(^••••t"!"tV?"';--.. ..<..v.:.i- I-' I --i^^. ,;. Our Hanover/ AN KINGS A SHORT HISTORY OF THE FOUR GEORGES Br B.C. SKOTTOWE M.A. WiTjiTrtirtit ' CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE il>i\ .litv Cornell University Library DA 480.S62 Our Hanoverian kings : 3 1924 027 990 906 olln r^> ^ ^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027990906 OUE HANOVERIAN KINGS. LONDON : PBISTBD BY GILBEET AND BIVINGTON, LIMITED, BT. JOHN'S SQUABE. OUR HANOVERIAN KINGS. A SHORT HISTORY OP THE FOUE GE0EaE8, EMBRACmG THE PERIOD, 1714-1830. BY B. C. SKOTTOWE, M.A. »EVr COLLBGBj oxojr. AUTHOB OP "outlines OP COWSTITrTIOWAL .HI3TOKT." SonUon : ^AxMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, AND RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. n, 188i. [^All rights reserved, 2 A/S/^^/" ■If \ ] rw m \ .\n.j rm ORNE UNIVERSfI'5 PREFACE. This little book is not intended to throw any new light on a period which has already undergone considerable elucidation at the hands of other far abler writers. It is merely intended to supply a need which has long been felt, of some short history of the eighteenth century in England which should not be mainly composed of foreign policy and military campaigns. In fact, it may be as well to warn the reader who delights in no- thing so much as blood and gunpowder, that he or she will find extremely little of both articles in the following pages. Those, however, who desire to trace out the development of our system of party government, and the '* expansion of England" in the New World, will, I hope, with the aid of the tables at the beginning of the book, be able to follow their subject with sufficient ease and accuracy. It is almost inevitable from the nature of the work that there should be nothing exactly new about it, except as regards the arrangement and the actual descriptions. It may, in fact, be compared to a mosaic in which fragments of different colours are all ground down into one smooth surface, for practically it is a brief resume of the opinions of various more copious historians. I expect that I have even in many cases unconsciously quoted the exact words of some authors without proper acknowledgment. If this is so, it must be attributed to the vivid impression of peculiar expressiveness and appropriateness 'which the words themselves produced on me, and which caused them to live in my memory. At the same time I heartily apologize to all for any liberties of this kind which I may have unintentionally taken. Britipfe C. Skottowe. CONTENTS JSoolt ff.— STANHOPE, 1714-21. CHAPTER I. INTEODUCTION. Section 1. — The End of Anne. PAGE The succession question — Elizabeth of the Palatinate — TheElectress Sophie of flanoTer — Bolingbroke's schemes — Harle7*s fall — Plans of the Whigs — The Duke of Shrewsbury — The death of Anne — The accession of George I. .... . 1 Section 2. — George I. and the Pretender. The Pretender — Kis- birth— Character— Advantages — George I. — His character — Defects — Advantages — Feeling against Catho- licism — True position of George— True position of the Pre- tender ........... 6 Section 3. — Whigs and Tories. Whigs — (1) The aristocracy — No barrier to the House of Lords — Active work of the peers — Their power used well — (2) Com- »; mercial classes— Increase of commerce — London — Monied classes naturally Whigs — Fear of repudiation — (3) Dissenters — Freed by the Whigs — Persecuted by the Tories — Tories — (1) Jacobites— (2) Tories proper — (3) Hanoverian Tories— Jacobitism — Bolingbroke — Oxford — Vacillation of the Tories — Conclusion — Rule by one party — Ministerial government — Apparent change in party politics —Real continuity . . 9 CHAPTER II. THE STATE OF EUROPE. Section 1. — Results of the Peace of Utrecht. England — Holland — Spain — Austria — Savoy— Prussia — France — Unsettled questions . . . ...... 18 viii Contents, SecUon 2. — France after the Peace of Utrecht. PAGE Last years of Louis XIY. — Ruined state of France — Deaths in the royal family — Regency question — Louis* will — Louis' death— Philippe d'Orl^ans— Cardinal Dubois— Policy . . 19 Section 3. — Northern Europe, Northern War— Peter the Great— Battle of Pultava— Charles XII. in Turkey — Confederacy against Sweden — Eeturn of Charles XII. — Baron Gcrtz 23 Section 4. — Spain and Alheroni. Cardinal Alberoni — His reforms and policy — Elizabeth Farnese — Community of interest between Gortz and Alberoni — Children of Philippe V 25 CHAPTEE III. MINISTRY OF TOWNSHEND, 1714-17. Section 1. — Early Measures, 1714-15. The Ministry — Townshend — Stanhope — Whig supremacy — The General Election — Jacobitism — Impeachment of Bolingbroke — OfOrmond— Of Oxford — Riot Act — Bremen and Verden — Jacobite plots . , . . 27 Section 2. — The Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. Causes of Scotch discontent — Loyalty to the Stuarts — Feuds- Religion — Patriotism — Essentials to success — France — The death of Louis— Lord Mar — Gathering of the clans - Failure of Ormond's expedition — Measures of the Government — Progress of the rebellion— Mar's iuaction— The English Rebellion- Battle of Pre?ton— Battle of Sheriffmuir — Arrival of the Pre- tender — Desertion of the Pretender— Punishment of the Rebels • .... 31 Section B.~The Septennial Act, 1716. Reasons for passing it— Results— Old dependence of the Commons — Emancipation of the Commons effected by it -Increase of corruption— Ultimate results— Objections to triennial Parlia- ments. ..... ::r9 Section 4. — Schism in the Ministry, 1716-17. Quarrel between the king and Prince of Wales—Quarrel be- tween the king and Townshend— Mecklenburg question -The Triple Alliance— The dismissal of Townshend .... 42 Contents. ix CHAPTER IV. MINISTRY OF STANHOPE, 1717-21. Section 1. — Oortz and Alberoni, PAGE Ministry of Stanhope — The Triple Alliance — Gorbz's plot — Its failure — Alberoni— War between Spain and Austria —The Quadruple Alliance — Alberoni's plot — The bursting of the bubble — Death of Charles XII. — Failure of the French plot — Failure of the Jacobite invasion — Fall and end of Alberoni — Peace — Treaty of Stockholm — Treaty of Nystadt 45 Section 2. — Troubles at Homey 1717-19. Impeachment of Cadogan — Failure of the impeachment of Oxford - Repeal of the Schism Act — The Peerage Bill— The return of Walpole to the government 50 Section S.— The South Sea BuUle, 1720-21. The National Debt — The French national debt — English prosperity — The South Sea scheme — Origin of the South Sea Company — The company's proposal —Bubbles — The company's mistake — Ruin — Vengeance — Break-up of the Ministry — Walpole . 54 aSoofe «.— WALPOLE, 1721-45. CHAPTER I. WALPOLE AND GEORGE T., 1721-27- Section 1. — Home Affairs. Sir Robert Walpole — Atterbury's plot— Attaint of Atterbury — The return of Bol in gbroke- -Dismissal of Carteret — Wood's half- pence — The Drapier*s Letters — The Scotch Malt Tax— The schemes of Bolingbroke — The Craftsman -Failure of Boling- broke — Jacobitism — Prorogation of convocation ... 60 Section 2 — Foreign PoUcyy 1721-35. Congress of Cambrai- The Emperor's tricks— Rii^erda — The infanta sent back — Treaty of Vienna — Treaty of Hanover — Fall of Ripperda — Act of the Pardo — Treaty of Seville — Second Treaty of Vienna— Polish Succession War — Third Treaty of Vienna . .65 Contents. CHAPTER IT. MEN OF THE TIMK. Section 1. — Sir Robert WcuVpole, 1696 — 1745. PAGE Walpole — Character of his period — His faults — State of England at the time — Necessity for peace — Walpole's difficalties — His policy- Its results — His absolutism — Corruption — Moderation — Private character— Destruction of parties .... 71 Section 2. —Walpole's Enemies. Pulteney — His character— Opposition to Walpole — Failure — Carteret — His character — History — The " Patriots '* — Ches- terfield— The " Boys "—The Tories— The Jacobites -Shippen — Bolingbroke — His opposition to Walpole — Total failure — Frederic, Prince of Wales— Quarrels with George II.— Becomes the leader of the Opposition — The "Patriot King" — Literary men 78 CHAPTER III. WALPOLE AND GEORGE If. 1727-42. Section 1. — Oeorge 11. and his Queen, Queen Caroline — Her early life — Marriage — Governs her liusband — Her coarseness — Modesty — Literary tastes— George II. — The slave of his wife— The whimsical results of it — His per- sonal character ,.«....,.. 87 Section 2.— JTome Affairs, 1727-37. Sir Spencer Compton — Dead level — Quarrel between Walpole and Townshend — Abolition of Law Latin — Committee on Prisons — Excise Bill— True state of the case— Popular excitement — The Bill withdrawn — Punishment of the mutineers — The Polish Succession War— The Septennial Act — Walpole's attack on Bolingbroke — The general election — Withdrawal of Boling- broke — The Dissenters — The Porteous Riots — The quarrel be- tween George and Frederic — The queen's death — The Opposi- tion — The Spanish question . . . . . . .91 Section 3. — The Spanish Question, 1713-37. The causes of dispute—" Jenkins' Ear " — The Family Compact — Importance of the war — Position of Walpole .... 99 Section 4.— The End of Walpole, 1737-45. War declared with Spain— Failure— The fall of Walpole— The re- sult — Death of Walpole . ....... iqi Contents. xi »oofe M«.— PELHAM, 1742-64. CHAPTER I. THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION WAR, 1740-48. Section 1. — Austria and Bavaria, 1740-43. PAOE The Austrian succession — The plans of Belleisle — The designs of Frederic II. of Prussia — The success of the French — The triumph of Austria — Carteret's measure^? — English victory at Dettingen — Agreement of Hanau — Indignation in England — Newcastle's views — Treaty of Worms 104 Section 2. — England and FroMce, 1743-48, Change — League of Frankfui-t — Treaty of Dresden — War in Flanders — Naval and Colonial war — Negotiations — Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 109 CHAPTER 11. THE MINISTRIES OP CARTERET AND PELHAM, 1742-48. Section 1. — The Ministry of Carteret, 1742-44. The Ministry — No real change in policy — " A house divided against itself *' — The ** Drunken Ministry "— General discontent— Pel- ham becomes Prime Minister — Resignation of Carteret — Final triumph of Pelham 113 Section 2. — The Jacobite Invasion, 1745-46. Charles Edward Stuart — His early history — Character — Theories of government — Ultimate success impossible — State of the Highlands — The Highlanders — State of the Lowlands — State of England — Deceptive outward signs — Real apathy of the people — Deceptive result — Arrival of the Pretender — His first followers — The mistakes of the authorities — The march to Edinburgh— Battle of Preston Pans — Charles at Edinburgh — Collection of troops in England — The march to Derby — Panic in London — The retreat — The causes of the retreat — Battle of Falkirk — Dissensions among the rebels — Battle of Culloden — Military cruelties — Legal repression — End of Charles — End of the Stuarts 116 Section 3, — The Ministry of Pelham, 1744-54. Belham's policy — The Broad- Bottomed Ministry — His diflaculties — xii Contents. PAGE His character — His foreign policy — Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle — Settlement of Halifax — The National Debt — Alteration of the Calendar — Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act — Death of Pelham. 130 CHAPTER III. THE CHTTECH. Section 1. — The Chwrch of England. Decline in religious feeling — Latitudinarianism — Jacobitism of the High Churchmen — Disastrous result — Typical men . . . 137 Section 2. — The Dissenters. Position of the Dissenters — The Test and Corporation Acts — Modes of relief 138 Section 3. — The Catholics. Miserable position of the Catholics — Their civil disabilities— Their political disabilities — Political nature of the persecution of the Catholics — The laws not enforced ...... 140 Section 4. — The Methodists. The Oxford Society of Methodists — John Wesley — Wesley in Georgia — Progress of Methodism in England — Hostility of the Church — Separation — Persecution — Effect on the Church . 142 CHAPTER IV. PARLIAMENT. Transfer of power to the House of Commons — Government of the Whig Oligarchy — Extraordinary increase of corruption— Elec- tion petitions— Place Bills — Privileges of Parliament become a form of tyranny — Influence of public opinion , . . 145 JSoofe 52^. -NEWCASTLE, 1754-56. CHAPTER I. CAUSES OP THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR. Section 1. — India, 1745-54. The English settlements— The French Company— The state of India- The schemes of Dupleix— His ill-success- Disputes in Contents, xiii PAGE the Deccan — Triumphs of Dupleix — Siege of Triohinopoly — Robert Clive— The defence of Arcot— The victories of Clive— The recall of Dupleix— Death of Dupleix 149 Section 2. — Americaj 1713-55, The English colonies — The peace of Utrecht — The French colo- nies — ^Liberal Grovemment of the English colonies — The English conquest was an extermination — Oppressive system of the French Government — The French conquest was a mili- tary occupation— Causes of the war between the colonies — The boundary of Nova Scotia — The boundary of the New England States — The outbreak of war — The defeat of Brad- dock , . . . , 155 Section 3. — Austria, France, a/nd Russia, 1748-56. Coolness between England and Austria — Schemes of Kannitz — Views of Marie Th^r^se — Central point — Madame de Pompa- dour — Views of Louis XV. — ^Views of Elizabeth of Russia — Alliance between England and Prussia — Alliance between France and Austria — Russia ready for war — Frederic's danger and resolve — Outbreak of war 161 CHAPTER IL SECTIONAL AND PERSONAL DISPTJTES, 1754-57. Section 1. — Newcastle. Strange character of the period — The Minister of Fate — Newcastle —His character — Power — Mistakes— Caricature of Walpole — Utter failure — Sacrifice of Byng — Personal purity , . .167 Section 2. — Ministry of Newcastle, 1754-56. Sir Thomas Robinson — Fox joins Newcastle— Outbreak of the naval war — Alarm in England — Loss of Minorca — Execution of Byng — End of Newcastle's Ministry 171 SecUon 3. — Political Changes, 1756-57. The Duke of Devonshire — Interregnum ...... 174 Section 4. — Henry Fox, Character — Defects — Career — Genealogy 175 XIV Contents. 33ook ?F.— THE ELDEE PITT, 1757-61. CHAPTER I. THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR, 1756-63. Table of the events of 1756-57 Campaign of 1756 . Campaign of 1757 . Campaign of 1758 . Campaign of 1759 . Campaign of 1760 . Campaign of 1761 , Campaign of 1762 . Peaces of Paris and Hubertsburg PAGE 177 177 178 180 182 183 184 185 185 CHAPTER II. THE WAR IN AMERICA, 1756-60. Campaign of 1756-57 Campaign of 1758 . Campaign of 1759 . Campaign of 1760 . Wolfe 186 186 188 190 191 CHAPTER III. NAVAL WAR, 1756-60 193 CHAPTER IV. WAR IN INDIA, 1756-60. Section 1 — Bengal and Clive. Surajah Dowlah— The Black Hole of Calcutta— Treaty between the Company and Snrajah Dowl ah— Treachery of Surajah Dowlah —The plot against Surajah Dowlah— Conquest of Beneal— England supreme in Bengal Section 2. — Madras and Coote, 1758-60. Lally — Siege of Madras— Conquest of the Camatic .... Section 3. — Clivers Later Yearsy 1760-74. Clive in England— Clive'sxeforms in Bengal- Clive' s unpopularitv in England— Attack on Clive— His suicide • • • . Table of the Seven Years* War 197 200 201 204 Contents, xv CHAPTER Y, WILLIAM PITT THE ELDER, 1757-61. PAGE His early hi story^Oratory — Purity — Popularity— Courage — In- consistenoies — Explanation of them — His defects— Greatness —Enlightened policy — The result of his policy — The war at last unnecessary — Extinction of parties — All ready for the ex- plosion — Genealogy 206 Soofe 8Fff.— BKEAK UP OF THE WHIG OLIGAECHY, 1760-70. CHAPTER I. PERIOD OF BUTE, 17^0-65. Section 1. — George III. His education— Character— Defects— The hopes at his accession-— His theory of kingship— Mistakes— Policy— The " Kmg^s Friends'*— George's false position— Disunion of the Whig party— The new Tory party ^^^ Section 2. — Pitt and Newcastle, 1760-62. The judges— Bute— The Family Compact -Pitt's views— Resigna- tion of Pitt— Temporary unpopularity of Pitt— War with Spain —Revolutions in Russia -Withdrawal of the Prussian sub- sidy— Resignation of Newcastle -^^ Section S.Sute, 1762-63. Bute's Cabinet— The Peace of Paris— Results of the peace— Feeling against the peace— Treaty of Hubertsburg- Corruption— The Cider Tax— Fall of Bute— End of Fox ^^^ Section 4. — George Grenville, 1763-66. Bute's mistake— Character of Grenville- Sections of the Whigs— The Bedford Ministry— The North BWioti-TheJ3eneral War- rant— The "Essay on Woman"— Wilkes' flight— Popular excite- ment—Outlawry of Wilkes— Popularity of Cumberland- Com- mercial measures— TheJ^mp_Act-Popular excitement^The Bg gency A ct— George intrigues against Grenville . . . ^^^ xvi Contents, CHAPTER II. THE KOCKINGHAM MINISTRY, 1765-66. PAGE The Ministry — Its reforms — Its weakness . . . . • 235 CHAPTER III. THE GRAFTON MINISTRY, 1766-70. Section 1. — Chatharrif 1766-67. The Ministry — Mistakes and diflSculties — Foreign policy — Home policy — Break-up — American Tea Tax 237 Section 2.— Grafton, 1767-70. I'he Ministry— Nullum Tempus Bill — General election — Wilkes elected for Middlesex — Is imprisoned — Is expelled — Declared incapable of sitting — America — Bedford's motion — Incomplete repeal — Fall of Grafton's Ministry — Resignation of Grafton — Triumph of the king — Survey of the first period and its results 239 Section 3. — Radicalism. The Society of Friends of the People — Sympathy with the French Revolution — Reaction on the Whigs 245 Section 4i. — The Letters of Junius. Their authorship — Character — Junius' narrow views — Letter to the Duke of Grafton — Letter to the king— Junius' public spirit . 246 JSoofe 2?H.— PEKSONAL GOVEENMENT OF GEOKGE III, 1770-82. • CHAPTER I. THE AMERICAN WAR, 1760-83. Section 1. — The American Colonies, 1760-64. The New England Colonies— The Middle Colonies— The Southern Colonies— Disunion of the colonies— Loyalty to England- Commercial grievance— Impetus to separation- Grenville's plan for a colonial army— Justice of the Stamp Tax- Mis- management— The question became a struggle for liberty 249 Contents. xvii Section 2. — Drifting into Wary 1764-75. PAGE The early steps— Boston Massacre — Hatchinson's letters — Wed- derburn's attack on Franklin — The Indian Tea Bill — Boston Mohawks — Boston Port Bill — Massachusetts — Charter Bill — Energetic measures of the colonists — Public opinion in England 254 Section 3. — The War with America^ 1775-77. Battle of Lexington — Outbreak of war — Banker's Hill — Declaration of Independence — English plan of campaign — Its failure — Sur- render of Burgoyne ......... 258 ' Section 4. — The General Wa/t\ 1777-83. Treaty with France— Death of Chatham — General maritime war — Campaign in South Carolina — Surrender of York Town — Disasters of England — Arrogance of the French — Triumph of England — Treaty of Versailles 259 CHAPTER II. INDIA, 1773-83. Lord North's Regulating Act — Warren Hastings — Strife between Francis and Hastings — Execution of Nuncomar — War — Hastings' success — Robbery of Cheyte Sing— The Begums of Oude — Greatness and crimes of Hastings — Parliamentary in- terference ... 263 CHAPTER III. IRELAND, 1779-82. The Church — Proscription of the Catholics — Absenteeism and op- pression — Commerce — Government — Misery of the country — Yolunreers — Commercial equality — Legislative independence , 266 CHAPTER IV. EVENTS IN ENGLAND, 1770-82. Section I.— Lord North, 1770-80. Strength of the Government— Lord North— Influence of the king —Repressive policy of George— The Indian Nabobs— Corrup- tion— Election petitions— Rotten boroughs— Bribery . . 269 Section 2.— Lord North's Foreign Policy y 1770-72. The Falkland Islands— The Partition of Poland .... 272 a xviii Contents. Section 3. — Lord North's Ministry, 1770-80. PAGE Privilege — Reporting— End of Wilkes— Royal Marriage Act — Wilkes' Reform Bill — Lord North wishes to resign — Death of Chatham — Catholics — The Gordon Riots — Vigorous action of the king ... 273 SecUon 4.— Fall of Lord North, 1779-82. Opposition to North — Motion for economical reform — Dunning's motion — Fall of the Ministry — Results 275 Section 5. — Results of George's Personal Government . \ . 276 JSoofe ?Pffi.— FIKAL STKUGGLE WITH THE WHIGS, 1782-84. ■■■ f '■•■ CHAPTER I. TEMPORARY FAILURE OF THE KING, 1782-83. Section 1. — The Second Rockingham Ministry, 1782. The two parties of the Opposition — The king's intrigues and their failure — The Rockingham Place Bill — Quarrel between Fox and Shelburne 278 Section 2. — The Shelburne Ministry, 1782-83. The Ministry — The Peace of Versailles — Factious opposition . . " 280 Section 3. — The Unnatural Coalition, 1783. /. The Ministry — The Opposition— Shock to public feeling— The India Bill — Violence of the measure — Arguments for the Bill — Un- constitutional action of the king 280 CHAPTER II. STRUGGLE BETWEEN PITT AND FOX, 1783-84. Triumph of Pitt— Real triumph of the king 283 CHAPTER III. MEN OP THE TIME. < Section 1. — Edmund Burhe. Two phases of his life— Early career— War in America— The Contents. ' xix PAGE Rockingham Ministry— The coalition— Warren Hastings — Burke's character— Political views— Mistakes— " Thoughts on the causes of the present discontent " . ... 284 Section 2. — Charles James Fox. His early life— Character— Political work— His great defect . , 287 JSoofe »)^\— THE YOUNGER PITT, 1784—1806. 1 CHAPTER I. EARLY MEASURES, 1784-89. Financial measures— India Bill— Reform Bill— Impeachment of Hastings— The slave-trade — The Regency Bill — Foreign policy — Industrial development 289 CHAPTER II. I.) ■ WILLIAM PITT. Early career— The Whig Ministries, 1782-83— Struggle with North and Fox — His early liberal views— Change after 1792 — Pitt's foreign policy 293 CHAPTER III. THE PEENCH BE VOLUTION, 1789-98. Section 1. — Shetch of the Revolution, 1789-95. Course of the revolution— The Revolutionary War — Successes of France 296 I Section 2. — Effects of the Revolution in England. Feeling in England — Uncertainty of opinion — Pitt's hopes at first — His peaceable views — Burke's change of opinion— His frenzy against the revolution— Fox favours the revolution — The Radical clubs — Burke's "Reflections" — Badical manifestoes — Feeling against the Radicals — The two new parties — New -y. Tory party — New Whig party— Unfortunate results of the revolutionary violence— Peaceful views of Pitt till 1792 — Drifting into hostility — On guard, January, 1793 . . ,297 a 2 XX ' Contents. Section 3. — Causes and Justice of the War. PAGE Mistakes of the Jacobins— Violent conduct towards England — Opening the Scheldt— Exec at ion of Louis XVI.— The war was just, but perhaps inexpedient 305 Section 4i. — The First Coalition, 1793-97. Expulsion of the Coalition from Belgium — French conquest of Holland — True meaning of the war to England — Naval and colonial successes — Failure of Quiberon expedition — Overtures for peace refused by France — Italian campaign — Peace of Campo Formio — Attempted invasion of England — Second at- tempt to invade England . 308 Section 5. — Repressive Measures in England, 1793-97. General confidence in Pitt — Repressive measures — State prosecu- tions — Trial of Muir — Reaction against the Government — The English Convention — Trial and acquittal of the Convention ' leaders — Good results — Portland joins the Ministry — Coercive statutes — Overtures for peace — Rise of a feeling of loyalty — Financial crisis — Suspension of cash payments — Spithead Mutiny — Mutiny at the Nore— Rise of loyal and national feeliug 312 CHAPTER IV. UNION OP ENGLAND AND IRELAND, 1782 — 1800. Section 1. — Necessity for the Union, State of Ireland — Danger of Home Rule— Necessity for the Union 319 Section 2. — State of Ireland. The Parliamentary opposition— Roman Catholics— Republicans . 320 Section S.~Drifting into Relellion, 1790-95. The United Irishmen— Concessions to the Catholics— The Catholics not satisfied— Catholic hopes excited by Fitzwilliam— Dashed by Camden •-....... 321 Section 4. — The Rebellion, 1795-98. Outbreakof war— Cruelties of the yeomanry— Arrest of the rebel leaders— Failure of theFrencJi expedition— Vigorous measures of the Government— Suppression of the rebellion . . . 323 Section 6.— The Union, 1798-1800. Lord Comwallis— Determines to effect the Union— The Union Act of Union • . . . 00 e • • • • . oZo CON-TEt/TS, Xxi CHAPTER V. THE SECOND COALITION, 1798-1801. PAGE Egyptian expedition — Battle of the Nile — Second Coalition — De- feat of Napoleon in Syria — The Consulate — Campaign of 1800 — The Armed Neutrality — Its break-up - Peace of Amiens * 327 CHAPTER YI. ; EVENTS AT BOME, 1798-1801. Popularity of George — Enthusiasm of the people against France — Distress — Consequent change of feeling — C^-tholic question — Resignation of Pitt , . 330 CHAPTER VII. MINISTRY OF ADDING TON, 1801-4. Pitt — Reasons for Addington— Insolence of Napoleon— i^apoleon's quarrel with the English press— Sebastiani's report— War declared— Napoleon's measures — Patriotic enthusiasm in England— Desire for Pitt's return— Addington resigns . . 333 CHAPTER VIII. SECOND MINISTRY OF PITT, 1804-6. Formation of the Ministry— Factious conduct of Fox— Vigorous measures — Formation of the Coalition — Ill-success of England —Death of Pitt . ... .... 337 jSoofe f .—FINAL STEUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 1803-15. CHAPTER I. THE ARGUMENT. Retrospect of the eighteenth century— Colonial dreams of Napoleon / — True meaning of the war— Curtain . . . • 340 xxii Contents, CHAPTER II. THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, 1805-14. Bectioth l.—The Third CoaUtion, 1805-7. PAGE Failure of the invasion plan — Destruction of Austria— Destruc- tion of the French marine —Fox's failure — Prussian campaign — The continental system— Its failure — Russian campaign — ' Weak English policy— Partition of Europe— Seizure of the Danish fleet 343 Section 2.— T/ie Feninsula/r War, 1807-14. The Spanish rising — Character and importance of the war — Early days— Campaign of 1809— of 1810— of 1811— of 1812— End of the war ...» 347 CHAPTER III. HOME APFAIKS, 1806-12. Section 1. — Ministry of All the Talents, 1806-7. The Ministry — Death of Fox — Abolition of the slave-trade — Blun- ders — The greatest blunder ....... 350 t \ i_ . . Section 2. — The Portland Ministry, 1807-9. Weakness — Difficulties — Quarrel between Canning and Castlereagh 352 Section 3. — The Perceval Ministry, 1809-12. Difficulties — Regency — Assassination of Perceval — Reform ^— Catholic relief . • , 352 Section 4:.— War with America, 1812-13. Quarrel with America — American revenge — The war . . - 354 CHAPTER IV. THE RESETTLEMENT OF EUROPE, 1814-15. Retreat from Moscow — Napoleon abdicates — Reconstitufcion of France— Congress of Vienna — Reactionary views of the Powers — Views of England and France — Of Russia and Prussia — Of Austria — Waterloo campaign — The Second Treaty , of Paris — Final settlement of Europe — The Holy Alliance . 356 Contents. xxiii CHAPTER Y. INDIA, 1784-1810. Section 1. — Lord CormvalliSf 1784-93. Pitt's India Bill — Second Mysore War — Sir John Shore . PAGE 361 Section 2.— Lord Wellesley, 1798-1805. Third Mysore War— The subsidiary alliance system — The Mahratta War — War with Holkar — Sir George Barlow's settlement- Disastrous results— Capture of the Mauritius .... 362 EPILOGUE. GEORGE IV. — REGENT AND KING. Section 1. — George IV. Character — Mrs. Fitzherbert — Princess Caroline— Filial conduct . 365 Section 2.— The Old Tory Government, 1812-22. Liverpool Ministry — Prime Minister Liverpool — Lord Chancellor Eldon — Foreign Secretary Castlereagh — His despotic princi- ples — The leader of the Opposition — The future Foreign Minister — His policy — Early days of the Ministry — Great in- crease of manufactures — Inventions — Improved means of car- riage—High profits of landowners — Distress of agricultural labourers — Distress of artisans — Mistakes of the Ministry — Sedition— Repressive measures — The Six Acts — Signs of a reaction — Death of Castlereagh ... ... 366 Section 3. — Free Trade, Toleration, and Reform, 1822-32. Reform movements — Growth of Free Trade — Motions for Catholic relief— Catholic emancipation — Motions for reform— The Re- form struggle— The Reform Bill, 1832 . . . . . 374 Table 1. — The Regency . . . . ... . . . 378 Table 2.— George IV. 379 Table 3.— William IV. 379 Index 381 \ TABLES. The Protestant succession and the pretenders The Hanoverian kings Contemporary princes . Archbishops Chancellors . First Lords of the Treasury Chancellors of the Exchequer Secretaries of State Growth of the English colonies The descendants of Louis XIV. of France The descendants of Philippe Y. of Spain The Fox genealogy . . . . The Pitt and Grenville genealogy PAGE XXV xxvi xxvii xxviii xxviii xxviii xxix xxix xxxi 21 26 176 212 NOTES. A. The Bill of Rights . B. The Act of Settlement C. The succession to the throne D. The Spanish Succession War E. The Darien Scheme F. Impeachment and attainder G. The Civil List . XXXIV xxxiv XXXV XXXV xxxvi xxxvi xxxvi Protestant Succession and the Pretenders, xxv ^^ 5^ o m o OS H C C^ Ph a! •-9 .22.3 Co -2 S «^ "11 tu IS n N M est LLStUS, tor of over. e^s§ H.^ H «. be .s ^ a :=^ S .^ II p»> M OS S -to .£3 O XXVI Tables. •. • •.■■■»•. • !-■ * dolpbus Frederic, Duke of Cambridge d. 1860. George, uke of Cambridge. M ' • < P 1 . o 00 2 © 5 > Q3p — M ^03 P en bO " > Jg f^M • — <3 .3 3 . ©*}::! 00 - S o - n ^<'^ 0) M -11 .2 - o ;a (^ 1-5 §- O 33 fl CQ ';s m 4i pq ary = Land- grave of Hesse-Cass( r-i 1 ei-i o • 1 ward, = keof ent; 1820. 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The power of dispensing laws as claimed by James II. is illegal (thus leaving the poWer of pardon untouched). 3. James II. 's Ecclesiastical Court and all courts like it are illegal. 4. Keeping a standing army in peace is illegal unless Parlia- ment gives its consent. (From 1689 Parliament has usually given its consent annually in the Mutiny Act.) 5. Eaisiog taxes without consent of Parliament is illegal. (Taxes from this time were usually voted annually, in order that Parliament might retain the control of them.) 6. Subjects have a right to petition the king. 7. Elections to Parliament ought to be conducted freely. 8. Nothing said in Parliament ought to be questioned out of Parliament. 9. Parliaments ought to be held frequently. 10. William and Mary are declared King and Queen of England. The crown is to go to their heirs, and then to Anne and her heirs. 11. No Papist or person married to a Papist can sit on the throne of England. B. The Act of Settlement, 1701. 1. The Crown was to pass on the death of Anne to the Electress Sophie of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. 2. The sovereign was not" to leaVe England without the consent of Parliament (repealed 1716). 3. No foreigner was to hold office or I'eceive grants from the Crown. 4. Public business was to be done only with the consent of the Privy Council, and all resolutions of the Privy Council were to be signed by those members who approved of them. (Intended to destroy Cabinet Government, and revive the power of the Privy Council. Repealed 4 Anne.) 6. England was not to be dragged into any war on account of the foreign dominions of her kings. ^6. Jadges were to receive fixed salaries, and were not to be re- moved from their offices except on conviction of some offence, or on the address of both Houses of Parliament. 7. No person holding any place of profit under the Crown shall Notes. xxxv be able to retain bis seat in Parliament. (Repealed 4 Anne. 6 Anne prescribed that amj member of Parliament accepting office under the Crown must seek re-election.) r ■ • - 1 ■ **• Succession to the Throne. : -Tbe old rule of succession totbe Crown during tbe Anglo-Saxon period, was tbat tbe wortbiest and fittest member of tbe royal family was selected by tbe Witan or National Council. Usually a regular foi*m of election was gone tbrougb. Tbis rule was pre- served by the Normans. All tbe early Norman and Plantagenet kings were selected by tbe Witan,^ — in many cases witb an utter disregard for tbe rule of hereditary rigbt. On tbis principle Stephen, Henry lY., Edward lY., Eicbard III., Henry YII., were elected to the throne, though in no case were they the direct heirs of their predecessors. The election, therefore, of William III. by the Bill of Rights, and of the Hanoverian line by the Act of Settlement, was strictly in accordance with the regular custom. From 1701, however, tbe rule of succession in England, as by law established, is tbat of hereditary right in tbe Hanoverian family, limited only by the rule that the sovereign must conform to the Church of England. , .,:,|. D. The Spanish Succession War. in 1700 tbe King of Spain died childless, leaving all bis terri- tories to the Duke of Anjou, Philippe, the second grandson of Louis XIY. of France. The European Powers, considering that such a vast acquisition would dangerously aggrandize France, combined to wrest tbe greater part of them away from Philippe, to ' confer them on the Archduke Charles of Austria, brother of the Emperor Joseph I. Their success was so striking that they would probably have compelled Louis to order Philippe to surren- der Spain. The accession of Charles to the empire on the death of his brother rendered it as dangerous to give him tbe whole Spanish dominions as to allow Philippe to keep them. A Tory Ministry, moreover, determined on peace, bad succeeded the warlike Whig Ministry of the early years of Anne. Peace was therefore concluded at Utrecht, by which tbe Spanish dominions were divided between Charles and Philippe, — Philippe obtaining Spain itself. E. '■'; The Darien Scheme, 1698, 1699. Tbis was a scheme started by a Scotchman named Paterson XXXvi JVOTES, — for the colonization of the Isthmus of Darien, with the view to establishing a short cut for the Eastern trade across the isthmus to Europe. A company was formed to carry this idea out. It was sure, however, to lead to complications with Spain and Hol- land, in which England would have to bear the burden of the war. The king therefore strongly disapproved. An attempt, however, was made to colonize Darien. The colonists speedily got em« broiled with the Spaniards, and after suffering severely were obliged to abandon the settlement. The Scots attributed the whole disaster to the jealousy of England, and much ill-feeling was created between the two countries. F. Impeachment. This is the prosecution of an offender by the Commons in Parliament before the Lords, who act as judges, the judicial power of Parliament having been declared to lie with the Upper House alone in 1399. The Commons first decide whether the offender shall be impeached, which question is debated and voted on by the whole House. They then deliver the accusation at the bar of the Lords, adducing evidence of the offender's guilt. Impeachment was usually reserved for great political offenders, whom it was difficult to attack otherwise. Attaindeb. A Bill of Attainder is a Bill passed by Parliament condemning any person to suffer death, forfeiture of his property, and corrupt tion of blood, so that it was impossible for any one to inherit any- thing throi^h him. Bills of Attainder were usually made use of to attack offenders whose guilt was notorious, but against whom it was impossible to procure legal evidence, for it was not necessary to adduce any evidence or hear any defence on a Bill of Attain- der, though both those formalities were necessary to an impeach- ment. G. The Civil List was first established at the accession of William and Mary for the support of the royal household, the personal expenses of the kmg, and the payment of civil offices and pensions. It therefore comprised at once the personal expenditure of the king, and many other items which we should consider more properly belonged to the expenditure of the nation. It was defrayed partly by excise duties, and partly by the hereditary revenues of the Crown. J^ OUE HANOYEEIAN KINGS, tSoofe I.— STANHOPE, 1714—1721, CHAPTER I. 4 INTRODUCTIOK". Section 1. — The End of Anne, The last years of Anne were, unlike tlie earlier ones, devoted to peace and the settlement of the great question whether a Protestant or a CathoHc dynasty should sion question reign in England. The importance of this had been already felt when it became evident that William III. would not marry again, and when the death of the Duke of Gloucester, the last survivor of Anne's numerous children, destroyed the remain- ing hopes of the nation. It became necessary to look elsewhere for a Protestant heir, for the temper of the people was such at this time that no Catholic had the faintest chance of attaining the throne. The principle upon which Parliament proceeded was the old constitutional custom of succession, dating from the Anglo-Saxon monarchies, viz. the selection of the fittest- member of the royal family. They passed over all the CathoHcs, and chose the nearest Protestant representative as the most suitable heir to the throne. This choice was embodied in the Act of Settlement, 1701, which declared that if the heirs of William and Anne should fail, the crown should descend to the Electress Sophie of Hanover, and through her to her heirs, provided they continued Protestants. None of the descendants of Charles I. possessed the necessary qualification ; for besides James, the " Old Pretender," there were only the children of B .Introduction, the Catholic Duchess of Orleans, Henriette Marie, the youngest daughter of Charles. Parliament therefore was obliged to look still further back, and pick out among the immediate heirs of James I. a fresh stock from which to perpetuate the succession. Elizabeth, the third child of James I., had married in 1613, Frederic, Count Palatine of the Ehine. He was '^^th*^^*^ that Frederic whose unfortunate ambition led him Palatinate. ^^^^ accepting the crown of Bohemia in 1619, and thus exposed him to the vengeance of Ferdinand 11. of Austria and the Empire who regarded it as the hereditary- appanage of his own family. The realm of Bohemia proved only a winter-kingdom for the unfortunate prince, and early in the following year Frederic's hereditary dominions, the Palati- nate, were overrun by his enemies and given to his deadliest foe, the Duke of Bavaria. From this time Elizabeth led a chequered career. She appears in the wars that followed like some beautiful and distressed princess of the old chivalrous days, for whose defence gallant knights and gentlemen flocked from the four winds of heaven, and accounted themselves amply rewarded for their toils and dangers if they received the smallest token of her favour from " the Queen of Hearts." The age of chivalry, however, had really gone by. Providence had begun to fight steadily " on the side of the big battalions." So the heroic champions of the Lady Elizabeth only wasted their gal- lantry and daring uselessly against the dark wiry infantry of Spain. The Peace of Westphalia, 1648, it is true, restored a portion of the Palatinate to the heir of the unlucky Frederic ; but this was not until the war had lost its early chivalrous and religious character, and degenerated into a struggle on the part of Sweden and France to enrich themselves at the expense of the Empire, and on the part of Austria to retain her pre-eminence in that body. . Frederic and Elizabeth were the progenitors of a laro-e family, among whom the Princes Eupert and Maurice have le'ft names famous in English history as Eoyalist cavalry officers in the Civil Wars. More important to us, however, was a certain Electress ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^' ^^® twelfth in a family of Sophie of thirteen, who eventually became the Electress Hanover. Sophie of Hanover. She was born at the Hague in 1630; and was married to Ernest, titular Bishop of Osnabruck and Duke of Brunswick-Luneburo". The duke was created Elector of Hanover by the emperor f orttaunck The Electress Sophie, adherence to the House of Austria during the long wars with Louis XIV. of France. On his death he was succeeded by his son, George Louis, who later became our George L Sophie in- herited her mother's wonderful beauty, and was additionally endowed with an even temper and a capacity for the highest culture, which had been exercised to the utmost. She was equally well versed in English, French, Dutch, German, and Italian. She was far-sighted enough to see that it would be extremely difficult for a ruler, brought up in the absolutist prin- ciples of the Continent, to fulfil the position of an English king, from whom, it was beginning to be recognized even out of England, the chief thing required was a capacity for assimi- lating and acting on the views of others. At first, therefore, she was by no means eager for the English succession. She, how- ever, made no difficulty in accepting the Act of Settlement, and later it even became her dearest wish that she might have " Queen of England" written after her name. This wish, how- ever, was destined not to be gratified, for she died exactly eight weeks before the English throne fell vacant. Undoubtedly her decease was a fortunate thing for England, for had she survived Queen Anne, her reign, owing to her advanced age^ could have "been but short, and two successions coming so close together must have still further complicated the dangerous state of affairs which followed the death of Anne. Her peculiar philosophic and rather freethinking views, moreover, would have accorded ni with the orthodoxy of her subjects. The last few days of Anne's reign were a period during which the fate of England seemed wavering in the ^ . -u ^ , balance. Of the two chiefs of the Tory Govern- schemes, ment which was then ruling England, Lord Bolingbroke had probably committed hitoseK to the Jacobite cause to some extent, and was certainly bent on giving a pre- ponderating influence in the country to the Tory and High Church interest. Harley, Earl of Oxford, whose iaclination was towards the Low Church party and even the Dissenters, was unable to agree with the extensive views of his ambitious col- league, while he felt his own position hardly strong enough to dismiss him. Bolingbroke's vigorous intellect, however, could not endure the vacillating policy of Harley, and the difference between them came to a crisis over the Schism Act, which was intended to exclude Dissenters entirely from the teaching pro- fession. This Harley was unwilling to consent to, and an angry B 2 Introduction. dispute arose between the two Ministers. Bolingbroke, however, had entirely gained the ear of the queen, and, more iraportant still, of her favourite, Lady Masham, by his High Church views, jj , , ^ ,, and the result was that the queen dismissed the ar ey s a . ^sy^^ Treasurer, Harley, on the ground that he was unpunctual, untrustworthy, impolite, and frequently intoxi- cated. The last obstacle to Bolingbroke's schemes being thus [ removed, he prepared to form a Ministry wholly in the Jacobite interest. Determined to be no more overshadowed by the power of a Lord Treasurer, he decided to place that office in commis- sion. Before, however, anything could be done, the queen was taken seriously ill, and from that illness she never really re- ^ covered. "And it is a remarkable proof," says Lord Mahon, '^ of the bad opinion commonly entertained of her Majesty's counsels, and of the revolutionary result anticipated from them, that the Funds rose considerably on the first tidings of her danger, and fell again on a report of her recovery.'' The return of the Duke of Marlborough at this moment seemed to Bolingbroke fraught with omens of WMffs^ *^® danger ; for the cautious disposition of that great, though erring, man was too well known for it to be imagined that he would move in an uncertain cause. The treatment, moreover, which he had received from the Tories had been far too humiliating to leave any doubt that he would throw his great influence on the side of Hanover, and this would weigh heavily among the veterans. Bolingbroke and the Jacobites, stunned by this sudden crisis, were unable to act as the occasion required. The Whigs took advantage of their indecision to mature their own plans. Stanhope and Marlborough prepared the army, and stood in readiness to seize the Tower, arrest the principal Jacobites, and gain the outports, on the demise of the queen. Violence, however, was rendered unnecessary by the prompt action of the Duke of Shrewsbury. Thfi tiuVa nf ^^^^^ Talbot,' Duke of Shrewsbury, had been Skrewsbry ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ *^^ ^^^igs of the Eevolution of 1688; subsequently, in common with many of the great men of the time, he was convicted of treasonable cor- respondence with the Stuarts ; later, he so far receded from his first political creed, as to assist Queen Anne in t?