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The Discussion of Imperial Problems in the British Parliament, 1880–85

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

I. M. Cumpston
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College, London

Extract

Gladstone came to office for his second ministry in May 1880, after fight marked by bitter strife and uncompromising temper on both sides. The Times considered it the hottest political struggle ever known in this country. The Liberal Government with their large majority came into office in a mood of concentration on domestic legislation and the belief that external affairs had hitherto received too much attention. The Conservatives for their part claimed that, if a minority, they were compact and inspirited. The Opposition, although weak, would be resolute.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1963

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References

page 29 note 1 The Times, 27 March 1880.Google Scholar

page 29 note 2 Hans[ard's] Parl[iamentary] Deb[ates], 3rd Series, cclxvii. 1190. Gladstone had written in 1878: ‘The cares and calls of the British Empire are already beyond the strength of those who govern and have governed it' (‘England's Mission’, Nineteenth Century, Sept. 1878).

page 29 note 3 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxxi. 14. He thought this feeling universal in Great Britain.

page 30 note 1 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxvii. 444. Sir Charles Dilke reminded the House in 1880 that the great majority of travellers in uncivilized parts of the world and perhaps the majority of missionaries were British subjects.

page 30 note 2 Ibid., cclxxxvii. 1834.

page 30 note 3 See Quarterly Review, July 1863: A day would come ‘when … selfdependent colonies grown into nations will claim a dissolution of partnership’. In 1864 Sir Henry Taylor wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Duke of Newcastle: ‘When your Grace and the Prince of Wales were employing yourselves so successfully in conciliating the [Canadian] colonists, I thought that you were drawing closer ties which might better be slackened if there were any chance of their slipping away altogether. I think that a policy which has regard to a not very distant future should prepare facilities and propensities for separation’ (SirTaylor, Henry, Autobiography (London, 1885), ii, p. 235).Google Scholar

page 31 note 1 The Times, 25 and 27 March 1880.

page 31 note 2 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxxiii. 1084. A. Arnold (Salford) said of Cyprus: ‘It was of no value to the Empire in any respect.’

page 31 note 3 In the Commons, on 15 Feb. 1883, C. T. D. Acland (Cornwall E. Div.) used Dilke's phrase, ‘Greater Britain’ of the Empire; he believed few realized the rapidity of its growth (Ibid., cclxxvi. 92).

page 31 note 4 Ibid., cclxxxiii. 1550.

page 31 note 5 Ibid., cclxxxiii. 1539.

page 32 note 1 M.P. for Whitby, 1880-85. See SirPease, A, Elections and Recollections (London, 1932).Google Scholar

page 32 note 2 A Quaker until his withdrawal in 1858; a London banker; member of the Aborigines Protection Society. Conservative M.P. for Penryn, 1868-74; M.P. for City of London, 1880-91. Author of The Opium Revenue of India (London, 1876); A Visit to Japan, China and India (London, 1877).

page 32 note 3 There were exchanges in the House in 1882 about alleged slavery in Hong Kong, Lagos, the protected Malay States and North Borneo (Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxviii. 1711). Courtney said the Government believed slavery had ceased to exist in all those places. They would continue to prevent slavery and do what they could to avert the growth of a servile class of a different race from the dominant class.

page 32 note 4 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxi. 16; cclxii. 1096; cclxxi. 30.

page 32 note 5 Ibid., cclxviii. 488.

page 32 note 6 Ibid., cclxx. 1585.

page 32 note 7 Ibid., cclxxi. 30; cclxxix. 382; cclxxxi. 5.

page 32 note 8 Ibid., cclxvi. 680; cclxix. 246, 1934; cclxx. 73; cclxxiv. 1191; cclxxviii. 1141; cclxxxv. 1500.

page 32 note 9 Ibid., cclii. 641.

page 33 note 1 Ibid., cclxvii. 1203.

page 33 note 2 Ibid., cclxxviii. 726, 747; cclxxxi. 3; ccxcii. 438.

page 33 note 3 Ibid., cclv. 1215; cclxvi. 2375 cclxvii. 708, 1148.

