The Croker papers ed by LJ Jennings Author:John Wilson Croker Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER XVI. 1831. Mr. Croker's Opinions on the Reform Question—In Advance of hi Party — His Disbelief in Reform as a "System" — Doubts about Public Opinion—... more »Letters to Lord Hertford—Lord Hertford on Reform— His Distrust of Peel—Peel's Attitude on Reform—An Autograph of Talleyrand's—Sir David Baird and the Duke of Wellington—Rumoured Whig Dissensions — " Everybody distrusts Peel " — The Cry of Retrenchment—Reform Prospects—Lord Althorp's Budget—Growing Importance of Peel—Insult to the King—The First Reform Bill— Anomalies of the Measure—Discouragement of the Anti-Reformers— Letters from Sir R. Peel—Conversations with the Duke of Wellington —The Dissolution—Second Reform Bill—Mr. Croker's Speeches— Rejection of the Bill by the Lords—The Nottingham and Bristol Riots—Third Reform Bill—Literary Projects—Proposed Editions of 'Hume'and'Pope.' It has already been shown that Mr. Croker was anxious to have the chief manufacturing towns enfranchised long before the majority of the party with which he acted could be brought to see the necessity of change of any kind in the old theory of representation. On this point he was for many years in advance of his party, just as he had been on the question of Catholic Emancipation. But he could not divest his mind of the fear that the great democratic wave which lie saw advancing upon the country between 1829 and 1830 would do infinite harm, and eventually plunge the country in great disasters. He held, with Wellington and Peel, that the1831.] THE REFORM AGITATION. 93 existing Constitution had worked well; that it had produced, in the main, a better government than other nations possessed; and that any attempt to reconstruct it throughout would be fraught with peril. No doubt he exaggerated the immediate effects which the Bill would prod...« less