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COMING EVENTS-GLADSTONE ADVANCES.

time were immediately suggestive, if not of those "leaps and bounds" by which in some respects progress was afterward achieved, at least of extensions in what many cautious politicians regarded as doubtful and dangerous directions.

As we have already hinted, there were probably no more significant manifestations of the "new departure," as it would now be called, than the attitude of Mr. Gladstone in relation to three measures which had been proposed, but had not been adopted by parliament.

One of these was the introduction by Sir Morton Peto of what was known as "The Dissenters' Burial Bill," which was intended to enable Nonconformists to observe their own ceremonies and religious services at the funerals of members of their own communion in the "consecrated" graveyards of the Church of England. Mr. Disraeli was against it. Lord Robert Cecil was in the front to oppose it, and so was Mr. Gathorne Hardy, who was afterwards to be the chosen representative of Oxford when Mr. Gladstone had gone beyond the political ring-fence of the venerable university. Did Mr. Gladstone, when he rose to support that bill, foresee the probability of his being deserted by the constituency to represent whom had been his high ambition and his just pride? There can be little doubt that he did. He could not, however, oppose the second reading of the proposed measure. Some parts of it were open to objection, "but," said he, "I do not see that there is sufficient reason, or indeed any reason at all, why, after having granted, and most properly granted, to the entire community the power of professing and practising what form of religion they please during life, you should say to themselves or their relatives when dead, 'We will at the last lay our hands upon you, and not permit you to enjoy the privilege of being buried in the churchyard, where, perhaps, the ashes of your ancestors repose, or at anyrate in the place of which you are parishioners, unless you appear there as members of the Church of England, and as members of that church have her service read over your remains.' That appears to me an inconsistency and an anomaly in

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the present state of the law, and is in the nature of a grievance."

If a season of prosperity and comparative tranquillity is favourable to the promotion of those measures which are mostly associated with social and political progress, the years 1864 and 1865 were remarkable as offering peculiar opportunities for the introduction of reforms, which, however, were not realized for some time afterwards when the conditions were less assuring. It would seem that political advances, at anyrate, are not to be decided without the impetus which is derived from public agitation, and popular agitation is scarcely to be incited except by the goad that is furnished by suffering or by indignation. In 1864 and the following year attempts to introduce measures of reform in the representation of the country in parliament were not successful. It was known that there must soon be a dissolution of parliament, and neither inside nor outside the house was it thought probable that the Palmerston government would be defeated before that event. The Palmerston ministry would in all likelihood carry on the work till 1865 was provided for, and then-well, perhaps some people said "then the deluge," of course without foreseeing that in some sort the following year, 1866, was to be marked by turmoil, loss, outrage, and such general disturbance of the commercial and social fabric, as may stand for deluge when the language of metaphor is employed. But in the opening of the sessions of 1864 and 1865 the most interesting subjects for consideration were still the financial schemes and statements of the chancellor of the exchequer. Palmerston himself had referred to them at the critical moment when he sought to shelter the ministry from hostile attacks on its foreign policy, and the country looked forward to them with genuine interest as expositions of its commercial stability and indications of future prosperity. And there was reason for taking this view of the statements made by a financier who, even under adverse circumstances, had on former occasions brought assurance to the public mind, and had now to point to increasing benefits derived

from a policy of which he had been one of the strongest supporters. The budget of 1864 showed that "the effect of twenty years of free-trade legislation, inaugurated by Sir Robert Peel in 1842, and carried on by his successors in office, had been such that, concurrently with the repeal of a long catalogue of duties and imposts which had previously fettered manufacturers, and excluded most valuable foreign products, the finances of the country presented an aspect of abundance and stability almost without precedent in our history, and to which no foreign country could offer a comparison. In point of wealth and national credit, indeed, England stood almost alone at this time amongst the nations of the world."

