Beacon Lights of History, Volume 10 | Page 7

during this exciting parliamentary contest the great
figure of Henry Brougham had disappeared from the House of
Commons; but more than any other man, he had prepared the way for
those reforms which the nation had so clamorously demanded, and
which in part they had now achieved. From 1820 to 1831 he had
incessantly labored in the lower House, and but little was done without
his aid. It would have been better for his fame had he remained a
commoner. He was great not only as a parliamentary orator, but as a
lawyer. His labors were prodigious. Altogether, at this period he was
the most prominent man in England, the most popular among the
friends of reform, and the most hated by his political enemies,--a fierce,
overbearing man, with great talent for invective and sarcasm, eccentric,
versatile, with varied rather than profound learning. When Lord
Melbourne succeeded Lord Grey as premier, Brougham was left out of
the cabinet, being found to be irascible, mischievous, and unpractical;
he retired, an embittered man, to private life, but not to idleness, He
continued to write popular and scientific essays, articles for reviews,
and biographical sketches, taking an interest in educational movements,
and in all questions of the day. He was always a lion in society, and,
next to Sir Walter Scott, was the object of greatest curiosity to
American travellers. Although great as statesman, orator, lawyer, and
judge, his posthumous influence is small compared with that which he
wielded in his lifetime,--which, indeed, may be said of most statesmen,
the most noted exception to the rule being Lord Bacon.
With Brougham in the upper House, Lord John Russell had become the
most prominent man in the lower; but being comparatively a poor man,
he was contented to be only paymaster of the forces,--the most
lucrative office in the government. His successful conduct of the great
Reform Bill gave him considerable prestige. In the second ministry of
Lord Melbourne, 1834-1841, Lord Russell was at first colonial and
afterward home secretary. Whatever the post he filled, he filled it with
credit, and had the confidence of the country; for he was honest, liberal,
and sensible. He was not, however, an orator, although he subsequently

became a great debater. I have often heard him speak, both in and out
of Parliament; but I was never much impressed, or even interested. He
had that hesitating utterance so common with aristocratic speakers,
both clerical and lay, and which I believe is often assumed. In short, he
had no magnetism, without which no public speaker can interest an
ordinary audience; but he had intelligence, understood the temper of the
House, and belonged to a great historical family, which gave him
parliamentary influence. He represented the interests of the wealthy
middle classes,--liberal as a nobleman, but without any striking
sympathy with the people. After the passage of the Reform Bill, he was
unwilling to go to any great lengths in further reforms, and therefore
was unpopular with the radicals, although his spirit was progressive. It
was his persistent advocacy of parliamentary reform which had made
him prominent and famous, and it was his ability as a debater which
kept him at the head of his party. Historians speak of him without
enthusiasm, but with great respect. The notable orators of that day were
O'Connell and Brougham. As a platform speaker, probably no one ever
surpassed the Irish leader.
After the passage of the Reform Bill, the first thing of importance to
which the reform Parliament turned its attention was the condition of
Ireland. The crimes committed in that unfortunate country called loudly
for coercive measures on the part of the government. The murders, the
incendiary fires, the burglaries and felonious assaults, were
unprecedented in number and atrocity. The laws which had been passed
for the protection of life and property had become a dead letter in some
of the most populous districts. Jurors were afraid to attend the assizes,
and the nearest relatives of the victims dared not institute proceedings;
even magistrates were deterred from doing their duty. In fact, crime
went unpunished, and the country was rapidly sinking into
semi-barbarism. In the single year of 1832 there were two hundred and
forty-two homicides, eleven hundred and seventy-nine robberies, four
hundred and one burglaries, five hundred and sixty-eight
house-burnings, one hundred and sixty-one serious assaults, two
hundred and three riots, besides other crimes,--altogether to the number
of over nine thousand. A bill was accordingly brought into the Upper
House by Lord Grey to give to the lord-lieutenant power to substitute

courts-martial for the ordinary courts of justice, to enter houses for the
purpose of searching for arms, and to suspend the act of habeas corpus
in certain districts. The bill passed the Lords without difficulty, but
encountered severe opposition in the House