登陆注册
5589700000007

第7章 POLITICAL CONDITIONS(2)

Here was a mass of anomalies,sufficient to supply topics of denunciation for two generations of reformers,and,in time,to excite fears of violent revolution.Without undertaking the easy task of denouncing exploded systems,we may ask what state of mind they implied.Our ancestors were perfectly convinced that their political system was of almost unrivalled excellence:they held that they were freemen entitled to look down upon foreigners as the slaves of despots.Nor can we say that their satisfaction was without solid grounds.The boasting about English freedom implied some misunderstanding.

But it was at least the boast of a vigorous race.Not only were there individuals capable of patriotism and public spirit,but the body politic was capable of continuous energy.During the eighteenth century the British empire spread round the world.Under Chatham it had been finally decided that the English race should be the dominant element in the new world;if the political connection had been severed by the bungling of his successors,the unbroken spirit of the nation had still been shown in the struggle against France,Spain,and the revolted colonies;and whatever may be thought of the motives which produced the great revolutionary wars,no one can deny the qualities of indomitable self-reliance and high courage to the men who led the country through the twenty years of struggle against France,and for a time against France with the continent at its feet.If moralists or political theorists find much to condemn in the ends to which British policy was directed,they must admit that the qualities displayed were not such as can belong to a simply corrupt and mean-spirited government.

One obvious remark is that,on the whole,the system was a very good one --as systems go.It allowed free play to the effective political forces.

Down to the revolutionary period,the nation as a whole was contented with its institutions.The political machinery provided a sufficient channel for the really efficient force of public opinion.There was as yet no large class which at once had political aspirations and was unable to gain a hearing.

England was still in the main an agricultural country:and the agricultural labourer was fairly prosperous till the end of the century,while his ignorance and isolation made him indifferent to politics.There might be a bad squire or parson,as there might be a bad season;but squire and parson were as much parts of the natural order of things as the weather.The farmer or yeoman was not much less stolid;and his politics meant at most a choice between allegiance to one or other of the county families.If in the towns which were rapidly developing there was growing up a discontented population,its discontent was not yet directed into political channels.An extended franchise meant a larger expenditure on beer,not the readier acceptance of popular aspirations.To possess a vote was to have a claim to an occasional bonus rather than a right to influence legislation.Practically,therefore,parliament might be taken to represent what might be called 'public opinion,'for anything that deserved to be called public opinion was limited to the opinions of the gentry and the more intelligent part of the middle classes.There was no want of complaints of corruption,proposals to exclude placemen from parliament and the like;and in the days of Wilkes,Chatham,and Junius,when the first symptoms of democratic activity began to affect the political movement,the discontent made itself audible and alarming.But a main characteristic of the English reformers was the constant appeal to precedent,even in their most excited moods.They do not mention the rights of man;they invoke the 'revolution principles'of 1688;they insist upon the 'Bill of Rights'or Magna Charta.When keenly roused they recall the fate of Charles I;and their favourite toast is the cause for which Hampden died on the field and Sidney on the scaffold.They believe in the jury as the 'palladium of our liberties';and are convinced that the British Constitution represents an unsurpassable though unfortunately an ideal order of things,which must have existed at some indefinite period.Chatham in one of his most famous speeches,appeals,for example,to the 'iron barons'who resisted King John,and contrasts them with the silken courtiers which now compete for place and pensions.The political reformers of the time,like religious reformers in most times,conceive of themselves only as demanding the restoration of the system to its original purity,not as demanding its abrogation.In other words,they propose to remedy abuses but do not as yet even contemplate a really revolutionary change.

Wilkes was not a 'Wilkite,'nor was any of his party,if Wilkite meant anything like Jacobin.

II.The Ruling

Class Thus,however anomalous the constitution of parliament,there was no thought of any far-reaching revolution The great mass of the population was too ignorant,too scattered and too poor to have any real political opinions.So long as certain prejudices were not aroused,it was content to leave the management of the state to the dominant class,which alone was intelligent enough to take an interest in public affairs and strong enough to make its interest felt.This class consisted in the first place of the great landed interest.

同类推荐
  • 鱼篮宝卷

    鱼篮宝卷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 东茶记

    东茶记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 非烟传

    非烟传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 太上肘后玉经方

    太上肘后玉经方

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说六门陀罗尼经

    佛说六门陀罗尼经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 独生男孩怎么养

    独生男孩怎么养

    俗话说:“男孩穷着养,女孩富着养”。这话不无道理。然而如果家有男孩,仅仅是“穷着养”,就一定能培养出了不起的男孩吗?未必。独生男孩与有兄弟姐妹的男孩相比,有着自己独特的个性及心理特点。我们只有因材施教,才能让独生男孩的优势充分发挥出来,从而培养出一个了不起的男孩。 本书从家长的角度出发,根据独生男孩的成长特点,分别从生活习惯、独立个性、基本能力、身心健康、优良人格、情商教育、性教育,美德教育八个方面,进行了全面的分析与阐述。内容翔实,分析透彻,方法简单易行,可操作性强。从本书中,您一定能找到养育独生男孩的有效方法。
  • 阎罗王妃

