Schools were a key institution of this country. The Education system desperately needed to be improved and certain people needed to be educated. The government introduced the Fosters education act in 1870.The working class had been extended the vote, so they now needed to be educated. The government introduced compulsory school education between the age of 5 and 13. The government set up school boards for each area of a community to deal with schools. Gladstone did manage to improve key institutions in this country. Which was an achievement.
In 1871 Gladstone managed to set the trade unions on a secure legal footing. This act, which is an Act Respecting the Right of Employees to Organize and Providing for Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration of Industrial Disputes. The trade unions could now act on behalf of employees, which was a success with the urban working class.
Religious equality was given to the non conformist in 1871 by Gladstone. Non conformist were given the privilege of entering oxford and Cambridge, however they weren’t given the privilege of holding an official position. They were also restricted in becoming a lecturer at these universities, even if they were more than qualified. This was unfair and injustice to non conformist. This unjustified restriction was soon changed under Gladstone and the program to religious liberalism was complete.
Gladstone also expressed his concerns on the civil service. The civil service was inefficient and lazy. The privileged only worked there and the fact they were under qualified for the position was over ruled by their privileged background. This was soon changed in 1870 when Gladstone requested an entry exam for all civil service employees. The civil service could no longer only employ people with privileged background. Anyone who wanted to be employed by the civil service had to pass the entry exam. This act also managed to remove unjustified privileges unintentionally.
Gladstone did manage to achieve, the removal of unjustified privileges to a certain extent in 1871. The abolition of the purchase of commissions in the army certainly removed unjustified privileges from the rich. The army had a good deal of unjustified privileges due to soldiers not being promoted on merit. However it was on commission, which meant the more money you had the quicker you could be promoted. This did have its downfalls such as: a soldier wasn’t qualified for his position nor did he have the experience for this position. This was all highlighted in the Crimean war and brought to Gladstone attention. Gladstone had introduced a new system of meritocracy, which meant only soldiers were promoted on merit rather than commission.
In 1872 Gladstone managed to set a new radical direction for change and reform. The corrupt electoral system meant that votes could be bought of the electorates for a small fee. The current system in 1872 was an open ballet, which meant that electorate had to mount a platform and announce his choice of candidate. The officer present then recorded it in the poll book. The tenants and serfs were threatened and pressurized mostly due to their landlords threatening them with eviction if they didn’t vote a certain candidate.
By introducing the licensing act in 1872, Gladstone tackled alcoholism. Alcohol was seen as a major problem for society. Too much alcohol lead to poverty and crime increasing. Gladstone made sure that “every person . . . who is drunk while in charge on any highway or other public place of any carriage, horse, cattle, or steam engine, or who is drunk when in possession of any loaded firearms, may be apprehended and would be liable to a penalty not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale or in the discretion of the court to imprisonment . . . for any term not exceeding one month.” This did anger the working class however Gladstone did manage to improve society.
The judiciary system was a system that was long and complicated. The cost was expensive and was seen as a wasting too much money. The judiciary system was brought to Gladstone attention and Gladstone soon simplified the whole judiciary system as well as the costs.
In conclusion Gladstone did manage to achieve a great number of changes in his first administration. However you could argue that he didn’t manage to achieve his main goal which was to “pacify Ireland”. However you could also say that the disestablishment of the church was a positive act and did manage to “pacify Ireland” to a certain extent. In England, he was successful in his achievement to change the major constituencies such as the Army, the civil service, the judiciary and education. In contrast his achievements in Ireland were less impressive with the Irish land acts which deteriorated the situation in Ireland rather than to “pacify Ireland.”