recognise them as independent States-a measure which was looked upon as a great step in the direction of Liberalism. Later on, Canning became prime minister, in which position his last act was to settle a treaty between Great Britain, France, and Russia, with the view of putting a stop to the cruel warfare carried on by the Turks in Greece, which had risen against their yoke. The hope that the object of the treaty would be attained without fighting was not realized, for the Allied fleets and those of the Turks and Egyptians came unexpectedly to a battle in the port of Navarino (October 20, 1827), where the Turkish fleet was in great part destroyed. 4. Free Trade.-A marked change was also coming over commercial policy. The general belief had hitherto been that trade ought to be controlled and directed by law, so as to force it into those channels which were thought most advantageous to the nation or to particular classes who were strong enough to secure their own interests. Thus the importation of foreign wrought silks was forbidden, and heavy duties were laid on raw and thrown silk, with the idea of promoting the silk manufacture at home. In the wool-trade there was a constant struggle between the sheep-owners, who wished to keep out foreign wool and to export their own, and the manufacturers, who wanted free import, and prohibition of exports, so as to keep the woollen manufacture in their own hands. Then there were Navigation Acts, intended to promote the employment of British merchant-ships, and as much as possible to keep out foreign ships. There was however a growing belief in the advantage of Free trade-that is, of leaving trade to take its natural course unchecked, and much was done towards establishing such a a system by William Huskisson, who in 1823 became President of the Board of Trade. In that year he obtained the passing of an Act for enabling the King in Council to place the shipping of foreign states on the same footing with British shipping, provided that similar privileges were given to British ships in the ports of such states. He next succeeded in doing away with the prohibitions on the importation of silk manufactures, and in reducing the duties on silk. The prohibitions on the exportation of wool were also discontinued, and the duties on its importation were reduced. In 1828, when Huskisson was Secretary of State for the Colonies, a corn law was passed, which allowed free importation of grain, upon payment of duties decreasing as the price rose, and increasing as it fell. 5. "Catholic Emancipation."—In 1828 an Act was passed repealing so much of the Corporation and Test Acts as required persons taking office to communicate according to the rites of the Church of England. This was a concession to the Protestant Dissenters, and it was soon followed up by the chief measure of this reign-the "Catholic Emancipation Act." Till the reign of George III., Roman Catholics remained subject to penal laws of such severity that the great lawyer Blackstone could find no better defence for them than that they were seldom put in force. By later statutes many of these restrictions and penalties were removed from those Roman Catholics who would take a certain prescribed oath, and at last, in 1817, all grades in the army and navy were practically opened to them. From both Houses of Parliament, and from certain offices, franchises, and civil rights, they were still shut out by the oath of supremacy, and by the declarations required against transubstantiation, the invocation of saints, and the sacrifice of the mass. On the Union with Ireland, Pitt virtually pledged himself to remove these disabilities; but as George III. made it a point of conscience to refuse to entertain such a measure, nothing was done during that King's reign. Canning likewise was known to be in favour of the "emancipation" of the Roman Catholics; but their hopes were cast down by his death in 1827, and early in the following year the Duke of Wellington and Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Peel, who were both opposed to the Roman Catholic claims, became the chief advisers of the Crown. In Ireland a "Catholic Association" had been formed, which busied itself in stirring up public opinion on this subject. Its leader was Daniel O'Connell, a Roman Catholic barrister of great eloquence and influence with his countrymen. The power of the Association was shown in 1828 by the election of O'Connell to a seat in Parliament. The ministry now felt it necessary to bring in a bill for admitting Roman Catholics to Parliament, to all civil and military offices and places of trust or profit under the Crown (except those of Regent, Lord Chancellor in Great Britain and Ireland, and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and a few others), and to corporate offices, upon their taking an oath to support the existing institutions of the State, and not to injure those of the Church. The Duke of Wellington avowed in the House of Lords that he had brought forward this measure in order to avert civil war. He knew, he said, what civil war was, and he would sacrifice anything to avoid even one month of such strife in his own country. Bitter were the reproaches that the extreme Tories cast upon the Duke and his colleague Peel for thus yielding. The Earl of Winchilsea in particular published a letter in which he used expressions reflecting so unfavourably upon Wellington's honour as a statesman that, according to the custom of the time, a duel took place between the two. The Duke fired and missed, and the Earl discharged his pistol in the air. The Bill was passed through Parliament, and on the 13th April, 1829, received the royal assent. 6. Death of George IV.-King George IV., who passed the latter years of his life in seclusion, died at Windsor Castle, June 26, 1830. During his reign the laws relating to the trial and punishment of offences were consolidated and amended, the penalties being generally made less severe. The Metropolitan Police Force, which greatly increased the security of London, was established in 1829 by Peel, who was at that time Secretary of State for Home Affairs. For about two years, from 1824 to 1826, the English in India were at war with their neighbours the Burmese, each side having gradually extended their possessions till they met. The war ended successfully for the British, who gained some territory thereby. George IV. was succeeded by his brother William Henry, Duke of Clarence. CHAPTER XLIII. WILLIAM IV. William IV.; the Reform Bill; new party names (1)— Abolition of Slavery (2)-death of King William; Hanover separated from Great Britain (3)—amendment of the Poor Law; reform of Municipal Corporations; East India Company (4)—burning of the Houses of Parliament (5)-railways; Stephenson (6). 1. William IV., 1830-1837. The Reform Bill.-William, Duke of Clarence, who had passed his early life in the navy, came to the throne in troublous times. Soon after his accession, revolutions in France and the Netherlands disquieted Europe; while at home rick-burning and machine-breaking spread alarm through the southern agricultural counties, and the great question of Parliamentary Reform was pressing for immediate consideration. The system of parliamentary representation had long stood in need of reform. New towns had sprung up, but they were unrepresented; ancient but decayed boroughs, containing perhaps seven, six, or even one elector, still returned members. Such was the borough of Gatton, where there were but seven householders to exercise the right of voting; and that of Old Sarum, where a single elector, the keeper of an alehouse, went through the form of choosing two members to represent himself in Parliament. The property in such boroughs was, in the majority of instances, in the hands of some one large owner, by whom the elections were controlled, and whose influence and nomination were notoriously bought and sold; electoral rights were various, and in many towns a small corporation, open to control and corruption, exclusively possessed them. Thus at Bath, where the inhabitants were numerous, only the mayor, aldermen, and common-councilmen had votes; at Buckingham, only the bailiff and twelve burgesses. These and such as these were the close boroughs, or as they were more popularly termed, the rotten boroughs. One great peer had eleven members in the House of Commons-that is to say, there were eleven boroughs which sent up as their representatives whomsoever he chose to name. "What right," asked Sydney Smith, the wit of the Liberal party, "has this lord or that marquess to buy ten seats in Parliament in the shape of boroughs, and then to make laws to govern me?" As early as the Civil Wars, the defects of the representative system had been perceived by far-sighted men; and Oliver Cromwell's Parliaments had been elected on a reformed system, many petty boroughs being disfranchised, and representatives being given to Manchester, Leeds, and Halifax, which were then growing into importance. But after Cromwell's death the old system was silently restored. Among the politicians who saw the necessity of improving upon this state of things were the two Pitts, the younger of whom had three times brought forward plans of reform. But it was not until 1816 that, |