FROM THE DEATH OF GEORGE THE THIRD, 1830, TO THE PRESENT TIME.
[Illustration: QUEEN VICTORIA’S VISIT TO THE CITY OF LONDON.]
1. George the Fourth, who had been regent ten years, reigned as a
king from 1820, to 1830. During that time, every improvement that
had been begun was carried to a greater extent. The education of
all classes of people was conducted on a better system, and greater
numbers of cheap books were published for the instruction of the
working classes.
2. London was greatly improved by the building, in some parts,
of wide handsome streets, in the place of narrow, dirty, crowded
ones, and the manners of the English were improved also, by their
intercourse with foreign nations; for after the peace, people began
to visit France, Italy, and other parts of Europe, while a great
number of foreigners came here, and we adopted such of their customs
as were superior to our own; for people may always improve from each
other.
3. The French, German, and Italian languages began to be more
generally studied in England: and the arts and sciences, especially
painting and music, were more highly cultivated.
4. But I am sorry to say that, amid all these benefits, there was a
great deal of distress among the laboring people, for the expenses
of the war had been so heavy that it was some years before the
blessings of peace could be felt; and thus all the necessaries of
life continued to be very dear, and wages, in proportion, very low,
which occasioned riots in many parts of the kingdom; for the poor
people had expected that, as soon as there was peace, most of the
taxes pressing on them would be taken off.
5. But the government thought it right first to take off the
property tax, and then found they could not do without the money
the other taxes produced. Then the people, not getting relief from
the taxation, thought some alterations in the laws might remedy
their distress, and sent petitions to parliament praying that these
alterations might be made. The principal thing they wanted was, what
you have perhaps heard called the Reform Bill.
6. This was a law to give the right of voting for members of
parliament to a greater number of people, and also to make
alterations with regard to the places that were allowed to send
members to parliament; for there were many old boroughs that were
formerly important places, but now had scarcely a house left
standing, yet still were represented by two members in parliament;
which was ridiculous, because the object of sending a member to
parliament is, that he may do all the good he can for the people of
the place he represents, as well as for the nation; then there were
many large towns, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, &c., that
had grown into importance since the time when it was settled what
places should have representatives, and these had none at all.
7. Another thing desired by the people, was an alteration in the
Corn Laws, so that bread might be cheaper; and this alteration was to
be made by letting corn be brought from abroad without paying duty.
Neither of these points were gained while George the Fourth was king;
but the Reform Bill was passed during the reign of his successor,
William the Fourth; and, in the year 1846, some important alterations
were made in the corn and provision laws.
8. William the Fourth was the brother of George the Fourth, and on
the death of that monarch, in 1830, succeeded to the throne.
9. That same year is memorable for the opening of the first Railway
for travelling, which was that between Manchester and Liverpool; a
circumstance that may be mentioned as the commencement of one of the
greatest changes of modern times, and when we consider the number and
extent of the railways now in use, we cannot but admire the immense
works of the kind that have been performed in so short a space of
time.
10. The speed with which we can now travel, both by sea and land,
would astonish our good old ancestors, who used to think it a great
and dangerous undertaking to set out on a journey of twenty or thirty
miles.
11. In the time of Charles the Second, the poet Cowley, who had
a country house at Chertsey, which is only twenty-two miles from
London, invited a friend in town to pay him a visit, saying in his
letter, that as he could not perform the whole journey in one day, he
might sleep at Hampton.
12. I think he would have been glad of a railway, which would have
taken him all the way before breakfast. In 1706, the stage coach
from York was four days coming to London; and so late as 1763, there
was only a coach once a month from Edinburgh to London; and it was a
whole fortnight on the road; so I think you will see the advantages
of our present mode of travelling.
13. The custom of buying and selling negroes had been abolished by
parliament during the reign of George the Third, but there were many
thousands of slaves in the West India islands, belonging to the
British planters there.
14. During the reign of William the Fourth, the British government
gave twenty millions of money to buy all the slaves of their masters
and then set them free. The day when the negroes became free people
was the first of August, 1838.
