Righteousness before Revenue: The Forgotten Moral Crusade against the Indo-Chinese Opium Trade

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
British Government ◽  
Opium Trade ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Moral Claims

The earliest moral crusade against opiates occurred in Britain. The Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade (SSOT) was led by Quakers and Protestant missionaries to China who attempted to end the Indo-Chinese opium trade by mobilizing public opinion and agitating in Parliament. In 1893, the anti-opiumists had gained so much political power that they almost ended the trade. However, the British government, by appointing a Royal Commission on Opium (1893–95), managed to delay ending the trade for a dozen years. In 1906, the anti-opiumists and growing international pressure convinced the British to forgo the opium revenue. The moral claims of these anti-opiumists and their agitation against opium provided the basis for modern opium policy.

Communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian D. Liddy
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
And Control ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

The exercise of political power in late medieval English towns was predicated upon the representation, management, and control of public opinion. This chapter explains why public opinion mattered so much to town rulers; how they worked to shape opinion through communication; and the results. Official communication was instrumental in the politicization of urban citizens. The practices of official secrecy and public proclamation were not inherently contradictory, but conflict flowed from the political process. The secrecy surrounding the practices of civic government provoked ordinary citizens to demand more accountability from town rulers, while citizens, who were accustomed to hear news and information circulated by civic magistrates, were able to use what they knew to challenge authority.

The Personnel of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen, 1791-4

1940 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 12-53
Author(s):  
R. B. McDowell
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Independent Voters ◽  
United Irishmen

One of the most noticeable features of Irish political life in the 'later eighteenth century, is, that though political power was :oncentrated in comparatively few hands, there was a very large leasure of political freedom. One could in fact sum up the system by saying that it was oligarchy tempered by discussion. As a result, voluntary and unofficial societies and clubs arose for the purpose of educating and influencing public opinion, and were the nuclei of much political thought and action. There [were Whig Clubs, Constitutional Clubs, Societies for the [Preservation of Liberty and Peace and Associations of Independent Voters. Thus there was nothing very strange in the Iformation, in November 1791, of a Dublin branch of the newly bounded Society of United Irishmen. But this group was to prove unique in at least one respect.

The British Government and the Governor Eyre Controversy, 1865–1875

1976 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 877-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Knox
Keyword(s):  
Royal Commission ◽  
British Government ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Morant Bay Rebellion ◽  
The Government ◽  
Official Sources

In the several works on the great controversy aroused by Governor Edward John Eyre's measures for suppressing the Morant Bay rebellion, in Jamaica in October 1865, British government reactions and decisions have been surprisingly neglected. For the best part of two years at the beginning of this period the government had to deal with a most serious political as well as colonial crisis. Two successive ministries were involved in this. Lord Russell's Liberals received news of the rebellion in the depths of the 1865–6 parliamentary recess. Public dispute was therefore kept, temporarily, at a distance which policy-makers could welcome. The government appointed, in December 1865, a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Jamaican troubles. Its report, which alone amongst official sources has attracted much attention from writers on the subject, was released shortly before the end of June 1866, when the Liberals, defeated in parliament, resigned. The Derby Conservatives then taking office continued the Liberals' policies over Jamaica and Governor Eyre, a deceptively simple task.

The career and correspondence of Thomas Allan, c. 1725-1798

1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (39) ◽  
pp. 298-324
Author(s):  
Edith M. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Political Power ◽  
British Government ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The Government

From 1700 to 1767 it was customary for the lord lieutenant of Ireland to reside in the country only during the period when the Irish parliament was actually in session. Before the amendment of Poynings’ law in 1782 the parliamentary session had lasted approximately six to eight months in every second year. On its prorogation the viceroy had returned to Great Britain for the intervening eighteen months, placing the government of Ireland in the hands of three prominent Irish politicians known as the lords justices. For some years before 1767 the British government had been considering the appointment of a permanently resident lord lieutenant in order to instil stability into the Irish political administration and to remove the necessity for the appointment of Irish politicians as lords justices.In 1767 the Pitt-Grafton administration appointed George, Viscount Townshend, lord lieutenant of Ireland. On his arrival the new viceroy found that the government of the kingdom was in the hands of the great borough proprietors, many of whom were connected with the influential whig families in Great Britain. These Irish politicians were accustomed to carry through, or undertake, the king’s business in parliament in return for a generous share of administrative patronage, which they used to increase their political power and family prestige. This patronage was mainly connected with the control of the revenue board of which John Ponsonby, speaker of the Irish house of commons, brother of the earl of Bessborough and closely connected with the duke of Devonshire, was the first commissioner.

Rationing, austerity and the Conservative party recovery after 1945

1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sustained Effort ◽  
The Right

ABSTRACTThe general election of 1945 is described as ‘the Waterloo of the Conservative party’. Yet, in 1951 the Conservatives returned to power and were to remain in office for thirteen years. The purpose of this article is to examine this transformation in electoral fortunes. Labour's defeat in 1951 is usually explained in terms of government fatigue, redistribution, and Liberal disintegration. It is argued here that the Conservative party was not just a passive beneficiary of these developments. Rather, the 1951 result was the outcome of a sustained effort since 1946 to regain the initiative and political power. The Conservatives were actively engaged in forging an anti-socialist coalition focused on disaffection with austerity, rationing and controls on which the party's recovery after 1945 is based.The discussion is divided into four sections. The first outlines the extent of shortages, establishes the significance of this issue in political debate, and identifies the social groups most affected. Part two traces the swing to the right from 1947 onwards and the third section explores Conservative propaganda in opposition to rationing, austerity and controls. The final part examines the party's assessment of the electoral task, its monitoring of public opinion, and the range of techniques employed to rally support.

A Three-Phase Supply

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Jim Powell
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
British Government ◽  
Third Phase ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Three Phases ◽  
Cotton Trade

This chapter describes the three phases of the war as experienced by the British cotton trade. The first phase (November 1860 to end June 1862) was characterised by a complacency in the trade, which expected neither a civil war nor a cotton scarcity. The Confederacy’s King Cotton strategy and its failure are examined, as well as British public opinion and British government policy. During the second phase (July 1862 to end August 1864), the full scale of the catastrophe was belatedly recognised and prices soared. Cotton speculation in the Liverpool market became endemic. A price collapse in September 1864 marked the end of the phase. Thereafter, confusion was widespread and prices oscillated violently, as did speculation. This third phase arguably lasted until 1876. The chapter concludes that the civil war period in Liverpool can best be seen as an extended series of bets on whether a war would start and how long it would last.

Canadian Public Opinion on Official Bilingualism: Ambivalent Consensus and its Limits

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 29-49
Author(s):  
Michael MacMillan
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Support ◽  
National Policy ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Degree Of Acceptance ◽  
Canadian Public Policy

With the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Official Languages Act celebrated in 2019, the question of its degree of acceptance by the Canadian public is in order for review. When the national policy on official bilingualism was first advocated by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, it frankly acknowledged that it was highly controversial and opposed by substantial portions of the Anglophone public. Nevertheless, they insisted that the policy was necessary for the survival of the country and maintained that the firm resolve of united political elites at federal and provincial levels eventually would generate political success for the policy. While elite unity was elusive and only partially realized, the essential elements of official bilingualism were adopted, expanded and have survived to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The evolving pattern of public opinion over the past three decades demonstrates that official bilingualism is accepted as an essential component of Canadian political life, but that acceptance is hedged by some important qualifications, and indications that any further expansion would not enjoy public support. Nevertheless, it is firmly established as a core operating principle of Canadian public policy.

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