' ■ y ^ ' National Library Bibliothèque nationale ■ ' of Canada ' du'Canadà^. •' Canadian Theses Division Division des theses canadiennes ' ■ Oltàwa, Canada ’ ■ , . ' ' . T T . - . 60103 : ; , - I ,■ P-loaseprint'or typè—-Écrireen lettres msulées ou dactylographie! -.’ti Name oî A uthor-- Nom complet de. l'auleur rîoan Watchant. I o( Oirth -— Date de naissance' Country o! Birth — Lieu dè-naissHnça- England. ( August 1'î',1Ç33 tjrrnansni Address— Résidence lixe 56 Lorne Ave-nue, . «? ' Dartmouth, Noya Scotia, B2Y ,3E' 1 itip of Tl*ît'sisTitra de la thèse ' ' • Parïiament'and the Chartists I83D-I849 V ! tinivùfsity -- Université ' ' - ' Paint Mary’s Dnive'rsity, Halifax, Nova Scotia , Dâgren fo r which thesis was presented — Grade pour lequel cette thèse ful.prés.enîèe' î , Master-of Arts in History ■ , , :, Year this degree conlèrred — Année d'obtention d e ce grade ta n n e o f 5i.up"rvisor --- Nom Ou directeur de thèse ■R .Hugh Caïïtàron ' ' • . 1184 ' ' : : ' Perrnissiori is hereby granted to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF L’tiUtorisalion est, par la prt.-.sunie, accordée à la BlBl.iO'i'Hi- CANADA to microfilm this thesis and.to lend or sell copies of QUE f-f.ATiOI'IALiYDU .CANADA (hr rnicrohim of cette thèse: et il-.- tiio h im . prêter ou de vendre c/es exemplaires du îiirn. i I he author reserve.) other publicaüon .righLs, and neither Itis L 'a u te u r se ré s e rv e le .s o u tre s d ro its de p u b lic a tio n ; n i la th-'-.,-- i'l-esis nor cxterisiv.%extracts frbrn it rïiey be printed pr other- nî de longs exfraifs de çeîle-ci ne doivent être impri.mês (-u ■vise reproduced v/ithout the author's -written permission. .autrement leproduils sans l'autorisation écrite;de l'auteur. ■ Saint Mary'p University Halifax,; Nova Seotia » PARLIAMENT AND THE CHARTISTS # ' 1 8 3 9 - 1 8 4 9 . Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in Partial: Fulfilment of .the Requirements for the. ' Degree of Master of Arts in History by: , ■ . Joan Watcham . ' ■ . November 1 5 , 19-83 ■ Examining Committee: ' R.H. Catron (-Chairperson and Thesis Advisor) R.J. Twomey G.P.W, Young ' X Par] 'iament and the Chartists 1839-3849. By 'Joan Watcham. Nov.emfcer- 1-5, l'90-3~ ^ . ■ ■ The’Chartist's of mid-!iin.eteenth century.-England -com- prj ssd one of'.the gro'ups of ordinary working people who had 'f. history , and who -shaped the. society of which they wore a part . They were., however , frequently misùnderstoGd, r Idi - dul'ed or ignored by both middle and. upper classes, and jo r.paz'ticalar by the Members of Parliament whom they pat^'Iion'ed so 'i'req^ntl'y and with, such ardour during the decade which thr,-s thesis will cover, that is 1839-184-9-. Chartism was an important'movement, but only a few Pariiamenta-rians"were' prepared to take it seriously. This thesis will consider what the .Members-of Parliament had'to say about^ th^e movement, and'why only a few of them saw the importance of the desire o f the Chartists to become actively involved in the political life of the nation. 'The working classes hoped that. Chartism would provide ■them with n means of changing th*. hangf hnnh.s ti ons under v/hic'n they were forced to live,-and which they could not hope to a i ' change because they did not have the vote. They believed that po.lltlca.’ -lirianc-.lpa'lion would bring them social emanci- p a 1.1 on r- for if they cou.n3 elect men to Parliament who had ' ' ' their welfare at heart then legislation would be passed to give’ them social justice. In Parliament, however, neither the Liberal Pkrty nor the Conservative Party showed any-' enthusiasm for the cause. Debates on Chartism'were thinly attended, and reflected a lack of concern on the part of most M.P, 's.- -Only- a small, group of. radicals,. whom I hav^e . V'! ; ■ termed "Chartist RacPicals." gave the Chartists their full - ' '/support.. ../. , . Other M.P.,',s showed an, inter est in the Chartist ; ' movement only if their own constituencies -were affec-ted by . I - Chartist rioting, or if." the ,-Opposition Members .saw-Chartist ' '<■ . activities as a means of embarrassing the ministry of the day . ; . ■ There was à small number of M.P.’s who believed that social, I - ' ,-legislation was the responsibility- of the- Government, while : - others had a genuine, concern for, civil rig'hts . A'.small group ’ .■ of Conservatives was interested in an -alliance with such 1 ; ■■ radical g I and paternalists in both Conservative and Liberal Parties were.interested in the working classes as a group for whom they ..should provide protection in return for defer­ ence . ' The majority of the'parliamentarians only spoke about the Chartist cause when they thought it was_ thre.atening law . ' -and order, property or trade. 