History of the
English Government and Constitution,' which, in an expanded form, has
passed through several editions, and has also appeared in a French
version. The book is concerned with constitutional change in England
from the reign of Henry VII. to the beginning of the nineteenth
century. Lord John made no secret of his conviction that, whilst the
majority of the Powers of Europe needed revolutionary methods to bring
them into sympathy with the aspirations of the people, the Government of
England was not in such an evil case, since its 'abuses easily admit of
reforms consistent with its spirit, capable of being effected without
injury or danger, and mainly contributing to its preservation.' The
historical reflections which abound in the work, though shrewd, can
scarcely be described as remarkable, much less as profound. The 'Essay
on English Government' is, in fact, not the confessions of an inquiring
spirit entangled in the maze of political speculation, but the
conclusions of a young statesman who has made up his mind, with the help
of Somers and Fox.

Perhaps, however, the most important of Lord John's contributions to the
study of the philosophy of history was 'Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe
from the Peace of Utrecht.' It describes at considerable length, and
often with luminous insight, the negotiations which led to the treaty by
which the great War of the Spanish Succession was brought to an end. It
also throws light on men and manners during the last days of Louis XIV.,
and on the condition of affairs in France which followed his death. The
closing pages of the second volume are concerned with a survey of the
religious state of England during the first half of the eighteenth
century. Lord John in this connection pays homage to the work of
Churchmen of the stamp of Warburton, Clarke, and Hoadly; but he entirely
fails to appreciate at anything like their true value the labours of
Whitfield and Wesley, though doing more justice to the great leaders of
Puritanism, a circumstance which was perhaps due to the fact that they
stand in the direct historical succession, not merely in the assertion
of the rights of conscience, but in the ordered growth of freedom and
society.

Amongst the most noteworthy of Lord John Russell's literary achievements
were the two works which he published concerning a statesman whose
memory, he declared, ought to be 'consecrated in the heart of every
lover of freedom throughout the glo