THE LONGEST REIGN IN ENGLISH HISTORY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1801, 11 December 1896, Page 6

THE LONGEST REIGN IN ENGLISH HISTORY.

[By John Ashton.]

The prayer embodied in our National Anthem— God save our gracious Queen 1 Long live our noble Queen ! God save the Queen! Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen 1— has been heard, and the life of our beloved Queen has not only been Bpared to her subjects, but her reign over them is the longeat known in England, having, on September 23 last past, beaten the record of George 111. by a day. Indeed, she is the oldest reigning sovereign in the world, the Emperor of Austria coming next, who began to reign in 1848. It has been a reign of marvels, and people, like the writer, who had lived through the whole of it have been rarely privileged. Since her accession in 1837 she and her people have been thoroughly in accord—her subjects have rejoiced in her joys, and grieved with her in her sorrows, of which she has had as many and as great as fall to the lot of most human beings. A Bimple girl, little over eighteen years of age, when she ascended the Throne, she speedily identified herself with her position, and she ever behaved with a dignity befitting the Queen of England and the Empress of India. Yet there was little dignity in her induction to her new position, if the story as told by Miss Wynn in 'Diaries of a Lady of Quality' is true. She says: "On Monday we were listening all day for the tolling of the bells, watching whether the guests were going to the Waterloo dinner at Apsley House. On Tuesday, at half-past 2 a.m., the scene closed, and in a short time the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham, the Chamberlain, set out to announce the event to their young Sovereign. They reached KensiDgton Palace about five, they knocked, they rang, they thumped for a considerable time, before the could rouse the porter at the gates. The were again kept waiting in the courtyarc then turned into one of the lower room! where they seemed to be forgotten by everj body. They rang the bell, desired that th attendant of the Princess Victoria might b sent to inform H.R.H. that they require an audience on business of importance After another delay, and another ringing t inquire the cause, the attendant was sum moned, who stated that the Princess was ii such a sweet sleep she could not venture t disturb her. Then they said :"We ar come to the Queen on business of State, am even her sleep must give way to that." I did, and to prove that she diet not keep then waiting in a few minutes she came into th( room in a loose white nightgown and shawl her nightcap thrown off, and her hail falling upon her shoulders, her feet ii slippers, tears in her eyes, but perfectly col lected and dignified." Since that time the world has marche( very fast; indeed, it is almost a new world a fact which is forcibly borne in upon ui when we recollect that it was in this same year of 1837 that the city of Melbourne wai laid out as a town by the order of Sir R. Bourke. Its progress was rapid, for withii two years certain lots of land had advance< in price from £7 to £6OO, and from £27 to £930. In George's reign, although we, bj the treaty of Paris, gained Canada, we lost' what are now known as the United States. Victoria's reign has been one long series of accessions to the Empire. Our colonies are young, healthy, prosperous, and loyal; the magnificent Empire of India has been added to and consolidated; Africa has been explored and is being colonised; and all over the whole globe the English are pushing their way. Even the river Ob, so long deemed impracticable, has been opened to commerce by an Englishman. Steam has practically annihilated distance, and the old Bix months' voyage to India died the death when, on October 31, 1845, Lieutenant Waghorn practically demonstrated the feasibility of his "overland ! route "to India. The regular mail and the express arrived at Suez in the same steamer on October 19, yet by his means the news brought by it was published in all the London papers, which were in Paris before the mail from Marseilles was on its way to Loudon. The cutting of the Suez Canal brought India and Australia, China and Japan far nearer to us. You can now get to Bombay in twenty-five days, Melbourne in forty-five days (going to Brindisi will knock off eight days), and the ocean greyhounds will whisk off to New York in five days and a-half. This can only be done by tremendous steam power, such as would have made our fathers' hair stand on end even to think of; yet, although our ships are thousands of tons burthen, and are driven by thousands of horse-power, no one thinks that we have reached finality. George 111. had a European war on his hands when he came to the throne, and it was not till the Peace of Paris, in 1763, that hostilities with France and Spain came to an end. Then came the American War of Independence from 1774 to 1782, war with France 1778, with Spain and Holland 1780—all three ending in 1783. But ten years of peace, and then came the war of the Revolution, 1793 to 1802, war with Napoleon, and with him most of the European Powers, and from 1803 to 1815, besides another little war with America, 1812 to 1814. Surely this was enough fighting for one reign, which not only led to enormous taxation, but drew considerably upon the population. This was met by impressment for the navy, whilst the army was recruited by means of high bounty for volunteers, by compulsory service by all who had no ostensible means of living, and, in a small degree, by bankrupt debtors, who were thus released from gaol. In Victoria's reign we have had one European war (the Crimean), which lasted two years. True, owing to her vast Empire we are generally at war in some part of the world, in