Cabinet Annual Register ...

General Library System
University of Wisconsin - Madison

728 State Street
Madison, WI 53706-1494

U.S.A.

London: Printed by G. H. Davidson,
Ireland Yard, Blackfriars.

Ir is the object of this work to supply, in a brief and comprehensive form, and at a very inconsiderable price, such a summary as would be generally required for reference, instruction, or amusement, of the events and memorabilia of the past year. That every year furnishes, with great abundance, the materials for such a compilation, it were superfluous to insist; the difficulty being to compress them within a moderate compass-to concentrate them, in short, within such a focus as shall leave them sufficiently visible, without materially diminishing their magnitude, or deteriorating their force. Vain, indeed, would it be to pretend that the first effort with such a view has been successful; the Editor is too fully aware of the difficulty of the task which he has undertaken to expect such a result. He is conscious that the eventful character of the year 1831, which, on the one hand, may be calculated to attract more numerous readers, has, on the other, impeded and almost overwhelmed his exertions-that, in his endeavour to give every thing, he may, at last, from his limits, have been compelled in parts to curtail where he would rather have dilated, and to have been diffuse where it had been more desirable to have been concise. Yet he believes that such a work is really wanted in our literary annals; and, having spared neither time nor trouble in its arrangement and condensation, he is willing to hope that many allowances will be made for the imperfections necessarily incident to a first attempt, and that if, as a whole, his compilation be deemed valuable, it will not be too severely criticised in parts. It can scarcely fail to be borne in mind that, during the year 1831, there have been three sessions of Parliament, the proceedings of which,

especially as relate to the Reform Bill, have been unexampled in interest and importance. The debates of the national legislature have, therefore, necessarily occupied a space in our volume on this occasion, which it may reasonably be expected cannot recur; added to which, the year 1831 has been, from beginning to end, so unusually pregnant of events, that the CHRONICLE OF OCCURRENCES has also unavoidably extended somewhat beyond the space which it is intended it should ordinarily occupy. The utmost possible care, however, has been taken, that this preponderance in two important departments of the work should not deprive its other divisions of their due significance; and, accordingly, it is the hope of the Editor that the introductory summary on the political state of Great Britain will be deemed accurate and impartial; that the collection of Public Documents and tabular matter connected with statistics and politics, and forming essential data in our domestic history, will be thought valuable; and that the Biographical Notices of distinguished persons who have died during the year will be perused with interest, and be considered satisfactory and just.

There remains only to add, that it is the Publisher's intention to issue the work without fail on the 1st of February in future years; and that, as it will be the ambition both of himself and the Editor to render it as perfect as possible, they will each of them be willing cheerfully to adopt every practical suggestion for its improvement.

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