Commercial Politics (1837-1856) — Reading Notes

Peel's Shifting Position on Protection

The excerpt from Peel's 1847 letter is the most substantial document in the sample. It reveals a politician carefully justifying a reversal of policy. Peel lists specific reasons for his change of mind: the failure of predictions that free imports of meat would ruin farmers, the 'contrast presented in two successive periods of dearth and abundance' in public health and tranquillity, and the narrowing ground on which Corn Laws could be defended after other protective duties had been repealed. He notes that the admission of foreign meat in 1842 caused a 'panic' and 'forced sale of stock', but five years later those fears had proved unfounded. The letter is measured in tone, using phrases such as 'it is unnecessary for the purposes of this memoir that I should refer in detail' to avoid recounting the political turmoil of 1845–46. Peel's language is that of a statesman seeking to persuade by reasoned argument rather than passion.

The Structure of a Source-Book

The volume is part of a series designed for classroom use, as the general introduction explains. The editors state that such source books are 'intended for use with any ordinary textbook of English History' and can serve either as 'lively illustration at the close of a lesson' or for 'inference-drawing' before the textbook is read. The series includes volumes covering periods from 449 to 1913, each edited by a scholar. The present compiler, R. H. Gretton, is identified as a former Demy of Magdalen College, Oxford, and author of Modern History of the English People. The book's 43 text sections and 45,118 words suggest a concise selection of documents, each likely introduced by a brief headnote. The excerpts provided do not include any editorial commentary on the documents, so the reader encounters the primary sources directly.

Voice and Argument in the Documents

The sample documents show a consistent reliance on first-person testimony and reasoned argument. Peel's letter is addressed 'To the Electors of Tamworth' and uses personal reflection ('my confidence… had been materially weakened') alongside empirical claims about wages and prices. The language is formal but not oratorical; it avoids the rhetorical flourishes of parliamentary speech. Another document, though not excerpted in full, is referenced as a 'public letter' from Peel to his constituents before the 1847 election. The collection appears to favour such epistolary sources, which allow for sustained exposition of policy positions. The absence of opposing voices in the sample—no speech by Cobden or Bright is included—may reflect the compiler's focus on the governing perspective, but the full volume likely includes a range of viewpoints. The reader should attend to how each document constructs its case: through appeals to experience, statistical inference, or moral principle.

Readers approaching this source-book should treat each document as a piece of evidence to be weighed against others. The excerpts show that the compilers have selected materials that foreground the reasoning of political actors, not merely the outcomes of legislation. Pay attention to the dates and contexts of each document: Peel's 1847 letter, for instance, was written after the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, and it serves as a retrospective justification. Comparing the tone and argument of earlier documents with later ones will reveal how the terms of debate shifted over the two decades covered.