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speedily as possible. On his arrival in England their leader was created lord Napier of Magdala, and received an annuity of £2,000.

In November, 1868, the existing parliament expired. Its last act of importance was that relating to the purchase of the electric telegraphs by the government. A new parliament was elected in December, under the recently-passed reform bill, and, as was to be expected, exhibited a large liberal majority. The tory ministry forthwith resigned before it met, and Mr. Gladstone became prime minister. The first important measure brought forward was for the disestablishment of the Irish church, a measure which seemed to be demanded by the state of that country.

Disaffection, under the name of Fenianism, had long existed, with occasional outbreaks against the British authorities and government. At Drogheda, a party of 1,000 Fenians attacked the police and 40 were taken prisoners, but the penalty of death was not inflicted on any. At Manchester the police van which was conveying two men, Kelly and Deasy, to gaol under this charge, was attacked, on September 18th, by an armed body of between 40 and 50 Irishmen, the horses were killed, and the policeman (named Brett), who had refused to give up the keys of the cells, was shot dead. Five Irishmen were indicted for his murder, and three were eventually hanged. About the same time an attempt was made to rescue two suspected Fenians by blowing up the wall of the Clerkenwell house of detention. The plan failed, but caused great destruction amongst the neighbouring dwellings of the poor. In March, 1868, the duke of Edinburgh was shot at and wounded at Sydney, in Australia, by a fanatical Fenian. All these acts, combined with continued riots and outrages in Ireland, evinced the most serious state of sedition amongst the Irish population, and enforced the consideration of speedy legislation.

Mr. Gladstone had already succeeded in passing a measure for the disestablishment of the Irish church through the last house of commons; but it had been rejected by the house of lords, and therefore postponed for another parliament. He now submitted a revised bill for the complete severance of the, Protestant church in Ireland from the state government, and for the commutation of its endowments and all vested interests into annuities or money. The innumerable details and intricacies of so vast

a measure, involving numerous diverse interests, were stated by Mr. Gladstone with great lucidity, and the large liberal majority passed it easily through the house of commons. In the house of lords it was strenuously opposed; but the good sense of the majority of the peers allowed it to pass with some few amendments. Another great act devised for the satisfaction of the claims of the sister kingdom was the Irish land act, by which the tenure of land was reformed, and certain claims of the small holders to vested interests in their farms, which prevailed especially in Ulster, were duly considered and legalized. This act was passed in 1870, and the same year witnessed the great and beneficial enactment known as the elementary education act, by which the education of the children of the poor was made compulsory throughout Great Britain. Its enforcement was committed to local school-boards, elected by ballot, which were called into existence, and entrusted with powers for compelling attendance at schools wherever the existing educational machinery was defective. Great difficulties were experienced in satisfying the varied requirements for religious instruction, a point which was eventually left optional to the boards themselves, and exempted in all cases from any legislative compulsion. Another act was passed relating to the reformation of endowed schools, including all the great educational foundations known as public and grammar schools, by which appointed commissioners were vested with powers for reforming their constitutions and rendering them more widely useful to the whole community.

In 1871 the government took in hand the reform of the army; but the bill met with so much opposition that it was withdrawn. This did not, however, prevent the carrying out of one important provision-the abolition of the system of purchase, which was disallowed by royal warrant in spite of the house of lords, who had rejected the bill. The peers passed a vote of censure on the ministry; but it was maintained that the royal warrant was constitutional, as the system of purchase existed only by royal permission, though dated from the reign of Charles II.

The house of commons also passed a ballot act providing for secret voting; but it was rejected by the house of lords. In 1872 an improved bill on the subject passed both houses.

On February 27, 1872, the queen and the prince and princess of Wales went in state to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for the recovery of the prince from a

serious illness, by which his life had been in imminent danger.

During the summer of this year public attention was occupied by the convention at Geneva for the settlement of the claims of the United States against Great Britain, of which an account will be found on p. 516. The celebrated trial, known as the Tichborne case, aroused unparalleled interest amongst all classes. A butcher from Australia claimed to be sir Roger Tichborne, a youth who was drowned at sea many years before, and as such sought to recover possession of the estates belonging to the wellknown Roman Catholic families of Tichborne and Doughty.. He was acknowledged by the mother of the missing man, and was identified by many of his former acquaintances. But after a trial lasting many months, he was shown to be an impostor, and committed for perjury. A second criminal trial on this charge necessitated the recapitulation of the former proceedings, and brought new facts to light; and it was eventually demonstrated that the claimant was Arthur Orton, the son of a Wapping butcher, who had emigrated, and, seeing advertisements for the missing Roger Tichborne, had determined to personate him, and so entered on the career of deception which he had carried on for a while with so much success. He was sentenced to penal servitude for fourteen years: the suit and prosecution cost both the Tichborne estate and the government many thousand pounds.

