do him justice, George the Fourth
helped to establish; the beginning of Mechanics' Institute, and the
opening of some new parks and the Zoological Gardens. It is doubtful if
the Thames Tunnel can be described as a really valuable addition to the
triumphs of engineering, and it will perhaps be generally admitted that
Buckingham Palace was not an artistic addition to the architectural
ornaments of the metropolis. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge was set on foot owing chiefly to the energy and the instincts
of Henry Brougham.

We have seen how the foreign policy of Canning opened a distinctly new
chapter in English history, and it may be observed that owing to the
influence of that policy the principle of neutrality was maintained under
difficult conditions, and even where the general sympathy of England went
distinctly with one of the parties to a foreign dispute. This policy
might well have been followed with credit and advantage to England on
more than one critical occasion at a much later time. The reign saw the
beginning of the movement towards free trade as a distinct international
policy, and saw the removal of some of the most cramping and antiquated
restrictions on the commerce of the kingdom and the colonies. The
crusade against slavery and the slave-trade may be said to have begun its
march in anything like organized form during this reign. The political
principles which we now describe as Liberal became a new force in the
State during the same time. The idea that even beneficent despotism can
be counted on as an enduring or an endurable form of government began to
die out, and the principle came to be more and more distinctly and loudly
proclaimed that the best form of government must be not only for, but by,
the people.

These things are in themselves enough to show that in the sphere of
political and social reform as well as in that {94} of practical science
the reign of George the Fourth was at least a reign of great beginnings.
The student of history may perhaps draw an instructive and a moral lesson
from the knowledge forced upon him of the fact which seems lamentable in
itself that to the ruler of the State little or nothing was due for the
achievements which give the reign its best claim to be honored in
history. The reign of George the Fourth teaches us that in a country
like modern England, while a good sovereign may do much to forward the
intellectual, political, and social