of very indiscriminate eulogy, and very unmeasured censure; the author of the following work has, therefore, deemed it his duty to confine himself, as much as possible, to a clear statement of facts, leaving the readers to form their own opinions for themselves. Where it was necessary to pronounce a judgment, he has done so with caution and candour; never refusing to praise when he admires-never hesitating to censure when he disapproves. The work is neither a panegyric, nor a libel; though it will be found that approbation is expressed with readiness, and disapproval recorded with reluctance. SIR ROBERT PEEL: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND RISE OF THE PEEL FAMILY. THE family of the Peels is of Saxon origin, and appears to have been originally settled in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Some of them migrated from this to South Lancashire, and established themselves as farming proprietors, or yeomen, in the vicinity of Blackburn, where a small estate still bears the name of Peel's Fold. One of the family, the grandfather of the present baronet, resided in a house at Fish Lane, in Blackburn, supporting himself by the profits of a farm in the neighbourhood of the town, and devoting his spare time to the mechanical and chemical experiments which are so often the relaxation of an enterprising and inquiring mind. In the year 1764, the business of calico-printing was introduced into Lancashire by the Messrs. Clayton, of Bamber-bridge, near Preston; Mr. Peel, who had previously commenced the manufacture of cotton, and is mentioned as one of the first who tried the carding cylinder, began to make some trials of B |