page 33 note 4 On 25 April 1884, in a debate on the government of Jamaica, the House was counted out. Captain Price recalled that Jamaican affairs had formerly resulted in angry debates and the downfall of a powerful ministry, but feared they were now more likely to result in the counting out of the House (Ibid., cclxxxvii. 692).

page 33 note 5 Ibid., cclxiii. 1860. On 19 June 1882 J. Cropper (Kendal) asked if the British Government would offer their good offices to the New Zealand Government to settle land disputes with natives on the west coast. The Colonial Under-Secretary replied that those questions lay within the province of the New Zealand Government and Parliament (Ibid., cclxx. 1585).

page 34 note 1 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclii. 645. On 20 Jan. 1881 Sir W. Lawson (Carlisle) claimed that the Basutos had not been consulted about the 1871 annexation act, and had not been informed officially of its passing. Sir H. Holland said the Basutos had asked for British protection and knew their ultimate destination was annexation to a colony (Ibid., cclvii. 1073).

page 34 note 2 Ibid., ccliv. 1108.

page 34 note 3 Ibid., cclix. 1795. Sir H. Holland, who had served in the Colonial Office, said that the position of the British Government since 1872 was that it could tender advice and require the Governor to urge it on his ministers, but could not enforce it with regard to the internal administration of the colony. They could urge the impolicy of disarmament and remonstrate against the manner of its execution. They could require the Governor to use his just influence in upholding the views of the British Government, but could do no more (Ibid., cclvii. 1076). Grant DufFsaid the Queen might by virtue of her supreme authority intervene between the combatants (Ibid., cclvii.1084).

page 34 note 4 Ibid., cclxxi. 32.

page 34 note 5 The Times, 25 May 1880. It also said: ‘[In] South Africa as a whole … the white population is both numerous and prosperous enough to undertake all the duties of a self-governing community, and to defend itself against internal enemies. This duty is admitted and discharged by the colonists of Canada and New Zealand, and though the burden is greater in South Africa, there is no sufficient excuse for leaving it upon the overtasked mother country.’ Also ibid., 3 Aug. 1880.

page 35 note 1 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, ccliv. 637.

page 35 note 2 Ibid., cclvi. 884. In 1883 Lord Carnarvon claimed that recent events in South Africa had shown that a responsible government was not the best instrument for dealing with native affairs. He believed the natives looked with greater confidence to a single head such as a Queen or resident governor than to a parliament. The frequent change of officers and functionaries involved in parliamentary government militated against the continuity of government essential in dealing with native races (Ibid., cclxxx. 5).

page 35 note 3 On 12 July 1881 Sir D. Wedderburn asked whether the attention of the Colonial Office had recently been directed to the need for constitutional reform in Ceylon, especially the desire for more genuine representation in the Legislative Council. Sir C. Dilke said there had been no recent correspondence, but the Ceylon constitution had been under consideration at various times. It was not thought desirable to alter the system under which unofficial members were appointed to the Legislative Council (Ibid., cclxiii. 637). On 15 Aug. 1881 Lord Stanley of Alderley spoke of the grievance of the Ceylon Mussulmans, the most intelligent, active and wealthy of the native communities, who were not represented in the Legislative Council (Ibid., cclxiv. 1881).

page 35 note 4 Ibid., cclxxii. 263; cclxxiii. 85; cclxxv. 222; cclxxvi. 1881. The Under-Secretary said on 28 Nov. 1882: ‘There had been every desire to regard Maltese wishes about local affairs, and it was only in cases where imperial interests seemed to be involved that the votes of elected members had been overruled by the official majority.’ On 9 March 1883 Lord Derby spoke of ‘a desire to make local self-government a reality in matters not affecting imperial interests.’

page 36 note 1 Lord Carnarvon said he had recently read a despatch by Lord Kimberley revising the constitution of the Cyprus Council. He objected to alterations in the Council as to official and elected members. There would be a majority of two to one of the latter, and the elected members would be divided into nine Christians and three Mohammedans, elected by Christians and Mohammedans respectively. It would have been more satisfactory if the elected members were equal in number as there should be no doubt in the minds of anyone that their rights were not safeguarded, and they had justice done them (Hans. Pad. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxvi. 693; cclxviii. 1262, 1272; cclxxiii. 17).

