Reform and Reformers in Nineteenth Century Britain (review)

Reform and Reformers is a collection of articles by both well-established scholars and those at the outset of scholarly careers on the broad theme announced in the title. They are drawn from papers delivered in 2001 at the conference 'Varieties of Political Belief in Britain 1832-1914' held at the University of Sunderland.

Michael Turner's brief introduction situates the volume within the context of a revival of interest in political history and the dynamics of reform, and offers some rather tentative claims as to its historiographical significance. The diversity of theme, chronological focus and approach, however, militates against the collective impact of the essays. While one might regret the fact that the introduction does not do more to try and give the volume a sense of direction, it is hard to see how Turner could have done this convincingly. It does not help that there is no index, making it harder to follow up possible interconnections between the chapters. Moreover, the authors seem to have struggled to get the right balance between scene-setting and exposition within the tight word-limits required to squeeze nine essays into a mere 174 pages, 45 of which are devoted to endnotes.

The most cohesive element of the volume is a series of three essays dealing with economic and financial reform in the mid-century period. All essentially make the same and not especially unfamiliar point: that while in some sense the 1840s witnessed the establishment of a mid-Victorian settlement in economic policy which underpinned a quiescent 'age of equipoise' on the basis of a liberal laissez-faire state, those opposed to various dimensions of the new order did not lack for cogent arguments or opportunities to challenge what has at times been presented as an inevitable modernization of the British economic system. First, Catherine Molyneux considers the parliamentary scrutiny of the 1844 Bank Charter Act provoked by financial crisis in 1847-8. She makes plain the extent to which the currency issue remained an unresolved question, the parliamentary discussion of which was shaped by political expediency, but could have done more to assist those readers who have little technical expertise or have not consulted her doctoral thesis, since her chapter assumes a prior acquaintance with the details of the act and its passage. Turner himself explores Thomas Perronet Thompson M.P.'s dismay at the parliamentary and electoral aftermath of the repeal of the Corn Laws, charting his concern that divisions and distractions among the free-trade party might permit a protectionist counter-revolution. Third, James Taylor examines the debate over limited liability, emphasizing that supporters of laissez-faire could be found both in support and in opposition to its extension, rather than unequivocally lining up in favour of joint-stock companies.

The remainder of the essays concern themselves broadly with electoral and political cultures, whether conceived at the national, regional or local level, and ranging from 1832 to the very end of the century in chronological focus. Martin McElroy examines the divisions among Irish reformers in Munster following catholic emancipation and their electoral expression. His chapter echoes recent work by Jennifer Ridden in stressing the importance of chambers of commerce, municipal political culture and the dynamics of reformist tendencies beyond those of O'Connell and his allies, but does more to map the divisions than explain them. Matthew McCormack offers a taster for his forthcoming monograph on The Independent Man. Citizenship and Gender Politics in Georgian England in a consideration of the gendered aspects of the concept of 'independence' so prominent in the rhetoric of debates over the 1832 Reform Act; we must, however, await the book for a better understanding of how the gender dimension significantly amplifies our understanding of the cultural-political work done by this notion. Chris Williams offers a pen-portrait of the career of Sir Thomas Phillips, the liberal anglican magistrate who helped see off the 1839 Newport rising. Williams reasserts the significance of other aspects of...