ABSTRACT
The year 1831 opened gloomily. Those who believed that revolution was at hand, feared to wish one another a happy new year; and the anxiety about revolution was by no means confined to anti-reformers. Society was already in a discontented and tumultuous state, its most ignorant portion being acted upon at once by hardship at home, and example from abroad; and there was every reason to expect a deadly struggle before parliamentary reform could be carried. It was too probable that a protracted opposition would raise these poor people in riot, and turn the necessary revolution, from being a peaceable one, into an overthrow of law and order. It is necessary to take note of this state of things, in order to understand and appreciate the action of the middle classes during the two following years.
