ABSTRACT
During the year 1853 Lord John Russell had been consoling himself for his descent to second place in the Ministry by thoughts of the Reform Bill which he had pledged the Cabinet to undertake in 1854. There was a party in the Cabinet which understood almost as well as Bright that a war with Russia might come to have very serious political consequences in England. Its leader was in fact the Prime Minister himself. He had managed against great pressure to stave off a declaration of war until the end of March 1854 and, after war had commenced, he was anxious for as speedy a pacification as might be. Popular Radicalism had by this time lost all interest in piecemeal domestic reform. It was much more occupied with such large ideas on the reconstitution of Europe as Kossuth was describing to enthusiastic audiences at Sheffield, Nottingham, and Glasgow in June and July.
