The conservative response to change 1832-46: Finance, administration and the economy

Question 1

What is there still debate over regarding Peel?

Answer 1

His motivations during his 1841-6 ministry, especially in his repeal of the corn laws

Question 2

What did Peelite legislation manage to do?

Answer 2

Respond to economic and social changes, paving the way for the period of mid-Victorian stability and prosperity

Question 3

How strong was the conservative victory in 1841?

Answer 3

They won a 76 seat majority

Question 4

How had the previous Whig government left him in a difficult position?

Answer 4

It had failed to balanced the budget meaning he inherited a budget deficit

Question 5

What divided the conservative party at this time?

Answer 5

Their attitude towards change and reform

Question 6

What was the general consensus about living and working conditions at the time they came into power?

Answer 6

There was considerable dissatisfaction, this was referred to as the Condition of England Question

Question 7

What do the 1841 results show about conservative support?

Answer 7

They were least successful in the large industrial boroughs, with most of their support still coming from small English market towns and counties

Question 8

What did most conservative MPs maintain?

Answer 8

A traditional outlook and a satisfaction with the status quo; they were anglican and protectionist and didn’t want to change

Question 9

What did Peel think the answer to the country’s problems were?

Answer 9

Reviving the economy to achieve national prosperity

Question 10

What was therefore his main focus?

Answer 10

Stabilising government finances, stimulating trade and industry, thus lowering the cost of living, unemployment and therefore distress and discontent

Question 11

Why is Peel’s cabinet seen as particularly talented?

Answer 11

Because it contained William Gladstone, Lord Stanley and Lord Aberdeen, all of whom were future PMs

Question 12

Who was Henry Goulbourn?

Answer 12

An ally of Pitt who was made chancellor of the exchequer

Question 13

Who was Sir James Graham?

Answer 13

A confident administrator and friend of Peel who was made home secretary

Question 14

Who was the Duke of Buckingham?

Answer 14

An old fashioned protectionist tory who was made lord privy seal, but his purpose was to reassure agricultural interests

Question 15

Who was William Gladstone?

Answer 15

He was appointed President of the Board Trade in 1843. There was a great deal of mutual respect between him and Peel. Gladstone and a group of young tories saw Peel as helpful and sympathetic towards them and not cold and aloof, as he is most often portrayed

Question 16

What did Peel say in support of Gladstone?

Answer 16

He said he was ‘the best man of business who was ever PM’

Question 17

Who was Lord Stanley?

Answer 17

A former Whig who argued with Peel over the repeal of the corn laws - he resigned in 1845

Question 18

What did political diarist Charles Greville write in his journal after 1841?

Answer 18

‘There was a general feeling of satisfaction by the substitution of a real working government for the last batch’

Question 19

What were Peel’s priorities upon becoming PM?

Answer 19

To improve upon the way the whigs conducted government, carrying through practical reforms and creating a strong government

Question 20

What did Peel make clear from the beginning of his ministry?

Answer 20

His intention of exercising ‘personal authority’

Question 21

Give a Peel quote outlining the idea of personal authority?

Answer 21

‘If I exercise power it shall be upon my view, perhaps imperfect, perhaps mistaken, of public duty’

Question 22

What did Peel say about the national interest in that same speech?

Answer 22

That his position placed upon him obligations, duties and sacrifices that he must have to make in the national interest. He expected his party to do the same

Question 23

What was Peel most interested in?

Answer 23

Efficiency and progress

Question 24

What was Peel’s primary objective?

Answer 24

To focus on economic and fiscal reform

Question 25

What did Peel say about his 1842 budget?

Answer 25

That ‘he knew exactly what needed to be done’

Question 26

What was the consequence of the economic downturn in 1841?

Answer 26

Exports fell, causing a slump in the market and poor harvests made bread prices unsteady

Question 27

How did the chartists respond to the downturn?

Answer 27

They revitalised their campaign, leading to further unrest and violence

Question 28

What measures did Peel take in his 1842 budget?

Answer 28

Introduced income tax, reduced tariffs and lowered the 1828 corn law sliding scale

Question 29

How did Peel justify the fact that this was the first time income tax had ever been raised during peacetime?

Answer 29

It was presented as a temporary measure to deal with the inherited debt from the whigs, but it was here to stay

Question 30

What Boyd Hilton say about Peel’s ideas on income tax?

Answer 30

He said that as early as 1830 Peel had acknowledged that is was a means of tapping the wealth of ‘great capitalists’ to reconcile class antagonism and reduce ‘taxes bearing on the industry and the comforts of the labouring poor’

Question 31

How did the system of income tax work?

Answer 31

People earning more than £150 a year had to pay 7 pence on every pound they made, which at about 3% was a very small portion of their income, but was designed to exclude any of the working classes

Question 32

What was the mathematical thinking behind income tax?

Answer 32

Peel calculated that £4 million would be raised by income tax, clearing the £2.5 million deficit and leaving a £1.5 million surplus

Question 33

How did Peel justify his policy of cutting tariffs?

Answer 33

He thought that it would stimulate the economy to such an extent that it would offset any decline in government revenue

Question 34

What was the reduction of import duties in line with?

