo rity in Ire la n d , to challenge the m otives of th e T o rie s, and to c r i t i c i z e th e E stab lish ed Church o f I re la n d . He defended the b i l l providing support f o r May­ nooth College which educated C atholic p r ie s ts even though he accused f e e l who p resen ted i t of borrowing h is li b e r a l p rin c ip le s fro® th e Whigs« Nine days l a t e r Macaulay a ls o defended Ward’s amendment which proposed th a t funds to support Maynooth be taken from the revenues of the Es­ ta b lish e d Church of Ire la n d ,

He contended th a t th e

E stab lish ed Church as c o n s titu te d should not be m aintained, fo r i t was an In e ffe c tiv e I n s t i t u t i o n ,

He supported the

b i l l and I t s amendment because he f e l t th a t th e union of the two co u n trie s w ith r e lig io u s d iffe re n c e s could b e s t be ps*e#erve Longmans, Green, and Company, lew York, 1955, p. 620* On B u s s e ll’s f a i l u r e to form a government, Peel resumed o f­ fic e in December 1846 and began to move toward a b o litio n of the Com Laws.

Ashley* whose © lection had been secured by

a P ro te c tio n is t c o n stitu e n c y , wondered whether he could sta y in P arliam en t.

R e alizin g th a t h is co n stitu en cy would not

follow P e e l’s change in a t t i t u d e , Ashley re sig n e d .^ 2* J . L. Hammond and Barbara Hammond, Lord B hafteabury. Hare o u rt. Brace and Company, lew York, 1925, p . 114.

429

Two day* b efo re h is r e s ig n a tio n , on January 29, 1846# he re in tro d u c e d an im portant piece of le g is la tio n # h is * Ten Hours B i l l . Because c h ild re n and women had to work 3* Hansard, v o l. 85# p . 578. twelve hours a day in fa c to rie s # which# w ith tim e spent going to and from meals# made fo u rte e n hours of occupied time# Ashley and o th ers saw th e need fo r le g is la tio n .

Th© b i l l

lim ite d th e hours of c h ild re n between the ages of th ir te e n and e ig h te e n and fem ales above eig h teen to elev en hours a day# ex clu siv e of time fo r meals# fo r one year# beginning August 1846 and to te n hours a day from August 1847.

This

b ill# then# was in ten d ed only to lim it hours of la b o r of ch ild ren up to e ig h tee n y ears and fem ales.

Many in P a r lia ­

ment had s ta te d th a t i f the Corn Laws were repealed# they would vote in fav o r of the Ten Hours B ill although they be­ lie v ed th a t th© n e c e s s ity f o r fa c to ry le g is la tio n would cease 4 in th a t c a se . ilmmni : i

m mm . n . m !..« - ■ ■ ■

—

,» n

I.# ., ! . ,

■

. . n. m - i .

'

- ................................................................. > ■■ ■ ' n '

in

4* Edwin Hoddor# The L ife and Work of the Seventh E arl of S h aftesb u ry . C a sse ll'a n d Company# Limited#' London#'1 1895# p . 339. m m r n m rn m n „mmm

..In . F m im

Attempted Factory L e g is la tio n From 1815-1831 Follow ing t h i r t y years o f spasmodic I n d u s tr ia l

m u iw u w i i w

4S0 a g ita tio n of one kind or an o th er in the t e x t i l e d i s t r i c t s , a campaign was organized in 1851 to improve fa c to ry l i f e . I t was g e n e ra lly conceded th a t Robert Owen was the f a th e r of th e fa c to ry law s.

In 1815 Owen and S ir Robert P e e l, a

fa c to ry owner and f a th e r of th e statesm an, drew up the f i r s t F actory B i l l .

I t was unhappily receiv ed and a f t e r a

four years* d e la y , a u se le ss im ita tio n of the o r ig in a l b i l l applying to co tto n m ills only was passed.

6

6 . 0 . M* T revelyan, B r itis h H isto ry in th e n in e te e n th Can*

tu ry and A fte r. (1782*1019), New 'Edi'tion,' Longmans, Green, and Company, Hew York, 1957, pp. 185-85. The f i r s t b i l l f o r lim itin g th e hours of work in

fa c to rie s was Intro d u ced in December 15, 1851 by Michael Thomas S a d le r.

In answer to member® who wanted to pro*

«♦ Hansard. v o l. 9 , pp. 255-66.

coed w ith c a u tio n , S ad ler p o in ted out

t h a t in q u irie s had

been conducted upon th i s m atter fo r t h i r t y y e a rs .

He f e l t

th a t sin ce the law lim ite d th© lab o r of th e a d u lt fe lo n to ten hours th a t i t could not b© wrong to apply th© same ru le to c h ild re n nine years of ag e. 7

The opposition to th is

Hansard, v o l. 10, pp. 105*07. measure was so stro n g th a t th e b i l l was sen t to a s e le c t

431

©damltt©©.0

Many men t e s t i f i e d in th e Report of Sadler*®

Hansard# v o l. 11* p . 398. Committe©* a c la s s l e a l document which ©numerated In to le ra b le conditions* th© sla v e ry and c rip p lin g of c h ild re n and th© e a rly d eath s due to long working h o u rs . 9

By 1832* S adler

9. Hammond and Hammond* Lord S haftesb u ry , pp. 16-21. withdrew h is b i l l ****0

A fte r h is d e fe a t f o r the Commons by

10. Hansard, v o l. 13* p . 965. Macaulay in th e g en eral e le c tio n of 1832, S adler saw h is b i l l taken over by Lord Ashley who in 1851 became th© E arl of S h aftesb u ry .

11

11* Hammond and Hammond* op. c l t .# pp. 16-21. P&otpry Problems Complicated By Other Q uestions In 1833 Obviously o th e r q uestions of 1833 played a p a r t in th© c o n s id e ra tio n of th© fa c to ry problem.

Colonel barren®

expressed the view of some when he p resen ted a p e titio n from Bolton in fav o r of th e ten hours lim ita tio n in the fa c to ry b i l l u rg in g th a t no c h ild re n under nine be employed. He s a id th a t w hile lim itin g th© hours might in crease the

432

expenses of p ro d u ctio n th a t th e re p e a l on tax es on broad could compensate t h i s p o i n t . M r * Fryer s a id th a t overIS . Hanaard* v o l . 15* p. 1160* working th e c h ild re n could be blamed on th e Corn Laws* th a t

when th e se were re p e a le d he would support the measures f o r reducing th e hours of l a b o r . M r . Cobbett and Mr. O ^ o n n ell 13* I t was argued th a t in o rd er to supplement the fam ily in ­ come to pay th e high c o s t of b read , p arents were forced to send t h e i r c h ild re n to long hours of fa c to ry la b o r. thought th a t th i s d isc u ssio n was not g e ttin g a t the r e a l cause of th e tr o u b le .

Mr. Cobbett concluded th a t whenever

the government attem pted to make laws between m aster and se rv a n t, i t always f a ile d .

Cobbett thought th a t parents

were so over-burdened by ta x a tio n th a t they were fo rced to misuse t h e i r c h ild re n or to allow them to d ie of hunger* 14 14* Hansard* v o l. 15, pp* 1294-96. Ashlev Moves A Ten Hours B ill On March 14, 1333, Lord Ashley p resen ted a p e titio n from co tto n sp in n e rs of Glasgow In fav o r of a te n hours b ill*

Mr. Wilson P a tte n then d eclared the need fo r an

435 15

In v e s tig a tiv e commisslQn*'

Lord Ashley stro n g ly opposed

1®* H ansard* v o l. 16, p . 640. the motion to ap p o in t an In v e s tig a tiv e committee inasmuch aa two f o l i o volumes of ev id en ce, th e r e s u lt o f re se a rc h in 1816 and 1819, were a lre a d y a v a ila b le .

Ashley had suggested

ten hours la b o r because he fe a re d th a t th e re was no hop© to 16 reduce i t to nine* Mr. John S tan ley p resen ted a p e titio n 1®* Hansard, v o l. 17, pp. 85-90. from m anufacturers asking f o r more evidence in o rd er f o r them to c le a r t h e i r c h a ra cte rs*

L e tte rs from la rg e -s c a le

m anufacturers p re d ic te d th a t such a b i l l would be detrim ent a l to m anufacturing. 17 17. I b id . . pp. 970-1001. On A p ril 3 , 1833 Ashley moved a fen Hours B i l l .*10 18, H ansard, v o l. 17, pp. 85-90. Th® governmental m in iste rs were compelled to adopt an ap­ p aren tly in d if f e r e n t course r a th e r th an offend the la rg e c o n stitu e n c ie s or th e mass of m anufacturers. 19* Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 75, p. 205.

nr>

434 Controversy Within Parttea Conoernlng Le g is la tio n Th® fact# th a t th e House of Commons was predom inately l i b e r a l meant l i t t l e , f o r th e re was controversy w ith in each p a rty concerning le g is la tio n *

A1thorp, le a d e r of the

House, and Lord John R u ssell were two of th© sk ep tics*

Mr.

Spring R ice, in A lthorp*s absence, spoke in fav o r of a com­ mission*

John R u ssell thought Parliam ent should l e g i s l a t e ,

but the q u estio n was how, S0

According to th e Annual R e g iste r*

20. Hansard* v o l. 17, pp. 85-111. Hr. Rice and Lord R u ssell were th© only two members connected with the government who spoke in support of th® motion.

Th©

l a t t e r r e g r e tte d th a t th® b i l l was so framed as to seem to in d ic ate th a t th e government was ta k in g p a rt w ith the raanufa e tu re rs a g a in s t the workmen.

Th© House divided on

21. Annual R e g is te r, v o l. 75, p. 207. & motion f o r a commission, th e m ajo rity of one sig n ify in g a ffirm a tio n . 22. Hansard. v o l. 17, p . 115. Some of th e members of the Commons held a d is ­ t i n c t l y hum anitarian p o in t of view; others argued th a t broad no m atter how earned was b e t te r th an no broad a t a l l .

435

F in a lly a Commission was appointed to g ath er fact© concern­ in g fa c to ry co n d itio n s*

th is commission*

Th® workers v ig o ro u sly o b jected to

Th© Times d escrib ed th re e thousand c h ild re n

in Leeds who p ro te s te d parading w ith p lacard s read in g "The

fen Hours B ill" in t h e i r hats*

Mr* Richard O astler c a lle d

the members of th© commission mere se rv a n ts of the m ill

S3* The London Times % June 10, 1833 re p rin te d In Hammond and Hammond * op* c F t. , pp. 25-28*

The Ten Hours B i l l I s A ctu ally D efeated While th® commission was s i t t i n g , Ashley’s b i l l 24 received i t s second read in g w ithout o p p o sitio n . The Re24. Hansard, v o l. 18, p . 195. port of th e Commission pleased those in Parliam ent who wanted t h e i r conscience ’s assuaged and y et who wanted the guarantee th a t the c o u n try ’s in d u s trie s would not collapse* Th© commissioners suggested th a t c h ild re n under nine not be allowed to work a t a l l and up to th ir te e n years only e ig h t hours a day, w hile A shley’s b i l l p ro tec ted a l l young people up to e ig h te e n .

But th e l a t t e r measure encouraged th e pos­

s i b i l i t y of lim itin g a d u lt la b o r, a p o s s ib ility g re a tly fe a re d .

On A lth o rp ’s move to s u b s titu te , in accordance w ith

436

the Commission*® su g g e stio n s, th ir te e n f o r e ig h te e n , the age in A s h le y «s b i l l , th© House d ivided w ith 238 members voting f o r A lth o rp ’s fig u re s and only 93 against*

Ashley

sa id th a t s in c e Lord A lthorp had d efeated him, he would su r­ render th e b i l l in to h is hands *25 25* Hansard* v o l, 19, p* 913* Under p ressu re from th© la b o rin g class as w e ll as from many who sym pathised w ith t h e i r p lig h t, th© Whig govern­ ment had a c tu a lly done more than they intended f o r in d u s tr ia l employees by p assin g th© f i r s t e f f e c tiv e Factory Act which fisted the le g a l lim its f o r the working hours of c h ild re n and young persons and p ro h ib ite d the employment of c h ild re n under nine except in s i l k m il ls *26

However, th© preference

26, Annual R e g is te r, v o l, 75, p , 209, fo r Althorp*® r a th e r than Ashley*s fig u re s which guaranteed th a t th e government would lim it th© hours f o r c h ild re n but not f o r anyone ©Is© had ru in ed the chances fo r a te n hours b i l l lim itin g the work of a d u lts , 2*7 27, Hammond and Hammond, Lord S h aftesb u ry , pp, 24-25,

457

Of The B i ll A onurap& a Maw P e titio n s In 1842*1845 P ra c tic a lly * th e new b i l l p resen ted se rio u s In ­ adequacies,

Because th e re was no r e g is t r a tio n of b ir th s un­

t i l 1857* i t was d i f f i c u l t to determ ine ages* and on© c h ild would s u b s titu te f o r an o th er in g e ttin g c e r t i f i c a t i o n fo r work.

In ad d itio n * a s h i f t or re la y system was used so th a t

employers could keep workers in attendance from fiv e in th© morning u n t i l e ig h t t h i r t y a t n ig h t as long a® th® la b o re rs worked only the s p e c if ie d number o f h o u rs , 20

The parliatnen-

8 8 • I b id , * pp, 58— 59,

ta ry p ro sp ect was so d iscouraging th a t th© Ten Hours B ill was withdrawn in 1837.29

Xfrld*, pp, 42-48, Great popular d is tr e s s In 1842 le d the C h a rtis ts to make a second attem p t to gain the e a r of p arliam en t.

It

was proposed th a t th e p e titio n in g C h a rtis ts should be heard at W estm inster, to th i s Id e a , hearin g ,^ 0

Macaulay* R ussell* and F eel were h o s tile The House re fu se d to give the p e titio n e r s a

Many d istu rb an ces and u p risin g s among th e workers

—

50, I b id , , p , 84,

-

'

—

.

- -

'

.......

4m

tog©thei* w ith th© Report of th® Children*a Employment Com­ m ission In 184® in flu en c ed Parliam ent to be more re c e p tiv e to suggestions*

The government produced a b i l l which allowed

ch ild ren t o b eg in work a t th© age of e ig h t in ste a d of nine but which sh o rten ed the working hours from e ig h t to s ix and one h a lf hours a day.

