1171
John Milton (of ‘Paradise Lost’ fame) urged Parliament not to fall into bad old habits of censorship, whatever their fears may be.
In 1643, early in the Civil War, Parliament passed a law allowing it to censor and license pamphlets, hoping to silence critics. John Milton protested, reminding Parliament that in their campaign against Charles I’s tyranny they themselves had begotten the country’s love of free speech. Would they now take it away, like pagan fathers who slay their newborn child?
Picture: By Annibale Gatti (1828-1909), via the Wellcome Trust and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted March 7 2017
1172
Philosopher and social activist John Stuart Mill discusses the most liberating kind of education.
J.S. Mill was educated at home by his eminent father, and the experience was a bruising one. He wished that his father had been more patient, but he was profoundly grateful that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he had not merely been trained to meet conventional school targets, but empowered throughout his life to set his own.
Picture: © Deutsche Fotothek (picture by Roger and Renate Rössing), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Germany.. Source.
Posted March 7 2017
1173
Charles took his rights and duties as a King with religious seriousness, but Parliament’s sense of both right and duty was just as strong.
King Charles I of England and Scotland (1600-1649) was charming, clever and convinced that he had inherited a divine right and duty to govern the country his own way. Parliament disagreed, demanding a constitutional role in law-making and criticising his policies. It did not seem likely to end well.
Picture: National Portrait Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons.. Source.
Posted March 6 2017
1174
When Parliament overthrew the capricious tyranny of Charles I, it discovered an uncomfortable truth about power.
For eleven years, between 1649 and 1660, Britain was a republic. Great claims are sometimes made for this ‘interregnum’, as if it were the birth of democracy, but really it proved only one thing: be it under monarchy or republic, be it at court or in parliament, power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Picture: © John Sutton, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted March 5 2017
1175
Edmund Burke pleaded with Parliament to emerge from behind closed doors and reconnect with the British public.
In 1780, Parliament stood accused of being out of touch. While MPs entertained generous lobbyists and rubber-stamped ever higher taxes, the country was governed by grossly overstaffed committees behind closed doors. Edmund Burke pleaded for a more direct, self-denying government, and urged the Commons to reconnect with the public.
Picture: © UtDicitur, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted March 3 2017
1176
The British liberated the Ionian islands from Napoleon, then gave them fifty happy years and the game of cricket.
The Treaty of Paris in 1815 sought to settle the affairs of Napoleon Bonaparte, defeated at Waterloo and banished to the island of St Helena. Among the issues were the Ionian Islands (which include Zakynthos, Lefkada and Corfu) off the west coast of Greece.
Picture: © Jean Housen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted March 3 2017