Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2006 / "Publication number AAT 3251814."

The general aim is to examine in detail the initiation of poor law policy by municipal authorities, with London as the main theme but with consideration of Hull for comparative purposes. Both are treated in relation to parallel State policy. Chapter I is introductory, calling attention to the general causes for increased vagrancy and distress in the sixteenth century, indicating the scope of the thesis and describing the manuscript sources. Chapter II deals with the extent and nature of sixteenth-century vagrancy, the contemporary conception of a vagabond, the art of begging revealed by the London archives and contemporary literature, and the city haunts of the sturdy beggar. Chapter III treats of London's vagrancy policy, sketching first State and City policy before 1485, and then proceeding to detailed examination of the period of transition and experiment (1485 - 1531). City policy preceded State action. Its keynotes were (a) settlement (b) severe punishment. Chapter IV continues the survey to 1552. The main features are (a) until 1547, great administrative activity (b) 1547 - 1552, and the development of a more humane treatment of vagrancy, marked by the foundation of Bridewell. Chapter V traces to 1576 Hull's vagrancy policy, which developed later than that of London. Hull's chief aim was to stabilise labour, but there were certain resemblances to London's policy and these are noted. Chapter VI reviews development of municipal relief of the poor in London and Hull. In London, (a) until 1536, policy was mainly concerned with the regulation of begging; (b) 1536 - 1552 circumstances hastened municipal interference and finally a general scheme of poor relief was formulated, involving the foundation of the Royal Hospitals. In Hull the problem was less urgent, interference was more gradual and largely State-directed. Chapter VII summarises the result of these detailed surveys. Documentary evidence to illustrate the various aspects of the subject is quoted in full in 25 Appendices.

Lord Malmesbury was appointed Foreign Secretary on 26 February, 1858, in Lord Derby's Second Administration. In March he successfully ended the bitter quarrel with France which had resulted from Orsini's attempted assassination of Napoleon. Later in the year he secured the release of the two English engineers of the "Cagliari" from a Neapolitan prison. His attempt to mediate between France and Portugal in the dispute over the "Charles et Georges" was less successful. In the East Malmesbury upheld the Treaty of 1856. Friction developed with France over the war in Montenegro, but the murder of the English and French Consuls at Jeddah led to Anglo-French co-operation in securing retribution. Crises over Serbia and the Danube placed Malmesbury on the side of France against Austria, but in the larger question of the Principalities, he contributed to an avoidance of a Franco-Austrian break. His most important sphere of action was Italy. From January to May, 1859, maintained constant diplomatic pressure on all the Powers to preserve the peace. While upholding the Treaty of 1815, he hoped to settle the Italian Question by gradual reforms, and by inducing Austria to make concessions. He sent Lord Cowley on a mediating mission to Vienna in March, and in April occupied a central position in the negotiations for a Congress to consider the affairs of Italy. But events moved too quickly for him. The rising tempo of the "Risorgimento", Cavour's conspiracies, and the uncompromising behaviour of Austria, led to a Franco-Austrian War in May. In the war Malmesbury maintained an impartial neutrality. He helped to localize hostilities by advising the German States not to support Austria. Before the Peace of Villafranca the Derby Government had resigned, on 18 June.

The period from 1830 to 1853 has been called the age of paradox, the age in which the beliefs in Laissez-faire and state intervention alternately determined the legislation and attitude of Parliament. This was the case, for example, in the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 and the Ten Hours' Act of 1847. Historians of the early 1900's, emphasizing the ruthless individualism of the period, frequently credited the Earl of Shaftesbury with single-handedly forcing exceptions on a Laissez-faire age. More recent writers, recognizing the work of Bentham and Chadwick, see two antithetical trends, Both these groups, looking more to events than to beliefs, fail to explain the seeming inconsistency of the men who voted in favour of both the Bill of 1846 and the Bill of 1847. This thesis attempts to show, through a study of the controversy over Factory Legislation between 1830 and 1853, the development of a political theory justifying both Repeal and Ten Hours. It is a study of public opinion as seen in the pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, books, speeches and popular agitations and of the work and opinions of the Factory Inspectors, The attitude towards Government in the early 1800's was strongly influenced by the classical economist's popularization of Adam Smith's teaching. Gradually the condition of England made the country aware that an inflexible application of Laissez-faire was causing, or at least not remedying, the misery of the working class. The majority of men, however, continued to support Free Trade. Consequently, Laissez-faire was reinterpreted to comprehend the distinction between human wealth and commercial wealth, and to allow Government interference to increase the former, while still denying its efficacy to increase the latter; that is, to permit interference in the internal relations of industry while continuing to deny it in the external.

