Beacon Lights of History, Volume 10: European Leaders

Part 1

LORD'S LECTURES

BEACON LIGHTS OF HISTORY, VOLUME X

EUROPEAN LEADERS.

BY JOHN LORD, LL.D.,

AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ROMAN WORLD," "MODERN EUROPE," ETC., ETC.

CONTENTS

WILLIAM IV.

ENGLISH REFORMS.

Social evils in England on the accession of William IV. Political agitations. Premiership of Lord Grey. Aristocratic character of the reformers. Lord John Russell. The Reform Bill. Its final passage. Henry Brougham. Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister. Troubles in Ireland. O'Connell. Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister. His short administration. Succeeded by Lord Melbourne. Abolition of West India slavery. Thomas Babington Macaulay. Popular reforms. Trades unions. Reform of municipal corporations. Death of William IV. Penny postage. Second ministry of Sir Robert Peel. The Duke of Wellington. Agitations for repeal of the Corn Laws.

SIR ROBERT PEEL.

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

Birth and education of Sir Robert Peel. His conservative views. His High Church principle. Enters the Cabinet of Lord Liverpool. Catholic Emancipation. Resigns the representation of Oxford. Member of Tamworth. Opposes the Reform Bill. Prime Minister in 1841. Financial genius. His sliding scale. O'Connell's death. The Factory Question. Renewed charter of the Bank of England. Financial measure. Maynooth Grant. Agitation for Free Trade. Anti-Corn Association. Cobden and Bright. Free Trade leagues. Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Peel converted to Free Trade. Disraeli leader of the Protectionists. His virulent assaults on Peel. Abolition of the Corn Laws. Irish Coercion Bill. Fall of the Peel Ministry. Peel's great speech. Chartist movement. Its collapse. Death of Sir Robert Peel. Character of Sir Robert Peel.

CAVOUR.

UNITED ITALY.

The Roman Catholic Church. The temporal power. General desire of Italians for liberty. Popular leaders. The Carbonari. Charles Albert. Joseph Mazzini. Young Italy. Varied fortunes of Mazzini. Marquis d'Azeglio. His aspirations and labors. Battle of Novara. King Victor Emmanuel II. Count Cavour. His early days. Prime Minister. His prodigious labors. His policy and aims. His diplomacy. Alliance with Louis Napoleon. Garibaldi. His wanderings and adventures. Daniele Manin. Takes part in the freedom of Italy. Garibaldi in Caprera. Peace of Villa-Franca. Liberation of Naples and Sicily. Flight of Francis II. of Naples. Battle of Volturno. Annexation of Naples to Sardinia. Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy. Venetian provinces annexed to Italy. Withdrawal of French troops from Italy. All Italy united under Victor Emmanuel.

CZAR NICHOLAS.

THE CRIMEAN WAR.

Origin of the Russians. Extension of Russian conquests. Conquests of Catherine I. Conquests of Alexander I. Conquests of Nicholas. Treaty of Adrianople. Ambition and aims of Nicholas. His character. Prince Mentchikof. Lord Stratford. Causes of the Crimean War. England and France in alliance with Turkey. Occupation by Russia of the Danubian provinces. War declared. Lord Palmerston. Lord Aberdeen. Lord Raglan. Marshal Saint-Arnaud. English and French at Varna. Invasion of the Crimea. Battle of Alma. Colonel Todleben. Siege of Sebastopol. Battle of Balaklava. "The Light Brigade". "The Heavy Brigade". Battle of Inkerman. Horrors of the siege. General disasters. Florence Nightingale. Sardinia joins the allies. Assault of Sebastopol. Death of Lord Raglan. Treaty of Paris. Indecisive results of the war. The Eastern Question.

LOUIS NAPOLEON.

THE SECOND EMPIRE.

Fortunes and adventures of Louis Napoleon. The political agitations of 1848. Louis Napoleon, President of the French Republic. His Ministers. The Coup d'État. Usurpation of Louis Napoleon. His tools. His enemies. Hostility of the leading statesmen of France. Character of Louis Napoleon. The Crimean War. Alliance of France and England. Lord Palmerston. Stability of the Empire. Prosperity of France. Public Works. Splendid successes of Napoleon III. War with Austria. Peace of Villa-Franca. Improvements of Paris. Haussmann. Mexican War. Archduke Maxmilian. Humiliations and shifts of Louis Napoleon. War with Germany. Indecision and incapacity of Louis Napoleon. Battle of Worth. Marshal Bazaine. Gravelotte. Battle of Sedan. Fall of Napoleon III. Calamities of France.

PRINCE BISMARCK.

THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

Humiliation of Prussia. Her great deliverers. Baron von Stein. His financial genius. His intense hatred of Napoleon. His great reforms. Disgrace of Stein. Prince Hardenberg. Baron von Humboldt. Scharnhorst. New military organization. Frederick William III. German Confederation, Diet of Frankfort. Reaction of liberal sentiments. Influence of Metternich. Frederick William IV. Rise of Bismarck. Early days. Politician. His unpopularity. Diplomatist at the Diet of Frankfort. Ambassador at St. Petersburg. Death of Frederick William IV. Bismarck, Prime Minister. Increase of the army. The Schleswig-Holstein Question. Treaty of Vienna, 1864. War between Austria and Prussia. Count von Moltke. Battle of Sadowa. Great increase of Prussian territory and population. New German Constitution. War clouds--France and Luxembourg. Conference at London. King William at Paris. Preparations and pretext for war with France. Mobilization of German troops. King William at Mayence. Battle of Gravelotte. Fall of Louis Napoleon at Sedan. Siege and surrender of Paris. King William crowned Emperor of Germany. Labors of Bismarck. His character. Quarrel with the Catholics. Socialism in Germany. Bismarck's domestic policy. Bismarck's famous speech, 1888. Death of Emperor William. Retirement of Bismarck.

WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE.

THE ENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE PEOPLE.

Precocity of Gladstone. Life at Oxford. Enters Parliament. Negro Emancipation. Under-Secretary for the Colonies. Ultra-Conservative principles. His eloquence as member of Parliament. His marriage. Essay on Church and State. Parliamentary leader. Represents Oxford. Letter on the Government of Naples. Benjamin Disraeli. Gladstone Chancellor of the Exchequer. Opposes the Crimean War. Great abilities as finance minister. Conversion to Free Trade. "Studies on Homer". His mistake about the American War. Defeat at Oxford. Irish Questions. Rivalry between Gladstone and Disraeli. Gladstone, Prime Minister. His great popularity. Disestablishment of Irish Church. Irish Land Bill. Radical army changes. Settlement of the Alabama claims. Irish University Bill. Fall of Gladstone's Ministry. Influence of Gladstone in retirement. Disraeli as Prime Minister. Return of Gladstone to power. His second administration. Parliamentary defeat of Gladstone. The Irish Question. Death.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Part 2

VOLUME X.

Bismarck at Versailles After the painting by Carl Wagner.

William IV., King of England After the painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Sir Robert Peel From the engraving by Sartain.

Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield From a photograph.

Camillo Benso di Cavour From a photograph.

Assassination of the Emperor Paul I. of Russia After the painting by H. Merté.

Czar Nicholas I. After the painting by Horace Vernet.

Capture of Napoleon III. at Boulogne After the painting by R. Gutschmidt.

Louis Napoleon III. From a photograph.

Bismarck After the painting by Franz von Lenbach.

Count Von Moltke From a photograph from life.

Proclamation of King William of Prussia as Emperor of Germany, at Versailles After the painting by Anton von Werner.

William Ewart Gladstone After a photograph from life.

BEACON LIGHTS OF HISTORY.

WILLIAM IV.

1765-1837.

ENGLISH REFORMS.

On the death of George IV. in 1830, a new political era dawned on England. His brother, William IV., who succeeded him, was not his equal in natural ability, but was more respectable in his character and more liberal in his views. With William IV. began the undisputed ascendency of the House of Commons in national affairs. Before his day, no prime minister could govern against the will of the sovereign. After George IV., as in France under Louis Philippe, "the king reigned, but did not govern." The chief of the ascendent political party was the real ruler.

When William IV. ascended the throne the Tories were still in power, and were hostile to reform. But the agitations and discontents of the latter days of George IV. had made the ministry unpopular. Great political reformers had arisen, like Lords Grey, Althorp, and Russell, and great orators like Henry Brougham and Macaulay, who demanded a change in the national policy. The social evils which stared everybody in the face were a national disgrace; they made the boasted liberty of the English a mockery. There was an unparalleled distress among the laboring classes, especially in the mining and manufacturing districts. The price of labor had diminished, while the price of bread had increased. So wretched was the condition of the poor that there were constant riots and insurrections, especially in large towns. In war times unskilled laborers earned from twelve to fifteen shillings a week, and mechanics twenty-five shillings; but in the stagnation of business which followed peace, wages suffered a great reduction, and thousands could find no work at all. The disbanding of the immense armies that had been necessary to combat Napoleon threw out of employ perhaps half a million of men, who became vagabonds, beggars, and paupers. The agricultural classes did not suffer as much as operatives in mills, since they got a high price for their grain; but the more remunerative agriculture became to landlords, the more miserable were those laborers who paid all they could earn to save themselves from absolute starvation. No foreign grain could be imported until wheat had arisen to eighty shillings a "quarter," --which unjust law tended to the enrichment of land-owners, and to a corresponding poverty among the laboring classes. In addition to the high price which the people paid for bread, they were taxed heavily upon everything imported, upon everything consumed, upon the necessities and conveniences of life as well as its luxuries,--on tea, on coffee, on sugar, on paper, on glass, on horses, on carriages, on medicines,--since money had to be raised to pay the interest on the national debt and to provide for the support of the government, including pensions, sinecures, and general extravagance.

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