394 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



45 to 53, and in Ireland from 100 to 105. The 

 Reform Bill of 1868, introducing household and 

 lodger suffrage in the boroughs, gave 493 

 members to England and Wales, arid 60 to 

 Scotland, while the number from Ireland re- 

 mained unaltered. The act of 1884 extended 

 the household and lodger franchises to the 

 county constituencies, and established the same 

 electoral qualifications in Ireland as in Great 

 Britain. The re-distribution act of 1885 di- 

 vided great towns into constituencies return- 

 ing single members ; 81 English, 2 Scottish, 

 and 22 Irish boroughs, with a population of 

 fewer than 15,000, were disfranchised ; 36 Eng- 

 lish and 3 Irish boroughs, having fewer than 

 50,000 inhabitants, lost one of their two 

 members ; 14 English, 3 Scottish, and 2 Irish 

 boroughs gained additional members ; and 

 33 new boroughs were created, all of them, 

 except 6, in the metropolis. Towns having 

 between 50,000 and 165,000 inhabitants still 

 return two members, but all larger towns and 

 the counties are divided into districts, each 

 sending one member. The number of mem- 

 bers representing county constituencies was 

 increased by the re-distribution act in England 

 from 187 to 253, in Scotland from 26 to 37, in 

 Ireland from 64 to 85 ; the total number from 

 283 to 377. The number of borough members 

 was in England reduced from 297 to 237, and 

 in Ireland from 37 to 16, and increased in 

 Scotland from 26 to 31. The number of mem- 

 bers representing universities remained the 

 same, 5 in England, 2 in Scotland, and 2 in 

 Ireland. The total number of members was 

 increased from 652 to 670, Scotland gaining 

 12, and England 6 new seats. The effect of 

 the Reform Bill in enlarging the electorate may 

 be seen from the following table, giving the 

 number of qualified voters in 1883 and 1885 : 



The number of votes cast in 1885 was 3,307,- 

 200, or 57 per cent, of the electorate. 



The reigning sovereign is Victoria I, Queen 

 of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of 

 India, born in 1819. The heir-apparent is 

 Albert Edward. Prince of Wales, born in 1841. 



The Conservative Cabinet that was in office 

 in the beginning of 1886 gave way to a Liberal 

 ministry, constituted February 6, and com- 

 posed as follows : First Lord of the Treasury, 

 William Ewart Gladstone; Lord High Chan- 

 cellor, Sir Farrer Herschell, Baron Herschell; 



Lord President of the Council, Earl Spencer ; 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William 

 Vernon Harcourt ; Home Secretary, Hugh C. 

 E. Childers; Foreign Secretary, the Earl of 

 Rosebery ; Colonial Secretary, Earl Granville ; 

 Secretary of State for India, the Earl of Kim- 

 berley; Secretary of State for War, Henry 

 Campbell-Bannerrnan; First Lord of the Ad- 

 miralty, Earl Ripon; President of the Board 

 of Trade, Anthony James Mundella; Presi- 

 dent of the Local Government Board, Joseph 

 Chamberlain ; Secretary of State for Ireland, 

 John Morley ; Secretary of State for Scotland, 

 George Otto Trevelyan. 



Upon the resignation of Mr. Gladstone in 

 June, 1886, Lord Salisbury again formed a 

 Cabinet, containing the following members: 

 First Lord of the Treasury, the Marquis of 

 Salisbury; Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the 

 Great Seal, Sir Hardinge Gifford, who was 

 created Lord Ilalsbury; President of the 

 Council, Viscount Cranbrook ; Chancellor of 

 the Exchequer, Lord Randolph H. S. Church- 

 ill; Secretary of State for the Home Depart- 

 ment, Henry Matthews; Secretary of State 

 for Foreign Affairs, Sir Stafford Northcote, 

 created Earl of Iddesleigh ; Colonial Secretary, 

 Edward Stanhope; Secretary for War, W, II. 

 Smith ; First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord 

 George Hamilton; Chief Secretary for Ire- 

 land, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach ; Indian Secre- 

 tary, Viscount Cross ; Lord Chancellor of 

 Ireland, E. Gibson, created Lord Ashbourne; 

 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord 

 John Manners; President of the Board 

 Trade, Lord Stanley de Preston. 



Area and Population. According to the 

 putation of the Registrar-General, the poj 

 lation of the United Kingdom in 1886 wi 

 36,707,418. The population of England ai 

 Wales, with an area of 58,186 square mile 

 was 27,870,586 ; that of Scotland, with 29,* 

 square miles, was 3,949,393 ; that of Ireland, 

 32,531 square miles in extent, was 4,887,489. 

 The combined area ot the Isle of Man and the 

 Channel Islands is 295 square miles, with a 

 population of 141,260, making the total area 

 of the United Kingdom 120,832 square miles, 

 and the total population, inclusive also of 215,- 

 374 soldiers and sailors abroad, 37,064,052. 



The number of births in England and Wales 

 in 1885 was 893,694, of deaths 522,517, of 

 marriages 197,446, excess of births over deaths 

 371,177; the number of births in Scotland 

 126,110, deaths 74,603, marriages 25,256, ex- 

 cess of births 51,507; the number of births in 

 Ireland 115,964, deaths 90,833, marriages 

 21,329, excess of births 25,131. The popula- 

 tion of the metropolitan district of London in 

 1885 was 4.083.928. The population of Liver- 

 pool was 579,724; of Birmingham, 427,769; 

 of Manchester, 337,342; of Leeds, 333,139; 

 of Sheffield, 305,716; of Bristol, 218,101); 

 Bradford, 214,431; of Nottingham, 211,45 

 of Salford, 204,075; of Hull, 186,292; 

 Newcastle on-Tyne. 153,209. The population 



