A Political History of the House of Lords, 1811-1846: From the Regency to Corn Law RepealThe history of England's House of Lords in the nineteenth century has been largely misunderstood or ignored by historians. Richard W. Davis argues that the Lords were not primarily reactionary or obstructive, but rather a House in which much beneficial legislation was enacted. More conservative in political questions than the Commons perhaps, the Lords at least equaled them in compassion for the poor and suffering. While many historians also argue that after the Reform Act of 1832 the Lords had little real power, the Lords actually had precisely the same power after the Act as before: a bill could become law only after it passed both Houses of Parliament. They also had the power of veto and used it, particularly from 1833 to 1841 after the passage of the Act that is supposed to have so weakened them. The Whig House of Commons did not appreciate the actions of the Conservative majority in the Lords, but the electorate, becoming more conservative with every election, cared not at all. |
From inside the book
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... Peel's government as well as of Wellington's . Wharncliffe too had been a member of Peel's government . Another old gov- ernment hand was Lord Aberdeen . All played a moderating role , as did Lord Fitzgerald and the earl of Devon and ...
... Peel that kept the duke quietly at work until he got the bill into Committee . Was it wise to have left him in the dark thereafter , dependent for information on Peel's posi- tion only on hints from Lord Fitzgerald , if indeed Peel ...
... Peel's administration . In the course of the negotiations , " it had been ascertained that none of those who in the cabinet had objected to Sir Robert Peel's plan of amendment of the Corn Laws were prepared any one of them to undertake ...
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
A King a Prince and Civil and Religious Liberty | 5 |
The Regency Crisis | 20 |
Copyright | |
16 other sections not shown