After years of bitter strife between the Two Nations, England a last enjoyed peace within her own borders—­that peace which a patriot poet, Ernest Jones, during a time of bitter trial had so earnestly prayed for: 

    God of battles, give us peace! 
    Rich with honour’s proud increase;
    Peace that frees the fettered brave;
    Peace that scorns to make a slave;
    Peace that spurns a tyrant’s hand;
    Peace that lifts each fallen land;
    Peace of peoples, not of kings;
    Peace that conquering freedom brings;
    Peace that bids oppression cease;
    God of battles, give us peace!

Appendix to Chapter VI

1838.  The Chartist Movement.  The Chartists demanded (1) Annual Parliaments; (2) Manhood Suffrage; (3) Vote by ballot; (4) Equal electoral districts; (5) Abolition of the property qualification for members of Parliament; (6) Payment for members of Parliament.  The Reform Act of 1832 had brought the middle classes into power, and the working classes were now striving to better their own condition.

The Anti-Corn Law League, formed in this year, was largely a middle-class agitation supported by merchants and manufacturers.  The great northern towns had been enfranchised by the Reform Bill, and sent as leaders of the movement Richard Cobden and John Bright.  Both parties in Parliament were opposed to a total abolition of the Corn Laws.

1842.  A motion for Free Trade defeated in Parliament by a large majority.

1843.  Agitation in Ireland for the Repeal of the Union.  Daniel O’Connell, the leader, arrested.  He was found guilty of conspiracy, but his sentence was afterward revoked by the House of Lords.

1845.  Failure of the potato crop in Ireland.

1846.  Repeal of the Corn Laws, in order to open the ports free to food stuffs.  Free Trade established and the prices of food begin to fall.

1848.  The year of Revolution.  France proclaims a Republic with Prince Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I, as its President.  Risings in Austria and Italy.

Renewal of the Chartist agitation.  The meeting in London to present a Petition to Parliament proves a failure.

1853-56.  Years of prosperity owing to Free Trade and growth of intelligence among the working classes prove the chief causes of the death of Chartism.  The workers now begin to aim at reforms through their Trades Unions.  The Co-operative Movement set on foot in Rochdale in 1844 leads to the formation of many other branches.

Between the years 1851 and 1865 national imports nearly treble, and exports more than double, themselves.

THOMAS CARLYLE (1795-1881).  His writings more than those of any other man give us a key to the meaning of the early Victorian Age. 1839. Chartism. 1841. Heroes and Hero Worship. 1843. Past and Present. 1850. Latter-Day Pamphlets.

CHARLES DICKENS (1812-70). 1836. Pickwick Papers. 1838. Oliver Twist (the evils of the Workhouse). 1850. David Copperfield (contains sketches of Dickens’ early life). 1853. Hard Times. 1857. Little Dorrit (the Marshalsea prison for debtors).