Delivered in the House of Commons on February 23, 1855, by John Bright, M.P.

The peace and plenty prevailing in England during the later part of Queen Victoria's reign tend to obscure the memory of the people's misery at her accession. The fact that, by the end of her reign, the Victorian era had become a synonym for social and economic progress was largely due to the historic partnership in agitation between Richard Cobden and John Bright. They were responsible for at least two great reforms, the repeal of the Corn Laws and the extension of the Franchise.

John Bright, on being consulted about his biography, once said, 'My life is in my speeches.' They were not only his greatest political weapon, but also his one perfect form of achievement.

The speech on the negotiations at Vienna was delivered during the Crimean War, which he had, almost alone, opposed from the beginning. But when, in 1855, there was a possibility of making peace, he changed his tone of denunciation for one of conciliatory appeal. In this speech occurs one of the most famous phrases ever uttered by an English orator - (the 'Angel of Death' figure). Disraeli said afterwards, 'Bright, I would give all that I ever had to have made that speech you made just now.' Bright, replied, 'Well, you might have made it if you had been honest.'

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