130
A'ilSTORY
OF MODERN
BRITAIN
era and placed the blame for it squarely on tht: shoulders of the brewing
interests. Many politicians believed that drunkenness was preferable to any
control )f the trade by Government, and it was a measure of Gladstone's
moral c.>urage that he took up the question at '111.His Home Secretary,
Bruce, introduced a measure which fixed the closing times of public houses
at twelv.~midnight i...the towns and eleven o'cJc.ck in the country. In areas
where t)O many public houses existed some were closed, while other
regulati,ms prevented the adulteration of drinl.. These mild and sensible
measures aroused the violent opposition of th(' brewing interests, They
organizl'd themselves in the Conservative interest and spread anti-Literal
propagr nda through the public houses. The Conservatives in their turn
encouraged the brewers, Even the Bishop of Pett:rborough declared that he
preferred 'England free rather than England sober'.
Foreign policy
Britain had not committed her army to any major intervention in Europe
since 1815 and Gladstone's foreign policy was based on his recognition of
the fact that the small British army was no match for the vast Continental
military machines, especially that of Prussia. He kept the country out of
the Franco-Prussian war though he did manage to secure a guarantee of
the neutrality of Belgium from both Bismarck and Napoleon III. The
Government were also unable to prevent Russia unilaterally denouncing
the Black Sea Clauses of the Treaty of Paris of 1856 (see p. 92).
Even in the last years of Palmerston's administration it had been obvious
that British influence in Europe had declined, but the apparent weakness of
Gladstone's foreign policy was very unpopular. Gladstone particularly
aroused public opinion in his handling of the Alabama dispute (see p. 85).
Very sensibly he agreed to submit the question of compensation to the
United States to an international tribunal, but to a nation which had only
recently been applauding the jaunty jingoism of PalmerstolJ his action
seemed cowardly and unpatriotic. His reputation suffered still further when
the tribunal awarded the Unitt'd States £3,500,000 damages.
14. Disraeli and Tory Democracy
Reasons for Conservati,~ victory, 1874
Gladstone's reforms had aroused vigorous opposition from many quart~rs,
The Licensing Bills had thrown the brewing interests into the arms of the
Conservative Party, with public houses themselves as centres for Conservative propaganda. The Army reforms had struck a serious blow at old
family privileges in the forces, while the House of Lords had been exasperated by Gladstone's determined use of Orders in Council to get round
their opposition. The Nonconformists resented the creation of state
schools and the support given to the schools of the Anglican Church. The
trade unions, many of whose most skilled and intelligent members had been
enfranchised by the second Reform Bill of 1867, were angered by the
Criminal Law Amendment Act. In foreign policy, Gladstone's opponents
made capital out of the Alabama decision which went against Britain,
while the defeat of France in the war of 1870 was attributed to Gladstone's
policy of neutrality. A large proportion of the electorate was still upper and
middle class, whereas many of those who had benefited from Gladstone's
reforms had no vote. The result was that every element of the 'establishment' - Irish peers, Anglican bishops, the old military families, the brewing
interests - opposed Gladstone, and the trade unionists in the towns gave the
final blow. Disraeli was returned to power with a substantial majority.
Benjamin Disraeli and So)Cialreform
Disraeli was a man of great versatility both as a novelist and b politician.
He hoped to combine the new democratic trends with both th,~virtues of
the old aristocracy anc! the power of Empire, binding them toge ther within
the framework of Briti~h constitutional monarchy (see ChaJ:ter 8). He
believed that Britain should extend her civilizing influence a; widely as
possible in the world, and in the race for power, Britain must not be left
behind the rising empiJes of Germany and of Russia. At home, Disraeli
saw more clearly than eny other Conservative stat~sman of the nineteenth
century the need to convince the 'masses' that progressive social reform
was not only introduced by Liberals and Radicals. In this he had an able
and dedicated assistant in Richard Cross, the Home Secretary.
