the country, than can be attributed to any other single cause. Hitherto
the bulk of the people had enjoyed but very scanty and occasional means
of acquiring political education. At times of vehement political
excitement, or any special party conflict, pamphlets and periodical
essays had enlightened their readers--necessarily a select and small
body--on particular topics. But standing orders of both Houses, often
renewed, strictly forbade all publication of the debates which took
place in either. To a certain extent, these orders had come to be
disregarded and evaded. Almost ever since the accession of the House of
Brunswick, a London publisher had given to the world an annual account
of the Parliamentary proceedings and most interesting discussions of the
year; and before the middle of the reign of George II, two monthly
magazines had given sketches of speeches made by leading members of each
party. The reporters, however, did not venture to give the names of the
speakers at full length, but either disguised them under some general
description, or at most gave their initials; and sometimes found that
even this profession of deference to the standing orders did not insure
them impunity. As late as the year 1747, Cave, the proprietor and editor
of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, was brought to the bar of the House of
Commons for publishing an account of a recent debate, and only obtained
his release by expressions of humble submission and the payment of heavy
fees. The awe, however, which his humiliation and peril had been
intended to diffuse gradually wore off; the keen interest which was
awakened by the ministerial changes at the beginning of the reign of
George III., which have been already mentioned, naturally prompted a
variety of efforts to gratify it by a revelation of the language
concerning them which was held by statesmen of different parties; and
these revelations were no longer confined to yearly or monthly
publications. More than one newspaper had of late adopted the practice
of publishing what it affirmed to be a correct report of the debates of