OF THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND TO 1881 Chronologically arranged BY ARTHUR H. DYKE ACLAND, M.A. STEWARD OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD AND CYRIL RANSOME, M.A. PROFESSOR OF MODERN LITERATURE AND HISTORY, YORKSHIRE COLLEge, leeds KIOTHECA MAR 1882 GODLEIANA RIVINGTONS WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON MDCCCLXXXII gab. k. 507. PREFACE. It is hoped that this little book may be found useful to those who are interested in English Politics, and to the general reader of English History and Political Biography. It may tend to give clearness and exactness of outline where, for those who have not unusually good memories, there may be an occasional haziness. As a companion to larger books, it may supply in a small space information which is not always readily at hand. We believe, also, that those who are specially interested in the politics of the last half century, may find here, within moderate limits, an adequate statement of the more important facts. The method of arrangement alone can be called original. The facts are the common property of all who read or write about history. To verify these facts, however, a good deal of trouble has been taken, and in the very many cases where historians differ as to their account of an event, or as to the date given for it, we have tried, by going to the sources of history, to ascertain the truth. Except where we have through inadvertence made absolute mistakes, it may be assumed that both the form of expression used and the date assigned have been chosen after some careful study, though in a work of this kind it has not been possible to explain the reasons of our choice. The right-hand page alone of Part I. contains the continuous outline of events arranged in chronological order. On the left is a selection of foreign and colonial events, as well as various notes and quotations, to the number of which the reader may add considerably, in the blank spaces, by notes and observations of his own. The Summaries which are contained in Part II. are collections of events arranged for clearness' sake, in their own connection, under various selected heads, such as |