€i^ to rid ^ herself of the Whigs and rule by means of the Tories. This as ^ may well be imagined, had given him the confidence of the Tories and a seat in the Ministry. jSTow, however, he reo>retted Death of Anne, 5 i> I'ACW*^ the false step he had made, aud determined to retrace it. He was sincerely attached to the Hanoverian succession, and he took advantage of his position in Bolingbroke's Ministry to thwart his leader's Jacobite plans. "With this view he secretly concerted measures with the great Whig leaders, the Dukes of Argyle and Somerset. In consequence, these two peers sud- denly appeared in the Privy Council, and, offering their assist- ance, proposed that Shrewsbury should be appointed Lord High Treasurer. Bolingbroke, with rage gnawing at his heart, did not dare refuse, and the will of the Council was confirmed by the dying queen. " Use it for the good of my people," were almost her last words, as she delivered the white staff of office into the hands of Shrewsbury. This made him master of the situation. A large fleet was put to sea ; Portsmouth strongly garrisoned; bodies of troops assembled in London; and the Elector of Hanover was warned to hold himself in readiness to cross the sea at a moment's notice. Then, on the 1st of August, 1714, the great Death of event, which had been expected with such Anne, Aug. 1, different hopes and fears, occui'red — the queen 1714. died I The decisive action of the Whig leaders, however, had averted all danger^ BuKngbroke did not venture to move. The government was entrusted to the seven great officers named in the "statute, and to eighteen other Whig lords nominated by the Elector, who were to form a ^^0^6 1^ ^^ Council of Kegency, with the title Lords Justices. Erom this list the name of Marlborough was excluded, no doubt owing to the personal jealousy of George, who had become acquainted with Marlborough's commandiag intellect during the Wars of the Spanish Succession, and perhaps feared in him a military Eichelieu. All difficulties seemed now smoothed away. Parliament was to sit for six months longer. A Civil List of 700,000Z. was voted without opposition. The new kiQg was acknowledged by Louis XIY. himself m a personal letter to the Lords Justices. Lastly, on the 18th September, George himself and his eldest son arrived in England. . Introduction. Section 2. — George I. and the Pretender, * James Francis Edward, the "Old Pretender." or the "Chevalier de St. George," was the son of The Pre- James II. and Mary of Modena. He was bom tender: ^^ 1688, under circumstances which gave rise to a suspicion that he was not the child of his supposed parents, , . , ^ but a spurious offspring, foisted on the people by ' the Catholic advisers of James, in order to per- petuate a Catholic dynasty. This legend, which seems to have no actual foundation, acquired a certain amount of colour owing to the fact that James had unwisely omitted to invite to the birth the high officers of Church and State, whose duty it is to be present at such an important event. Undoubtedly, however, it was the general dislike to the perpetuation of the Catholip reforms of James that caused this improbable story to be received with such credence. It was currently reported and believed that the child had been introduced into the palace in a v)arming-pan; and in consequence it became the fashion for all true Whigs to wear little farthing warming-pans suspended from their button- holes on the prince's birthday. This unfortunate young man, exiled from his very cradle, was recognized as King of England by Louis XIV. on the death of James II. The Peace of Utrecht, however, drove him from France, and forced him to seek a refuge Ma character- ^ ^^^ territories of the Duke of Lorraine. At ' St. Germains, the shelter granted to his family by Louis, he had been brought up as a Catholic, and educated on absolutist principles, which rendered him totally unfitted to fulfil the role of an English king, which aU his life he had aspired to. In him was seen the same extraordinary inability to comprehend existing facts and adapt himself to them, which had proved the ruin of his father He was unwilling to receive advice, and usually acted on the spur of the moment. His incapacity was shown by his trusting to the ambition of a man like Lord Mar in 1715, when Bolingbroke and the Duke of Berwick, the two ablest of his partisans, were opposed to any movement; his littleness of mind by his disgracing, for some trifling cause, Bolingbroke, the man who had done most for him of all his followers. His half-brother, Berwick, bears evidence to the lamentable weakness, which alone could have caused such an enormous blunder. James was perhaps brave, as most of the James and George, Stuarts were, but his bravery was chiefly shown in fighting in the French ranks against his own countrymen at Oudenarde and Malplaqnet. Still James possessed many important advantages which were not shared by his opponent. He was an Englishman. He was the natural and legitimate ^^ advan- heir. He was descended directly from the " Royal Martyr," for so the Tories regarded Charles L He was invested witji the superstitious reverence peculiar to the Stuarts, derived from their claim to the power of curing by their touch the terrible disease known as the "King's Evil." Moreover, a romantic interest attached itself to his chequered career, and men, who had never felt the real burden of Stuart misrule, con- doned the offences which had produced the Revolution, and magnified the few virtues of the family. James, too, was little known in England. He had not as yet been tried in the furnace, and his real incapacity for management, or receiving advice, had not made itself apparent. The little that was known of him was at least favourable. On the other hand, tbe little that was known of George was decidedly unfavourable. Even the Electress ^qq^^q j . Sophie herself had privately expressed her opinion that her son was unfitted to adapt his despotic temperament to the position of an English Constitutional king, and that the best thing would be for the Pretender to change his religion, as Henry lY. of France had done, and receive the crown of England as the price of his conversion. This opinion, however, was expressed before 1701, and did not prevent ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ her acceptmg the provisions of the Act oi bettle- » ment, when offered to her for confirmation. George himself was a man of more virtues than accomplishments, more vices than virtues. He was upright, honourable, benevolent, mindful of services, and, above all, brave. He was assiduous in his attention to public business. He loved his people as much as he could love anything. But he had been brought up in an extremely simple and unostentatious manner, suitable for the station to which he was born, but scarcely calculated to fit him for the position of an English Constitutional king, who is possessed of little power, but is required to be magnificent and dignified, as befitting the nominal head of the defects • State. He possessed none of the family virtues, ' which were supposed to be the great attribute of the Stuarts. 8 Introduction, His wife, SopMe Dorothee of Zell, had long been shut up in the dreary castle of Ahlden on a charge of unfaithfulness. Her place was filled by two ugly old German mistresses. ^ His son, afterwards George II., he regarded with such hostility, that, when at last he obtained the English throne, he desired to exclude his heir-apparent from the Eegency in his absencej and quarrelled with his Ministers on the subject. His personal appearance was insignificant in the extreme. He had a heavy countenance, — an awkward address. He carried economy almost to stmginess ; narrow-mindedness and prejudice to excess. He had no acquaintance with the theory^ much less the practice, of the British Constitution. He was incapable of speaking, or even understanding, the Enghsh language. It was impossible to hail his accession with any enthusiasm. It was impossible that such a king could satisfy the exaggerated feelings of loyalty, which had long been one of the chief traditions of the advantages. ^^^^ party. One advantage, however, he did possess, and it gave him an almost immeasurable strength. He was a Protestant, and the Pretender was a bigoted Catholic. There is no doubt that the majority of the English people did not desire a Catholic king, and would have against looked with horror on any the remotest prospect Catholicism. ' ^^ ^ Catholic restoration. It was this feeling which weakened the loyalty of the Tory party, and which had triumphed at the Eevolution of 1688 over their first great doctrine of passive obedience. It was this feeling which obliged the chief men of that party to hide the real extent of their schemes, and proceed with the utmost caution. It was this feeling which was the strongest argument in favour of the Hanoverian, and rendered his personal unpopularity, his insignificant character, and his German predilections, really of little account. And, even later, when his defects were better known, when he had shown clearly that his interests were bound up in Hanover, when he had excluded the Tories from True Bosition P^^^^^^^ ^^^^ entirely, when he had lavished of George. ^o^oMrB> and pensions recklessly on his German favourites, still the mass of the people looked up to him, and supported him as their sole hope against a Catholic restoration ; — much as sailors will fashion a plug out of the oldest and most unsightly piece of wood to stop the leak, through which rush the raging waters. ;&: The Whigs, 9 There can hardly be any doubt that if the Pretender had changed his religion, or had even held out any signs of a possible conversion, he would have -^^^^ position been welcomed with national enthusiasm. But tender ^^" his very devotion to his religion, which ought, at any rate, to have commanded respect, supplied an additional argument against him. For it was one of the strongest tenets of all English Churchmen's creed, that devotion to the Catholic religion necessarily saps secular honour and faith. An ir- teligious man of the world like Charles 11. would, by the irony of history, have been regarded with infinitely less suspicion. Section 3. — Whigs and Tories, It almost seems that a series of isolated political occurrences, beginning with the sudden and unexpected death of Anne, and culminating with the assumption of the Kegency by the Whig Duke of Shrewsbury, secured the throne to George ; and that really he won the throne because he arrived in England before the Pretender. But a careful examination of the state of the two great political parties will show that, though the Tories were by far the most numerous, yet the Whigs wjiigg were really the strongest, for they were infinitely superior to their rivals in energy, intelligence, concentration, and. organization. The real strength of the Whig party lay in its elements. Tlfese included the aristocracy, the commercial classes, and the Nonconformists. The English aristocracy, after the destruction or defea- sance of the old feudal nobles, differed essen- . . .. tially from almost every similar class in Europe, tocracy. It was in no sense a caste nobility. The new creations, since the time of Edward lY., had been naturally drawn entirely from the people, and the interests of both ends of the social scale were closely interwoven. Moreover, peerage was entirely personal ; the sons of peers were commoners ; the eldest sons even, though potentially peers themselves, and dignified with titles of courtesy, were really commoners, and in numerous cases sat in the House of Commons .- . during the lifetime of their fathers. The natural feeling, craving after rank, which has always been a prominent characteristic of the lower classes, greatly facilitated 1 Intro D uc tion. the entrance of tlie younger scions of noble houses into Par- liament; and, indeed, gave them an advantage, which the possession of the greatest riches hardly conferred on the untitled candidate. This absence of any legal distinction of caste was supplemented by the total absence of any of that class feeling which tended to make the French nobles so hateful to all other ranks of the nation. There was no sentimental impediment to intermarriage between the upper and lower classes. On the contrary, they were of frequent occurrence, and in this way bonds of sympathy of the strongest character were forged between the two orders. Moreover, the House of Lords itself was continually recruited by the introduction of great lawyers, illustrious statesmen, wealthy boroughmongers, whose claim to promotion was rarely founded on anything but some personal attribute, which had found favour in the eyes of Hou^se"r *"* *^^ ^^^S ^^ Minister, while their birth might be Lords. 0^ ^^^ humblest character. The President of the House, the Lord Chancellor, was usually a suc- cessful lawyer, ennobled on his elevation to the woolsack. The peerage, in fact, was, in the words of Walpole on the Peerage Bill, 1719, "one of the strongest incentives to virtue," and, subject to a process of a survival of the fittest, lay within the reach of any man in the United Kingdom. The real power of the Lords consisted, not merely in their local influence and wealth, but chiefly in their aptitude and opportunities for office. The management of public business is not so much an afiair of genius as of practice. The peers were brought up, as it were, in the midst of business ; tliey had special facilities for obtaining Active work ^ thorough knowledge of its details ; their rank of the Peers : immediately marked them out for offi.ce if they desired it. There has always been, in conse- quence, a certain number of peers employed in the business of the government, and this active work in the management of the State has at once freed them from the reproach of uselessness, and has added largely to their power. This power, moreover', was usuaUy used well. Not only is it a fact that from their ranks were drawn many of the most illustrious statesmen of the time, but they showed true greatness in supporting the many distinguished men who ruled the country from the House of Commons. Harley, St, John, Walpole, Pelham, the two Pitts, numbered many of the most powerful peers among their willing lieutenants. Thus . the Upper House exercised ■f'l The Whigs, \\ considerable influence on the country ; and the firm support of the majority of the peers was a great gain to any . party. Since the Revolution the weight of that ^^!^^^ ^°JJ®' ' maj or i t y had been thrown on the sid e of the Whigs ; and their Whig impulses were greatly increased by the violent- measure of the Tory Ministry in 1712 for forcing the Peace of Utrecht through the Lords by the creation of enough peers to constitute a Tory majority. In consequence, though in later years the Lords became the chief support of Tory despotism and personal government, yet during the early part of the eighteenth century they included a strong Whig majority of fairly liberal tendencies, who firmly maintained the principles of the Revolution, and opposed most strenuously the doctrines of divine right and passive obedience. ' The Whig Lords there- fore must ba reckoned as one of the most important elements of the Hanoverian party. The commercial classes were naturally Whig. Commerce flourished most in the towns ; and the towns had .g. always been the most enlightened part of the ^j^j classes' community in politics and religion. This was partly owing to the greater facilities for the free circulation and discussion of ideas amid these crowded haunts of men, and partly because dissent had been to a great extent divorced from the land and compelled to take refuge therein. Moreover, religious persecutions abroad had driven many foreigners, chiefly of the industrial classes, over to England. As a rule they set- tled in the towns, bringing with them new industries, new ideas, and a spirit of resistance to dogma, which lent a great impulse to the spirit of rational inquiry already springing up. Com- merce, too, was increasing in importance. Under _ - the early Stuarts it had flourished and grown commerce, strong. With Charles IL it was almost a hobby. Long internal peace had greatly assisted its progress. The chief manufactures were wool, iron, and hardware. The African trade and the Russian trade occupied a great amount of energy and capital. The East India trade was attaining such im- portance that two great companies were competing eagerly for this valuable traffic, and bid fair to ruin themselves in the attempt. The mercantile navy had increased in tonnage be- tween 1698 and 1715 by over a million. The towns grew con- tinually owing' to the extinction of the yeoman class, which was one of the results of the difficulties attendant on the transfer of ■S^M 1 2 Introduction, land. The ordinary modes of conveyance were so intricate and expensive, and the fictitious importance conferred on its pos- sessor rendered land so desirable, that little was brought into the market except by the smaU proprietors. The latter naturaUy sought fresh fields of industry in the towns. Ut London. ^^^^^ London was by far the most important. Its growth at the beginning of the 17th century was so rapid that James I. considered it dangerous to his power, and issued proclamations forbidding the erection of houses round London. This repressive policy was continued by Charles I. He exacted large sums of money from the City,- and even deprived it of its lands in Ireland. The result was that London became the mam strength of the Parliamentary party during the Civil Wars. Clarendon counts it as a great advantage to the Parliament that they were possessed of London, which supplied them not only with large sums of money, but also whole armies of menr It was the London Trained Bands who defeated Eupert at Brent- ford, and raised the siege of Gloucester under Essex. In fact during the early periods of the war they played much the same part as Cromwell's Ironsides did later on. Under the later Stuarts London increased rapidly in size and wealth. The great calamity of the Pire was really productive of good, for it enabled the wasted quarters to be built anew on far superior principles. This great city had always been on the side of reform and resistance, and with it, as a rule, had marched all the commercial interest of England. The trading Honied ^^^ monied classes were therefore Whig by tradi- rallTmig?" ^^^^ ^^^ ^y circumstance. But in addition, the two great Companies, the Bank of England and the New East India Company, were Whig creations ; had bought privileges from the Whig Government. They naturally feared that a Jacobite Kestoration would be followed by the ^ cancelling of their privileges. The National Debt, moreover, was a result of the wars of William III. and Marlborough. The fear of its repudiation by the ally of Louis XIY. gave the whole monied interest a weighty reason for supporting the provisions of the Act of Settlement. The proof that this repudiation dread of repudiation was a real working influence in England against the Stuarts is shown by a letter of Atterbury, Bishop of Kochester, a strong Jacobite, in which he declares that the acquisition by the South Sea Company. of the Government Debt in 1719 was dangerous to the Jacobita The Whigs. 13 cause, because it rendered a large and wealthy body of men bound by interest to support the Hanoverian settlement. The third elenient of the Whig party was the Noncon- formists. Their politics were really dictated by ,„. . their religion. They had everything to hope ^ ^ from the Whigs. They could only look forward to oppression from the Tories. The Stuarts themselves were really more tolerant than their partisans. They had recognized that it was impossible to free the Catholics without allowing the Noncon- formists to share in that freedom, and so they had wisely deter- mined to include them. All such attempts,- however, had failed before the obstinate bigotry of the Church ; and the last effort of James II. directly led to the Kevolution. The Whig king, William, had then rewarded them with the Tolera- . , , tion Act, which practically freed dissent from ^^ whigs ; persecution ; and in 1695 Quakers were afforded legal protection by the permission to substitute a solemn affirma- tion for an oath. The Jacobite Tories, on the contrary, were violently hostile to dissent, and their accession to power was marked by the Schism Act, 1714, which excluded any dissenter from exercising the office of schoolmaster or teacher, in addition to his already extensive political disabilities. A ^ a\. Jacobite Eestoration, therefore, would mean in- \^^ Tories, creased persecution, and in consequence the accession of George I. was naturally welcomed as a deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, though these lofty expectations were destined to be considerably disappointed. Their numbers, too, made them a respectable element of the Whig party. In 1715 there were 1107 dissenting congregations in England and 43 in Wales. They reckoned in their body men like Baxter, Howe, and Bunyan, who would have done honour to any church. They had always been noted for sincerity and patriotism. The distinction which Clarendon draws between the Inde- pendents and the Presbyterians in 1646-7 might be aptly applied to the Whigs and Tories of 1711-15. The Independents, he says, were united under one leader, were determined on effecting some great object, and subordinated all less important details to this one aU-absorbing idea. The Presbyterians were divided into various parties with conflicting interests; they looked rather to individual details than one central point ; and it was the difficulty of reconciling the various interests of each section with the general interest of the whole party- which rendered it 14 ' Introduction. impossible to bring tbeir full strength to bear on any given point, and which necessarily caused their defeat. Tories. r^^^ Tories, like the Presbyterians, were dis- united ; and though the whole body were ardent supporters of passive obedience and divine right, yet they found it impossible to reconcile their religious with their political creed in the case of the Pretender. They were in consequence divided into three parties— the Jacobites or extreme Tories, the Tories proper, and the Hanoverian Tories, as they were later styled. The Jacobites were desirous of a Stuart Restoration, unde- ' terred bv the fact that the Pretender was a (2 Tories'.*^** Catholic' The Tories were desirous of a Stuart Restoration only on the condition that the Pre- tender should abandon the Catholic religion and embrace the doctrines of the Church of England. The Hano- i!l;?«^Tn".^«a verian Tories, who were led by Sir Thomas Hanmer, were strongly opposed to any negotia- tions with a Catholic prince, and were ready to acknowledge the Hanoverian succession provided a due share of political power were secured to them. How far the Jacobites were committed to any plot on behalf . of the Pretender is altogether uncertain; and it aco 1 ism. ^^^ never be exactly ascertained what were the real views of the leaders of the Tory party. The common view, B r h k ^^^ most probably the true one, is that Boling- broke was wholly committed to the Pretender, and that he ejected the Earl of Oxford from the ministry be- cause the latter would not go so far as to accept an unconditional Restoration. Eolingbroke's treason seems borne out both by his letters, by his conduct after his impeachment, and still more by the fact that the Elector had a personal objection to him for concluding the Peace of Utrecht, and therefore he knew there was no hope for him under the new dynasty. Jacobitism, therefore, was his only course. Harley, on the contrary, was Oxford certainly not a Jacobite, and his relations with the Dissenters and openly expressed contempt for the Jacobite creed of government would have rendered it impos- sible that he should have much sympathy with the Pretender. This is conclusively proved by the fact that the Jacobites them- selves regarded him with unconcealed distrust, and that he has never been reckoned among their partisans by the Jacobite historians. The Tories. 15 It was this very uncertainty and indecision, this impossibility of ascertaining how far each man was prepared to go, or what he was really contemplating, that J^acillatioa of constituted the chief weakness of the Tories, and Tones, threw all power into the hands of their enemies. Their leaders concealed their real designs from fear, and this concealment created distrust and disunion. It was impossible to get the Tories to work as a whole in any given direction, and still more impossible to do so when that direction was, or was suspected to be, a Stuart Eestoration. Bolingbroke himself said in a con- fidential letter to Lord Strafford: "The Whigs pursue their plans with good order and in concert. The Tories stand at gaze, and expect that the Court should regulate their conduct, and lead them on, and the Court seems in a lethargy." But Bolingbroke did more than any man to disunite and ruin the , Tory party. Whatever his real designs were, he contrived to turn the Tories to Jacobitism, and thus left the Whigs the only representatives of Eevolution principles, constitutional liberty, and religious tolerance. The fear of a revolution in Church and State, of repudiation and national bankruptcy, turned half the Tories into Hanoverians and discredited the whole party. Their real unpopularity was shown by the fact that hardly fifty Tory tnembers were elected for George I.'s first parliament. This comparison of these two parties proves that it was no mere series of isolated political occurrences that secured the accession of George I., but that the ^^^ usion. general feeling of England was in favour, if not of the Hano- * verian himself, at any rate of those principles of monarchy wMdi were embodied in the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement. To George and his supporters, however, it seemed that the Tories wished to deprive him of the crown, and ^ , - that the Whigs had secured it to him. The party result was that he relied entirely on the Whig party, and his Cabinet was drawn solely from their ranks. This threw all power into their hands, and they ruled the country almost without a break down to the accession of George III. He can scarcely be blamed for trusting the men to whom he owed the crown, but had a certain amount of room been left for the Tories, they would not have been driven over to Jacobitism, and so many of the troubles of the reign might have been averted. The immediate result was that the power of the Ministers was increased greatly by union, and that they relied 1 6 Introd ucTionr. more on Parliamentary support and good government than on royal favour. Moreover, George's interests being' ^o^v mment ^^und up mainly in those of Hanover, he in- terfered rarely in the management of affairs, and so from his accession the true period of Ministerial government' may be said to begin. At the same time this must not he- pressed too closely. The king still possessed great powers, and^ at times, when thoroughly roused, he could make use of them. The dismissal of Townshend for conduct personally displeasing to George I, the dismissal of Walpole by George II., and his reappointment, equally without constitutional reason, give striking instances of the fact that Ministers were not yet solely responsible to Parliament, but were stiU responsible to the monarch himself. The existence of the Pretender was reaUy a good thing for the growth of the constitution. It compelled the king, naturally despotic in temper, to trust his Ministers more than he might otherwise have done, and thereby strength- ened the Cabinet system. The result of this purely Whig triumph was apparently a' total change in the principles of both parties. The Apparent Tories had formerly been the ardent supporters of partT^ ^^ monarchy and legitimacy, of passive obedience, the politics. English Church, and the divine right of kings. The Whigs had formed the opposition. They had brought in the Exclusion Bill ; they had led the Eevolu- tion ; they had always been the strenuous advocates of the l^on-^ conformists. Now, however, the Whigs suddenly became the strong partisans of the monarchy, while the Tories developed into a virulent opposition, and in most cases drifted into Jaco. bitism and treason. The explanation, however, of this extra- ordinary transformation scene is extremely simple. Neither party had reaUy changed its principles in the slightest. It was the cu'cumstances that were entirely altered. The Tories still maintained their adhesion to the principles of legitimacy, divine right of kmgs, and the necessity of passive obedience to their will ; but this reverential feeling centred round the Stuarts alone and could not expend itself on the Elector, whom they regarded as an usurper whom it was a positive duty to resist. Real con- '^^^''' attachment to the Church was unchanged tiniiity of ?;\ ^^^^ y p^t in their eyes the Latitudinarian party Church of George I. was not the Church of pontics. England. To the Tories, therefore, resistance Transform A tion. 17 was the only means of remaining true to their old faith. The Whigs, on the other hand, now assumed the position of the supporters of monarchy. But ib was the constitutional monarchy of the Eevolution, of the Bill of Rights, and the Act of Settlement, not the personal rule of the Stuarts. The Government was in their own hands, and was carried on on purely Whig principles. The obedience they advocated was constitutional, legal, orderly. Moreover, the Church had now taken a different position. Catholicism had . been effectually excluded by the Act of Settlement and the Penal Laws. Church appointments became purely Latitudinarian, or Low Church. The rule of the bishops was a thing of the past. Convocation ceased to transact business after 1715, and Dissent, though still proscribed by law, was practically freed. The Whigs, there- fore, in supporting the Monarchy and Church under the early Hanoverians were really staunchly maintaining their old princi- ples, and it only required a Stuart Restoration to prove this. } • .^■^:-^ i 't c 18 State of Europe. •k': CHAPTEE II. STATE OP EUROPE. Section 1. — Results of the Peace of Utrecht. The Peace of Utrecht, like all great treaties, had left a number of questions unsettled, which were sure to rise again sooner or later. The object of the war had been to uphold the .balance of power and humiliate France. Circumstances had caused a com- plete change in the policy of some of the parties, and the result had been very different to what might have been expected from the victories of the allies and the exhaustion of France. England had been the chief gainer. She had ^^ *^ * acquired large colonial possessions. She had ob- tained a guarantee of the Hanoverian succession, and the exclu- sion of the Pretender from France. She had taken a prominent position as the leader of Europe against Louis. She had lowered the pride of France by successfully insisting on the dismantling of Dunkirk and later of Mardyke as well. Holland Holland had been rendered comfortable by the Barrier Treaty. She had obtained the right of gar- risoning with Dutch troops a line of frontier fortresses in the Netherlands which would secure her from sudden invasion. From this time, however, she diminishes in importance in Europe, ■ partly because she was overshadowed by the growing power of England, partly because she entirely withdrew from European ,,' diplomacy, hoping thereby to avoid expense and danger, gpai^ Spain and the American Colonies were secured to Philippe V. (Philippe of Anjou), shorn of the Netherlands, Naples, Sardinia, and the Milanese, which were given to Austria ; Sicily, which was given to Savoy ; and Gibraltar, which remained the prize of England. Really, how- ever, Spain gained by the loss of her distant provinces, which ^ : France, s 19 enabled lier to concentrate her resources more easily and effectually. Austria had gained nearly all that Spain had lost, hut she considered herself the lawful heir to all the Spanish dominions, and regarded with hatred '^^^*"*' alike the Frenchmen who had committed, and the English people who had agreed to the theft. Two new kingdoms had risen in Europe, Savoy and Prussia, ^the latter destined soon to play an important part in the affairs of Europe, owing to her well- ^^^^^y.*^* fiUed treasury and large disciplined army. France had come out of the struggle with the acquisition of Spain, but with the loss of her prestige, and at the price of the total exhaustion of the country. France, The questions that still remained to he settled were : (a) Should Spain or Austria obtain Italy % {h) Should Philippe of Orleans or Philippe of Spain succeed questions, to the throne of France in the event of Louis XV. dying young and childless? (c) Should the Stuarts or the Guelphs reign in England ? {d) Who should succeed to the Austrian dominions and the Empire on the death of Charles YI. if he should leave no male heirs ? Section 2. — France after the Peace of Utrecht. The last years of Louis XIY. exhibit a startling contrast to the glory which shone on his early successes. No . , longer the haughty dictator of Europe, he found lasY years himself obliged to offer the most humiliating terms to his enemies as the price of peace, with the additional mortifi- cation of receiving a contemptuous refusal. But though ulti- mately dissensions among the allies, and party struggles in England, enabled him to emerge from the tremendous conflict with fewer losses than might have been anticipated ; yet his country was reduced almost to ruin by the war, the treasury was empty, the revenue forestalled for several years ; the public debt had leapt to enormous dimensions; famine and pestilence had swept off the cultivators of the soil and still further impo- Terished the unhappy country ; misgovemment, -p • ^ * * mismanagement, and religious persecution had aU ^^ France lent their aid to cast a sombre shadow on the path of the aged monarch. What greater condemnation can be c 2 20 State of Europe, passed upon his reign than to say that he left France powerless and exhausted, that he brought nothing but misery on his people, that he gave a terrible impetus to the forces which were to bring about the Revolution *? jS'or did he himself escape. Trouble came heavily upon him, as it came upon all in France. Small-pox carried off his eldest son, the Dauphin. The latter's eldest son, the ®^ ^' dearly-loved Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, the handsome winning Duchess, fell victims to a malignant- fever, and died almost within a week of each other. Their ^ eldest son did not long survive his parents, and in two years more the unhappy monarch saw another of his grandsons, Charles, Duke of Berry, stricken by the grim destroyer. So of all the numerous descendants which had grown up around him there were left only a sickly child, Louis of Anjou, to inherit the crown, and Philippe Y., the King of Spain. Who then was to govern the country during the minority which seemed inevitable % Philippe was barred qufstion ^^ ^^® stipulations of the Peace of Utrecht, which France was scarcely in a position to break as yet. The next nearest member of the royal family, Philippe, Duke of Orleans, was of villainous life, was tainted with the suspicion of having poisoned his own relations, and more justly of intriguing. ^ for his own personal interest with the enemies of his country ■ during the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis, alarmed at the deaths in the royal family, legitimized his natural sons, the Count of Touloiise and the Duke of Maine. This, however, only added fresh comphcations by causing disputes between them and the dukes of France. At last, feeling his end ap- Louis' will proaching, he made the most elaborate arrange- ; ments for the Eegency, so as to give Orleans as much nominal and as little real power as possible. There was to be a council of fourteen regents, of which the Duke was to be the head ; the Duke of Maine was entrusted with the young king's education; Marshal Yilleroi with the control of the household. Louis hoped, by thus multiplying the number of officials and subdividing the supreme power, to secure the young king against the designs of Orleans. It was all labour in vain, .; Louis' death however. On the death of Louis all the discon- 1715. ' tented classes in France, the Parliament of Paris, the Jansenists, Huguenots, Freethinkers, and • Constitutionalists, united to upset the king's will and commit Philippe of Orleans, 2l the government entirely into the hands of Orleans. The weak- minded Duke of Maine yielded without a struggle, and Orleans at once assumed the supreme management of the kingdom. Louis XIII. + 1643. I Louis XrV. = M. Theresa + 1716 I of Spain. Louis, Dauphin, + 1711. Louis, Duke of Burgundy, + 1712. I I -I Philippe v., Charles^ Duke of Duke of Anjou, Berry, King of Spain. + 1714, s.p. Mdme. de , ,„ Montespan. Louis, Dakeof Maine. + 1736, Louis Alexander, Count of Toulouse, + 1737. I Phihppe, Duke of Orleans^ I Philippe, Duke of Orleans. Regent, 1715. Duke of Brittany, + 1712. I Louis XV. Philippe, Duke of Orleans, was a striking instance of the extraordinary combination of great qualities and _ ... . degrading vices which is so remarkable in the Orleans. Frenchmen of this unhappy 18th century. He was a man of unusual intelligence and foresight, an eloquent Speaker, a ready and capable soldier. Yet his nature was so enslaved by the pleasures of the senses, that all that was good in him was stifled by the most disgusting debaucheries. He began his government well, working on the lines of regeneration traced out by the virtuous and earnest Duke of Burgundy, but his will was so vacillating, and his distaste for work so strong, that he soon grew weary of solid and unattractive schemes for the re- form of the government, and especially the financial system, and surrendered himself easily to any project, however chimerical, provided it only dazzled with the prospect of great and imme- diate successes. But though he surrounded himself with un- worthy creatures of both sexes who exercised an unfortunate influence over him, yet, to his credit it must be said, that among his manifold amours he never allowed his mistresses any influence in business. His chief Minister was the Abbe, afterwards Cardinal, Dubois. . This venerable ecclesiastic's moral character was ^ .. , as bad as that of his master. He was sunk in Du^jois. , every kind of debauchery. He lied with such '.,4 consummate power and unblushing audacity that he seemed to 22 State of Europe, ** exhale falsehood from every pore/' He was ambitious, avari cious, and rniscrupulous in the extreme. And he was the ablesi statesman of his time. This man was the son of a small apothe- cary, and had risen by his own talents and suppleness to the post of tutor to the young Philippe of Orleans. In this capacity he acquired such a complete influence over his pupil that in aftei life the latter trusted him entirely. And it must be added that that trust was well repaid. Even before the death of Louis XIY., Dubois had arranged with the English ambassador, Lord Stair, a plot for dispossessing the Duke of Maine of the Regency by the help of English troops, if he found himself unable to do so by peaceful means. It was natural, therefore, that he should become the most prominent figure under the Eegency of Or- leans. This period is usually described as being remarkable for an . extraordinary and unwise change in the foreign policy of Erance, viz., the alliance with England. The explanation of this lies in the personal views of Orleans and the diplomacy of Dubois. The Peace of Utrecht had excluded Philippe of Spain from the succession to the crown of Erance. If that exclusion held good, Philippe of Orleans was the heir to the sickly child who at present occupied the throne. There seemed to be no doubt, however, that the King of Spain ' would not tamely submit to this dis- inherison, against which he had always protested, and it be- came necessary for Orleans to look round for an ally to aid him in the event of the succession falling vacant. Amongst the sig- nitaries of the Peace of Utrecht England seemed the most likely to agree with his views, for it had secured her large ac- cessions of territory, and had guaranteed the throne to the Hanoverian dynasty. Therefore, in spite of the indignation; which it had excited among large classes in England, she had gained too much by it to wish it overthrown. The interest of the new king, moreover, lay directly in supporting it. The Government of Orleans, therefore, while placing no obstacle in the way of the Jacobite exiles, was careful to lend them no assistance, thus providing for . friendship with England which- ever claimant to the throne should be ultimately successful. Sweden and Russia. 23 Section 3. — Northern Europe. During the War of the Spanish Succession a similar struggle had desolated the north of Europe. The kings of „ , Poland, Denmark, and Kussia, had hoped to take ^^ ^^^ advantage of the minority of Charles XII. of Sweden to wrest from him his Continental possessions round the Baltic. The young king, however, was endowed with ex- traordinary genius and enterprise ; he had at his command a well-filled treasury and disciplined army. He succeeded in turning the tables on his opponents with startling celerity. A rapid march enabled him to dictate peace to, Denmark at Tra- vendahl, 1700. Two crushing victories at Narva and Eiga, 1701, freed him from all fear of the Eussians for the time, and enabled him not only to wrest the crown of Poland from the weak grasp of Augustus of Saxony, but even to force humi- liating terms of peace on him in the heart of his own country, and compel the unfortunate monarch to write a letter of congra- tulation to Stanislaus Leczinski, the rival whom Charles had nominated in his place, 1704. After this he remained some time in Saxony, filling all Europe with terror as to what he would do next. At last the diplomatic talents of Marlborough succeeded in directing his superfluous energy against the Czar, whom he regarded, and rightly, as his true enemy. He had now, however, to deal with a very different Eussian army to the undisciplined mob of peasants who had permitted themselves to be slaughtered like (jj-eat sheep at !N'arva and Eiga. Peter the Great had devoted his life to organizing his unwieldy empire. JN'ot in the least disheartened by the total rout of the national levies, he had withdrawn into the heart of Eussia, and, like Washington at YaUey Eorge, or our own Alfred at Athelney, devoted himself to the task of organizing and disciplining an army w^hich could resist the furious onslaught of the Alexander of the North. He was determined to be no Darius, and, at the very moment when Charles was overrunning Poland and Saxony and giving law to- Europe, Peter with his new troops invaded Livonia, seized the , whole of the Swedish, Baltic provinces, and laid the foundations of the naaritime power of Eussia. At his bidding St. Petersburg rose full-grown amid the marshes and streams of the Neva. A strong fortress sprang up on the rock of Cronslot to defend the 24 State of Europe. new capital. Eussian fleets covered the waters of the ^^If of Finland and the Lake Ladoga. And so when at last Charles saUied forth on his errand of vengeance, more like some reckless knight-errant of the old Crusading days than a modern general, without aUies, communications, adequate forces, or even proper provisions, it seemed but the fitting denouement of the history ol the two monarchs that Charles should fly routed and desperate from the fatal field of Pultava, 1708. The strong Battle of 3^an had at last broken his back beneath the f-TOS^^^' weight of the huge mass that Peter had organized^ and hurled on him. The sun of Sweden's great- ness set in a sullen and inglorious twilight. From this time Charles, cut off from his own country, remained an exile in Turkey, an ungrateful i^ Turk^ pensioner of the Sultan, striving by every meaus, honourable or dishonourable, to embroil him with the Czar. At last his intrigues aroused the indignation of the Porte, and he was ordered to depart. He refused, and even resisted by violence an attempt to compel his obedience. When he was at length overpowered and made a prisoner, he feigned illness and took to his bed for some months. Meanwhile in his absence, Augustus of Saxony renewed his alliance with Prussia and Denmark, and easily Confederacy regained the throne of Poland. The Confederacy Sweden "^^^ strengthened by the accession of the Electors of Hanover and Brandenburg, all eager for the spoils of Sweden. The Emperor, anxious to prevent the war spreading into the Empire, tried to persuade Charles, who was still in Turkey, to consent to the neutrality of the Swedish provinces in Germany. This proposal, however, was scornfully rejected, and so the Confederates overran Pomerania, Bremen, and Yerden, till nothing was left to Sweden but the strong town of Stralsund. This alarming news brought Charles XII Charles back from Turkey. "When he arrived, his boots had to be cut off his swollen legs, for he had ridden all the way in sixteen days. What one man, or rather hero, could do to save Stralsund, that Charles did ; but the armies of the allies closed round the devoted town more and more surely, until at last the hunted monarch could only escape by running the gauntlet of the fleets that covered the Baltic. He fled to Sweden, raging against his enemies, and especially the Elector of Hanover, who had entered into the Confederacy Spain, 25 ^' - ^ feolely with the view of acquiring Bremen and Verden to round off his Electorate. 