15. I told you that the Reform Bill was passed in this reign. One
consequence of this measure was, the lessening of the duties, or
taxes, on many articles of necessity, thereby reducing their prices,
so that the poor people could live much better than they had formerly.
16. The harvests were also plentiful for several years, so that bread
was very cheap, and the prices of all kinds of clothing were less
than in previous years.
17. Upon the whole, there had never been a better time in England
than the seven years that William the Fourth occupied the throne.
He died in 1837, and was succeeded by her present Majesty, queen
Victoria, who was the daughter of his deceased brother, the Duke of
Kent.
18. In 1840, she married her cousin, Prince Albert, of Saxe Coburg
and Gotha. Their family now consists of eight children, four princes,
and four princesses.
19. The most remarkable events that have yet happened in the reign of
queen Victoria, are the wars in China and India: but I ought to have
mentioned an alteration made in the last reign, with regard to the
East India trade, which you, perhaps, remember was carried on solely
by the East India Company, according to a charter granted by queen
Elizabeth, and renewed, from time to time, by other sovereigns.
20. In 1813, however, it was made lawful for private merchants to
trade to India; but this right was not extended to the trade with
China, which was still confined to the Company till 1833, when a new
law was made with regard to that also, and any person then was at
liberty to go to China for tea, silk, and other commodities, which
have since been much cheaper in consequence. Tea is little more than
half the price it used to be, which is a great benefit and comfort to
the poor.
21. But this had nothing to do with the war in China, which arose
from a dispute about the British merchants selling opium to the
Chinese, who were forbidden by their emperor to buy it, because it
injures the health of those who take it, like drinking spirits.
22. Still the merchants continued to carry opium to China, and the
people to buy it; so the governor at Canton, the only Chinese town
in which foreigners were allowed to trade, seized and burnt some
ship-loads of opium, for which he would not pay the owners; and this
was the cause of the war.
23. There were several battles fought, in which the Chinese were
always defeated, for they were not much acquainted with the present
art of war; but, at last, after three years of warfare, peace was
made with the British; and the Chinese emperor agreed to pay a sum
of money, and to cede, or give up, to the British government, the
Island of Hong Kong; besides agreeing that English ships might land
goods for sale, at five ports, instead of one only, and that British
merchants might have warehouses, and reside at those places. A treaty
to this effect was signed in August, 1842.
24. The war in India, was much more serious, and lasted a great deal
longer. It was begun for the purpose of restoring to his throne an
Indian prince, the king of Caboul, who had been deprived of his
kingdom by another prince.
25. The wars occasioned by this usurpation being likely to endanger
the safety of the British possessions, the Governor General thought
it necessary to interfere; and from the year 1839 to that of 1846,
the British armies in India were engaged in terrible and destructive
wars with the Affghans, and other nations in the north and west of
India.
26. These calamitous strifes were happily ended by two great
victories gained on the banks of the Sutlej, at the beginning of
1846, the one by General Sir Harry Smith, the other, by General Sir
Hugh Gough. By the conquests made during these wars, the British
empire is extended over the greater part of India.
27. Among the important inventions of this reign, may be mentioned
that of the Electric Telegraph, by means of which communications can
be made between places a hundred miles apart in one moment, or indeed
to any imaginable distances.
28. I have already mentioned the distressed condition of great
numbers of the Irish people; and am sorry to have now to say that
their misery has been greatly increased in the last three years, by
the failure of the potato crops, on which the lower orders in Ireland
depend for their subsistence.
29. This food they can, with two or three months labor in the year,
grow for themselves; and as they are, unfortunately, contented with
such poor living, it is a very sad thing for them when a bad season
occurs, and the potatoes are spoiled; which happens generally once in
six or seven years.
30. But there have now been three bad seasons following each other;
and this calamity has caused so much distress, that thousands have
died of fevers and other diseases, occasioned by want of wholesome
and sufficient food.
