626 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 



during the war-period which extended from 1775 to 1815, 

 and during the subsequent period of peace. At the end of 

 the last century and the beginning of this, reversion towards 

 ownership of the individual by the society had gone a long 

 way. &quot; To statesmen, the State, as a unit, was all in all, and 

 it is really difficult to find any evidence that the people were 

 thought of at all, except in the relation of obedience.&quot; &quot; The 

 Government regarded the people with little other view than 

 as a taxable and soldier-yielding mass.&quot; While the militant 

 part of the community had greatly developed, the industrial 

 part had approached towards the condition of a permanent 

 commissariat. By conscription and by press-gangs, was 

 carried to a relatively vast extent that sacrifice of the citizen 

 in life and liberty which war entails ; and the claims to 

 property were trenched on by merciless taxation, weighing 

 down the middle classes so grievously that they had greatly 

 to lower their rate of living, while the people at large were 

 so distressed (partly no doubt by bad harvests) that &quot; hun 

 dreds ate nettles and other weeds.&quot; With these major aggres 

 sions upon the individual by the State, went numerous 

 minor aggressions. Irresponsible agents of the executive 

 were empowered to suppress public meetings and seize their 

 leaders: death being the punishment for those who did not 

 disperse when ordered. Libraries and news-rooms could not 

 be opened without licence ; and it w 7 as penal to lend books 

 without permission. There were &quot; strenuous attempts made 

 to silence the press ;&quot; and booksellers dared not publish works 

 by obnoxious authors. &quot; Spies were paid, witnesses were 

 suborned, juries were packed, and the habeas corpus Act being 

 constantly suspended, the Crown had the power of imprison 

 ing without inquiry and without limitation.&quot; While the 

 Government taxed and coerced and restrained the citizen to 

 this extent, its protection of him was inefficient. It is true 

 that the penal code was made more extensive and more severe. 

 The definition of treason was enlarged, and numerous offences 

 were made capital which were not capital before ; so that 