'Any scheme of vengeance, however wild, was sure to find favour in his eyes« At this moment he fell under the influence of Baron Gortz, an able and unscrupulous statesman, who had parsed into his service from that of the Prince of ^^^^ G-ortz. Gotthorp. Gortz proposed to buy the alliance of the Czar by the permanent cession of the Baltic Provinces (Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, and Carelia), and to support the Jacobites in an invasion of England. It was in pursuit of these schemes that he was brought into connection with Cardinal Alberoni, who was then the real ruler of Spain, Section 4. — Spain and Alberoni. Cardinal Alberoni, one of the most remarkable statesmen of the period, was an entirely seK-made man. His ,. . father was a poor and very illiterate gardener at Alberoni Placentia. The son had picked up some education among the Jesuits, had ingratiated himself with them by his ready tact, and rose steadily in the subordinate ranks of the Church. In time he contrived to obtain the favour of the Duke de Vendome, who commanded the French army in Italy in 1702, and this laid the foundation of his future greatness. He accom- panied Yendome to Spain, he was made ambassador of Parma at the court of Madrid, and he took a prominent part in securing the marriage of Elizabeth Farnese to Philippe V. on the death of his first wife. Naturally he acquired considerable influence over the queen, and in consequence became the real governor of the country. His language and habits were coarse, his character was patient, flexible, and intriguing ; but he was also skilful, laborious, and devoted, and possessed in a very high degree a genius for organization and government. He projected the total reorganization of the administrative system and the restoration of the prosperity of the country. It was a work of extraordinary difficulty, for Spain had been steadily declining since the days of Philippe II. However, he advanced surely if slowly. Abuses were hunted down and destroyed in aU Reforms the departments of government. The army was gradually re-established. A new and powerful navy was created. The chief strongholds were re-fortified and strongly garrisoned. 26 State of Europe. Trade was started afresh on a new and liberal basis. And Alberoni was at last able to boast that fivs years would see the complete rehabilitation of Spain. He intended to ^* use this revived power to recover as much as possible of the lost provinces. He hoped to upset the whole Peace of Utrecht, or, at the very least, wrest Sicily from Savoy, and dispute the possession of Italy with Austria. His designs were supported by Elizabeth Famese, a daring . and ambitious woman, who entered thoroughly Fames e '^^^^ *^^ national hatred of Austria, and longed to vTrench from her grasp the Spanish provinces in Italy. She had, moreover, some claims on Parma and Placentia, for she was the niece of the last childless Duke, and others on Tuscany, which seemed likely to fall vacant as well, of a still more shadowy character. She hoped to secure the succession for her own son, Don Carlos, the third son of Philippe Y. It was only too evident that the duchies would soon i'all vacant, and then she intended to use all the newly revived powers of Spain to decide the succession in her favour. War, therefore, was imminent between Spain and Austria, and that war Alberoni determined should end in the Community triumph of Spain. The question which troubled between^^' his mind therefore was, which side would the two Gortz and great powers, England and Erance, take. He Alberoni. hoped to buy the alliance of England by granting her commercial advantages. Erance, he con- sidered, would necessarily support her own creation, Spain. The personal interests of George and Orleans, however, outweighed what Alberoni saw were the obvious interests of their countries. They were determined to support the Peace of Utrecht ; and so he was obliged to look farther afield for allies. There was therefore this community of interest between him and Gortz, that their enemies were the same, France and England. CHILDREN OF PHILIPPE V. Philippe Y. m. (1) Marie Louise of Savoy ; m. (2) Elizabeth Famese + 1746. ■ Louis, Ferdinand VI. Carlos III. Philippe ob. 1725. (Don Carlos of (Don Philip) Parma, and after- of Parma. wards of Naples.) Ministry of Townshend, 27 .V HK \ CHAPTER III. MINISTRY OF TOWNSHEND. Section 1. — Early Measures, The Tories soon began to learn the truth of Bolingbroke's words on his own dismissal, that " the Tory party was „, „. . gone." With the single exception of Notting- ® ^^" ^^ ham, who had long been completely identified with the Whigs, the Ministry was drawn solely from the Whig party. Lord Townshend was made PrioDe Minister. His .colleagues were Lord Halifax, General Stanhope, Lord Cowper, the Earl of I^ottingham, and Sir Robert Walpole, the brother-in-law of Townshend. The Earl of Sunderland, the great Whig Minister under Anne, was practically dismissed from political life by being made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland ; and though the Duke, of Marlborough was again entrusted with the offices of Com- mander-in-Chief and Master of the Ordnance, he was without a shadow of his old power and hardly any confidence. The new Secretary of State, Charles, Viscount Townshend, was a man of an extremely amiable and benevo- Townshend lent disposition; but unfortunately he was also imperious and overbearing, impatient of contradiction, and extremely difficult to bend from his own opinion. His manner was coarse and rough, at times even to brutality. He had been engaged in political life since 1709, and had obtained a commanding position among the Whigs, which was greatly strengthened by his marriage with Sir Robert Walpole's sister, perhaps the most that can be said to his credit is that no man was ever more honest in his Ministry, or more free from any taint of corruption. The second Secretary, James Stanhope, was an nhooe accomplishjsd scholar, an able general, and an active 28 Ministry of Townshend, politician. He had distinguished himself alike as a commander of the English forces in Spain during the late war, and also as one of the most prominent managers of the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell, 1710. He carried into political life the same haughty and resolute spirit for which he had been remarkable as a general. Unfortunately, however, he had too little control over his temper, and this frequently led him into unseemly, passions and precipitate decisions. He was also far too open in his proceedings, and, though he frequently deceived foreign Ministers by telling them the naked truth, which of course they did not believe, yet this line of policy was evidently dangerous, and, moreover, very liable to fail. He was no doubt ambitious, as most great men are, but, in spite of this, his disinterested- ness was never sullied by the slightest stain of suspicion. Such were the two men to whom the destinies of England ,^ were in turn committed during the first eight supremacy. ^^^^^ ^^ George I. Perhaps it was wisely done that no Tories were admitted to office. It had become necessary to read the supporters of Jacobitism a severe lesson, in order to convince them that no truckling with treason would be tolerated, and that there was no room for them under the new dynasty unless they were prepared to accept it without lookmg back. George was certainly not the kind of man to succeed in carrying out the scheme of comprehensive govern- .ment, which had so signally failed already in the far abler hands of Wniiam ^III. and Marlborough. So on the whole it was a good thmg that it was not attempted, for scenes of faction in the Government, such as had embittered the efforts of William and baulked the triumphs of Marlborough, might have had fatal results now on the fortunes of the kingdom. Undoubtedly, however, the total exclusion of the Tories from public office had the mevitable effect of driving many of them over to Jacobitism, and exasperating the Jacobites into renewing the plot which had fallen through on the death of Anne. In January, 1715, the Parliament, having sat for six months General after the demise of the last sovereign, was dis- election. solved, and the country was thrown into all the ferment of a general election. The Jacobites at once took advantage of the situation. On the same day violent riots broke out at Birmingham, Bristol, Chippenham, Norwich, Jacobitism. ^^^ Reading. Similar scenes soon occurred ill almost every considerable town in the kinc^dom. Jacobitism. ' 29 The Dissenters were treated with, great violence. In London many of their ministers were burnt in effigy, and in numerous great towns their chapels and meeting-houses were totally wrecked. The popularity of old cavalier songs revived again. Men who sang-^ . ' The man in the moon may wear out his shoon ,,;; By running after Charles' wain j \^. \ ■ ' But all to no end, for times will not mend. Till the king enjoys his own again — :., applied the words to James III., as they had been applied to Charles II. in exile. Disloyal toasts in disguised forms came into fashion, such as : " Kit," or King James III. ; "Job," or James, Ormond, and Bolingbroke ; " Three pounds, fourteen, and fivepence," or James III., Louis XIV., and Philippe Y. ; and perhaps the commonest form of drinking the health of the Pretender unobserved was by passing the wine-glass over the water-decanter at the toast of "the king," thus transforming it into " the king over the water.'' '^^ On the meeting of the new Parliament, however, in March, the ^ Whigs had a large majority in the Lower House, and though the situation was undoubtedly for a Impeachment long time very intricate, yet from this time the troke ^^^" Whig ascendency was secured. The "^^Tiigs at once proceeded to vengeance. A secret committee was appointed to examine the conduct of the late Ministers in negotiating the Peace of Utrecht, and their blunders were painted in the darkest colours. On receiving the report, the House at once resolved on the impeachment of Bolingbroke, Oxford, and Ormond. Bolingbroke, however, foreseeing his danger, had already fled to Prance. Ormond at first went to the opposite extreme. He put himself openly forward as the leader of the Jacobite party, and thereby drew * upon himself the ban of the Ministry which he might otherwise have escaped. For there was no doubt that as a soldier he was bound to obey his orders, and as a statesman he had had no share in bringing about the Peace of Utrecht. Moreover, he was too powerful a man for them to rashly attack unless neces- sity impelled them. His bravado, however, did not last long. The news of his impeachment drove him to follow the example of Bolingbroke and seek security in exile. Oxford alone awaited his trial with firmness. He knew that, however much, 30 ' Ministry of Townshend, folly and shame might taint the negotiations at of Oxford; Utrecht, it would be impossible to twist them into a charge of treason. He pleaded that his acts had been done at the express command of the queen, and this, which appears to have been true, raised a question of peculiar diliiculty at a time when the doctrine of Ministerial responsibUity was not yet thoroughly understood. This undoubtedly had great weight with the Lords, and it is probable that they were additionally influenced by the consideration that it was not a very safe or constitutional course to found a charge of treason on the transactions of a peace, which had been sanctioned by two successive Parliaments. The result, therefore, was that when once vengeance had been satisfied by the attainder of Ormond and Bolingbroke, the proceedings against Oxford were after a while dropped. Meanwhile, riots and outrages were increasing m various parts of the country, and it became necessary to provide some stringent means of dealing with them. The Blot Act, j^JQt )^Qt ^ag therefore brought forward and ^^^^' made perpeti^al. It provides that " if any twelve persons are unlawfully assembled to the disturbance of the peace, and any justice of the peace shall think proper to com- mand them by proclamation to disperse, if they remain together for one hour afterwards, they shall be guilty of felony." By a subsequent clause the pulling down of chapels and build- ings is made subject to the same penalty. This act, though seemingly harsh and arbitrary, proved a most efficacious way of suppressing disturbances which otherwise would either have been unpunishable, or else have been dealt with by some strained construction of the Law of Treason, — a proceeding somewhat akin to hunting a mad dog with horse artillery. The Grovernment did not increase in popularity by its foreign policy. One of its first acts was to quarrel with Sweden on the purely Hanoverian question of Bremen and Verden ^^ Verden. These territories, which belonged to Sweden, had been sold by the King of Denmark to Hanover. George at once insisted on the despatch of an English fleet to the Baltic, and in this the Ministry acquiesced,, alleging that these provinces command the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, the natural inlets of English trade into Germany, and therefore it was to the interest of England that they should be in the hands of a friendly power in case of war. There was 1 \.%\ \ 'J' Jacobitism, 31 a great deal of truth in this argument ; but there was still more truth in the reply of the opposition that this remarkable view of British interests would never have occurred to the Ministry if the king had not been Elector of Hanover. The result of these unpopular acts and severities was that the tide of discontent ran stronger and stronger in England. Jacobite outrages and plots were reported in all directions. It was confidentially asserted that an invasion was imminent, and would be supported by France. The danger of a rebellion became so serious, there was so much uncertainty as to where it would break out, that officers were hurrying from London to all parts — to Chester, to Dover, to Newcastle, to Portsmouth, to Berwick, to Plymouth, to Hull, to Carlisle,— east, west, south, and north, the messengers went flying from the capital to whatever point seemed likely to prove dangerous. One hundred thousand pounds were offered for the body of the Pretender, dead or alive, if taken in England. Meanwhile, at the Tory coffee-houses in London the portrait of the Chevalier was passed from hand to hand. Eecruiting for his service steadily went on, even, it was reported,' among the king's own foot guards. The Whigs were scandalized to hear that a priest in Edinburgh had asked the prayers of his con- gregation for " a young gentleman who either was, or soon would he, at sea on a hazardous enterprise," The papers, however, ridiculed all idea of danger. The stout-hearted king stiU pre- served his dauntless demeanour. Then, on Nov. 8 th, expresses came galloping in post-haste from Edinburgh with the news of the raising of the Jacobite standard on the Braes of Mar, and the outbreak of the EebelHon. Section 2. — The Jacobite Rebellion o/ 1715. Many causes combined to create discontent in Scotland. The whole system of clanship which formed the basis of society in the Highlands, was founded g^^^^®^ ^^ on the half-feudal tie existing between the clans- discontent, men and their hereditary chief. The feeling of loyalty, therefore, beginning with the lower steps of the social pyramid, gradually concentrated itself with the greatest fervour 32 Ministry of Townshend, "\'^>i"\" round the person of the hereditary king. Moreover, the here- ditary king was a Scotchman himseK, and it Loyalty. ^^^ gratifying to the national pride to consider that England was ruled by Scotland, however far from the actual truth this flattering theory might be. Secondly, a here- ; ditary feudal quarrel had always raged between the powerful -'^ clan Campbell and the other clans who were jealous of its pre^' ;;0 dominance. This quarrel coloured the politics of the two J, , parties, and, as the Duke of Argyle, the head of the Campbells, had always been a staunch Whig, the rival clans were hotly Tory, not so much out of sympathy with the Stuarts as hatred of the MacCallum More. ' In the Lowlands the predominant influences were religious. The Presbyterians had long sufi'ered a cruel persecution, for religion's sake, at the hands of the Episcopalians during the . . reigns of Charles II. and James II. Their first ° ' act, therefore, after the deposition of James in 1688, had been the establishment of the Presbyterian reJigion, and destruction of the Episcopalian ascendency. With old wounds rankling in their hearts, it was not likely that they would treat their persecutors with over-lenity in the hour of their triumph. The Episcopalians, therefore, and still more the Catholics, looked to the Stuarts as their champions, and dreamt of a Eestoration both in Church and State. But — most im- portant of all — there was a standing quarrel between England ' Patriotism ^^^ Scotland as nations. The Scotch people had ' never forgiven the failure of the Darien Scheme,^^; which they attributed solely to the selfishness of England ; and they smarted under the yoke, which, they considered, had been forced on them by the Union. They were sharp enough to see that this Union really meant the gradual absorption of Scotland vf ; by England, and, however much this may have been to the advantage of the former country, all the elements of unreasoning patriotism were aroused against it. It is to this feeling that we owe the Jacobite song of the Thistle : — The Thistle at length preferring the Rose To all the gay flowers of the plain, Throws off all her points, herself she anoints. And soon are united the twain. But one cold stormy day, when helpless she lay. No longer could sorrow refrain, She fetched a deep groan, with many Ohon ' '' Oh, were I a Thistle again 1 '•' Death of Louis XIV. 33 Everything English therefore was thoronghly unpopular, and the extreme Nationalists regarded any act of aggression on England as a righteous retaliation. With the exception, there- fore, of the Campbells, the Presbyterians, and the commercial classes, who saw the real advantages of the Union, all Scotland was ready to hail the Kestoration of the Stuarts, and quite a respectable number were willing to fight for the cause. . To the success of such a scheme, three things seemed essential ; first, that the rising in England should take place simultaneously with that in Scotland ; secondly, that the Pre- tender himself should be present when his success.* ^ ^^ standard was first raised ; thirdly, that France should furnish some assistance. As it was^ however, partly owing to mismanagement and incapacity, partly owing to un- lucky circumstances, not one of these objects was exactly obtained. All the energies of Bolingbroke were directed, on his arrival in France, to extracting a distinct promise of assistance. The Ministers of Louis XIY., however, declared frankly that the maintenance of the peace with England was indispensable to the French nation in its then exhausted state, and that therefore no open sup- port could be afforded, but that secret supplies of money, arms, and ammunition, shoiild not be withheld, The truth was that Louis was disgusted with the conduct of the Whig Ministry, and especially with their insisting on the demolition of the port at Mardyke. Therefore he was willing to do them an ill turn a^ ,far as h.e dared. With this view he persuaded the King 6i-%>ain to supply a sum of money, and allowed a small squadron to be equipped at Havre at his own expense. The hopes of the Jacobites in this quarter were, however, dashed to the ground by the death of Louis in September, jj^^^j^ ^f Orleans, as we have seen, was rather inclined j^^^^g^ to friendship with England. Anyhow, he was determined not to commit himself to the Pretender, and so all chance of foreign assistance was gone. So far, then, the plot had been marked chiefly by ill-success. The flight of Ormond had given it the first blow. The death of Louis was a far heavier one. Under these circumstances Bolingbroke despatched a messenger to London to tell the Earl of Mar,— that he understood it to be his lordship's opinion that Scotland could do nothing effectual without England,— that England would not stir without assistance from abroad,— that 34 Ministry of Townshend. no assistance from abroad could be expected; and that his lordship would draw the obvious conclusion that the time for decisive action had not yet come. This message arrived too late. The Pretender had recklessly Lord M r hurried the matter on, and, without consulting Bolingbroke or Berwick, the two ablest men of his party, had entrusted the Earl of Mar with the duty of rousing the Highlands. Mar was a man of no capacity whatever, and to commit the expedition to his care was to ensure its failure. He now went to London, endeavoured to lull suspicion by an offer of service, and, finding it promptly rejected, gallopped down Aldersgate Street next morning, and took the great north road that led to the Highlands. His chief influence was in Aber- deenshire, north of the Grampian Hills. There, at the end of . August, he assembled the chieftains of the Jaco- the clans ^ ^^^® clans to the celebrated hunting- match at Braemar. Thither came the Marquises of Tulli- bardine and Huntley, eldest sons of the Dukes of Athol and Gordon, the Earls of Southesk, Nithisdale, Marischal, Seaforth, Errol, Traquair, Carnwath, and Linlithgow, the Chiefs of Glen- garry and Glendarule. He was joined later by Lord Panmure, the Mackintoshes, the Chieftain of Clan-Eanald, Hay of Kin- noull, and many other influential partisans. The Jacobite standard was forDially raised. James IIL was solemnly proclaimed, in the midst of the assembled clans. King of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; the rebellion had begun in earnest. Evil omens, ; however, from the very first heralded the fate of the rising, for no sooner was the standard erected than the ornamental ball at the top fell off, much to the dismay of the superstitious Highlanders. The Pretender was now obliged to make some ^ attempt to second his lieutenant. He left Lorraine, hurried . across France, and reached St. Malo in safety. There he found Ormond preparing to invade the English coast with a small expedition. The winds, however, were con- Ormondes *^^^^' ^^^ ^^ ^^^ unable to move, until the invasion. presence of the English fleet rendered any movement likely to be fatal. The English Government meanwhile acted with the greatest energy, promptitude, and severity. The Habeas Corpus Act''' was suspended ; the Riot Act used actively to suppress rioting ; the principal Jacobites arrested ; all available troops moved up at once to the West, where the real danger was supposed to He • Progress of the Rebellion. 35 fresh regiments organized with all possihle speed; and help demanded from Holland, in accordance with the clause in the Treaty of Utrecht to preserve the Government Protestant succession. Lastly, Argylb was sent to the north to put down the Rebellion in Scotland. The vigorous action of the* Government had now really stamped out the flames which were breaking out with such fury, and, though some sparks still smouldered dangerously in the' north, it was merely a question of time, and the conflagration would be at an ' end. Meanwhile, Mar' had succeeded in raising an army of 12,000 men, and partially arming them with equipments carried off from an English vessel in the Forth by the gallant young Master of Sinclair. He was de^ the EebeUion sirous of carrying the war south as soon as possible, in order to- join the Jacobites in England, who, he considered, would rise en masse as soon as the Scots crossed the JBorder. However,, he found Argyle posted in front of him, with a much better army in point of weapons, if not of numbers. Argyle was prepared to- defend the line of the Forth River to the utmost, in order, if possible, to shut the Eebellion up in the Highlands, and compel it to wear itself out in ineffectual efforts. Mar wasted a great deal of valuable j^r * • time on the excuse of waiting for the Pretender, action, who was momentarily expected. But the neces- sity for action at last impressed itself on even his dull imagina- tion. Brigadier MackintoTsli was therefore entrusted with the command of a small force, with orders to cross the Firth of Forth, as best he could, and march straight into England. The dangerous passage was successfully accomplished in a fleet of open boats, and, after vainly attempting to surprise Edinburgh, Mackintosh, with his little army, struggled over the rough country of the Lammermuir to Kelso, and joined the !N'orth- umbrian insurrection. . The Northumbrian rebels were more imposing as regards names than numbers. They consisted of many of the leading men of the counties, but they iRebellion. were unable to muster more than 300 followers, and in consequence Sir Walter Scott describes them con- temptuously as **a handful of Northumbrian foxhunters." Their leaders were the Earl of Derwentwater, Lord Wid- drington, and Mr. Forster. The chief command was given D 2 36 Ministry of Townshend. to Mr. Forster, " not on account of his superior influence or station, still less from any supposed abilities or military know- ledge," — to quote the withering words of Lord Mahon, — " hut simply because he was a Protestant, and because it was thought unwise to rouse the popular animosity by placing a Papist at their head." They were joined by a similar rising of country gentlemen and Catholic peers from the south-west of Scotland, headed by the Earls of Carnwath, Nithisdale, Wintoun, and Lord Kenmure. The combined forces, which did not amount to much more than 500 horse, commanded by Mr. Forster, marched to Kelso, which Mackintosh had appointed as the meeting-place. " Then there is report of irresolute hurrying here, and of equally irresolute wending elsewhere, of scares and scurries, of hurried saddlings of horses, leaving mangers full of corn, and of panics — which sent crowds of rebels pell-mell into rivers, which they forded at great peril — and all to avoid General Carpenter, who was supposed to be on their heels." It was long before the Scots would consent to cross the Border at all, and matters had almost come to an open quarrel between the two nationalities before the invasion of Lancashire was finally decided on. ITever was an unlucky journey heralded ' by worse omens. They took the old western road, which passed ' by Solway Moss and Preston, through country which seemed to breathe of Scotch disasters. They received no assistance from the Catholics of Cumberland and Westmoreland. Though i they picked up a large body of recruits in Lancashire, it was only in the shape of an ill-armed, undisciplined rabble, who were more an encumbrance than a succour. They were driven like sheep from pillar to post by Generals Carpenter and Wills. Finally, when they found themselves surrounded at Battle of Preston, Mr. Forster insisted on retiring to Preston. ^^^» instead of preparing for battle. This, how- ever, was too much. He was hunted out by his colleagues, and it was decided that the army should confine itself to defending the town, abandoning the bridge over the Eibble; which was much the same as if the garrison of a beleaguered fortress were to . confine itself to defending the citadel, without attempting to dispute the outworks. A gallant resistance, however, was offered to General Wills*' troops, when they assaulted the town, and they were compelled to retire. This shows what might have been effected with better generalship. Early next morning General Carpenter J Battle of Sheriffmuir, 37 arrived with his cavalry, and, though even then the king's troops did not exceed 2000 men, this was enough to frighten Mr.- Eorster into surrendering at discretion,. Novem^ber 13th. Thus ingloriously ended the English part of the insurrection. The rebels in Scotland had not fared much better. Any man with the slightest pretensions to military knowledge would have been master of Scotland six weeks before. "With far less force," says Sir Walter Scott, '* than Mar had at his dis- posal, Montrose gained eight victories and overran Scotland ; with fewer numbers of Highlanders, Dundee gained the battle of Killiecrankie ; with almost half the troops assembled in Perth, Charles Edward in 1745 marched as far as Derby, and gained two victories over regular troops. But in 1715, by one of those misfortunes which dogged the House of Stuart since the days of Eobert II.,, they wanted a man of military talent just at the time when they possessed an unusual quantity of military means." Mar continued to linger at Perth, and by this senseless delay allowed Argyle f^^l^^ttir to obtain a large reinforcement from Ireland. In November he seemedTto^wake to an appreciation of the situation, and marched south towards Dumblane. Argyle, hearing of this, moved hastUy forward, and the two armies met, JN o^ember 13th, on the old parade-ground of the~TJenteiIlrmilitia, which was called the Sheriffmuir. The battle was hotly contested. The superior generalship^ of Argyle enabled him to take the enemy V left in flank and' drive them in precipitate disorder across, the Allan River, three miles distant. But the Royalist left was imable to withstand the furious onslaught of the High- landers commanded by Lord Mar and led by the veteran Chiefs of Clan-Ranald and Grlengarry. In a few minutes they gave way, and fled tumultuously towards Stirling. The two armies were therefore now in a very singular situation. Each had defeated the other's left, and yet the peculiar curve of the ground prevented either of the victorious divisions being aware of the fate of their companions for some time. When, however, inteUigence of Argyle's partial success was brought to Mar, his energy seems to have entirely deserted him, and without wait- ing to try the issue again with his triumphant clansmen, he quietly took the road to Dumblane. It was then that the indignant Highlanders gave vent to their thoughts in the cele- brated exclamation, " Oh for an hour of Dundee ! " The victory thus remained with the English, and the same day, November 38 Ministry of Townshend, 13th, had proved equally fatal to both branches of the insur- rection. Argyle now returned to Stirling to mount guard over the passage of the Forth. Mar retired also to waste more time at Perth. His partisans began to desert him. The Whig clans, too, were harassing the country of their enemies, and this fur- nished a good pretext for fresh desertions. All hope of an English Kebeilion was at an end, and so when arrives '^^ the Pretender landed, December 22nd, in the ancient kingdom of his fathers, the Jacobite cause was at about as low an ebb as it could be. Both James and the Scotch leaders were grievously disappointed, — he that their numbers were so miserably small ; they that he came unaccom- panied by an army. Bold and decided measures were at once agreed on ; but it only needed the news that Argyle was once - ^-g , more on the march for it all to end in a regular ' panic, which sent the insurgents helter-skelter off to Dundee and thence to Montrose. Argyle's advance was due to orders received from headquarters. The Ministry, in spite of their low opinion of the Pretender, could not believe that he would have come to Scotland unless he were supported by a French force ; and they considered immediate action the only way of stifling this fresh danger. As Argyle continued to advance, amid deep snow and the ashes of villages fired by the Jaco- deserts his ^i^^s, the Pretender took the mean determination friends. ^^ deserting his friends and returning to France. Having therefore completely deceived them by sending forward his baggage with the main body of the array, he and Lord Mar slipped out of the back door the night of the 4th of February, and embarking on board a small French vessel, landed safely at Gravelines. He left a commission behind him appointing General Gordon commander-in-chief ; but his own life was far too precious to risk any longer. Well might the scathing condemnation of Charles I. be applied to him : " Then IS no man who would he false to Ms countrij, false to his friends, false to himself; except the king^except the king:' The suppression of the Rebellion was followed by the im- peachment of the Lords Derwentwater, Kenmure, Nithisdale Widdimgton, Nairn, Carnwath, and Wintoun. The first six pleaded guilty, though some urged various pitiful pleas in ex- tenuation. Lord Wintoun pleaded not guilty and sustained a trial. They were all condemned to death as evident traitors ; The Septennial Act. 39 and then every kind of influence was brought on the king to obtain a reprieve. The combined petitions of the Lords, the ladies at Court, and the wives of the ^73J,'^^°^^^i* condemned, succeeded in saving Widdrington, ^ e re e s. Carnwath, and ITairn. Derwent water and Kenmure were exe- cuted ; but Fithisdale succeeded in escaping from Newgate in woman ^s clothes brought to him by his devoted wife ; and his escape was shortly followed by that of Wintoun, Mackintosh, and Forster. Of the rest, many olB&cers were hanged or -shot ; the common men were in some cases decimated and transported, in others punished lightly and released. "IBills of Attainder were passed against Mar, Tullibardine, and others, in their absence. Derwentwater and Kenmure died like men at Tyburn, staunch to their opinions ; but this terrible example served .to frighten many into loyalty who had long played recklessly with secret treason. The consequence was that, though rioting prevailed for some time in London and the large towns, violence gradually abated, and the Jacobites were obliged once more to pursue their schemes in silence until a fitting opportunity should again arise for open action. Section 3. — Tlie Septennial Act, 1716. The immediate and most important consequence of the Re- bellion was a change in' the duration of Parliament. There is no doubt that at the time the constitutional advantages of seven over three years, great as they certainly are, were , not of much weight. • The measure was a purely ^^liT^^il^ temporary one, devised to meet a great and pressing danger of the moment which no partisan of the House of Hanover could contemplate without alarm. In accordance with the Triennial Bill of 1694, Parliament, having now sat for almost three years, was about to be dissolved, and the country given over to all the licence and disorder of a general election at a time when a rebellion was hardly quelled, when an invasion was still threatened, and when the Government was highly ' unpopular among a large section of the people. The Ministry, alarmed at the prospect of riots at the elections and the possible return of a Jacobite majority, determined to bring in a bill prolonging the sittings of Parliament to seven years. The Septennial Act was therefore proposed in the Lords by the Duke of Devonshire, and carried by a majority of thirty. It 40 Ministry of Townshend, was then sent down to the Commons, where, after a warm contest, it finally passed by an overwhelming majority. The importance of the constitutional results of this Act was so great, that a slight digression on the subject may well be excused. It really completed the icork of the Revolution by eman- R suits cipating the House of Commons from the servile ^^^ ' dependence in which it had been held by the Crown and Lords. In the then corrupt state of the represen- tative system, a general election merely meant a fresh exercise of the influence of the Crown and Lords to secure members favourable to their views. These members, elected in this way, naturally became to a great extent mere mouthpieces of their patrons, and were held well in hand by the prospect of another election in three years, when their re-election could only be secured as the reward for unquestioning obedience, > The county members contrived to preserve a certain amount of independence ; but the representatives of the small corrupt boroughs, which existed in such numbers, were merely the nominees of the great landowners or the Crown, The result had been to give an undue importance to the Lords. Their seats were quite safe, and so they -were guided in their political conduct solely by their own personal views ; while, as a rule, each peer had' a number of vassals in the Commons whom he could rely on to act as the exponents of his opinions. It natu- rally became of the highest importance to Ministers to stand well with the Lords ; and so for the fii'st twenty years after the Eevolution the government was carried on mainly o/the from tliat body. The Prime Minister usually was Commons. a peer himself, or became one shortly after his accession to office. Nothings in fact, is more surprising to our modern ideas in the annals of that time than the readiness with which Harley, St. John, Stanhope, and other great Ministers, were moved up to the Lords without any adequate motive, and without considering the gap which their departure would make in the Lower House. The Septennial Act went a long way to remove these anomalies. The Commons, having now a longer lease of life, began to act independently of their patrons, and, assuming a more senatorial character, were guided by their own opinions in legislation Emancipation ^-^^ action, instead of acting merely as the of Commons. instruments of the Lords. The result was that the Commons gradually wrested the govern- Tncrease of Corruption; 41 ment of the country from the hands of the latter, and though this fact was not definitely realized till the next century, yet /from this time the Prime Minister was usually content with a seat in the Commons. Walpole, Pelham, and the younger Pitt, governed from the Lower House. So did the elder Pitt during his first great Ministry ; nor was it till his powers were faihng, and he was really unahle any longer to cope with the turbulence of a popular assembly, that he retired to the Upper House, and thus prepared the way for the speedy downfall of his Government. The immediate result, however, of the Septennial Act was undoubtedly to render possible the gigantic systems of bribery by which Walpole, !N"ewcastle, and later George III., held in hand their docile majorities in the Commons. The removal of the sliffht check exercised on members by their , ^ - • patrons and constituencies, at a time when public corruption opinion had little or no influence on the pro- ceedings of Parliament, naturally rendered their support more valuable to Ministers, and themselves more open to corruption. It became customary, therefore, for Ministers to strengthen the attachment of doubtful allies and reward the devotion of sturdy partisans by considerations, sometimes in hard cash, sometimes in the equally acceptable form of office or pension. The only danger was that it might happen that a man of no virtue or honour might raise himself to the position of Prime Minister by dint of vast wealth which he had plundered from the nation, and maintain himself by the same means, regardless of the oppo- sition of all the ancient families, all the men of sense, figure, and fortune in the nation. This danger was very eloquently painted by Sir William Windham, a prominent Tory, in a stirring speech advocating the Kepeal of the Septennial Act, 1734. It was, however, undoubtedly considerably coloured by party malice, and the best answer to this argument is that the danger never did actually arise. The history of the eighteenth century proves that the people did possess a certain amount of influence in Parliament which made itself felt in times of real excitement, nor could the most would-be-despotic king or Minister resist the progress of public opinion long. The results of the Septennial Act were, in the long run, de- cidedly beneficial to the Constitution. The publicity of debates and the growth of parliamentary reporting since then has enabled the constituencies to keep a watchful eye on their 42 Ministry of Townshend, representatives, while the balance of public opinion is pretty faithfully indicated by the Press. Corruption resuuf ^ has therefore died a natural death, and a Minister has to rely mainly on the value of his measures to obtain the support of Parliament, though it is impossible to entirely exclude the undesirable influence of other and meaner considerations. The constitutional results are the great justification of the Act in the eyes of posterity. Its immediate advantages were undoubtedly its strongest recommendation to the Ministry. Still the evils of the old triennial system were Objections to thoroughly appreciated and ably advanced by Parliaments. ^^^ Whigs. Sir Eichard Steele drew a ludicrous picture of the proceedings of a Triennial Parlia- ment. The first year was devoted to quarrelling over the elec- tions. The second to quarrelling with the policy of their predecessors. The third in trying to carry out some policy of their own, until the approach of a fresh election terrified them into doing nothing at all for fear of ofiending their patrons. " Thus the state of England," he concluded, " has been like that of a vessel in distress at sea ; the pilot and mariners have been wholly employed in keeping the ship from sinking ; the art of navigation was useless, and they never pretended to make sail." Moreover, Lord Somers and Speaker Onslow, both very high authorities on constitutional matters, declared that the Septen- ; nial Act would be the greatest possible support to the liberty ;l of the country. This foresight, however, must have been confined to a very few of the more thoughtful politicians. Shortly after the passing of the Septennial Act, a bill was carried which disqualified for sitting in the House of Commons p, , .,, any person holding a pension from the Crown during pleasure or for a number of years. This indicates that the dependent state of the Commons and its causes were beginning to be realized. Section 4,^ Schism in the Ministry, 1716. The king now determined to revisit his beloved Hanover.' So in spite of the advice of his Ministers and the manifest in- Schism m the Ministry, 43 repeal of tlie restraining clause in the Act of Settlement. This motion was singularly enough passed in Parlia- ment without a dissentient voice, and so the first ^^^g^^^j^®" ohstacle to his departure was easily removed, ^nd Prince The second, however, was of infinitely greater of Wales, dimensions. It always was a peculiarity of the House of Hanover that the head for the time being could not get on with his Prince of Wales. Out of five Princes of Wales that have succeeded to the title since the death of Anne, four have gone into bitter opposition. George I. entertained the most invincible jealousy ot his son. It had arisen originally in -Hanover ; it had been inflamed by an unsuccessful Tory pro- posal to aUot the prince 100,000^. as a separate revenue ; and now it stood in the way of the obvious constitutional course of appointing the Prince Kegent during his father's absence. Townshend naturally took advantage of this to urge again his own objections to George's departure from England at all, and to insist that, if the king persevered in his determination, the ancient constitutional practice with regard to the Regency should not be receded from. George therefore was obliged to give in, and the Prince was appointed guardian and lieutenant of the realm, an old title once ftnarrel be- conferred on the Black Prince, which seemed to ^^rTownf- imply less power than that of Regent. The tend, opposition, however, offered by Lord Townshend to this outrageous wish of the king produced a coolness between them which George's Hanoverian favourites skilfully contrived to fan into a rooted distrust on the part of the king. These favourites were his two mistresses, created respectively Duchess of Kendal and Countess of Darlington, his chief advisers Bothmar and Bemsdorf, and his private secretary Robethon. These worthy people were highly dissatisfied at tbeir share of the English plunder, which fell far short of what they had ex- pected. They hated Townshend, whom they re- « r^jgHanover garded as their chief enemy, and they hoped and ^^^^ „ pined for a new and golden era under some Minister of their own choosing. It therefore was really ex- tremely unfortunate for Townshend that Stanhope, a man of great ability and high in favour with the king, should have been selected to accompany him to Hanover. Another difference shortly arose between the king and his Minister on the subject of Mecklenburg, which Russia had 44 Ministry of Townshend-, invaded apparently with tlie intention of seizing it. George insisted on war with Kussia ; Townshend main- ^^e'luon^''''^ tained that war with Eussia would free the hands of Sweden, and enable Gortz and his master to support the cause of the Stuarts, to which they seemed inclined. The matter was finally settled by the withdrawal of Eussia, but the breach between George and Townshend was considerably widened. They soon came to an open collision. George was desirous of an alliance with France to counteract the growing power of Spain and the uncertain attitude of Austria, who was too much irritated by the Treaty of Utrecht and the Barrier Treaty to be friendly towards England. Dubois and Orleans, after some haggling over the terms, agreed to give up the cause of the Stuarts on the condition that England would AUiance guarantee the exclusion of Philippe Y. from the Crown of France. All that was necessary to conclude this alliance was the consent of the Dutch, and as the peculiarities of their constitution caused some delay, George impatiently insisted on signing the treaty without them. Townshend, however, refused to throw them over in this way ; and this opposition brought the quarrel between king and Minister to such a crisis that it only needed a recommendation from the latter, that the Prince Eegent should be entrusted with additional powers, to cause his dismissal by the irritable king. The quarrel was afterwards patched up for a time ; only, however, to break out again with greater violence To^nXid^ very shortly afterwards. The result was the l^l^ * final dismissal of Townshend and all his fol- lowers, including Walpole and Pulteney, from the Ministry. Ministry of Stanhope, 45 CHAPTEE lY. MINISTRY OF STANHOPE, 1717-21. Section 1 . — Gortz and Alberoni, 1717-21. The result of the Ministerial crisis was tliat Stanhope became the head of the Government, as iGbrst Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunderland and Addison Secre- \ taries of State, James Craggs Secretary at War, while the Duke \ of Newcastle brought his vast family and parlia- . mentary influence into the Ministry as Lord ^^^ ^^' Chamberlain. Lord Cowper retained his old post of Lord Chancellor. The Government had to contend against the vigorous and unscrupulous opposition of th^ followers of Walpole and Townshend. The first act of the Ministry was to conclude the Triple Alliance with France and Holland, by which these three powers agreed to guarantee those Hanc 1717 clauses in the Peace of Utrecht which had refer- * ence to the Protestant succession in England, the succession of Orleans to the Crown of France, and the renunciation of Philippe V, It was the conclusion of this treaty which opened the eyes of Alberoni to the hopelessness of expecting the assist^ ance of either England or France in his schemes against Austria. He therefore determined to act without them. It was at this time, when he was seeking for fresh allies, that he came into connection with Baron Gortz. Gortz had succeeded in persuading Charles XII. to ally him- self with Eussia in order to wreak vengeance on ^qj^^'s Blot • , the Elector of Hanover. Peter the Great, who was irritated by George's high -handed interference in the Mecklen- burg affair, entered willingly into the plot on condition that the Baltic Provinces, which he had conquered from ^6 Ministry of Stanhope, -^ '^-^^ Sweden, should be permanently ceded by that power. The design was that a body of 12,000 Swedes should proceed to Scotland and be taken into the pay of the Pretender. This, it seemed, might be very easily effected, for no one had the slightest idea of the scheme, and with favourable winds Scotland and Sweden were not much more than forty-eight hours' passage apart. Gortz therefore went to the Hague, and carried on active communications with Count Gyllembourg and Earon Spaar, the Swedish ministers at the Courts of St. James and Versailles. He also opened negotiations with the Pretender, the Duke of Ormond, the Duke of Maine, and — most important of all — Alberoni The latter entered warmly into the scheme; and furnished a subsidy of one million livres. Gortz therefore was able to elaborate the threads of his conspiracy, which in- cluded not only the invasion of Scotland by the Swedes, but also two simultaneous insurrections of the Jacobites in England - and the adherents of the Duke of Maine in France. Stanhope, however, had long suspected what was going on. Some letters, therefore, between Gyllembourg and Gortz were seized by the Government,, and gave them a full clue to the whole conspiracy. Gyllembourg was arrested on the ground ' its failure *^^^^ ^® ^^^ violated the Law of J^ations, and thereby lost his international character, by con- spiring against the Government to which he was accredited. His papers were thoroughly examined, and fully confirmed the charges of the Ministry. This vigorous action was followed by the arrest of Gortz by the Dutch, which was far less justifiablei^ as Gortz was only conspiring against an ally of Holland, noli against the Dutch Government itself. This removal of its head paralyzed the limbs of the conspiracy, while the conspirators were afraid to move now that the objects of their attacks were placed so thoroughly on their guard. Alberoni was not yet ready for open war, and was therefore Alberoni. 