Editing John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (section)

===Minister under Grey and Melbourne: 1830–1841===
When the Whigs came to power in 1830, Russell entered [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Earl Grey's]] government as [[Paymaster of the Forces]]. Despite being a relatively junior minister, as a vocal advocate for Parliamentary reform for over a decade, Russell became a principal leader in the fight for the [[Reform Act 1832]]. He was one of the committee of four tasked by Grey with drafting the reform bill, alongside cabinet ministers [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]], [[John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough|Lord Duncannon]] and [[Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet|Sir James Graham]]. Despite not yet being in the Cabinet, Russell was chosen to introduce the bill in March 1831 and over the following year he successfully steered the Reform Act's difficult progress through the Commons.{{sfn|Scherer|1999|pp=44-52}}

Russell earned the nickname "Finality Jack" by pronouncing the Act a final measure, but he would go on to push for further reform of Parliament.{{efn|Other sources use the nickname "Finality John": {{Cite Nuttall|Russell, John, Earl|short=x}} {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Finality John|short=x}}}} In May 1834, Russell made a speech regarding the [[Church Temporalities Act 1833|Irish tithes act]], in which he argued that the revenue generated by Irish tithes was more than was justified by the size of the [[Church of Ireland]]. Russell argued that a proportion of tithe revenue be reappropriated for the education of the Irish poor, regardless of denomination.<ref>{{Hansard|url=1834/may/06/tithes-ireland#S3V0023P0_18340506_HOC_48|House House of Commons|access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref>

The speech was seen by its opponents as an attack on the [[State religion#State churches|established church]] in Ireland and it cemented a split within Grey's government over the issue.{{sfn|Walpole|1889a|pp=208-209}} The following month [[Derby Dilly|four members of the Cabinet]] resigned in protest, weakening the government's hold on Parliament.<ref>{{Hansard|url=1834/jun/02/church-of-ireland-adjourned-debate|House House of Commons|access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref> Sensing that his position was now hopeless, Grey offered his resignation to the King in July, and was replaced by [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne|Viscount Melbourne]] at the head of the government.
[[File:The Russel Purge; etching by CJG, 1831. Wellcome L0006863.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.13|A pro-reform cartoon of 1831 depicting Russell as the man with the cure for the country's ills. Tory MPs for [[rotten and pocket boroughs]] are shown as patients requiring "The Russell Purge".]]

In November 1834, when the leader of the Commons, [[John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer|Lord Althorp]], succeeded to the peerage as [[Earl Spencer (peerage)|Earl Spencer]], Russell became the leader of the Whigs in the Commons. Russell's appointment prompted [[King William IV]] to terminate Melbourne's government, in part because the King objected to Russell's views on the Irish Church.{{sfn|Walpole|1889a|pp=217-218}} This remains the last time in British history that a monarch has dismissed a government.{{sfn|Hawkins|2007|p=152}} The subsequent minority Conservative government lasted less than five months before resigning in April 1835. Russell then returned to office as [[Home Secretary]] in [[Second Melbourne ministry|Melbourne's second government]], before serving as [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]] from 1839 to 1841. Soon after the formation of the new cabinet, the Melbourne called a [[1835 United Kingdom general election|general election]], in which Russell suffered the loss of his home constituency in [[Devon]]shire but a new seat was found for him in the seat of [[Stroud]] and in May he was back in Parliament. Through this period, he continued to lead the more reformist wing of the Whig party.{{Sfn|Reid|1895|p=104}}

Russell's first major act as Home Secretary was introducing the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]], which based on commission established by Lord Grey. It abolished outdated privileges granted to corporate cities, abolished dominance of freemen cliques, corrected widespread abuses, and placed municipal governance in the hands of taxpayers. Despite resistance from the Opposition and the Lords, Russell successfully guided the measure through Parliament, securing its passage in September in a modified form.{{Sfn|Reid|1895|p=104}} As Home Secretary, Russell recommended and secured royal pardons for the [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]] and partial commutation of their sentences.<ref>{{Hansard|url=1835/jun/25/the-dorchester-labourer|House House of Commons|access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref> In 1836, he introduced the [[Marriage Act 1836|Marriages Act]], which introduced civil marriages in England and Wales and allowed Catholics and Protestant Dissenters to marry in their own churches.<ref>{{Hansard|url=1836/feb/12/registration-of-births-c-dissenters|House House of Commons|access-date=29 January 2021}}</ref>

In 1837, he steered a series of seven Acts through Parliament, which together reduced the number of offences carrying a sentence of death from thirty-seven to sixteen.<ref>{{Hansard|url=1837/mar/23/criminal-law|title =Criminal Law|House House of Commons|access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Hansard|url=1837/may/19/capital-punishments|title =Capital Punishments|House House of Commons|access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref> This number was reduced further by the [[Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841]]. After these reforms the death penalty was rarely used in the United Kingdom for crimes other than murder. As Home Secretary Russell also introduced the public registration for births, marriages and deaths and played a large role in democratising the government of cities outside of London. Russell also introduced reforms regulating prisons and improving condition especially in the treatment of juvenile offenders. Under his instruction prisoners in [[Newgate Prison]] were transferred from metropolitan counties to the gaols in each county. Following in the steps of Sir Samuel Romilly, Russell reduced the number of capital crimes, and established reformatories for juvenile offenders.{{Sfn|Reid|1895|p=107}}