In the two previous years we had been suffering from a deficient harvest, and much distress prevailed both in Ireland and in Lancashire. There had been considerable improvement, but not enough to make the outlook entirely favourable. Still the figures which had to be submitted were encouraging. The revenue of the year was £70,003,561, showing a surplus of nearly £3,000,000; but from this was to be taken the expenditure on fortifications, viz. £800,000. Deducting this from the surplus, it still stood at a large figure. The real diminution of taxes in the three last years had been £6,638,000. The revenue had decreased by only £1,760,000, so that, taking reduction of taxation into consideration, it had actually increased, in round numbers, by £5,000,000. The revenue had grown since the year 1859 at the rate of £1,200,000, and since 1853 still over the rate of a million per annum. With regard to the liquidation of debt, a million of exchequer bonds had been paid off, and other liquidations of the capital of the debt had been effected, which amounted to upwards of three millions. For terminable annuities in liquidation of debt £1,400,000 had been paid. The decrease in the national debt since 1855 had been £69,000,000. Imports and exports had so enormously increased that they were about three times the amount which they had reached in 1842, when the great financial reform of Sir Robert Peel had commenced. The total

exports had been £195,000,000—the exports and imports together represented a gross sum of £444,905,000, and it was shown that the increase in various years corresponded with the adoption of measures for the promotion of free-trade. Our total imports from France had more than doubled since 1859, while our exports thither had risen from about £9,000,000 to about £22,000,000. It was well to hear that this was the financial condition of the country during the time that one of our great industries was feeling the pinch of the American war, and the estimates were all reassuring; the total calculated revenue was £69,460,000, and the total expenditure £66,890,000—yielding a surplus of £2,570,000. A sum of £10,000, however, would be required for various minor changes and modifications; and the surplus left to dispose of would be £2,560,000. With this Mr. Gladstone proposed to take off a penny a pound from the income-tax, the existence of which as a permanent duty he believed was inconsistent with the achievement of a judicious public economy. With the remaining surplus the duty on fire insurance would be reduced from three shillings to one and sixpence so far as stock in trade was concerned. It was afterwards agreed to remit so much of the duty on malt as had hitherto been levied upon malt used as food for cattle.

In the same year Mr. Gladstone succeeded in introducing a measure which was well worthy of his financial ability, and has since been of immense benefit to that thrifty and prudent class among the population, which quickly learns how to profit by any real facilities afforded them for making some provision for the future. The scheme for enabling persons to purchase small annuities through the post-office savings-banks, and also to take out policies of life assurance with the government, aroused remarkable opposition, especially among the friendly societies and those who supported their claims. As a matter of fact it offered to the poor the advantage of a safe investment, though the rates for life insurance were not such as to compete with those of many of the insurance companies. The bill passed amidst the approval of a large number

FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.

of those for whom its benefits were intended, and the continued success of the scheme was afterwards shown by the steadily increasing applications for life-policies and the purchase of small deferred annuities by people who, but for the assurance of government security, might never have made an effort to obtain these advantages.

The commercial prosperity of the country continued to be so satisfactory that the chancellor of the exchequer was able to make a still more satisfactory statement when introducing the budget in 1865, the last year of that parliament, and therefore a time of general excitement in view of the coming elections. When that parliament first met (as Mr. Gladstone said in his introductory remarks upon the financial condition of the country) we had been engaged in a costly and difficult war with China the harvest of the succeeding year was the worst that had been known for half a century-the recent experience of war had led to costly, extensive, and somewhat uncertain reconstructions; and the condition of the Continent and the manner in which the Italian war had terminated had occasioned vague but serious alarms in the public mind, which was now tranquil and reassured. The financial history of the parliament had been a remarkable one. It had raised a larger revenue than at any period, whether of peace or war, was ever raised by taxation. After taking into account the changes in the value of money within an equal time, the expenditure of the parliament had been upon a scale that had never before been reached in time of peace. The amount and variety of the changes introduced into our financial legislation had been greater than within a like number of years at any formertime. The assembly also enjoyed the distinction that, although no parliament ever completed the full term of its legal existence, yet this was the seventh time on which that house had been called upon to make provision for the financial exigencies of the country.

The expenditure for the financial year was estimated at £66,139,000, which was considerably less than that of the previous year; while the estimated revenue was £70,170,000, thus leaving a surplus of £4,031,000. This provided

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not only for some minor changes, but for the two important reductions of the tea duty and the income-tax. The former was reduced to sixpence in the pound, which would reduce the price to the consumer by 20 per cent, a loss to the revenue of about £2,375,000, so much of which would be recouped by the probable increase of consumption that the falling off of revenue from that source would be computed at £1,808,000.