7.^^^ unwilling to show his hand. He required ' time to perfect his reforms, and he was states- man enough to realize the danger of plunging recklessly into • hostilities before his preparations were complete. The irritable pride of the king, however, took the matter out of his control, and forced him into war in spite of his openly expressed reluc- tance. The king was already furiously angry with Austria, whom he regarded as the spoiler of his fairest provinces This feeling was thoroughly reciprocated by Austria. So when the Alberoni. 47 Austrian Government ordered the arrest, of the Spanish In- quisitor-General on his way through Lombardy, in order to get what information they could from his papers 'with regard to the designs of Spain, Philippe was so highly incensed at the deliberate insult that he insisted on declaring war at once. War being inevitable, Alberoni was determined that it should be successful. An expedition was sent to conquer Sardinia, and thence to proceed to Sicily. Here, however, the Triple Alliance thought fit to interfere, and imperiously oTdered Alberoni to give up all his designs on Italy, ^^^ between promising in return to secure the succession of gpain Parma and Tuscany to Don Carlos. The emperor was to be induced to agree to these terms and to give up his ridiculous claims to the title of King of Spain, by being allowed to exchange his barren island of Sardinia for the more fertile and important Sicily. Alberoni, however, furious at the domineering tone of the powers, peremptorily refused to accede to their views, and determined to revive again in a more extended form the conspiracy which had fallen helplessly from the hands of Gortz. Dubois and Stanhope therefore entered into active communications with one another. Dubois even came to London to facilitate the despatch of business. The result of these negotiations was that England, France, Holland, and Austria, entered into- a ftuadruple Alliance, 1718, by which they agreed to compel Spain, if necessary, Qp^adruple to abstain from interference in Italy, and to ^^^g ' accept the terms offered her already by the Triple Alliance. Undeterred by this threatening combination, Alberoni organized armaments at home and intrigued for help abroad with equal vigour. He artfully excited the indignation of the Duke of Savoy ag9.inst the proposal of the powers to make him accept Sardinia instead of Sicily, and at the same- time gratified liis acquisitive propensities by promising him. part of the Milanese; He encouraged the Turks to continue the war with Austria, though repeated thrashings had inspired them with a desire for peace. He roused up -qIq^^^^^^ Eagotski, the exiled prince of Transylvania, to attempt the recovery of his ancient principality from the House of Austria. He persuaded Charles XII. and Peter the Great to forget their old animosities and combine together for vengeance on George I. He arranged am invasion of Scotland, which was to be headed by the Duke of Ormond, with ships, troops, and ■^ 48 Ministry of Stanhope. money, suppli^ed by Spain. Lastly, he incited aU the discon- tented elements in France, the Protestants, the Jesuits, and the adherents of the Duke of Maine, to rise simultaneously and overthrow the Government of the Eegent. Bad luck, however, pursued the conspiracy from point to point; and it merely added one more to the extraordinary series of political bubbles for which the period of ?h ^b^bbl^^ George L is so remarkable. By judiciously, if ^ ^ ®' not very generously, sacrificing the Venetians, George was able to obtain the Peace of Passarowitz for Austria, which satisfactorily ended the Turkish War. Admiral Byng destroyed the Spanish fleet off Cape Pesaro, and thus put an end to any further notions of invading Italy. The Quadruple Alhance brought so much pressure to bear on the Duke of Savoy, that he repented of his dangerous bargain with Alberoni, and accepted the hard terms of the powers. Charles XII., impatient of the delay, and bentjon war with some one, invaded Norway, which belonged to his old enemy, Denmark, and was accidentally shot while prosecuting the siege of the Death of frontier fortress of Friedrichshalle, a fitting end ins * ^0 ^^s tempestuous career. Gortz was executed as a traitor on the death of his master, the king- dom was declared elective, a republican government was estab- lished, and the crown settled on Ulrique Eleonore, the youngest .sister of Charles. Prom this time Sweden was entirely occupied with internal disputes and lost all importance in Europe. Peter the Great, seeing the failure of the conspiracy and the waaimess of Sweden, gave up all idea of interfering in England or Prance, and continued the old war with his ancient enemy amid unvary- ing successes. The north was thus entirely neutralized, and all the outlying branches of Alberoni's plot cut off. There still remained, however, the two insurrections in England and Prance, and the Jacobite invasion, from which great things might still be expected. The French plan was to seize the Duke of Orleans at one of his pleasure parties, convoke the States- General, proclaim the King of Spain Regent of France, and the Duke of Maine his deputy. Intelligence that some such plot was on foot was sent to the Regent both by Stanhope and the French Ambassador at Madrid, The Government, however, bided its time. The stupidity and carelessness French plot. ^ of Prince Cellamare, the Spanish agent, enabled Dubois to acquire documentary evidence of the Fall of Alberoni. 49 plot, and this was followed immediately by the arrest of the Duke and Duchess of Maine, Cardinal Polignac, M. de Pompadour, Prince Gellamare himself,, and all the heads of the conspiracy. War at once ensued. The Duke of Berwick took the field with a French army of 30,000 men, and a series of successes soon amply revenged the intrigues of Alberoni. Meanwhile the Jacobite invasion had met with no better fortune. The stars in their courses seemed literally to fight against the House of Stuart. A small armament, a duodecimo edition of the Spanish Armada, did actually start from Cadiz under the command of Ormond,.but it was caught by a tremendous tempest in the Bay of Biscay, which handled it so roughly that only two frigates succeeded in reaching the coast of Scotland. The Earls Marischal and Seaforth, the Marquis of Tullibardine, and about 300 Spanish troops, Failure of ' landed and were ioined by a few hundred High- *^® Jacobite luvaiSiOii landers. They were easily suppressed, however. j^^iD. ' The Highlanders fled back to their caves and glens to mourn another defeat. The Spanish soldiers surrendered to the Eoyalist army and were sent to London, where they be- came quite the rage among the ultra-Tories. The unfortunate chiefs of the expedition succeeded eventually in escaping to Spain, after lurking in the Western Isles for some time till the ardour of pursuit had abated. In revenge for this aggression, an English squadron appeared off the Spanish coast, and, while the French army reduced the northern fortresses, the English fleet destroyed the arsenals, ships, and all the naval materiel which had been created with such difficulty for the new Spanish navy by Alberoni. Spain could not hold out in the face of these disasters. It became necessary to yield, and Alberoni made overtures, for peace. Stanhope, however, was determined to insist on the dismissal of Alberoni himself as the first pre- liminary. This determination naturally produced a great effect at Madrid, where the Minister was of Alberon? beginning to be regarded, with the usual in- gratitude of monarchs, as the author of the calamities of Spain. Moreover, he had always been unpopular, owing to his low birth and his genius. A combination of all the influential people took advantage of his ill-success to work on the unstable mind of Philippe, and the result was the ignominious dismissal of certainly the greatest Spanish statesman between the periods ^qf Olivarez and Aranda, He retired to Italy, where, after 50 Ministry of Stanhope, narrowly missing the Papacy on the death of Innocent XIII. , he died Legate of Bologna, 1752. „ After some attempts at haggling, which were foiled by the union and firmness of the four powers, Philippe agreed to accede to the Quadruple Alliance, January, 1719, thus making it Quintuple. Savoy therefore ceded Sicily to Austria, in ex- change for Sardinia, receiving in addition the jt^jg ' '' title of king of the latter country. The Spanish troops punctually evacuated Sicily and Sardinia within six months. Parma and Tuscany were guaranteed to Don Carlos, on the death of the present dukes. It was further arranged that a congress should meet to settle all outstanding questions to the general satisfaction. Dubois and Stanhope now turned their attention to the north, where war was still raging. Sweden, in her weakened state, had been only too glad to conclude a treaty under George's mediation, yielding him in perpetuity the Duchies of Bremen and Verden; acknowledging Augustus- of Saxony to be the rightful King of Poland \ ceding Stettin and some pieces of Swedish Pomerania to Prussia. The Danes and Eussians still remained obstinate, determined to totally ruin Sweden. Stan- hope, therefore, resorted to coercion. A British fleet was sent to the Baltic, Denmark was forced at the point of the bayonet to accept a peace, and the Eussian fleet was driven in inglorious ^ flight from the Swedish coast. These three SU)?kholm Treaties with England, Poland (in which Prussia 1719-20. ' ^^^ included), and Denmark, form the Treaty of Stockholm, 1719-20, which is also known as the Peace of Queen Ulrique. Peace, however, was not concluded between Eussia and Treaty of Sweden till 1721, when, by the Treaty of Nystadt,1721. ^ystadt, it was agreed that Eussia should , retain Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, and Careha, restoring Finland to Sweden. The firmness, skill, and union of Stanhope and Dubois had therefore laid the foundations of peace for twelve years in Europe, though it was purchased at the expense of Venice, Sweden, and Spain. Section 2. — Troubles at Home, t All through this period Stanhope's Government had had to Troubles at Home. 51 deal with the virulent opposition of Walpole and his party, and the harpy-like rapacity of the king's German favourites. A charge of fraud and embezzlement I°ipeacbinent was brought against Lord Cadogan, who had been ° adogan. concerned in the transport of the Dutch troops sent over to assist in putting down the Eebellion of 1715. The attack was led by the Jacobites, who really were disgusted at the zeal and ability he had shown in Scotland. To their astonishment, however, they were supported by Walpole and Pulteney, solely with the malicious desire of embarrassing the Government. Similar factiousness was displayed by this party with reo'ard to the impeachment of Harley, Earl of Oxford, which had dawdled on now for nearly two years. Failure of Walpole and Townshend were determined to o^^^ari^"^^^* save their old enemy. Pure shame prevented 1717^^ ^^' their openly advocating his cause, but they art- fully contrived to embroil the Houses of Lords and Commons on the subject. The Lords were induced to send a message to the Commons to the effect that they would not receive any evidence on the charge of misdemeanour until the accusation of treason had been argued out. It was well known, however, that the latter could not be substantiated, and this resolution was merely a blind, under which Harley was to escape. The Commons considered themselves insulted, and refused, in con- sequence, to proceed with the impeachment at all. As the managers did not therefore appear on the next day appointed for the continuance of the trial, the Lords, after going through . the solemn farce of waiting for a quarter of an hour for those who they knew were not coming, declared the impeachment at an end, In 1719 Walpole's conduct became even less justifi- able. Stanhope brought in a wise and enlightened measure for the Kepeal of all the Penal Laws against the Dissenters, and mitigating the miserable position of the Eoman Catholics. It is a remarkable fact that this , Minister, whose foreign policy was so despotic, should have anticipated, by more than a hundred years, the gi-eat relieving measure ?®j!^?*^ ^ *J^® of Lord John Russell. Obstacles, however, at ^7^9^ ' once sprang up. The resistance of the Tories, the High Churchmen, the Walpole Whigs, was foreseen, and in consequence the bill was presented to Parliament in a very mutilated form, practically amounting to merely a Repeal of th^ Schism Act. In spite of all his previous pledges, Walpola E 2 52 Ministry of Stanhope, and his party bitterly attacked the bill, and it only passed by a majority of forty-two. The smallness of this majority pi^ecluded any further attempt to relieve the Dissenters by legislation. Nor was it till the first year of George II. that the expedient was hit upon of passing a Bill of Indemnity for those who had entered municipal office without properly qualifying by taking the sacrament in the English form. This measure, which was repeated from that time almost annually, practically threw open nearly all offices to the Protestant Dissenters as fully as if the Test Acts had been repealed. This same year, 1719, was also remarkable for the introduc- tion of the Peerage Bill. The object of this Peerage Bill, ^^ ^^^ partly to effectually shut up the entrance ' , of the House of Lords against the German favourites of George, partly to obviate any dangerous attempts on the part of the Prince of Wales-, when he ascended the throne, to swamp the Whig majority in the Lords in his exasperation against his father's Ministers. The shadow of Harley still stalked darkly across the political horizon, and the memory of the creation of twelve peers to force the Peace of Utrecht through a hostile House was yet fresh in the minds of men. The king was easily induced to consent, and little opposition was expected from the Lords. The bill provided that the English peers should not be increased beyond six, except in the case of princes of the blood \ that for every extinc- tion there might be a fresh peerage created ; that the sixteen elective peers of Scotland should be transformed into twenty- five hereditary peers, whose numbers should be filled up, as occasion required, from the remainder. The bill was a purely party measure, and would have had very dangerous consequences to the Constitution. It would have shut the House of Lords against any reinforcements from the ranks below them, and thereby made them an exclusive body. Moreover, as they were entirely irresponsible, and had no fear of a general election dangling before their eyes, they would have been extremely difficult to influence, even when they were opposed to the general voice of the people. The present century has given repeated instances in which the Lords have found themselves in direct opposition to public opinion, and have only yielded after considerable pressure has been applied. It is easy to imagine that they would not have yielded at all, had it been impossible to apply such pressure, and that in consequence Return of Walpole. 53 many necessary and salutary measures must have been thrown out. It might well seein fraught with impending evil that such a body, irresponsible, permanent, drawn from a particular class only, and that class one which has by no means shown itself the most eager for political progress, should be entrusted with a general veto on legislation. Fortunately, however, public indignation was aroused against it. Steele employed all his wonderful talent in exposing the secret evils of the measure. Walpole, still in opposition, both spoke and wrote against it, and on this occasion his hostility to Stanhope was -undoubtedly of great service to the country. The landowners were indignant that the House of Lords should be thus effectually closed against them, and that there should be no future possi- bility of obtaining that honour, "save through the winding- sheet of a decrepit lord, or the grave of an . . . extinct noble family." Therefore, though the measure passed easily in the Lords, it was thrown out in the Commons, after an animated debate, and vthe Constitution was saved. To modem ideas it seems as though Stanhope ought to .have resigned at once after a defeat on such an important Govern- ment measure. This view of the matter did not, however, occur to him, and nothing shows more clearly how little the true principles of party government were understood at the time. So far was the Ministry from being shaken by their failure, that they immediately received ^®a?pTle°to a new accession of strength. Walpole and his oflaoe. party, tired of languishing out in the cold of opposition, and despairing of producing any effect on .the adamantine armour of the Government, came over, in a body to their enemies, regardless of prejudice, principle, and personal rancour. Walpole became Paymaster of the Forces, and Townshend Lord President of the Council. Nothing can paint in more glaring colours the extraordinary political morality, or immorality, of the time than that the latter should, apparently for the sake of office solely, accept a subordinate position under his rival, in whose favour he had been ejected from the first place. And yet Townshend bears the highest possible character among the statesmen of his day. 54 Ministry of Stanhope. Section 3.— The South Sea Bubble, 1720-21. This strong Government, which seemed so invulnerable to its enemies, was^ however, on the verge of a convulsion, which was to break it up entirely and destroy the men with whose names it was associated, leaving to Walpole the task of gathering together the fragments that remained, and building them up into a new and still more invincible Ministry. The origin of the South Sea Scheme was the general alarm NationalDebt ^^^^ which the increase of the National Debt was regarded. Under Queen Anne the pubHc liabilities had gradually augmented to fifty-two millions, owing to the enormous expenses of the wars. It was popularly imagined — and this opinion was shared by the greatest statesmen — that the nation could not bear such an enormous sum, and that national bankruptcy must be the ultimate result. A certain amount of justification existed for this idea in the fact that at this time France was nearly ruined by the immense weight of her public debt, that twice during the century she was obliged to declare herself bankrupt, and that the grand difficulty which beset the ministers of Louis XVI. was. to invent some plan for Frencli ." <^^o^i^g the deficit," in other words, of equaliz- S finance. i^g expenditure and revenue. France, however^ * was in a very different position to England. Her whole financial system was radically bad. Only half the nation —and that the poorest half—contributed to the direct taxes at all Moreover, the sum actually raised from the people at the end ot Louis XIY. was reaUy greater than the annual expendii 4/ ture, but half of it never came into the coffers of the State, '" owing to the ruinous system of collection. France was steadily on the decline, and she sinks lower and lower during the century. The Mississippi Scheme nearly destroyed her, whereas England ' came out of the South Sea Scheme with wings but slightly singed. H ranee, m fact, was a poor country. England, however, English !L^^ 1^ ^ ^^I'y different condition. The Peace Of prosperity. Utrecht laid the foundation of her commercial *^ rrr^w Tf P^^^^j'^V^ Hud from this time her trade steadily " WW ? T '*/r^ ^^ ^ P"^'" ^^ '^^^^^ unexampled duration, and by a policy of free trade. The productiveness of the labour pfl r^T ^^ was enormously augmented by the great mechani- cal inventions of Hargreaves, Crompton, Arkwright. Stevenson. y National Debt, 55 and Watt. The result was a vast increase of the wealth of the • country, which enabled it to bear with ease a burden many times as heavy again as that which frightened financiers in the early days of the eighteenth century. It is true that a national debt is always a dead weight hanging round the neck of a nation, and that the heavy taxation necessary to pay the interest of the debt at once raises prices and reduces profits. But it is possible to recognize this, and yet at the same time comprehend that the danger which alarmed the contemporaries of Walpole was to a great extent imaginary in the circumstances of the country. The real prosperity may be illustrated by the fact that, though under William, Government borrowed money at seven or eight per cent., under Anne the rate was gradually reduced to five per cent., though much higher interest was paid on the old debt, consisting mainly of irredeemable annuities^for long terms. Private persons, however, could borrow money on good security at four per cent. The object of financiers at this time was to pay off as much as possible of the debt itself year by year, and lessen the rate of interest on the remainder. In ^aJ\^^ °^ this way a large annual saving would be effected. National Debt. The most promising plan for this appeared to be to consolidate all the various portions of the debt into one fund and give it into the hands of a Company, who should receive much lower interest from Government, and should be empowered to make some satisfactory arrangement with the general mass of the Government creditors or fundholders. The Company which brought forward this proposal was the South. Sea Company. It had been founded in 1711 by Harley, in order to provide for a floating debt of ten millions. A floating . debt being one which is payable on demand by ^q^x^x. Sea Co. the creditor, the Government would have been threatened by the continual prospect of some creditor asking for repayment at a time when they might find it inconvenient to meet this liability. An arrangement therefore was made with a Company. The interest was secured by permanently setting aside a portion of the customs for its payment ; the Company agreed not to demand the principal ; and as a bribe they were given the monopoly of the trade of the South Seas, from which great things were expected. These golden aspirations were not, however, realized. The Peace of Utrecht gave England only. the right of importing negro slaves into the Colonies (a right which was known as the Assiento), and of sending one ship of 56 Ministry of Stanhope. under 500 tons burden annually to the South Seas. This scanty concession had, however, heen rudely interrupted by the war with Spain, and so not much had come of it. The Company,, however, had other more fertile resources, and, backed up by the Government credit, it was in a very flourishing condition/ Sir John Blunt, the leading director, proposed in 1719 to take , over the whole of the National Debt as part of the woposllg.^''*'^ capital of the Company on the foUowing terms. ' The Company would endeavour to arrange with the creditors that they should either receive the value of their shares in the funds in shares of the Company, entitling them to* a share in the dividends of the Company, which might be more or might be less than the interest given by Government, and would probably be a great deal more ; or else they would pay them in full, if they preferred it, at the rate of eight years and a quarter purchase. So far, then, the scheme was perfectly .;; honest, and offered considerable promise. So advantageous did . it seem to the Company that the Bank of England entered into competition with it, and offered better terms. The result was, that after a struggle between the two Companies, the South Sea Company consented to pay seven and a half millions to Govern- ™ ment as the price of the bargain, and so carried the day. The seven and a half millions were used to pay off the debt ; those creditors, who were willing, exchanged their shares in the funds '• for shares in the Company ; and thus the Company became sole ' Government creditor to the extent of sixteen millions, receiving "ll! only five per cent, till 1727, when they were to receive four! Most of the annuitants accepted the exchange, and so great was the credit of the Company that several large subscriptions of capital were filled up at once, thus supplying ready money for commercial speculations. The most exaggerated hopes were raised, owing to the extraordinary belief in the powers of credit; ' which almost approached an unreasoning superstition. Stories, too, were floated that the Government intended to exchange^^ Gibraltar and Minorca for some mines in Peru. England had Bubbles ^^^^ ^^^' ^^^ ^^^ ^^® ^^^® believed anything^ The result was that South Sea stock increased/ ? enormously in value, and in consequence went up steadily in price until at last it touched the astounding sum of lOOOZ. for the lOOZ. share. Walpole, who had invested some money in the Company, judiciously sold out at this high price, thereby .i' realizing a handsome fortune, but the majority of the infatuated ^ South Sea Bubble, 57 speculators held on, hoping for enormous profits. It was gravely proposed that the yearly dividend should not be less than fifty per cent., and this incredible rate might in itself have warned the nation^ of the unstable ground they were walking on. A mania for speculation, however, had set in. All ranks, profes- sions, and parties flocked to Change Alley, where stock-broking was carried on. The crowds were so great, that tables were set in the streets with clerks at them. Bubble companies of every kind sprang up to delude the unwary. The strangest possible schemes were gravely started ; among others, — for importing a number of large jackasses from ^Spain, — for transmuting of quicksilver into a fine malleable metal, — for a wheel for a perpetual motion^ — and many more, which all found eager support. One enterprising individual even advertised that he would receive a subscription of two guineas "/or an enterpi^ise which shall in due time be revealed^^ promising to give in exchange a share of one hundred in the project. One thousand of these subscriptions were actually paid in, but the projector was never seen again afterwards, and so the project was never revealed. So far, however, the South Sea Company had violated no law of political economy ; and though members of the Government and many others had received bribes of fictitious capital as an inducement to favour the Company, yet these transactions, disgraceful as they were, had nothing to do with the bursting of the bubble. The Company, however, had made the mistake of supposing that credit is capital. Credit is not capital. It lacks one essential property of capital, xnistake namely, intrinsic value, and therefore it is only a means of obtaining capital,— in fact, the power of borrowing. Matters therefore were all very well as long as the Company's credit remained good. But if by any chance it were shaken, if a panic were to set in and the creditors begin to demand pay- ment en masse, how was the Company to pay off those sixteen millions of credit which it had taken on from Government, and which really did not exist at all in hard cash 1 This danger the Company did not see. Inspired by greed, they prosecuted the promoters of some other speculations, and thereby credit was generally shaken. Men began to realize their money hastily. At last a panic set in ; the price of all shares fell . enormously ; by September the South Sea stock ^ had fallen from 1000?. to 135?. for the 100?. share. This was 58 Ministry of Stanhope. bigli enough in itself, and it shows the real solidity of the Company, but it meant ruin to those who had bought in at 1000?. Then a storm arose against the Company. The misery and ruin was so wide-spread, and the exasperation of the country was so great, that, though the whole transaction between the Company and its creditors had been perfectly honest and legal, yet the Government was forced to yield to popular pressure. A parliamentary inquiry was therefore instituted. Then it became evident that many members of the Government had received bribes from the Company, that fictitious shares had been given to the king's mistresses, that the hands of the directors were not perfectly clean. And so the tide of popular fury rose higher and higher at each fresh dis- engeance. covery, till it swept away alike the Company and the Ministry. Earl Stanhope himself died of a violent rush of blood to the head, consequent on a violent debate in which he was attacked with great acrimony by the Duke of "Wharton. James Craggs the younger, fortunately for himself, died sud- denly of small- pox. His father committed suicide, rather than face the result of his shame. Mr. Aislabie, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was found guilty and expelled from the Com- mons. Charles Stanhope escaped censure by a majority of three only. Sunderland, though he was acquitted by a large majority, found himself so unpopular in consequence of his supposed delinquency, that he was obliged to resign all his offices. The ground had now been almost miraculously cleared for Walpole, who, indeed, it was generally felt, was the only living financier capable of dealing with such a crisis. He proceeded to confiscate the property of the directors ; the Government bribe was refunded ; all just debts were paid ; the sufferers were compensated as far as possible ; and the remaining capi- tal, amounting to about thirty- three and a half per cent., was divided among the proprietors. There was not the slightest doubt that the directors had committed no crime known to the law, and that, in the words of Gibbon, it was merely an act of popular vengeance, and totally contrary to justice. But national indignation against the *' Cannibals of Change Alley," "the betrayers of their country," was so strongly exasperated, 3 that Walpole was practically obliged to bring in the retro-" spective Act of Parliament to satisfy the popular desire for i revenge. m Walpole. 59 The deaths of Stanhope and the two Craggs, and the expul- sion of Aislahie, followed shortly after by the death of Sunder- land, left Walpole without a rival in the field. The electors of 1722 confirmed the ministerial ^ ^° ®* majority, and Walpole's long reign of twenty years set in, 60 Walpole and George I. §8oofe 11— WALPOLE, 1721-42. CHAPTEK L WALPOLE AND GEORGE L, 1721-27. Section 1. — Home Affairs. - ' Robert Walpole was born in 1696. His father was a Norfolk squire, who sent him to Eton and educated him for the Church; - His elder brother, however, died early in life and left Ixim the heir to the family estate, which fell to him on the death of his father, 1700. He then selected a parliamentary career, and took ^ Sir Robert ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ family borough of Castle Rising J' Walpole. ^^ *^^ Whig interest. At first his oratory was ' anything but successful, and it was only by careful application that he was able to conquer the unfavour- able impression created by his first failure. Once started, how- ever, his fame as a debater gradually increased, and at the same ' time he rose steadily through the minor governmental offices. The accession of the Tory Ministry of Harley brought evil days on all the supporters of the late Government, and Walpole had to endure a condemnation for corruption, followed by expulsion from the House. Probably the charge was false. Anyhow, the temper of the House was such at that time that they would have believed an angel guiltj of corruption if he had happened to be a Whig. The accession of George I. restored Walpole to office ; and from that date, in office or in opposition, his fortunes are intimately connected with the history of his country until the day - when the reins of power were wrenched from his tenacious grasp. The popular excitement which followed the bursting of the South Sea Bubble revived the hopes of the Jacobites. They were additionally stimulated by the birth of the Young Pre- 4 .i J .i -.i .i J -. Return of Bolingbroke, 61 tender, Charles Edward, or the Chevalier de St. George, as he was later styled. This inauspicious event took place on the last day of the year 1720. Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, an able and ambitious prelate, hoped uut ^^^ ^ to take advantage of the general ferment to effect the Stuart Eestoration, which all good Englishmen were sup- posed to be pining for. The usual- fatality, however, befell this unlucky schemer which dogged the footsteps of all the abler partisans of the House of Stuart. He could not get the principal Jacobites to agree on any definite plan. He could not persuade them to select any of their number as chief. Dubois not only refused to assist them, but gave information to the British Am- bassador, who very soon communicated the intelligence to his own Government. Then, while chaos was raging in the Jacobite camp, the strong arm of the law came down on the leaders of the conspiracy ; the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended and the troops called out. The attaint and banishment . . of Atterbury, which followed, gave a. mortal Atterbury. wound to Jacobitism, the effects of which lasted for more than twenty years ; while the successful policy of Walpole at home and abroad, and his steady alliance with France, rendered any similar attempt utterly hopeless. Nothing more clearly showed the strength of the Government and the real hold which the Hanoverian settlement had obtained on the nation, than the fact that Walpole was able in a period of great popular ferment to deprive and banish the most brilliant and most popular Churchman of the day. The year 1723 was marked by the return of Bolingbroke, who, disgusted with the ingratitude and the imbecility of the Pretender, had intrigued with BoHng^roke the Court and Ministry to obtain a complete 1723. ' restoration. This Walpole was unwilling to consent to. A pardon was indeed allowed to pass the Great Seal, but the Act of Attainder was studiously not reversed, in order to exclude the ex- Jacobite from the House of Lords. His offers of service were contemptuously rejected, and Walpole showed most clearly that he had no intention of effecting any reconciliation with the Tories. This, no doubt, was in a great degree owing to the extraordinary thirst for uncontrolled power which was Walpole's besetting sin, and which was eventually to cause his ruin by driving every man of ability in the country into the bitterest opposition. The rejection of Bolingbroke's overtures was shortly fol- 62 Walpolk and George L lowed by the dismissal of Lord Carteret, one of the Secretaries of State — Lord Townshend, the former Prime Dismissal of Minister, being the other. Carteret was a man of 1724^^^ ' *^® ^^^^ brilliant parts, and high in favour with the king. This predilection was the result of the Minister's profound acquaintance with continental pohtics, and his well-trained knowledge of the German language, which few of George's new subjects had taken the trouble to acquire, in spite of the fact that the king could converse in no other tongue. This favour excited the jealousy of Walpole, who could not endure the idea of a rival. He therefore took the earliest opportunity of practically dismissing Carteret from political life by requiring the king to confer on his favourite the Lord- Lieutenancy of Ireland, a demand which George very unwillingly complied with, 1724. Ireland was at that time a prey to unreasonable and out- rageous excitement. That unhappy country, ever prone to be led into violence by the artful denunciations of ambitious and designing men, had been lashed into a state of extraordinary madness by Swift's Philippics against Wood's hllf^ence lialfpence. In 1722 Walpole had given Mr. 1722-24. ' William Wood, a retired ironmaster, a patent for manufacturing copper halfpence and farthings^ - for Ireland to the value of 108,000Z. The coinage in Ireland was in such a bad state that some influx of copper money was absolutely necessary, and this plan, after a careful inquiry by Sir Isaac Newton, the Master of the Mint, ai^d by Walpole himself, ^'as decided to be the best and fairest that had been proposed. The sole arguments that could be urged against it were that a heavy bribe had been paid to the Duchess of Kendal to obtain her countenance, that Wood himself would make a slight percentage on the transaction, and that he had very unwisely talked big about thrusting his halfpence down the throats of the Irish if they objected in the slightest. Un- fortunately, however, the question was not to be judged on its own merits, as indeed few acts of the " ^axon " are in Ireland. Swift, smarting under enforced and distasteful inaction conse- quent on the accession of the Whigs to power, bent all the won- derful genius he possessed to falsify the facts of the case, and to hound the Irish people on against the English Government. In rapid succession he issued, one after another, the celebrated Drapier's Letters, in which a frightful picture of impending Schemes of Bolingbroke, 63 misery was drawn in the most glaring colours. Common- place facts were moulded into the most startling fictions. The prosaic ironmaster was transformed ?^f?^®^'^ into a monster battening on the blood of a nation, while ever overhead gloomed the huge dark portentous shadow of Walpole gloating over the suJBferings of his victims. But with such consummate ability was it done, and with such a thormigh knowledge of his countrymen, tha^. he soon had the whole mob of ** savage old Irish," as he scornfully called them, howling at his heels for vengeance on Wood. This ferment Carteret found it impossible to quell. Further perseverance seemed likely to end in rebellion. Walpole therefore decided to withdraw the patent. In the next year disturbances broke out in Scotland. The Scots had the strongest disinclination to pay their share of the burdens of the kingdom, and had resorted to every kind of shift to evade the payment of the Malt Tax. This tax was now commuted for a duty of threepence ^^^\^^^ on every barrel of ale, A great commotion ' ensued in Edinburgh, and the brewers refused to brew. It was so obvious, however, that the chief persons who would suffer by this irrational proceeding would be themselves, that very shortly interest carried the day, and the brew-houses were soon hard at work again. The chief result of the ebullition was the abolition of the office of Secretary of State for Scotland, and Walpole now took the management of the affairs of that country into his own hands in order to hold it under closer control. In 1725 Eolingbroke was restored in property and person, though not in peerage. Thus excluded from parliamentary life, he became the extra-parliamen- BolSc^roke tary wire-puller of the Opposition. He found an unexpected and most powerful ally in Pulteney. Pulteney had long smarted under a sense of ill-requited merit in the subordinate post of Cofferer. At last he ventured on open rebellion in a debate on the Civil List. Walpole at once dismissed him into the cold of opposition and the arms of Bolingbroke. Between them they planned a remarkable paper, called the ** Craftsman,'' which was devoted solely to attacking the Government policy root and branch, and everybody at all connected with it. They soon gathered round them a strong body of able writers and skilled statesmen. The "Crafts- man.*' 64 Walpole and George I, including Windham, Shippen, and Carteret. A few heavy payments secured them the support of the Duchess of Kendal, who was always open to a hribe, and who indeed with consider- able impartiality received pensions from both Ministry and Opposition. The result of this last accession to his following was that Bolingbroke concocted an elaborate plan for the over- throw of the Government. A paper containing a list of accusa- tions against Walpole was to be given to George, and the Duchess was to request an interview for Bolingbroke that he might make further revelations. Unfortunately, however, for the . hopes of the conspirators, George consulted Walpole himself, of all people in the world, as to what he should do. Walpole advised "^ him to see Bolingbroke and hear what he had to say. The king was so delighted with the courageous advice that he received Bolingbroke, listened to his denuncia- Failureof tions, inquired coldly "if that was all," and mg r . iiearing that it was, turned on his heel and left the baffled schemer without another word* Once again had '^ Bolingbroke heaved the Sisyphus' stone up ■ the steep sides of the hill till he almost reached the top and gazed upon the sun, and once again it had slipped from his grasp and bounded down, crashing into the depths below, leaving nothing but a weary sense of wasted labour behind. The indefatigable Duchess, ^f however, bravely supported her new friends, and kept Walpole i in a continual state of uneasiness as to the effect of her schemes.- ;1 He therefore found himself beset with dangers at a time when foreign policy, owing to fresh and extraordinary revolutions of the political wheel, was demanding his utmost attention. Nor was it till George died at Osnabruck in 1727, that the malign*^' influence of the Duchess was completely removed from his path. The period which has been sketched in the last pages was so Jacobitism. extremely uneventful at home that the nation was at last given an opportunity of settling steadily down under the new dynasty and once more cultivating the arts ' of peace. Jacobitism in consequence dwindled and drooped. A great seed-plot of sedition had been removed by the practical ,1, suspension of the powers of the Lower House of Convocation in 1717, which had always been the centre of Jacobite intrigues. Convocation ^^^.^ ^^^ ^^ consequence of the controversy into prorogued, which it had entered with Hoadley, Bishop , . 