Most im p o rtan t, education under the

d ire c tio n of th e church was mad© compulsory f o r fa c to ry c h ild re n .

Because the non-conform ists re a c te d v io le n tly to

th is clau se on education# the government was fo rced to aban­ don the b i l l . 51 ^1 * I b id . . pp. 86 - 8 8 •

Graham*3 B i ll Of 1844 Endorses The Ten Hours Day On February 6 , 1844 S ir James Graham introduced a government b i l l proposing th a t " c h ild ” meant nine to t h i r ­ teen y ears of ag© r a th e r than e ig h t to th ir te e n and th a t ch ild ren should not be employed longer th an s ix and one h a lf hours eaeh day.

Young people meant between ages th ir te e n

and eighteen# and they should work only twelve hours p er 32 day. On March 16, 1844, Ashley moved a s u b s titu tio n o f 8 8 . Hansard, v o l. 72, p . 277.

Six f o r e ig h t in th e evening as q u ittin g time w ith two hours

459

allowed f o r meals#

This arrangement would have given the

workers t h e i r te n hour day#S^ 35. Hansard# v o l. 75, p. 1075. S ir James Graham recognized th a t the r e a l p o in t was whether young persons should work te n or twelve ho u rs, th a t i t was a q u e stio n of degree r a th e r th an p rin cip le#

Mr* Bright

saw no need fo r a new fa c to ry b ill } he p ointed out th a t th© labor of London m illin e rs and dressm akers was as bad as 54 facto ry to ll # Mr# P ield en thought even ten hours was too 34# Annual R e g iste r, v o l. 8 6 , pp# 110-11. long} he favored th e e ig h t hour working day. would not ccnsent to Ashley* s motion#

S ir Robert Peel

Lord John R u ssell

agreed to Ashley*a amendment, f o r he thought th a t i f the p r in ­ ciple of r e s t r i c t i o n were one© adopted th a t i t should be c a rried o u t. 3S Ashley*s motion to s u b s titu te s ix f o r e ig h t as 55# Annual R esist o r, v o l, 86

pp. 114-15#

closing hour won by a vote of 161 to 155#

By accep tin g

th is amendment, th e House f o r the f i r s t time in h is to ry had 56 endorsed the te n hour day# The year was mad© memorable 36# Hansard# v o l. 73, pp# 1232-66#

440 toy fch» p u b lie a tio n o f K rs. Browning's poem The Cvv of th e a a t o

ffte.thar L e g is la tio n I s Attempted From 1844*^846 On t e c h n ic a li tie s the government managed to re sc in d th is v o te .®7

On March 29, 1844, S ir James Graham brought

3*7* I b i d , . pp, 1400*63* in a new fa c to ry b i l l , 258

On May 10 th© debate on th e th ir d

38* Hansard, v o l. 73. p . 1006, reading began and was continued f o r two nights*

Although

Ashley* s amendment lim itin g working hours to te n was de­ feated in d iv is io n , th e le ad in g Whigs, R ussell? Macaulay, Palm erston, and Grey voted w ith him as d id D is ra e li,

•XQ

09, Hammond and Hammond, on. o l t «, p* 100. In th® House of Lords, Brougham could not b e lie v e th a t i t was to th© in t e r e s t s of working men and women to have t h e i r hours of work se t*

Nor could h© see how the opposition could

advocate fre e trad© w ith on© b re a th and r e s t r i c t lab o r a t th© same tim e.

On May 31, th© government b i l l was read a

th ir d time and became a law , 40 40* Annual R e g is te r, v o l, 8 6 , pp, 131 *-33.

441 A ahlay'aBlll Of 1846 Those opposed to Ashley *s Ten Hours B ill which he introduced on January 29# 1846 were Mr* John B rig h t, Mr* Hume, and S ir James Graham*

Lord Ashley was supported by

Lord John Manners, S ir George Grey, Mr* F ield en and o th e rs. On A p ril 29, the second reading was moved by Fielden, the g re a t m aster c o tto n -s p in n e r, who p resen ted twenty s ix p e titio n s in fa v o r of th e measure.

He expressed h is re g re t

th a t th is im portant b i l l had f a lle n In to h is hands in ste a d 41 of rem aining in Mr. A shley*s, F ield en reminded Parliam ent Hansard, v o l. 85, p. 1222. th a t they had a t o t a l d isre g a rd of persons between th ir te e n and eig h teen years of age*

Although the Factory Commission

of 1833 re p o rte d th a t te n hours of la b o r fo r ch ild re n nine to th ir te e n was too much and recommended lim itin g hours to e ig h t per day and l a t e r to s ix , th e government allowed t h i r ­ teen and eig h tee n year olds to do an amount of work compar­ able w ith th a t of a d u lts .

F ield en announced th a t th e govern­

ment was so a f r a id of lim itin g la b o r of a d u lts th a t i t bad s a c rific e d th e child*

On th® b a s is of h is experience in

the co tto n in d u s try , he in s e rte d a new thought by speaking of th e c ru e lty of keeping persons th ir te e n to eig h teen years o ld cooped up on Sundays fo r re lig io u s in s tr u c tio n ,

442

the only day which th ey had f o r re c re a tio n and r e s t . 42

In

42, Hansard, v o l, 8 8 , pp, 1222-25. answer to th e argument th a t people always p re d ic t th a t le g is ­ la tio n w i l l r u in f a c t o r i e s , he s a id th a t nothing d isa stro u s had happened because o f previous reform s.

He then s a id th a t

the h is to ry of nine a c ts r e g u la tin g f a c to r ie s from 1802-1844 showed th a t th e consumption of co tto n had in creased from 1819-1845.45 45, Hansard, v o l. 85, pp. 1226-27. Some Members Oppose The Measure Mr. Hume opposed th© b i l l on th e grounds th a t I t was not th© place of th© government to lim it hours of wages, fo r r e s tr ic tio n s would clo se m ills and every m ill th u s closed would In crease pauperism , r a is e th© p o o r-ra te s , and endanger the p ro p erty of th e co u n try . 44 S ir James Graham spoke fo r 44. Hansard, v o l. 85, pp. 1254-57, th© government a g a in st the b i l l , 48 45. I b id . . p. 1241. S ir George Grey would vote f o r Lord A shley’s propo­ s itio n as he had in 1844j y et he could not support the p rese n t

443

measure w ith the same co n fid en ce. now was o f d eg ree .

He f e l t th a t th© q u estio n

He saw no evidence to show th a t th ey had

advanced to th e p re c is e p o in t beyond which th ey could not venture s a fe ly ; so he d id not want to r e je c t th© b ill*

Nor

was he prepared to go to th© f u l l e x te n t proposed by the clauses of th e h i l l w ithout f u r th e r experience to guide him, He would vote f o r fix in g th© hours of la b o r a t elev en , 66 6 6 , Hansard, v o l, 8 6 , pp, 521-23,

Macaulay Answers Ward1s Challenge On May 22, 1846 Mr, Ward ashed Macaulay, under whose eloquence he expected to be "sp eed ily ex tin g u ish ed ," to e x p la in how R u ssell who adm itted th a t i f they in te rf e r e d w ith a d u lt la b o r they must in te r f e r e w ith i t s rem uneration, could vote f o r th e b i l l .

Ward s ta te d f u r th e r th a t S ir George

Grey adm itted th a t P arliam ent had assumed th e awful respon­ s i b i l i t y of f ix in g th e maximum of fa c to ry la b o r.

Why d id

he not say th a t the next consequence would b© minimum wages? Ward showed th a t th e p re se n t b i l l would cause a s itu a tio n analogous to mini mums and maximum© tr ie d by Robspierr© and the French Convention w ith poverty and s ta rv a tio n as th© re s u lt.

He a ls o p o in ted out th a t those who recommended a

change did not agree on th© e f f e c t .

For in sta n c e , Mr©

444 F ielden fav o red te n hours and no compromises y et Mr* Ains­ worth who seconded th e motion was fo r elev en hours and not a ten hour© b i l l ,

Mr, Ainsworth accep ted , w hile Mr, F ield en

denied, th a t i f th e hours of la b o r were reduced, th© working c lasse s would consent t o reduce th© p ric e of lab o r a ls o , MT* Ward f e l t th a t th® working c la ss e s would not take th© present b i l l u n less they thought they war© to rece iv e the same wages f o r te n hours work.

He quoted Adam Smiths

"The

n a tu ra l p r ic e , or th e p ric e of co m p etitio n , i s the low est price which can be ta k e n , not upon ©very occasion indeed but 67 for any co n sid erab le tim e to g e th e r ,” Ward b eliev ed th a t 67« Hansard, v o l, 8 6 , pp, 1009-13, what th e m anufacturers p ro te ste d a g a in st was the d a ily tam­ pering w ith t h e i r in te r e s ts by th© le g is la tio n of men who did not understand them,

”HearJ

Hear I ”

resounded in th e

House; so he added th a t not one man in f i f t y d id . statem ent was follow ed by cheers and la u g h te r.

This

Ward con­

tinued by saying th a t th is measure was tu rn in g the Commons in to a g reat tra d e union, 6 8 , I b id , , p, 1015,

Vicount Morpeth a ls o gave a negative speech ask in g r%

fo r n o t le s s th an eleven hours la b o r a day,

The c h ie f

445

69* Hansard* v o l. 8 6 , pp* 1025-27. ftatur© of th e debate was th e speech In which Macaulay an­ swered Mr* Ward and o th e r s *7 0

Macaulay defended th© b i l l

70* I b id ** pp* 1028-27* making i t i l l e g a l f o r young persons and women to be worked more th an te n hours a day in fa c to rie s #

In many In d u s trie s

th is would mean th a t th e la b o rin g hours of men would a ls o be lim ite d sin c e th e i r work could o fte n not b© c a rrie d on w ith ­ out a ssista n c e # The b i l l was supported by a combination of Whigs and Tories a g a in s t th e P e e lite s and t h e i r a l l i e s , th e Man­ ch ester R a d ic a ls•

Almost on© h a lf of the l i b e r a l s , seventy 71 one out of e ig h ty one, follow ed Macaulay’s le ad In voting#

—

...»..................... —

,i

71# S lie Halevy, The Age of Feel and Gobden* p# 119# The p r in c ip le , although not th® d e ta ils of le g is la tio n , were explored during th e debates of 1846# Basic Premises At no time was fa c to ry le g is la tio n a p a rty question# The Ten Hours B i ll cu t acro ss p o l i t i c a l lin es*

Among the

446

s u p p o r te r s , Hobhouse w as a R a d ic a l w h ile O a s tle r , S a d le r , and A sh le y were T o r ie s *

72

In th e l a s t a n a l y s i s , M elbourne,

72, E . L, Woodward, The Am o f Reform, 1815*1370, p , 1 4 2 . Cobden, and B r ig h t were opposed t o th e m easure, w h ile Bus* s e l l , P a lm e rsto n , and Macaulay fa v o r e d i t *

*»«

73* G* M# T r e v e ly a n , B r i t i s h H isto r y in th e N in e te e n th Cen< tu r y and A f t e r , p . 2 4 3 , The m o tiv e o f th o se who would l i m i t hours was emo* t l o n a l , w h ile t h a t o f th e o p p o n en ts, o m ittin g some p e r so n a l s p i t e f u l r e a s o n s , was th e b e l i e f t h a t s h o r te n in g hours would b rin g h ig h e r c o s t s o f p r o d u c tio n , d e c r e a s e in demand and con* sequent unemployment*

T his l a l s a e a * f a i r e a t t i t u d e was in

l i n e w ith th e econom ic b e l i e f s o f th e tim e .

A c tu a lly th e

Judgments i n s t i g a t e d by em otion proved t o b© w is e r than th o se based on f a c t s in t e r p r e t e d by th e c u r r e n t ©eonoraic th e o r y . 74* Woodward,

op .

c l t . , p . 143,

A Broader I n t e r p r e t a t io n Of The L a is s e g * f a ir e Theory A v a r ie t y o f in flu en ce© had b e e n p rep a rin g th e

public f o r a s e r i e s o f reform© f o llo w in g th e P arliam en tary Reform B i l l o f 1 8 5 2 .

B eg in n in g about 1840, Adam Sm ith**

system o f l a l s s e g * f a l r e d id n ot s o lv e th e problem o f many

74

447

working men who l i v e d i n a b j e c t p o v e r ty and who were f o r c e d to work u n r ea so n a b ly lo n g hours under a d v erse c o n d it io n s . Bentham* who propounded "the g r e a t e s t h a p p in ess f o r th e g r e a t e s t number” by means o f l e g i s l a t i o n , was n ot c o n sid e r e d a s a t i s f a c t o r y a u t h o r it y e i t h e r .

John S tu a r t M ill d id n o t

agree t h a t th e in c r e a s e d w e a lth o f a n a tio n was i t s g o a l b u t ra th er th e e q u it a b le d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h a t w e a lt h .

M ill was

not so f a v o r a b le t o s t a t e a c t i o n , h ow ever, a s was Bentham. While a g r e e in g w ith th e g e n e r a l p r a c t ic e o f l a i s s e z - f a i r e . M ill r e c o g n iz e d th a t th e la b o r e r s were unable t o secu re th e economic l i b e r t y o f s e l l i n g t h e ir la b o r .

His id e a s o f th e

1620*8 began t o e x e r t some in flu e n c e a f t e r 1 8 3 2 . I t was d i f f i c u l t f o r Macaulay and th e L ib e r a ls who embraced freedom p o l i t i c a l l y and I n d iv id u a lism e c o n o m ic a lly to s a t i s f y th e w orking man a t t h i s tim e , f o r n in e te e n th cen~ tu ry th in k in g was moving from in d iv id u a lis m t o c o l l e c t i v i s m .

The q u e s tio n was w h eth er th e r e sh o u ld be freedom from or through th e s t a t e .

Like M i l l , Macaulay h e ld t o th© l a i s s o z -

M s s . p o l i c y b u t more In th e t r a d it io n o f Adam Sm ith th an on th e th e o r y o f th e M anchester S ch o o l o f E conom ics.

