[1] This tax, which took the place of the ancient Hearth Tax (1663-1689), was first imposed in 1695.

A little later (1855) a stamp tax on newspapers, which had been devised in Queen Anne’s time in the avowed hope of crushing them out, was repealed.  The result was that henceforth cheap papers could be published, and the workingman, as he sat by his fireside, could inform himself of what the world was doing and thinking,—­two things of which he had before known almost nothing, and cared, perhaps, even less.

To get this news of the world’s life more speedily, England had established the first line of Atlantic steamers (S565); next, the first Atlantic cable, connecting England with America, was laid (1858).  It soon gave out, but was permanently relaid not long afterwards, in 1866.  Since then a large part of the globe has been joined in like manner,[1] and the great cities of every civilized land are practically one in their knowledge of all important events.  So many improvements have also been made in the use of electricity, not only for the transmission of intelligence, but as an illuminator, and more recently still as a motive power, that it now seems probable that “the age of steam” will be superseded by the higher “age of electricity.”

[1] There are now over 250,000 miles of submarine electric cables in operation in the world.

596.  The Opium War (1839); the War in the Crimea (1854).

For nearly twenty years after Victoria’s accession no wars occurred in her reign worthy of mention, with the exception of that with China (1839).  At that time the Chinese Emperor, either from a desire to put a stop to the consumption of opium in his dominions, or because he wished to encourage the home production of the drug, prohibited its importation.  As the English in India were largely engaged in the production of opium for the Chinese market,—­the people of that country smoking it instead of tobacco,—­the British government insisted that the Emperor should not interfere with so lucrative a trade.  War ensued.

The Chinese, being unable to contend against English gunboats, were soon forced to withdraw their prohibition of the foreign opium traffic.  The English government, with the planters of India, reaped a golden reward of many millions for their deliberate violation of the rights of a heathen and half-civilized people.  The war opened five important ports to the British trade, and subsequent wars opened a number more on the rivers in the interior.  This action, with the later aggressions of other European powers, roused an intensely bitter feeling among large numbers of the Chinese.  Their hatred of foreigners finally led to a desperate but unsuccessful attempt (1900) to drive all Europeans and Americans, including missionaries, out of the country.

Eventually, the pressure of the great powers of Europe and the diplomatic influence of the United States induced China to grant the “Open Door” to the demands of foreign trade.  Later, England and China made an agreement (1911) which bids fair to stop the exportation of opium to that country.