India, China, Persia, Abysinnia, Ashantee, Afghanistan, Zululand, Burmah, Mashonaland, Corea, etc., but these do not interfere with the development of England as a nation. And, owing to this time of peace, the population of England increased so rapidly that the surplus were obliged to leave their native land and found homes for themselves elsewhere. Luckily the world is large, and other lands were crying aloud for inhabitants, and the number of millions of Englishmen and women who have emigrated will never be known. The United States and Canada received them gladly, while the vast continent of Australia and the islands of New Zealand were all their own. And yet, with all this emigration, the population has doubled, M-hile Great Britain haß not increased an acre. The census of 1841 gives the total population as 18,656,414, and that of 1891 is 37,880,764. This, iu spite of the numbers employed on railways and who are in the army, navy, mercantile marine, and police, leaves too large a margin in the labor market, and efforts are being strenuously made by trades unions to diminish the hours of labor, and thus afford employment for more. Unfortunately these trades unions have developed into organisations which exercise the grossest tyranny over the working man, compelling him to strike at the bidding of a committee, and striving with might and main to prevent all who do not belong to them from obtaining employment. This is, as a rulo, hard enough to obtain, the country having been denuded of its agricultural laborers, who have flocked into the towns, not only because of the depressed state of agriculture,

but the lights, music halls, and amusements, combined with the chance of obtaining higher wages, offer attractions which are irresistible. The consequence is that the towns have more labor than is required, much misery is created through lackof employment, andthe country is starved of its natural population. A new career has in this reign been opened to the working man; Beveral bona fide artisans have been elected members of Parliament, and, with one or two exceptions, have shown themselves good and capable men. When the Queen came to the throne the Reformed Parliament had only been in existence five years, and during her reign it has been twice " Reformed," in 1867-68 and in 1884-85, on each occasion becoming more democratic. In the beginning of this reign agriculture was prosperous, and, as time went on, the rents of farms increased prodigiously. Scientific farming, with subsoiling and artificial manures, such as guano, etc., came into fashion. Capital was embarked in agriculture, small farms were made into large ones, hedges were grubbed up and ditches filled, while the soil was thoroughly drained by means of pipes. A fresh race of farmers arose—young men with some capital, who had learned theoretical farming at the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, who took large farms with small mansions built thereon, and employed bailiffs, while they hunted, shot, and visited the Continent. Then came the repeal of the Corn Laws, which practically abolished the import duty on corn on January 31,1849, after which, until 1869, it was only the nominal sum of Is per quarter. Its effect on the farmer may be briefly shown. In 1837, the year of the Queen's accession, the average price of wheat was 56s per quarter ; in 1850, the year after the virtual repeal of the Corn Laws, it was under 465, and now it is half that price. Wheat has poured into this country from all parts of the world, including India and Australia, and the acreage shown here is getting less and less yearly, the land gone altogether out of cultivation is simply B° K ■h Bn ■n B ■is ■be It ■t Hcs owe their moral salvation. He received a' pension from Government of £3OO per annum, and died in 1857. The demand for pleasant temperance drinks created the supply, but the movement has been chiefly assisted by the lowering of the import duty on coffee and tea, the latter now being procurable, of good quality, at Is to Is 4d per pound. This extraordinary consumption of tea is greatly owing to the growth of the leaf in India and Ceylon, whose teas have nearly driven those of China out of the market. We must not forget that to this reign we owe the uniform inland postage rate of one penny per letter. It was early in 1837 that Mr (afterwards Sir) Rowland Hill broached his plan of a uniform penDy postage ; but, as a tentative measure, a uniform rate of fourpence was imposed in 1839. By this means the machinery of the penny post wa9 inaugurated, and letters were carried at that price on January 10, 1840. At first the postage was paid as before, but on May 1 the Mulready envelope (so well known to collectors) was issued, but it was the subject of so much ridicule as to necessitate the destruction of nearly all the vast number prepared for issue. Then other stamped envelopes were made, and finally in 1841 adhesive stamps were issued. Book post came in 1855. Money orders, inaugurated in 1792, first became general in 1840, when the tariff was reduced. Halfpenny postcards were first issued on October 1, 1870, and the parcel post came into operation on August 1, 1883. The post office savings bank began in 1861; and work commenced on the post office telegraphs on February 5, 1869. Our system of internal locomotion has been entirely revolutionieed ; nor is it surprising when we consider that before the Queen's reign there were only four railways at work. In the old Georgian days the good people used to travel on horseback, and, to suit their purses, either by stage or mail coach or by waggon. Pack-horses even were in use. Now all are vanished except a few sporadic stage coaches and two or three mail coaches. Cabs have superseded the old hackney coaches, and no one knows what is in the future as to auto-motors. There was a kind of bicycle used during the Regency called