the condition of england at the meeting of parliament in 1842 was not satisfactory. the depression of trade in the manufacturing districts seemed overwhelming, and continued increasing during the whole of the year. a memorial from stockport to the queen in the spring represented that more than half the master spinners had failed, and that no less than three thousand dwelling-houses were untenanted. one-fifth of the population of leeds were dependent on the poor-rates. the state of sheffield was not less severe—and the blast furnaces of wolverhampton were extinguished. there were almost daily meetings, at liverpool, manchester, and leeds, to consider the great and increasing distress of the country, and to induce ministers to bring forward remedial measures; but as these were impossible, violence was soon substituted for passionate appeals to the fears or the humanity of the government. vast bodies of the population assembled in staleybridge, and ashton, and oldham, and marched into manchester.
for a week the rioting was unchecked, but the government despatched a strong military force to that city, and order was restored.
the state of affairs in scotland was not more favourable. there were food riots in several of the scotch towns, and in glasgow the multitude assembled, and then commenced what they called a begging tour, but which was really a progress of not disguised intimidation. the economic crisis in ireland was yet to come, but the whole of that country was absorbed in a harassing and dangerous agitation for the repeal of the union between the two countries.
during all this time, the anti–corn law league was holding regular and frequent meetings at manchester, at which statements were made distinguished by great eloquence and little scruple. but the able leaders of this confederacy never succeeded in enlisting the sympathies of the great body of the population. between the masters and the workmen there was an alienation of feeling, which apparently never could be removed. this reserve, however, did not enlist the working classes on the side of the government; they had their own object, and one which they themselves enthusiastically cherished. and this was the charter, a political settlement which was to restore the golden age, and which the master manufacturers and the middle classes generally looked upon with even more apprehension than her majesty’s advisers. it is hardly necessary to add, that in a state of affairs like that which is here faintly but still faithfully sketched, the rapid diminution of the revenue was inevitable, and of course that decline mainly occurred in the two all-important branches of the customs and excise.
there was another great misfortune also which at this trying time hung over england. the country was dejected. the humiliating disasters of afghanistan, dark narratives of which were periodically arriving, had produced a more depressing effect on the spirit of the country than all the victories and menaces of napoleon in the heyday of his wild career. at home and abroad, there seemed nothing to sustain the national spirit; financial embarrassment, commercial and manufacturing distress, social and political agitation on the one hand, and on the other, the loss of armies, of reputation, perhaps of empire. it was true that these external misfortunes could hardly be attributed to the new ministry—but when a nation is thoroughly perplexed and dispirited, it soon ceases to make distinctions between political parties. the country is out of sorts, and the “government” is held answerable for the disorder.
thus it will be seen, that, though the new ministry were supported by a commanding majority in parliament, and that, too, after a recent appeal to the country, they were not popular, it may be truly said they were even the reverse. the opposition, on the other hand, notwithstanding their discomfiture, and, on some subjects, their disgrace, were by no means disheartened, and believed that there were economical causes at work, which must soon restore them to power.
the minister brought forward his revision of the tariff, which was denounced by the league as futile, and in which anathema the opposition soon found it convenient to agree. had the minister included in his measure that “total and immediate repeal” of the existing corn laws which was preached by many as a panacea, the effect would have been probably much the same. no doubt a tariff may aggravate, or may mitigate, such a condition of commercial depression as periodically visits a state of society like that of england, but it does not produce it. it was produced in 1842, as it had been produced at the present time, by an abuse of capital and credit, and by a degree of production which the wants of the world have not warranted.
and yet all this time, there were certain influences at work in the great body of the nation, neither foreseen, nor for some time recognised, by statesmen and those great capitalists on whose opinion statesmen much depend, which were stirring, as it were, like the unconscious power of the forces of nature, and which were destined to baffle all the calculations of persons in authority and the leading spirits of all parties, strengthen a perplexed administration, confound a sanguine opposition, render all the rhetoric, statistics, and subscriptions of the anti–corn law league fruitless, and absolutely make the chartists forget the charter.
