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11 - A Prime Minister Resigns

Peel and the Corn Laws

from Part IV - Irish Questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2022

Michael Wheeler
Michael Wheeler
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
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Summary

In the autumn of 1845, as news of a potato blight came in from various parts of Great Britain and Ireland, the prospect of famine in the ‘second island’ began to loom. By December, Sir Robert Peel was convinced that his government would have to save Ireland by abolishing the Corn Laws, that shibboleth of the Tory landed class. Having failed to take his cabinet with him, he stepped aside, only to be reinstated by the queen when Lord John Russell failed to form a Whig ministry. Six months later the Corn Laws were abolished and the Tories were out of office. This chapter examines the private political letters exchanged between Peel and Sir James Graham, Richard Cobden and John Bright of the Anti–Corn Law League, and other leading players, on the brink of the ‘great hunger’ in Ireland and the eventual resignation of a prime minister.

Keywords

PeelCorn LawsCobdenBrightpotatoesfamineOsborne
Type
Chapter
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The Year That Shaped the Victorian Age
Lives, Loves and Letters of 1845
 , pp. 347 - 373
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • A Prime Minister Resigns
  • Michael Wheeler, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Year That Shaped the Victorian Age
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268868.017
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  • A Prime Minister Resigns
  • Michael Wheeler, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Year That Shaped the Victorian Age
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268868.017
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • A Prime Minister Resigns
  • Michael Wheeler, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Year That Shaped the Victorian Age
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009268868.017
Available formats
×