— Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington, a conviction that a measure of relief could no longer be withheld, it was with extreme difficulty that they obtained his assent to its introduction. After he had given his consent, he retracted, and again yielded it: attempted to deny, or explain it away to his anti-Catholic advisers:-complained of his ministers, and claimed the pity of his friends. "If I do give my assent," said he, "I'll go to the baths abroad, and from thence to Hanover: I'll return no more to England . . . . I'll return no more: let them get a Catholic king in Clarence." Such had once been the threat of the stout old king, who, whatever his faults, at least had firmness and strength of will. But the king who now uttered these feeble lamentations, found solace in his trouble, by throwing his arms round the neck of the aged Eldon.2 And again, in imitation of his father, — having assented to the passing of the Act, which he had deliberately authorized his ministers to carry, - he gratified his animosity against those who had supported it, particularly the peers and bishops, - by marked incivility at his levée; while he loaded with attentions, those who had distinguished themselves by opposition to the government.3 - which the This concession to the Roman Catholics, ablest statesmen of all parties concurred in supporting, – had already been delayed for thirty years, by the influence of the Crown. Happily this influence had now fallen into weaker hands; or it might still have prevailed over wiser counsels, and the grave interests of the state. Hitherto we have seen the influence of the Crown invariably exercised against a liberal policy; and often Reign of Wilagainst the rights and liberties of the people. the earlier years of the reign of William IV. presented the But liam IV. cese, 8th May, 1827; Duke of Buckingham's Memoirs of George IV., ii. 324; Gentleman's Magazine, xcvii. 457. 1 Peel's Mem., i. 274, &c. ; and see Chapter XII., on Civil and Religious Liberty. 2 Twiss's Life of Eldon, iii. 82-87. Peel's Mem., i. 343-350. 8 Twiss's Life of Eldon, iii. 88. novel spectacle of the prerogatives and personal influence of the king being exerted, in a great popular cause, on behalf of the people. At various times, small expediHis support of parliamen- ents had been tried with a view to restrain the tary reform. influence of the Crown; but the Reform Bill, by increasing the real power of the people in the House of Commons, was the first great measure calculated to effect that object; and this measure, it was everywhere proclaimed that the king himself approved. The ministers themselves announced his Majesty's entire confidence in their policy, and his determination to support them;1 and the advocates of the cause, in every part of the country, declared that the king was on their side. Yet, in truth, the attitude of the king in regard to this measure, at first resembled that which his royal predecessors had maintained against a progressive policy. When ministers first proposed to introduce it, he regarded it with dislike and apprehension: he dreaded the increasing influence and activity of the Commons, and,-alarmed by the spirit in which they had investigated the expenditure of his civil list, he feared lest, strengthened by a more popular representation, they should encroach upon his own prerogatives and independence. The royal family and the court were also averse to the measure, and to the ministers. But when his Majesty had given his consent to the scheme submitted by the cabinet, he was gratified by its popularity,-in which he largely shared, and which its supporters adroitly contrived to associate with his Majesty's personal character, and supposed political sympathies. He was still distrustful of his ministers and their policy; yet while the tide of popular favor was running high, and no political danger was immediately impending, he gave them his support and countenance. On their side, they were 1 At the Lord Mayor's Dinner, Easter Monday, 1831. Twiss's Life of Eldon, iii. 126. 2 Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 27, 28. not slow to take advantage of the influence of his name they knew that it would be a tower of strength to their cause; and, sensible of the insecurity of his favor, they took care that it should be widely proclaimed, as long as it lasted. Politicians like Lord Eldon, who, for forty years, had relied upon the influence of the Crown to resist every popular measure,- even when proposed by its own responsible ministers, were now scandalized by this "unconstitutional' cry. Yet what did this cry, in truth, import? The state of parties in Parliament, and of popular feeling in the country, had brought into the king's service, a ministry pledged to the cause of Parliamentary reform. To this ministry he had given his confidence. George III., by some bold stroke or cunning manoeuvre, would soon have set himself free from such a ministry. George IV., after giving a doubtful assent to their policy, would have reserved his confidence and his sympathies for their opponents; but William IV. at this time, took a part at once manly and constitutional. His