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The Voice of the People THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: THE LOYAL REFORMERS' GAZETTE AND THE PASSING OF SCOTTISH REFORM 1832 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Guelph by MARK DORSEY In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts January, 2011 © Mark Dorsey, 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-80045-4 Our file Notre r6f4rence ISBN: 978-0-494-80045-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantias de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la lot canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Mark Dorsey Advisor: University of Guelph, 2011 Professor G. Morton The Loyal Reformers' Gazette, based out of Glasgow, was a small grassroots publication that found its place in being instrumental in the passing of the Scottish Reform of 1832. The Gazette was one of the leading unstamped periodicals that provided low-wage workers with critical information concerning the Scottish Reform Act 1832, making the paper hugely influential in the creation of class consciousness at the time. The Gazette was considered dangerous enough by the state to prosecute - due to its focus on political corruption and changing the parliamentary system - and throughout its publication, the paper faced dogged persistence for not withdrawing from the protest. The larger implications of case study on The Loyal Reformers' Gazette are the findings it offers on the nature of radicalism in Scotland at the time, an ongoing historiographical debate among those interested in the level of "flammability" of the nation. With the help of some influential allies - such as Francis Jeffrey and Earl Grey - the paper helped to lead Scottish radicalism with a strong sense of unionist-nationalism and adherence to the principles of participation in civil society. Despite legal proceedings trying to shut the Gazette down, the paper persevered in debating the idea that monetary worth is directly correlated to intellect and understanding, and preaching that political reform offered an answer to poverty and other social problems. As a result of their role in establishing reform and acting as the "voice" of the Scottish people - something that other newspapers were not doing - the Gazette acted as a public forum for Scottish political and social issues and a conduit to class formation and solidarity. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 -4 Chapter 1 - The formation of working-class consciousness 5 - 37 Chapter 2 - Specific political and social demands of the Gazette 38 - 59 Chapter 3 - Training workers how to agitate within the constitution 60 - 93 Conclusion 94 - 98 Bibliography 99-103 1 INTRODUCTION The Loyal Reformers' Gazette began publication in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 7, 1831. The paper was created and edited by Peter MacKenzie, a long-time advocate of the Reform movement to make representational changes in the electoral system. The weekly periodical joined a number of other cheap, unstamped newspapers aimed at disseminating information about the Scottish Reform Bills to the working-class men in the west of Scotland. The Gazette lasted as a weekly publication until the imprisonment of MacKenzie in late 1832. Following his release, the paper became a twice-monthly publication, lasting in that form until May 1836.1 The Gazette under MacKenzie closely followed the path of Reform legislation, and once Reform was passed, the paper reported on the debates taking place in the reformed parliament. This case study explores The Loyal Reformers' Gazette in order to try and demonstrate that the paper helped establish Reform by acting as the self-appointed "voice" of the Scottish people. In doing so, the Gazette became a public forum for national political and social issues and a conduit to class formation and solidarity at the time. Throughout the Reform debates, the Gazette acted as a platform on which to champion Scottish politicians who were both nationalistic and Reform-minded. While the Gazette often veered into using literary rhetoric in its calls for parliamentary change, this research will show that the paper nevertheless unceasingly promoted civility, respectability, and constitutionalism. As will be seen, the Gazette demonstrates how the unstamped press played a central role in promoting and sustaining class consciousness amongst the working classes in Glasgow. The paper did so by expressing its loyalty to the James MacLehose, Memoirs and portraits of one hundred Glasgow men who have died during the last thirty years and in their lives did much to make the city what it now is (Glasgow: James MacLehose & Sons, 1886), 202. 2 monarchy and the constitution and by being critical of the anti-Reformers, the stamped middle-class press, and the "oppressive organs" of the state, especially the Stamp Office. In this study on The Loyal Reformers' Gazette as a source, I will show, first, that MacKenzie's effort to create a working-class voice and platform was a deliberate effort that did not just arise out of a vacuum. As the themes in the wider literature that are present in this study will show, by 1832 there were a number of social problems that existing creating tensions for the working class. The historiography discussed by English historians such as E.P. Thompson, and Scottish historians like T.C. Smout, R.J. Morris and Graeme Morton is drawn upon to show that Glasgow was not alone and that working- class consciousness intensified as a whole during this period. During this period being studied the Gazette was able to benefit from factors such as a high literacy rate among its population, as well as what would have probably been a fairly wide circulation. As will be seen by the Gazette's public debates with other Scottish newspapers and with the local elites in Glasgow, the paper deliberately set itself up as a symbol of the working class. The paper's defiance of the Stamp Office was a larger part of MacKenzie's goal to give the working class a free press. Therefore, freedom of the press was used by the Gazette to justify its struggle against the state in the name of working-class cohesion. In the second chapter, I intend to show that The Loyal Reformers' Gazette had very specific political demands under MacKenzie. For instance, the paper paid close attention to Scottish Reform, which was of a slightly different nature than the Reform Bills being discussed and in England, Wales and Ireland at the time. By printing the actual Reform document, and by reporting on developments in Parliament that related specifically to Scotland, the Gazette shows that the Glasgow working class was interested in Reform for specific reasons. The Gazette never gave its working-class readers the idea 3 that full suffrage would come with Reform, but Reform was promoted by the paper as a very important step in the process of eventually getting a working class vote. After the passing of Reform, the paper closely followed the upcoming elections and gave its opinions on specific political candidates. In addition to emphasizing the specific demands of the Gazette, another theme that is central to this chapter is the language that the paper used to create working-class consciousness. The literary strategies employed by the Gazette certainly were not revolutionary; in fact, they were very common for the time. However, the paper's complex mixture of exaggeration, militaristic language, satire and humour really appealed to the working-class audience of the paper. The rhetoric and the vibrant narrative provided by MacKenzie helped to project a sense of working-class consciousness in direct opposition to the elites that were being satirized. A good example of this is the way in which the Gazette used the issue of cholera in order to condemn elites and to argue for the importance of the press in revealing the true nature of the disease. Finally, chapter three sets out to demonstrate that The Loyal Reformers' Gazette was dedicated to training workers to agitate for political change within the parameters of the constitution. There is no denying that the paper used the threat of violence and that actual incidents of violence did occur and were reported by the Gazette; however, in general, the Gazette's support for the constitution meant that it supported mass engagement and popular protest that was of an organized, orderly, and non-violent nature.
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