1717. of Bangor. Government wisely prorogued the ■* Foreign Policy. B5 angry ecclesiastics, and from that time down to 1850, though Convocation was regularly summoned, it was as regularly pro- rogued at once. Its chief focus being thus removed and its principal leaders alienated, Jacobitism lived chiefly on sentiment; nor was it till the outbreak of the great war on the deposition of Walpole that any opportunity was given to the exiled family to reassert their claims. Section 2. — Foreign Folicy^ 1721-35. Ever since the fall of Alberoni a Congress had been sitting at Cambrai with the ostensible object of arranging undecided matters between the Powers. " Most inane Congress ever known," says Carlyle disrespectfully of this august assembly ; but in truth it effected nothing, and at last died o^^crtQ^s of of sheer inanition. The fall of Alberoni had can^rai. been followed by a complete change in Spanish policy. The queen saw that by maintaining the closest friend- ship with England and France she would more easily attain her designs on the successions to Parma and Tuscany. A com- mercial treaty was therefore entered into with England, by which Spain guaranteed once more the right of the Assiento, and the right of sending one ship annually to the South Seas to trade with the Spanish colonies. A treaty was also concluded with France, by which it was arranged that Louis XY. should marry the infanta, who was then only four years old. The child was in consequence sent to France to be educated according to the manners and customs of her intended subjects.. Meanwhile the emperor had been playing fast and loose with the Allied Powers. He had persuaded the Pope to set up a ridiculous claim to Parma and Tuscany as fiefs of Holy Church. He had established a trading Company at Ostend ^^^ j,^_ with the object of breaking the monopoly of the peror's tricks. India trade, which England and Holland stiU maintained. This Company was therefore very offensive to the Jilaritime Powers, and was moreover in direct contravention of the stipulations of the Peace of Utrecht. The natural result was insults on both sides. The English and Dutch seized some of the Ostend Company's ships. The emperor retaliated as far as he could by authorizing reprisals, which, however, were not very productive. Relations between the two courts weye r 66 Walpole and George I. therefore considerably strained, and the result was to draw closer the alliance between England, France, and Spain. Unfortunately during the tedious delays, which the Congress^ dignified with the name of deliberatio'ns, Elizabeth Earnese fell under the influence of a Dutch adventurer named Baron Ripperda. He had all the ambition, with none Kipperda. ^^ ^^^ ability, of Alberoni, and his chief claim to the confidence of the queen was his hostility to England.' Under Eipperda's influence she gradually became inspired with the belief that she would obtain more by private negotiations with the emperor than by being made the catspaw of the Mari- time Powers. Eipperda pointed out to her that Spain and Austria had hitherto only succeeded after years of war in weakening one another and aggrandizing Erance and Englandii;- Would it not be more expedient that they should reconcile^ their ancient hostility, concede mutual privileges to each other, ; and thus in the strength of that alliance arrange Europe as they wished in defiance of the Allied Powers ? Spain should receive. :■ a promise of the Italian duchies for Don Carlos. Spain in return should recognize the Ostend Company, and — which the emperor still more ardently desired — should guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction, that is the deed by which he had en- tailed the succession to his extensive dominions on his daughter Marie Therese. Circumstances certainly conspired in Kipperda's favour. In 1723 Philippe of Orleans died, and was succeeded by the Duke of Bourbon, a dissolute worthless descendant of the Greats Conde who is described in most Erench histories as Monsieur le Due. Bourbon, who had no claims to the sent back** Erench throne, was only anxious that, if possible,/ ' the succession might be perpetuated in the family of Louis Xy., not in that of Philippe of Spain. He therefore '. sent back with a very lame apology the child-wife which Spain had offered to Louis, and selected instead Marie Leczinska, the ^ daughter of poor old Stanislaus Leczinski, Charles XII.'s unlucky Polish King. The chief qualifications which this lady possessed besides personal merit were that she was of marriageable age, and was not likely after years of hardship to be very overbearing as queen, or to interfere with the ascendency of Monsieur le Due, ' . ■ -g Philippe went simply wild with rage, and Elizabeth Earnese was furious at the insult. "All the Bourbons are a race of devils 1" '^ Treaty of Vienna. 67 she stormed out with more truth than elegance ; — " except you, of ciourse, sire," she added, suddenly remembering her spouse's origin. The result was that, ** whipt of the Furies, " she threw herself into the arms of Austria, and Eipperda's triumph was complete. Spain and Austria now vied eagerly with each other in concessions. Spain agreed to ^reaty o^ guarantee the Ostend Company and the Prag- ^"^^*» ^^^^• matic Sanction, and to renounce all claims on Naples, Sicily, the Milanese, and the Netherlands. Austria to guarantee the Italian duchies to Don Carlos. Nor was this all. It was further arranged by a secret treaty that Don Carlos should marry Marie Therese and be secured the Imperial crown on the death of the emperor ; that Austria and Spain should unite to reconquer Gibraltar and Minorca ; that, if possible, the resto- ration of the Stuart dynasty should be effected. The secret treaty, however, was suspected at once by every one, owing to the magnitude of the concessions granted by Spain, without obtaining apparently anything like equivalent terms. It soon leaked out and jiistified the foresight of those who had looked behind the veil. This Treaty of Vienna was frightfully injudicious, and raised up a whole host of enemies who might have looked on com- placently if the terms had been more moderate. As it was, the only state which showed the slightest favour towards the ill- matched couple was Eussia, an ambitious, half -civilized power, which was guided solely by the caprice of a female despot ; and the chief result of this acquisition was to throw Sweden and Denmark into opposition. The rest of Europe viewed this threatening treaty with considerable alarm. The German princes as a whole dreaded the idea of an em- peror who should once more be supported by the Treaty of united forces of Austria and Spain. Their new- 1725°^^^* born liberties would soon have paled before such a master, and the old days of Charles Y. have returned again. Prussia, moreover, besides the general German grievance, had a special Prussian grievance. Frederic William saw pretty con- clusively that the emperor did not intend to confer on him the succession to the duchies of Julich and Berg, to which he had well-founded claims, if they fell vacant, which at the time seemed imminent. He thought he might get them guaranteed elsewhere. The result of these general and special causes of discontent was that Townshend, Walpole's Foreign Secretary, f2 68 Walpole and George I. was able to build up a huge rival League of Hanover, which included not only England, France, and Holland, but Prussia as well, Sweden, Denmark, and most of the petty German princes. For the moment all Europe stood ranked in opposing armies, and the eagles swooped low in horrid expectation. But the breath of war passed away as quickly as it had come. The emperor contrived to detach Frederic William of Prussia from the League by a half-promise of Julich and Berg, which could easily be repudiated later on, when the time came for fulfilment. This defection weakened the hands of the allies, and rendered them all ready to negotiate. Eipperda's triumph had been quickly followed by his fall. On his return to Spain he disgusted every one by his arrogance and boasting. The Austrian Ambassador found that the resources and intentions of Spain had been greatly overrated. The Spanish Queen was irritated at the failure of the Treaty of Vienna, p^rda* 172^". ^^^ ^^ Ripperda was suddenly disgraced in 1726. To avoid his fate he iled to the English embassy, where he blabbed out all the stipulations of the secret Treaty of Vienna, thus confirming Walpole's suspicions and justifying the conclusion of the League of Hanover, which had been the object of the Opposition's bitterest attacks. The fall of Ripperda disposed Austria to peace. The emperor saw that he had overshot the mark, and that he was more likely to win a general guarantee for his Pragmatic Sanction by timely and graceful concession. Spain, however, held aloof for some time. The siege of Gibraltar was pushed on with as much vigour as the Spanish military system was capable of. And for a very short time the Spanish Ajax posed before Europe, ineffectually defying the Britannic lightning. Gibraltar, however, was found to be absolutely inexpugnable. British squadrons shot out threaten, mgly m all directions. The Czarina died 1726, and a total reversal of Russian policy followed. Bourbon, it is true, was disgraced, but his successor, Fleury, drew still closer the aUiance with England. The great arch-enemy of Spain, Walpole him- self, after for a moment tottering unsteadily on the edc^e of a precipice on the death of George L, 1727, started on\ fresh career of power with as much steadfastness of purpose as ho had Act of the STt ^'^'''- ?'•'. Y i'P^' ^'^^ *^^^ Pardo, 1728. baffled, the queen, afraid that Philippe might die before things were settled, at last sullenly agreed to the meeting of a Congress by the Act of the Pardo 1728 •iy.* Treaty of Seville. 69 -m^ This Congress of Soissons, however, showed itself no abler for work than the Congress of Cambrai had done. The actual product of the wearisome haggling and quarrelling which went on there may be expressed by zero. The truth was, that the emperor, relying on his new Prussian alliance, from which he expected great things, showed from the very first that he had no real desire to effect a settlement of outstanding questions. This disagreeable fact at last forced itself so distinctly on the consciousness of the impetuous Spanish queen that she deter- mined to trust her enemies rather than her treacherous friend, and concluded the Treaty of gevme 1729 Seville with England and France. By this treaty ' it was arranged that the commercial privileges granted to the emperor should be rescinded and transferred to England ) that Parma and Tuscany should be guaranteed to Don Carlos, and that Leghorn, Placentia, and Porto Eerrajo, should be garrisoned by Spanish troops ; while the question of Gibraltar, which at first seemed likely to prave an obstacle to peace, was passed over in total silence equivalent to a total renunciation. The emperor therefore again found that he had overreached himself by his double-dealing, and merely irritated all parties. At first, hoTfever, he assumed a bold demeanour. He broke off aU negotiations with Spain ; turned a deaf ear to the threats of the Maritime Powers ; poured an army into Italy, and on the death of the old Duke of Parma seized on the disputed terri- tories. Every one, however, knew that he could be brought round at once by an united guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction. The influence, too, of the old hero of the Spanish Succession War, Prince Eugene, was steadily on the side of peace. Wal- pole had now regained complete ascendency in foreign affairs, owing to the withdrawal of Townshend from office, and was determined that Europe should not be plunged into war about such a paltry squabble. Negotiations were therefore once more opened with the emperor, who proved as tractable as h^d been expected. And so at last, in March, 1731, the Second Treaty of Vienna put an end to this Second Treaty strange political transformation scene. The y^^^ ' Powers offered an united guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction. The emperor agreed to abolish the Ostend Company. Spain confirmed to England the Assiento and the right of the annual ship to the South Seas. Lastly, Spanish troops took possession of Parma, Placentia, Leghorn, and Porto 70 Walpole and George 7. Ferrajo, to secure the succession of the Italian duchies to Doi Carlos. The policy of Walpole, therefore, though not always dignified and consistent, was so far successful that it kept England out of foreign war and enabled her to work out undisturbed the political development which was slowly being accomplished during this period. It was with this view that Walpole steadily refused to assist the emperor during the Polish fe'ss'on mr Succession War, which broke out in 1733, alleging 1733-35. ' that England was not at all interested in Pohsh elections, and was not bound to assist the emperor simply because he had got himself into trouble by interfering with them. There were in fact, however, two divisions of the war. The French o]ie, in which Eleury took advantage of Austria's interference in Poland on behalf of the Eussian candidate for the throne, Augustus of Saxony, to wrest from her the rich province of Lorraine, which France had so long coveted ; and to compel her to confer on Don ^?V'* J^^**^ Carlos the kingdom of Naples and Sicily in ex- 1735^ ' change for Parma and Placentia. The Pohsh one, in which the question was whether a Eussian or French candidate should be King of Poland, which was almost immediately decided in favour of the former. With the Polish question England certainly had very little to do, for the ferocious ambition of Eussia was not as yet understood, or indeed dangerous to Europe; but the. aggrandizement of France was a point of considerable import to England, and stimulated the already keen desire existing in the hearts of most French- men to avenge the disasters of the Spanish Succession War. .■fii Men of the Time. 71 -Nf'i,- CHAPTER II. MEN OF THE TIME, 1721-42, Section 1. — Walpole. Walpole's long career of office, extending over twenty years, cannot be divided by any arbitrary point of time, tb- i i . such as the death of George I. It was really one continuous period, marked solely by three definite events, by which for a moment his power seemed shaken to its foundation. These were the death of George I. in 1727, the Excise Scheme of 1733, and the death of Queen Caroline in 1737. On each of these occasions his enemies thought that the result, which they had so long toiled and struggled for, had at last arrived, and that they would mount to office over the prostrate body of the Minister. Far from this being the case, however, he con- trived to gather new elements of strength after each of. these events, as though the momentary contact with Mother Earth had reinspired him with magical vigour ; and rose again to pursue once more the same course of policy with greater deter- mination than ever. His home policy was tame and uneventful, marked by very few incidents of importance. In cjonsequence the Annalists of the period are driven to dilate at great length on the various shades of offence which caused the dismissal of one after the other of his supporters ; character of and to draw out in wearisome detail the monoto- ' nous story of victories won again and again over the furious onslaughts of the Opposition by the solid phalanx of voting- power which ranked itself steadily night after night along the Government benches in the House of Commons. There is little to excite enthusiasm or interest in the period. Even the dim halo of romance, which had long lingered round the luckless descendant of the Stuart kings, now died away in an interminable fog of petty disputes and undignified recrimiua- 72 Men of the Time. tions. And yet there is mucli that should attract the careful study of all who would trace out the development of England during the 18th century. It was really a period of vast political transformation, during which the greatest care was necessary in the master-hand which superintended the slow uneasy working of the cumbrous machinery, which was to change the discon- tented Jacobite England of William III. and Anne into the enthusiastic nation which carried Pitt in triumph to the highest seat of power to execute the national policy. Walpole's policy was eminently suited to his time. That, perhaps, is high praise, and it certainly is the highest that can be conceded to him. His faults, however, were glaring and repulsive. He was not an orator in the true IS au s. sense of the word, though some of his speeches were masterpieces of successful defence. He instituted no great measures of reform, — nay, he rather checked and stifled at birth, the faintest efforts in that direction. He studiously avoided the, romantic glory which hovers round the brows of a successful war-minister. He designedly insisted on a course of policy which can have no attraction to those who care for nothing but blood and gunpowder, who love to thrill with triumph over records of English victories, and with indignation at national disasters. And yet Walpole was a great statesman in the highest sense of the word. He knew that his policy was the best adapted for the circumstances in which he found his country, and he carried it out unflinchingly, in the face of the greatest difficulties and the bitterest obloquy. At his accession to office England was suffering all the State of ^^"^^ which are the result of a disputed succes- England. ^^^^ ^^.^ ^"^ unpopular sovereign. Large classes were alienated from the dominant party. Deeply- rooted cormption and political immorality had long poisoned the atmosphere of political life, and fostered a monstrous growth of treachery and treason. The people were ignorant of the true advantages of the new constitution, were attracted by the supposed wrongs of the exiled family, or driven into oppo- sition by the feeling of hostility which seems to naturally arise in most cases against constituted authorities simply because they are constituted authorities. The Jacobites were threatening the new settlement with war and secret treason. Many of the statesmen who headed the Opposition in the Houses of Parlia- ment, and inveighed in constitutional language against the Walpol£^s Difficulties, 73 Hanoverian policy of the king and his Minister, were secret traitors, who, if they could have heard for certain that the Blue Bonnets were over the Border, would have proclaimed James III. at Charing Cross. And it is due solely to Walpole that they never got the opportunity. He saw that England required peace in order to accommodate herself to the great political development which was gradually coming over her ; to enable the classes alienated from the Government to settle down once more ^^^^l^^^ °' into their accustomed places and old habits of loyalty to the powers that be ; and to destroy the opportunity which foreign war was sure to give to the followers of the exiled family. Keform of any kind must have attacked the interests of some class or other, and the chief result therefore would have been to increase the hostility to the Government, without pro- ducing much immediate good to the people at large. Active legislation would have involved continual contests, and have supplied the Opposition with tangible grounds for the furious invective with which they endeavoured to arouse the enmity of the country against the invincible Minister. It was better, therefore, to leave reforms to quieter times, and devote himself mainly to the task of preserving peace, and of watching and guiding the nation along the path which lay open before it. It is, indeed, a maxim which statesmen would often do well to study, " Happy is the nation whose annals are a blank." The difi&culties which beset his path were enormous. George I. did not know a word of English, nor Walpole a ,,x;. , , , word of German. Business, therefore, had to be difficulties • discussed between them, so far as it was discussed, in Dog-Latin. The Duchess of Kendal, the king's favourite mistress, after a period of uncertain friendship, went over to the side of the Opposition ; and, though she still condescended to receive the pension offered her by the Government, she exerted aU her influence persistently against Walpole ; nor was it till George had died at Osnabruck that he felt safe from her influ- ence. But for the moment this was even a change for the worse. George II., as Prince of Wales, had been Walpole's bitter enemy. He had frequently described both Walpole and ^Newcastle as rogues and rascals. He had talked extremely big for such a little man as to what he would do when he came to the throne. What hope was there for Walpole under the new regime ? The king ordered him to go to Sir Spencer 74 Men of the Time. Compton, a practical dismissal. The courtiers rat-like turned their backs on him. Only Lord Hervey remained faithful \ only the queen recognized Lady Walpole now as " a friend." But in a few days Walpole was as supreme as ever. Compton with extraordinary imbecility allowed his rival to draw up the king's speech for him. The obliging Walpole carried his kindness so far as not only to write out the speech, but let the queen know he had done so. Caroline's good common-sense enabled her to recognize the superiority of the one man to the other, and, as usual, she talked her little strutting husband over to her view of the case. When, therefore, Walpole outbid Compton with regard to the Civil List for the royal pair, there was nothing left but to give the latter a peerage. These royal and princely difficulties were bad enough ; but in addition, chiefly through his own fault, Walpole had to contend with an Opposition which consisted of all the ablest men of the time, who were insj)ired solely by personal hatred of himself, who all cried out against his peace policy and his Hanoverian policy, and used every kind of influence with both kings to procure his dismissal, though it is true that these attempts were mainly productive of bad language on the part of these respectable monarchs. At their head was Bolingbroke, the ablest and most unscrupulous statesman of his day. The policy which Walpole steadily pursued may be summed . up in the words " Quieta non mover e,^^ He was ' determined not to arouse or even disturb sleeping lions, and he was always ready to make concessions on any point on which he and the country differed. His object was to con- ciliate all classes, and especially those who were at variance with ' the Government. He never ran counter to any popular prejudice. He gave up Wood's halfpence and the Excise Scheme as soon as he saw the country was resolute against them. He enlarged the National Debt rather than tax the people. He refused to tax America. He refused to repeal the Penal Laws against the Dissenters, though he granted them practical immunity by passing annual Acts of Indemnity for those who had taken municipal office without complying with the requisitions of the Test and Corporation Acts ; while he administered the daws mildly, and diminished the differences and consequent rancour between the Church and the Dissenters by Latitudinarian (or Low Church) appointments. When he saw that he would incur odium by rejecting Bills intended to disqualify holders of pen^ t t f i t Walpole^s Policy. 75 sions from sitting in Parliament, he allowed them to pass in the Commons, leaving to the Lords the burden of the refusal. Abroad he preserved the alliance with France, and maintained English commercial and maritime interests. At the same time he displayed little interest in points which did not seem to affect England directly. He allowed Spain to acquire !N'aples, France to get Lorraine. He steadily refused to interfere with regard to ■ the Polish Succession, though he had rushed to the verge of war when Gibraltar was threatened. The result of this policy was that the Hanoverian dynasty secured a firm hold on the feelings, and even- . tually the affections of the people. British credit, ' which had sunk so low, was completely restored. The tonnage of British shipping was almost doubled. The value of land went up considerably. The price of wheat fell. The taxes were appreciably lowered. The interest on the National Debt was successfully diminished. Partial free-trade was even introduced. England, in fact, grew in wealth and prosperity. Peace enabled her to recover from the exhaustion consequent on the long war with France. And it is mainly due to the policy of Walpole that she was able to make such stupendous efforts in the gigantic struggle which was yet to come. The great glory of his period was that he effected the union of the nation under the House of Hanover, and the reconciliation of all classes, even the Church and the country gentlemen, to the new settlement. This moderation he reserved for classes. To his dependants he was absolutely tyrannical. The slightest insubordination was severely punished. He seems to have been inspired with a haunting fear of a rival, and a dread of all genius ^^.^ absolu- as dangerous to his ascendency. One by one the ^^q^ . greatest men in his Ministry were driven from his side. Carteret, Pulteney, Lyttleton, Chesterfield, all men whom most Ministers would have preferred as friends than as enemies, were forced into opposition by a reckless use of power. Even Townshend found it impossible to remain with his arbitrary brother-in-law. ]N"ewcastle, indeed, he retained ; but then ]S'ew- castle was an extremely mediocre person possessed of a dukedom and vast Parliamentary influence, who could be very useful, but was not likely to be dangerous to Walpole's ascendency. But still Newcastle was snubbed and insulted at intervals to keep him in his proper place of subordination, luitil at last even 76 Men of the Time, Newcastle turned sulky and plotted against his tyrant. " Sir Eobert," said the shrewd old Duchess of Marlborough, " likes none but fools and such as have lost all credit." Harrington and Hervey remained as well : the one a diplomatist of mode- rate talent ; the other a courtier who was also an honest man. Eut neither were likely to aim at the supremacy. Eelying, therefore, on the votes of his party, and not on the brilliance of his supporters, or the solidity of his measures, he was obliged to make use of that corruption for which his name has become a by- word. The morality of that corruption ; ^- ^^^ ^^^ different W. our own. Men did not see any harm in receiving a gratuity in return for services. As a rule they would have voted j ust the same way anyhow. There are few instances of the direct purchase of hostile votes, for Walpole knew better than to place a premium on resistance. Moreover, the greatest statesmen and patriots in the last century had all been tainted with the suspicion of alien money. Cecil, Bacon, Pym, Shaftesbury, Sydney, had all taken money at different times with different objects. Danby had kept his party together by bribery. William III. had found it necessary to do the same. Pitt, later in the century, accepted the advantage of Newcastle's corrupt influence while pretending to disclaim and scorn it. He was the Minister of the people, it is true, in a certain sense ; but he could not have carried a single measure in Parliament without Newcastle. Walpole, therefore, merely took up an instrument which he found ready to his hand,, and which was still bright with recent use. He was not guilty of the fabrication of it, but he was guilty of grinding it to such a degree of sharpness that it would become dangerous in the hands of a dangerous man. He carried corruption to such perfection that he bequeathed to his successors a powerful engine, which George III. found as useful for bad government as' Walpole had for good. The most shameless bribery of the century was cer- tainly carried out by Bute and his royal pupil, but it was the perfection of Walpole 's system which rendered this possible. But he used his power weU. He was only twice in direct opposition to public opinion. He was never accused of per- sonal corruption himself. And he was extremely lenient to ««^^,.-+;«« . ^is political opponents. In fact, he began the moderation ^ , . |^f j ^ i. i ^ • i new regime which removed the dangerous side of party government. Ministers no longer found it necessary to resort to violent means to retain their power, for fear of Result of Walpole's Policy, 77' tlie violence of their enemies. There is only one instance during the rest of the century of the impeachment of a fallen Minister, and that — the case of Walpole himself — was a miserable fiasco. His private character was extremely coarse. He lived in open adultery during his wife's lifetime, and married his mistress as soon as sweet handsome Lady Wal- pole was dead. The revels at Houghton, his character country seat, are reported to have been so in- decorous that they drove the austerer Townshend from his neighbouring estate, Rainham. His country life consisted in hunting all day and drinking all night ; and there is no doubt that this form of life was more congenial to him than even the government of England. His acquaintance with mankind and their weaknesses made him cynical. He regarded them as tools, and was wholly unscrupulous as to the means by which he turned them to his purpose, or the object with which he employed them. He believed neither in man's honour nor woman's virtue. He recommended Queen Caroline to select Lady TankerviUe as the king's mistress, because she was a "safe fool," though it does not appear that there were any grounds for supposing that she would consent to the arrange- ment. He laughed at the "Boy Patriots," and told them they would be wiser when they were older, meaning that it was only young and inexperienced men who would not vote as their interest should have dictated. Perhaps, however, the greatest blot on his career was his virulent opposition to Stanhope's Government ; and Lord Mahon suggests that there is poetical justice in the fact that his own fall was due to attacks of an almost similar nature. One of the most important results of Walpole 's exclusive system of government was to break up the old lines of party politics by destroying the meaning of parties. ^ It was no longer a question of Whig and Tory. o/parties°^ It was not even a question of Jacobite and Hanoverian. Carteret was a staunch Hanoverian — more ultra- Hanoverian than Walpole himself. Cotton, Barnard, Wind- ham were Jacobites of the most open type. Bolingbroke stood in the gap between the Whigs and Tories, ready to serve or revile either unscrupulously, as occasion offered. Dis- graced by the Pretender, declined by Walpole, rejected equally by George L and George 11. , nothing was left to him but to 78 Men of the Time. assume the leadership of the Opposition, just as the choice of every one of his followers lay practically between political nullity and hostility to the Government. In the ranks of the Government itself there was no great principle, good or bad, which marked them off from their opponents. The long rows of country gentlemen who voted for Walpole, supported him because they considered him the best man for the country, and because he gratified them with solid considerations. But Carteret, Bolingbroke, Pulteney, even Pitt, would have sup- ported him equally if he would have gratified them in the way that tlipy desired, namely, by giving them office. The war of principles, in fact, had died out. The war of the Walpoleans against the anti- Walpoleans had taken its place. And it was this total submergence of party politics and party cries for the time which facilitated the extinction of Jacobitism, and the rearrangement of the country into a new Tory party, and a new Whig party at the end of the reign of George II., whose principles, while reflecting faithfully the opinions from which they were originally sprung, gave token of that development which is so necessary to suit the needs of an advancing com- munity. Section 2. — Walpole^ s Enemies, The leader of the Opposition in Parliament was William Pulteney. This celebrated man was born in eney; 1682. He was of good family and immense wealth. In early days Walpole and he had been on the most intimate terms. They had seceded from the Government in 1717. They had stood side by side in opposition to Stanhope. They had re-entered office again together in 1720. And so Pulteney imagined he had the strongest claims on Walpole, and expected a reward siiitable to his merits and abilities when the sudden turn of the wheel placed his confrere at the head of affairs. And, indeed, his intellect and ability were such as rendered him eminently suited to fill any position caracer; ^ ^^^ Government. He was a skilled and powerful debater, occasionally rising to the highest flio-hts of oratory. He had all the advantages which an orator could desire— a graceful person, imposing demeanour, and melodious PULTENEY, 79 utterance. His mind he had cultivated to the highest pitch by close application. And while his great and varied know- ledge rendered him capable of expressing an opinion on almost any subject, his ready wit prevented his ever becoming tedious. It was, in fact, mainly due to his exertions that the Craftsman, which later he edited jointly with Bolingbroke, attained such a high degree of excellence. His rage and disappointment may therefore be imagined when, with the fullest consciousness of his own abilities, and the utmost thirst for power, he found himself treated by Walpole, not as an equal, but as an inferior, and one who was evidently regarded with suspicion. He was far too able to be entrusted with any important post in the Cabinet. Walpole knew well that his imperious spirit would not submit to the dictation which was intended- to be the mainspring of the ministry. Pulteney, therefore, was offered a peerage ; and the secretaryship, which he had expected, was given to Newcastle. The peerage he refused, but strangely enough accepted the inferior post of Cofferer of the Household. His haughty temper, however, was not likely to remain long shackled by this tiny chain, which was simply intended to hold him in subordination. He broke out into ^ open mutiny, was at once dismissed, and passed into malicious and violent opposition. This is the period of his connection with Bolingbroke, the Craftsman, and the Duchess of Kendal. He walpoU*^ took an active part in all the plots against Wal- pole; and he was the leader of the more regular hostilities in the House of Commons. He inveighed against the Hanoverian policy of the Minister, the corruption by which the Government ruled, and the maintenance of standing armies in time of peace. He lavished all the stores of his intellect in the vain attempt to unseat the man who had not properly recog- nized his merits ; and in the pursuit of vengeance he stooped almost to the dust to conquer. And yet when the moment of triumph came, it was Pulteney only by the strange irony of fate who was not permitted to share it. In a moment of rash im- pulse, stung by the too true accusation that he was mainly prompted by personal views in his attacks on Walpole, he had pledged himself never to accept office ; and now he kept his word. On the fall of his enemy he accepted a peerage, which he really obtauied through the intercession of Walpole himself, who kniBW well that thereby he was repaying Pulteney with heavy interest for his own overthrow. The latter retired to the %!■ 80 Men of the Time, House of Lords to find his influence entirely gone, his past failure popularity changed to hatred, and that his old rival had really scored the odd trick in the rubber after all. " The idol of the nation as William Pulteney, became their scorn as Earl of Bath ; he tried often, but in vain, to recover his lost ground ; and he passed his old age in that greatest of all curses which can befall the human mind — to find its aspirations higher than its powers ! " John, Lord Carteret, was one of the most remarkable and Carteret; most unsuccessful men of the century. He is an ■ extraordinary instance of a highly cultivated in- tellect and a great capacity for business totally ruined and obscured by the pernicious habit of drinking, to which he was a slave. Two bottles of Burgundy would render him completely happy ; and in the pursuit of this degrading vice he forgot the humiliations which chequered his political career. He had de- voted a great deal of time to the study of ancient and modem character • languages. He was deeply versed in the history and politics of the Continent. He had an intimate acquaintance with the theories and facts of international law. He could therefore bring to the Foreign Office a profound; capacity for the management of the extremely complicated ^ lines of policy along which England vaguely drifted during the 18th century. He ought therefore to have made his mark as a Foreign Minister of unusual ability and power when the secretary^ ;; ship was at last entrusted to him in 1742. And yet Carteret was a wholly unsuccessful man. His chief claim to the recognition of posterity is the evolution of a scheme of policy, which was opposed by the general voice of the nation, which was imme- diately rejected by his colleagues, and which is so far from having given him any high position in the Temple of Fame, that it is entirely omitted by some historians as an abortive detail in the purely Hanoverian policy of George II. This was the Agree- ment of Hanau, so celebrated in its time, by which Carteret intended to exalt Hanover to the headship of the German nation in the year 1744. At the beginning of Wal pole's Ministry Carteret was one of his Secretaries of State ; and in this capacity his knowledge of German and foreign afi"airs soon brought him into IS ory. -j^.gj^ favour with the king : so high, in fact, that Walpole insisted on his transference to the political inaction which was dignified with the title of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. I I t I Carteret. 81 In 1730, however, lie resigned this inferior post, and joined the ranks of the Opposition, of which he continued to he one of the foremost leaders, until the overthrow of Walpole in 1742 once more opened to him a prospect of exercising his sreat talents on a wider field. Then he at once became a con- spicuous failure. ** As the Minister of a despotic sovereign he might have risen to great eminence ; but he was not suited to the conditions of parliamentary government, and he usually inclined to unpopular opinions." His mind was too large, and his schemes too vast for him to trouble himself about the sordid details of parliamentary government; and while he aimed at "knocking the heads of the kings of Europe together," he was unable to get his measures passed in Parliament, and fell a victim to the intrigues of JSTewcastle. With his usual good temper he retired once more into political insignificance, from which ho never really re-emerged ; though to the end of George's life he filled some unimportant post, and was a trusted councillor of the king. During the latter years of his life he is usually referred to as Earl foanville, to which title he succeeded in 1744. Pulteney and Carteret are both specimens of the '* Patriots," or Hanoverian wing of the Opposition, namely, <«p f • + », those Whigs who were really entirely at one in principle and policy with the Government, but were unable to endure the overbearing ascendency of Walpole, and were there-' fore driven into opposition. •Among them must be included Lord Chesterfield. For though he was immeasurably inferior to either chesterfield of the two statesmen already referred to, his hostility to Walpole and Hanover was based on the purely personal question of his dismissal from office for his opposition to the Excise Scheme of 1733. Next to these more important politicians came a group of younger men, whom Walpole used to scotf at as " the Boys." Their principal members were Georfi^e Grenville, ,< Boys." Lord Cobham, Lyttelton, and William Pitt. They were all men of genius and ability. One of them, George Grenville, was destined to attain the highest honours in the race for power. Another, William Pitt, raised himself from obscurity to the loftiest pinnacle of fame, to be the wonder of his own and succeeding generations. In this wing of the Opposition, however, it is extremely difficult to discriminate a 82 Men of the Time. where youthful enthusiasm ends and self-interest begins ; for though Pitt and his comrades hounded Walpole and Carteret irom office on account of their supposed leanings towards Hanover, Pitt himself in office became the warmest defender of the Hanoverian system. " Perish Hanover ! " was the cry of the Opposition then as " Perish India ! " has been in our own time. But words uttered by irresponsible lips have often to be sw^allowed wholesale when the end is accomplished and office obtained. If, then, it is necessary to draw a distinction between the Patriots and the Boys, it simply lies in the fact that the one party sought revenge, the other sought office. There was no hope of success for either, save over the body of Walpole. The third wing of this disorganized militia was the Tories Tories proper, headed by Windham, Gower, Barnard, who, while recognizing that Jacobitism had be- come an anachronism, preserved the old traditions of hostility to the reigning dynasty by severe and repeated strictures on the well-worn subjects of the Hanover subsidies, the standing army, the corruption of Parliament, the Septennial Act, and the Dis- senters. Considerable caution, however, is necessary in esti- mating this party simply by their own utterances. It must always be remembered that they made overtures to Walpole in 1723, which were resolutely and contemptuously declined, and that many of them showed no disinclination to accept office later under the ultra- Whig Henry Pelham and the arch -cor- rupter Newcastle, and to defend their far from anti-Hanoverian policy. At the extreme edge of this division were ranked the few remnants of that party which felt no comfort even in the fall of Walpole while his master's throne remained secure. There Jacobites ^^^ ^'^'^ ^ small number of staunch Jacobites, headed by Shippen, who looked to Italy for their anointed king, who drank to " the king over the water" and pined for the day when a Stuart should once more set foot in his ancestral dominions. Though it is very true that when that fated day did come in 1745, few of them were very eager to risk anything in the cause they had talked so much about. The best of them was Shippen. If any man deserves the name of consistent at that time, it was this staunch ippen. ^j^ traitor. He was a consistent Jacobite, plot- ting sedition aU his life, and taking the oath to the Hanoverian- BOLINGBROKE, .83 dynasty solely in order that he might lead the forlorn hope of the Stuarts in Parliament. He was for King James, as Wal- pole was for King George, and both despised with good hearty scorn the men " in long cravats," who only desired place under either, it did not much matter which. The honesty of the two leaders was about equal, but their singleness of purpose sur- rounds them with a faint halo amid the dull gloom of selfish intrigue and coarse immorality in which they moved and lived. Of the men outside Parliament the most dangerous, because the ablest and most unscrupulous, was un- Boi;«o'h oke doubtedly Bolingbroke. His claws, however, had been carefully cut by Walpole, when the latter refused to ^reverse the Act of Attainder hanging over the ex-Minister's head. Therefore, though venomous as a deadly snake, he was not so potent for ill as if, in right of his splendid talents and consummate ability, he had led the Opposition in the House of Lords. At first, however, he appears to have hoped to be able to build up a grand confederation against Walpole, and crush him by sheer weight of numbers and genius. With these views he totally reversed his former policy. During his Ministry he had drawn hard and fast the line between the various poli- tical parties. Now, however, he maintained that the meaning of parties was practically at an end; that the new dynasty being firmly fixed on the throne, it was no longer a question between the House of Hanover and the House of Stuart ; and that the Whig attempt to identify the Tories with Jacobitism was merely an excuse for excluding their opponents entirely from power. In spite, however, of the amount of talent which he was able to enlist on his side, ^P^^^J^®." *° failure pursued his efforts with unvarying and * numbing persistency, till even the fierce flame of his inextin- guishable hatred waxed faint against the impenetrable wall which resisted all attack. The fiery restless spirit of the ex- Jacobite pined and chafed under the irony of his position, which com- pelled him to will and scheme and advise, and leave the execu- tion to other less able hands. Walpole could not have devised a more exquisite punishment had he been desirous of doing so than this of caging the wild beast within sight and spring of his enemy, and only that thin adamantine grating of the Attainder between them. Hopeless, yet ever hoping against hope, he toiled on till 1735, when, seeing clearly that even the great shock of the Excise Scheme had not shaken the Minister's G 2 84 Men of the Time, ascendency in the slightest degree, he retired to the delightM gardens of Chanteloup in Lorraine to enjoy the literary leisure which had been so long denied him. " Great but ill-regulated genius ! Cicero could not write better — Clodius could not act worse ! " Of his talents as a party-leader, Mr. Lecky says, "His genius and daring were incontestable, but his defects were scarcely less. No statesman was ever truer to the interests tot 1 f '1 ^^ ^^^ P^^^y '> ^^^ ^y ^ strange contradiction no one was ever less fitted to represent it." Per- haps the greatest stain on his political character is that he regarded politics merely as a career ; principles as the outward garb which a man changes to suit the weather; honour, honesty, and enthusiasm, as "springes to catch woodcocks." Such a man could never be popular even with his own party. He quar- relled with Pulteney as he had quarrelled with Harley ; and when he returned to England on the resignation of Walpole he found himself welcomed no more cordially by the new regime than he had been by the old. His prominent position among the enemies of the Govem- Frederic ^^^"^ brought him into close connection with Prince of Frederic, Prince of Wales. This worthless, Wales: shallow princehng had learnt the lesson of fihal ingratitude from his father, and executed it to the very letter. The quarrel between father and son began in the natural course of events on the subject of money ; though, long before there was any open estrangement, the weak and treacherous young profligate had conducted himself on every occasion with the most insolent disregard of his parents' wishes. He was dissatisfied with the aUowance which his father gave him out of the Civil List; and, like Oliver Twist, asked for more, which m spite of all the efforts of his friends and fol-, quarrels with ^^^^^^ he did not obtain. In consequence he' George, 1737 ; *^^^ ^^^ extraordinary and unfeeling revenge of dragging the poor little princess, in the very agonies of childbirth, off in a jolting coach from Hampton Court, where the Eoyal Family were staying, to Kensington,' solely in order that he might pass a purposeless insult on his parents at the risk of killing wife and child. The result was that he was ordered to leave the Court, and the breach became irreconcilable. The leadership which Eolingbroke resigned, now fell into the hands of the prince, who was slowly drifting; on his way to chaos. The Opposition centred round him, not Frederic, Prince of Wales. 