The

l a t t e r h e ld to o r i g i d a th e o r y t o p le a s e M acaulay. L ike M i l l , Macaulay began t o combine h is con cep t ©f in d iv id u a lis m w ith la r g e r s o c i a l v ie w s .

He in te r p r e te d

la is iif t %~ f a ir e t o mean t h a t th© in d iv id u a l had th© r ig h t t o

448

a e n t r e l M s own a c t i o n s a s lo n g a s i t d id n ot i n t e r f e r e w ith the l i b e r t y o f o th e r s* M acaulay o b serv ed th© q u e s t io n o f p r in c ip le w hich was in v o lv e d i n f a c t o r y l e g i s l a t i o n * in t e r f e r e n c e was t o be t o le r a t e d ? m iddle ground*

How much governm ental

As u s u a l, he ch o se th e

He a g r e e d th a t P arliam en t sh o u ld n o t usurp

d u tie s n o t b e lo n g in g t o them b u t n e it h e r sh o u ld th e y d i s ­ m iss th o se f a l l i n g i n t h e i r domain*

H© ch ose m oderation

or th e J u st mean betw een th© extrem e a l t e r n a t i v e s o f a m eddling p a t e r n a l governm ent and a c a r e le s s ir r e s p o n s ib le

75* T* B* M acaulay, "Speeches and L egal S t u d ie s ," The Com­ p l e t e Works* v o l . 9 , 1 9 0 0 , p* 445* He r e c o n c ile d t h i s b e l i e f w ith h i s p r in c ip le o f fr e e tr a d e by r e i n t e r p r e t in g Adam Smith*

He c o n s id e r e d t h a t

opponents o f f a c t o r y l e g i s l a t i o n had I n te r p r e te d Adam Sm ith to o l i t e r a l l y *

They argued th a t i f men w ere w i l l i n g t o

work s i x t e e n hours a d ay, i f p a r e n ts were w i l l i n g t o a llo w t h e ir e i g h t y e a r o ld c h ild r e n t o t o l l f o r f o u r te e n hours a day t h a t i t was no co n cern o f th e s t a t e *

Even Sm ith, he

s a id , w ould n o t o b j e c t t o I n t e r f e r in g w ith trad e w hich a f f e c t e d h ig h e r than com m ercial in te r e sts* ^ ® ?6* I b i d ** p* 448*

Where d id

449

Macaulay f e e l t h a t th e governm ent sh o u ld assume r e s p o n s i­ b i l i t i e s r e l a t i v e t o tr a d e ?

In 1 831, he m ain tain ed t h a t th e

government sh o u ld p r o t e c t p ro p erty and p e r s o n a l freedom only*

In 1846 In h i s sp e e c h on th e Ten Hours B i l l , he added

th® a r e a o f h e a lt h a s w e l l a s freedom f o r e d u c a tio n and 77 le is u r e * R ather th a n b e in g i n c o n s i s t e n t , he was p r o g r e s77* I b i d , , pp, 448-49* s iv e ly a le r t*

He was r e c o g n iz in g e x p e d ie n c y as w e ll a s a

reform w h ich w ould o p era te f o r th e good o f th e n a tio n *

As

In h is id e a s on P a rlia m en ta ry reform and h is a t t it u d e t o ­ ward I n d ia , he sto o d f o r compromise and s u i t i n g th e l e g i s ­ la t i o n t o th e p r e s e n t good o f England* M acaulayTs Views On P u b lic H ea lth And Morals An e d i t o r i a l in The London Times f o r May 2 1 , 1846 r e f l e c t e d th e c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t o f th e p e o p le . We can n ot and w i l l n o t fo r sa k e th© maxim th a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e i s bound t o p r o t e c t a l l women and m in o rs, m inors in th e p h y s ic a l s e n s e , from th e s o c i a l in j u r y o f e x c e s s iv e t o i l , , * * Cer­ t a i n l y a system o f s u r v e illa n c e w hich s h a l l be e f f e c t u a l , w ith o u t b e in g o p p r e ssiv e or v e x a t io u s , w hich s h a l l p reven t s u f f e r in g w ith o u t n e e d le s s v i o l a t i o n o f l i b e r t y , i s a very g r e a t problem . But n e v e r t h e le s s we do not d e s p a ir o f I t s s o lu ­ tio n * That must be p o s s ib le w hich i s s o good* ^8# The London T im es* May 2 1 , 1846*

4S0 Macaulay a tte m p te d t o e x p la in how s u f f e r i n g o f th e p eo p le Could be p r e v e n te d w ith o u t v i o l a t i o n o f l i b e r t y .

S o c ia l

l e g i s l a t i o n seem ed l a r g e l y a r e sp o n se from p r e s su r e o u ts id e ©f P a r lia m e n t.

Tory p h ila n th r o p y or n o b le s s e o b lig e p rob ab ly

had more in f lu e n c e th a n d id any p r e ssu r e from th e p r o le ­ ta r ia t.

The f a c t o r y a c t was a good way f o r th e T o r ie s t o

n eed le th e m iddle c l a s s who su c ceed ed in r e v o k in g the Corn Laws.

H um anitarlanism was th e p a ren t o f th e f a c t o r y movement. B e lie v in g t h a t th e governm ent had a lr e a d y i n t e r ­

fe r e d w ith th© work s c h e d u le by e lim in a t in g la b o r on Sunday, th a t i t had a l s o i n t e r f e r e d in th e cau se o f n a t io n a l d e fe n s e , Macaulay saw t h a t i t must b e g in t o in t e r f e r e where th e h e a lt h and m o r a lity o f th e p e o p le were co n cern ed .

He argued th a t

because in t e n s e la b o r begun t o o e a r ly in l i f e l e f t no tim e fo r h e a l t h f u l e x e r c i s e or improvement o f th e m ind, i t was n e c e ssa r y f o r th e government t o l e g i s l a t e i f England wanted a str o n g and w is e p o p u la tio n .

M acaulayfs a d d ress t o th e

House on A p r il 1 9 , 1847 co n cern in g e d u c a tio n c o n s is t e n t l y e x p r e sse d h is b e l i e f th a t i t was th e r ig h t and d u ty o f th© s t a t e t o p ro v id e means o f e d u c a tio n f o r th© common p e o p le .

79

T9. T. B. M acaulay, ’’S p eech es and L eg a l Studies,** The Com­ p l e t e Works. U n iv e r s it y E d it io n , S u lly and K le in t e ic h , Haw York, v o l . 9 , 1900, p . 476. In t h i s sp e e c h he a l s o r e c o g n is e d t h a t p eople fe a r e d govern -

451

ment in t e r f e r e n c e b eca u se o f th e law o f r e a c tio n #

That is *

d uring th e lo n g c o n t e s t f o r th© l i b e r t y o f f r e e trad e* much was s a id a b ou t th© ad v a n ta g es o f f r e e c o m p e titio n and about th e danger o f th e s t a t e r e g u la t in g m atters w hich sh o u ld be l e f t t o in d iv id u a ls #

Macaulay th erofor© c o n s id e r e d th a t

u n d isc r im in a tin g p e o p le a p p lie d t h i s th eo ry t o p o l i t i c a l and moral q u e st i o n s - - a th e o r y w h ich was sound o n ly when a p p lie d to com m ercial q u e s tio n s #

on

M acaulay’s i n t e r e s t i n im proving

I b id # # p* 4 8 4 . man so th a t w h a tev er man produced would be improved d id not d ie w ith h i s sp e e c h on th e Ten Hours B ill #

Hot c o n c e n tr a t­

in g so mueh on r e l i e v i n g th e in d iv id u a l o f p a in and t o i l * he d ir e c t e d th e th in k in g o f th e House t o th e f a c t th a t the s tr e n g th o f England depended uoon a s tr o n g and ed u ca ted race.

A gain h is h u m an itarian te n d e n c ie s were c o lo r e d by a

p r a c t ic a l o u tlo o k .

In s p i t e o f th e clam or from econom ic

a la r m is ts , he cou ld n ot s e e how th a t which mad© **a p op u la­ t io n s tr o n g e r * and h e a lth ie r * and w iser* and b e tte r * can u lt im a t e ly make i t p o o rer,* 1 A ccording t o Blackw ood1s . in the sp e e c h o f 1846 M acaulay d is p la y e d genuine k in d n ess o f heart* s tr o n g sympathy w ith s u ffe r in g * and genu in e h a tred o f o p p r e s s io n , In open q u e stio n s* and th o se in w hich p a rty

452

c o n s id e r a t io n s do n o t m a t e r ia lly i n t e r f e r e , he h a s a lw a y s shown h im s e lf a c c e s s i b l e t o c o n v ic t io n , gen erou s in h i s v ie w s , and J u st in th e e x p r e s s io n o f h i s s e n tim e n ts * 81 81* ’’Macaulay *s S p e e c h e s /’ Blackwood *a M agaaine. v o l . 7 5 , 1854, p . 202.

Gradualism In L ep elsla tIo n I n h i s u s u a l c a u tio u s manner, Macaulay a s s e r t e d th a t w h ile he was n o t read y t o v o t e f o r th© l i m i t a t i o n o f the la b o r f o r a d u l t s , he d id n o t fe a r th a t lim i t i n g c h il d la b o r would d a n g e r o u sly l i m i t th e la b o r o f a d u lts *

He a l s o

a d v ised th e House t h a t perhaps th e hours o f f a c t o r y la b o r should n o t be red u ced from tw e lv e t o t e n im m ed ia tely .

He

fea red t h a t sh o u ld some d e c r e a se in wages occu r th a t th e r e might be a v i o l e n t r e a c t io n t o th e b i l l *

A lthough h© r©com~

mended t h a t th e hours o f la b o r be redu ced from tw e lv e t o e le v e n and th e n perhaps l a t e r t o t e n , h© was aware t h a t th e se d e t a i l s c o u ld be d e c id e d in com m ittee*

H is purpose

was t o d e b a te o n ly th e p r in c ip le o f th© b i l l . Hot o n ly was Macaulay w is e In s tr e n g th e n in g th e Hhig p o s i t i o n and in s e n s in g th e f e e l i n g o f th e p e o p le , bu t time proved him e s s e n t i a l l y sound In h is th in k in g .

Although

the Ten Hours B i l l was n o t p a ssed u n t i l one y ea r a f t e r h i s sp e ech , th e p r i n c ip le upon w hich he ch ose to d ebate had an

453

e f f e c t on a l l su b se q u en t l e g i s l a t i o n f o r labor*

Forma of Support By what methods d id M acaulay r e c o n c ile b i s con cep t of f r e e trad© w it h governm ent in t e r f e r e n c e in f a c to r y l e g i s ­ la t io n ?

What p r o o f d id he o f f e r t o Ward and o th e r s who

c h a lle n g e d him t o answ er Adam Sm ith’ s argument t h a t co m p eti­ t io n , n o t govern m en tal tam p erin g, was e c o n o m ic a lly sound? Did Macaulay r e l y on p a r t is a n supp ort?

What in th e way o f

h i s t o r i c a l p r e c e d e n t b o ls t e r e d h is argum ents?

H is sp e e c h

on th© m otion f o r th e seco n d r e a d in g o f th e Ten Hours B i l l was p r im a r ily a sp e ech o f r e f u t a t i o n in w hich he u t i l i s e d d e f i n i t i o n , s p e c i f i c in s t a n c e , a n a lo g y , a p p r o p r ia tio n o f argum ents, and r e d u c tio ad absurdum t o answer the - c o n te n tio n s o f th o se who opposed th e measure# B is Method Of R e s o lv in g The Q u estion Of Government In terferen ce Macaulay began by r e f u t in g th e argum ents w hich

attack ed th e p r in c ip le o f th© b i l l s t h a t i s , t h a t any b i l l which r e g u la t e d th e hours o f la b o r was o b je c tio n a b le *

R e ly ­

in g n e it h e r on th e argum ents o f v ic io u s government i n t e r ­

ference nor on v ic io u s governm ent n e g l e c t , he a n a ly se d the f i r s t i s s u e as a q u e s t io n of th© amount o f government I n t e r ­

ference w hich was w i s e .

Ho r e c a l l e d t h a t in th e l a s t

454

cen tu ry governm ent i n t e r f e r e d e x c e s s i v e l y , b u t he o b serv ed th a t th© pendulum had swung t o th© o p p o s ite ex trem e, t h a t a r e a c t io n had s e t in*

He fe a r e d t h a t sta te sm e n were now

ten d in g t o sh ru g o f f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y *

T h is sta te m e n t was

sup p orted by a s p e c i f i c in s t a n c e , th a t o f th e problem o f tr a c in g new r o u t e s j o in in g o i t i e s , p o r t s and n a v a l a r s e n a ls when r a i l r o a d s were in tr o d u c e d .

U n fo r tu n a te ly th e govern ­

ment d id n o t i n t e r f e r e in t h i s q u e stio n w hich con cern ed " p u blic c o n v e n ie n c e , p u b lic p r o s p e r it y , and p u b lic s e c u r i t y . ” Thus th e c a s e f o r th e community went unheard*

He th ou gh t

the I s s u e a t hand was an a n alogou s one and th a t th e govern ­ ment was in danger o f com m ittin g a s im ila r erro r* 82* T* B. M acaulay, "Speeches and L egal S t u d ie s ," The Complete Works * U n iv e r s it y E d it io n , S u lly and Rleinteich7"*Uew York, v o l* 9 , 1 9 0 0 , pp* 446-47* Macaulay th en moved in t o answ er Mr* Hume and Mr* Ward who d id n o t s e e how a su p p o rter f o r f r e e tra d e co u ld s a n c tio n l e g i s l a t i v e in t e r f e r e n c e betw een c a p i t a l and labor* Like a good d e b a te r , he c i t e d th e e v id en ce or exam ples which th e se gen tlem en p r e s e n te d t o su p p o rt t h e i r p o in t o f view* A lthough he r e s p e c te d th o s e who rea so n ed in t h i s way, Macaulay found h is judgment d id n ot c o in c id e w ith t h e i r s . Be was c o n s is t e n t h ere w ith h i s o r ig in a l sta n d t h a t th e se problems must be d is c u s s e d w ith o u t rancor®

He a s s e r t e d

455

h is b e l i e f In th e p r in c ip le o f f r e e trad© but h a ste n e d t o d e fin e trad© a s r e f e r r i n g t o th e p ecu n ia ry i n t e r e s t o f th e c o n tr a c tin g p a r t ie s * h© meant*

He l i s t e d c o n c r e te exam ples o f what

For I n s t a n c e , everyon e was n o t a llo w e d t o o p era te

a cab f o r f a r e s ; n or were f a r e s d eterm in ed by su p p ly and demand*

R e s t r i c t i o n s w©r© a l s o p la c e d on tra d e f o r th e sake

of reven u e as w e l l a s f o r n a t io n a l d e f e n s e .

