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.     

The Marcoses and authoritarian rule in the Philippines

Filemon C. Rodriguez, The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation, New York, Vantage Press, 1985, pp.285 (reprinted by Moed Press, Quezon City, 1986. Pesos 130.00, paper).

Charles C. McDougald, The Marcos File: Was he a Philippine Hero or a Corrupt Tyrant? San Francisco, San Francisco Publishers, 1987, pp.345. $14.95 (paper).

Raymond Bonner, Waltzing with a Dictator: the Marcoses and the Making of American Policy, London, Macmillan, 1987, pp.533. $39.95 (cloth).

Belinda A. Aquino, Politics of Plunder: the Philippines under Marcos, Quezon City, Great Books Trading and University of the Philippines College of Public Administration, 1987, pp.208. Pesos 100.00 (paper).

Lewis E. Gleeck, President Marcos and the Philippine Political Culture, Manila, Loyal Printing, 1987, pp. 280. US$20.00 (paper).     

Book reviews

Bernard Arps (ed.). Performance in Java and Bali: studies of narrative, theatre, music, and dance,xi, 244 pp. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1993. £10.

C.D. Grijns. Jakarta Malay: a multidimensional approach to spatial variation. 2 vols.: xx, 292 pp.; vi, 161 pp., 35 maps. Leiden: KITLV Press, 1991. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 149.) Guilders 100.     

Book reviews

THE FRAGILE BLOSSOM: CRISIS AND CHANGE IN JAPAN. Zbigniew Brzezinski. New York, Harper and Row, 1972. 06–010468–6. xii, 153 pp. $US5.95.

THE SOUTHERN EXPANSION OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE: ‘SOUTHERN FIELDS AND SOUTHERN OCEAN’. C. P. FitzGerald. Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972. 07081–0220–4. xxi, 230 pp. $7.50.

IN SEARCH OF SOUTHEAST ASIA. David Joel Steinberg (ed.). Praeger, New York, 1971. 522 pp. $820 paper.

SUPER POWERS AND WORLD ORDER. Carsten Holbraad (ed.). Australian National University Press, 1971. 0–7081–0264–6. ix, 161 pp. $6.95.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: REFLECTIONS ON SURVIVAL AND STABILITY. Kenneth J. Twitchett (ed.). Oxford University Press, London, 1971. 148 pp. $3.40 paper.

THE MASS MEDIA IN AUSTRALIA: USE AND EVALUATION. J S. Western and Colin A. Hughes. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, 1971. 0–7022–0720–9. 178 pp. $6.50.

WE TOOK THEIR ORDERS AND ARE DEAD. Shirley Cass, Ros Cheney, David Malouf and Michael Wilding (eds.). Ure Smith, Sydney, 1971. 0–7254–0070–6. 256 pp. $1.75.

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: THE DIARIES OF R. G. CASEY 1951–60. T. B. Millar (ed.). Collins, Sydney, 1972. 0–00–211001–6. 352 pp. $7.95.

AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES. Norman Harper (ed.). Nelson, Sydney, 1971. 17–004929–9. 274 pp. $5.95 hard cover, $3.25 paper.

PACIFIC POLITIES. I F. Nicholson and Colin A. Hughes (eds.). Pitman Pacific Books, Carlton, 1972. 0–85896–072–9. 286 pp. $8 hard cover, $4.50 paper.

SIR WILLIAM MACGREGOR. Roger Joyce. Oxford University Press. Melbourne, 1971. pp. XVI, 484. $15.00.

COLONIAL ISSUES IN BRITISH POLITICS 1945–61. David Goldsworthy. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971. 425 pp. $14.00.

ECONOMIC REGULATION OF THE WORLD'S AIRLINES: A POLITICAL ANALYSIS. William E. O'Connor. Praeger, New York, 1971. xii, 189 pp. $US 15.00.

TOWARD FULL EMPLOYMENT: A PROGRAMME FOR COLOMBIA. International Labour Office, Geneva, 1970. 471 pp. US$4.00, 16 SwFr, $1.60 paper.     

Reviews

GOEBBELS AND NATIONAL SOCIALIST PROPAGANDA 1925–1945. Ernest K. Bramsted. London, The Cresset Press; East Lansing, Michigan State University Press, 1965, Pp. xxxvii + 488. $12.50 (U.S.).

AUSTRIA, GERMANY, AND THE ANSCHLUSS, 1931–38; Jürgen Gehl. London, Oxford University Press, 1963. Pp. x + 212. 49/9d. (Australian).

RUSSIA AFTER KHRUSHCHEV. Robert Conquest. London, Pall Mall, 1965. Pp. 267. $6.60 Australian.

BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN. J. S. Roucek and K. V. Lottich. Caxton Press, Caldwell (Idaho, U.S.A.), 1964. Pp. 631. $8.95 (U.S.).

EAST WEST TRADE. A SYMPOSIUM. Philip E. Uren (ed.). Toronto, Canadian Institute of International Affairs, 1966. Pp. 181. Hard cover, $3.00. Paperback, $2.00 (Canadian).

SOUTHEAST ASIA'S SECOND FRONT. THE POWER STRUGGLE IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. Arnold Brackman. New York, Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1966. Pp. xv + 341. $7.00 (Australian).

THE DIMENSIONS OF CONFLICT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. Bernard K. Gordon. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1966. Pp. xiv + 201. $2.70 (Australian).

FUNDAMENTALS OF GUERILLA WARFARE. Abdul Haris Nosution. London, Pall Mall Press, 1965. Pp. 324. $4.25 (Australian).

FROM ENMITY TO ALLIANCE. U.S.‐AUSTRALIAN RELATIONS, 1931–1941. Raymond A. Esthus. Melbourne University Press, 1965. Pp. xii + 180. 45/‐ Australian.

AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN. HERBERT BROOKES 1867–1963. Rohan Rivett. Melbourne University Press. London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1965. Pp. xiv + 218. 65/‐ Australian.

AUSTRALIA AND THE MONARCHY. A SYMPOSIUM. Geoffrey Dutton (ed.). Melbourne, Sun Books, 1966. Pp. 182. $1.00 Australian.

CANADA'S ROLE AS A MIDDLE POWER. J. King Gordon (ed.). Contemporary Affairs Series No. 35, Toronto, The Canadian Institute of International Affairs, 1966. Pp. xiv + 212. Can. $3.50 hard cover, $2.00 paperback.     

Book reviews

Analysing Polycentrism—An Extended Review

J. D. B. Miller and T. H. Rigby, eds.: The Disintegrating Monolith — Pluralist Trends in the Communist World, Australian National University, Canberra, 1965, pp. 264 + xiii, $6.

I.W.W. Advice to Shearers: “Give the warm weather and the blow flies a chance.”

I. Turner: Industrial Labour and Politics, Australian National University, Canberra, 1965, pp. 272, $5.25.