page 36 note 2 Ibid., cclxxxv. 1540. On 9 March 1883 the Colonial Under-Secretary referred to a circular by the Conservative Colonial Secretary, the Duke of Buckingham, in 1868 describing the relations between official members and other members of the Council in crown colonies. The Duke of Buckingham had laid it down that there was one common feature among crown colony legislatures, viz. the power of the Crown, if pressed to its extreme limit, was enough to overcome every resistance. As for the duty of official members, when persons accepted office as members of an executive, they were rightly called on to vote with the Government. In the case of a nominee member of the legislature who was a salaried servant of the Crown, he should give general support to the Governor in the legislature; if not disposed to do so on special occasions when the Governor required it, he might be allowed to retire from the legislature, but the Governor would be entitled to object to his continuance in his office or seat {Ibid., cclxxvi. 1939). On 25 April 1884 the Colonial Under-Secretary said the Colonial Office believed there was too much risk of collision between classes, too much risk of excitement and agitation, to let it be arranged that the Crown should not be supreme in the last resort {Ibid., cclxxxvii. 692).

page 36 note 3 Ibid., cclx. 877; cclxxv. 392; cclxxvi. 1939; cclxxxiv. 1724; cclxxxvii. 692.

page 36 note 4 Ibid., cclxxxiii. 1538. Gladstone said: ‘We have a work before us in the performance of which … the powers and capacity … of this country will be severely strained.’ He spoke of broad principles of generosity and justice towards the Indians.

page 37 note 1 Ibid., cclxviii. 1832; cclxxii. 272.

page 37 note 2 Ibid., cclix. 431; cclxxii. 1966.

page 37 note 3 Ibid., cclxvi. 1066.

page 37 note 4 Ibid., cclvii. 150. On 25 July 1881 A. M. Sullivan (Meath) said the position of an Irish member on such questions as the Transvaal was not anagreeable one because the Irish people saw themselves committed in every quarter of the globe to enterprises they did not approve. Their blood might be shed and their treasures spent in contests from which their consciences recoiled {Ibid., cclxiii. 1836).

page 37 note 5 Ibid., cclxxxvii. 723.

page 38 note 1 O'Donnell, F. H.: A History of the Irish Parliamentary Party (London, 1910), i, p. 173.Google Scholar

page 38 note 2 An example of O'Donnell's activity may be seen on 21 June 1883, when he asked whether native magistrates in Ceylon were subject to any disqualification in the case of trial of European offenders, and whether any complaints had been made against the exercise of full magisterial powers by natives in Ceylon. The Colonial Under-Secretary said the answer to both questions was no. In Ceylon there was a native judge of the Supreme Court and native magistrates who judged all cases of Europeans as well as natives. The criminal law recognized no distinction of race (Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxx. 1133).

page 38 note 3 O'Donnell, op. cit., ii, p. 428.

page 38 note 4 Davitt, M., The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland (London, 1904), p. 447.Google Scholar

page 38 note 5 Cambridge History of the British Empire (Cambridge, 1932), v, p. 540.Google Scholar

page 38 note 6 For a discussion of links between early Indian nationalism and the activities of Irish members, see I. M. Cumpston, ‘Some early Indian Nationalists and their allies in the British Parliament, 1851-1906’, English Historical Review, lxxvi (1961), pp. 279–97.Google Scholar

page 39 note 1 Hans. Pad. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxxv. 1766.

page 39 note 2 Ibid., ccxcv. 979. Balfour said these words would meet with the hearty concurrence of members in every part of the House. On 10 March 1885 Lord Granville told the Lords that British negotiations with Germany on colonial matters were on a very friendly footing (Ibid., ccxcv. 596).

page 40 note 1 The Times, 10 June 1880.

page 40 note 2 Hans. Pad. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxiii. 1857.

page 40 note 3 Ibid., cclxxxviii. 28, 656, 676, 996; cclxxxix. 75, 425, 1090, 1241.

page 40 note 4 Ibid., cclxxxix. 1422.

page 41 note 1 Ibid., ccxciv. 74, 1044.

page 41 note 2 Ibid., cclxxx. 521.

page 41 note 3 Ibid., cclxvii. 1148.