Answer 34

Free trade principles that had been embraced by Pitt and Huskisson but that were ignored by the whigs post 1832

Question 35

How did Peel justify his decrease of import duties?

Answer 35

Because it would mean lower prices for finished goods, as Peel anticipated increased demand for cheaper goods, bringing about a higher level of employment because more people were required to make them, providing an overall boost to the economy

Question 36

What did Peel do in 1845?

Answer 36

After increasing in confidence, he introduced even more free trade measures

Question 37

What did Peel do to income tax in 1845?

Answer 37

Renewed it for a further three years, with it making up 3% of government income

Question 38

List the free trade measures introduced in the 1845 budget

Answer 38

• Duties on raw cotton and most raw materials were abolished
• Duties on imported sugar, most of which came from the colonies anyway, were reduced

Question 39

What was the consequence of the 1845 budget?

Answer 39

Only a 10% duty on manufactured goods remained and Britain was almost a free trading country

Question 40

Who were the two key figures for administrative reform in the Peel government?

Answer 40

Sir James Graham as Home Secretary and William Gladstone as President of the Board of Trade set a new tone for meticulous attention to detail in administering their respective departments, bringing in a new level of efficiency to government

Question 41

What did the royal commissions of inquiry report on?

Answer 41

The social and economic issues of the day

Question 42

Why can the Peel government be seen as productive?

Answer 42

Because an impressive amount of legislation was drawn up and passed

Question 43

What happened to the Poor Law Amendment Act?

Answer 43

It was extended for another 5 years

Question 44

What did this extension prompt?

Answer 44

Chadwick’s report on sanitary conditions for the labouring classes, although public health reform was not introduced until 1848, when Peel was out of office

Question 45

Where did the government respond to calls for reform?

Answer 45

In the coal mining industry and the textile industry

Question 46

Why was Sir Graham James’ attempt to introduce two hours of compulsory schooling for factory children rejected in 1843?

Answer 46

Due to arguements over which religious denomination would provide the schooling

Question 47

What does Briggs say about economic reform at this time?

Answer 47

They were passed to ‘regulate the legal and institutional framework of business without controlling or supervising it’

Question 48

List the reforms to justice made at this time

Answer 48

• District bankruptcy courts were set up to deal with local cases, meaning imprisonment for small debtors could be ended
• A uniform system of district county courts was established
• These and other minor changes increased the efficiency and administration of justice

Question 49

What was the consequence of this administrative revolution?

Answer 49

As administrative procedures were improved across a number of key institutions more salaried positions were created to carry them out. They were no longer comfortable positions for the sons of the upper classes

Question 50

How did Peel deal with O’Connell’s demand for repeal of the Act of Union?

Answer 50

He was arrested and imprisoned

Question 51

What did Peel do following O’Connell’s arrest?

Answer 51

He adopted a policy of concession in the hopes that he would at least gain the support of the educated catholics

Question 52

Give an example of this concession

Answer 52

He increased the annual grant to Maynooth, the catholic college where priests received their training, believing this would gain the support of the catholic church and some of the peasantry, who were under their influence

Question 53

What was the reaction to this move by Peel within England?

Answer 53

It was feircely opposed by anglicans, dissenters, and a large number of conservative MPs, all outraged at the implication of support for the catholic church over the established church in Ireland. The measure divided the conservatives and was passed with whig support. This created divisions within the party that made it harder to pass further reform

Question 54

Why can Peel be seen as failing to solve the Irish problem?

Answer 54

• Because the few concessions he did make failed to address its serious economic problems and the ongoing poverty of a large % of the population
• The Devon Commission was set up in 1843 to look into the problems of land tenure but reported in 1845, too late for Peel to act

Question 55

What happened in autumn 1845 to make matters worse?

Answer 55

The potato crop, the staple diet of the peasantry, was wiped out by blight. Within weeks people were starving

Question 56

How did Peel respond to the potato famine?

Answer 56

He had little option but to repeal to corn law and allow cheap grain in

Question 57

What did William Gladstone say about Pitt?

Answer 57

That he had exercised more personal authority than any PM since Pitt

Question 58

How does Boyd Hilton back up this claim?

Answer 58

• Because he introduced the eventful budgets of 1842 and 1845, rather than his chancellor
• He single handedly determined policy in Ireland
• If he appeared to change his mind it was because he had not made his intentions clear for tactical reasons
• The immediately wrote to his cabinet colleagues upon taking power on important issues. The tone was deceptive, as he appeared to be seeking advice, but in reality he knew what he wanted to do and was trying to convince them of it

Question 59

What does Gash say was at the heart of Peel’s policy making?

Answer 59

The conviction that the only way to overcome human misery and the social threat was by increasing the purchasing power of the masses

Question 60

What did Peel say about improving living conditions?

Answer 60

‘We must make this a cheap country for living’

Question 61

What does Gash say about Peel’s obsession with trade and finance?

Answer 61

That it actually had a human side

Question 62

What does Gash say in support of Peel’s government?

Answer 62

Among all the remedies for the condition of England problem, the broad economic road along which he was leading the country offered perhaps the most, immediate, practical and comprehensive way out of the countries that any government in 1842 could have