It would be ridiculous to imagine that this list comprises a comprehensive look at the political issues and controversies facing the British government in the 19th century! So consider it an overview, touching on such diverse topics as international trade, Irish home rule, trade unions, voting, copyright - and the amount of land Britain was losing every year along its coasts due to erosion from the sea. (This, by the way, is no small issue - entire towns have vanished beneath the ocean waves!) Note that a great many of these articles are observations of British political issues by American authors!

The Commercial Treaty between Britain and France, 1860 (Illustrated London Almanack, 1861)

The Sovereignty of the Seas (Leisure Hour, 1860)

Britain's attempts to claim and maintain just that.

Legislative Humor, by the Hon. S.S. Cox (Harper's Monthly, 1875B, 1876A)

"...'Legislative Humors' are meant to comprehend not alone the collective idiosyncrasy of the legislative body, but the peculiar fancies, fun, wit, and manners which obtain with the individual members of the body." This article looks at humor amongst British and American politicians.

Petitions to Parliament (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1877)

It is the right of every British citizen to petition Parliament; this article looks at some current petitions, including "monster" petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures (many of these being in opposition to the proposal to open museums to the public on Sundays!).

England as It Is (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

The Situation in Ireland (Century Magazine, 1882A)

Who Were the Chartists? (Century Magazine, 1882A)

Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in Britain that existed from 1838 to 1857. Its principle goal was to obtain universal suffrage (which was later reduced to "male suffrage" regardless of class.

England and Ireland, by James Bryce (Century Magazine, 1883B)

The Promotion of a Private Bill, by E.C. Wickes (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

Trades-Unionism in England, by Thomas Hughes (Century Magazine, 1884B)

Democracy in England (Century Magazine, 1886B)

Practical Help for Ireland, by Alice M. Hart (Century Magazine, 1887A)

The Irish Party, by Edward Brown (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

An overview of the Irish home rule movement and its members and founders.

Home Rule and Culture [in Ireland], by Margaret F. Sullivan (Century Magazine, 1889A)

How to Increase the Revenue Without Taxation, by William Gattie (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

The New Trade-Union Movement, by Urquhart A. Forbes (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890B)

Rebeccaism in Wales (Pictorial Museum of Sport & Adventure, ca. 1890)

Now known as the Rebecca riots, this was a movement in Wales against unfair taxation. To pay for new roads, turnpikes were instated, making travel even a short distance very expensive; the Rebeccaists went about destroying the turnpikes. In 1844 a law was finally passed in Parliament to amend the turnpike rates.

The Suppression of Bribery in England, by Jeremiah W. Jenks (Century Magazine, 1894A)

A look at the laws in England that suppress political bribery, and how these might be applied to US ballot reform.

Humours of Electioneering, by C.W. Radcliffe Cook, MP (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895B)

The Value of a Vote, by H. Morgan-Browne (Windsor Magazine, 1900B)

A look at voting statistics in Britain.

The Lost Land of England (Strand, 1901B)

Statistics on the amount of land lost to the sea along England's coasts every year.

Our National Peril, by Ernest E. Williams (Windsor Magazine, 1902A)

The peril that faces Britain, according to this author, is "the ruin of this country's agriculture."

The Waste of Public Money, by Ernest E. Williams (Windsor Magazine, 1903A)

From meat contracts to cordite, a lengthy look at various ways in which public monies are misspent.

• See also International Copyright