86 I f "because he possessed any of the talents which would have (qualified him for the position of a party leader, but simply because he was the heir-apparent to the crown. Norfolk House became a second Cave of .AduUam. All who were dis^ contented, all who were in debt or discredit, flocked to the ragged banner of ^'dissolute Fred^ Yet, strange as it may seem, this quarrel, disgraceful and ridiculous as it was, tended in no small degree to strengthen the hold which the dynasty had established on the people. The old Whigs flattered them- selves that they would efface their former dishonest connection with the Jacobites by new-born enthusiasm for the heir of the House of Hanover. The Tories saw with pleasure a sale and easy road to power in the favour of Frederic, and began to look forward to George's death instead q* og-f;! of his dethronement. The circle at Norfolk House became in consequence the most brilliant in the country, and far excelled the Court. Most of the young rising men of the day had places in the prince's household. Pitt was included in its numbers. All the literary genius of the country flocked to the ready patronage which Frederic extended to them, not so much from any true appreciation of talent as from a desire to seem possessed of it. Fortunately for England, however, he died young. There was nothing very strikingly attractive in any of the early specimens of our divinely appointed Act of Settlement monarchs ; but even homely, strutting, or mad Georges were better than such a Frederic. ^' Had he had one grain of merit at the bottom of his heart," says Lord Hervey, " one should have had compassion on him in the situation to which his miserable, poor head had reduced him ; for his case, in short, was this : he had a father that abhorred him, a mother that despised him, a sister that betrayed him, a brother set up against him, a set of servants that neglected him," and the list might have been completed by a nation that was utterly indifferent to him. The chief importance of the connection between Frederic and Bolingbroke lies in the influence which the latter in consequence exercised on the early training of ^.® „ George III. -, and there is no doubt that the latter's mock-despotic views were mainly derived from an educa- tion founded on the principles expressed in Boliugbroke's " Patriot King," which will be discussed later on. Among the tag-rag of the Opposition must be included most 86 Men of the Time. of the great writers of the period — Swift, Gay, Pope, Glover, Literary men -Arbuthnot — who all lavished the stores of their intellect in criticizing, abusing, and satirizing the policy and person of Walpole. " Gulliver's Travels " veiled the bitterest sarcasm on English politics and politicians under the thin pretence of voyages into unknown lands and records of strange and alien customs. " The Beggar's Opera " is supposed to have been wholly directed against the Government. Many of Hogarth's inimitable caricatures are a bitter satire on the various measures of Walpole. The explanation was that Wal- pole saw no merit in talent except so far as it was devoted to his own interest. That alone he encouraged and rewarded. But the wilder, stronger plaats, which scorned to grow along the lattices planted for them, were forced to rely wholly on their own vital energy for existence. The natural result was that the praises of the Government were sung by a few miserable pensioners only, and it was cried down by all the real literary talent of the country. Walpole and George IL 87 CHAPTER III. WALPOLE AND GEORGE IL, 1727-42. Section 1. — George II. and his Queen, This period is called the reign of George II. , but so long as Queen Caroline lived it was she who really reigned. Therefore it is perhaps more appropriate and more polite that she should take the precedence over her little husband to which ladies are always entitled. Caroline of Brandenburg- Anspach, being left an orphan, was brought up at the Prussian Court, where the boorish youth, who afterwards became Frederic Q^een Caro- William I. of Prussia, fell in love with her, and ^^^ * followed her about like the Beast after Beauty. For Caroline in early days was a brilliant beauty with the sweetest of faces. Even to the last she retained that ineffable sweetness when she smiled • though years of trouble and anxiety had made fearful inroads on the face which had captivated both Frederic William and his hated cousin, " dapper ®*^^ ^ ® ' George " of Hanover. It is said that she even received an offer of marriage from the Archduke Charles ; — that Archduk^ Charles, who was the English candidate for the Spanish throne during the War of the Spanish Succession, and who afterwards became so troublesome to England and the world at large under the name of Emperor Charles YI. of Germany and Austria. The fact remains that she refused him on the ground that she would not become a Catholic. It is difficult to imagine that the Caroline known to English History could ever have been a very strict Protestant ; but her general strength and originality of character might well render it difficult for her to subject her will to the domination of the Romish Church. And so, after an interval of dumb bearish affection from Frederic William, 88 Walpole and George II. she married George and embarked on the stormy sea of English politics. Little is known of her early married marriage ; ^.^^ ^ ^^^ .^ ^^^ ^^^ ^.^ ^^^ quarrel broke out between her husband and his father that her individual career began. Leicester House became the centre of a younger Court as Norfolk House did again later on. All the talent, beauty, wit, of the country assembled round George and his Caroline ; leaving the elder George to drink and smoke iii the evening with his ancient favourites, and to discuss business during the day with Walpole in Dog-Latin. Here even we catch a glimpse of the younger George's character which might foreshadow the character of the reign. He was always thoroughly under the control of his sensible wife ; and yet governs her j^g j^^p^^ ^ mistress, not apparently through any husband; ^ natural inclination to depravity, but more he- cause it was the regular and princely thing to do at the time. It was very much like the modern schoolboy, who in many cases takes to smoking not because it affords him any pleasure, but simply through a foolish idea that it is " manly,'*' So little George bestowed the official title on Mrs. Howard ; and was at the same time so subject to his wife's influence that apparently she had not the slightest fear of her rival, but rather regarded the whole thing with unmitigated contempt. Her extra- ordinary coarseness, however, showed itself in the fact that, even when Mrs. Howard was publicly recognized as George's mistress, she still retained this lady as a member ' of her household. This coarseness is perhaps the most remarkable thing about Caroline's character. The age was coarse indeed ; but the woman who could calmly read page after page of the long letters in which her husband recounted his own infidelity, and who could allow *Walpole to discuss the question openly with her, must have had an extraordinary husband, an extraordinary Minister, and a still more extraordinary character. And yet it is a fact that her death was mainly due to a secret disease, which false modesty • ' niodesty had prompted her to conceal till it was too late to remedy it. The point on which her character has suffered most obloquy is her unforgiving hatred of her son Frederic, which she retained even to the very last. But it must be remembered that from a very early age he had omitted no opportunity of insulting and outraging his parents in the most unpardonable and suicidal way^ so as almost to Queen Caroline, 89 justify a suspicion of mental aberration. Though not very in- tellectual herself, the queen encouraged intellect in others and patronized genius to some extent. She obtained a recall from exile for the Jacobite historian, tas^tes^^ Carte, a pardon for the poet, Sa-vage, when he was accused of murder, and a pension for the Arian translator of Josephus, Whiston. In spite of her efforts, however, literature sank very low, as it met with no general encouragement during this period. If there was one thing that George II. prided himself on, it was that he governed the kingdom without being ^ j-. subject to anybody's influence as his predecessors had been. And this ridiculous little monarch even boasted publicly of the fact, till the most practised courtiers suffered agonies in attempts to restrain their laughter. The nation, how- ever, knew better : — You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain ; We know 'tis Queen Caroline and not you who reign, ran the popular rhjrme. Lord Hervey, too, who was in constant attendance at Court in his capacity of Yice- Chamberlain, and had unrivalled opportunities for observing, has left a half-pitying, half-humorous account of the ^-^^ . various shifts to which the queen was obliged to have recourse in order to hide from the conceited little monster the fact that everything he did. had been previously drummed into his head quietly by her. " For though by a superiority of understanding she could work him by degrees to any point where she had a mind to drive him, yet she was forced to do it often by slow degrees and with great caution ; for, as he was infinitely, jealous of being governed, he was never to be led but by invisible reins; neither was it ever possible .to make him adopt her opinion but by instilling her sentiments in such a manner as to make him think that they, rose originally from himself. She always at first gave in to all his notions, though never so extravagant, and made him imagine that any change she wrought in them to be an afterthought of his own." Every- ' thing that was done in the country was reaUy managed between the queen and Sir Kobert Walpole privately ; after which she insinuated the idea into the king's mind. The farce was very often completed by the omnipotent ruler himself suggesting the idea again to Sir Robert as an emanation from his own wise head. :,"tlH; 90 Walpole and George II, The Cabinet, wlio were well-drilled to submission, bad little to do with the real government of the country, except to agree to all which the queen and Walpole had concerted between them. So thoroughly obedient was George really to the gentle pressure which the queen exercised over him, that she could persuade him to act in entire contradiction to his own views. This was shown most remarkably in his behaviour on the death of his father. He conipletely reversed all his fojraer ideas. He restored Walpole to office again after a slight difficulty ; ll^lT^^ he got over his dislike for the Minister ; he even ' acquired such an affection for the latter that he positively wept when obliged to receive Walpole's resignation in 1742. He carried on his father's policy to the very letter. He ^ pursued the very schemes which he had constantly abused in his father's lifetime. He broke with all his former friends, and took up with his ancient enemies. All this naturally excited the greatest astonishment at the time ; and no doubt George him- self would have found it very hard to explain his conduct. But we, looking behind the veil which Lord Hervey has lifted for us, can see the figure of the queen standing ever behind him; bending him silently, gradually, imperceptibly to her purpose ; inspiring and guiding his every action, and dictating his very words for him. There is extraordinary irony in the fact that in spite of this he went through life under the impression that a more independent, absolute ruler of men had never existed. There was not much in George himself to admire. He was an personal avaricious, irreligious, ignorant, narrow-minded, character. insignificant, strutting little man. He had hardly any kingly quality except personal courage. That he had proved at Oudenarde, and would again at Dettingen. He would have made a fairly good clerk, for he was temperate, regular, and businesslike. His greatest infirmity was per- haps his best quality — namely, his entire acquiescence in his wife's guidance — for that enabled him to rule well. On the whole his reign was productive of great good to the nation; and he cannot be accused of over-exerting his prerogative. He showed that he could adapt himself to the growing needs of his subjects, and could subdue his own personal opinions where they clashed with those of the nation. The result was that he became popular at the end of his reign. He became identified with the national feeling, the national war, and the national SiK Spencer Compton, 91 glory. He had the rare privilege of dying at the height of sucdess and popularity, amid the dazzling lustre which the splendid genius of Pitt had shed /)'er his declining years. Section 2. — Home Affairs, 1121 -i^. The first act of the new king was exactly what was expected of him. He received Walpole rudely and sulkily, and ordered him to go to Sir Spencer Compton, — a nonentity who was Speaker of the House of Commons, comp^tor*'' Walpole saw clearly that his day was over, and 1727. ' devoted himself to making himself agreeable to the favourite. Compton gorged the bait greedily, and at once availed himself of the proffered assistance with the most guileless and unstatesmanlike confidence. He had no acquaintance with his work. Would Walpole draw up the king's speech for him? Would Walpole! — Will a drowning man clutch at a life-belt when it is thrown to him ? The result was that, as we have seen, Walpole, relying on the queen's favour and a Civil List amounting to the outrageous sum of 130,000Z. for the king and 100,000Z. for the queen, returned to office more absolute than ever. By his conduct in this difficult crisis he completely won the heart of the queen ; and from this time they governed the country between them. Compton's imbe- cility was aU the more remarkable, for if, as Lord Hervey points out in his scathing way, " this precedent-monger had only turned to the old gazettes published at the beginning of former reigns, he might have copied as fuU a declaration from these records as any Sir Eobert Walpole could give him." This period is even more uneventful than the last. Abroad Walpole steadily preserved his peace policy, declining to break his strict neutrality, except ® where the interests of England were directly concerned. At home there are few incidents of sufficient importance to vary the dead level of parliamentary eloquence until the gradual rise of the Spanish Craze startled the nation into active and dangerous vitality. The Pretender had now quarrelled with his ablest supporters, and disgraced himself in the eyes of all thinking men by a series of meannesses unworthy of the descendant of a great house. It was only in the lives of his children that there was any reason for alarm, and they were as yet too young to head an 92 Walpole and George II. invasion. The main feature of the period therefore is the great struggle between Walpole and the Opposition, now fully formed under the leadership of Bolinghroke and Pulteney. In 1730 Walpole quarrelled with his brother-in-law, Lord Townshend, and compelled him to resign his Quarrel with p^g^^ thereby certainly depriving himself of the ITajr^ ' ablest man left in his Cabinet. The quarrel was really one of long standing, for the two brothers had never been exactly friends since the Treaty of Hanover. It was such a successful answer to the Treaty of Vienna, and so purely the work of Townshend, — for he had not even consulted Walpole on the subject — that Walpole at once felt all the jealousy which the fear of a possible rival always inspired him with. From that time a coolness sprang up between the two Ministers, which it required all the good offices of Lady Walpole to smoothe over. Her death broke the link which had con- nected them ; and an unscrupulous act of Walpole's caused a complete rupture. In 1730 Mr. Sandys introduced a Bill disqualifying holders of pensions from sitting in Parliament. It was aimed at the corrupt inHuence of the Government, and was in itself apar^t from its promoters a good and wise measure. Walpole saw this ; and yet it was necessary to the continuance of his power that it should not become law. He therefore allowed it to pass in the Commons, leaving to the Lords the odium of throwing it out. This conduct was highly resented by Townshend, the Whig leader in the Lords. He was a rough, imperious man, unaccustomed to dictation ; and at a party given by Mrs. Selwyn he apparently remonstrated roughly and violently with the Prime Minister. Anyhow, they both lost their temper, and a disgraceful scene ensued. Old friends and brothers as they were, they seized each other by the throat and fought with all the abandon and freedom of utterance of a couple of costermongers in Old Drury Lane. They were separated with some difficulty by the horrified spectators. But never again did Townshend take his seat on the front Ministerial benches in the House of Lords. Greatly to his credit he did not join the Opposition. He retired from public life entirely and devoted himself to scientific farming, with results which were highly important to agriculture in general. For a short time Walpole remained supreme, and was able in Abolition of consequence to pay some slight attention to Law Latin. domestic reforms. One of the most rational,, The Excise Bill, 93 perhaps, of these was the substitution of English for the Doo*- Latin which was the delight of the lawyer and terror of the unfortunate litigant, In spite of a general legal outcry, it was decreed that for the future suitors were to have the privilege of understanding legal proceedings so far as they were capable of being' understood by the ordinary layman. A Committee was appointed to examine the state of the public prisons, the horrors of which, when brought into the strong light of parliamentary inquiry, simply p^S^^"®® ""^ exceeded belief. The report of the Select Com- mittee is full of cases in which prisoners, who could not pay the heavy fines exacted by the wardens and gaolers, had been sub- jected to every kind of insult, oppression, and in some cases positive starvation. Gaol-fever carried off multitudes of un- happy creatures ; but the lot of those who survived was scarcely such as to rendej them the most envied. Much was done by the inquiry, but still more was left undone; and it is due solely to the benevolent exertions of Howard that our prisons gradually were transformed from dungeons, which the Spanish Inquisition would have found little to add to in point of horror, into receptacles fit for the incarceration of erring or impecunious man. The second crisis in Walpole's Kfe arose on a financial question. This was the celebrated Excise Scheme, which, strangely enough, was attacked not on the direct vm^^ ground that it was levying taxation on the poor in order to conciliate the rich, but on the indirect and ridiculous ground that it would involve a violation of individual liberty. Walpole really wished simply to conciliate the country gentle- men by lessening the land-tax. With this view he proposed an- exxise on salt, which would enable him to diminish the land-tax by one-half, thus reducing it to one shilling. This tax was not origiiially intended as the beginning of a general excise ; but when Walpole found in 1733 that it did not produce enough to make up the deficiency in the revenue caused by the reduction of the land-tax, he determined to extend the excise to wine and tobacco. Even here, however, the change was mainly with regard to fhe mode of collection. Customs had always been levied on wine and tobacco ; but such an extensive system of smuggling had been carried on with regard to those commodities, that the actual receipts of the revenue were exactly a fourth of what they ought to have been. Walpole hoped, by collecting these duties 94 ' Walpole and George II. 'S*- for the future in the form of an excise from the retailers, in- stead of as customs at the ports from the importers, the case ^ *^ ^^^^® ^^^ amount of the receipts without increas- ing the rate of the tax. In fact he intended simply to compel many people who had hitherto illegally escaped payment of the customs by buying smuggled goods, to buy the taxed goods instead, or do without wine and tobacco altogether. So far, then, there was every possible recommendation for the scheme ; and the only people whom it injured were themselves violators of tlie law, and hardly deserved compassion. Walpole, in fact, according to Lord Hervey, expected to considerably increase his popularity by it. Instead of this, the country suddenly and most unaccountably went mad over it. " Every- . body talked of the scheme as a general excise ; they believed that food and raiment and all the necessaries of life were to be taxed ; that armies of excise officers were to come into every house and at any time they pleased ; that our liberties were at an end, trade going to be ruined, Magna Charta overturned, all property destroyed, the Crown made absolute, &c., &c." JSTow- _ a-days when the unreasoning democracy are citement*^" aroused by any cry, like a bull by a red rag, there are always demagogues found ready to hound the populace on to uncontrollable fury in order to help their own selfish views. So Pulteney, Carteret, Bolingbroke, at that time encouraged the rage of the mob against "the Mephisto- . phelean Minister." The excitement at Court was simply tre- mendous. The queen was as much agitated as if it had been seriously proposed to re-export the dynasty to Hanover. On the night of the division every arrangement was made to suppress the fearful riot that was expected if the Bill passed. The Guards were put under arms. Magistrates with the Kiot Act in their ■ pockets and posses of constables at their heels were moving in all directions. In the evening all London was on foot. The mob came swarming down to the very doors of the House, ' yelling and hustling obnoxious members as they went in. All through the debate the dull threatening murmur of the mighty multitude could be heard outside rising and falling like the surge and swell of the great sea. Within, the debate ran hot and furious. Sharp words were interchange.d on both sides. In his indignation at these outrageous measures for forcing the rejection of the Bill, Sir Kobert lost his temper, and stigmatized the crowd outside as ''sturdy beggars.'' The words flew like wild- ■ The Bill withdrawn, 95 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ) fire ; and tlie sturdy beggars very nearly made him pay dearly for the rash expression. When he came out with a majority in favour of the Bill, a rush was made ; some of them seized him by the cloak, and undoubtedly he would have received consider- able injury had not his friends and a body of constables charged to the rescue. As it was, the Bill was carried only to be with- drawn ; for Walpole saw conclusively that public opinion was greatly exasperated, and he would not run counter to it. The news of the dropping of the Bill was hailed through England with extraordinary delight, '''^fuj^^^ "The Monument was illuminated in London; ^^ rawn. bonfires without number blazed throughout the country ; the Minister was in many places burnt in effigy amid loud acclama- tions of the mob ; any of his friends that came in their way were roughly handled \ and cockades were eagerly assumed with .the inscription, '^Liberty, Property, and no Excise.'' The in- telligent foreigner — had he been present — would scarcely have imagined that all this enthusiasm arose, simply out of the abandonment for the time of a particular form of taxation ; still less that many of the most unpopular clauses of the measure would shortly afterwards be passed without exciting comment, solely because the name was changed. But though for a moment Walpole bent his head before the storm which his enemies had raised against him, there was no mercy for the traitors in his own *^^^ishment camp who had tried to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. Chesterfield, Clinton, Burlington, Mon- trose, Marchmont, Stair, were dismissed with ignominy. The Duke of Bolton and Lord Cobham were compelled to give up their commissions in the army, a stretch of arbitrary power which was certainly utterly unjustifiable, and which supplied the Opposition with food for bitter attack. But Walpole's maxim had always been to show no quarter to traitors. Better an open enemy than a treacherous friend. Li 1733 the Polish Succession War broke out. "Walpole, true to his principles, refused to take the slightest interest in it. He sufi'ered a great deal of obloquy Polisli Suc- for this ; but he certainly produced a speedy \^»^^^y^^^' settlement of the question. For the emperor, " ' finding that there was no hope of the subsidies which past Ministries had poured like water on the thirsty sand of the Austrian Exchequer, with very little result, speedily accepted the. 96 Walpole and George IT. mediation of England. Even Eolingbroke; the arch-enemy of the Ministry, admitted that the terms of the Peace (Third Treaty of Vienna, 1735) were better than any one could have expected. ^In 1734 a general election was approaching; and so the Opposition united all their powers for a grand series of attacks on Walpole in order to create an impression on those few electors who were capable of being impressed by anything but money or influence. The campaign led off with hotly contested skirmishes on foreign affairs and on the dismissal of officers of the army for political conduct. But the really decisive battle was fought on the Repeal of the Septennial Act, moved by Mr. The ^®Pj^®^" Bromley. Bolingbroke had experienced some ' difficulty in inducing those Whigs who had voted for it in the good old days of Stanhope to clamour now for its repeal ; but interest, as usual, carried the day. The debate was hot. Personalities were exchanged with considerable emphasis on both sides, but the palm must undoubtedly be awarded to Sir William Windham for the attack, and Sir Robert Walpole for the defence. Walpole, stung by the fierce invective of Windham, lashed out right and left, tearing down the flimsy ' veil with which the Whig deserters attempted to cover their tergiversation, and openly accused Bolingbroke of being the cause of the whole. " Let me suppose an anti-Minister who thinks himself a person of so great and extensive parts that he looks upon himself as the only person capable to conduct the public affairs : — suppose this fine gentleman lucky enough to have gained over to his party some persons really ^rick^ou ^^ ^® P^^*^' ^^ ancient families, and of great Bolingbroke. fortunes ; others from desperate views arising from ' disappointed and malicious hearts; all these gentlemen being moved by him solely, all they say being only a spitting out of that venom which he has infused into them ; and yet we may suppose tlus leader not really liked by any, even of those who so blindly follow him, and hated by all the rest of mankind. We will suppose this anti- Minister to be in a country where he really ought not to be, and where he could not have been but by the effect of too much goodness and mercy, yet endeavour- ing with all his art to destroy the fountain from which that fountain flowed." How the fiery Opposition chieftain must have writhed in spirit at the bitter truth of his rival's taunts, and the more bitter truth that he could never reply ! ' The Porteous Riots. 97 The elections, in spite of all the exertions of his enemies gave Walpole once more a steady majority, and General elec- the result was that Bolingbroke, who had openly tion, 1735. quarrelled with Pulteney and was weary of beat- withdrawal ing the empty air, withdrew from public life to of Boling- France. broke. The session of 1736 was remarkable for an attempt to remove' the disabilities of the Dissenters, which difficult question Walpole had so long put off on the plea Jljgg®^*®^^' that it " was not yet time.'' There was not the slightest doubt that the Church would not hear of tolerance ; and Walpole did not feel himself strong enough to quarrel with such an influential body. The Dissenters therefore once more went to the wall, and the Bill was rejected.. The most serious event of the year 1736 was the celebrated Porteous Kiots, the origin of which was sin- gular. Two smugglers were imprisoned in the B,iotri736 Tolbooth, the old Edinburgh prison, for some petty offence or other ; one of the many for which men were hung by scores in the "good old times." They contrived to obtain a file, freed themselves from their irons, and cut through a bar of a window grating. Wilson, a big man,, insisted on going' first; but got fixed in the aperture, so that he could neither advance nor extricate himseK. Reeling with bitter self- reproach that but for him his companion, Kobertson, would have escaped, he determined to do something to save him. Next Sunday, when church was over, he attacked his guards unex- pectedly, crying to Kobertson to escape ; and during the con- fusion the latter jumped over the pews and disappeared. This generous Conduct excited considerable sympathy for Wilson ; and though his execution passed off quietly enough, yet after the body had been cut down the rabble began to attack the guards with stones. Captain Porteous, the commander, losing his temper, ordered his men to ^^ on the crowd, and in conse- quence several persons were wounded. For this Porteous was . tried and condemned ; but, in consideration of the provocation, was reprieved by the queen. The people were furious at this, and determined on revenge. There appears to be no doubt that this intention was communicated to the city authorities and to the general in command of the troops, and that yet nothing was done to prevent the outbreak. A little before ten o'clock a disorderly mob, armed with halberts and Lochaber 98 Walpole and George II. axes snatched from the city guard-house, assembled before the Tolbooth, and, with cries of " Porteous, Porteous ! " battered in the door, dragged the unhappy man from the chimney in which he was hiding, and hanged him on a barber's pole with all pos- sible ceremony. It was only too clear from the regularity with which it was carried out that persons of the upper classes were connected with the crime. The queen was furious at the insult to her authority. The wildest plans were proposed. Scotland was to become a hunting-ground; the Charter of Edinburgh was to be abolished ; the provost was to be incapaci- tated from ever holding any office again. One almost smiles to think of fat, good-tempered Queen Caroline thus anticipating ■ the deeds of JSTorth and Eobespierre. Common sense, however, and the Scotch peers came to the rescue, and the matter ended in the infliction of a fine of 2000?. on the city and the disgrace of the provost. The eyes of the nation, however, were shortly diverted from Quarrel be- i^ore serious matters to the disgraceful tragi- tween George comic squabble between George II. and *' dis- and Frederic, solute Fred," which ended in the banishment of 1737. the latter from Court, 1737. In this same year, 1737, occurred the third crisis inWalpole's long period of power — the ftueen died ! The Opposition fondly imagined that at last their hour had come, and that Walpole, deprived of his only support, must inevitably fall. Great, however, was their disappointment when they discovered, The Queen's ^^^* ^^^ ascendency was apparently unshaken, death. ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ she dilated on her death-bed on Walpole's services to the dynasty, and cordially recommended him to the king. The king in political matters always followed her advice, and moreover had a certain amount of sturdy common sense of his own which enabled him to estimate the true value of the men about him. The result of these disappointments and the steady hostility of Walpole to great men of any kind was that sitfon ^°' *^® Opposition became desperate, and the con- test rapidly drifted into a struggle between per- sonal enemies, embittered and rendered more unscrupulous by an intense desire for office. They tried every means of hinder- ing his measures. They inveighed against his peace policy, his standiiig army, corruption, anything. They even adopted the doubtful tactics of a temporary secession from parliamentary The Spanish Question. 99 life, which was productive of little except unwelcome leisure for themselves and unexpected peace for Walpole. However, though Walpole knew it not, inevitable war was looming in the distance, and this would be the opportunity of his enemies. The Spanish ques- ^?if.^«*^^^^ tion was rismg daily mto greater importance, and was destined to be the rock on which his Ministry would split. Section 3. — The Spanish Question, The English had recognized the right of Spain to regulate the trade with her colonies by several treaties, of which the most important . were the Treaties of Utrecht, 1713, and Seville, 1729. The footing on which English commerce was placed was that England had the privilege of supplying the Spanish colonies with slaves (the Assiento) and of sending one merchant ship annually to the South Seas with as much of English goods as a ship of 500 tons could carry. All other commerce with the colonies was strictly forbidden. The natural result was that the treaty was systematically violated. The ,, „ growing commerce of England found a vent in a dispute. vast illicit trade which sprang up with the Spanish colonies and caused the annual fair of Panama, which had been intended as the mart of South America, to be entirely deserted. This was effected in two ways : first, by open smug- gling on various pretexts at the Spanish ports; secondly, by sending a fleet . of tenders to hang off the coast, and refill the annual sloop again and again by night until it resembled a Fortunatus' purse, which could never be emptied. In conse- quence of these tricks the Spaniards retaliated by searching all merchant ships cruising off the coast, and using violence and outrage to those found in suspicious circumstances. The result was that stories, more or less exaggerated, were brought home of Spanish severities to English sailors, which were received with great indignation by the English nation. The most celebrated of these was the story of Jenkins' Ear, which has given a derisive title to the war itself — a title, however, very pregnant of meaning. The !1 ^^^^^^^' story, as narrated by Carlyle, is that Captain Jenkins of the ship. Rebecca left Jamaica for London in 1731. Not far off the coast of Havannah he was boarded by a Spanish revenue cutter. These people ''broke in on Jenkins in an H 2 100 Walpole and George II. extraordinary manner; tore up liis hatches — plunged down; not the least trace of contraband on board of Jenkins. They shook and rummaged him ; they slashed the head of Jenkins, his left ear almost off; they hung him up to the yardarm," but let him down again half -choked. And then, at last, " the sun getting low, they made a last assault on Jenkins ; clutched the bloody slit ear of him, tore it mercilessly off, flung it in his face, ' Carry that to your king and tell him of it.' " Then Jenkins, according to his own account, "commended his soul to God and his cause to his country,'^ and, with his ear done up in cotton- wool, came back to demand vengeance. Another ver- sion, however, of the story is that Jenkins really lost his ear in the pillory, and that the tale of his encounter with the Spaniards was pure invention. It is pretty certain, hoTvever, that whether Jenkins and his Rebecca were or were not treated in this way, very similar out- rages were continually perpetrated by revenue ships on the Spanish main. There were besides other causes of dispute. The Spaniards' denied the English right to cut logwood in the Bay of Cam- peachy and collect salt in the Island of Tortuga. There was also a fertile source of trouble in the unsettled boundaries be-^ Family ccm- ^^^^^ Florida and Georgia, which each nation pact, 1733. naturally construed to their own advantage. The growing preponderance of. English commerce ex- cited the jealousy of France and Spain, and the result was the conclusion of a secret treaty in 1733 between them, the object of which was to limit EngHsh commerce as much as possible. The revenue officers on the Spanish main Avere therefore in- structed to exercise the right of search to the utmost, and to punish all illicit trading with the greatest severity. The Spaniards saw that the moment had come when they must either maintain their monopoly by force or consent to give it up. It is this which gives importance to the apparently purposeless §. "War of Jenkins' Ear," which seems to have begun owing to'' ' a whim of the English people, flattered by the Opposition^for purely factious motives ; and to have ended without any result at all, for the question of the right of search on which the war began was entirely passed over at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Importance l^^^' ^^ ^^^' ^^ ^^^*^' ^ ^^^i' ^o decide whether pf the war. ^^^^^ should any longer stride, like some huge Colossus, across America, and forbid the "ex- End of Walpole. 101 pansion of England" in that continent. If England was to work out her mission in the world, the power of Spain must be hroken ; the English flag must be supreme in both hemispheres ; trade must be free. These questions were decided in favour of England by the war; but they were decided tacitly. The right of search was not mentioned at Aix-la-Chapelle for poli- tical reasons; but practically it had become impossible for Spain to enforce it. Practically it was settled that it was no longer possible for Spain to maintain the restrictions by which she had guarded her monopoly. The Spanish War, therefore, has an interest to England entirely apart from the Austrian Succession War ; and for this reason it seems best to treat of them apart. The Austrian Succession may or may not have been of importance to England ; but the Spanish question jiouched her development as a commercial and colonizing power, which was to lead to such stupendous results. The English people, therefore, insisting on war, and blindly believing in Jenkins, pilloried or not piUoried, were really treading the path ordained for them. The Opposition, blind, factious, and selfish, as their conduct really was, can claim the credit of leading the nation to world-wide Empire, position of And Walpole — closed his Ministerial career by Walpole. steadily opposing the national cry for war as long as it was possible to do so; and then— remained in office to carry out the policy of his opponents ! And yet there were excuses to be urged for him, which could not be urged for any Minister now. He knew that the Opposition merely proposed war because he advocated peace ; that they attacked his measures for carrying on the war because they were his ; and that they would foUow out his policy to the letter if they once got into office. Section i. — The End of Walpole. This Spanish question, therefore, was the difficulty which Walpole had to face after the year 1737. At first he steadily refused to recognize it, or to break his peace policy, which had .done so much for England. But a change had come over the face of affairs. He had undoubtedly lost his strongest support when the queen died. George himself was inspired with martial ardour, and was eager for war, under the mistaken impression that he was a heaven-sent commander. Even Newcastle had at last been snubbed into mutiny, and Newcastle hoped to rise by 102 Walpole and George II. encouraging the king's desire for war and ousting Walpole. And so the tide ran stronger and stronger against peace, with Spain ^^^ Walpole found himself obliged to declare war with Spain, 1739. This was received with as much excitement as the withdrawal of the Excise Scheme hd»(i been. " They are ringing the bells now, they will soon be wringing their hands," muttered the Minister when the City bells pealed out in joyful unison, and the red glow on the top of the Monument shed a lurid light over the dusky outline below. And yet both were right. Through the smoke and glare which hung over the city Walpole could see years of war, carnage, and heavy taxation, looming in the distance, and far to the north the dreaded Spectre of Jacohitism rising once more in arms over the Grampian Hills. Beyond he could not see ; nor was it given to the man who had done so much for England to lift the veil which shadowed her future greatness. War, however, had been declared, and though the fighting - apparatus was in a terrible state, something had to be done. Two expeditions were therefore sent out to America. Anson ^ ., was to sail round the Horn, and do what he could in pillaging the rich Spanish ships and towns along the Pacific coast. Yemon was to destroy the strong for- tress of Cartagena. Anson, after many adventures, returned home round the world, laden with plunder. Vernon failed ignominiously. The latter fact ought to have done Walpole good, for Vernon was the man of the Opposition. Cables of iron, however, could not have resisted the intolerable pressure which Avas brought to bear on him. War had broken out in Germany as well ; and the country wanted a war Minister to carry it on with energy. And so when Walpole found himself only able to Fall of ^^^^-^ ^^^ Government candidate on the Chippen- Walpole: ^^^ Election Petition, 1742, by a very small majority, he knew his time had come. His resig- nation was regarded as the beginning of a political miUennium. but he knew well that it really meant the total break up of his enemies, and the disappointment of the great majority of those who had been bitterest against him. The result y, as much as he had expected. Pulteney retired to the Lords, thereby losing all popularity and influence. Eolingbroke, who had returned at the good news, learnt that result. ^^.®^® ^^^. "^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^™ i^ ^^e new Ministry. Pitt,, finding that his merits were p«ot valued at r^' Death of Walpole, 103 his own estimation, returned once more to bitter opposition. The real advantage was won by the deserter Newcastle. Car- teret and a few others obtained of5.ce, and a Ministry, nominally headed by the Earl of Wilmington (formerly Sir Spencer Compton), and supported by Newcastle's corrupt influence, was formed. Carteret, however^ became the most important man in the Ministry, owing to the extraordinary prominence of foreign affairs. Walpole retired to the Lords as Earl of Orford, and though a vain attempt was made to impeach him, the influence of the Court was successfully exerted to screen him. -n i, * Even in retirement he exercised considerable in- -viTalpole fluence over the fortunes of his country owing to the extraordinary opinion which George had of his counsels. He died in March, 1745, just as the general European war, which he had so long striven to avert, was breaking out everywhere with renewed fury. 104 The Austrian Succession War. ^Soofe JIE,— PELHAM, 1742-54. I CHAPTEK I. THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION WAR, 1740-48. Section 1. — Austria and Bavaria, 1740-43. The death of the Emperor Charles YI. in 1740 threw open two questions of considerable importance to Europe in general. These were the succession to the Austrian dominions, and the succession to the Empire. Charles had left no male children ; otherwise there would probably have been no (^ fficulty at all. His heir was his daughter Marie Therese, a han(Jspnie young woman of about twenty-three, who had been lately quarried to Erancis of Lorraine, the Grand Duke of Tuscany;.:;* So far as natural right and international good faith had anyiliing to do with the The Austrian ^^.