Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 70, No. 434, December, 1851

In Short

This December 1851 issue of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine gathers a rich array of Victorian commentary, serialized literature, and international reports. Its writers scrutinize Britain's transition to Free Trade, detailing the severe economic toll exacted on countryside farmers and domestic industries. Beyond home politics, the volume ranges across global frontiers, offering detailed accounts of Maine lumberjacks, Egyptian river voyages, and military campaigns in Northern Africa. Its enduring appeal lies in its vivid, unvarnished portrait of British imperial ambition, economic debates, and cultural curiosity at the mid-nineteenth century.

The Story

The journal opens with an urgent economic indictment of the Whig government's Free Trade policies. The opening treatise argues that free-market experiments have crippled the nation's agricultural backbone. It demonstrates that British farmers, forced to sell wheat well below forty shillings per quarter, are suffering ruinous losses and burning through basic capital merely to survive. This economic critique broadens to target Britain's export strategy, highlighting how foreign nations protect their own industries with high tariffs while dumping duty-free goods into British ports, leaving domestic producers isolated and misled.

Interspersed among these political polemics is the serialized fiction of the issue. A central narrative strand introduces Lazaro, a frugal Barbary Jew operating a cluttered secondhand store in a garrison town. Lazaro encounters Captain Von Dessel, a stern German officer in Hardenberg's regiment, as the town endures military regulations and resource shortages. In another narrative beat, two British soldiers, the scheming Bags and the sentry Bill, haggle over a stolen handkerchief filled with looted jewelry, striking a cynical deal to share the spoils rather than alert their commanding officers.

The volume then shifts its focus outward to international geography and labor. A comprehensive review of North American timber operations details the grueling, dangerous lives of Maine "loggers." The narrative tracks these men as they scout virgin pine forests, brave deadly encounters with wildlife—including a terrifying catamount attack—and harvest timber meant for shipping booms.

Further narrative threads journey through the Middle East and Northern Africa. Travelogues describe steamship ascents up the winding Nile, journeys across the Syrian desert to ancient biblical cities like Ur of the Chaldees, and the obscure religious rites of the mountain-dwelling Ansayrii. The volume concludes on a critical note, turning its eye back to British enterprise by dissecting the unchecked power and rhetoric of railway executives like George Carr Glyn. Ultimately, the collection traces an arc from domestic economic crisis to international expansion, painting a complete picture of an empire negotiating its internal strain and global footprint.

How It Unfolds

The trade critique begins The issue opens with a fierce attack on free-trade economics, asserting that British wheat farmers are operating at an unbearable loss under low market prices. The author argues that parliamentary claims of national prosperity are political illusions designed to shield Whig leaders from public failure.

The story of Lazaro Attention moves to a garrison setting where a young girl parts with her dog before entering the shop of Lazaro, a Barbary Jew dealing in secondhand goods. Captain Von Dessel enters the crowded store, confronting the merchant in broken English over previous financial transactions.

The stolen plunder Two soldiers, Bags and Bill, clash at a military sentry post over a bundle of stolen watches, rings, and gold chains. Bill threatens to call the sergeant of the guard until Bags reluctantly agrees to split the valuable loot equally.

The wilderness survey A report on American logging describes timber scouts exploring the Penobscot riverways to locate remaining pine stands before they face extinction. The account Details the harsh winter camp life and frequent, violent encounters between loggers and forest wildlife.

The desert journey Travel narratives track a journey eastward past the Euphrates, detailing daily life among desert caravans, Syrian landscapes, and historical ruins. The author depicts traditional patriarchal families moving their herds across ancient terrain toward the city of Orfa.

The railway exposure The final major section evaluates the massive growth of British infrastructure, taking direct aim at railway chairmen who manage corporate meetings. The writer cautions shareholders against accepting superficial rhetoric and financial fallacies presented by executive leaders.

The People

• Lazaro: A spare, small Barbary Jew who manages a vast, cluttered warehouse of secondhand goods and old ledgers. He conducts business with military officers, relying on his shrewd commercial instincts to navigate the tensions of a garrison town.
• Captain Von Dessel: A stern, square-built German officer serving in Hardenberg's regiment. He confronts local merchants over money matters while enforcing strict military order among his troops during a flour shortage.
• Bags (Tongs): A sly, resourceful rogue who acquires a bundle of stolen jewelry. He uses calculated pleading and tough negotiation to protect his illicit gains from military authorities.
• Bill: A pragmatic, underpaid infantry sentry who catches Bags with stolen property. He leverages his official duty and musket to demand a fifty-percent stake in the contraband.
• Randal Leslie: An ambitious, coldly analytical young man who believes that knowledge is useful only when converted into political and social power. He operates in high-society political circles, serving figures like Egerton while advancing his own interests.
• Parson Dale: An argumentative yet principled clergyman who debates the true purpose of intellect, arguing that high knowledge must serve human beneficence rather than selfish ambition.

In Its Own Voice

"To have admitted that the country was not prospering under the new commercial system, would have been considered by the public as tantamount to an acknowledgment that the policy which dictated those measures was vicious..."

— An editorial commentator critiques the government's refusal to acknowledge the economic distress caused by Free Trade policies.

"'Hands off, Bill,' said Bags, 'they won't abear touching.'"

— A thief attempts to protect his handkerchief full of stolen jewelry from a suspicious military sentry.

"'What shall we say, now, if I lets ye hide it?' said Bill, pointing to the bundle. 'Half-shares?'"

— The sentry exploits his official position on guard duty to demand a portion of the illicit loot.

What It's Really About

At its core, this issue explores the conflict between unchecked economic modernization and traditional social structures. The political articles examine how rapid shifts toward free-market capitalism destabilize domestic agriculture, arguing that unregulated competition threatens the livelihoods of working citizens. Beneath the partisan debate lies a broader anxiety about national identity and economic self-sufficiency.

The fiction and travel writing parallel these political concerns by examining power dynamics on a personal and institutional level. Characters maneuver through systems of leverage, whether in the military hierarchy, the financial web of high society, or the emerging corporate power of railway boards. Across all sections, the volume questions whether human well-being and moral principle can survive in a world increasingly governed by self-interest, industrial expansion, and material gain.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers a compelling, unfiltered window into Victorian intellectual life, suited for readers fascinated by nineteenth-century history, political economy, and period literature. Reading it feels like sitting in an armchair with a opinionated, deeply informed observer of the 1850s, absorbing the urgent debates, cultural assumptions, and literary styles of the era as they unfolded in real time.

The text does present notable challenges for modern readers. The political essays lean heavily on period-specific economic statistics, agricultural terminology, and parliamentary debates that require patient reading. Additionally, the foreign travelogues and narrative sketches reflect prevailing nineteenth-century imperial attitudes, cultural biases, and ethnic stereotypes. Yet, for those willing to engage with its historical context, the collection rewards the reader with vivid prose, sharp social commentary, and an authentic taste of mid-century British publishing. It leaves behind a lasting impression of an empire wrestling with the consequences of its own rapid transformation.