B. Political Opposition and Humanitarianism. — It has been shown that economic liberalism w as primarily an economic philosophy and a political program designed in the interest of the capitalists, who, in politics, adhered to the Whig or Liberal party. It was but natural, therefore, that it would be assailed by the party whose economic and political interests were diametrically opposed to the business element, namely, the landed proprietors who made up the bulk of the Tory or Conservative party. The Tories had a number of reasons for dis liking the capitalists. In the first place, there was the social aversion of the aristocrat for what he regarded as the parvenu eager to break into his ranks. Then they felt that the new industrialism had destroyed forever the "Merrie England" in which the landlords were supreme. Again, they entertained a jealousy of the grow ing political power of the middle class, espe cially after the latter had forced through the Reform Bill of 1832. Finally, the economic interests of the two classes were fundamentally opposed; the Tories desired a continuation of the Corn Laws to keep the price of grain high, while the business class desired their abolition to secure cheap wheat and, therefore, accord ing to the current economic reasoning, cheap labor. The Tories were extremely fortunate in finding a point of attack upon the capitalists which enabled them to cloak their political and economic aims under the mantle of humani tarian sentiments and to entertain some hope of increasing their political following among the proletariat. This avenue of assault, de cided upon by the Tories, was factory legisla tion which would reduce the prosperity of the manufacturers by compelling them to grant higher wages or shorter hours and introduce better physical conditions and appliances in their factories. Probably too much has been made of this point by recent writers who have followed Arnold Toynbee in emphasizing the political and economic selfishness that motivated the landlord factory reformers. Doubtless many of the leaders in this movement were governed by real humanitarian impulses, but it can at least be said that they were especially favored in finding a line of social reform which harmon ized particularly well with their economic and political interests. The leaders in the earlier stages of this "Tory social reform" were An thony Ashley Cooper, seventh Earl of Shaftes bury (1801-85), Michael Thomas Sadler (1780-1835), Richard Oastler (1789-1861) and John Fielden (1784-1849). They secured the appointment of the investigating commissions that have furnished the present generation with most of their sources of information concern ing the conditions among the laboring classes in England during the first half of the 19th century and obtained much remedial legislation designed to alleviate or eliminate these con ditions. It is impossible in the space available to describe in detail the contents of this legis lation, but its general character can he indi cated. The factory acts of 1802, 1819, 1831, 1833, 1844, 1847, 1850 and several minor laws of the °sixties" secured for the laboring classes in practically all factories the 10-hour day, proper factory inspection, safety appliances, better sanitary conditions and a general dis couragement of child labor. Women and chil dren were excluded from mines, and better hours and safety devices provided for in acts of 1842, 1855 and 1872. The distressing evils in the employment of juvenile chimney-sweeps were eliminated by laws of 1834 and 1840. Particularly the work of Ashley was the im portant Factory Act of 1833 and the famous °Ten-Hour Bill" of 1847. Thus political jealousy and economic rivalry between the upper and middle classes were able to achieve for the bet terment of the proletariat much more than the latter and their sympathizers were able to ob tain for themselves. While Shaftesbury may have been motivated by some genuine humani tarian impulses in his campaign for social re form, it is doubtful if the same can be said for the continuator of his policy, Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81), probably the most un scrupulous and self-centred politician in Eng lish history. That he thoroughly understood the oppression of the peasantry and the industrial proletariat no reader of his 'Sybil> can doubt, but little evidence exists that he was touched by any real personal sympathy for the op pressed and much leads one to the conclusion that his advances to the lower classes were founded upon purely partisan and personal motives and ambitions. In part, he continued Shaftesbury's social legislation, but his appeal for the support of the proletariat was primarily political. By the Reform Act of 1867 he ex tended the suffrage to the greater part of the urban laboring class. This type of social re form again appeared in England during the Conservative-Unionist regime, when it was par ticularly associated with the name of Joseph Chamberlain. This benevolent paternalism,
born of political rivalry, was confined in its earlier stages chiefly to England, for there alone had the new business class attained to sufficient proportions to attract the organized opposition of the landed interests. It appeared at a later time in other European states, most notably in the case of the Bismarcician social insurance legislation.
C. Early Christian Socialism.— The new capi talism and industrialism and its theoretical apologists among the economic liberals were undeniably associated with materialism and rationalism and this inevitably led to opposi tion from the Churchmen and the "faithful" of all types. While programs of social reform hostile to economic liberalism were put forward by Catholics, High Churchmen, Broad Church men and Dissenters, one unifying purpose runs through all of their work, namely, the desire to socialize Christianity and thereby to capture social reform for the Church and to attract for religious institutions and practices the in creasing gratitude and favor of the numerous members of the proletarian classes.
In the field of Social Catholicism there were a number of interesting developments, particu larly in France under the Bourbon restoration and the Orleanist monarchy. The movement began as a revival of emotionalism, obscuranti cism and political reaction in the doctrines of Francois Rene de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald (1754-1840) and Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821), but the growth of democracy affected Church as well as state in France and the exponents of the religious revival clearly understood that if they were to make any headway they would need to liberalize the Catholic standpoint. This was partially achieved by Antoine Frederic Ozanam (1813-53), who founded the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and linked up Neo-Catholicism with practical philanthropy; by Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), who attempted to con nect the Catholic movement with the growth of republican sentiment in France; by Robert de Lamennais (1782-1854), who tried ineffec tively to harmonize Catholicism and the prin ciples of the French Revolution; and by Phil lippe Joseph Buchez (1796-1865), who adopted the historical viewpoint of the German school of economists, tried to prove the spirit of Christianity to be revolutionary, anticipated the °gild socialism" of Bishop von Ketteler and • Franz Hitze, and advocated a scheme of co operative production and distribution.
The Protestant members of the first im portant group of Christian social reformers have usually been those specifically designated as "Christian Socialists," but there seems no doubt that this title could with equal accuracy be extended to the Catholic reformers. The leaders in this movement were chiefly Anglican clergymen of the Broad Church party, though there was some support accorded by the Uni tarians. The most prominent members of the Christian Socialist group in England were John Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-72), Charles Kingsley (1819-75) and Thomas Hughes (1822 96). Others of influence who adhered to their general point of view were John M. F. Ludlow (1821-1911) and John Lalor (1814-56). Maurice, conventionally regarded as the founder of the movement in England, was especially interested in promoting the cause of the education of the laboring class. Kingsley analyzed the social problems of his day in powerful sermons and telling books, like 'Alton Locke,' 'Yeast' and Like Buchez, he also urged the formation of workingmen's organizations and the institution of co-operative associations. Probably the most enduring contribution of English Christian Socialism to social reform was the impulse which it gave to the organiza tion of co-operative and profit-sharing socie ties, of which one— the famous Rochedale Pioneers—has endured to the present day. The co-operative movement spread rapidly on the Continent and has developed particularly in Denmark and Belgium. The other important effects of Christian Socialism in this first stage was its aid to the cause of the education of the proletariat and the arousing of the interest of the Anglican Church in social reform. The impulse to social reforni within the Anglican Church originated by the Christian Socialists attracted even members of the High Church party, and the leaders of that obscurantic and emotional reaction — the Oxford Movement such , as Whately, Arnold, Fronde, Hurrell, Newman, Keble and Pusey lent their support to the development of trade-unionism and the betterment of housing conditions among the poor. Finally, even the dissenting sects, par ticularly the Quakers and the newer evangelical organizations, as Dr. Faulkner and Miss Simeral have shown, took a very significant part in agitating for remedial legislation for the poorer classes.