ABSTRACT
The tide of industrial prosperity, on which Ministers had been floated into calmer waters after 1821, began to recede in the autumn of 1825. “Prosperity”, unfortunately, had resulted not merely from the genuine growth of demand for British goods in a world recovering from the Napoleonic Wars but also from a great deal of wild speculation and rascally company-promoting. The new Parliament was called together on November 14th, a good deal earlier than usual. One reason for the change was that Ministers had decided, during a temporary corn-alarm, to go beyond the special powers conferred upon them by the last Parliament and so needed an Act of Indemnity to cover their proceedings. But as matters turned out the fact, that Parliament was assembled in November and December, enabled Canning to take, with great eclat, a strong but popular step in foreign policy.