In t h e s e c i r ­

cu m sta n ces, Macaulay b e l i e v e d th a t th e government was I n t e r ­ f e r in g w ith tr a d e on h ig h e r than com m ercial grounds. d e f i n i t i o n he had U n i t e d th e a rea o f d e b a te .

By

He had a ls o

e x p la in e d th e l a i s s e z - f a i r e p o lic y t o th o se who wanted t o I n te r p r e t Adam Sm ith*s p h ilo so p h y t o s e r v e t h e ir own s e l f i s h g o a l s ,83 85. I b i d *, pp. 4 4 7 -4 8 . Where, t h e n , d id he f e e l t h a t th e government must assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s r e l a t i v e t o tra d e?

In h is sp e ech es

on P a rlia m en ta ry reform In 1 8 3 1 , Macaulay m ain tain ed t h a t the governm ent sh o u ld p r o t e c t p ro p erty and p erso n a l freedom o n ly .

In t h i s sp eech o f 1 846, he added th e a rea s o f h e a lt h

as w e l l as freedom f o r e d u c a tio n and l e i s u r e . in c o n s i s t e n t , h© was p r o g r e s s iv e !;/ a l e r t .

R ather than

He c o n sid e r e d

ex p ed ien cy a s w e ll as reform w hich would o p era te f o r th e good o f th e n a t io n .

B ecause ho had n ot spoken in P arliam en t

456

in fa v o r o f th e r e p e a l o f th e Corn Laws and b ecau se h is opponents t o th© Ten Hours B i l l had n o ted t h i s f a c t , he took s e v e r a l o p p o r t u n it ie s t o r e f e r t o h is hopes fo r r e p e a l and to r e i t e r a t e h i s b e l i e f i n f r e e tr a d e . Macaulay s a i d th a t th e government must con cern i t s e l f w h erever th e h e a lt h o f th e community was a t stak©* He r e f e r r e d t o a r e p o r t s ig n e d by two members o f th e govern­ ment and t o a b i l l , b o th o f which wore d ir e c t e d toward p ro­ t e c t i o n o f p u b lic h e a lth *

The b i l l w hich Macaulay c i t e d

p ro v id ed r e g u la t io n f o r b u ild in g h o u se s.

One o f th e p re­

s c r ib e d r e g u la t io n s was t h a t no new house co u ld be b u i l t w ith o u t a d rain*

PI© showed th a t th e q u e stio n s which h is

opponents r a is e d in c o n n e c tio n w ith government r e g u la t io n o f p r iv a te c i t l e e n s co u ld u n d erstan d ab ly be r a is e d in con­ n e c tio n w ith th e p r o v is io n s of a b i l l r e g u la t in g th© con­ s t r u c t io n o f p r iv a te r e s id e n c e s , fe n s e f o r b o t h ,

Macaulay o f fe r e d a de­

Xn d o in g s o , he was sim p ly tu r n in g th e

t a b le s upon th e o b je c to r s of th e p r in c ip le of the Ten Hours B ill,

W hile he h e ld th e d o c tr in e of f r e e trad e when i t r e ­

l a t e d t o p ecu n ia ry m a tte r s, vrherever b u ild in g r e g u la t io n a f f e c t e d th© h e a lth and s a f e t y of a community, th en h ig h e r i n t e r e s t s must bo c o n s id e r e d .

The f a c t th a t ho c i t e d p re­

ce d e n t f o r su ch l e g i s l a t i o n added w eig h t t o h is argument*®^ 8 ^* I b id , , pp, 448-50,

457

S ir John Hammer who f o llo w e d Macaulay a g reed t h a t I t was a m istake t o become s o f a n a t i c a l on th e s u b j e c t o f fr e e tra d e as n ev er t o i n t e r f e r e f o r th e b e n e f it o f f e llo w m en.35 8 5 . Hansard, v o l . 8 6 , p . 1 0 4 5 . Wakely was w o r r ie d by members who s t a t e d th a t E n g lis h la b o r

I f a d o p tin g f r e e tra d e meant

wa3 t o be w h o lly u n p r o te c te d .

no p r o t e c t io n f o r w o r k ers, he would n o t ad vocate f r e e tr a d e .

86

These sp e a k e r s were r e i t e r a t i n g what Macaulay had

8 6 . H ansard, v o l . 8 6 , pp. 1 0 4 5 -4 7 . p r e s e n te d . Macaulay a l s o b e lie v e d t h a t where p u b lic m o r a lity was con cern ed th e government sh o u ld assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . Again he su p p o rted h is argument by exam ples in good sta n d ­ i n g , su ch as l e g i s l a t i o n a g a in s t l i c e n t i o u s books or p ic ­ tu r e s or a g a in s t l o t t e r i e s .

S in ce th e House co u ld h a rd ly

o b je c t t o th e p r in c ip le th a t h e a lt h and p u b lic m o r a lity were concerns o f th e s t a t e , e s p e c i a l l y when he gave them i l l u s ­ t r a t io n s o f o p e r a tiv e l e g i s l a t i o n in t h e s e a r e a s , i t th en fo llo w e d , Efacaulay s a i d , t h a t th e fa c to r y l e g i s l a t i o n was a ls o a n e c e s s a r y in t e r f e r e n c e .

O bviously t h i s b i l l was

concerned w ith th e h e a lt h o f th e r i s i n g g e n e r a tio n .

Was

tw elv e hours la b o r a day f o r a boy o f t h ir t e e n a d v is a b le ?

458

To M acaulay, t h i s was an example o f a c a se in v o lv in g pub­ l i c m o r a lity b eca u se even f a c t o r y la b o r sh o u ld a llo w tim e fo r e d u c a t io n .

Twelve hours o f w ork, w ith a d d it io n a l tim e

s u b tr a c te d f o r m oals and f o r s l e e p , h a rd ly l o f t tim e f o r e d u c a tio n a l t r a i n i n g .

PiV

8 7 . M acaulay, op. c l t . fl pp. 4 5 0 -5 2 .

His Method Of A nsw ering O b jec tio n s To L im itin g Hours Of Work B ecause one o f th e main o b j e c tio n s had b een th a t any l i m i t s on c h i l d la b o r would i n d i r e c t l y l i m i t th e la b o r o f a d u lt s , Macaulay r e s t a t e d and r e fu te d t h i s argum ent. He c a u t io u s ly a s s e r t e d t h a t w h ile he was not read y t o v o te f o r a l i m i t a t i o n o f th e la b o r o f a d u lt s , he s t i l l d id n o t a c cep t th e f e a r f u l co n seq u en ces w hich had b een p r e d ic te d from such l e g i s l a t i o n .

A p p aren tly th e r e a c t io n o f the House

to t h i s id e a inform ed Macaulay t h a t h i a sta tem en t was con ­ s id e r e d p a r a d o x ic a l.

T h e r e fo r e , he began t o enum erate h i s ­

t o r i c a l p r e c e d e n ts t o show th a t th e cou n try had a lr e a d y r e ­ s t r i c t e d th e la b o r o f a d u l t s .

For exam p le, th e f a c t th a t

men worked o n ly s i x days a week in s te a d o f sev en was p roof enough.

G e n e r a lly , he added, t h i s arrangem ent had been

sa n c tio n e d by r e l i g i o n .

The E g y p tia n s, th e Jew s, th e G reeks,

th© Homans, th e H indus, a l l had t h e ir h o lid a y s ,

given whore

P uritan and A t h e i s t i c governm ents a b o lis h e d r e l i g i o u s

459 h o lid ay s, c i v i l ones were s u b s t i t u t e d .

He proceed ed to

giv© exam ples o f su ch c ir c u m s ta n c e s . ...T h e French J a co b in s d ecreed th a t th e Sunday sh o u ld no lo n g e r be a day o f resfcj bu t th ey i n ­ s t i t u t e d a n o th e r day o f r e s t , th e D ecade. They swept away th© h o lid a y s o f th e Homan C a th o lic Church; b u t th e y i n s t i t u t e d a n o th er s e t o f h o l i ­ d a y s, th e S a n s c u lo t t id e s , one sa cred t o C ensus, one to I n d u s tr y , one to O pinion, and so on . 0 8 8R. I b j d . a pp. 4 5 2 -5 4 . His c o n c lu s io n was th a t th e p r a c t ic e o f lim it in g hours of work had b een as u n iv e r s a l as th© w earin g o f c l o t h e s . ^ 8 9 • IM d . . p . 4 5 4 , Having shown by i l l u s t r a t i o n s th a t l i m i t in g the tim e o f la b o r o f a d u lts by law was no in n o v a tio n , he asked whether th e r e s u l t o f such a p ractie© had been d e tr im e n t a l, In e f f e c t , he th o u g h t, th e q u e s tio n was whether o b se rv in g Sunday a s a day o f r e s t had been a p e r n ic io u s p r a c t ic e f o r E ngland.

A gain he tu rn ed the t a b le s upon h is opponents by

r ea so n in g t h a t i f th e y o b je c te d to lim i t a t io n o f hours o f work, th e y must a l s o be c o n s is t e n t and oppose l im it a t io n o f days o f work.

To th o se who th ou gh t th a t w orking p eop le

would e s t a b l i s h a l i m i t a t i o n o f hours w ith o u t l e g i s l a t i o n , he answered t h a t th© same r e a so n in g co u ld be a p p lie d to an observance o f Sunday.

Ho e x p la in e d th a t i f th e r e were no

460

l©g&l recogn ition of Sunday th© minority of proprietors who kept ahops open would soon force the majority to do the same*

Three days la t e r

,

The London Times stateds

"There

90# Ib id *, pp, 454-55» Is not the le a s t apparent probability that eith er a ten or an eleven hours time w ill ever be attained by voluntary agreements" 91 History px’oved Macaulay's reasoning sound* 91* The London Times, Hay 25* 1346* C ritic s of the Ten Hours B ill argued that working hours could not be reduced without reducing production and reducing production would n ecessa rily reduce wages*

In his

ch a ra cteristic pattern of thinking* Macaulay admitted that there could be such a lim ita tio n of hours so that such re­ su lts would follow* ceed cautiously*

For th is reason Parliament should pro­

I t was not true* he declared* that any

le g is la t io n would produce these consequences*

The fa ct that

English law had already reduced the time of labor in fa c­ to ries

proved to him that th© proposition propounded by

his opponents was not u niversally true*

He described the

Instance th ir ty years ago when children eight years old worked f if t e e n hours a day*

Subsequently a law had pro­

hibited persons under eighteen working more than twelve

461 hours a day*

Th© aam© prophecies and arguments were ad­

vanced then as now, that production would decrease, that a f a l l in wages would fo llo w , and that the English manufac­ turers would be unable t'o compete with foreign manufacturers. He made i t p lain that he was not arguing that because a reduction of hours from fifte e n to t?/elv© did not reduce wages,, a reduction from twelve to eleven could not possibly reduce them*

What he did emphasize was that the

proposition advanced as incontrovertible evidence by his QO opponents was fa lse* In truo rebu ttal fashion, Macaulay 92. Ib id . . pp. 456-58. was te stin g the process of h is own reasoning and that of other speakers*

He proved e f f e c t iv e ly that the reasoning

of h is opponents was specious. In order to t e s t th is reasoning further, he re­ ferred the House to the analogous case of England three hundred years ago,

I f , in 1546, Parliament had decided

against interference with Sunday labor, would the wealth of the country and th© wages of working men have increased immensely?

He employed reductio ad absurdum In carrying

out th© reasoning of th© objectors to the present b i l l as applied to th is hypothetical case. argument to i t s lo g ic a l conclusions

He reduced Mr* r/ard's that f i f t y years more

462

production could have been completed i f men had worked Sundays for three hundred years.

Ho asked whether the Ilous©

actu ally b elieved that England would have been richer and more c iv iliz e d i f such had been the case,

Macaulay chose

to b eliev e that i f h is ancestors had worked on Sundays for three cen tu ries that tho English people would be poorer and leas c iv iliz e d today. 93 By explaining how i f tho argument 93* Ib id . . pp. 458-59. of the opposition were carried to i t s lo g ic a l conclusion the r e su lt would b© rid icu lo u s, ho detected th© fa lla c io u s causal reasoning of the opposition. Again, Macaulay reminded tho House of his cautious procedure, fo r he did not mean that a man would not produce more by working seven days rather than s ix , but he thought that in a year he would havo produced l e s s .

By the same

comparison, he admitted that a factory child would produce more in a day by working twelve hours than by working ten , but he questioned whether children working f if t e e n or twelve hours d a lly for a generation would produce as much as i f they had worked l o s s .

Man, ho said , was not merely a machine

for the production of wool or ca lico ; therefore, he should not be treated lik o a wheel or a p u lley.

The in ev ita b le

resu lt of hard labor with no time for exercise and education

46S

would bo a wretched race of men*

$ven m aterial ra in s, fo r

which high q u a litie s were sacrificed * would in time also b© lessened*

Mr. Ward had quoted Adam Smith,* so Macaulay quoted

from the same authority a statement that unusual machines had been devised by laboring men.

Macaulay named Hargreaves

and Crompton as two workingmen whose inventions were s t i l l used.

He doubted whether slaves could contrive such machin­

ery.

Bather i t was in a so c iety developed by education 94 that such contributions wore made.

94. Macaulay, op. c i t . , pp. 459-61. Macaulay, weighing a l l considerations, had taken th© long view and found that more important than what man could produce in a week was what man could contribute to his country in a life tim e .

Peel managed to use some of

the so examplea to h is advantage in answering Macaulay, for there was not a s t r ic t lim ita tio n on hours of work when these inventors made th eir contribution.

