Lord Liverpool & the Tories (1815–30)

After studying this section you should be able to:

• account for the discontent in the years 1815 to 1820
• explain the policies of Liverpool’s ministry in these years
• discuss whether these policies can be described as repressive
• explain the reforms carried out by the Liberal Tories
• assess how far the term ‘Liberal Tories’ is appropriate
• account for the split in the Tory party after 1827

The post-war years, 1815–22

Distress and discontent

In the period after the end of the Napoleonic Wars there was widespread discontent. There were Luddite outbreaks (machine breaking) in some industrial areas from 1811 onwards. The main disturbances after 1815 were the Spa Fields Riots in London, 1816; the Derbyshire Rising, 1817; the March of the Blanketeers, 1817; Peterloo, 1819; and the Cato Street Conspiracy, 1820.

One of the main causes of discontent was unemployment, which was particularly high after 1815 because of the ending of wartime contracts for industry and the demobilisation of soldiers. The Industrial Revolution made some workers (e.g. many hand-loom weavers) redundant. Living and working conditions in the new industrial towns were very poor.

Conditions in the countryside were often even worse. Some rural workers responded to enclosure and population pressure by moving to the towns. Those who stayed were badly paid; in much of southern England, their wages were so low that they had to be supplemented by the Poor Law under the Speenhamland System.

Government policies added to discontent. The Corn Laws (1815) kept the price of bread high. When income tax was abolished in 1816, indirect taxes were raised, adding to the burden on the poor.

The government’s response to discontent

• Liverpool and his ministers feared a revolutionary outbreak like that in France in 1789. They also believed it was the first duty of government to maintain law and order. So they followed a policy of repression.
• Habeas corpus was suspended and the Seditious Meetings Act was passed in 1817.
• Spies (e.g. Oliver) were sent into the industrial areas where discontent was greatest.
• Troops were used to disperse crowds, e.g. at Peterloo.
• The Six Acts were passed in 1819, giving magistrates increased powers of search and the power to try political cases without a jury. The stamp duty on journals was increased with the aim of making Cobbett’s Political Register toodear for working men to buy. Not much use was made of these powers.

The government did nothing to remedy the causes of discontent. The Tories were firmly opposed to parliamentary reform (one of the main demands of the Radicals). Ministers believed in laissez faire, i.e. that intervention in the economy was undesirable. Therefore they failed to introduce social or political reforms.

Liverpool’s government may have exaggerated the danger of revolution. Discontent was at its highest when economic conditions were worst; when they improved in 1818 and again in 1820 the disturbances died down. Some of the government’s policies actually increased the discontent. The Corn Laws and the tax changes were highly unpopular and government spies sometimes became agents provocateurs. This seems to have been the role of Oliver in the Derbyshire Rising.

On the other hand, the government was undoubtedly faced by disorder and it had no effective police force. Could it have done less in the circumstances? It is worth noting also that the powers taken by the government were used sparingly.

Try to be balanced in  your assessment. The government had some justification for its attitude.

KEY ISSUES - There are differing views about Liverpool’s government, 1815–22.

• It was reactionary, acted in the interests of the landowning aristocracy and met discontent with repression.
• In post-Napoleonic Europe the fear of revolution was understandable and the need to prevent disorder developing into revolution was paramount.

The Liberal Tories, 1822–30

The suicide of the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh, in 1822 led to the entry of Canning, Peel, Huskisson and Robinson into the Cabinet. These Liberal Tories were responsible for some important reforms.

• Peel (Home Secretary) reformed the administration of justice. The penal code was reformed and conditions in the bigger gaols were improved. He also established the Metropolitan Police (1829).
• Huskisson (President of the Board of Trade) introduced free trade measures: reduction of import duties, relaxation of the Navigation Acts, reciprocity agreements and preferential duties for the colonies. He also modified the Corn Laws in 1828 by the introduction of a sliding scale.
• The Combination Acts were repealed in 1824. This made the formation of trade unions legal, but an Amending Act (1825) made it difficult to organise strikes within the law.

In 1827 Liverpool resigned after a stroke. His successors as Prime Minister – Canning, Goderich and Wellington – were unable to hold the Tory party together. Nevertheless, two further important reforms were passed. The Test and Corporation Acts, which excluded nonconformists from public office, were repealed. In practice, they had not been enforced for many years. Roman Catholics were still excluded, but in 1829 the Catholic Relief Act (Catholic emancipation) was passed. Wellington (Prime Minister) and Peel (Home Secretary) believed this was necessary to avert civil war in Ireland after the election of Daniel O’Connell in the County Clare by-election, even though they had previously opposed it. But it split the Tory party. The High Tories accused Wellington and Peel of betrayal. Wellington’s ministry survived the general election of 1830 but fell later that year. The split over Catholic emancipation was a turning point in politics.

KEY ISSUES

How liberal were the ‘Liberal Tories’?

• 1 - They introduced important reforms but would not consider parliamentary reform and upheld the Corn Laws.
• 2 - Their most important reform, Catholic emancipation, was only introduced because of the threat of civil war in Ireland.

KEY DATES

• 1812–27 Liverpool Prime Minister
• 1815 End of Napoleonic Wars; Corn Law passed
• 1816 Spa Fields Riots
• 1819 Peterloo ‘massacre’, followed by the Six Acts
• 1822 Entry of ‘Liberal Tories’ into the ministry
• 1824 Repeal of the Combination Acts
• 1828 Repeal of Test and Corporation Acts; County Clare by-election
• 1829 Catholic emancipation