Bagehot: The English Constitution

by Bagehot , Edited by Paul Smith

• ISBN13: 9780521469425
• ISBN10: 0521469422
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-02
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Walter Bagehot’s anatomy of The English Constitution is a classic of English political writing. In this new Cambridge Texts edition it appears for the first time in its original (1867) book version, with Bagehot’s original conclusion, and the substantial introduction written for the second edition of 1872. Paul Smith’s introduction places Bagehot’s views in the context of contemporary events and prevalent views of the working of the constitution, indicating their relation to his developing ideas on the anthropological and sociological springs of authority. He assesses the accuracy of Bagehot’s account of parliamentary government in operation, and the strength of Bagehot’s analysis of the difficulties faced by British liberalism in coming to terms with the approach of democracy. All the usual student-friendly features of the Cambridge Texts series are present, including a select bibliography and brief biographies of key figures, and annotation which explains some of Bagehot’s more arcane contemporary allusions.

Table of Contents

Editor's introduction	vii
Principal events in Bagehot's life	xxviii
Note on the text and annotation	xxx
The English Constitution
Advertisement	1	(2)
The Cabinet	3	(20)
The Prerequisites of Cabinet Government, and the Peculiar Form Which They Have Assumed in England	23	(11)
The Monarchy	34	(14)
The Monarchy (continued)	48	(20)
The House of Lords	68	(26)
The House of Commons	94	(28)
On Changes of Ministry	122	(27)
Its Supposed Checks and Balances	149	(22)
Its History, and the Effects of That History - Conclusion	171	(59)
Introduction to the Second Edition (1872)	193	(37)
Biographical notes on persons mentioned in the text	230	(14)
Bibliographical note	244	(3)
Index	247