Peel then concluded

that th e ir inventions were made possib le because there was no interference with adult labor.

Peel askod whether when

Hargreaves invented, when Crompton improved, when Arkwright contrived, there was a law preventing them from laboring more than ten hours a day.®^

Macaulay had used these

Hansard, v o l. 86, pp. 1068-69.

464 examples to f o r t if y h is argument that to Improve man improved a ll that he produced.

While i t was true that there was no

protective le g is la t io n , there was at le a s t a lim ita tio n on days of work when these laborers contributed in d u stria l improvements, and the laborers were not sla v e s. Macaulayfs Answers To Other Object Iona To L egislation Mr. Ward had a lso sa id that to lim it working hours of adults made I t imperative to f i x wages.

This statement

lacked any presentation of proof, according to Macaulay. He answered b r ie fly by saying th at for centuries adult labor had been r e s tr ic te d to s ix days in seven but that wages had A /*

not been fix e d .

I t was not imperative that he prophesy in

96. Macaulay, op. c i t .„ p. 455. th is case because ward had argued from tho unknown to th© known.

This fa c t Macaulay pointed out. H© accused th© opponents of the b i l l of saying,

but not proving, that by protecting one c la ss the sufferings of the unprotected groups were aggravated. experience which proved otherwise.

Macaulay offered

L eg isla tio n , he implied,

helped to improve public fe e lin g and thus in d irec tly pro­ tected those who wore not covered by direct le g is la t io n . Macaulay appeared to be sh iftin g ground here.

His statement

465

was somewhat ambiguous and was unsupported*97 This was on© 97* Xbjd*. p . 456. of h is weakest answers. He a lso answered the argument that since i t was impossible to le g is la t e for a l l trades* i t was b etter to le g is la t e fo r none.

Macaulay reminded h is opponents of th©

analogous le g is la t io n concerning Sundays together with the fact that certa in c la s se s of people could not b© prevented from working on Sunday.

Thus he pointed out the in co n sis­

ten cies of thi3 reasoning which should be applicable to analogous ca ses. SB Although much of h is reply revolved 98. I b id . « pp. 455-56. around the analogy of Sunday, he ad ro itly am plified th is h isto r ic a l precedent to confound the objectors to the b i l l . Macaulay did not agree with Morpeth that the b i l l was ill-t im e d .

He r e ca lled that la s t week the Commons

agreed to carry a b ill, to the Lords removing the tax on com , a pernicious r e s tr ic tio n on trade.

lie regretted two

fa u lts that had to be corrected, one the tax on trade which prevented the laborer from buying a lo a f of bread f a ir ly priced and the non-regulation of factory work which permitted

466

GO him to ru in h is body and mind*’ This la s t thought and com-* 90# i b i d #

0

p« 464#

parison in h is speech impressed upon tho audience Macaulay's support of free trade while at the same tiro© championed government control where i t was needed. His Forma Of Constructive Proof Although Macaulay devoted almost h is en tire speech to answering arguments against tho Ten Hours B ill* he did advance some constructive proof when he analyzed the cause of prosperity in England*

He found that th© prosperity

of any country depended upon the in te llig e n c e of i t s c i t i ­ zens*

I t was questionable whether h is term in te llig e n c e

was an accurate one* time for learning?

Did he mean natural capacity or free Or was he implying that physical in­

cap acities and undeveloped minds gradually impaired the in te llig e n c e of progeny? d e fin itio n to h is term*

Fortunately* he gave an operational By reasoning a posteriori, ho con­

cluded that even natural resources could mean l i t t l e with­ out man's guiding hand; in fact* human in te llig e n c e could do much without favorable physical conditions#

I-Ie asked

whether the earth or sky mad© Scotland more prosperous than Egypt* or Holland more prosperous than S icily *

He

concluded rather that i t was the Scotchman that mad© Scotland*

467

the Dutchman that mad© Holland*

Even th© development of

Worth America he attrib u ted to the Englishmen who developed th© natural resources which two centuries ago lay undeveloped. So Macaulay saw that the day of re st and th© lim ited work for children had given the Englishmen an opportunity to gain vigor, a clea r i n t e l l e c t , and liv e ly s p ir i t s ,

II© sum­

marized h is thinking by saying, in e f f e c t , what improved the working man would improve the c o u n t r y B y d e fin i100, Macaulay, op, c j t , , pp, 461-63, tion and by causal reasoning he presented an almost ir r e ­ futable argument—that the fa te of a nation depended upon the w elfare of i t s individual c itiz e n s . In keeping with h is b e lie f in gradualism, ho thought that perhaps the hours should not be reduced from twelve to ten Immediately,

He saw an analogy between the

physician who recognized the n ecessity for prescribing a sp e c ific medicine for a disease but who had not yet deter­ mined the quantity advisable for his patient*s co n stitu tio n . 101 This fig u ra tiv e analogy was su ffic ie n t for 101, Ib id , , pp, 463-64, I llu s tr a tiv e purposes sine© Macaulay was not supporting a dogmatic statem ent,

H© was merely reminding tho members

468

that h© was debating tho principle# not the d e ta ils of th© b ill* B thical Proof Is Kept To A Minimum This speech was on© of Macaulayfs more lo g ic a l presentations in the

form of a rebuttal*

Except for d ir e c t-

ing th© a tten tio n of Parliament to h is fairness# h is lack of v itu p era tio n , h is freedom from party or cla ss conscious­ n ess, Macaulay did not attempt to make his own reputation secure*

Hot only did he declare h is fe e lin g of respect and

good w ill toward the manufacturers buthe maintained that h is vote would be neither fa ctio u s nor partisan*

He found

i t unpleasant to oppose th© government sin ce , at th is time, he preferred to strengthen rather than weaken the hands of the m inisters*

He then assured both p arties that he had

no d esire to obtain cred it for humanity at th e ir expense* B elieving that those who d iffered ?/ith him f e l t as kindly toward labor as he did, h© argued that th© disagreement was not in the ends to be attained but rather in the means to obtain them*

He f e l t that th© discussion should proceed

without angry ©motion or b itte r words*

iop

J Such an approach

102* Macaulay# op* c l t * » pp* 444-45* would seem to c o n c ilia te and temper the mood of the House toward the speaker’s subsequent remarks at the same time

469

characterizing Macaulay as a f a ir and unemotional spokes­ man*

He wanted Parliament to understand that his plea would

be based on what was ju st and workable, that ho spoke neither as a party man nor a frien d of labor or manufacturer exclu sively*

Thus h© was asking for a hearing from the

Whole House* Emotional Appeals When he pled that man be treated as a human being and not as a machine, he was appeal ing to the higher motives of h is contemporaries*

By showing that labor must and could

contribute more than just the required work, he lif t e d the eyes of the.House to higher and fin e r aspects such as crea­ tiv en ess, im agination, and resourceful sp irit*

This was

also a compliment to labor, who had produced modern inven­ tions* t is emphasis on "the English heart, head, and arm” appealed to national pride*

He even accredited to the

English the progress of her former enemies in North America* He was not intim idated by those who in sisted that because th© youth of Germany labored seventeen hours a day and worked so hard that not on© in thousands could bo admitted to the army that Englishmen could not compote with them commer­ cia lly *

He sc o ffin g ly predicted that i f England bowed to a

commercial nation i t would be to a vigorous one, not to a

470

race of "degenerate dwarf a ***3*03 Macaulay used em otional 103 » I b id , , pp © 461—03. proof e f f e c tiv e ly in appealing to stro n g E n g lish pride and sens© of accompli aliment.

One phrase from an e d i to r i a l

expressed Macaulay’s warning to England In the event th a t she did not le g i s l a t e f o r th e fa c to ry worker?

"What the

fin e old Anglo-Saxon sto ck w ill come to we cannot s a y ." ^ ^ ' 104, The London lim es, Kay 22, 1846. Summary Of Forms Of Support Macaulay sp en t most of h is speaking time answering objectio n s to fa c to ry le g i s l a t i o n .

He was concerned p r i ­

m arily w ith th© argument th a t the la is s e s - f a i r e p o licy to ­ ward tra d e should a lso be ap p lied to In d u stry ,

He argued,

In r e b u tta l, th a t when th e public i n te r e s t was involved th a t th e re were higher laws than those of commerce.

The

House could h ard ly ob ject to M s p ro p o sitio n , b u ttre s se d by i l l u s t r a t i o n s of o p erativ e le g is la tio n , th a t public h e a lth and m o rality were concerns of the s ta te and th a t th© r e s p o n s ib ility of the government needed to be extended to the area of fa c to ry .le g is la tio n .

His .methods of re f u ta tio n ;

th a t i s , d e f in itio n , s p e c ific In sta n c e , analogy, ap p ro p ria­ tio n of argum ents, and re d u c tio ad absurdum lo g ic a lly

471

answered the o b je c tio n s to th e measure,

II© mad© e f f e c tiv e

use of th e analogy of Sunday in o rder to defend the p r in ­ c ip le of re g u la tin g the hours of la b o r by law.

Although

th is was an extended analogy* i t did not become weakened by a m p lific a tio n .

H istory proved Macaulayfs conclusion

sound th a t working houi s could not be reduced by v o lu n tary agreement. By a p o s te r io r i reasoning and s p e c ific examples he a rriv e d a t h is co n v ictio n th a t c o u n trie s had progressed because of the In te llig e n c e and v ig o r of th o ir c i tiz e n s . I t was* th e re fo re , im portant th a t England look to the w el­ fare of h er c itiz e n s a His in tro d u c to ry remarks addressed both to the m anufacturer and to the la b o re r were designed to c o n c ilia te the House and to c h a ra c te riz e Macaulay as a f a i r spokesman. Although he appealed to E nglish prid© and sense of accom­ plishm ent, t h i s speech was p rim arily supported by lo g ic a l proofs based on h is t o r ic a l precedent and a p r io r i reaso n in g . S tru c tu re As p rev io u sly montionod, Macaulay*s speech was e s s e n tia lly a speech of r e b u tta l.

By h is r e f u ta tio n of the

arguments of preceding speakers he c l a r i f i e d the stan d of Russell* Grey, and h im self on fa c to ry le g is la tio n .

472

His Methods Of O btaining U nity And Coherence His p ro g re ssio n of ideas developed by means of his resta tem en t of o b je ctio n s which had been presented*

He

lim ite d the a re a of debate by s ta tin g th a t he would d is c u s s, not d e t a i l s , b u t th e p rin c ip le of the b i l l which had been d eclared unsound®

A fter e x p lo rin g o b jectio n s on the p r in ­

cip le of the b i l l , he re fu te d those who contended th a t i t was in c o n s is te n t fo r f r e e - tr a d e r s to champion government in te rfe re n c e w ith trade®

His movement from a d isc u ssio n of

p rin c ip le to a c l a r i f i c a t i o n of h is stand on f re e trad e was somewhat a b ru p t.

T ra n s itio n a l ex p ressio n s would have

mad© h is next o b je c tiv e , the un tan g lin g of what seemed to b© a paradox, more apparent*

Macaulay was eager to make h is

stand on the Ten Hours B ill appear c o n s iste n t w ith h is a t ­ titu d e s toward fre e tr a d e , fo r the House had ju s t been in turm oil concerning the re p e a l of th e Corn Lav/® He used good judgment in h andling th ese comments of h is c r i t i c s e a rly in h is speech.

Undoubtedly th e th in k in g of the House was s t i l l

colored by any referen ce to the Corn Laws, A fter p rese n tin g arguments in favor of l e g i s l a ­ tio n both fo r th e sake of h e a lth and fo r the sake of moral­ i t y , he used in te r n a l summary to remind h is audience th a t he had proved th e n e c e ss ity of in te rfe re n c e in th ese two

473

realms* 105

Again in a tr a n s i tio n a l sentence he remarked th a t

105* " I t must th e n , I th in k , be adm itted th a t where h e a lth is concerned, and where m o rality is concerned, th e s ta te is j u s t i f i e d in in te r f e r in g w ith th e c o n tra c ts of in d iv id u als* And* i f th is be adm itted, i t follow s th a t the case w ith which w@ now have to do is a case fo r in te r f e r e n c e *11 I b id ** p« 451* he had shown th a t the b i l l was not o b jectio n ab le in p rin ­ cip le but th a t he was about to move to the stro n g e st p a rt of h is ca se , th e f a c t th a t th is b i l l le g is la te d f o r c h ild re n only*

By t h i s means, h© w isely emphasized th© next argument

which ap p lied to th is p a r tic u la r b i l l * ^ ^ 106* Ib id * , p , 452* By means of re sta tem en t of o b je c tio n s, he moved from one re p ly to another*

Ho answered preceding speakers

who had in d ic a te d th e ir fe a r th a t such le g is la tio n would open the way f o r government in te rfe re n c e w ith ad u lt la b o r­ ers*

His r e a s s e r tio n of opposing arguments by means of

tr a n s itio n a l sentences e f f e c tiv e ly emphasized the arguments vhich he was about to answer. 107* "But, I t Is s a id , th is b i l l , though i t d ir e c tly lim its only th© la b o r of I n fa n ts , w ill, by an In d ire c t opera­ tio n , lim it a ls o the la b o r of adults*" I b id *a pp« 45253, "But, says my honorable f rie n d , you cannot lim it the la b o r of a d u lt 3 unloss you f i x wages," I b id *, p* 455*

474

,?B ut, i t i s said* you cannot le g i s l a t e f o r a l l tr a d e s ; and therefor© you had b e t t e r not l e g is la te fo r a n y ,” I b id ** p . 455« Throughout the previous argument* Macaulay had been examining arguments* r a is in g questions* and answering the preceding sp eak ers,

He then reasoned c o n s tru c tiv e ly

th a t to improve production man must be irrproved.

Having

taken car© of th e q u estio n s and objections* he p resen ted in d u c tiv e ly th e reasons why he f e l t England deserved and demanded th is le g i s l a t i o n .

