CHARTISM was a movement for radical reform in English politics, which originated in 1838, reached its culminating point in 1848, and collapsed the same year; it took its name from the “People’s Charter” or “National Charter,” the document in which the scheme of reform was embodied. The Reform Bill of 1832 left a large class of the population, especially the working-men, dissatisfied. Accordingly, in 1838, after an unsuccessful attempt to initiate a scheme of more radical reform in the House of Commons, six of the most advanced members of the House had a consultation with the deputies of the “Working-men’s Association,” the result being the appearance of the People’s Charter, which embodied in the six following points the programme of their party:—(1) annual parliaments; (2) universal suffrage; (3) vote by ballot; (4) abolition of the property qualification for membership of the House of Commons; (5) payment of members; (6) equal electoral districts. The most influential of the six members of the House who took part in the drawing up of the charter was O’Connell, and the methods adopted for the propagation of their views were those practised by the great agitator with such success. Monster meetings were held, at which seditious language was occasionally spoken, and slight collisions with the military took place. Petitions of enormous size, signed in great part with fictitious names, were presented to Parliament; and a great many newspapers were started, of which the Northern Star, conducted by Feargus O’Connor, the active leader of the movement, had a circulation of 50,000. In 1840 the Chartist movement was still further organized by the inauguration at Manchester of the National Charter Association, which rapidly became powerful, being the head ...