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Leader (1850-1860), 8th December 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 16, MACAULAY'S FIRST AND SECOND VOLUMES. 31a...

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      tion , Dr . C . has not bettered his case 5 for the Reviewer expressly declares alcohol to be poison in large doses ( which is all that toxicologists maintain ) , but that in small doses it is food ; and he shows conversely that all food becomes poison , in excess . But Dr . Carpenter persists in confounding excess with moderation—persists , in spite of evidence , in attributing to small doses what is true ouly of large doses , and thus claims the toxicologists as authority for his assertion that alcohol is essentially a poison . As for our anonymous selves , we admit the terrible and obvious fact of wearing a " mask , " but we cannot comprehend how the removal of that

      mask would suddenly change Dr . Carpenter ' s blunders into accuracies , or his misconceptions into clear conceptions . He endeavours to meet our exposure by disavowing the report of his speech at Exetei-hall , which , of . course , may have inaccurately reported his words ; but we find from the Bristol Temperance Herald , of December 1 , that he has , in the Scottish Review , written an article in reply to his Reviewer , and in this article there is the very passage , word for word , which we quoted last week as Containing a strange misconception of the Reviewer ' s statement , and very -serious blunders by way of illustration . Will the removal of our mask alter these things ?

      The Leader. [No. 298, Saturday,

      THE LEADER . [ No . 298 , Saturday ,

      Macaulay's First And Second Volumes. 31a...

      MACAULAY'S FIRST AND SECOND VOLUMES . 31 acaulay's First and Second Volumes . A Eetrospective Review . Having taken in hand to write a history of the British nation from the reign of James I ., Mr . Macaulay commences his monumental work by a passing allusion to the condition of the island under its Roman conquerors . He glances at the very ephemeral consequences of that occupation of Britain , inasmuch as neither the language , the religion , nor the laws of the aboriginal people were sensibly , or permanently , affected . The Saxon irruption was a matter of far greater moment . Thence may be dated the constitutional liberty and maritime supremac 3 of England . For , though it may not be strictly and historically true that the Parliament is merely a modification or amendment of the ancient "Witenagemote , there can be no doubt that the spirit of freedom which engendered the one , was accessory to the other . But

      the greatest benefit conferred upon Britain during the Saxon domination , came from beyond the seas , from the fallen capital of her former rulers . Rome , which " for so many centuries had commissioned her armed legions to conquer and subdue the world , now sent forth her missionaries to preach the gospel of peace and brotherly love , and to bring mankind to an humble knowledge of their Redeemer and Him crucified . The ignorant barbarians listened with awestruck credulity to those meek and earnest men , who dared to set themselves in opposition to the strongest passions of human natureand , listening , they were converted . It may be that the Church had already degenerated from the standard proposed by the apostles and early fathers , and that both intellectual subtleties and gross materialism had crept in . But

      had the Church been ten times more degenerate , the exchange of idolatry for even a coarse form of Christianity would still have proved an inestimable blessing . The very dissensions that impaired the unity and superficial beauty of the fabric , inspired an active vitality and an earnestness which , in these our days , would be denounced as hypocrisy , or derided as maudlin enthusiasm . By the humbler classes of society the "" glad tidings " were especially welcomed as the means of alleviating their present lot , and as holding out the promise of a better state hereafter . Temporarily , a shield was interposed between them and their oppressors , for the proudest Eorls did homage to the sacred character of churchmen ; and , from a spiritual point of view , they looked forward to the hour when all men shall be equal , and all susceptible of happiness .

      Of the Danish incursions it is needless to speak , save as the forerunners o an event which , more than all others , has influenced the history of our nation It is matter of public fame , how those fierce pirates from the Baltic , not only imposed a brief dynasty upon the throne of England , but also wrested from a feeble sovereign of France one of his fairest provinces . 'Twere idle to tell how those Franeised Northmen , availing themselves of the unsettled state of the island of Britain , crossed the narrow channel , vanquished the Saxons at Hastings , and placed their bastard captain on the throne . Never was conquest more complete . The Normans alone were men . The Saxons were degraded to beasts of burden—animals for gift or purchase ; hewers of wood and drawers of water . The land , with its productions , its inhabitants and cultivators , was parcelled out among the victors . The name of " Englishand cultivators , was parcelled out among the victors . The name of " Englishbecamterm of

      man * ' e a reproach . He was a mere cTiattel ; be could not even possess himself . Here again the clergy intervened j and , asserting the common brotherhood of mankind , oftentimes stayed the hasty wrath of the chafing barons . Many a dying lord listened , with contrition , to the whispered accents of the bending monk , and Every vassal of hip banner , Every Berf born to hiB manor , All those wronged and wretched creatures , By his hand were freed again . But , with all their faults , those Normans were a grand old race . " War and the chase were their objects of life , their normal avocation , their mission ; love and the minstrel ' s song their chief recreation . No rude wassailers were they . They quaffed in moderation the light and gladsome wines of sunny Jfranee , but they turned in disgust from the heavy draughts of beer and ami t Habitual

      metnegJin , ne excesa ot British and Saxon churls . England however , was no longer the land of Englishmen . Aliens in blood and speech lorded it in the town , the hamlet , the forest , and the champaign , nnd deemed their conquered villains scarce meet to follow them to the field . The Kings of England were at the same time vassals , of France , and this anomalous position for four centuries involved the two kingdoms in a constant state of mutual hostility . Fortunately for the independence of this island , there arose a weak , treacherous , nnd selfishly ambitious monarch , who threatened alike the privileges of the nobility and the security of traders . Then the Normans and the Saxons for the first time came together , i / onamunity of danger united them in a holy league , and the foundation , not

      only of English liberty , but of the English nation , was laid at Runnymede . By degrees intermarriages became more frequent , and the two races gradually lapsing into one , formed the noblest people in the world . There was no longer any possibility of the annexation of England as an appanage of the French crown . A nationality now existed , against which no foreign power has . for a moment prevailed . French wars then grew to be popular , and the sturdy yeomen stepped forward with bow and bill to do battle against the steel-clad chivalry of France . They fought and conquered . A French king passed through the streets of London a prisoner ; an English monarch was crowned in Paris . No folly or infatuation of modern times can despoil us of this garland of fame bequeathed by our heroic ancestors .