“my friends will not assist themselves by resisting the government measures,” said mr. neuchatel, with his usual calm smile, half sceptical, half sympathetic. “the measures will do no good, but they will do no harm. there are no measures that will do any good at this moment. we do not want measures; what we want is a new channel.”
that is exactly what was wanted. there was abundant capital in the country and a mass of unemployed labour. but the markets on which they had of late depended, the american especially, were overworked and overstocked, and in some instances were not only overstocked, but disturbed by war, as the chinese, for example—and capital and labour wanted “a new channel.”
the new channel came, and all the persons of authority, alike political and commercial, seemed quite surprised that it had arrived; but when a thing or a man is wanted, they generally appear. one or two lines of railway, which had been long sleepily in formation, about this time were finished, and one or two lines of railway, which had been finished for some time and were unnoticed, announced dividends, and not contemptible ones. suddenly there was a general feeling in the country, that its capital should be invested in railways; that the whole surface of the land should be transformed, and covered, as by a network, with these mighty means of communication. when the passions of the english, naturally an enthusiastic people, are excited on a subject of finance, their will, their determination, and resource, are irresistible. this was signally proved in the present instance, for they never ceased subscribing their capital until the sum entrusted to this new form of investment reached an amount almost equal to the national debt; and this too in a very few years. the immediate effect on the condition of the country was absolutely prodigious. the value of land rose, all the blast furnaces were relit, a stimulant was given to every branch of the home trade, the amount suddenly paid in wages exceeded that ever known in this country, and wages too at a high rate. large portions of the labouring classes not only enjoyed comfort, but commanded luxury. all this of course soon acted on the revenue, and both customs and especially excise soon furnished an ample surplus.
it cannot be pretended that all this energy and enterprise were free in their operation from those evils which, it seems, must inevitably attend any extensive public speculation, however well founded. many of the scenes and circumstances recalled the days of the south sea scheme. the gambling in shares of companies which were formed only in name was without limit. the principal towns of the north established for that purpose stock exchanges of their own, and leeds especially, one-fifth of whose population had been authoritatively described in the first session of the new parliament as dependent on the poor-rates, now boasted a stock exchange which in the extent of its transactions rivalled that of the metropolis. and the gambling was universal, from the noble to the mechanic. it was confined to no class and to no sex. the scene which took place at the board of trade on the last day on which plans could be lodged, and when midnight had arrived while crowds from the country were still filling the hall, and pressing at the doors, deserved and required for its adequate representation the genius of a hogarth. this was the day on which it was announced that the total number of railway projects, on which deposits had been paid, had reached nearly to eight hundred.
what is remarkable in this vast movement in which so many millions were produced, and so many more promised, is, that the great leaders of the financial world took no part in it. the mighty loan-mongers, on whose fiat the fate of kings and empires sometimes depended, seemed like men who, witnessing some eccentricity of nature, watch it with mixed feelings of curiosity and alarm. even lombard street, which never was more wanted, was inactive, and it was only by the irresistible pressure of circumstances that a banking firm which had an extensive country connection was ultimately forced to take the leading part that was required, and almost unconsciously lay the foundation of the vast fortunes which it has realised, and organise the varied connection which it now commands. all seemed to come from the provinces, and from unknown people in the provinces.
but in all affairs there must be a leader, and a leader appeared. he was more remarkable than the movement itself. he was a london tradesman, though a member of parliament returned for the first time to this house of commons. this leader was mr. vigo.
mr. vigo had foreseen what was coming, and had prepared for it. he agreed with mr. neuchatel, what was wanted was “a new channel.” that channel he thought he had discovered, and he awaited it. he himself could command no inconsiderable amount of capital, and he had a following of obscure rich friends who believed in him, and did what he liked. his daily visits to the city, except when he was travelling over england, and especially the north and midland counties, had their purpose and bore fruit. he was a director, and soon the chairman and leading spirit, of a railway which was destined to be perhaps our most important one. he was master of all the details of the business; he had arrived at conclusions on the question of the gauges, which then was a pons asinorum for the multitude, and understood all about rolling stock and permanent ways, and sleepers and branch lines, which were then cabalistic terms to the general. in his first session in parliament he had passed quietly and almost unnoticed several bills on these matters, and began to be recognised by the committee of selection as a member who ought to be “put on” for questions of this kind.
the great occasion had arrived, and mr. vigo was equal to it. he was one of those few men who awake one day and find themselves famous. suddenly it would seem that the name of mr. vigo was in everybody’s mouth. there was only one subject which interested the country, and he was recognised as the man who best understood it. he was an oracle, and, naturally, soon became an idol. the tariff of the ministers was forgotten, the invectives of the league were disregarded, their motions for the repeal of the corn laws were invariably defeated by large and contemptuous majorities. the house of commons did nothing but pass railway bills, measures which were welcomed with unanimity by the house of lords, whose estates were in consequence daily increasing in value. people went to the gallery to see mr. vigo introduce bills, and could scarcely restrain their enthusiasm at the spectacle of so much patriotic energy, which secured for them premiums for shares, which they held in undertakings of which the first sod was not yet cut. on one morning, the great cloudland company, of which he was chairman, gave their approval of twenty-six bills, which he immediately introduced into parliament. next day, the ebor and north cloudland sanctioned six bills under his advice, and affirmed deeds and agreements which affected all the principal railway projects in lancashire and yorkshire. a quarter of an hour later, just time to hurry from one meeting to another, where he was always received with rampant enthusiasm, newcastle and the extreme north accepted his dictatorship. during a portion of two days, he obtained the consent of shareholders to forty bills, involving an expenditure of ten millions; and the engagements for one session alone amounted to one hundred and thirty millions sterling.