    阎罗王妃

    阎王赐予她阴阳眼和读心术,让她随意指挥小鬼迷糊的白痴全部化成粉末,恶斗后母,欠她的她一个也不放过,给予恩惠的她涌泉相报。
  • 青梅煮马

    青梅煮马

    中考那年,肖剑曾经问过我一个很深奥的问题:“你说,咱俩有没有可能发展发展?”我淡定的回答他:“你不用担心,这么掉价的事我还是有分寸的。”肖剑听了甚慰,逐摸了摸我的脑袋,夸我是个明事理的好同志。高考那年,肖剑又问了我一个更加深奥的问题:“你说,两个B血型的人生出的小孩会不会是2B血型的?”我继续淡定的回答他:“你不如实践出真知。”肖剑听了若有所思,逐转身将我扑倒。我勒个去,我又不是B型的,扑个毛!!!
  • 战神凰妃

    战神凰妃

    轻松热血1V1,喜剧甜宠无误会,结局圆满,全文he,标签错误,不要被误导。低垂着眉眼,夜轻羽飞起一脚,将某个接骨还不忘耍流氓的混蛋给踹了出去。前世,她是一国战神,拼尽一切,只想要守护自己的亲人,最后,却被至亲背叛,落得惨死,国破家亡,亲人同胞为奴为仆。重生为邻国傻白丑,某女本想着有仇报仇,有怨报怨,顺道搅动一下这天下风云。不曾想,天上掉下个绝色邪帝。霸道腹黑各种撩,撒娇卖萌爱粘人。“你最近怎么这么冷淡,是不是在外面有别的小白脸了?”勾起女人的下巴,某妖孽眸光微眯。“天地良心,我这个辈子养过的小白脸只有你一个!”某女一秒挺直腰板,信誓旦旦,非常正直!
  • 心月何处:欧阳自远与中国嫦娥工程

    心月何处:欧阳自远与中国嫦娥工程

    本书即是全面描写这一光辉历程的纪实文学。全书分“携带一壶月光上路”、“序曲:1958”、“陨石,一部无字的天书”、“看似淡淡的喟叹里”、“月球,末路上的英雄”等二十个章节。作者从世界几大强国争相进军太空这一背景出发,以大开大阖的格局、气势澎湃的激情及目极八荒的视野,尽情讴歌了有关科技人员为了人类的未来与祖国的尊严,在太空探索事业上不断追求与奋斗中所表现出的崇高的社会责任感与神圣的历史使命感;书中同时还涉及无论是在近代化,还是现代化进程中无不艰难跋涉的一个民族的心路历程,其中所表现出的光荣与梦想、奋斗与追求,也同样令人感慨不已。这是本书的思想精髓,也是本书价值之所在。
  • 锁妖店

    锁妖店

    相传九天有神佛,九渊有阎罗。在凡间有宛若星斗般的海外仙山,飘渺与无穷业海之中,怅惘在俗世之中。激起天下之人向往,自此寻仙之举便犹若过江之鲫。却不知仙灵一般的人物隐匿与俗世凡尘。或坐卧山水间,或出没市井中,或被人所忌惮,就如仙临城里的那只狐妖,人人喊打。
  • 天鳞变

    天鳞变

    大道无情,以天地为局,万族为棋。龙族破败,万灵之主桂冠花落他家。他的身世莫名,却给村子七十三口普通人带来杀身之祸。背对千夫所指,那一年,他只有十五岁。十五年前,到底发生了什么?四大古时代,又发生了什么?万族之战,为何生灵涂炭?万灵之主,因何一蹶不振?所有的一切,到底是谁在掌控?是仙吗?这个世界上真的有仙吗?到底何为仙?不成仙,不可逆天。我若成仙,定要那乾坤逆转,改变苍天。
  • 翻译名义

    翻译名义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 最强修真狂医

    最强修真狂医

    行医修武,纵横天下,极品美女,愿赋予我,超级爽文,与您一起欣赏!
  • 坚如磐石:明清城墙(文化之美)

    坚如磐石:明清城墙(文化之美)

    明清城墙是明朝初年在明太祖朱元璋的“高筑墙、广积粮、缓称王” 的思想指导下建成的。城墙完全围绕“防御” 战略体系建造,包括护城河、吊桥、闸楼、箭楼、正楼、角楼、敌楼、女儿墙、垛口等一系列军事设施,城墙的厚度大于高度,墙顶可以跑车、操练,非常坚固。该书详述了关于明清城墙的历史过往,特点及价值,可谓是洋洋大观,精彩纷呈。