Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/242

 228 History of the Radical Party in Parliament. [1827- first time made known to the country. On the whole, the measure, as thus propounded, was received by Radicals in and out of Parliament with delight, and almost with surprise at its thorough-going character. There were principles which they considered important which were not recognized ; there were deficiencies in the methods that were adopted. The ballot, a shorter duration of Parliaments, and most especially a wider extension of the suffrage, were felt to be questions which had been unwisely neglected ; but, as Harriet Martineau says, "All agreed to relinquish their minor objects for a time, to secure the overthrow of borough corruption, and the great cry was raised which from that hour rang through the land for above a year 'The bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill.' " * From this time to the passing of the Act there is no separate history of the Radical party in Parliament. The determination to assist the Whigs in the prolonged effort to carry the great measure was practically unanimous.f It was the feeling outside which made it possible to break down the opposition of the Peers and the reluctance of the King, and outside the Radicals had the command of the devotion, and the direction of the energies, of the whole people. It was the popular enthusiasm thus aroused and sustained which sup- ported ministers in their first defeat, sent back a strong and compact reform majority when Parliament was dissolved, and defeated even the resolution of the Duke of Wellington, although at one time it was said that he contemplated the possibility of using the army to suppress the people. It was this which induced the King to promise Lord Grey power to t There were two curious exceptions. Orator Hunt, who had defeated Mr. Stanley at Preston, vigorously denounced ministers and their proposition ; but no one regarded him as a serious element in politics. Sir R. Wilson, however, had long been a consistent Radical, but by some twist he constructed a principle out of a mere detail, and voted against Government on the amendment, which refused to allow of a diminution of the number of members of the House. The carrying of this led to a dissolution, and in the election following Wilson lost his seat for Southwark.
 * "History of the Thirty Years' Peace," vol. ii. p. 32.