mr. neuchatel shrugged his shoulders, but no one would listen even to mr. neuchatel, when the prime minister himself, supposed to be the most wary of men, and especially on financial subjects, in the very white heat of all this speculation, himself raised the first sod on his own estate in a project of extent and importance.
throughout these extraordinary scenes, mr. vigo, though not free from excitement, exhibited, on the whole, much self-control. he was faithful to his old friends, and no one profited more in this respect than mr. rodney. that gentleman became the director of several lines, and vice-chairman of one over which mr. vigo himself presided. no one was surprised that mr. rodney therefore should enter parliament. he came in by virtue of one of those petitions that tadpole was always cooking, or baffling. mr. rodney was a supporter of the ministry, and mr. vigo was a liberal, but mr. vigo returned mr. rodney to parliament all the same, and no one seemed astonished or complained. political connection, political consistency, political principle, all vanished before the fascination of premiums.
as for endymion, the great man made him friendly and earnest overtures, and offered, if he would give his time to business, which, as he was in opposition, would be no great sacrifice, to promote and secure his fortune. but endymion, after due reflection, declined, though with gratitude, these tempting proposals. ferrars was an ambitious man, but not too imaginative a one. he had a main object in life, and that was to regain the position which had been forfeited, not by his own fault. his grandfather and his father before him had both been privy councillors and ministers of state. there had, indeed, been more than the prospect of his father filling a very prominent position. all had been lost, but the secret purpose of the life of endymion was that, from being a clerk in a public office, he should arrive by his own energies at the station to which he seemed, as it were, born. to accomplish this he felt that the entire devotion of his labour and thought was requisite. his character was essentially tenacious, and he had already realised no inconsiderable amount of political knowledge and official experience. his object seemed difficult and distant, but there was nothing wild or visionary in its pursuit. he had achieved some of the first steps, and he was yet very young. there were friends about him, however, who were not content with what they deemed his moderate ambition, and thought they discerned in him qualities which might enable him to mount to a higher stage. however this might be, his judgment was that he must resist the offers of mr. vigo, though they were sincerely kind, and so he felt them.
in the meantime, he frequently met that gentleman, and not merely in the house of commons. mr. st. barbe would have been frantically envious could he have witnessed and perused the social invitations that fell like a continuous snow-storm on the favoured roof of mr. vigo. mr. vigo was not a party question. he dined with high patricians who forgot their political differences, while they agreed in courting the presence of this great benefactor of his country. the fine ladies were as eager in their homage to this real patriot, and he might be seen between rival countesses, who emulated each other in their appreciation of his public services. these were mr. vigo’s dangerous suitors. he confessed to endymion one day that he could not manage the great ladies. “male swells,” he would say laughingly, “i have measured physically and intellectually.” the golden youth of the country seemed fascinated by his society, repeated his sententious bons-mot, and applied for shares in every company which he launched into prosperous existence.
mr. vigo purchased a splendid mansion in st. james’ square, where invitations to his banquets were looked upon almost as commands. his chief cook was one of the celebrities of europe, and though he had served emperors, the salary he received from mr. vigo exceeded any one he had hitherto condescended to pocket. mr. vigo bought estates, hired moors, lavished his money, not only with profusion, but with generosity. everything was placed at his command, and it appeared that there was nothing that he refused. “when this excitement is over,” said mr. bertie tremaine, “i hope to induce him to take india.”
in the midst of this commanding effulgence, the calmer beam of mr. rodney might naturally pass unnoticed, yet its brightness was clear and sustained. the rodneys engaged a dwelling of no mean proportion in that favoured district of south kensington, which was then beginning to assume the high character it has since obtained. their equipages were distinguished, and when mrs. rodney entered the park, driving her matchless ponies, and attended by outriders, and herself bright as diana, the world leaning over its palings witnessed her appearance with equal delight and admiration.
