The 1880s witnessed a remarkable upsurge in public concern over the question of child welfare. Not only were two important Acts of Parliament passed providing children, for the first time, with effective safeguards against neglect, cruelty and exploitation, but the final year of the decade saw the establishment of the highly influential National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Whilst much has been written of these developments, the part played by cardinal Henry Edward Manning in forming public opinion and in helping to secure the successful passage of legislation has, by and large, gone unacknowledged. It was in 1885—some twenty years after his elevation to the see of Westminster—that he took up the burning question of child protection, a fact which adds weight to Ausubel's assertion that ‘his last years were in many respects the most fruitful of his life, especially in his attempts to apply Christianity to social problems’.
