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ALFRED BINYON
WRITES TO GEORGE WILSON[1]
Yewbarrow
Lodge Grange Near
Milnthorpe December
7 1854 My
dear Wilson Amidst
the debris of my books I have stumbled upon an odd vol. of the Westminster
Review [2]
(the only one I possess) for the year 1841 from July to Oct. There are two
articles that have especially interested - the first at p.97 on Toys being a
review of Isaac Taylor's Home education
- the 2nd is at p.441 "The Battle of the Churches". You
will laugh at my innocence and ignorance perhaps, but I have a great desire to
know the writers of these two productions and amongst my literary friends I know
of no one more likely than yourself to inform me, especially from such a radical
source. If you can either tell me yourself or give me a clue you will oblige me.
Here I reside amongst such a Tory inclined and slow going set that it is in vain
to enquire. How is the Westminster now
conducted? Who is the editor - is it anti-Christian still, or is it a milky half
and half? I am told it commands great talent - but I never see it - is it
worthwhile? Frazer[3]
is my favourite, active, well informed, and progressive. Is that your
opinion? I
am leading a very quiet life here enjoying Nature and her varied productions and
phases. I read the Times daily to be
somewhat au fait to the great events at present transpiring. Oh
this war[4]!
It freezes your life blood - what next? With
many kind remembrances, believe me, your old and sincere friend, Alfred
Binyon George
Wilson Esq Newall's
Buildings Manchester
Original letter held by Manchester Archives & Local Studies, Manchester Central Library (reference M20/), and included with their permission. [1]
George Wilson (1808-1870) was closely associated with the political,
economic and commercial life of Manchester during the middle decades of the
19th century. He sprang into prominence as secretary to the
committee whose agitations resulted in the incorporation of the Borough of
Manchester in 1838. He sat as a member of the council, 1841-1844. A strong
adherent of the Anti-Corn Law movement, Wilson became chairman of the League
in 1841 and occupied that position until the repeal of the legislation in
1846. He became chairman of the Lancashire Reformers' Union (1858) and six
years later president of the National Reform Union. He was a director of the
Electric Telegraph Company, a director and subsequently deputy chairman of
the Manchester and Leeds Railway and eventually chairman of the Lancashire
and Yorkshire Railway Company. Wilson's
papers include correspondence from Gladstone, Bright, Cobden and other
prominent figures. [2]
In the beginning of the Victorian era, the magisterial quarterly reviews,
the Whig Edinburgh (founded 1802), its rival the Tory Quarterly (1809), and the
Benthamite Westminster (1824),
shared the top intellectual level. These powerful journals were edited and
written by some of the era's leading authors and public men. [3]
Fraser's Magazine (founded 1830) cost 2s 6d per month in 1834. Such
a price placed it out of the reach of most buyers; it was distinctly
intended for the drawing room in town and country. Instead of the lengthy
essays posing as book reviews which were the quarterlies' staple, each issue
of the monthlies had a variety of contents, short and serialized fiction,
topical articles, true narratives, and satirical essays. [4]
France and Britain declared war on Russia on 28 March 1854. In September
1854 an allied force landed on the Crimean Peninsula and besieged
Sebastopol. Major battles fought were Alma (20 September), Balaclava (25
October) and Inkerman (5 November). |