1be Artisans' Dwellings Act, 1875
The growth of population in London and the big cities had put immense
DISRAELI
AND TORY DEMOCRACY
133
the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, replacing the Criminal
Law Amendment Act, went a long way to strengthen their standing in law.
At last a combination of work people to further their interests was clearly
legal. If an action by a trade union during a trade dispute could legally have
been committed by one person then the trade union action was also legal.
This implied that, just as one person could withdraw his labour from an
employer,
a combination
of workers could do the same
-
in other words,
they had'a clear right to strike in furtherance of their own interests. Finally,
by the Trade Union Amendment Act of 1876, a trade union was clearly
defined and the old regulations against them acting 'in restraint of trade'
were finally swept aside.
Beaconsfield Buildings in North London erected in 1879 and /lamed after
Disraeli. At that time they seemed to be a great improvement on the old
slums seen in the background.
pressure on living space. The industrial towns were crowded w!th insanitary
back-to-back houses built without damp courses and often with walls only
one brick thick. The 'housing of the people had been undertaken by private
builders out for high profits. The first real State intervention in this private
speculative building came with the Artisans' D.wellings Act. Cross had .to
fight opposition to it in his own party, and this accounts. f?r som~ of Its
weaknesses. Nevertheless the Act achieved for local authontles the fight to
purchase and demolish insanitary property and to clear and reconstruct
whole areas. However, they still did not have powers of compulsory
purchase.
The Public Health Act, 1875
This Act made important new demands upon the local authori~ies. ~hey
were compelled to appoint Medical Officers of Health, to whom mfectlOus
diseases had to be notified. They were also compelled to ensure adequate
drainage and sewage disposal in their districts, and to collect refuse as a
regular service. The water supply was no longer to be left to th~ haphazard
efforts of private concerns and water-sellers. Inspectors of nUisances were
appointed, and local authorities had to see that polluted foodstuffs were
destroyed.
.
In the history of the efforts to improve the health and well-bemg of .the
people, the Public Health Act of 1875 was undoubtedl,y of gre~t Importance. Even so, many of its opponents, both Conservative and Liberal,
denounced it as a serious invasion of the 'liberties' of private persons, and
sneered at the work of Disraeli's administration as 'a policy of sewage'.
Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875
Disraeli had decided to improve the legal position of the trade unions, and
,.
II
1\
I
.'f
I
i,
Employers and Workmen Act, 1875
This improved the legal position of a worker in relation to his employer.
Employers and workmen were henceforth on equal terms in any contract of
service between them. Previously, an employer's breach of contract was
treated as an offence under the civil law and could be met by the payment of
damages, whereas a workman who broke his contract was liable to a
criminal law penalty of fine and imprisonment. Under the new law they
were both liable to the penalties of civil law.
Factory Acts of 1874 and 1878
This ministry also introduced important changes in factory regulations.
Since the achievement of the ten-hour day in the textile industries (see p. 63)
the only advance gained by the textile workers had been by a Factory Act
of 1850 which gave the Saturday half-holiday, but left the working week at
sixty hours, which meant in effect a working day of ten and a half hours.
By the Factory Act of 1874 this was changed to a working week of fifty-six
and a half hours, which gave an actual daily rate of ten hours. By a
number of Factory Acts passed between 1860 and 1864 several other trades
had been brought under the same regulations as the textile factories, and in
1867 all factories employing more than fifty workers were included. Workshops employing less than fifty workers were placed under the supervision
of the local authorities. The latter, however, failed to carry out their
inspections regularly, and by Disraeli's Factory and Workshops Act of
1878, all such factories and workshops came under State inspection. This
was 'tn important advance in the protection given to industrial workers by
the State, and showed a response to the demands of the trade unions.
The Merchant Shipping Act, 1876
The conditions of employment for sailors in the merchant service were
appalling. Their livi~!gquarters were cramped and insanitary, and ships
were sent to sea overloaded and unseaworthy. Attention had been drawn to
this situation by a number of tragedies at sea in which crews were lost and
the insurance companies had to payout large sums. The cause of the