At th© conclusion of t h i s 'a r g u ­

ment* w ithout r e s ta tin g h is reasons* he s a id :

nPor th ese

reasons* S ir , I approve of the p rin c ip le of th is b i l l , and s h a ll, w ithout h e s ita tio n , vote fo r the second re a d in g ,”^0® 108. I b id . . p , 463, An in te r n a l summary r a th e r than h is a s s e r tio n th a t he had given reasons would have helped h is audience to catalogue Ms th in k in g . The R h e to ric a l D ivisions Of Ills Speech Macaulay1s opening sentence In d icated th a t h© was responding to a d ir e c t challenge from Mr, Ward who asked him to ex p lain statem ents mad© by Lord John Iiu sse ll and S ir George C-rey, but th a t in a d d itio n ho was happy to ex p lain why h© him self would vote fo r the second read in g ,

He

476

av a ile d h im self of th e o p p o rtu n ity to r e f e r to an a re a of agreem entf f o r he u t t e r l y disapproved of asp ersio n s which had been d ire c te d to owners of f a c t o r ie s .

He appeared to

c o n c ilia te them by reco g n isin g the in te r r e la tio n s h ip of facto ry owners and la b o r in p ro viding fo r the w elfare of both.

He analysed any disagreem ent as one of means not

©nds.’**^ 109# ^bid»

By means of a sh o rt In tro d u c tio n , he was able to j

pp 444*»45* .

give h is reasons f o r re p ly in g and h is purpose in speaking. A fter h is development of h is expressed purpose in the body of th© speech, h is a d d itio n a l word to Lord Mor­ peth, who f e l t th a t th© b i l l was not brought up a t an app ro p rla te tim e, might appear su p erflu o u s.

110

Yet i t was

110« %bld«« P. 464. another oppo rtu n ity f o r Macaulay to allu d e to the Corn Law and to t i e in h is f i r s t a n a ly sis of government in te rfe re n c e w ith a co n clu sio n .

In e f f e c t , he s a id , Hh© time Is rip e %

l e t us r e c t if y m istakes and o m issio n s.ft

In stea d of re ly in g

upon summary, he rep eated what he b e liev e d should be don© so th a t the poorer countrymen could no longer blame t h e ir su ffe rin g s upon the governm ents meddling or upon the govern­ ment *s n e g le c t.

476

In t h i s s p e e c h , Macaulay s u c c e s s f u l l y f o llo w e d a l o g i c a l p a t te r n o f developm ent in an sw erin g o b je c to r s t o th e Ten Hours B i l l *

He s t a t e d th e q u e stio n or o b j e c t io n s

o f h is opponents c l e a r l y and e m p h a tic a lly .

He even r e s t a t e d

t h e ir e v id e n c e in a d ram atic and n a r r a tiv e fa sh io n *

H is

r e f u t a t io n was d o v e - t a ile d so sm oothly w ith M s c o n s tr u c t iv e arguments t h a t th e o r g a n iz a tio n d id not appear c lu m s ily m echanical*

X et h i s a n a ly s is and c o n c lu s io n s were s u f f i ­

c i e n t l y em phasized*

A lthough he used one in t e r n a l summary

and some good t r a n s i t i o n a l s e n t e n c e s , a r e sta te m e n t o f h is rea so n s f o r f a v o r in g f a c t o r y l e g i s l a t i o n would have c lin c h e d h is in d u c tiv e arrangem ent more c o n c lu s iv e ly as f a r a s h is c o n s tr u c t iv e argum ents were con cern ed . He showed t h a t e n fo r c e a b le law must be e n a cted in order t o com pel th e m anufacturer t o th in k about h is workers i n more human term s*

His p r o g r e s s io n o f thought

from th e n eed f o r l e g i s l a t i o n , t o M s e v id e n c e t h a t the government had a lr e a d y bo gun t o in t e r f e r e where p u b lic i n ­ t e r e s t was co n cern ed , t o h i s e x p o s it io n o f th e dependence o f England upon th e b e n e f it s which would accru e from such l e g i s l a t i o n c r e a te d a p e r s u a siv e d efe n se o f th© Ten Hours

B in,

477

Language H is C o n c ilia t o r y Language C oncerning th© Ton Hours B i l l o f 1844* G rovlll© commenteds

MI n ev e r remember so much e x citem en t as has b een

caused by A s h le y 1® Ten Hours B i l l , « , s o much z e a l , a s p e r it y , and a n im o s ity , so many r ep ro a ch es h u r le d backwards and f o r 111 wards* * Two y e a r s l a t e r , th© us© o f in v e c t iv e had n o t 111* The G r e v ille D ia r y . P h ilip W h itw ell W ilson , e d , , W il­ lia m Heinemann, L t d ,, London, v o l* 2 , 1 927, p . 173, ceased*

Macaulay was s u r e ly awaro o f th e a s p e r s io n s which

had b een c a s t on th e f a c to r y ow ners.

In h is in tr o d u c to r y

rem arks, h i s lan gu age was e s p e c i a l l y c o n c i l i a t o r y ,

H© r e ­

f e r r e d t o th e Mrath©r t o o p l a i n t i v e a t o n e ” used by Mr* Ward and p le d f o r n on -acrim on iou s words throughout th e r e s t o f th© d i s c u s s i o n , W i t h few ex ce p tio n ^ Macaulay fo llo w e d 112, M acaulay, op. c l t . , p p , 444-45* h is own a d v ic e ; h is lan gu age d id n ot seem t o a r i s e from angry ©motion. C oncrete E x p r e ssio n s And tlse Of D ialogu e His concret© lan gu age was one o f th e o u tsta n d in g f e a tu r e s o f t h i s s p e e c h .

He t r a n s l a t e d , f o r in s t a n c e , th e

478

g e n e r a l b i l l t h a t no man sh o u ld be p erm itted t o b u ild a house on h i s own la n d in any g r e a t town w ith o u t g iv in g n o t ic e t o c e r t a i n co m m issio n ers in to s p e c i f i c l im it a t io n s #

He s a id

th a t i t meant t h a t no man c o u ld s in k a c e l l a r nor b u ild a house w ith o u t a d ra in u n le s s he had th e co n se n t o f commis­ s io n e r s •

A gain when he s t a t e d th a t a p ro p erty owner m ight

be ordered t o w h itew ash h is h o u se , Macaulay e x p la in e d f u r ­ t h e r by s a y in g t h a t i f th e man r e f u s e d , th e government m ight 113 send p eo p le w ith p a i l s and b ru sh es t o w hitew ash i t f o r him* 113* I b i d .* p , 449 He compared America w hich two c e n t u r ie s ago was abandoned t o ’’th e p a n th er and th© b e a r ” t o th e n in e te e n th cen tu ry America w hich was co v er ed w ith m i l l s , h o t e l s , b an k s, and c o l l e g e s . C o n c r e t e n e s s o f language n o t o n ly made h i s 1 1 4 . I b i d . . p . 462# g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s c le a r e r but i t a l s o p i c t o r i a l i z e d id e a s f o r th e House*

Such lan gu age u nd ou btedly h elp ed t o g a in

b o th l o g i c a l and e m o tio n a l a ccep ta n ce f o r h i s id ea s* He a l s o f r e q u e n tly r e l i e d on h y p o th e t ic a l c a s e s t o add v iv id n e s s t o h i s e x p o s it io n #

Sueh exam ples were some­

tim es d ram atized by means o f d ia lo g u e #

He assumed b o th

th e r o l e o f an o b j e c to r t o governm ent in te r fe r e n c e as w e ll

479

as th e d e fe n d e r o f t h i s p o s it io n *

115

W hile ad d in g i n t e r e s t

115* "I sa y t o y o u , th® l e g i s l a t o r s who have r e s t r i c t e d my l i b e r t y , ’What b u s in e s s have you t o in t e r f e r e betw een a b u yer and a s e l l e r ? I f you th in k th© s p e c u la t io n a bad o n e , do n o t ta k e t i c k e t s . But do n ot i n t e r d i c t o th e r p eo p le from ju d gin g f o r th e m s e lv e s.* S u r e ly you w ould an sw er, ’You would be r ig h t i f t h i s were a mere q u e s tio n o f t r a d e : b u t I t i s a q u e s tio n o f moral it y ....* " I b i d * * p . 451* and v a r i e t y t o h i s s p e e c h , t h i s tech n iq u e o f d ir e c t quota« t io n s a l s o s u p p lie d a d e v ic e w hich en a b led him t o pose th e q u e s tio n s o f any exam iner and t o su p p ly M acaulay’ s an sw ers. B is T a le n t For P e r so n a l D ir e c tn e s s The L iv in g Age w h ich c r i t i c i z e d him f o r a " p e r fe c t h a tred o f pronouns" w it h an attem p t t o a v o id any p o s s ib le en tan glem en t betw een him* h e r s * and i t s , co u ld not so c r i t i 116 ciz© t h i s s p e e c h . The f i r s t p erson pronoun was used 116* John M orley, "M acaulay," The L iv in g Age* 1 876, v o l . 1 2 9 , p • 805 « f r e q u e n tly In th e in tr o d u c t io n and body o f th© speech*

A fte r

sp ea k in g o f "our g r e a t c o u n tr y ," he s a id "your overworked 117 boys w i l l become a f e e b l e and ig n o b le ra ce o f men." 117* M acaulay, op. c i t . , p . 460* He a l s o a c h ie v e d c o n v e r s a tio n a l d ir e c t n e s s by a sk in g r h e t o r i c a l q u e s tio n s *

W hile s in g l e q u e s tio n s o f te n

480

In tro d u ced a new argument w hich he planned t o a n sw e r ,3,10 118# "And would you t r e a t th© f r e e la b o r e r o f England Ilk© a mere w h eel o r p u lley ? " I b i d . , p. 4Q0. " W ill my h o n o ra b le f r ie n d Member fo r S h e f f i e l d m a in ta in th a t th© law w h ich l i m i t s th© number o f work­ in g days has b een I n ju r io u s t o th e w orking p o p u la tio n ? " I b id . . p* 456# f r e q u e n tly q u e s t io n s appeared in groups o f fo u r .

Sometimes

he u sed t h i s d e v is e t o summarize h is p r e v io u s r e a s o n in g . W ill i t be d e n ie d t h a t th e h e a lt h o f a la r g e p a r t o f th e r i s i n g g e n e r a tio n may be s e r io u s ly a f f e c t e d by th e c o n tr a c ts w hich t h i s b i l l i s i n ­ ten d ed t o r e g u la te ? Can any man who has read th e e v id e n c e w hich i s b e fo r e u s , can any man who has e v e r o b serv ed young p e o p le , can any man who r e ­ members h is own s e n s a t io n s when he was young, doubt th a t tw e lv e hours a day In a fa c to r y I s to o much f o r a la d o f t h ir t e e n ? Or w i l l I t bo d en ied t h a t t h i s i s a q u e stio n in w h ich p u b lic m o r a lity Is concerned? Can any one d o u b t—n o n e, I am s u r e , o f my f r ie n d s around me d o u b t s - - t h a t e d u c a tio n i s a m atter o f th e h ig h e s t Im portance t o th e v ir t u e and h a p p in ess o f a p e o p le ? H 9 119* I b i d . . pp. 4 5 1 -5 2 , Sometimes h is q u e s tio n s le d sm ooth ly t o h is arguments on a p o i n t H e

a l s o used groups o f q u e stio n s t o em phasize a

120# "Have wages c h e s te r f o r th e w orking u n iv e r s a lly c o n f id e n t ly p . 458.

f a ll e n ? Has tho c o t to n tra d e l e f t Man­ Prance or Germany? Has th e c o n d itio n o f p e o p le become more m isera b le? I s i t n o t acknow ledged th a t th e e v i l s which were so p r e d ic te d have n o t com© to pass?" I b id . »

481

point} f o r I n s t a n c e , a s he d id i n p r e d ic t in g what m ight hap­ pen I f th e r e sh o u ld be an im m ediate f a l l o f wages when th e hours o f work had n ot b een red u ced g r a d u a lly enough* Might th e r e n o t be a v i o l e n t r e a c t io n ? M ight n ot th e p u b lic ta k e up a n o t io n t h a t our l e g i s l a t i o n had been e r r o n e o u s in p r i n c i p l e , th ou gh , in t r u t h , our e r r o r w ould have b een an e r r o r , n ot o f p r in ­ c i p l e , bu t m erely o f degree? Might n ot P arliam en t be in d u ced t o r e t r a c e i t 3 s te p s ? Might we n o t f in d i t d i f f i c u l t t o m ain tain ev en th e p r e s e n t l i m i t a t i o n ? 1”-*' * 2 1 . I b i d .* p . 463* His p i l i n g up o f q u e s tio n s was a d i r e c t a p p ea l t o th e House t o th in k w ith him* R e p e titio n And P a r a lle lis m F ig u r e s o f sp e e c h were reduced t o a minimum in t h i s r e b u tta l*

The "Sunday” a n a lo g y , t o d efen d th e p r in c ip le

of r e g u la t in g th e hours o f la b o r , was c a r r ie d throughout the ad d ress*

T his was a l i t e r a l a n alogy w hich was v a lu a b le

as l o g i c a l p r o o f .

