ABSTRACT
FOR six years after the repeal of the Corn Laws those who had followed Peel on that issue had been out of office. The split in the Tory ranks had led to the formation of a Whig Government which, after effecting some important reforms, seemed to be drifting back to that condition of financial ineptitude which had called for the intervention of Peel in 1842. Lord Derby, however, found it impossible to emulate the example of Peel when the defeat of the Whigs in 1852 at last gave him his opportunity. His Ministry consisted of untried men, and its hold on the House of Commons was precarious. He was hampered by the protectionist traditions of his party, which put the Peelites on their guard against a possible reversal of policy. His appeal to the country in July also proved that the electorate had no desire to undo the work of Sir Robert Peel. Derby was, therefore, presented with the problem of how to arrive at financial stability without departing from general free trade principles or unduly disappointing the expectations of his immediate followers. To this Disraeli addressed himself. He admitted, when Parliament assembled, that the country did not wish to return to protection. But he could not entirely overlook the demands of the agricultural interest. As has been noticed, he proposed compensations ; he suggested that the malt tax and the hop duty should be reduced by one-half, and that farmers should be assessed for income tax on one-third instead of one-half of their rent. He combined with this a considerable increase in the house tax, which was calculated to impose a heavier burden on the towns. The defeat of the Government on these Budget proposals 112brought to a head a suggestion which had already been informally discussed—a possible coalition of Whigs and Peelites. After much negotiation a Ministry was formed under the leadership of a Peelite—Lord Aberdeen—and with five others in the Cabinet, although their party only numbered thirty in the House of Commons. Gladstone was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
