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 534 General History of Europe II. GENERAL REFORMS IN ENGLAND 956. Freedom of Speech. In addition to the reforms in their Parliament the English have gradually altered their laws with a view to giving the people greater freedom and to improving their condition in important respects. One of the most important conditions of a free people is the right of free speech, free press, and liberty to meet for political discussions. Although during the eighteenth century English laws were less oppressive than those on the Continent, it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that full liberty of speech was attained. Now England is very proud of this necessary institution of democracy. 957. Religious Toleration. England was a country of religious freedom in the eighteenth century, but Catholics and those Prot- estants who disagreed with the State Church namely, the Dis- senters were excluded from public offices. After long agitation this restriction was removed. In 1828 the old laws directed against Dissenters were repealed on condition that those seeking office should take an oath not to use their influence to injure or weaken the established Church of England. The following year the Catho- lics were put on the footing of other citizens by the passage of the Emancipation Act, which admitted them to both houses of Parliament and to almost all public offices upon condition that they would renounce their belief in the right of the Pope to interfere in temporal matters and would disclaim all intention of attacking the Protestant religion. 958. Public Schools. In the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury there was still a good deal of illiteracy in England. Since 1870 the government has been providing for the founding of free public schools, and as a result almost all English children now learn to read and write. As newspapers may now be had for a penny or so, almost everyone is in a position to buy them, read them, and learn what is going on in the world. 959. Reform of the Criminal Law and Prisons. The English criminal law was very harsh at the opening of the nineteenth