Perilous Question, Fraser - C

                                    The subtitle of this brief history book is, 'Reform or Revolution? Britain on the Brink, 1832'.  As someone who has read dozens of British history books, hundreds of novels set in the U.K., has subscribed to a British magazine for over twenty years, seen the entire Shakespeare canon on stage, in the movies, and on video, watched innumerable BBC series, studied the common law, and lord know what else, I, like I suspect most Americans, still know very little about British democracy.  After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain settled into the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and change was upon the land. People moved to the burgeoning cities, Abolition was considered, even the Catholics were allowed to vote. The Reform crisis came on the heels of famine, bad times, and rioting in Britain. The death of George IV required a general election and a new Parliament. Reform was electoral reform, as the Commons had become thoroughly unrepresentative of the country.  There were dozens of 'rotten boroughs' where there were Members and very few voters. The most famous of these was Old Sarum, empty since 1217, yet still with two members, while Birmingham and its thousands of workers was without one. The Tories, led by Wellington and with one eye on France where the Bourbons had just been deposed for a second time were in opposition. The Reform Bill carried the Commons three times and failed its first two readings in the House of Lords.  When the Iron Duke and all twenty-three of the Anglican Bishops abstained, the bill carried the Lords and was signed into law by William IV.  From almost two centuries, the modest changes and slight expansion of the electorate (from 3.2% to 4.7%, of a nation of 16 million) hardly seem that dramatic. But, as the author points out,  this reform led to substantial change throughout the century.