When he p le d f o r c a u tio n in r e d u c in g

hours o f la b o r he compared th e s it u a t io n to a p h y s ic ia n who was a tte m p tin g t o p r e s c r ib e m edicine*

This m ed ica l a n a lo g y ,

so c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of M acaulay’s sp e a k in g , was m erely i l l u s ­ tr a tiv e . I n s te a d o f r e l y in g upon f ig u r e s o f sp e e c h , he a c h ie v e d v iv id and im p r e ssiv e e f f e c t s by u sin g r e p e t i t i o n

482

and p a r a lle lis m *

H© answ ered h i s own q u e s tio n of what made

th e d i f f e r e n c e b etw een co u n try and country* Not th© exu b eran ce o f s o i l } n ot th e m ild n e ss o f c lim a te } n o t m in es, nor h a v e n s, nor r iv e r s * These th in g s a re in d e e d v a lu a b le when put t o t h e ir p rop er u se by human i n t e l l i g e n c e } b u t human i n ­ t e l l i g e n c e can do much w ith o u t them; and th ey- op w ith o u t human i n t e l l i g e n c e can do n o t h i n g . .. * 1 2 2 , I b i d # | p , 461 * In order t o u n d e r lin e th e im portance o f th e human elem en t in the developm ent o f a c o u n tr y , he b u i l t t o a clim a x through r e p e t i t i o n o f words and b a la n c e d s tr u c tu r e * Man, man i s th e g r e a t in stru m en t t h a t prod uces w e a lth * * , , W hile in d u s tr y i s su sp en d ed , w h ile th e p lo u g h l i e s in th e fu r raw, w h ile th e Exchange i s s i l e n t , w h ile no smoke a scen d s from th e f a c t o r y , a p r o c e s s i s g o in g on q u it e as im portant t o th© w e a lth o f n a t io n s a s any p r o c e s s w hich i s p e r ­ formed on more busy d a y s. Man, th e machine o f m a ch in es, th e machine compared w ith w hich a l l th© c o n tr iv a n c e s o f th e W atts and th e A rkw rights are w o r t h le s s , i s r e p a ir in g and w ind in g up, so t h a t he r e tu r n s t o h is la b o r s on th e Monday w ith c le a r e r i n t e l l e c t , w ith l i v e l i e r s p i r i t s , w ith renewed cop o r a l v ig o r *3.23 123# I b i d »* p* 462* C h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , Macaulay used t h e s e same fe a tu r e s o f language and s e n te n c e developm ent in h is p ero ra tio n * We have done t h a t w hich we ought not t o have don©; we have l e f t undone t h a t w hich w© ought t o have done. We have r e g u la te d th a t w hich w© sh o u ld have l e f t t o r e g u la t e I t s e l f . We have l e f t u n r e g u la te d t h a t w hich we were bound t o r e g u la te * Wo have

483

g iv e n t o some b ran ch es o f in d u str y a p r o t e c t io n w hich has proved t h e i r b an e. We have w ith h e ld from p u b lic h e a lt h and p u b lic m orals th e p ro­ t e c t i o n w h ich was t h e i r due* * ,-^ 4 1 2 4 , I b i d , t p, 4 6 4 ,

x

N e ith e r th e e x a g g e r a te d phrases o f h is Government o f I n d ia sp e e c h nor the c o n n o ta tiv e e x p r e s s !o n 3 c h a r a c t e r is ­ t i c o f h is sp e e c h e s on th e I r is h Church were predom inate in h is d e fe n se o f th e Ten Hours B i l l ,

Because he c r i t i c i z e d

th© us© o f "too p la in t iv e " a ton e as w e ll as angry em o tio n , he may have d eterm in ed t o be p r a c t i c a l and sane in h is approach*

Like th e sp e ech es on P arliam en tary Reform, r h e ­

t o r i c a l q u e s tio n s abounded, both f o r th e purpose o f em phasis and f o r in tr o d u c in g new argum ents,

M acaulay1s language

was w e l l - s u i t e d t o h is id e a s which were p r a c t ic a l and con­ c r e t e answ ers t o o b je c tio n s posed as w e ll as l o g i c a l reason s why th e measure sh o u ld be p assed a t t h is a p p ro p ria te tim e . His c h o ic e o f w ord s, c o n c r e te and d e s c r ip t iv e enough t o p ro v id e i n t e r e s t and v a r ie t y , was n ot g e n e r a lly e x a g g era ted nor e m o tio n a lly s tir r in g ® Audience Response B i l l I s Lost But The Whigs Take O ffice On May 2 2 , 1846 when th© House d iv id e d , th e r e s u l t was th e l o s s o f th e b i l l by a m a jo rity o f t e n , 193 v o tin g

484

f o r i t and 205 a g a in s t it* ^ ^ °

By June 2 5 , th© same day t h a t

1 2 5 , Hansard, v o l . 8 6 , p. 1 0 8 0 . the b i l l t o a b o l i s h th e Corn Law p a ssed th e House o f L ords, P eel was d e f e a te d on th e I r is h C oercion B i l l .

R u s s e ll, who

had v o te d f o r F i e l d e n ’s B i l l , became Prime M in ister when the Whigs r e tu r n e d t o po?:er.

This change In government was 126 a g re a t s tim u lu s t o A s h le y ’ s h o p e s. Again th e r e was 1 2 6 , Hammond and Hammond, op. c i t . . p . 1 1 7 . p r e ssu r e a p p lie d f o r r e c o g n it io n o f the w e lfa r e o f in d u s t r ia l w ork ers.

A w eek ly paper m s e s t a b lis h e d in M anchester by

A s h le y fs sta u n ch f r i e n d , P h ilip G rant, c a lle d The Ten Hours A d vocate.

S im u lta n e o u sly , A sh ley conducted campaigns in

L an cash ire and Y o r k sh ir e . F le ld e n ’S B i l l Cf 1847 P a sses Both Houses By January 2 6 , 1 8 4 7 , F ie ld e n in tro d u ced th e b i l l t o amend th e law s r e g u la t in g 't h e hours o f la b o r in f a c t o r i e s f o r th e t h ir t e e n t o e ig h t e e n year age group.

This measure

c a l l e d f o r t e n hours a c t u a l work f o r f i v e days and e ig h t on S a tu r d a y s.

S ir George G rey, th e new home s e c r e t a r y , announced

th a t he would v o te f o r th e second r e a d in g , b u t th a t in com m ittee he would v o te f o r s u b s t i t u t in g e le v e n hours f o r

485

ten*

* * * 1

The seco n d r e a d in g c a r r ie d on February 1 9 , 1 8 4 7 .

137. I b id . . v o l. 89,

pp. 4 8 7 -9 2 .

I 28* I b id . . v o l. 90,

p. 297.

1 OQ

So f a r th e m in is te r s had been on F le ld e n * s s i d e , but e v e r y one knew t h a t th e t a b le s would be turned when the House was ask ed to ch oose betw een e le v e n a n d t e n hours® The F e e l i t e s d id n o t v o t e , and th e te n hours c la u s e

tr i­

umphed by 144 t o 6 6 . M acaulay, George Grey, and John 129 R u s s e ll v o te d w it h th e m in o r ity . For the r e s t o f th e 12 9 » H ansard, v o l . 9 1 , p. 1 4 6 . journey th e m in is te r s proved good f r ie n d s o f th e b i l l . R u s s e ll s a id t h a t a lth o u g h he r e g r e t t e d t h a t i t was a te n hours and n ot an e le v e n hours b i l l , he would not w ith h o ld 130 h is s u p p o r t. On May 3 , 1847 the t h ir d rea d in g was 1 3 0 . H ansard, v o l . 9 1 , p . 1129. c a r r ie 131* I b i d . . v o l . 9 2 , p . 313, The b i l l f i n a l l y reached th e House o f Lords where th e opponents to o k o n ly one d iv is io n on th© secon d rea d in g

486

and were b e a te n by a m a jo r ity o f f o r t y tw o .1S® Brougham 3.32, H ansard, v o l . 9 2 , p . 9 4 6 ,

spoke a g a in s t th© b i l l , but th e Biahop o f London and th© B ishop o f Oxford gave t h e ir s u p p o r t.133

F i n a lly on June 1 ,

3-35* I b i d , ft p p . 9 0 5 -4 5 . 1847 th e Ten Hours B i l l was c a r r ie d t o v ic t o r y by F le ld e n and n ot by A s h le y .

1 34

13 4 . Hansard, v o l . 9 2 , p . 1363. I n te n s e en th u sia sm g r e e te d t h is v ic t o r y .

The

measure was im p o rta n t, f o r out o f 544,876 p erson s em ployed th a t y e a r no l e s s th a n 3 6 3 ,7 9 6 wore d i r e c t l y a f f e c t e d by th e a c t .

This s u b j e c t had been co n cern in g th e w orld f o r

fo r ty y e a r s,

A sh le y had b een working f o r th e l e g i s l a t i o n 135 fo r fo u r te e n y e a r s . E lev en y ea rs a f t e r F le ld e n 5s d eath

1 3 5 . Edwin Ilodder, op. c l t . , p . 3 6 9 , Graham and Roebuck acknowledged in th e House o f Commons th a t a l l p r e d ic t io n s th ey had made i n opposing th e Ten Hours B i l l had proved f a l s e . 136 1 3 6 , Hammond and Hammond, op. c l t . , p . 1 2 1 .

487

The B i l l la Hot S uccessful U n t il By May 1848 I t was

when

1874

th© b i l l was o f f i c i a l l y

a d o p ted .

c l e a r t h a t th e a c t was n ot g o in g t o s u c c e e d b ecau se

o f a m b ig u ity i n th e Act o f 1844 w h ich th e Act of 1846 modi­ f ie d b u t d id n o t r e p e a l#

The d is a s t r o u s e f f e c t was th a t r e ­

la y s o f w orkers were n ot p r o h ib ite d #

There was n o th in g t o

p reven t a worker from b e in g kopt a t work u n t i l e ig h t t h i r t y a t n ig h t p r o v id ed th a t he had been g iv e n enough tim e t o make h i s w orking hours t o t a l on ly ten*

I t was d ecid ed in

1850 t o p r e s e n t a t e s t ca se t o th e Court of Exchequer# r e s u lt g iv e n was a trium ph f o r the m illo w n e r s.

The

The a c t de­

c la r e d t h a t p r o te c te d p erso n s must b e g in work a t th e same tim e but d id n o t say t h a t th e y a l l had to q u it at the same tim e; s o th e r e l a y system was d e c la r e d le g a l# o f t h i s judgment n u l l i f i e d th e Ten Hours A ct, 1 3 7 , Annual R e g is t e r ,

The e f f e c t 137

v o l , 9 2 , pp, 1 6 6 -6 7 ,

A compromise was th en s u g g e s te d .

On May 3 , 1850

S ir George Grey announced th© in ten d ed cou rse o f th e govern ­ ment w ith r e s p e c t t o th© q u e s tio n .

In th e s p i r i t but n ot

in th e l e t t e r o f th e Act o f 1849, Grey proposed to d e fin e the e n t ir e tim e o f employment in order t o e lim in a te the r e la y sy stem .

He p roposed t o l i m i t o p e r a tio n o f the f a c t o r y from

s i x in th e morning u n t i l s i x in the a ftern o o n and deduct

488

from t h a t on© and on© h a lf hours fo r m eals making te n and on© h a l f hours la b o r d a ily f o r th© w ork ers.

I f h is m o d ifi­

c a tio n were approved by A sh ley and s u p p o r te r s . Grey e x p r e sse d the w i l l i n g n e s s o f th e government t o take th© b i l l i n t o I t s hands.

Lord John Manners and Mr, Edwards opposed any com-

prom ise a d d in g two hours t o i l ,

A sh ley agreed t o t h is

138, Annual R e g i s t e r , v o l., 9 2 , pp, 1 6 8 -6 9 , compromise a lth o u g h i t c o s t him h is p o p u la r ity w ith th e ow ners.

I t was n ot u n t i l 1874 th a t th© t e x t i l e f a c to r y

workers o b ta in e d th e te n hours working day w hich P arliam ent meant t o g iv e them In 1 847, 1 3 9 , Hammond and Hammond, op, c l t , , p , 1 4 9 ,

R ea ctio n s Of Opponents To M acaulayfs Speech The f a c t t h a t B rig h t and P e e l sp en t so much tim e answ ering M acaulayTs sp eech in d ic a te d th a t i t had an impact which w o rr ied th o se gentlem en c o n s id e r a b ly .

B rig h t c o n fe s s e d

fe a r th a t h i s d is c u s s io n of th© q u e stio n would be damaged when Macaulay a ro se*

H© claim ed th a t Macaulay d e liv e r e d a

le c t u r e on a n c ie n t and modern h is t o r y and on th e i n s t i t u t i o n 1 40 o f th e S ab b ath , Y et B rig h t sp en t most of h is sp eech 1^0, H ansard, v o l* 8 6 , pp* 1 0 5 0 -6 0 ,

4B9

a tte m p tin g t o r e f u t e Macaulay and a s s e r t i n g th a t a l l t h a t cp u ld be a c h ie v e d by th e b i l l c o u ld be a c h ie v e d by v o lu n ­ ta r y a rran gem en t. S i r R obert P e e l a g reed w ith B rig h t b u t was fo r c e d t o r e c o g n iz e some m e r it in M acaulay*s sp e a k in g , I have l i s t e n e d t h i s e v e n in g t o th e sp eech o f th e r ig h t h on orab le g en tlem a n , th e member f o r E din­ b u rg h , a s I a lw ays d o, w ith v e r y g r e a t a t t e n t io n and s a t i s f a c t i o n , so f a r as th a t sp e ech was a r h e t o r i c a l c o m p o sitio n ; b u t w ith a l l r e s p e c t f o r th e r i g h t h o n o ra b le gen tlem an , I must say th a t th a t p a r t o f h i s sp e ech w h ich was put forward as an argum ent f o r th e change now p rop osed , was i n my e s tim a tio n e x c e e d in g ly l im i t e d . The g r e a te r p a rt o f th e r i g h t h on orab le g en tlem a n ’s sp eech was d ir e c t e d t o prove th e p r o p o s itio n th a t the p r i n c i p l e s o f f r e e tra d e ought n o t to c o n tr o l our l e g i s l a t i o n , p ro v id ed t h a t , by our i n t e r f e r ­ e n c e , we can promote th e s o c i a l c o m fo r ts, the h e a l t h , and th e m o r a lity o f the community,-*-^ 1 4 1 , H ansard, v o l , 8 6 , p» 1062, P e e l a c c u sed Macaulay o f w a s tin g tim e b ecau se the p o in t th a t p r in c ip le s o f f r e e tr a d e sh o u ld n ot c o n t r o l l e g i s l a t i o n where in t e r f e r e n c e by th e government cou ld improve h e a lth and m o r a lity was u n d isp u ted , Macaulay c o n n e cts h is argument w ith numerous i l ­ l u s t r a t i o n s , Every one w i l l s a y , th a t i s v ery in g e n io u s , and i t i s conveyed in such b e a u t if u l la n g u a g e , th a t a l l who hear i t w i l l be d isp o se d t o t r a n s f e r t h e i r ad m iration e x c it e d by th© lan gu age and th e i l l u s t r a t i o n s t o th e argument in fa v o r o f w hich th e y are e m p lo y e d ,i42 1 4 2 , I b i d , , pp. 1 0 6 2 -6 9 ,

490

A lthough P e e l d is a g r e e d w ith M acaulay*s r e a s o n in g , he d id g iv e him c r e d i t f o r e f f e c t i v e language and i l l u s t r a t i o n s . E v a lu a tio n s By M acaulay And Ills S u p p orters I t was n o t s u r p r is in g th a t th o se who sup p orted the measure fou nd M acaulay*s sp ea k in g quit© s u c c e s s fu l* Wakely s a id :

" . . . a f t e r th e e lo q u e n t, argu m en tative and

c o n c lu s iv e s p e e c h o f th e r ig h t h on orab le gen tlem an , th© member f o r E d in b u rg h ,” t h a t he h im s e lf would ad d ress a s few o b se r v a tio n s as p o s s ib le #

1 4 **

*

14 3 . H ansard* v o l* 8 6 , pp. 1045-47* Lord S h a fte sb u r y in soma m anuscript n o te s appended on f l y * l e a v e s t o Mr. P h ilip G rant’ s H isto ry o f F actory L e g is la t io n w rote ” . . . Macaulay gave us one of h is b r i l l i a n t 144 and e f f e c t i v e s p e e c h e s * ” In 1 8 5 7 , th e E a rl o f G h aftes144* Edwin Hodder, op. c l t *. p . 379* b u ry, d e lig h t e d w ith M acaulay’s r e c e p tio n o f th© p eera g e, commented in h is jo u r n a l o f Septembers

MWrote t o Macaulay

t o c o n g r a tu la te him and m y se lf and th© Lords on h is e le v a ­ tio n .