      But internal discord and the internecine hatred of fellow-countrymen for a while obscured the halo that encircled our sea-girt isle . Through many long years the land was fattened by the blood of its best and bravest citizens .. The floodgates of society were broken down . The very ties of family were severed and ignored . At length light began to glimmer through the thick darkness . Through the tides of civil faction the Commons surged to the surface . The power of the feudal barons was hopelessly crushed , that of the Crown firmly secured , while the public liberties were left not unguarded . The marriage of Elizabeth of York to Henry of Lancaster

      reconciled the two rival Houses , and established the line of Tudor on the throne . A haughty and self-willed race were those Tudors ; but the passive resistance of the Commons raised an impassable barrier against absolute despotism . Sometimes , indeed , they went still further ; they repelled the iron hand of the Eighth Henry , and caused even the steadfast Elizabeth to pause and retire . The constitutional opposition of the Commons derived an increased importance from the absence of a standing army , by means of which the sovereign might otherwise have forced his will , or whiin , upon the nation as the law " of the land . At the same time the roval prerogative was

      equally defended by the incapacity of the great lords to bring an army of retainers into the field ; while the country gentlemen , when united , were together too strong to suffer the encroachments of the Crown . Unlike the aristocracy of other countries , there was in England no positive line of demarcation between the nobles and the Commons . The most powerful lord in the land might be proud of the friendship and alliance of a simple gentleman . The only true distinction was gentle blood , not rank or wealth . The highest peer of the realm could boast of no title superior to that of an English gentleman . The noblest and purest blood often flowed 111 the veins of an untitled commoner . The , son of a duke sat in the Lower House as a country squire or other commoner , and held himself honoured by beinjj ; admitted into their ranks . The monarch on his throne , the squire in his hall , t . lie peasant in his hovel , were connected by one continuous chain , of which

      no one link could be broken or enlarged without affecting all the others . The king could not exalt himself at the expense of his nobles , nor the nobles at the expense of the Crown ; while the Commons , bent only on preserving the equipoise of the commonwealth , had no thought of encroaching on the prerogatives of the one , or on the privileges of the other . A solidity was thus imparted to the British constitution which has enabled it to pass triumphantly through the perils of the civil wars , the Protectorate and the Restoration , and to laugh to scorn the terrors of the French Revolution . A new element , a new phase , in public affairs now presents itself . Itestless or disappointed ambition , perhaps a true perception of the errors and corruptions of the Romish Church , had more than once induced partial attempts at reformation ; which , fortunately , were stifled in their birth . Fortunately , because , owing to the comparative ignorance of the clergy and

      the positive ignorance of the laity , no good result could possibly have ensued . The former could with difficulty read the Offices of the day , which they seldom understood ; the latter could neither read nor understand aught that was written , whether sacred or profane . The price of manuscript- was such as to render them unattainable except by individuals of great wealth , or by conventual bodies . Knowledge of every kind , save of ihe ordinary prjicticnl details of life , was thus necessarily restricted to a very limited number of persons , and of these still fewer desired any change or amendment . The task of reforming the Church would therefore have fallen into most incompetent hands , and the remedy have proved far worse than the disease . It would much exceed our scanty space were we to enter upon the investigation of the various causes which ultimately combined to introduce the Reformation into England . It is sufficient to remark that in this country the

      change was neither so violent nor so complete as in Scotland and on the continent . This may be partly accounted for by the circumstance that the Papal despotism had never been so predominant in this as in foreign lands , and that , consequently , it was regiirdecl with less personal animosity . Hut it may be more justly attributed to the tastes and temperament of Henry VIII ., who ever loved a certain degree x > f pomp and parade , and whose separation from the Church of Rome can hardly be assigned to conscientious conviction . A large proportion of the people , however , and not a few of the clergy , were no doubt prone to run into the opposite extreme ; but they were sensible that nothing could be done without the protection of the king , while Henry was equally aware that he could not dispense with the support of his Protestant subjects . A compromise waa therefore effected , and thence arose the Anglican Church . But although the majority adhered to this excellent establishment ,

      a vast number of ardent and zealous spirits aimed at a more decided severance from Romish ceremonials , and devoted themselves to the practice of asceticism and self-denial . It may be readily imagined that those Puritans , as they were derisively called , would become exceedingly odious to the Court ; and it can be no matter of surprise that they were subjected to a most cruel and unjust persecution , both by the sensual and imperious Henry , and his not less imperious , if less sensual , daughter Elizabeth . But their sufferings , however severe and unmerited , failed to wenken their loyalty and affection for that masculine Queen . Their religion had undergone such grievous peril under Mary , that they freely accepted the injustice of Elizabeth towards themselves in consideration of her firm and consistent adherence to the

      Reformed faith . Under James I they were not disposed to bo equally - table . That imbecile pedant interfered with everything , and damaged ^ evcrything with which he interfered . During hia miserable reign the JSngjlw " nation lost all its influence on the Continent , and the Crown much ol its

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 8, 1855, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08121855/page/16/