'Only the Chartist Radicals were prepared to accept the premise that the vote .was a fundamental human right. Research has indicated that the Parliaments of .1839- 184-9 were passing class-biased legislation. This thesis looks at the way parliamentarians, who were mainly upper and XV middle olass, reacted to the demands oT the lower class 'Chartists. .We. see a-group of men determined, to maintain the. ■status ,quo, with ‘nq understanding‘of the'needs of the working people of England, responding to a group which was loô'king ' for ,a. change in the suffrage as the only means of bringing ^ .... - - . X • .'labout .social justice for the working classes.,^ f . 8 TABLE OF- COM'ENTg ABSTRACT . INTRODUCTION Chapter 1. CHARTIST'S, PART-lEs AND MINISTRIES 111 2'. THE PARLIAMENTARIANS ' RESPONSE TO C}^TISM'S FIRST PEAK, 1839-1840 3. THE SECOND PEAK, 1840-1842 76 4. THE FINAL PEAK, 1843-1849 122 CONCLUSION .. 199 BIBLIOGRAPHY 201 APPENDIXES \ .203 A . Aims and Rules of the National Charter, Association . ., . 203 B. Grievances Contained in the 1842 National, ' Petition " . ........ ............ 210 -G . Occupations of Prominent Chartists in l84l 211 D. Rules and Regulations of the Chartist. Land . Co-operative Company' ...... ". 213" E. List of All Those M.P.'s Who Supported Crawford's Amendment on February 1, 1844 214 V I\NTR0DUCTI-Qîi ' . = . Chartism came into .being at,a time when social concerns Were not the primary issüe in Parliament, and' ' r ; ' . \ ' ci:' ' , ' debates on th^e movement were characterized by-sparse dttehdance of M.P.'s and by a distinct lack of interest and enthusiasm. Yet the Chartists were a • groi.jp 'of ofüinary working people who had ^history; and who shaped the mid- nineteenth century society of which they were a part. Chartists were frequently misunderstood', ridiculed or ignored by the middle a.nd uppe.r classes,- and in particular by the parliamentarians whom they petitioned frequently, and ardently during-the'.dec.ad’e dealt with in this thesis . Chartism was an important moyement, but only a. small, number chose' to spea.K about the movement, and still ffewer were prepared to take' it seriously'. This thesis will ■ ■ consider what .the parliamentarians. - Radicals, Repealers, Liberals, Whigs and Conservatives, had to say about the ■ , Chartists, and why only a small group saw the importance of the Chartists’ desire to become involved in the',political' life of their country. Only a small group of radicals, termed in this thesio.the "Chartist Radicals.," ga'ye the Chartists consistent .support in Parliament. The majority of the parliamentarians only**spoke about the Chartist cause when , 1 ■ they thought that it posed' a threat'to laiw and order, ' . - - property or trade. - Ny research has iridicated that the Parliaments of I8 3 9 -I849 were passing class-biased legislation, so this thesis is concerned Vith.the way that npper and iniddle class parliamentarians reacted to the demands of working men, The , ; ■ ' ■" -. , . ' Members of Parliament believed that it was their duty to maintain the status q uo, and had no understanding' of the Chartists, who-believed that a radical reform of the parlia­ mentary system was the only way that they could achieve social justice for the working classes. The reasons for the interest , in Chartism of tho-se, - parliamentarians who were not in the government fall into •five main-categories. In the first place, the 'movement was . ’widespread and was active for a period of two decades.. This meant that,a larèe number of Members found the movement'at work in t,heir .own constituencies at one time or' another. This prompted m^y'questions to the Home' Secretary about the government',3 handling of the situations, either as.'a means of harassing the government, or as-a way of showing his con­ stituents that an -M.P. was doing his job Gonsoienti'ouslÿ . The Radicals, the Liberals, the -Repealers and some . ■ Conservatives were happy to seize on Chartist activities as an opportunity to embarrass the Whig ministry, although the Liberals and the majority of the Radicals were not prepared to bring the ministry down. As the M.P.'s spoke, they made . statements of their views on Chartism, and it became evident ■ ■ $13 they^id 30 that only a small' grobp' ' o( Bay%a^aJ3,/ninak f ' in ' niunber., .w&re consistent-supporters; of the Chartist cause. ■; By what, they sâ.,iü, a.n^ hy the' way they cas't their v%#»s ' ' ‘ . these few men could be relied upon-to uphold" the Chartist ' . ' cauie'in 'Parliament..- They "^ili "henceforth be referred^ to i ' ' : - -in this thesis'asyCharti-st .Radipals. Of the nine.i Thomas S. ■ * . Duncombe., the 'Radical who "represented the borough of Finsbury from 1834-1861 ", was the most-\ consistent and per- % , , V ■' s.istent in his determination to keep’the Chartist 'movement '■ ' before the house'of Commons.