ホイッグ党とヨークシャー運動

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The Yorkshire Movement in 1780 was a challenge to the oligarchic politics of eighteenth-century England. Extraparliamentary reformers wanted not only economic but also parliamentary reforms, and they opposed aristocratic control of them. Though aristocratic, the Whig party co-operated with such reformers seeking economic reforms. Edmund Burke, a Whig spokesman, wrote in a letter that the strength of the party was without, and not within the House of Commons. But the party did not approve of plans of parliamentary reform and resisted radical attempts to restrict the independence of members of parliament. How can this liberal-conservative ambivalence of the Whig party be explained? The arguments the party used to explain its stand can be summarized as follows : 1)The influence of the crown on politics was dangerous, so no other radical reform was necessary once the crown's influence was reduced by the economic reforms. 2)Members of parliament, when united into a political party and acting with discretion, can protect the constitution and the interests of the people against the influence of the crown. 3)The people at large should be highly esteemed so long as they support the political party. But they cannot take the initiative. Though the Whig party used similar arguments before the rise of the Yorkshire Movement, the party's conception of the people remained vague until 1780, when the reformers outside of parliament became too strong and assertive to remain vaguely defined. Then the Whig party began to admit that it and other reformers disagreed over some points, but it still sought to remain friendly with these reformers. It promised to perform timely moderate reforms and asked, in exchange, the radicals to refrain from violence. This "give and take," by which the liberal-conservative arguments of the party survived the Yorkshire Movement, was a precursor of the "reform to prevent a revolution" theory which the Whig ministry used to justify the great reform in 1832. Such political flexibility permitted the Whigs and nineteenth-century English politics to adapt smoothly to the rise of industrial society. *The author gladly acknowledges the goodwill of the Earl Fitzwilliam and the staff of the Sheffield Central Library for the use of Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments.
財団法人史学会の論文
1978-02-20

ホイッグ党とヨークシャー運動

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