376 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



the middle class. He is of Jewish ancestry, 

 though himself professedly Christian. He is 

 the eldest son of the late Isaac Disraeli, a well- 

 known and influential author. Benjamin was 

 born in London, December 21, 1805, being, 

 therefore, four years the senior of Mr. Glad- 

 stone. He inherited his father's literary tastes 

 and abilities, and before he was twenty years 

 of age had published his brilliant novel, " Viv- 

 ian Grey," which was followed at no long in- 

 tervals by six or eight others equally brilliant 

 and attractive. He made an extensive tour of 

 the East, and on his return, in 1831, contested 

 the borough of "Wycombe for a seat in Parlia- 

 ment, but was defeated. In 1837 he was 

 elected to the House of Commons for Maid- 

 stone, and in 1841 for Shrewsbury. In 1847 

 he was returned for the county of Bucking- 

 ham, and has continued to represent that con- 

 stituency until the present time. Like Glad- 

 stone, he followed Sir Robert Peel's leader- 

 ship for some years, but, when that statesman 

 avowed himself in favor of free trade, Mr. Dis- 

 raeli left him and attached himself closely to 

 the Conservative party, of which he became the 

 acknowledged leader in the House of Commons 

 after the death of. Lord George Bentinck. He 

 was called to the Cabinet as Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer under Earl Derby's first and second 

 administrations in 1852 and 1858-'59, and in 

 1859 brought in a Reform Bill which was de- 

 feated by the Whigs. In 1866 the Liberals in 

 their turn were defeated on a Reform Bill, and 

 Earl Derby and Mr. Disraeli again came into 

 power, and the next year passed a more com- 

 prehensive bill for electoral reform than the 

 Liberals had dared to offer. At the ensuing 

 election, in the autumn of 1868, the Disraeli 

 Cabinet (for, after Earl Derby's withdrawal 

 from office and death, Mr. Disraeli had become 

 Premier) were defeated, and Mr. Disraeli went 

 into opposition, where he has since remained. 

 That Mr. Disraeli possesses high intellectual 

 ability, and extrardinary tact as a political 

 leader and partisan orator, is universally ad- 

 mitted ; but he is very daring, and his own 

 party feel a hesitation in trusting his complete 

 sincerity and fidelity to party traditions. As 

 a leader of the opposition, Mr. Disraeli is con- 

 stantly on the alert ; no slip or blunder of his 

 antagonist escapes his notice, and, if, by any 

 mode of irritation, he can goad the ministerial 

 leader into an unseemly display of temper, he 

 triumphs as over a victory won. He has main- 

 tained during all these years of political strife, 

 like his rival, his attachment to literature, and, 

 even since his last defeat, has published one or 

 two novels of marked ability and power. 



Of the leader of the Radical wing of the 

 Liberals, the earnest Reformers, Sir Charles 

 Dilke, we have already spoken briefly. He 

 is young, but a man of high culture, of decided 

 eloquence, and evidently sincere convictions. 

 He possesses many of the qualities of a great 

 leader, and with youth, social position, and 

 popular gifts, he steps into the place, as a trib- 



une of the people, which John Bright has been 

 compelled by failing health to vacate, with 

 brighter prospects and a larger scope for action 

 than greeted that great leader when he began 

 his agitation for reform. 



The statistical reports of all matters con- 

 nected with the financial, social, and politico- 

 economical progress of Great Britain, are so 

 readily accessible that we have not thought it 

 needful to devote as much space as usual to 

 the statistics of the United Kingdom. A few 

 only of those which are of latest date may be 

 presented. The IMPORTS of foreign and colo- 

 nial merchandise into the United Kingdom for 

 the year ending December 81, 1871, were: 

 326,834,647=$1,634,173,235. The EXPORTS 

 of foreign and colonial merchandise (not in- 

 cluding, we suppose, British home products 

 or manufactures) were 219,319,071=$!, 096,- 

 595,355. During the same year there were im- 

 ported into the United Kingdom gold bullion 

 to the value of 21,613,005, and silver, 16,- 

 527,322; or together, 38,140,327=$190,701,- 

 635 ; and there were exported of gold, 20,- 

 698,275, and of silver 13,062,396; or to- 

 gether, 33,760,671=$168,803,355. The fol- 

 lowing comparative statistics of the United 

 Kingdom will be of interest to the readers of 

 the ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA : 



COMPARATIVE STATISTICS, 1825, 1850, and 

 1871. Population. 1825, 22,281,000; 1850, 

 27,523,000; 1871, 31,817,108. England and 

 Wales, 1871, 22,704,108 ; Scotland, 1871, 3,358,- 

 613; Ireland, 1871, 5,402,759 ; smaller islands, 

 1871, 144,430. 



Public Debt. 1836, 787,638,816; 1857, 

 808,108,722; 1871, 795,370,122 = $3,976,- 

 850,610. Deducting from the annual receipts 

 those of the Post-Office Department and cer- 

 tain payments of the state Treasury, the rev- 

 enue from courts, etc., not subject to any tax, 

 the direct and indirect income was: 1825, 

 54,869,654; 1850, 54,079,243; 1870-'71, 

 60,472,114. 



Increase of population from 1825 to 1871, 

 41 per cent. ; of taxation, 11 per cent. 



Revenue per Capita. 1825, 2 9s. 3d.; 1857, 

 2 12*. Id,-, 1871, 25*. 4d. 



Consumption of Beer. 1825, 7,995,975 bar- 

 relsper capita, 0.358 barrel; 1850, 15,303,- 

 767 barrels per capita, 0.556 barrel; 1870- 

 '71, 25,889,743 barrels per capita, 0.823 barrel. 



Consumption of Distilled Spirits. Domes- 

 tic, 1825, 18,924,352 gallons per capita, 0.849 

 gallon; 1850, 23,862,585 gallons per capita, 

 0.867 gallon; 1870-71, 22,961,125 gallons 

 per capita, 0.730 gallon. Foreign and colonial, 

 1825, 1,317,671 gallons per capita, 0.059 gal- 

 lon ; 1850, 2,229,063 gallons per capita, 0.081 

 gallon; 1870-71, 8,439,825 gallons per ca- 

 pita, 0.268 gallon. 



Consumption of Tobacco. 1825, 16,832,826 

 pounds; 1850, 27,553,236 pounds; 1870-7J, 

 41,371,507 pounds. 



Income Tax (tax sixpence per pound.) 

 1871, 8,050,000=$40,250,000. 



