had previously been required from them upon their election to Municipal offices; regulated juvenile labour in calico print-works; provided for the better care of lunatics; regulated banking in Scotland and Ireland, on principles similar to those of the Bank Charter of England; and facilitated the enclosure of Commons in England and Wales. Towards the close of this year, the British dominions on the left bank of the Sutlej were suddenly invaded by the Sikhs. This invasion was considered as a formal declaration of war on the part of the Lahore government, and Sir Henry Hardinge proceeded to take measures against the Punjaub government as a hostile state. The Sikh army, on crossing the Sutlej, invested Ferozepore on one side, and took up an entrenched position at the village of Ferozeshah, about ten miles in advance of Ferozepore, and nearly the same distance from Moodkee. A terrible battle was fought at the latter place, in which the British obtained a complete victory: the whole force of the Sikhs being driven from position after position with great slaughter, and night alone saving them from destruction. Subsequently, they were driven from their encampment at Ferozeshah, and the whole of their artillery was captured. Those who had escaped the slaughter now recrossed the Sutlej; and early in the next year, 1846, the victorious British followed them, and pressed forward to Lahore, and terms of peace were agreed on; of which one of the stipulations was the disbandment of the Sikh army. The importance of these victories was acknowledged by government, and the people of England at large, who joined in admiration of the conduct of the Governor-General, the commanders, and the troops by whom the victory was achieved. Earlier in the year, 1845, Sir Charles Napier had been employed in military operations against the mountain tribes on the right bank of the Indus, north of Shikarpoor, in which he was completely successful, and the power of the robber tribes, which had long been a terror to Sinde, was utterly broken. The moral effect of this conquest was more important than the physical; for it demonstrated to the people of Sinde that the British power was able to protect them. For many years a repeal of the corn-laws had been demanded both in and out of Parliament. No subject, indeed, had possessed more interest in England; and, in order to effect this purpose, a corn-law league had been set on foot, and its agents sent to every part of the country to enlighten the people on this great question. Hitherto Sir Robert Peel had been decidedly hostile to a repeal of these laws; but, during the last year, the utter failure of the potato crop induced him to alter his opinion, for this calamity had created great distress throughout the United Kingdom, and some measure was necessary for its alleviation. In the session of 1846, therefore, a bill was brought in by the premier, and carried, which made an immediate and great reduction of duties on corn, and provided for its free importation at the end of three years. Connected with this great measure was another, which passed into a law, by which the customs' duties generally were either wholly repealed or considerably reduced. But these enlightened measures contributed to procure the downfal of Sir Robert Peel as premier. Simultaneously with them, he had brought in a life-protection bill for Ireland; and the agriculturists, offended with him for the strides he had taken in free trade, united with the Whigs, who were adverse to coercion, and this bill was rejected. Sir Robert Peel then resigned; and his cabinet was succeeded by a Whig ministry, under the premiership of Lord John Russell. In his retirement Sir Robert Peel carried with him the sympathy and admiration of the people; for all felt that he had not only benefited England by these great measures, but all the world. "The band of commerce was designed, To associate all the branches of mankind; COWPER. The wisdom of these great measures for free trade was clearly manifested in the autumn, when there was again a failure in the potato crop it had at first promised to be abundant, but before it came to perfection the root wasted away. The visitation was general over England, Ireland, and Scotland, and so great was the distress occasioned thereby, that a meeting of Parliament was called for the express purpose of opening the ports for the admission of corn free from all duty. By this measure, the famine impending over the land was averted: and ships arrived from all parts of the world, laden with corn for the sustenance of life. Yet in Ireland, where the people had for ages depended upon the potato crop for food, a dreadful famine and its consequent disease, swept away thousands of the inhabitants. The hand of charity was willingly stretched forth in England for their relief: government and the nation united in aiding that unhappy people, and, but for the timely aid afforded, the whole country would have been one vast scene of death and desolation. Would that the pen of the historian could record that this aid was followed by a nation's gratitude! But it was not so; the old animosities between Celt and Saxon still remained, and prevented them appreciating the kind motives of the act. The year 1847 was distinguished by outrage and wrong in Ireland, to repress which coercive measures were resorted to by Parliament. This year was also marked by great commercial distress in England: numbers, who had hitherto lived in affluence, were plunged into the depths of poverty; failures occurred daily, and all classes of society felt the pressure. Various causes gave rise to this distress; one of the most prominent of which was the dangerous spirit of speculation which had for some time pervaded the whole community. Fears were entertained that a disastrous crisis in the country's history had arrived; but that DIVINE PROVIDENCE, which had hitherto protected it, continued to be its SAFEGUARD and its SHIELD; and GREAT BRITAIN IS STILL THE FOREMOST AMONG THE GREAT NATIONS OF THE EARTH. A. D. REMARKABLE EVENTS OF THE PERIOD. 