page 42 note 1 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxviii. 724, 747, 1718; cclxxxi. 3.

page 42 note 2 Ibid., cclxxxi. 19.

page 42 note 3 Ibid., ccxciv. 342.

page 42 note 4 Ibid., ccxciii. 40.

page 42 note 5 Ibid., ccxcvii. 434.

page 42 note 6 Ibid., cclxi. 16; cclxii. 1115; cclxiii. 1125, 1454; cclxv. 722; cclxxi. 30; cclxxvii. 691; cclxxxiv. 416; cclxxxv. 1340, 1779. The Secretary to the Admiralty said that the Solomon Islands and neighbouring groups, where the outrages raised by Sir J. Hay had occurred, were independent of any civilized authority. There was no jurisdiction which could legally try murderers. The only punishment for outrages was acts of war against the guilty villages.

page 42 note 7 Ibid., cclxi. 176, 790; cclxii. 471; cclxiv. 1018.

page 43 note 1 Ibid., cclii. 526; cclxvi. 680.

page 43 note 2 Ibid., cclii. 326; ccliii. 1424; cclix. 545. Dr Cameron (Glasgow) also spoke of the activities of a New Britain missionary who had taken the punishment of cannibals into his own hands; and a New Guinea missionary who shot natives because they would not receive the Gospel at his hands. He protested against the assumption of such quasi-judicial or quasi-sovereign functions. Sir C. Dilke pointed out that if the Government appointed a consul in the heart of Africa and a chief carried him off, a costly and dangerous military expedition would probably be needed to free him. They must take care how they tried to acquire jurisdiction in places where they were not strong enough. The Colonial Undersecretary said the west Pacific High Commission was created so that British subjects could not use their superior strength to commit wrong in the Pacific islands.

page 44 note 1 Hans. Parl. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxxviii. 36.

page 44 note 2 On 4 Dec. 1884 T. Salt (Stafford) asked about protection of British trade on the Congo and in adjacent countries. The Foreign Under-Secretary said the Government hoped their steps at the Berlin conference would protect British trade there (Ibid., ccxciv. 626).

On 10 Nov. 1884 R. Bourke (Lynn Regis) asked whether anyone acquainted with West African trade would go to Berlin. The Foreign Under-Secretary said gentlemen practically acquainted with British West African trade would be in Berlin during the conference on behalf of important trade interests in the north of England, and British representatives would be in touch with them (Ibid., ccxciii. 1372).

page 44 note 3 Ibid., cclxix. 556.

page 44 note 4 Ibid., cclxix. 246. J. Slagg (Manchester) said in 1882 that there was great industrial production, and manufacturers were sometimes at their wits' end to know where to send their goods. Sir H. Verney (Buckingham) said development of African civilization was most important to Great Britain, whose manufactures would enter the country as soon as any progress in civilization was made.

page 45 note 1 Ibid., cclxxviii. 1224.

page 45 note 2 Ibid., cclxxvi. 350. On 7 July 1881, when Lord Salisbury presented a petition from Barbados complaining that foreign fiscal action was destroying their industry, Lord Carnarvon spoke of the West Indian case as hard. On the one hand were large kingdoms forming into great commercial unions, self-supporting and independent of others, such as France, Germany and the United States. The British Empire on the other hand was scattered over the world, the parts kept separated from each other by different and sometimes adverse tariffs (Ibid., cclxiii. 220).

page 45 note 3 Ibid., cclxvi. 831; cclxviii. 1038; cclxxxi. 932. In April 1882 Admiral Sir John Hay pointed out that at no time in Great Britain was there four months' provisions for the population. There were 20,000 British merchant vessels to be protected, and 12,000 colonial and Indian. He said Russia at Vladivostock, France at Tahiti and Noumea, and the South American Republics always had ironclad ships in the Pacific. See also Ibid., cclxxviii. 18315 cclxxxiv. 874; cclxviii. 1038.

page 45 note 4 Ibid., cclxxxi. 932. In July 1883 Viscount Sidmouth said he was informed the Canadians were ready to establish their own navies.

page 47 note 1 Hans. Pad. Deb., 3rd Series, cclxiii. 1863.