^J^^^' ^^® claims of Marie Therese to the Aus- succession. ^^^^^ dominions seemed incontrovertible ; for she was not only the lawful heir of Charles YI, but the Pragmatic Sanction, which declared her to be such, had been guaranteed over and over again by nearly all Europe at different periods. With regard to the Empire the question was un- doubtedly an open one. The fact that the Austrian Plouse had occupied the imperial throne since the fifteenth century was no doubt a very good foundation in Marie's eyes for a prescriptive right to it for the future. Bat it was equally likely to furnish the Electors with a desire to break that prescriptive title on the first possible opportunity. A favourable moment presented itself now for this. The question was— how would it be used 1 Frederic II, . 105 How the matter would have ended if the parties concerned- V \ k 1 namely, Austria and the Empire — had been allowed to settle it alone, it is impossible to say. But there was never the slightest chance of this ; and so it is of little importance. France con- sidered herself interested in the question ; or rather, her war Minister, the Duke de Belleisle, hoped that France might extract some advantage by inter- Belleisle. fering. Natural right and international good faith were in his eyes excellent deities for other more thick- witted nations, but scarcely suited to his lively countrymen. Frenchmen, with the memory of Utrecht before them, were as willing to shout a Vienne in 1740 as a Bei^lin in 1870. Belle- isle, therefore, evolved the following sounding project. France should unite with the discontented German princes, and enable them to elect one of their own number to the imperial throne, thus excluding the Grand Duke Francis ; should assist the various claimants to partition the Austrian succession, leaving only the kingdom of Hungary and its dependencies to Marie Therese. Thus Austria would bt? excluded from Germany ; Germany itself would be split up into a number of small king- doms dependent on France. This was the prospect which met the keen unscrupulous vision of Frederic II. of Prussia, a prince of the most un- bounded ambition and reckless daring. The idea which at once occurred to him was that Marie's weakness, Belleisle's plan, and German grievancjes, were all so many points in his favour in any scheme for his o-"^ii "aggrandizement. It was quite clear that war was imminent between Austria and France. It was equally clear that England, after the due amount of blundering at the beginning, would come forward effectively to support the young queen. Which side should Designs of Frederic take 1 Or, in fact, with a fine disregard o/pru^g^sia for sentimental considerations, which side would give him most 1 The obvious answer was that neither would give him more than they could help. He therefore determined to take advantage of the general confusion and obtain possession of a solid pledge which would enable him to dictate his own terms. "Without any declaration of war he marched an army into Silesia, on the pretext of some really obsolete claims, occupied the chief towns, and routed the Austrian army of relief at Molwitz (April 10, 1741). He then offered to assist the queen, and support her husband's candidature for the Empire, in return 106 The Austrian Succession War. for the cession of Lower Silesia. Marie, however, haughtily refused any accommodation. Frederic, therefore, concluded an alliance with France (June, 1741), which was quickly fol- lowed by an irruption of two French armies into Germany (August, 1741). So far success was on the side of the allies. Walpole confined himself to promising money, and advising the the French. queen to make terms with Frederic. The French . seized Bohemia and the frontier fortresses of Austria. Hanover was in such peril that George concluded a convention for its neutrality. The Elector of Bavaria was elected to the imperial throne as Charles YII. A Spanish, and l^eapolitan army overran all Lombardy. The tide, however, soon turned. Marie appealed to her Hun- garians, and they rose en masse at her call. Despair drove her to conclude a verbal agreement at Klein-Schnellendorf with Frederic, of neutrality on his part, the cession of Lower Silesia on hers (October 9th, 1741). An Austrian army under Kheven- hiiller overran Bavaria and drove out the French. So that the unfortunate Charles was really a homeless fugitive at the very moment when he had attained the highest earthly honour (February, 1742). Another Austrian army invaded Bohemia, and shut the French up in Prague, from which the latter were obliged eventually to retire with great loss (December, 1742). The elevation of the Bavarian excited jealousy among the other German princes; and this, coupled with the fear that France would obtain an overwhelming influence in the Empire^ induced them to lean once more to an Austrian alliance. Frederic II., it is Triumph of *^^^' ^^^^°^®^ ^^ ^^^ growing power of Austria, Austria. ^^^. ."™^^ insisted on including in the Ministry ; ahove aU otPelliam. ^^ detested Pitt for his uncomplimentary criti- cisms on Hanover. He therefore intrigued against his Ministers with Bath and Carteret. The result was that in February, 1746, while the Jacobite rebellion was' raging in the north, a Ministerial crisis took place. The king definitely refused to admit Pitt to the Ministry, and made overtures to Carteret and Bath. The Ministers thereupon resigned in a body. Bath found himself unable to form a Government. The king was therefore, to his deep sorrow and disgust, obliged to reaccept the Pelhams on their own terms. Section 2. — The Jacobite Invasion^ 1745-46. Charles Edward Louis Stuart, commonly called the young Pretender, or the Chevalier de St. George, was the Edward- ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ Pretender, by Clementina Maria, granddaughter of John Sobieski, King of Poland. He was born at Eome, December 20th, 1720, and resided in that city until the outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession seemed to open to him a favourable early His- opportunity for recovering the dominions of his ' ancestors. Of his early life almost nothing is known, except that continual reports of his excellence and promise reached England at intervals, much to the alarm of the Whig Ministry. His education had|,been, however, greatly neglected ; and this was attributed to the wiles of Walpole, who was supposed to have bribed his tutor. "\^niether this was actually true, or was merely owing to the general inclination to see the hand of Walpole in almost everything which happened in Europe at the time, is of little importance. The fact re- mains that even the average school-girl of the present day would have been ashamed of the defective writing and spelling in which the young hero recorded his hopes and troubles. His character was such as befitted a great prince. Kindly, generous, humane, courtly, courageous, and enduring; every- character. where he was distinguished for his gallantry, beloved for his winning manner, surrounded by a dazzling halo of popularity. "And when we remember," says Mr. Jesse, "the circumstances of his education — that he Charles Edward. 117 had been confided to the charge of priests and higots; and moreover that he had been nursed in the lap of luxury, and accustomed to the enervating pleasures and habits of a soft and luxurious climate, — we can only wonder that there should have been generated in such a quarter those powers of endurance, and that spirit to act, — those kindly and generous feelings, and those clear and excellent abilities which distinguished the gallant and warm-hearted prince in the early period of his career, and which were displayed by him under circumstances of difficulty and danger such as it has been the lot of few besides himself to encounter." And yet, in spite of his excellent character, his many and varied gifts, and the fewness of his defects, it was utterly impossible and undesirable that he should idtimately succeed in the desperate enterprise to which he had dedicated his life, i rom infancy he had been taught to regard the House of Hanover as usurpers ; he had been educated in the lofty Stuart theories of prerogative ; he had been brought up in the strictest principles of the Eoman Catholic Church. . It was therefore natural that he should have the govemmeiit same horror of parliamentary government and constitutional restrictions, which had been the chief charac- teristic of his race ; that he should regard the Bill of Eights and the Act of Settlement as so many sacrilegious attacks on the majesty of the royal power ; and that he should unflinch- ingly look forward to the restoration of the ascendency of the Catholic Church, even if he conceded some slight measure of toleration to the heretical communions. Circumstances and necessity induced him to bend his lofty crest, and assume a humbler tone ; but convictions such as these were too firmly implanted in his mind not to spring up again with renewed vitality when once the pressure of misfortune was removed. England, on the other hand, had undoubtedly had quite enough of Stuart misrule; though she might at times delude herself with romantic visions of " martyred ^^*^^^^? kings," and imagine that the heroic, gallant young possible. Chevalier would be far preferable to dull, com- monplace, beer-drinking George. But England had now passed through fifty years of liberty and political development. A new generation had sprung up, who were accustomed to use their tongues and pens as freely as they pleased on everything and everybody, not excepting the king. They bewailed them- selves at times. as the most wretched, down-trodden nation in 118 Carteret and Pelham, existence ; but the very violence of their complaints proved the enviable freedom of their position. Louis XY. would have sent a French Pitt to the Bastille for life. Under James III. he would have been lucky if he had escaped with a sojourn in the Tower. A new Licensing Act would have soon checked the pungent invective which the Craftsman bestowed so liberally on the king and Government. The Dissenters would have found that the little finger of the Koman Catholic Church was thicker than the loins of the Establishment. And so, sooner or later, there must have been an explosion — perhaps a mere repe- tition of the peaceful Revolution of 1688, perhaps more nearly akin to the terrible convulsion of 1792. But the enterprise was really hopeless from the very first ; and it was only a combination of circumstances which prevented this being immediately apparent — produciug in fact a mirage of delu- sive prosperity which completely veiled the barren, inhospitable sands to which the young prince was really travelling. The only part of Scotland on which he could rely was the High- lands, and they contained barely a twelfth of the whole popula- tion. Moreover, many of the Highland chieftains were bound closely to the Whig Government. The Highlanders themselves State of the ^^^^ ^^^ exactly the kind of troops which a Highlands. general would select for a long and arduous campaign. Their courage was undpubted; and the irresistible fury with which they were wont to charge the enemy had carried them victorious through many a hard-fought field. But of the qualities which are perhaps even more im- portant to an army than mere animal courage — such as subordi- nation, patience, endurance, and single-mindedness — they pos- sessed not the slightest vestige. The chiefs acknowledged no superior, and were in consequence unwilling to serve under one of their own number, even when the latter was fortified by a commission from the man whom all acknowledged as their ricrhtful king. Disputes were therefore likely to arise between them, and the general safety likely to be risked for some petty punc- tilio, some unfortunate access of barbarian pride. The personal hostility, in fact, between various nobles formed one of the chief difficulties of the young Chevalier, and in many cases , it was only his great personal address which could have restored harmony between such discordant elements. The common men, when flushed with success, were almost irresis- tible in their determined onset j but they were wholly devoid Feeling in England. 119 of discipline, and their chief object was plunder. They there- fore usually dispersed in search of it long before the enemy was out of reach ; and in consequence jander? " the latter were able in many cases to reform themselves undisturbed and even threaten the security of their conquerors. Defeat or ill-success entirely demoralized them. In a retreat they were liable to become a useless, panic-stricken mob, to which the name of army would be very inappropriately applied. It followed, therefore, that when once the young Chevalier had succeeded in composing the turmoil and discord of the Highlands sulSiciently to enable him to raise a respectable body of followers, some immediate success was necessary to keep them together. Victory must follow hard on the heels of victory ; delay was dangerous ; retreat loas simply suicide. The Lowlands were distinctly unfavourable. The majority of the people — canny, commercial, Presbyterians — hated the Stuarts bpth for their religious opinions and their religious persecu- tion ; and also because' invasion, war, revolution, must necessarily be prejudicial to trade in general and their own pockets in particular. The Episcopalians, it is true, had no g^^^^ ^^ ^^^ love for the Presbyterians ; but long experience Lowlands, had led them to dread the merciless forays of the Highlanders with a vivid terror far surpassing the fervour of theological antagonism. There was little to be expected from the Lowlands, and that little would have to be extracted by force. At the same time the cautious nature of th-e Low- lander precluded any chance of vigorous resistance as long as the invader should be fairly successful. In England appearances were extremely deceptive. Pulteney and his friends had been accustomed to speak g^^^^ ^^ as though England was really sunk in the deepest England, gulf of misery and ruin, and that this was due to the iniquitous machinations of George and Walpole. If Carteret had been the Great Dragon of the Apocalypse maintaining cease- less war on the whole human race, Pitt could scarcely have added very much to the scathing denunciations which he had heaped on him. Hanover had been the subject of more parlia- mentary eloquence than even Ireland at the present day. Hon- ourable members had not scrupled to describe it as a " despicable electorate." Scribblers had suggested a comparison between the pale horse of Death and the white charger on the Hanover arms. The Tory country gentlemen were still accustomed to 120 Carteret and Pelham. drink to the " king over the water/' and to describe in more or less inferior lyrics the political and social millennium which would begin when the king should ^' enjoy his own again." Thei Oxford students shouted Jacobite songs in the street, and the Public Orator of the University introduced into his speech no very indistinct allusions to a Stuart Eestoration. The intelligent observer, in fact, who is always a very superficial person, would have imagined that England was really ripe for rebellion ; and that the rising in Scotland would be followed by an enthusiastic insurrection spreading all over England. But siffns de- ^^ ^ matter of fact nothing of the kind took ceptive. place. There was not even so much enthusiasm as in 1715.. No attemjDt was made to arrange any plan among the English Jacobites. Hardly any of them moved in the slightest during the Rebellion. Very little sym- pathy was shown with the cause of the young Chevalier. The Jacobites in the London taverns were no doubt in great excitement, and drained many a cup to the health of their champion. London, however, as a whole, and the London mob, had become converted to Whiggism. Many Tories were more willing to make the best of a foreign king who had ruled quite respectably than to risk their liberties under an incapable bigot like James. Their habits of drinking clashed with their politics. They toasted the *' king over the water," but they had no desire to see him this side of the Channel. Pitt, Pulteney, and Chesterfield, had been mainly inspired by the spite of disap- pointed place-hunters. Their mouths were shut and their minds converted by the soothing prospect of office. Shebbeare might have explained the virulence of his pamphlet by the simple fact that so long as abuse is eagerly read by the multitude, so long will the writers be found ready to concoct it. At the same time the mass of the people displayed extra- ordinary apathy during the Eebellion. They did not move for Xing James, it is true ; but then no more did they for King George. They seem rather to have watched the struggle as though it really did not concern them, and as though they were indifferent as to the result. The explanation of this was that Real apathy ^^^^ Revolution had not been at all a popular of tlie people. i^ovement. It had been mainly the work of a number of Yorkshire noblemen and gentlemen. It had not transferred power to the people but to the Parlia- ment; and Parliament was not in any sense a representative Little chance of Success. 121 body, nor was it in any way controlled by the people. The people therefore did not realize the blessings of the " glorious Kevolu- tion of 1688." They found that they were taxed all the same ; and to individuals totally ignorant of constitutional law it did not make any very striking difference whether their hard-earned money was extracted by the king or the Parliament. The result was very much the same to them in the long run. The people, moreover, knew very little of the governing body at all. They were rarely consulted on policy, except when the Opposition occasionally desired to arouse a tempest against the Government ; and then the language of the orators was scarcely calculated to inspire any very great accession of loyalty. The people there- fore, through sheer ignorance, did not really care at all. The class which had gained most by the Eevolution was the middle class, and they are always the most difficult to move to action. It was not therefore singular that when the people were in- different, and the class which were really interested in the question were thoroughly apathetic, the Jacobites should be able by sheer noisiness to cover their real weak- ness and insincerity. At the same time there ^H^^^^^ seems not the sligbtest doubt that this sluggish mass would have been speedily startled into sudden resistance had they once felt the unaccustomed pressure of Stuart mis- government. It was in 1743 that Charles Edward first left Eome on an invitation from the Court of Versailles to join an expedition under Marshal Saxe which was intended for the invasion of England. The expedition was a total failure, and Charles had to spend many weary months at Paris vain'ly striving to pierce the duU ears of the Erench Government by importunate appeals for aid. I^or diti he meet with any very great encouragement from Scotland. The Highland chieftains warned him that it would be utterly useless to cross unless he came attended by 6000 Erench soldiers. At last, almost hopeless, yet hoping against hope, he determined to risk all on a single cast of the die, and, with what arms and munitions of war he could collect, set sail for the promised land pretender ^^^ in a little brig called La Doutelle. He was accompanied by the Marquis of Tullibardine, who had been attainted in 1715, Sir Thomas Sheridan, his own tutor, Sir John Macdonald, Mr. Kelly, a clergyman, Mr. O'Sullivan, an Irish officer in the Erench army, Mr. Erancis Strickland, 122 Carteret and Pelham, and Mr. ^neas Macdonald, a banker in Paris and brother of Macdonald of Kinloch Moidart. After running the gauntlet of the English fleet, the forlorn hope of the Stuarts landed in one of the numerous islets of the western coast of Scot- land. At first he was received with great hesitation by the heads of the Clan Macdonald; but the extraordinary fasci- nation which he exercised over all who came in contact with him soon produced an outburst of loyalty and enthusiasm. The Macdonalds of Clanranald and Kinloch Moidart joined him with all their followers. Cameron of Lochiel came with a doubting heart, but submitted at last to the persuasive eloquence of the prince. Macdonald of Keppoch, Macdonald his first fol- ^^ Glengarry, Murray of Broughton, and other lowers. chieftains soon came flocking in. But the head //i/iV- of the Macleods and the head of the Macdonalds stood sullenly aloof — not from any love of the House of Han'over, but from fear of a disastrous termination to the gallant attempt. The northern clans also remained strictly neutral owing to the m- fluence of Duncan Forbes, Lord President. Lord Lovat and the Frasers followed their example. When therefore, after a preliminary skirmish with the English troops near Fort William, — an isolated military station at the southern end of the great valley through which the Caledonian Canal now runs, — the royal standard was raised with all ceremony in the lonely vale of Glenfinnan, August 19th, Charles found that he must rely for the present on the western clans, and trust to success and his good star to bring him reinforcements later on. The fortune of war set steadily in his favour. Extraordinary to relate, the authorities at Edinburgh did not hear of his arrival tiU Se^^^uthV^ three weeks after the event, though it was rities. known almost directly to the Ministry in Eng- land. Unfortunately, too, Sir John Cope, the English commander in Scotland, was a man whose gallantry : was undoubted, but who was afraid of the responsibility vested in him. He rarely acted without a council of war, and in consequence he rarely acted decisively, and he often acted foolishly. He determined to march to the Highlands and crush the rebellion at once. This was in itself a thorough i mistake. The country was extremely difficult for troops, and was either unfavourable or openly hostile. He had therefore to carry with him all his supplies. He ought to have beset the March to Edinburgh, 123 line of the Forth River and shut the rebellion up in the High- lands, where it would soon have exhausted itself. As it was, he marched north towards Inverness. But instead of at once attacking the Highlanders and endeavouring to crush them, he stood aside and allowed them to pass him and push on through the celebrated Pass of Killiecrankie to Perth. Therefore, while Cope was fondly pluming himself on the ^ , .^^ idea that it was only his brilliant conduct which Edinburgh, had preserved the northern clans in their allegi- ance, James III. was proclaimed at Perth King of Great Britain, and the Perth ladies donned their gayest dresses to dance with the yoimg Chevalier. At Perth the prince was joined by several valuable adherents. Lord OgUvie, son of the Earl of Airlie, and his retainers ; the Robertsons of Struan, Blairfitty, and Cushievale ; and a large body of the men of Athole and Perth came trooping in to the standard. But the most valuable ac- quisition was Lord George Murray, the younger brother of the Duke of Athole, who was far the ablest of the Jacobite leaders. The march to Edinburgh resembled the flow of a river which is fed by intiumerable tributaries all along its course. Macdonald of Glencoe, Macgregor of Glengyle, Lord Kilmarnock, and many others brought fresh accessions of strength to the Jacobite cause. Five days after the proclamation at Perth the dragoons of Gardiner, who had marched out of Edinburgh scoffing at the bare-legged rebels, ran away almost without striking a blow, and the road was open to the capital. Within all was indecision. The provost and magistrates would have defended the town, but their hands were forced by the inhabi- tants. On the 10th of June, James III. was proclaimed at the Cross of Edinburgh amid the blare of trumpets and the shouts of the knted Highlanders. The majority of the citizens were excited to the utmost enthusiasm, and, though a small minority of loyalists preserved a stubborn silence, the air j^^^g ^^ was rent with the acclamations of the fickle mob. Preston Pans. 'Five days later the Highland army attacked and utterly routed Sir John Cope at Preston Pans, just south- west of Edinburgh. The general had come south by water ; and with an army hastily levied, and including the remnants of Gardiner's courageous dragoons, endeavoured to block the road to England. The dragoons behaved with their usual unac- countable cowardice; the terrible rush of the Highlanders carried the English artillery by sfcorm ; and a general sauve qui 124 Carteret and Pelham. pent followed. Cope himself rode off with such despatch that he earned the singular distinction of being the first general who had ever brought home the news of his own defeat. The road to England was now open ; and had Charles ad- vanced at once, he would have found himself almost unopposed. The apathy of the country was such that, when he did enter England, men made up pleasure parties to see the Jacobites "march past." Marshal Wade was at JSTewcastle with a few troops ; but the majority of the English army was still in Elanders, and, with the exception of the Eoyal Guards, and the trained bands, materials for an effective resistance were really totally wanting. Charles himself ardently de- Charles sired to follow up his success at Preston Pans. Edward at tt- n n ^ -n- £ Edinburgh. -"-^^ followers, however, were unwilling ; many of the Highland chiefs had not yet come in ; and he hoped to receive in a short time munitions and troops from France, which would have contributed greatly to the success of the adventure. He therefore remained at Holyrood the darling of the Highlanders, the hero of the ladies. " He missed no opportunity of flattering the prejudices of the Scottish people," says Mr. Jesse, " and rendering himself the object of their love. He was either delighted, or pretended to be, with everything national in or peculiar to Scotland. At the balls at Holyrood he was careful to call alternately for Highland and Lowland tunes, taking care to give no particular preference to either. He accommodated himself indifferently to all ages and to all -ranks. He could be gallant with the fair, lively with the young, and grave with the old. At one hour of the day he was seen conversing familiarly with the humblest of his High- land followers in his camp at Duddingstoun ; at another he was engaged in deliberating in solemn council with his officers ; and at night he Avas seen leading the dance, and dallying with the fair dames of Edinburgh in the old halls of Holyrood." Eut while Charles was winning golden opinions at Edin- burgh, the tide was rapidly turning against him in England. Wade had increased his army at Newcastle to troSi^iT 1^'^^^ ^^^- The Duke of Cumberland had England. formed another military centre in the Midland Counties, to which the Dutch and English troops were marched up as fast as they arrived from Flanders. A great camp was erected at Finchley to defend the capital, and there the trained bands of London and the Eoyal Guards took March to Derb\K 125 up their quarter^. In many counties the militia was called out, and new regiments promised, at their own expense, by several noblemen. Parliament voted liberal supplies, and consented to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. At the same time there is not the slightest doubt that only the regular troops could be depended upon for regular fighting, and that the people would not move at all for either party. The Jacobites were now masters of the greater portion of Scotland, with the exception of the extreme north, the Highland forts, and the Castles of Edinburgh and Stirling. Keinforcements kept con- tinually pouring in. Gordon of Glenbucket, Macpherson of Cluny, Lord Louis Gordon, Lord Balmerino, Lord Pitsligo (supposed to be the wisest man in all Scotland), and many others came down from their ancestral glens with all their vassals in their train. Macleod, however, Sir Alexander Mac- donald, and Lord Lovat, stiU held obstinately aloof, though the latter sent his son with some of the Erasers, hoping to keep in thereby with both parties. There is not the slightest doubt that the defection of these leaders turned the scale against the Jacobite cause. Charles, however, saw that the only way to retain Scotland was to invade England. Having therefore col- lected a considerable store of provisions and munitions of war, and received considerable accessions to his army, he overruled the captious objections of his chieftains j and in a short time the rebel army was rolling steadily towards the Border. The necessity of turning Wade's position at Newcastle com- pelled them to take the old ill-omened road which ran by Solway Moss and Preston. On the 15th of November they reached Carlisle. The 24th brought them to Lancaster. By the 28th they were at Manchester, where they picked up a few reinforcements. On the 4th of December they entered Derby, in numbers about 7000 men. There was nothing now between them and London but the camp at Einchley, for they had eluded both the armies of Wade and Cumberland. If they had marched steadily onwards they might have been successful; for their advance might have encouraged the English Jacobites to rise and changed the general feeling in their favour. As it was, the _ . . news of the advance to Derby filled London with ^q^^^!^ the wildest panic. The shops were shut; all business suspended; the king made every preparation for re- turning to Hanover. The Bank of England only escaped bank-. 126 k , Carteret and Pelham, ruptcy by paying in sixpences. The Duke of JN'ewcastle, it Is even asserted, thouglit seriously of declaring for the Pretender. Long afterwards the day on which the terrible news came in was remembered as the Black Friday. Then amid the tumult and confusion, a post came riding in hot haste from the ]^orth with the glad tidings that the Jacobite army had broken up, and were now in full retreat -,. for the Eorder. The anxiety which had been felt in London may be measured by the wild joy which prevailed when the welcome intelligence flashed from lip to lip through the length and breadth of the city. Fireworks and illuminations blazed from every coign of vantage. The king gladly postponed his flight to Hanover. The retreat, however, had not been accompKshed without violent dissensions among the Jacobite leaders. Lord Georg6 Murray and the principal Scotch commanders appear to have considered it impossible that ''hey should be ultimately suc- cessful. They might by a rapid march enter and overawe London. But the armies of Wade and Cumberland were behiild them, and amounted to 30,000 men. Sooner or later it must come to a battle, and to contend with such an overwhelming ,' force seemed utterly hopeless. The slightest check on the road to London might compel them to fight under every disadvan- tage. Defeat would mean ruin, not merely to the retreat. individuals engaged, but to the whole Jacobite cause. The people, it was true, might rise if they were victorious ; but it was by no means certain, and experience had as yet given little encouragement to the antici*- pation. It would be- better to evacuate England and confine their exertions to Scotland. Defended by the strong and loyal arms of the Highlanders, Scotland would once more be free and independent under the descendant of her ancient kings. With these arguments therefore they assailed the unwilling ears of the prince, and announced their intention of retiring at once to their own country. The unfortunate young man was thunder- struck at the unwelcome intelligence. He saw more clearly than they did the true efl'ect of this measure. It meant the nan of all his hopes. The promised kingdom faded faintly away before his eyes like the baseless fabric of a vision. He knew well that, with such an army as his, retreat would be fatal. The Highlanders, so irresistible in the charge, would become demoralized. The legions of Wade and Cumberland would Defeat of the Rebels. ' 127 close steadily round them, and drive them back like sheep to their native glens, marking the way with corpses. Murray and the rest were, however, determined, and so, with rage and dfespair gnawing his heart, the prince was obliged to submit. On the 6th of December the insurgents began their retreat. On the 19 th, after a slight skirmish with Cumberland's ad- vanced guard, they entered Carlisle. On the 20th they re- crossed the Border, and in January the London prisons were full of rebels captured at Carlisle. The Scotch marched rapidly on to Glasgow, and thence to "'■ besiege Stirling, followed closely by General Hawley — a fero- cious officer, who was nicknamed the "Lord Chief Justice" on account of his brutality. His contempt for the rebels was so great that he did not even take the ordinary precautions of war, but allowed himself to be surprised and tho- roughly routed at Falkirk, January 17th, 1746 ; ^amrk^ and once more a thrill of dismay ran through ^^^ ^l 'i746 the heart of London. Dissensions, however, of the most violent kind had broken out among the Jacobites. During the retreat Charles had held himself considerably aloof from his followers. He usually rode at the rear of the army. He had lost his careless, gallant, fascinating demeanour, and become morose and ^. JJJ.JTT -J SI -i? Dissensions, dejected. He received a few more reinforce- ments on entering Scotland ; but he quarrelled with the chiefs on almost every point of policy, and in many cases put himself distinctly in the wrong from a mistaken sense of the obligations of honour. After a vain attempt at besieging Stirling, the army broke up into two divisions, and marched north towards Inverness, hoping to be joined by the northern clans and some , French reinforcements. The English Government, however, were now labouring zealously to end the Eebellion. The English fleet hung off the coast, and effectually prevented the arrival of any French ships with troops or provisions ; while at the same time every kind of stores could easily be landed for the benefit of the English army. Cumberland had been sent to supersede Hawley after the defeat of Falkirk ; and he followed up the pursuit with sleuth-hound tenacity. After a few indecisive skirmishes, the insurgents at last turned at bay on CuUoden Battle of Heath, April 16th, 1746, and a desperate battle CuUoden, took place. The Highlanders fought with their April 16. 128 Carteret and Pelham. usual courage and ferocity ; but their liopes were entirely ruined by the mutinous conduct of the Macdonalds, who, furious at being denied the place of honour, refused to charge the enemy, even though they saw Macdonald of Keppoch cut down before their very eyes. *^ My God, have the children of my tribe deserted me % '' cried the dying chieftain, as the tide of war rolled hotly over him, and flung back the stubborn Mac- donalds disgraced and broken into dishonourable flight. The game was really up, and the more prudent leaders forced Charles to fly. After unheard-of adventures and hair-breadth escapes, he succeeded in reaching the Western Isles, where he skulked for some time in every kind of disguise. His final escape was entirely due to the devotion of the celebrated Flora Macdonald, who brought him safely through his enemies, dressed as a lady's- maid, to Loch-na-]N'uagh, where, accompanied by Lochiel and several of his followers, he took ship for France. Thus ended the last of the Civil Wars. Victory was followed by vengeance, and that of the utmost brutality. Cumberland disgraced both himself and his country by the atrocious cruelty with which he treated the vanquished rebels and the conquered districts. Every kind of lawless violence was perpetrated. The flying and unresisting High- Mil' ta V landers were pistolled in cold blood by their cruelUes. remorseless pursuers. The wounded were left to die on the field amid the corpses of their com- panions. The pale figures of half-starved women and children were seen flitting like shadows among the holes and caves of the rocks j their husbands and brothers had been murdered, their homes burnt to the ground, they were dying a lingering . death of starvation and cold. It is even asserted that at Fort Augustus the troops collected a number of young women, stripped them naked, set them astride on horses, and with, blows and shouts of laughter compelled the unfortunate creatures to ride races for their amusement. General Hawley was fore- most in every cruelty ; his brutal nature rejoiced in such con- genial employment. Cumberland had undoubtedly earned the title of "Saviour of his country; "but popular opinion fixed. on him the unenviable nickname of "the Butcher." The merciless inhumanities of military license were followed by more justifiable legal severities. The Earls of Cromartie and Kilmarnock, Lord Balmerino, Lord Lovat, and Colonel Townley, —who had defended Carlisle against Cumberland— were End of the Stuarts, 129 executed with all the barbarities characteristic of the punish- ment for high treason at the time. Many of the common prisoners died in their unwholesome re^mresgion dungeons. Some were shipped off to slavery at Barbadoes. In a few weeks, however, a general Act of In- demnity, with some exceptions, was passed, and was followed by various measures for securing peace in the Highlands, and destroying the feudal power of the chiefs. Laws were issued, forbidding the Highland dress to be worn ; ordering the sur- render of all arms ; and depriving the chiefs of their rights of jurisdiction over the clans, which were vested in regular tribunals. A more decided impulse in favour of peace and loyalty was given by the enlistment later on of several regi- ments of Highlanders during the Seven Years' War. Thus these semi-barbarians were taught to use their strength and endurance in the defence of that very Government which they had so long hated and despised as alien and tyrannical. The saddest part of this pathetic story remains yet to be told — the last scenes in the life of the Young Pretender. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle stipulated that he should be no longer allowed to reside in France. He refused, however, to withdraw on the invitation of the French Government. The latter there- fore had him seized by force, bound hand and foot, hurried off in a coach and six, and deposited carefully out- p ^ ^ side the frontier, where he was left to his own charles devices. From this time his noble, generous nature gradually deteriorated. He became attached to a Miss Walkenshaw, who acquired an extraordinary influence over him. His marriage was unhappy, and ended shortly in a separation, after which he returned to Miss Walkenshaw with renewed affection. He became the slave of intoxication, which gradually robbed his mind of its brilliance, his character of its nobleness ; until at last we find him in his premature and dis- honoured old age a besotted drunkard, a peevish husband, a tyrannical master — his understanding debased, and his temper soured. How different to the gallant courtly host of Holyrood, the daring hero of Preston Pans. He died January 30th, 1788, leaving one illegitimate daughter by Miss Walkenshaw. His brother, Henry, experienced yet more extraordinary vicissitudes of fortune. Having become a cardinal, and thereby ruined his hopes of ever succeeding to the British throne, he was eventually forced by the outbreak of the French Kevolu- 130- Carteret and Pelham, tion to take refuge in England. There the Ministry provided this venerable pillar of the Church with an StuartV^^ ample pension. He died in 1807, certainly the most irreproachable of his line. The remains of his father, himself, and his brother, rest in St. Peter's at Eome under a magnificent monument raised by the munificence of George IV, On it is carved an inscription full of touching irony to the memory of James III., Charles III., and Henry IX., Kings of England. The most practical and prosaic of this common- place generation may well feel their eyes grow dim with unaccustomed moisture at the sight of this lonely memorial of wasted lives and fruitless aspirations. Section 3. — Ministry of Pelham, 1744-54. Though he was the heir of Walpole's policy, Pelham's views were in many points the exact opposite to those of his former chief. Walpole had despised the opposition of all the greatest men of the time — nay, deliberately provoked it — provided he \ could ensure the most thorough discipline in his own camp. Pelham, on the contrary — a nervous, cautious, mediocre man — Pelham and <^^ea .' The Church. 137 ..^^y^ifeii-. ''X-'^'-': CHAPTEE III. THE CHURCH. Section 1. — The Church of England, The period of the first two Hanoverian kings was remarkable for a general decline of the religious enthusiasm which had been such a marked characteristic of the reign of Anne. Very- little interest was taken in religious questions at all ; and in consequence even the growth of ^^9^^^® ^ scepticism proceeded extremely slowly, owing to feeling, the total decadence of the theological spirit. The most conclusive evidence of this is the facility with which Walpole was able to deprive and banish Atterbury, the most brilliant and popular Churchman of his time, for the conspiracy of 1722. Very little excitement was aroused on the subject ; and though attempts were made to stir up sympathies for him, they all signally failed. The rise of the Bangorian Controversy at first indeed seemed to presage a fresh outbreak of religious tumults. Hoadley, Bishop of Bangor, in a sermon on " The kingdom of Christ," maintained doctrines wholly subversive of the tenets of the High Church party. He was attacked with great bitterness and acrimony in consequence by the Lower House of Convocation ; and the Ministry considered it advisable to end the ridiculous and unseemly exhibition by proroguing Convocation. This sweeping measure was received with the most perfect coolness by the country at large. No one really seemed to care ; and the practical abolition of Convocation was effected with the greatest ease, 1717. England was, in fact, rapidly becoming Latitudinarian, or Low Church; and the enthusiasm for High _ . . Church doctrines was slowly but surely dying narianism away. The Court steadily encouraged Lati- 138 The Church, tudinarianism, and persistently appointed Latitudinarians to the principal sees. Their protection and encouragement was ex- tended to Hoadley, and the strongest expression of the favour of the Government towards his views lay in their treatment of Convocation. The people in consequence turned towards Lati- tudinarianism, and the High Church party steadily diminished in importance. Undoubtedly this .development was facilitated by the taint of Jacobitism which hung around the supporters Jacobitism ^f High Church views. Many clergymen were Churchmen. engaged in the Kebellion of 1715. Atterbury, the leader of the High Churchmen, was exiled for conspiracy ; one non-juring priest saifered for treason at Tyburn. High Church therefore gradually became identified with Jacobitism, and sank more and more into disfavour. The effect on theological life was distinctly unfortunate. The High Church party was undoubtedly the most active and intel- ligent. Their religious life, if obscured at times by useless or ridiculous controversies on points of wholly un- Lisastrous important detail, was undoubtedly instinct with greater vitality than that of their rivals. Their ritual was more calculated to strike the imagination and impress the duller minds than the sombre decorum of the Low Church service. The result therefore was a steady decline in religious life. Sermons became longer, duller, less fitted for the capacity of the ordinary church-goer, more provocative of sleep. The history of theological literature is a record of slowly-developing decay until the new-born energy of the Revolutionary period startled the whole sluggish mass into unusual activity once more. Three typical men of the century may be drawn from each of the three forms of religion included within the Church: Atterbury is the representative of the loftiest High Church views ; Sherlock propounded a middle course between the two extremes ; Clarke may be regarded as the prolocutor of the extreme Low Churchmen, who endeavoured to reduce the most indefinable subtleties of doctrine to the level of the plainest and prosiest explanation. Section 2. — The Dissenters, There was still, however, enough of the spirit of the past ■.1,1 . 1.