I can n ev er f o r g e t h is sp eech on b e h a lf o f th e Ten ,1 4 5 Hours B i l l . ”

145* I b i d . , p . 5 5 2 .

491

Th© day follow ing the speech, a Times e d i t o r i a l p red ic ted t h a t the debate

on May 22 might b© considered con­

clusive "as to the f i n a l ,

i f not e a rly success of the Fac­

tory B i l l . ”

The .Times evaluated

Macaulayfa speech.

. . . t h e most s t r i k i n g speech l a s t night as w ell fo r i t s triumphs over the tem ptations to indulge in the paradoxes of p o l i t i c a l sc ien c e, as fo r i t s d i s t i n c t and honest testimony to the r e a l r ig h ts of the q u estio n . The honorable member fo r Edin­ burgh takes h is ground on th© duty of the s ta te to secure by a l l lawful means the h e a lth and moral­ i t y of i t s members...3-46 146, The London Times. May 23, 184-6. In 1853 Macaulay reac ted favorably to his speech of 1846:

HI worked a t the Factory Speech but d id l i t t l e .

I lik e the speech amazingly. I r a th e r think t h a t i t is my 147 very b e s t . " In p a r t i a l agreement w ith the o r a to r , Beatty 147* G, 0. Trevelyan, The Life and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay, v o l. 2, p. 157. ca lle d the Ten Hours speech probably one of the s a n e s t, most lo g ic a l , and most p a tie n t speeches- of Macaulayf s c a re e r. 148 148. Richard Groom Beatty, Lord Macaulay. p. 286, The E ffe c t Of The Factor?/ Acts Of 1835 And 1847 Although th© Ten Hqut3 B i ll was never a party question because i t produced curious cro ss-v o tin g in

492

P arliam ent, i t was contemporaneous w ith tho b i l l to rep eal the Com Laws and ’’was heated w ith the f i r e s of th a t g re a t d is p u t e .”

What the Reform B i l l of 1052 was to a l l l a t e r

reform b i l l s , the Factory Acts of 1G33 and 1847 were t o the system of r e g u la tio n which l a t e r co n tro lle d a l l branches of industry,"*"49 149. G. M. Trevelyan, B r i t i s h H istory in the Nineteenth Century and A fte r, p. 248. Macaulay’s speech on the Ten Hours B i ll caused an immediate response frorn opponents to the measure as t e s t i ­ f ie d by t h e i r referen ces to his language and to h is id eas. There was a l s o a long-range e f f e c t because th© Whig p o sitio n was strengthened and P e e l’s weaknesses were rev ealed.

The

basic issue t h a t laws were necessary to guarantee th a t labo rers be tr e a te d as human beings gained slow but r e a l reco g n itio n in England• Summary

Macaulay d ire c te d the thinking of the House to an ex ploration of the p r in c ip le s , not tho d e t a i l s , of the Ten Hours B i l l .

He was not convinced th a t twelve hours of

a c tu a l labor and fo u rteen hours of occupied time fo r c h ild re n and women working in f a c t o r ie s should be Immediately reduced to te n hours, but he was concerned w ith the need fo r

495 recognizing t h a t l e g i s l a t i o n was needed to safeguard the h e a lth and morals of tho E nglish people.

The Im plications

of t h i s assumption were important because in many In d u strie s the la b o r of a d u lts would a ls o be c u r t a i l e d . The Ten Hours B i l l cut across party lin e s and was contemporaneous w ith and Influenced by the heated debates on the Corn* Laws*

The opponents of Ashley's measure accused

the supporters who were a ls o f r e e - tr a d e r s of being incon­ siste n t,

How was i t possible* they asked* to argue a g a in st

government in te rfe re n c e in the case of importation of g ra in and y et i n t e r f e r e between manufacturer and lab o rer? Macaulay, in agreement w ith John S tu art M ill, was compelled to r e i n t e r p r e t Adam Smithes concept of the l a i s s e z f a ir e policy*

In 1831 Macaulay held th a t the government

should p r o te c t property and personal freedom only.

I t was

apparent th a t by 1846 he r e a liz e d the expediency of recog­ nizing the temper of the times so th a t he added the areas of h e a lth and m orality to the r e s p o n s i b ilit y of government. Even Smith, he argued, would not object to in t e r f e r i n g with trade which a f f e c te d higher than commercial in te re s ts *

As

in previous speeches, Macaulay believed in compromise and s u itin g l e g i s l a t i o n to the changing tim es. He was a ls o undoubtedly influenced by the humani­ ta r i a n p rin c ip le s which were sweeping England*

He argued,

494

th e re fo r e , t h a t s o c ia l l e g i s l a t i o n was needed to improve man so t h a t whatever man produced would be improved*,

The s tre n g th

of England, he m aintained, depended upon stro n g and educated men.

Although Macaulay displayed genuine sympathy w ith suf­

fe rin g and a h a tre d of oppression, he urged gradualism in reducing the hours of fa c to ry la b o r,

Macaulay, while not

leading the th in k in g , was s e n s itiv e to the humanitarian s p i r i t of h is age.

His speech had an e f f e c t on a l l subse­

quent l e g i s l a t i o n fo r la b o r. As Peel discovered, Macaulay spent the g re a te r p a rt of his speaking time answering objections to fa c to ry l e g i s l a t i o n , p rim a rily the issue th a t the p rin c ip le s of fre e trade should not co n tro l arrangements between manufacturer and la b o r e r .

His methods of r e f u ta ti o n ; th a t i s , d e f in itio n ,

s p e c if ic in s ta n c e s , analogy, app ro p riatio n of arguments, and re d u c tio ad absurdum lo g ic a lly answered the objections to the measure.

H is to r ic a l examples helped to i l l u s t r a t e

the p r a c t i c a l n e c e s s itie s of the moment.

He used an e f f e c ­

tiv e and extended analogy of Sunday as a day of r e s t in order to defend the p rin c ip le of re g u la tin g the hours of labor by law.

By oarrying arguments of th© opposition to

t h e i r lo g ic a l conclusion, he showed how r e s u l t s would be r id ic u lo u s . His co n stru c tiv e proof of the pro p o sitio n th a t the

495 p r o s p e r ity of any country depended upon the in te llig e n c e of i t s c i t i z e n s was reasoned a p o s t e r i o r i * lie observed th at the more c i v i l i z e d and prosperous countries had pro­ gressed n o t because of n a tu ra l resources but because of t h e • in te llig e n c e of t h e i r c itiz e n s* Except f o r d ir e c tin g the a t te n t io n of Parliament to h is f a i r n e s s , h is la c k of v itu p e ra tio n , and h is freedom from p a r tis a n s h ip , he devoted l i t t l e time to securing his own r e p u ta tio n .

He did seek fo r areas of agreement in his

in tro d u cto ry remarks and granted th a t the disagreement was not in th e ends to be a tta in e d but in the means to a t t a i n them.

He appealed to the higher motives of his contempor­

a r ie s by a c c r e d itin g t o the Englishman the progress of Eng­ land*

Even th e su c cessfu l s e t t l i n g of North America he

a t tr i b u te d t o English c o l o n is ts .

Although he c a lle d a t t e n ­

tio n to stro n g E nglish pride, and sense of accomplishment, h is reasoning was supported prim arily by lo g ic a l proof* Macaulay s ta te d the questions or objections of his opponents c le a r ly and em phatically.

He even r e s ta te d

t h e i r evidence in a dramatic and n a r r a tiv e fashion*

His

r e f u ta tio n was d o v e -ta ile d so smoothly w ith his co n stru c tiv e arguments th a t the org anizatio n did not appear clum sily mechanical.

I n te r n a l summaries and s e rie s of r h e to r ic a l

questions served t o remind the members of what he had

496

accomplished a t v a rio u s stages of h is speaking. His in tr o d u c tio n which contained a statem ent of his purpose was d ir e c te d toward c o n c ilia tin g and tempering the mood of the House*

His concluding remarks, in answer

to one member who f e l t th a t the b i l l was poorly timed, su c­ ceeded i n j u s t i f y i n g hia b e l i e f in fre e trad e while encourag­ ing the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of government in in d u stry .

He did

not summarize h is reasoning but impressed upon the House the f a c t t h a t th e time was rip e fo r r e c t if y i n g both mistakes and omissions* Macaulay consciously avoided invective in Ms un­ impassioned and lo g i c a l defense of the fa c to ry worker,

His

concrete expressions and use of dialogue f o r purposes of r e s ta tin g arguments succeeded in sim plifying and dramatiz­ ing h is answers.

His use of f i r s t and second person pronouns

and fre e use of r h e t o r i c a l questions encouraged the House to th in k a c t i v e l y .

Although fig u re s of speech were r a r e , he

employed r e p e t i t i o n of words and phrases as well as balanced co n stru c tio n s to h ig h - lig h t and emphasize his conclusions# P e e l’s accu satio n th a t the membors would tr a n s f e r t h e i r admiration of Macaulay’s nb e a u tif u l language” to his argu­ ments was d isc rim in a tin g only i f he meant th a t Macaulay’s language was e f f e c tiv e and ap pro priate f o r his ideas# Macaulay's language, not g en e ra lly exaggerated nor emotionally

497

s t i r r i n g , was w e ll- s u ite d to his p a tie n t and lo g ic a l answers to a p r a c t i c a l problem* Opponents of the b i l l devoted much of t h e i r speak­ ing time to Macaulay’s arguments.

Not only did Macaulay

consider h is speech on the Ten Hours B i l l one of h is b e s t, but sup po rters and opponents of the measure were impol3.ed to comment on h is b r i l l i a n t and e f f e c tiv e d ebating.

Although

a f t e r a lengthy d eb ate, the Ten Hours B i ll was defeated by ten votes in 1846, the follow ing sessio n i t was c a rr ie d .

His

speech which explored the p rin c ip le of l e g i s l a t i n g fo r work­ ers proved h e lp fu l to those who l a t e r argued fo r extending the Factory A cts,

The underlying p rin c ip le of the long-

debated Ten Hours B i ll had an e f f e c t which can be seen in the more complete code f o r the p ro te c tio n of labo r in the tw en tieth century.

498

Chapter 71

THE SPEAKER E valuatin g from C h e s te r f ie ld ’ 3 p oin t of view th a t "Education more than n atu re i s the cause of th a t d iffe re n ce you see in the c h a ra c te r of men,” what f a c to rs of environ­ ment , home t r a i n i n g , ed u catio n , and speaking performances co n trib u ted t o Macaulay’s success as a Parliam entary speaker? His Speech 'train in g His Mental Acuity C ertain n a tu ra l a b i l i t i e s and habits of work a s ­ sured Macaulay’s ta k in g advantage of h is environment and his formal education*

There i s evidence th a t nature had given

him e x c e p tio n a l mental acuity*

His fam ily, asto nish ed by

the o ld e st son ’s p re c o c ity , t r i e d to keep from sp o ilin g him* When a servant a c c id e n ta lly s p i l l e d hot coffee on Macaulay’s legs when he was only four years old, the hostess com­ m iserated w ith the child*

He is alleg ed to have r e p lie d ,

"Thank you, madam, the agony is abated®" 1 .

His mother s ta te d

0* Trevelyan, The Life and L e tte rs of Lord Macaulay* Harper and B ro th e rs, New o r k , v o l 1, 1876, p. 40•

Gr*

th a t when he was e ig h t young Macaulay had w ritte n a u n iv e rsa l

499

h is t o r y from c r e a tio n to th© p resen t time* he was a ls o enjo y in g S cott *s p oetry.

At t h i s p erio d

Throughout Ms l i f e

h© was a c c r e d ite d w ith reading books f a s t e r than o th er people skimmed them and of skimming them f a s t e r than others could turn the le a v e s . 2

Hannah More* observing him when ho was

2. I b i d . . pp. 42-61, f ifte e n * commented upon h is pr©cocity. . . . t h e q u a n tity of reading th a t Tom has poured In* and the q u a n tity of w ritin g h© has poured o u t, is a s t o n i s h i n g . . .His fin© promise of mind expands more and more, and* what Is extraordinary* he has as much accuracy in h is expression as s p i r i t and v iv a c ity in h is im a g in a tio n .. 3. L e tte r s of Hannah More to Zachary Macaulay, Arther Roberts, ©d.* R. C arter and brother* Mew fork* 1860. Although some of the anecdotes concerning Macaulay’s pre­ co city may be exaggerated* evidence of h is reading and in ­ te r n a l evidence from speeches and w ritin g s in d ic ate th a t he had exceptional mental a c u ity . Ills Phenomenal Memory I t was g en erally recognized th a t Macaulay possessed a phenomenal memory.

He once remarked t fiat i f a l l copies

of P aradise Lost and P ilg rim ’s Progress were destroyed th a t

500 be