417-418. The introduction of the first Reform Bill . . . 680 MOLESWORTH, History of England from 1830 to 1874, Letter to Rev. Francis Ellis, in Life and Letters of Lord 422. A debate on a proposed factory act, June 6, 1815. Parliamentary Debates, Vol. XXXI, pp. 624–626. Ibid. pp. 275-284. 432. The first appearance of the potato blight in England. 713 Memoirs of Sir Robert Peel, Vol. II, pp. 109-110 pub. by 438. Observations in the House of Commons in 1854. 444. The law legalizing trade unions Trade Union Act of 1871; 34 and 35 Victoria, c. 31, par. PAGE 742 445. Report to parliament of a committee on trade unions. 743 Eleventh Report of the Royal Commissioners, 1869, Vol. I, pp. xxxii-xliii. 446. An attack on the House of Lords Letters of Right Hon. John Bright, pp. 224-225; ed. by IV. Irish Home Rule 747 447. The Irish Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons. 748 JOHN MORLEY, Life of Gladstone, Vol. III, pp. 307-340, 559-560. 448. A poem in favor of reconciliation WILLIAM WATSON, England to Ireland, February, 1888. V. The British Empire 751 755 451. Opposition to the English colonial system 288. 452. Extracts from Lord Durham's report on Canada 757 READINGS IN ENGLISH HISTORY CHAPTER I THE GEOGRAPHY OF ENGLAND I. ACCOUNTS BY ANCIENT GEOGRAPHICAL OBSERVERS The location, the shape, the surface, the climate, and the natural productions of England having remained much the same in all ages are no better described in early writers than in those of the present day. Indeed, their opportunities for observation and their scientific training in geography were so much less, that it is to modern, not to ancient, authors that we must look for accurate and full descriptions. Nevertheless, it is a matter of interest to see what was the geographical knowledge concerning England of those who lived when its history was opening. Its most prominent features were noticed and described by the earliest travelers that reached Britain from the continent. Its island character, its triangular shape, its long days in summer and long nights in winter, its high tides, its forests, its productions of tin, grain, and cattle, are mentioned by one after another of the Greek and Roman writers to whom it seemed a distant and strange land, almost another continent. 1. Cæsar's of Britain Julius Cæsar, who began to make inquiries about Britain in the summer of 55 B.C., and visited it for the first time in the fall of that year, describes several of these characteristics, though he saw only its southeastern portion, and makes many mistakes. The island is triangular in form, one side facing Gaul. Of description this side one angle, which is in Kent, where almost all the ships land from Gaul, looks toward the east; the lower angle of this same side lies towards the south. Its length is about five hundred miles. The second side of the triangle faces Spain and the west. On this side lies Ireland, an island, as is thought, only half as large as Britain, but separated from it by a distance as great as that of Britain from Gaul. Midway between the two there is an island which is called Mona. Many other islands as well are supposed to lie opposite this coast; concerning these some say that at the time of the winter solstice there is night continuously for thirty days. We found none of these things on inquiry, except we discovered by exact measurement of the water clock that the nights were longer than ours on the continent. The length of this side according to their opinion is 700 miles. The third side of the triangle faces the north. No land is directly opposite, but the angle of this side points towards Germany. This is thought to be 800 miles in length. Thus the entire island is in circumference 2000 miles. 2. Account Siculus Diodorus Siculus, a Greek traveler and historian, was born in Sicily, but lived many years at Rome. He wrote in Greek, about ten years after Cæsar's invasion of Britain, and gives an interesting account of the production of tin in Britain and its export to the continent. Opposite that part of Gaul which borders on the ocean, by Diodorus and directly across from the Hercynian forests, reported to be the largest in Europe, lie many islands. The largest of these is called Britain. In early times this remained free from |