The administration of French towns in the eighteenth century was in the hands of two bodies, the corps de ville and the assembles generale des habitants, which were usually dominated by a close, well-to-do oligarchy. Although municipal elections were organized in a host of different ways, there were two characteristics common to many towns - indirect elections and representation based on class or profession - both of which were conducive to oligarchy. Opposition to this municipal oligarchy was led by bailliage officials, whose political importance and economic power suffered a marked decline in the eighteenth century. The essentials of municipal finance were similar in all towns. The most usual source of revenue was taxation on consumer goods, though some towns also levied personal taxation. The disbursement of this revenue was not at the municipal officials' discretion, but decided either by the royal council or by the intendant. Colbert had restricted the towns' financial independence in order to prevent misappropriation and peculation of municipal revenue. The government's less altruistic reason for controlling municipal expenditure was that in times of crisis it looked to the towns for extraordinary financial assistance. This it extorted principally by means of rachats des offices and dons gratuits. The effect of this policy on a town's finances is well illustrated by the history of Auxerre. This town's relations with the intendants of Burgundy suggest that the government's direction of municipal finance was not in practice as efficient as it was intended to be in theory. The archives of Auxerre and Avallon also contain valuable information about municipal elections in the eighteenth century, the conventions which governed them, the passions they aroused, and the part played by intrigue and influence.

Laurence Hyde is a figure of the late Restoration as his political career only began after his exiled father's death. In the seventies he was an insignificant member of the Court Party in the Commons which was organised by Danby in opposition to the strong country party. During this period Hyde played an official diplomatic role in the vacillating policy of England towards the Nimuegen settlements from 1676 to 1678. This uncertain policy was forced on Charles II partly by his secret French entanglements, partly by Danby's ardent anti-Gallicanism, and partly by the reluctance of the suspicious Commons to supply the men and money necessary for the Anglo-Dutch alliance which they had demanded. These complexities led to Danby's failure in 1678; and the Popish Plot crisis then arising, not only caused his own downfall but completely overshadowed foreign affairs. The resulting Exclusion struggle gradually deprived the Crown of the mass of Court Party support and gave a few younger courtiers, notably the Yorkist Hyde, an opportunity to advance rapidly in the understaffed royal government. Hyde played a confidential part in completing the secret French money treaty of 1681 which enabled Charles to win an unexpected victory over the Exclusionists. For the next four years he reaped the reward of fidelity in the leadership of the reactionary government of the High Tories. James II's accession made Hyde's position apparently supreme, but the fanatical Catholic policy which the King soon displayed split the High Tory party into two irreconcilable groups: one devoted to Anglicanism, the other to the prerogative. Hyde, devoted to both ideals and tom between the two, had no definite policy in 1688 and thus incurred the opprobrium of both James and Orange. His inevitable political decline after 1688 epitomises the break up of the old Church and State party upon which his father had believed the Restoration settlement was founded.

The thesis opens with a very general account of the earliest settlement in the Plymouth region, passing to a more detailed treatment of the manorial division of the district and the settlements on the site of modern Plymouth - their character, growth and significance in the development both of a corporate life within the region and of commercial interests overseas. The effect on the neighbourhood of the extension of the Empire and of national prestige at sea is considered, particularly in relation to the expansion of the port's colonial trade. This brings us to the end of Ch. 5. At this stage the salient physical conditions governing the use of the port are discussed, prior to an examination of the trends of commerce from the 1860s to the present day. The port includes three important and highly individualised harbours, and after studying the characteristics of the port trade as a whole, each of these harbours is considered separately. Part II concludes with a study of Plymouth as the centre of the Westcountry fishing industry. Part III deals with the human and social aspects of the City behind the Port, beginning by tracing the actual consolidation of the several elements into the present highly complex unity of the City of Plymouth, correlating each major advance with the larger developments both in the district and in the country as a whole. Population changes during the past twenty years and the human and economic factors now at work in determining the character of the connurbation are treated in some detail. Finally the City-Port is considered as a centre of commerce, trade and social intercourse, in relation first, to its immediate hinterland, and secondly, to the major population centres of the British Isles.