In 1872 attention was attracted to the Cape of Good Hope. The accidental discovery of some diamonds in the extreme northern part of the colony, bordering on the unappropriated native territories, disclosed the fact that a large diamond field existed in that region. Thousands of colonists and emigrants proceeded thither to dig, and many stones were found and brought into the market, but the influx of too many speculators speedily made the work unprofitable. The result, however, was most advantageous to the colony. An increased immigration, and consequent abundance of money, gave an impetus to all legitimate trade, and the value of property in Cape Town was greatly increased. A great political advance was made by the establishment of a responsible government, which, under the governor of the colony, made its legislature independent of the mother country.

The beginning of 1873 was clouded by strikes in the

iron trade, and by an enormously enhanced price of coal, which at one time sold for 50s. per ton; a partial paralysis of trade and commerce was threatened, and it was some months before due commercial equilibrium was regained. The most important act of the government was the introduction of a bill for reforming the higher education in Ireland, by the reconstitution of the university of Dublin, and the annexation of catholic colleges thereto. It was designed as a complement of the disestablishment and land acts for the satisfaction of the claims of the catholic population; but it was not accepted by the Roman Catholic authorities, and in consequence the ministry was defeated on its second reading by a majority of three. Mr. Gladstone thereon resigned, but, on the failure of the conservatives to make a ministry, resumed office. There were signs, however, in various parliamentary elections that a conservative reaction had taken place in the country generally, and early in the next year the prime minister advised the queen to dissolve parliament. So ended a parliament which had passed, perhaps, more great constitutional measures than any preceding one, the beneficial results of which will contribute much to the future fame of one of the most influential leaders the house of commons has known.

The result of the ensuing elections justified the dissolution, for the parliament of 1874 showed a large conservative majority. Following the precedent of the last tory ministry, the cabinet resigned, and Mr. Disraeli formed strong conservative government.

In the meantime the nation was involved in another war with barbarians, this time on the western coast of Africa. By a treaty with Holland, Great Britain had in 1870 ceded its protective rights on the Straits of Malacca, and left the Dutch free to prosecute certain demands which they made on the sultan of Atchin, whose territory adjoined their colony in the island of Sumatra, and in consequence of which they were now at war with that native potentate. The Dutch had, on their part, ceded to us all rights on the Gold Coast, including the fort of Elmina, near Cape Coast Castle. This cession had also involved us in war with the king of Ashantee, a barbarous and bloodthirsty tyrant, on account of repeated encroachments on the British territory. The government now determined to strike a decisive blow, and put an end, if possible, to the continued feud which existed between the Ashantees and

the Fantee tribes who peopled the coast and were under British protection. Unfortunately the former were a bold and warlike race, whilst our allies were worthless, from a military point of view; and the difficulties were further increased by the climate, which was exceedingly fatal to Europeans, and only allowed operations for a few months in the year. The command of the expedition was entrusted to sir Garnett Wolseley, who had previously distinguished himself in military operations on the Red River, in British North America. He now went out with a staff of English officers, with the design of organizing native and West Indian troops, and marching on Coomassie, the Ashantee capital, whilst captains Glover and Gordon co-operated with him with native levies in different lines of march; but it was found that most of the Cape Coast natives were worse than useless, and several regiments were accordingly sent from England. By January, 1874, the plan of operations was determined on, a speedy march was made on to Coomassie, about sixty miles distant from the coast. The town was reached after some fighting, in which unfortunately several English officers fell. By the fortunate approach of captain Glover, with an effective native force from districts farther east, the enemy was completely overawed. Coomassie was deserted by the king, and no little plunder fell into the hands of the troops. The column effected a speedy march back to the coast, just in time to escape the rains, which had already commenced. A treaty was made with the king of Ashantee, by which he was to pay an indemnity in gold, and forego his rights of sovereignty over several tribes bordering on the British possessions. The result was that his power was completely broken, and the colony itself relieved from his encroachments. The expedition speedily returned with all the éclat consequent upon a success greater than had been anticipated. The colony of the Gold Coast was placed under an organized government. XXIII.-France: the second empire and its downfall. On the 16th of March, 1856, the empress of the French gave birth to a prince, an event which was signalized by an amnesty extended to more than a thousand political exiles. Attacks upon the life of the emperor had been only too frequent. In 1858, Orsini and Pieri were guillotined for an attempt to destroy the emperor and empress with hand-grenades on their way to the opera.

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