What Do You Understand By The Term ?Gladstonian Liberalism? And How Does Domestic Legislation Between 1868 And 1874 Reflect His Political Philosophy? Essay, Research Paper

?The almighty seems to sustain and spare me for some purpose of his own, deeply

unworthy as I know myself to be.?

The above words come from Gladstone himself, and portray his unscrupulous

devotion to Christianity. Religion was the single most significant influence

on Gladstonian Liberalism, but his opinions were shaped by a number of other

factors as well.

Firstly, he believed in simple and efficient government. He was not a supporter

of radical state intervention, and preferred the idea of individualism ? the

belief that the government should not become over strong or over directing,

and that the state should create the atmosphere in which the individual can

flourish and achieve.

Gladstone?s politics were underpinned by a sense of transforming his religious,

moral and philosophical thoughts into political decision making. He basically

endeavoured to guide a society gradually straying towards secularism to follow

simple moral lines, and so therefore much of his first ministry?s domestic legislation

was centred on the promotion of justice in society. An example of this is Gladstone?s

abolition of the purchase of commissions in the army, meaning that aristocrats

no longer had the right to run the army, irrelevant of their aptitude to do

so.

Gladstone?s belief in individualism can be seen in the way that his policies

reflect his desire to create ?a state in which the individual can flourish and

achieve.? While he believed that the individual should be self-sufficient and

independent of state support, he was anxious to ensure that institutions within

the state should assist and not impede his efforts in achieving this. This can

be seen in the simple fact that almost all of this period?s measures were about

the reform of governmental institutions. Examples of this include, the introduction,

in 1870, of a public competitive examination to determine entry into the civil

service, thus giving the ambitious and well-educated middle classes the potential

to succeed. Furthermore, the University Tests Act of 1871 showed Gladstone?s

wish to not just maximise the individual?s opportunities, but to create a more

just society.

As a firm believer in Christianity, and in the idea of individualism, the

1870 Education Act is a prominent display of these two views. Having had the

industrial revolution Victorian Britain found itself in a rapidly industrialising

economy. The workforce needed to have at least a basic education, simply so

they could operate increasingly complex machinery. More significant than this

though, were the religious implications of the Act. Gladstone liked the idea

that he could spread Christianity through literacy, and the schools were very

closely linked with the church.

A further hallmark of this ministry was the modernisation of the army. Whilst

Cardwell, and not Gladstone, devised this scheme, it is rich in Gladstonian

philosophy. He again reduced the power of aristocratic generals by making the

Commandering Chief of the Army sub-ordinate to the Minister of War. The size

of the army was increased, by allowing recruits to sign on for shorter periods

of time, not simply for life. Perhaps the most Gladstonian measure of all us

the introduction of the Martini Henry rifle ? simple and efficient.

Gladstone?s desire for efficiency is again reflected in 1873?s Judicature

Act. This modernised the judicial system, and prevented long delays created

by an ornate infrastructure. This dramatically reduced unnecessary administration

and established one supreme court, abolishing courts such as Queen?s Bench,

and Common Pleas.

One of the key themes of Gladstonian Liberalism was that income tax should,

if it had to exist, be as low as possible, as it was seen as a burden to the

striving individual. This theory is portrayed by the fact that social security

during this period was very limited ? the workhouse was still very much in operation,

and Gladstone?s utter aversion to the idea of war.

Gladstonian Liberals confidently believed that, given freedom, people would

respond constructively and, in possession of rights and responsibilities, become

self-reliant and display innate good sense. Sadly, in practise, this was never

quite the way it was, and so in 1872 the Licensing Act was introduced, limiting

the opening hours of public houses. Whilst it can still be said to be a measure

designed to help the individual, it is the only major legislation of Gladstone?s

first ministry which is a direct intervention in people?s lives.

In conclusion, Gladstonian Liberalism is an ideology carrying the theme of

simple and efficient government. It was formulated mainly with religious influence,

and relied on moral people seeking to prosper in a moral environment. Gladstone

believed his task to be to create such a moral environment and give each person

a good chance to earn success. It is, in its roots, quite a Conservative, and

an extremely capitalist principle, and, judging by the large Conservative election

victory in 1874, was not as successful as, perhaps, with more social reforms,

it could have been. The domestic legislation of this ministry truly reflects

the idea of Gladstonian Liberalism. His reforms targeted the improvement of

governmental institutions, and went a long way towards doing so. At the end

of his first spell in office it is fair to say that the population had an improved

chance of success than in 1868. His fundamental flaw was in simply establishing

a reformed and improved system and not in pushing the working classes into drawing

all they could from it. It is perhaps a shame that Gladstone felt that social

reform, with its implications of vastly increased expenditure, discouraged self-help,

and so moved away from one of his primary philosophies ? low taxation. Otherwise

the impact of Gladstonian Liberalism would surely have been much more widely

felt.

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