Edward III chose the chapel in Windsor Castle to be the centre of his new Order of the Garter. A college of secular canons was founded to serve it, and benefactions of the king and other companions of the Garter provided an annual income of about £600. Many of the canons were royal clerks. Statutes drawn up for the college in 1352 by the bishop of Winchester gave control of administration, under the chapter, to three officials elected annually from the residentiaries. Of these three, the treasurer was concerned with finance, especially disbursements, the steward with estate management and collecting revenue, and the precentor with the chapel and its services. Chief of the treasurer's duties was paying wages to members of the college, but he was also responsible for all expenditure made by himself and other officers, except the precentor, and was finally accountable for revenues, which, although collected by the steward, were delivered to him. Important among sources of revenue were eleven appropriated churches and three manors. Estates In Berkshire and Buckinghamshire were at first managed directly, but by 1361 all except two nearby manors were at farm. With regard to estates at farm, the steward's duties were to arrange leases, make occasional visits of Inspection and collect rents. Towards estates under direct management his responsibilities were heavier, Including constant economic supervision, and holding court. Local officials held office for long periods, and the steward had a permanent lay helper, the steward of the courts. The income of the chapel itself (offerings and gifts) was collected by the precentor who paid from it for the upkeep of the chapel and the services. Accounts of central and local officials were audited annually at Windsor by the dean and two other elected residentlaries, helped with manorial accounts by an outside auditor.

The Union left the future of Scottish administration in the hands of the Queen's ministers. The methods adopted by Godolphin and Harley differed, partly because their political problems were different and partly because of temperament. Godolphin tried as far as he could to rule Scotland in the old way, through Queensberry1s Court Party. He hoped to strengthen the Court at Westminster with the Scottish representatives elected under influence. When the abolition of the Privy Council upset his full scheme he strove to keep the channel of administration between England and Scotland in the hands of the Court Party. Harley also wished to strengthen the Court at Westminster but he could not rule through a homogeneous Court Party in Scotland since he was hoping to draw support from too wide a field to risk giving offence. To solve the problem he tried to administer Scotland himself through the financial departments, advised by personal agents. He hoped to make the secretary?s office redundant. The scheme proved to be largely a system of centralised procrastination. Opportunity was provided for Bolingbroke as a secretary of State to expedite business in a bid for interest amongst the Scots. In self defence Harley had to appoint Mar as third secretary. As far as revenue departments were concerned Godolphin kept to the proper channels of business, observed precedent and set much store by official opinion. Patronage he left largely to the commissioners which probably meant putting it in the hands of the Scottish ministry. Harley trusted the revenue commissioners far less and was much less a respecter of the proper channels and forms of business. And, although it was done informally, patronage seems to have been directed much more from the Treasury under Harley.

This thesis covers the period (1640-53) of Vane's significant political activity in England. It examines his work as administrator -a neglected aspect of his career. The fluctuating fortunes and membership of the group led by Vane and St. John are traced; its struggle with Holies's group was reflected in the use made of the Committee of Both Kingdoms to deprive parliament as a whole of authority. Vane's mastery of parliamentary tactics was often demonstrated, for instance in the Self-Denying Ordinance, which had important political purposes. His support of religious toleration in England, Ireland and America contrasts strongly with his harsh attitude to political opposition. By December 1646 Holles's group dominated the Commons, and Vane virtually boycotted parliament for some months. Though always aware of the dangers of military control, he was at one with some Army leaders, though not with the Levellers, on many issues, and when the Army intervened in 1647 he returned to the House. His administrative gifts were shown by his work on the Committee of Both Kingdoms, and as Navy Treasurer; the financial rewards of the latter office were considerable from 1645 onwards. His withdrawal from public affairs in January 1649 was followed by a period of extraordinary activity, in which Vane was the architect of the Union with Scotland, the abortive Union with Holland, and above all, the Commonwealth Navy, though he did not neglect the interests of his constituency, his family or himself. He probably opposed the Dutch War at first, but in December 1652 he wrested from a reluctant parliament authority for an Admiralty Commission, whose new policy bore fruit in Blake's victory off Portland. By this time Vane was politically isolated, and at odds with Hesilrige and Marten; friction with Cromwell on naval policy was followed by the dismissal of the Rump.