the "dandy horse," but as the rider used to propel it by his feet on the ground it is hardly comparable. Vastly improved, too, are the streets. Gone are the ruts and deep-chanc«lled kennels; gone are the trottoirs of kidney stones, and in their place is a perfect pavement of wood, asphalt, or stone ; while the pathways are beautifully smooth and clean. Instead of the filthy old streets, with their reeking kennels, the modern ones are well scavenged, and London is the best drained city in Europe. No longer is its sewage allowed to poißon the inhabitants or pollute the Thames. That has all been changed in this reign, but the mighty system of drainage was only completed in 1875 at a cost of £4,500,000. And wherever possible the streets are widened, and in the place of the old Bhops miniature palaces are built; while the clubs, banks, insurance offices, and public buildings are often very fine specimens of architecture. The improvement made in the manufacture of glass no longer restricts its size, the small panes having given place to huge plates, perfectly pellucid. The old, smoky, flickering oil lamps are gone, and we have the shops and streets brilliantly lit by gas or electricity. Trees are planted wherever the roads and pathways are wide enough, and the overhead electric wires arc as rapidly as possible being buried underfoot. The old Georgian idea of a street was dull uniformity, now there is some diversity in architecture ; and among other innovations of this reign we must not forget the " flat." The interior of the houses, in sanitation, decoration, and furniture, has vastly improved. This reign may be called that of " the bath." I will not say that it was not in existence previously, but its use was not universal. Now the very pauper, before he can get a night's lodging in the casual ward of a workhouse, must have a bath. Public baths and washhouses are in every parish ; and in every house, say, of £4O annual rent and upwards, built during the last twenty years, there is a bathroom, besides the

"tubs" in different bedrooms. In beauty of old design the wall papers of the Georgian era are not to be compared with those of the Victorian. Parquet floors, or even borders, are improvements, and as to furniture, it may not be so solid, but it is far more pleasing to the eye. In George lll.'s time there was but one wood used foe furniture, and that was mahogany. The chairs and sofas, or couches, were very solid, very heavy, and very ugly, with scarcely a curve in them. To add to their ugliness they were upholstered with black horsehair cloth, which, when somewhat worn, was not pleasant to sit upon. Bell-ropes, which had a knack of coming down when pulled, have given way to the neat and effective electric bell. The Englishman still clings to his open fireplace, and the little starved things which emitted no heat have given place to others constructed more economic and scientific principles which do not warm the room. Gas, oil, and electricity have entirely superseded the Georgian candle, which required constant snuffing. The sanitary arrangements of the older reign were very unsatisfactory, and undoubtedly led to much illness. The first step in the right direction was to connect every house with a main sewer, but we are only just awaking to the danger of old and faulty work in this department, and proper connections are enforced by law. In case of epidemics, it is compulsory to separate the sick from those that are well, and for that purpose large hospitals and ships are provided. And that leads us to think of the number of hospitals and charities which have sprung up spontaneously within the reign, all either endowed by wealthy patrons or supported by voluntary contributions. There is not a disease but what has its special hospital, there are homes for convalescents and the dying, institutions for the helpless, cripples, and incurables, the deaf, the dumb, and the blind, orphanages, homes for waifs and strays, and help for all kinds of erring humanity. But the millions of money thuß spent fade beside the sums spent in restoring old cathedrals and churches and buildings, and endowing new churches and chapels. We have often admired and wondered at the munificence of our forefathers in this respect, but it pales before that of this age. Free libraries, open spaces for recreation and relaxation, technical schools, literary institutions, have been given prodigally. Certainly riches have increased in this reign to a point utterly undreamed of in that of George 111., and with the riches have come luxuries equally unknown. It is nothing now for a man to follow the sun all round the world, and have summer wherever he goes. It is quite an ordinary thing now to winter in the Riviera or in Egypt, while the only obtainable milder climate in the old days was a storm-tossed voyage to Madeira. With increased means more refined manners have obtained, and in no way more than in eating. In the old days profusion and solidity of food was the rule, nowadays a dinner party, with its flowers and fruit upon the table, is a thing of joy, while the dinner table of ordinary folk is made pretty with silver, cut glass, and flowers. In place of the old-fashioned, Btuffy hotels, veritable palaces have arisen, in which luxury has reached its acme. A passenger steamer is a floating palace, while during a long railway journey we can dine comfortably and sleep in the train. Much of this wealth has been derived from legitimate commerce and manufacture, but much, also, from stock exchange speculations, from diamonds, gold and silver mines, the amount of gold obtained both from California aud Australia (all since 1848) being almost beyond conception. The law of Limited Liability, passed in 1855, has also materially added to the wealth of individuals, but there is little doubt that the enormous trading companies