Events leading to the Passage of the Reform Bill of 1832

The year 1830 was marked by a number of important events, each of which helped the cause of reform. On June 26, George IV died unmourned, and his brother, a popular and genial sailor, with fewer prejudices than his Hanoverian predecessors had possessed, came to the throne as William IV. A few weeks afterward the revolution of July broke out in Paris, drove the Bourbon king, Charles X, from the throne, and inaugurated in France a constitutional regime under Louis Philippe. In September was opened the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, which not only exhibited a new and epoch-making method of rapid transportation, but also brought into unmistakable prominence the importance of the midland and northern regions as the industrial centres of the kingdom. And, lastly, in November, when parliament met, Wellington, in emphatic and incautious language, opposed all attempts at reform, and in so doing, not only weakened his own popularity' and brought to an end his career as minister, but also ruined the Tory party and made his opponents more determined and confident than ever. At once he was overthrown by a union of the discontented Tories, or Canningites, with the Whigs. His place was taken by Earl Grey, a Whig and a liberal, whose ministry was committed to the cause of electoral reform.

When, in March, 1831, Lord John Russell brought in the first reform bill, the struggle began in earnest. The first bill was defeated. Thereupon the ministry appealed to the country, and a new parliament was elected. A second bill was passed, only to be rejected by the House of Lords. The excitement in the country rose to fever-heat. Even the working classes, who were not benefited by the bill, and the Radicals, who wanted a wider franchise, joined in the agitation. Associations were formed, mass-meetings held, and processions planned in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and other central and northern cities. Probably at no time in English history had excitement been so intense or so widespread. When, in December, 1831, parliament passed a third bill, the Lords did not dare reject it, fearing a popular revolt. But they tried to amend it. Earl Grey asked William IV to create enough new peers to carry the bill, but the king refused. Grey resigned. Then William IV called on Wellington to form a ministry ; but the Tory party had lost its unity in the face of the popular agitation, and Wellington could do nothing. With Grey's return to office, the passage of the reform bill was assured. The Lords, at the king's special request, withdrew their opposition, and on June 7, 1832, the measure became law.

County Map of ENGLAND and WALES

The Reform Act of 1832

The Reform Act, the most important measure of its kind in English history, gave the franchise to the middle classes. By placing a property qualification on the right to vote, it denied that right to the industrial, agricultural, and mining classes. The actual number of voters was increased from four hundred and thirty thousand to six hundred and fifty thousand; that is, one in every twenty-two of the population became an elector. The qualification was for the first time made uniform throughout Great Britain. The franchise was given in the counties to all copy-holders and leaseholders (farmers and tenants) of land worth £10 a year, and to tenants-at-will holding an estate worth £50 a year; and in the boroughs to all holders of houses worth £10 a year. Voting methods were vastly improved by a system of registration, by the adoption of smaller voting districts, and by the fixing of a time limit of two days within which the vote must be cast.

Equally important with this enlargement of the voting body, was the redistribution of seats in parliament. Fifty-six boroughs were deprived of their members, and thirty-two had their membership reduced. Of the one hundred and forty-three seats thus gained sixty-five were given to the English counties, eight to the Scottish, and five to the Trish; forty-four were given to twenty-two towns like Manchester and Birmingham; and twenty-one to smaller towns hitherto unrepresented. This redistribution increased enormously the importance of the central and northern counties and boroughs. Thus the House of Commons became, as it had never been before, an elective and representative body; and public opinion, hitherto of indirect influence only, became a factor of direct importance in the future government of the kingdom.