Defending ‘the Principle of Representation’: Andrew Bisset,The English Civil War,and The History of the Struggle for Parliamentary Government in England

Abstract

Victorian attitudes to the past were varied and in some cases irreconcilable. Newer standards of expertise and objectivity coexisted with older approaches, and the idea that history should be used for present purposes remained intact. Throughout the Victorian age there were circumstances in which history was a polemical tool, designed to give one set of interpretations or values or policies an advantage over its rivals. This article explores the work of a relatively neglected figure in Victorian historiography – the reform-minded historian and lawyer Andrew Bisset (1803–1891) – whose primary goal was to illustrate and advance what he called ‘the principle of representation’. He discussed people and events of the past to this end, offending reviewers along the way because of his obvious political agenda, but also developing a rigorous source-based style, usefully evaluating for his readers the work of Macaulay, Carlyle, and others, and helping to shape Victorian opinion about, in particular, the political and religious crises of seventeenth-century Britain. Like others, Bisset believed that the disputes of that period had relevance to the public controversies of his own day. This article is designed to contribute to ongoing debates about the Victorians’ relationship with the past.     

Earthquake Faulting Effects on Buried Pipelines – Case History and Centrifuge Study

Permanent ground deformation (PGD) is one of the most damaging hazards for continuous buried lifelines. This hazard is especially severe when the PGD results in net compression in the pipe. In that case, buckling of pipe material can occur. If buckling is moderate, deformation of the pipe cross-section can lead to flow restriction and high friction losses, and eventually require line replacement. If buckling is severe, high localized strains can lead to pipe rupture, loss of contents, and possible pollution of surrounding soil. In this article, centrifuge tests of buried pipelines subject to abrupt ground failure in the form of surface faulting are presented. The fault movement results in mostly compression in the pipe. The test results are compared with a case history of pipe failure in the 1999 Izmit, Turkey earthquake and also with the results from the centrifuge tests which result in net tension in the pipe. The experimental setup, procedures, and instrumentation are described in detail. Suggestions for design practice are offered based on the analysis of results from both the 1999 Izmit case history and the centrifuge modeling.