established by its means, and the system of co-operation established during this reign, press hardly on the Bmall tradesman. In George llL's reign the gambling craze took the form of lotteries. In our days the similar social cancer is betting on horse racing, whilst card playing is common to both. The coarse amusements of bull and bear-baiting and cock-fighting have disappeared, and a great increase of museums, theatres, music-halls, and exhibitions, such as Olympia and India, have taken their place; whilst, free of cost, are provided parks and recreation grounds, with free bands. Our youth rejoice in cricket, football, rowing, cycling, and athletics generally ; and it cannot be denied that, as a consequence, a finer race (physically speaking) of both sexes is springing up. A railway system has grown up, both here and on the Continent, which facilitates intercourse, thus expanding the mind, which must tend to elevate the moral tone, whilst the poorest child can now receive an education gratis, which the son of a peer in George's time could not have obtained for any money. The progress of science in this reign has been something marvellous. Electricity, although Galvani and Volta were both alive in George's time, was but a toy, and has only been put into practical use under Victoria. The telegraph has annihilated distance, and electricity furnishes intense light and heat, besides giving a quiet motive power. Photography was not dreamed of till this century, and if we accept the experiments of Wedgwood, which were of no practical utility, we must date its intro. duction into England at all events from September 13, 1839, when M. St. Croix exhibited the whole process of daguerreotype in presence of a select party of scientific men and artists. He also succeeded in producing a picture of the place of meeting, 7 Piccadilly. We know how photography has developed, until it appears to have culminated in the discovery of the X rays of light by Rontgen. Lord Rayleigh has discovered a hitherto unknown constituent of our atmosphere, argon; while it would require volumes to describe the marvels obtained out of coal, such as aniline dyes, etc. In medicine a new Echool, that of homoeopathy, has been founded. Chloroform and the antiseptic treatment of wounds have been introduced, while women are allowed to practise, and a whole army of trained nurseß has been raised. This reign has created mechanical science. The steam engine, which was very crude, has become a thing of might; the exigencies of manufacture have created a demand for labor-saving machines, as exemplified in the cotton trade and the sewing machine. Agriculture has its mowiDg and reaping machines, its root-pulpers and cbaffcutters. Flour is no longer produced by the old millstones, but by rollers; and bread is made by machinery. Whitworth, with his gauges, screw-threads, and magnificent tools, which have been the means of turning out of our workshops the perfection of machinery; Nasmyth, whose steam hammer has enabled us to forge such huge masses of iron as never were dreamed of before; and Bessemer, whose conversion of crude iron into mild steel has wrought a revolution in the iron trade, are men of whom any country might be proud, and they all belong to this reigu. War has been revolutionised. Rifled small-arms, breech-loading _ and with magazines; rifled cannon, carrying many miles, with gunpowder getting effete owing to newer and more powerful explosives; range-finderp, heliographs, field telegraphs, and balloons all belong to this reign, while the famous " Wooden Walls of Old England " of the Georgian era would be knocked into matchwood in a very few minuteß by the guns of, or torpedoes fired from, an armor-plated steamship. Our civil engineers have performed feats which have no counterpart in former times,,

They have Burveyed and laid a perfect network of railways all over England, overcomingeverymeehanical difficulty; they have made the bridges which span the Menai Straits, the Forth, Tay, and Tower bridges; tunnels innumerable through hills and mountains—five under the Thames—and the Mersey, and the Severn tunnels. architecture we have vastly improved in this reign, not only because the architects are better educated, but their patrons are so as well, and are far better able to judge of the fitness of style than they were. Painting, both in oil and water color, has marvellously improved since the commencement of the reign, when, it must be owned, there was plenty of room for improvement. It received a waking up about 1850, when a few young artists—Millais, Rosetti, Holman, Hunt, and others (called the pre-Raphaelite School)—began to draw and paint carefully. The influence of this school has been immense, and, although English figure-painting may not, as a whole, compare with French and German schools, in landscape we are second to none. The literature of this reign belongs to the world, and has been sufficiently appreciated, ■ but for the grains of wheat there are bushels of chaff. As education has progressed, a cacoetkts scriocndi seems to have come to almost every man and woman, and the literary market is flooded with rubbish, which, although living its brief hour, is unfortunately, replaced by the efforts of never-ending recruits. The newspaper Press has resembled everything else in this reign—it has developed in an extraordinary manner. No exact information as to the numbers of periodical literature can ever be obtained, for some papers have an ephemeral existence, but the following is the latest list of newspapers I can obtain : England (London 456, Provinces 1,342) ... 1,798 Wales 98 Scotland 217 Ireland ... ... ... ... ••• 16° British Isles 23 Total 2,304 The magazines now in the course of publication, including the quarterly reviews, number 2,081, of which more than 487 are of a decidedly religious character.