31. The Parliament expended several millions of money in relieving
their distresses, and providing them employment. Large sums of
money were also subscribed by individuals in England, Scotland, and
America, for the relief of the people in Ireland; and charitable
committees were formed in many parts of that country to receive the
money, and distribute the food and clothing purchased with it.
32. New poor laws have also been made by the government, to afford
greater relief to the destitute; and every thing has been done, that
humanity could suggest, to better their condition and relieve their
wants.
33. The year 1848 will ever be memorable for the revolutions that
have taken place in France and other parts of the continent. Louis
Philippe, the French king, was dethroned on the 24th of February,
1848, and fled with his family, to England.
34. At Berlin, the capital of Prussia, there was also an insurrection
in March, 1848, when a frightful battle was fought in the streets,
between the soldiers and the people.
35. Great numbers of persons were killed on both sides, and many
houses were destroyed; and although peace was restored by the king
granting the demands of his subjects, yet that could not bring back
happiness to those who had lost their fathers, husbands, or brothers,
in the fatal conflict.
36. Besides those already named, revolutions, attended with great
loss of life and destruction of property, have taken place at Vienna,
the capital of Austria, and other parts of Germany. Italy, too, has
shared in the spread of revolution; Naples, Milan, and Venice, having
been scenes of fearful tumult and destruction of life.
37. In most of the places I have mentioned, the people having been
fighting for a constitutional form of government, similar to that of
our own happy united kingdom; conveying the strongest proof that we
ought not to wish for a change. Yet there have been some attempts
made to disturb the peace of this country, by ill-informed or
worthless persons.
38. Perhaps the desire for some increase in the number of the
electors, and in the places represented in parliament, by uniting the
adjacent towns to the small boroughs, is not unreasonable.
39. But when we think of the dreadful state of things in France,
Italy and Germany, where so many thousands of people have lost their
lives, where trade is ruined, where the middle classes are reduced to
poverty, and the working people, in consequence, starving, for want
of employment, we cannot be too thankful for the peace, the liberty,
and prosperity, we enjoy in this more favored and happier country.
QUESTIONS.
1. Who succeeded George the Third?
6. What was the Reform Bill?
8. Who succeeded George the Fourth, and in what year?
9. When was the first Railway opened?
13. When was slavery abolished in the West Indies?
17. When did William the Fourth die?
17. When did Victoria ascend the throne?
18. Who did Victoria marry?
19. Name the principal events of her reign.
22. What gave rise to the war in China?
23. How did it end?
24. Why was the war in India commenced?
26. What has been the result?
28. What has caused great misery in Ireland?
31. What has been done for the relief of the Irish people?
33. What has taken place in France?
36. Where have other Revolutions taken place?
THE END.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
Occurrences of ‘every body’, ‘any body’ and ‘no body’ have been
changed to ‘everybody’, ‘anybody’ and ‘nobody’.
For consistency, a few occurrences of ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ have been
changed to ‘king’ and ‘queen’.
Table of Contents:
Pg 8 Chapter X: ‘1216 to 1399’ replaced by ‘1216 to 1377’.
Pg 8 Chapter XI: ‘1392 to 1422’ replaced by ‘1377 to 1422’.
Pg 8 Chapter XIV: ‘1558 to 1613’ replaced by ‘1558 to 1603’.
Main text:
Pg 75: ‘te whichever of’ replaced by ‘to whichever of’.
Pg 81: ‘that the peeple’ replaced by ‘that the people’.
Pg 93: ‘was obiged to’ replaced by ‘was obliged to’.
Pg 95: ‘1216 TO 1399’ replaced by ‘1216 TO 1377’.
Pg 98: ‘was to conquor’ replaced by ‘was to conquer’.
Pg 107: ‘there. fore, his’ replaced by ‘therefore, his’.
Pg 110: ‘1392 TO 1429’ replaced by ‘1377 TO 1422’.
Pg 122: ‘youth of oighteen’ replaced by ‘youth of eighteen’.
Pg 123: ‘to bo very much’ replaced by ‘to be very much’.
Pg 130: ‘the poor pesantry’ replaced by ‘the poor peasantry’.