The next reforms that Gladstone introduced were the Army and Civil Service. The army reform was introduced in 1869 because of the recent experience with the American Civil war and the successes of the Prussian army in wars against Denmark and Russia. Soldiers were also regarded as lower sectors of society so the number of soldiers wanting to join the army was minimal. Army officers also believed that the only language they understood was severe discipline. Furthermore, Army officers were commissioned by the Monarch and had to pay for their own commissions. This meant the only way to become a officer was to have money or the privilege to be passed onto you. So the new reform was made to improve efficiency, remove unjustified privileges and enhance individuals. Gladstone changed the fact that officers within the Army had to pay their own commissions to become a officer and instead promotion in the officer class was to be based on merit only. This proposal met fierce opposition in the House of Lords, so was introduced by the royal warrant, not Act of Parliament. There was also an introduction of short service: six years with the colours and six years with the reserves. This act could be considered as a great reform as the Army increased by 25 battalions and 156 horse drawn field guns. The army career appealed to more people and increased from only 3,500 to 36,000. Britain began to have a modern professional army, with no extra expense. However, overall, the act was a great reform as the consequences of improving the Army were too great. British troops were withdrawn from the self governing colonies such as Canada and New Zealand, as Gladstone believed these colonies would only be self governing if the looked after themselves. However, this caused huge opposition in Canada, which feared US invasion. The Army reform suggested that it caused more serve problems then it was facing before. The Civil Service Reform was in 1871 after the Crimean War which pointed out the inadequacies of this service. Workers were lazy, incompetent, inefficient and lacking in initiative. However, it was imperative that a more efficient Civil Service was introduced to accommodate the complex administration of the company. A liberal pressure group, founded in 1855, petitioned for the talented middle class to be able to be recruited to the Civil Services. Due to Gladstone’s aims he was keen to implement the terms of the 1855 report. Gladstone made it compulsory to take a competitive exam in order to enter the Civil Service, which was open to all who desired to sit it. This meant that there was an equal opportunity for all and places were now based on capability and merit rather than status. However, the Civil Service was divided into grades, corresponding to social class. Therefore, the lower classes were excluded from grades of upper orders of administration. Although the reform faced many opposition, it was still a great reform as it began the development of a more efficient Civil Service for which staff were appointed on merit, agreeing with Gladstone’s beliefs of equality of opportunity.
The two acts Gladstone changed next was the Government and the Secret Ballot, which was titled under Political Reform. The Government reform was needed in 1869 for Gladstone to achieve his aims as up until now only men were allowed to vote, and still this was only if they earned a certain amount of land. However, after this act was changed it now meant that in local elections female householders were given the vote. The government were also playing a greater role in peoples lives as they had to deal with poverty and health, meaning the general living standards would have been improving. Imprisonment of debt was also abolished, except for fraud or refusal to pay. This gave more people security if they were struggling for money. Overall, the reform still wasn’t improved as much as it should have been as women still didn’t have the same voting rights as men and only the richer women were allowed to vote, which was the minority, as they were the ones who would have their own households, which didn’t portray equality in classes. Although it did improve the local government and women’s rights were improving, it can be seen as simply a reorganisation rather than a radical reform. The Secret Ballot reform was necessary to Gladstone as it kept the support of the Radicals and the act also attempted to abolish bribery, corruption and intimidation in voting. Instead of people knowing who voted for who, voting would now be done in secret to avoid anyone being put under pressure and so voting was actually fair, rather than people voting for people who they didn’t want to and instead for it to be purely the voter’s choice. There was many opposition to this reform as many people had a laissez faire attitude, meaning they believed that the government shouldn’t get involved. The main opposition was with the middle class and the upper class as could no longer decide how the people who worked for them voted. This can be seen as a great reform as we still use this system today and it makes the voting system fair. However, in this time period it was uncertain how fair the system really was and to what extent the secrecy was as people could still try and bribe others without anyone finding out.
The social reform was then introduced in 1871- 1872. This included a reform in the Trade Union Act and the Licensing Act. The Trade Union Act was needed in 1871, as there was a severe economic recession in the winter of 1866-7, leading to difficulties between trade unions and the law. Also, there were doubts about their legal status suggested by the verdicts in the Courts in 1866 in the case of Hornby vs. Close. This act gave trade unions the protection they wanted. This prevented violence and in all economic matters for the law to take no part. This legalisation and its interpretations in the courts caused great resentment among trade unionists. Overall, this act was a great reform as it gave trade unions the legal protection they wanted and Gladstone had met a number of people who had been impressed by their responsibility, implying that many weren’t opposed to the reform. However, it could be said to go against Gladstone’s aims as the government were interfering. The Licensing Act in 1872 was needed as alcohol was seen as a major problem by parts of society and was a major cause of poverty, with alcohol sales being uncontrolled. Gladstone therefore believed that individuals needed to abstain from alcohol and the government needed to restrict the sales. Gladstone decided on certain terms that had to be followed; beer shops had to have a licence, in areas where they were considered too many beer shops some would be closed down and regulations were set to prevent the misuse of drinking. Drinking places were also given set times for closing; 11 o’clock for those in the country and midnight for those in London. This act was very unpopular for the working class, which caused many riots when the police tried to enforce the closing hours. The act was also very illiberal because it doesn’t support the laissez faire attitude in which people thought the government should not interfere. The overall act did make towns and cities safer places, but could be seen more of reorganisation rather than a great reform.
The last reform that Gladstone introduced was the Legal Reform. The Judicature act, within this reform, was introduced in 1873. In this time period there were too many different types of courts, so it was decided to simplify the system to understand it. This was done by making one Supreme Court, which was kept fairly small. Before the Supreme Court it was long, complex and a very slow system. For Gladstone this removed unjustified privileges, set trade unions and gave non-conformists full legal equality. Overall, Gladstone’s idea reduced waste and was a more efficient way, as before it was too complicated. This was the last major reform of Gladstone’s first ministry, reforming the speed, complexity and cost of the laws.
To conclude, I believe that Gladstone’s first ministry was a great reform as many of the Acts were changed for the better and were majorly improved, with only the minority not playing a major role and just being reorganised instead. Furthermore, Gladstone’s first ministry gave people an idea of what they should be working towards, so that things can always be improving.
by
rachelharbour (student)