The income-tax was already at the lowest point it had ever reached, but it was proposed to reduce it from sixpence to fourpence in the pound. This would reduce the tax to £5,200,000, and its final adjustment, Mr. Gladstone observed, might be dealt with by the new parliament, but if it was thought desirable to retain the income-tax, fourpence in the pound was the rate at which it might well be kept in time of peace. The reductions on tea and income-tax represented £3,518,000, which left a margin for the reduction of the duty on fire insurance to one and sixpence, while the shilling duty on policies would be replaced by a penny stamp, and a penny stamp for the receipt. The total reduction of taxation would be £5,420,000.

These statements were regarded with general satisfaction throughout the country, especially as the expenditure on the army and navy had been sensibly diminished; nor was any serious opposition offered by the house, so that the bill passed with very little delay. It was a fitting conclusion to a series of brilliant financial measures by a minister who was soon to occupy a more prominent position in regard to the views with which "advanced Liberals" had become identified.

The County Franchise Bill proposed by Mr. Locke King in April, 1864, was thrown out on the second reading, having been opposed by Lord Palmerston, who resisted what he called organic changes, for which he declared there did not exist the same anxiety that had been observable some time before. Organic changes, he said, were introduced more as a means than as an end, the end being great improvements in the whole of our commercial legislation. All such changes as were desirable had been effected as the result of our organic re

forms, and there was therefore much less desire for further innovations. The events which were taking place in other countries, being to a great extent the result of their constitutional systems, had made the people of this country much less anxious for change.

Lord Palmerston had undoubtedly reached the stage when "rest and be thankful," though not quite in the sense that Mr. Bernal Osborne afterwards used it, is the motto most likely to be adopted; but his opinions on the subject of further measures of reform were not shared by some of his colleagues-certainly not by Mr. Gladstone. About a month afterwards this was made conspicuously evident during the debate on Mr. Baines's bill for lowering the franchise in boroughs. This, like the proposal of Mr. Locke King, had frequently been before the house, and though it had not been accepted, there was a general feeling that it indicated reform in a direction to which attention must soon be turned. That Mr. Gladstone should already be looking that way was not surprising, but few members of the house had expected that he would give so decided a support to the proposed measure, or that he would so unmistakably express his dissent from the propositions laid down by Lord Palmerston. He was of opinion that there should be a considerable addition to the numbers of the working-classes who were in possession of the franchise.

"We are told," he said, "that the workingclasses don't agitate; but is it desirable that we should wait until they do agitate? In my opinion agitation by the working-classes upon any political subject whatever is a thing not to be waited for, not to be made a condition previous to any parliamentary movement, but, on the contrary, is to be deprecated, and, if possible, prevented by wise and provident measures. An agitation by the workingclasses is not like an agitation by the classes above them having leisure. The agitation of the classes having leisure is easily conducted. Every hour of their time has not a money value; their wives and children are not dependent on the application of those hours of labour. When a working man finds himself in such a condition that he must abandon that

daily labour on which he is strictly dependent for his daily bread, it is only because then, in railway language, the danger signal is turned on, and because he feels a strong necessity for action, and a distrust of the rulers who have driven him to that necessity. The present state of things, I rejoice to say, does not indicate that distrust; but if we admit that, we must not allege the absence of agitation on the part of the working-classes as a reason why the parliament of England and the public mind of England should be indisposed to entertain the discussion of this question." Mr. Gladstone denied that there was any essential reason for drawing a marked distinction between the middle class and a select portion of the working-classes, so far as related to the exercise of the franchise. He advocated the extension of the franchise on the ground that it would tend to advance that unity of classes which was now in progress throughout the country.

This speech caused a flutter among halfhearted Liberals, and it was felt that such a decided expression of opinion denoted approaching changes, in spite of Lord Palmerston's declarations. The effect on the country was considerable, while among the electors at Oxford a large number began to regard such utterances with a degree of distrust, which was deepened when in the following year their representative, instead of denouncing any interference with the Established Episcopal Church in Ireland, seemed to admit that the time would arrive when some interposition of the government would be necessary.

The country at large did not, perhaps, attach much immediate importance to the remarks made by the chancellor of the exchequer in the debate which arose at the end of March, 1865, on Mr. Dillwyn's motion; but the electors of the university regarded these utterances with grave suspicion.

Mr. Dillwyn had proposed "that the present position of the Irish Church establishment is unsatisfactory, and calls for the early attention of her majesty's government." The motion was opposed by Sir George Grey, who declared that the government was not prepared to bring forward a measure calculated to produce the

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