responsible ministers had advised the passing of a great measure, and he had accepted their advice. They were now engaged in a fierce parliamentary struggle; and the king gave them,what they were entitled to expect, - his open confidence. So long as they enjoyed this confidence, he exercised his prerogatives and influence according to their counsels. His powers were used in the spirit of the constitution, not independently, or secretly, but on the avowed advice and responsibility of his ministers. - 1831. The king was called upon, at a critical period, to. exercise his prerogative of dissolving Parliament. In Dissolution of 1831, a new Parliament was yet in its first session; but having been assembled under the auspices of the late administration, before the popular feelings in favor of Parliamentary reform had been aroused, it had become evident that a reform ministry, and this Parliament, could not exist together. The ministers, having been twice defeated in 1 Twiss's Life of Eldon, iii. 126. three days,1 had no alternative but to resign their offices, or to appeal from the House of Commons to the people; and they urged the necessity of an immediate dissolution. The time was full of peril, and the king hesitated to adopt the bold advice of his ministers; but when at length he yielded his assent, the prerogative was exercised at once, and by the king in person. If there was something unseemly in the haste with which this was done, and unusual in the manner of doing it, the occasion was one demanding the promptest action. Lord Wharncliffe had given notice of a motion for an address to the king, remonstrating against a dissolution, and his motion was actually under discussion in the House of Lords, when the king arrived to prorogue Parliament. Both houses would probably have joined in such an address, had time been allowed them, and would have interposed embarrassing obstacles to the exercise of the king's prerogative. By this sudden appeal to the people, ministers at once deprived their opponents of the vantage-ground of parliamentary opposition. Second Reform Bill, 1831. The dissolution resulted in an overpowering majority of the new House of Commons, in favor of the government Reform Bill. And now the House of Lords, exercising its constitutional right, rejected it. So important a measure was trying all the powers of the state, to their utmost tension. The popular excitement was so great that it was impossible for ministers to yield. The king still upheld them, and the Commons supported them by a vote of confidence. All the political forces of the country were thus combined against the House of Lords. After a short prorogation, a third Reform Bill was passed 1 First, on General Gascoigne's amendment, 19th April, and afterwards on a question of adjournment, 21st April. 2 For an account of the interview between the king and Lords Grey and Brougham, see Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 149, et seq. 8 Hansard's Debates, 3d Ser., iii. 1806; Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 152; Ann. Register, 1831, p. 110. creation of peers. 8th by the Commons. The position of the Lords was now too perilous not to cause some wavering; and the second Third Reform reading of the bill was accordingly agreed to, by Bill, 1831-32. the small majority of nine. This concession, however, was followed by an adverse vote in committee. A graver question of prerogative had now to be considered. An appeal from the House of Commons to the people had Proposed been decisive; but what appeal was there from the House of Lords? None, save to the Crown, May, 1832. to which that body owed its existence. A creation of peers was the ultima ratio, which, after serious doubts and misgivings, ministers submitted to the king. His Majesty's resolution had already been shaken by the threatening aspect of affairs, and by the apprehensions of his family and court; and he, not unnaturally, shrank from so startling an exercise of his prerogative. The ministers resigned, and the Commons addressed the king, praying him to call such persons only to his councils, as would promote the passing of the Reform Bill.2 The Duke of Wellington having failed to form a government, ready to devise a measure of reform at once satisfactory to the people and to the House of Lords, the ministers were recalled. Influence of the peers. Another pressure was now brought to bear upon the House of Lords, irregular and unconstitutional indeed, but necessary to avert revolution on the the king over one hand, and to save the peers from harsh coercion, on the other. The king having at length agreed to create a sufficient number of peers to carry the bill,3 — yet anxious to avoid so extreme a measure, averted the dangers of a great political crisis, by a timely interference. Some of the most violent peers were first dissuaded from proceeding to extremities; and on the 17th May, the following circular letter was addressed, without the knowledge of ministers, to the opposition peers: 1 Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 222-227, 281. 2 See also Chapters V. and VI. 8 Roebuck's Hist. of the Whig Ministry, ii. 331. |