1837. Revolt in Canada, which was not quelled till the following year. 1838. Steam Navigation to India. Steam Navigation to North America. The entire line of railway from London to Liverpool and Manchester opened. 1839. War in Affghanistan. 1840. The Queen married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Partial destruction of the Tower by fire. War with China. 1841. Birth of the Prince of Wales (November 9th). 1845. Discovery of gutta percha, the juice of an Indian tree, applicable to many important purposes, and especially to the Electric Telegraph, by Dr. William Montgomery, of the Indian Medical Service. 1847. The discovery, by Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh, of the use of chloroform in alleviating, and often entirely relieving, pain, even du ringthe most terrible operations of surgery. ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA. PART II. 1848. During this year, distress and disaffection still prevailed in Ireland. So formidable did the preachers of rebellion appear that Government brought a bill into Parliament for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. After much opposition, the bill passed both Houses, and its effects proved salutary. Distress and insubordination continued, it is true; but by bringing some of the leaders to justice the horrors of open rebellion were averted. The necessity for making the existing laws more stringent, and arming the Queen's government with more extensive powers, was admitted by almost every class of politicians in England. This year is remarkable for the great and general revolt of nations against their rulers. France, Germany, and Italy were all in commotion. Dynasties were overthrown or shaken to their centre, and the deposition and flight of monarchs attested the energy with which their subjects rose to vindicate their real or fancied rights. But whilst almost every throne on the Continent was shaken by revolution, the English monarchy stood immovable as a rock. It appeared even to derive increased stability from the events that convulsed foreign kingdoms. Conspirators and anarchists assailed it; but, strong in the loyal attachment of the people, it stood firm in the awful tempest by which it was surrounded. A knot of obscure and ill-disposed malcontents sought to disturb the metropolis; but their efforts were rendered impotent by the firm attitude of the loyal and well-affected citizens, who arrayed themselves in defence of peace and order. Windows were broken and some few shops plundered; but such was the vigilance of the police, aided by the people at large, that the commotions passed off without any serious explosion. These transactions became the subject of occasional discussion in Parliament, and led to the introduction of some new legal securities for strengthening the hands of Government. On these measures all parties were agreed; but ministers, on almost all other matters brought forward by them during this session, were left in a minority. By their opponents they were charged at the close of the session with wasting six months in nugatory legislation; but their failures were sometimes owing to the strong opposition by which they were assailed. At the same time, in matters of finance, ministers exhibited little skill, and it was not without reason that they were considered incompetent to their task. Four budgets were brought in during the session, and not one was adopted by the House. Instead of a surplus, there was a deficiency in the revenue, and ministers had to resort to the old system of a loan to free themselves from the dilemma in which they were placed. Although Divine Providence had protected Great Britain from the evils of intestine commotion, and from being involved in continental revolutions, yet her arms were not allowed to remain inactive. In the East we were again challenged to the contest by a foe who was thought to have been effectually subdued — the Sikhs. The Sikhs are a religious sect, tracing their descent from a Gooroo or priest mamed Nânuk, who formed a kind of eclectic system of faith out of Brahminism, Buddhism, and Mahomedanism, and formed a new school of disciples in the Punjab. Naturally brave, they were rendered still more formidable by their fanaticism. The Sikhs are indeed the bravest enemies that British troops have ever encountered in India. Some years before, after a terrible battle, their army had been overthrown, and since then they had submitted to the British authority. This year, however, they again defied the British power. Under the command of Moolraj, their chief, they fought several battles with the British troops; and when the year closed the Sikhs were defending themselves against our forces in the besieged city of Mooltan, Moolraj asserting that he could hold the place for twelve months, and that he would not surrender so long as one stone of his fortress remained on another. During the autumn of this year the cholera, that fatal scourge of mankind, again reached the shores of England. In the North it was especially manifested, sweeping into the grave its hundreds of victims. The pestilence lingered around us for several months, without exciting any fearful apprehensions; but at length in 1849 it appeared in all its terrors simultaneously, in all parts, visiting alike those spots usually considered most healthy, and those from which disease is rarely absent. The rich in their mansions and the poor in their hovels fell before it: it swept away the well-fed and well-clothed, alike with the hungry and the naked, the robust and the weak. Measures were taken by Government and local authorities to arrest its progress, but the plague continued to the end of the year before it abated. As in the year 1832, thousands died of the fatal disease, the mortality being distributed over the whole face of the country, but being greatest in the dense town populations. 1 |