- .1, The Dissenters, 139 century left in the Church to preserve the old feeling of in- , tolerance which had dictated the Test and Corporation Acts. These enactments precluded Dissenters from entering on any political or municipal office without previously taking the sacra- ment in the English form. The result was per- nicious in the extreme. Conscientious Dissenters Position of were altogether debarred from political life. The genters' unconscientious could easily obtain the object of their ambition by profaning the holiest of the rites of the Church. Moreover, many men got to regard the ceremony of taking the .sacrament merely as a form prescribed by bigotry, and were in the habit of conforming once a year to satisfy the requirements of the law. Attempts had been made to put a stop to this practice by the High Church party, but they had died out with the decline of the theological spirit. The position of the Dissenter therefore during the reign of the first two Georges was that though he enjoyed complete freedom of worship, and his ministers were not liable to any penalty provided they took the Oath of Allegiance and sub- scribed most of the Thirty-nine- Articles, yet legally he was totally excluded from political life ^^^^ ^^f by the provisions of the Test and Corporation ^g^g^ Acts. The laws, however, were administered very mildly ; many Dissenters contrived to evade them either by occasional conformity, or by boldly omitting to conform at all, while various attempts were made to relieve them altogether. This, however, the Church was strongly opposed to. Persecu- tion she no longer thirsted for ; but the humiliating badge of exclusion must still be preserved to mark off the Dissenters from the only true elect of the Church of England. In con- sequence aU efforts to relieve them directly met with little success. Stanhope brought forward a motion for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in 1718 ; but the Bill was so cut down before it became law, that it entirely missed its object. Walpole was decidedly favourable to the Dissenters, and was indeed bound to them by the strongest ties of support asked and freely given. He was unwilling, however, to add the powerful interest of the Church to the list of his numerous enemies ; and therefore, while promising relief in the future, he steadily opposed it in the present. The gates of political power were practically thrown open to the Dissenters after -1727 by the custom of passing Bills of Indemnity for those who 140 Thu Church. ■ had entered office without properly qualifying relief^ according to law. The Church, in fact, made no opposition to their obtaining the reality of power to some extent, but insisted that the stigma of illegality should still be indelibly branded on them ; nor was it till the first years of George III. that dissent was recognized by the law. Public opinion was, in fact, stiU very sensitive on many points, though totally uninterested in shades of diflPerence within the Church. Agitation accompanied all attempts at relieving the most harmless sectaries. The intolerant spirit of the nation was, perhaps, most strongly evinced by the riots which accompanied the progress of Pelham's Bill for the Naturalization of the Jews and which obliged the Ministry eventually to repeal it. Section 3. — The Catholics. But though the general feeling with regard to the Dissenters was slowly drifting into a phase of contemptuous exclusion rather than active persecution, no effort had been made to „. ameliorate the position of the Eoman Catholics, position of the ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ regarded with virulent hatred, Catholics ; inspired by a thorough belief in their disaffection and disloyalty to the established dynasty and Church. There was little indeed to render them ultra-loyal. Not only were they totally excluded from all political and municipal office by the provisions of the Test and Corporation Acts ; but they were utterly proscribed, their worship prohibited, under heavy penalties, their very existence was a heinous crime. The Eevolution had brought them no relief. On the con- trary, their disabilities had been frightfully increased by the ferocious Acts of William and Anne. The most important of these, passed in 1699, prescribed that any Catholic priest who should be convicted of performing mass or celebrating any their civil ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Church, excepting only the chaplains disabilities; of foreign ambassadors, should be liable to im- prisonment for life. In order to induce persons to give evidence on the subject, a reward of lOOZ. was offered to any one who would furnish information leading to the dis- covery of such an offence, and additional rewards were offered at different periods whenever the alarm of some Jacobite plot re-aroused the slumbering spirit of religious and political anta- The Catholics. 141 gonism. Nor was the persecution .confined to priests only. Every Catholic lahoured under disabilities which were directly devised with a view to the gradual extirpation of that religion from England. The Act of 1699 required that all persons on attaining the age of eighteen years should take the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, and subscribe the declaration against Transubstantiation, which it was impossible for any sincere Catholic to do. All who refused became incapable of inheriting or purchasing land ; and any land which they would otherwise have inherited passed to their Protestant next of kin. With regard to their education the statute devised a hideous dilemma. Papists were forbidden to keep schools or teach under penalty of perpetual imprisonment; it was also prohibited to send children abroad to be educated in the Catholic faith. Catholic parents had therefore practically to choose between allowing their children to be educated in Protestant schools, or to remain without proper education. It might be imagined that even religious hatred could not have invented a more complete code of disabilities. In the first year of George I., i- • i however, an additional statute was passed, pre- disabilities scribing that all persons on entering any civil or military office, all members of colleges, teachers, preachers, lawyers, must take the Oaths of Siipremacy and Allegiance and subscribe the declaration against Transubstantiation. Refusal to do so involved penalties, which reduced the victim to a state almost approaching servitude.. A certain distinction of principle, however, must be drawn between the legislation with regard; to Protestant Dissenters and that affecting the Catholics, which wiU account for the difference of their treatment.. It was fully recognized at the Revolution that dissent was no longer dangerous. The dis- abilities therefore imposed on the Dissenters were of a purely theological nature, sprung from theological intolerance, and perhaps some reminiscences of the humiliation of the Church during the Cromwellian period. The persecution of the Catholics, however, had a more distinctly poli- tical side. The attempt of James II. to restore Political Roman Catholicism was yet fresh in the memory fhe^tholic of many; and it acquired terrible significance disabilities, from the cruelties perpetrated by Louis XIY., James' ally, in the cause of Catholicism. In Spain, moreover, in Portugal, in Austria, in Hungary, Protestants were still 142 The Church. exposed to all the horrors of burning, drowning, hanging, solely on account of their religion. A firm conviction in consequence existed in the minds of most Englishmen that the re-establish- ment of the Catholic religion necessarily involved the relighting of the fires of Smithfield under the direction of the Inquisition. This they were determined to prevent at all hazards ; and with deliberate purpose provided for the gradual destruction of the dangerous sect. !N^or can it be doubted that if the laws had been strictly enforced, they would have effected the will of their authors. As a general rule, however, they were not enforced. The Government during the Hanoverian reigns fre- enforced^ quently refused to put them in action against Catholic priests. Private worship was practically undisturbed. The laws against the purchase or inheriting of lands by Catholics were evaded with impunity. Every now and then some Jacobite scare was followed by severities against the Catholics, usually taking the form of some special tax laid on their property and a general arrest of their priests. But these were purely exceptional events, produced by a great public danger, and a necessary precaution against the well-known sympathy existing between the Catholics and the Pretenders. Section 4. — The Methodists. The decadence of religious life within the Church, the diminu- tion of the old dissenting bodies, and the gradual defeasance of the Eoman Catholics, led naturally to a religious revival of an extremely earnest and enthusiastic nature. This was Methodism — a name derived from a taunt flung by their fellow-collegians at The Oxford the smaU religious society of Oxford students from Society. which the movement originally sprang. This society flourished at Oxford between the years 1729 and 1735. Their leaders were John and Charles Wesley, Georg^e Whitefield, and James Hervey. Their rules required them to communicate regularly, to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and during the greater part of Lent, to visit the sick and the wretched inhabitants of the town gaol. John Wesley himself was a man whose future life was John Wesley. ""^ ^.^^^^ strongly coloured by the chequered events of his boyhood. He had been brought up by parents of unusual and ascetic piety. His religious impressions were early developed, and were tinged with a The Methodists, 143 large amount of superstitious credulity, which rendered him prone to discover supernatural causes for commonplace events. » Early in life he was saved from destruction by a fire which consumed the paternal roof, and this event naturally contributed a strong impulse to his religious views. During his Oxford career he was troiibled with doubts of every kind, which were only gradually removed. His brother Charles originated the society at Oxford, of which John Wesley continued to be the guiding spirit until it broke up in 1735. The two Wesleys started in that year to Greorgia, which had been founded by General Oglethorpe as a refuge for all kinds of sectaries. During the voyage they became acquainted with the views of the Moravians, a religious body of peculiar asceticism ; and this intercourse coloured the whole of John Wesley's after career and teaching. He met Wesley in with little success in Georgia. His rule was far too strict and ritualistic for the freedom of that colony ; he intermeddled too much in the private life of families ; he even by extraordinary indiscretion exposed himself to a charge of doubtful behaviour with regard to a married woman of his con- gregation. The result of the latter circumstance was that he was obliged to return precipitately to England in 1737-38. On his return the Oxford Society in a short time became a power in England. Whitefield and the two Wesleys were ordained and began to preach to the criminals in Newgate and in every place and pulpit where they could find an audience. The old Christian custom of love feasts was revived. The strictest self-examination and confession were prescribed and enforced with extraordinary rigour. A spiritual tyranny of the most singular kind was established |^°J^®^| "^ and acquiesced in by all the members of the little band. Gradually, however, they grew in numbers ; they could scarcely increase in fervour and devotion. The leaders became missionaries, wandering round the most distant provinces ; now preaching to the sailors at Bristol, now drawing iron tears from the hard eyes of the Kingswood colliers, now denouncing the terrors of hell and holding out the promise of eternal life to im- mense multitudes in Moorfields and on Kennington Common. They soon excited the hostility of the Church and found themselves excluded from the pulpit. Nothing Hostility of daunted, however, they preached in fields, on hill- the Church. sides, or anywhere where there was room for the 144 The Church, crowds which came to hear them. It was long before Wesley , was reconciled to this. With singular narrow-mindedness he would not for a long time believe that men could be saved except in a church. The persuasion and example of Whitefield, however, gradually produced an impression on him, which was no doubt strengthened considerably by the fact that he must either preach in the fields or abandon what he firmly believed to be his divine mission. Undoubtedly the Methodists produced an immense amount of good in the country. They did more to kindle anew the slumber- _ ^. ing life of the Church than any of their contem- poraries. They brought the Gospel message home to thousands who had never heard the name of God pronounced before except in blasphemy. Yet they were excluded from the Church, and, though we may blame the hostility of the clergy, we can hardly wonder at it. There was really no room for the Methodists in the Church. Unlike the Koman Catholic Church, she made no provisions for enthusiasts. They must either submit or separate. Naturally the Methodists chose, though reluctantly, the latter course. The movement in its later stages was troubled by schism and Persecution. ^^ persecution. Whitefield, the most extreme of the leaders, quarrelled with Wesley and withdrew, leaving the latter undisputed head. In the course of preaching the Methodists came into collision with the worst passions of the mob. They were at times beaten almost to death, drenched with filthy water, hunted with dogs, stoned, and dragged through the public kennels. In Cork they were presented by the grand jury as notorious disturbers of the public peace. However, in spite of all, their numbers steadily increased, until at Wesley's death they numbered nearly 110,000 in England and America. Indirectly, too, their influence reacted on the Church by Effect on the ^^^^^^^g ^ spirit of hostility and emulation which Church. ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ re-arouse the dormant vitality of that body. Par LI A ME NT. 145 CHAPTER lY. PARLIAMENT. The chief result of the Eevoliition had been to transfer the government of the country from the king to the Parliament ; though it was not until the accession of George I. that Parlia- ment was really able to exercise this power by means of an united Cabinet. The work of the Revolution was completed by the Septennial Act, which transferred the governmerLt from the Lords to the Commons ; and from that date the country was really ruled from the latter body. At the same time the Commons were not representative of the Transfer of country in the slightest degree. They represented commons boroughs like Old Sarum, which had ceased to exist; corporations like Oxford, who sold themselves to the highest bidder ; great landowners like the Duke of Newcastle ; or lastly the Crown, as in the case of the members for the Cornish boroughs and the Cinque Ports. There had not been the slightest attempt to confer any power on the people, or to give them any control over their supposed representatives, except what little was bestowed by the Triennial Act. This small measure of control was, however, swept away by the Septennial Act, which rendered members of Parliament com- pletely independent of their constituents or patrons. The result was to greatly increase the corruption already pervading political life. Members' votes were worth more ; they could therefore command higher prices. The peculiarly exclusive policy of "Walpole rendered the reduction of corruption to a science essential to his continuance in office. The enormous Crown patronage was therefore recklessly and unscrupulously used to create a majority in Parliament; and the influence of the Government was strained to the utmost to increase the numbers of that majority. L 146 Par LI A ment. In consequence all power was thrown into the hands of a regular governing class, the AVhig Oligarchy, or ^ith^^h^^ the Great Whig Houses, as they were afterwards OligsLTchy^ called, at the head of which were the Pelhams. The country was therefore still governed by the aristocracy, though it -was governed from the Commons and usually by a Commoner. The vast parliamentary connection, however, which was represented by JS'ewcastle, was practically indispensable to the security of any Government ; though New- castle himself was too miserable a creature to be capable of assum- ing the supreme power with any success. It was the defection of Newcastle which broke the strong majority of Walpole ; the hostility of Newcastle which caused the overthrow of Carteret ; the support of Newcastle which gave Henry Pelham the premiership ; lastly, we shall see that even Pitt, the bitterest opponent of Newcastle's influence, found himself unable to form a stable Government without the assistance of the man he had reviled and despised. The period therefore between 1714 and 1760 is that of the supremacy of the Whig Oligarchy, which continued without a break or check down to the death of George II. It rested mainly on the disposition of the Crown patronage, which during the whole of this period was in the hands of Newcastle, and was used solely for his own ends. The total break up of the power of this governing class at the accession of George III. was mainly due to his resumption of the Crown patronage, which deprived the party of the link which had held it together. The natural result was,, that during the first two Hanoverian reigns corruption was carried to an extraordinary extent. Euined towns and extinct boroughs' sent as many representa- tives to Parliament as whole counties ; and these members were nominated and practically elected by the landowners. The Crown exercised almost proprietary rights over certain boroughs, and could command elections in many places by the votes of the revenue officers. In Scotland there is a ridiculous instance , on record of a constituency which possessed only one elector, T.n.aoconf who at every general election went through the ■ corruption. solemn farce of proposing, seconding, electing, ' and returning himself to Parliament, with the greatest regularity. A Parliament, constituted in such a manner, was scarcely likely to be representative of the people in any degree; and though at times of unusual popular excitement CORR UP TION. 147 Parliament gave way to the general feeling of the country, yet as a rule members regarded their votes in the light of capital, which should be productive of pensions, places, and rich emolu- ments of all kinds. In consequence great sums were spent by the governing class in buying up these votes ; places and pen- sions were multiplied to an extraordinary extent for this purpose \ peerages, ribbons, and orders were bestowed on those who preferred them. The most singular form of interference with the constitution of the representative body is to be found in the manipulation of election petitions for party purposes. This jurisdiction was vested in the House of Commons, and it became the custom during the eighteenth century to vote on them not according to the merits of the case but the principles of the candidates. It was easy therefore for the governing majority to increase their numbers by voting steadily for their own partisans on all disputed elections. ISiO doubt in many cases petitions were presented against returns solely in order that the choice of the constituency might be overruled by Parliament. It is this fact which explains why Walpole resigned on the ^_ ^. '^ ' -4. £ XT- /^T,- 1, Election side issue, as it seems, of the Chippenham petitions. Election Petition. If there was any question on which his party ought to have held by him, certainly they ought with regard to the increase of their own numbers. If, therefore, he was unable to carry such an important party measure as an election petition, it was clear that the time had come for him to resign. The corruption of Parhament was so well known that no attempt was made even to disguise it. During the excite- ment which was occasioned by the Excise Bill, Lord Stair had the effrontery to remonstrate with the queen, declaring that the Bill was entirely opposed to the interests of the constituencies and ought to be withdrawn. " JDo you pretend, my lord," she replied in honest disgust and indignatioii at such shameless hypocrisy, "^o talk of the opinion of the electors having any influence vnth the elected ? I must ask you how you can have the assurance to talk to me of your thinking the sense of con- stituertcies, their interests, or their instructions, any rule or measure for the conduct of their representatives in Parliament. Or do you believe I am so ignorant or so forgetful of past pro- ceedings in Parliament as not to know that on the only occasion when these considerations should have biassed you, you set them at nought? Eemember the Peerage Bill, my lord." This corruption of Parliament formed such a frequent topic L 2 148 Parliament. for vituperation against Walpole that it was only. natural' to imagine that wheri the Opposition succeeded to Place Bills. power they would proceed to purify the Augean Stable. This, however, was very far from what they actually did. The influence of the Crown was now in their hands, and they found *it useful. Therefore a very inadequate Bill was brought in in 1743, which disqualified a few inferior place-holders from sitting in Parliament, and there the matter dropped entirely. Nor was it till the extraordinary increase of corruption under George III., and the disasters of the American War, had roused a popular tumult against Lord ^N'orth's Government, that the question was dealt with again. During the eighteenth century it almost seemed that a tyranny of Parliament was about to succeed the tyranny of the king. On various points this body showed itself as arbitrary and unreason- . able as the most high-flying of the Stuarts. ParUament Among other encroachments they assumed a regular censorship over the press ; and prosecuted, fined, or imprisoned at discretion all printers and authors who incurred their wrath. Their privileges were largely extended. Their members claimed complete immunity from all actions at law, claims of creditors, and even hostile criticism out of Parlia- ment. Ridiculous cases occurred in which the august protection of privilege was thrown around the rabbits, fish, trees, or foot- men of members. They claimed indefinite rights of imprisoning men to the end of the session on their own authority solely. They sought to envelope their proceedings with complete secrecy by prohibiting reporting of any kind ; and though the law was practically evaded at times, the House vented its indignation heavily on isolated offenders. The growth of this very offence of reporting gradually lessened the danger arising from the tyrannical disposition of piablk ^^ ^^® House ; for by exposing the proceedings of opinion. ^^ House to the full glare of the day, it ren- dered individual members more likely to be in- fluenced and deterred in their political conduct by the voice of public opinion. This growth, however, was slow in itself ; its fruits were still slower in ripening to maturity. India. 149 iSoofe IF.— NEWCASTLE, 1754-56. CHAPTER L \ Causes of the seven yeaes' war. Section 1. — India, 1745-54. V At the beginning of the century the English possessions in India were divided into three distinct groups or Presidencies, all independent of one another, and owing obedience only to the supreme authority in Leadenhall Street. There was no attempt at unity; each were separate commercial stations for trading purposes only. The principal of these was the Bombay Presi- dency, including the town and island of that -« -, ,. , name, on the west or Malabar coast. On the east, settlement's or coast of Coromandel, were Forts St. George and St. David, with their respective towns of Madras and Tegnapatam. To the north was the new settlement of Port William, on the Hoogley mouth of the Ganges, round which the town of Calcutta was already springing up, which was destined to be the future capital of India. Each of these three stations was governed by a President and Council, and was guarded by a small force consisting of partly disciplined blacks who were called Sejfoys — supposed to be a corruption of the Hindoo equivalent for "soldier." The English, however, had as yet no views of conquest or political interference. Their power was extremely weak, and they sought rather to secure their trade by cowering low before the storm and truckling slavishly to the native rulers. Their chief rivals had been the Dutch and Portuguese. The strength of these nations, however, had considerably declined, 150 Causes of the Seven Years' War. and with it the importance of their enmity. The English -,, now. had to deal with a new rival in the Company ^^^^P^ ^^ ^^® French Company. The settle- ments of the latter were Chandetnagore on the Hoogiey ; PondicheiTy, not far from Madras ; and the Isles of France and Eourhon in the Indian Ocean. The latter were extremely wealthy and prosperous. On the whole, therefore, their settlement of JBombay gave the English most importance on the west coast ; hut they were unable to vie with the French Presidency of Ghandernagore and Pondicherry on the Coast of Coromandel. The French settlements, moreover, rose to unusual importance during the first half of the eighteenth century, owing to the commanding genius of their Governors, Dupleix and Labourdonnais. The state of India at this time was very peculiar. The Mogul Empire had broken up on the death of Aurungzebe.. ^. The scattered provinces fell to whoever was strong of India. enough to seize and maintain them. New dynasties of rajahs, nabobs, and petty princes of every kind, suddenly sprang into existence and founded mush- room sovereignties amid the general scramble. The Mogul emperors still maintained a show of useless pomp at Delhi, which accorded ill with their real loss of power. Everywhere their authority was still recognized in theory ; disregarded in actual fact. Many of the upstart princelings of the time sought a sanction for their usurpation in a commission from the Mogul, which was not really worth the paper it was written on. Many more acted entirely independently, disregarding the empty supremacy of the emperor. Some even directly defied him, and set up their usurped thrones heedless of Mogul candidates or commissions. Naturally the result was that there were nume- rous claimants for every province ; and where neither had exactly any right at all, it would be difficult to decide which had the most. Givil war therefore raged perpetually all over India ; and the people with striking versatility, born of long suffering, accepted with equal readiness whichever party should prove the stronger. Among the most important perhaps of the new dynasties which rose to empire on the ruin of the Moguls were the Mahrattas. They were a freebooting tribe who origi- nally haunted the hill-country near the town of Poonah. Eising to importance under Sivaji, they long tasked even the enormous resources of Aurungzebe. The successors of Sivaji, however, amid DUPLEIX. 151 the general disruption which foUowed, founded a vast empire stretching over the greater portion of Central India. Predatory bands advanced plundering to the very walls of Calcutta, leaving a trace of their inroads in the " Mahratta ditch," which was dug to protect the town against them. Other bands rode down to the extreme south and founded a small kingdom, Tanjore, near the mouth of the Cavery. The general state of India, in fact, at this time was a striking exemplification of the saying with regard to an ancient people, *' In those days there was no king [ in Israel, and every one did what was right in his own eyes." It was into this sea of turmoil and anarchy that Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry, determined to « , plunge, in order to acquire for his country a com- Dupleix • manding influence in India, to the exclusion of the other European nations. The English had been content to remain a trading Company, without aspiring to political power. They would have lived peacefully side by side with their rivals. Such lowly thoughts, however, did not suit the imperious soul of Dupleix. France, and France only, must be mistress of India ; England must surrender or perish. Dupleix^s predecessors had greatly facilitated the success of his plans by carefully cultivating the friendship of the native princes. He now devoted himself to continuing their work with uncommon ardour. There can be no doubt that at this time the French were in the eyes of the natives by far the most considerable of the European powers in India ; and that their successful defence of Pondicherry against the hitherto invincible Mahrattas had raised their prestige im- mensely. He therefore easily acquired an extraordinary ^influence among the petty princes of the peninsula. At the same time he was entirely unsuccessful at first in his dealings with the Europeans. War broke out in 1745 between the English and French Companies 1745.43. * before he was prepared for it ; and it was only the timely assistance of Labourdonnais with a small squadron, which prevented Pondicherry from falling into the hands of the enemy, 1746. The capture of Madras, which he shortly effected, ought to have been a fresh starting-point for Dupleix's schemes. He was hampered, however, by the disinclination of his Directors to enter on any expensive adventures. He had no control over the fleet, which was vested in Labourdonnais. His army was composed of the sweepings of French prisons. The king^ Louis XY., had views of his own which clashed with those of 152 Causes of the Seven' Years' War, Dupleix. The result was, that though the latter was able to ruin Labourdonnais, he was unable to prevent the restoration of Madras to England by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748. From this time there was nominally peace between England _. . and France. The dissensions, however, between tlie Deccan. ^^® servants of the two Companies found expres- sion in their interference with Indian politics, and the support given by them to the rival candidates for different thrones. The French avowedly designed thereby to effect the expulsion of the English from India. The English proceeded blindly, impressed with a dim idea that in some such way they could best frustrate the schemes of Dupleix. As it happened, there were two candidates for the Governorship of the Deccan, — a vague term, including sovereignty over the huge district between the Kistna and the J^erbudda, and feudal lord- ship over the Carnatic. The names of these two individuals were Mirzapha Jung and Nazir Jung. Similarly in the Car- natic a dispute had arisen between Chunda Sahib and Anwar- ud-deen Khan, who each claimed the throne. It would have been difficult to decide in each case which had the most irreproach- able claim. Fortunately, however, that was a point which did not matter in the slightest. It was sufficient for the English that Dupleix favoured Mirzapha and Chunda; and in conse- quence their sympathy was most strongly excited on behalf of Nazir and Anwar- ud-deen. Dupleix, however, acted at once with striking vigour. In close alliance with Mirzapha, he routed and killed Anwar-ud- deen ; caused Mirzapha to be installed at once with great pomp Triumphs of ^^ Soubahdar or Governor of the Deccan ; and Dupleix. persuaded him to confer the Carnatic on Chunda Sahib. Eewards without number were offered by the grateful Soubahdar. Dupleix might have named his own terms. ISTothing could have been too high for the man who had placed Mirzapha on the throne of the Deccan. He took the title of Governor of all India south of the Kistna with authority superior even to that of Chunda. He was presented with some- thing like 200,000Z. sterling. Unlimited power over thirty millions of people, and the command over enormous military and commercial resources were now in the hands of this adventurer, who had begun life as a clerk in the service of the French East India Company. His deep insight into Indian character, and his determination to impress the natives with a most exalted Clive. 153 idea of Ms own greatness was shown by the city which he built under the name of Dupleix-Futteh-abad (the city of the Victory of Dupleix), in the centre of which rose a lofty pillar bearing round its base a high-sounding inscription in four languages tes- tifying to the greatness of his exploits. Success seemed indeed to have crowned his efforts. Almost the whole of the peninsula was ruled by himself or his nominees. Nazir Jung and Anwar- ud-deen had atoned for their presumption by death. The English crouched within their settlements without venturing to interfere. One drpp of bitterness, however, remained in the cup of triumph. Anwar's son, Mahomed Ali. still held out against Chunda Sahib in the fortress of Trichinopoly, and was recog- nized by the English as the rightful nabob of the Carnatic. The siege of Trichinopoly was the x/if^i^opoly turning-point in the -victorious career of Dupleix, Yi^\, ' for it inspired the first military exploit of Clive. Robert Clive, the true founder of the British Empire in India, was born in 1725 at Market Drayton. From his earliest boyhood he was known as a troublesome, idle, mischievous imp, who was equally likely to be found any morning climbing up the lofty church steeple, or to head the juve- ., « jt . . T T. -1 J£0D6rt 1/11V6. niles of the town in a general assault on shop- windows. Study he would not ; and so his long-suffering parents at last procured him an underwritership in the East India Company, and packed him off to the general refuge for the destitute, India. There he seems to have been remarkable for his reckless daring, and for a development of melancholy which led him even to attempt his own life. It is said that after he had twice tried to blow his brains out, and the pistol had twice snapped in the pan though it had been carefully loaded, he decided to give up such thoughts, for it was clear to him that he was miraculously preserved for a great career. It was this simple trading clerk of the East India Company who alone, with the instinctive genius of a heaven-born com- mander, perceived that the most effectual mode of relieving the distressed garrison of Trichinopoly would be to create a diver- sion in the rear of the French by seizing the important town of Arcot, which had been left almost unprotected. With only - 200 English troops, 300 Sepoys, and eight officers, four of whom were volunteer clerks like himself, Clive dashed across the Carnatic, surprised the garrison of Arcot, and The defence of defended the place against all the forces of the Arcot, 1751. 154 Causes of the Seven Years' War. enemy, until the Sepoys were obliged to live on gruel in order that the rice might be reserved for the Europeans, who required more food than they did. There was no hesitation or wavering in the little force. They believed implicitly in their commander, and he trusted thoroughly in them. The Sepoys themselves had voluntarily proposed to limit their own sustenance for the benefit of their European comrades. De- fended with such heroic resolution and devotion, the tottering walls of Arcot became an impregnable barrier to all the assaults of the besiegers. Then at last Kajah Sahib,, who was in com- mand of the latter, heard that Morari Rao, a neighbouring Mahratta chieftain, was on the road to Arcot with 6000 horse- men in his train. Hitherto the wily Mahratta had remained neutral ; but since Englishmen could fight he was ready to help them. And so after a grand assault, inspired by the mixed stimulants of religious fervour, intoxication, and military en- thusiasm, and sustained with extraordinary courage and despera- tion for an hour, the troops of Eajah Sahib struck their tents and retired. The siege of Arcot was at an end. Thus was struck the first blow at the French supremacy in the Carnatic ; and from this time their hold steadily relaxed. Clive and Lawrence marched from victory to victory with surprising celerity. The road was strewn with the corpses of the enemy. The great pagoda of Conjeveram fell with the greatest facility. Eajah Sahib suffered another Victories of gjgnal defeat at Coverpauk. Dupleix-Futteh- ' abad and its pompous pillar were razed to the ground. A defeat under the walls of Trichinopoly was fol- lowed by the total capitulation of the enemy in the island of Seringham ; and the war in the Carnatic was practically at an end. The execution of Chun da Sahib by his rival Mahomed Ali put a finishing stroke to Dupleix's scheme of governing the Carnatic by means of a native ruler. His supremacy, however, was unshaken in the Deccan ; and he determined on peace in order to once more give full play to his diplomatic talents. Peace was concluded between the two Companies; but it Recall of brought with it also the recall of Dupleix. The Dupleix,n54. I^i^ectors of his Company were mere traders, whose mental vision extended solely to their "dividends, and was unable to grasp the wide schemes of em- pire with which their great servant had dazzled and perplexed Amektca. 155 them. Empire was good, they would have said, but then divi- dends were better ; and the dividends had been sadly falling off of late. This they attributed to the expense of the war. They were therefore ready to lend a willing ear to the overtures of the English Company, who represented themselves as desirous of peace, provided the firebrand, Dupleix, was removed from ' India. The English, in fact, roundly declared that the sole cause of the war and the standing obstacle to peace was Dupleix alone, — perhaps the highest possible testimony to his greatness and merits. The French Directors, however, did not think so. They wanted peace ; and as they heard that they could obtain their desire by a simple piece of folly and ingratitude, they issued the recall without the slightest compunction. Little did they suspect it ; but when the order of recall received the assent of the governing body, they were practically signing away all their claims on India in favour of England. From that moment France lost all chance of ever effecting any permanent coloniza- tion in India. Dupleix himself, — who had seen the mightiest heads in India stoop before him, who had played with crowns, and dreamt of empires, — now by an extraordinary freak of fortune- was reduced to the lowest depth of poverty and ^^ misery. Persecuted by the English, and aban- Dupieix,1763. doned by his country, he died broken-hearted in 1763, a striking instance of French ingratitude towards her greatest sons. Section 2. — America, 1713-55. The English colonies in ITorth America at the beginning of the eighteenth century extended roughly from the 31sfc to the 44th parallel of North Latitude. Their western ^^^ English boundary was extremely undefined. In the early colonies. days of colonization it was considered that a settlement on a barbaric coast implied the possession of the whole, or at any rate the country from sea to sea. On this principle the French claimed the whole of Canada in right of their colony of Acadia ; and in the same way the English vaguely maintained their sovereignty over the whole country from the Atlantic to the Pacific included between the 31st and 44th parallel. This assertion was distinctly put forward 156 Causes of the Seven Years] War, in the charters of some of the provinces. Actually, however, the western boundary during the first half of the eighteenth century was the Alleghany Mountains. Ey the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, France ceded to England Hudson's Eay, ^Newfoundland, and Acadia (or Nova Scotia) ; thus extending the English coastline still further north, and bringing the English colonists more directly in Utreclit 1713. contact with their rivals. The English therefore from this date had possession of the greater por- tion of the Atlantic coast, with the exception of the strip between Nova Scotia and New Hampshire, and on the south the undefined district of Florida belonging to Spain. The French settlements were called respectively Canada and Louisiana. Canada, in its widest extent, included the whole ^, basin of the St. Lawrence and the great Lakes, colonies ^^^ ^ ^^^^ district stretching from that line westward and northward to the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Louisiana really comprehended simply the district round the mouths of the Mississippi, with New Orleans as its capital, and a number of scattered hunting and trapping stations along the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio. France, however, claimed under the name of Louisiana all the huge tract of country bounded to the north and south by Canada and Mexico^ and extending vaguely from the Alleghany Mountains over leagues of forest, prairie, and mountain, to the distant Pacific coast. There was a very striking difference in the character of the two sets of colonies, English and French, and their respective modes of government. The English Colonial Government was a very liberal one. The Quakers of Pennsylvania, the Puritans of New England, the descendants of the old Dutch settlers of New York, ihe Germans and vernment°of other foreigners of Georgia, all had the same the English liberties and rights. And if intolerance pre- colonies. vailed in many of the provinces with the same rigour as in England, there were others in which every form of religious belief was allowed to exist unmolested. The majority of the early settlers were religious or political enthusiasts, who had sought in distant lands the freedom denied them at home. The Government, therefore, in all the colonies, even the proprietary ones (i.e. those districts which had been granted by the Crown specially to particular individuals, with English Colonial System, ,157 the privilege of regulating the process of settlement), partook of a democratic character. In all there was some form of a Provincial Assembly with legislative and taxing powers. The English colonies, moreover, were mdiiDly agricultural in character. Their expansion was extremely slow, but at the same time it was sure. The English settlements advanced steadily and gradually westward, driving alike the forest, the prairie, the wild beast, and the savage Indian before them, and bringing with them their own institutions, their own customs, almost their own country. The forest and swamp gave place to fields of waving com, or plantations of tobacco and sugar-cane. The Indian wigwam disappeared, and in its place arose ranks of solid log-houses. Where the chiefs of the Five Nations had held councils and smoked the calumet, in time court-houses were built, and elected judges, sheriffs, juries, dispensed to all malefactors rude justice founded on the English Common Law. The peculiarity about the English system of colonization was the way in which they made the land en- tirely their own. The aborigines continually •*-^® EngUsn retired before them. Here and there parties of was^an^ex- settlers were massacred and ruthlessly scalped; termination. villages burnt to the ground; cornfields laid waste ; outlying forts besieged. But the Indians never regained the ground that they had lost. They could not live where there were no forests and no hunting-grounds ; and so they steadily retired westward before the white men, much as the Britons retreated before the irresistible advance of the Anglo-Saxons. Eresh villages were built on the ashes of the old ones. Fresh harvests effaced the record of the terrible devastation. The trappers, hunters, backwoodsmen, pushed out still further their posts of exploration and adventure, and carried the war of extermination deeper into the heart of the enemy's country. The English colonies were therefore English to the very core ; though aU along the border- land raged eternally an internecine strife of hideous atrocity on both sides. It is enough to say that both parties treated each other as wild beasts, and that no more quarter was given to an Indian than to a wolf. The French system of Government in the colonies was merely a reproduction of the Home Government with all its errors. There was no local self-government at all. The Governors of the provinces were supreme ; but they possessed no right of initiative. They received their orders from the 1-58 Causes of the Seven Years^ War. Ministers at home, and by their orders they were strictly bound. Any departure from the letter of their Oppressive instructions was executed at their own peril, and tr'^F^ °^h subject to the liability to severe punishment if the Government, results were not satisfactory. They carried out the orders they received by means of lieutenants, who were responsible solely to them, but who laboured under the same restrictions and the same liability. There was there- fore no idea of popular election, popular justice, or government by the people. Everything was for the people ; nothing was by them. The paternal despotism of France was reproduced in its entirety in America, without any adaptation to suit the needs of varying communities. Instead, moreover, of the tolerance existing in most of the English colonies, in Canada the Roman Catholic religion was maintained with the same intolerant bigotry as in France. The priests had the same absolute sway over the souls and bodies of the colonists. And though it must be admitted that they devoted their lives un- hesitatingly to the conversion of the Indians, yet the result was perhaps more gratifying to their vanity than productive of much benefit to the Indians themselves or to civilization in general. The character of the French settlements was also peculiar to themselves. Trade was in the hands of a privileged few. It was therefore impossible that it could flourish to any great extent. The genius of the French was not suited to agriculture, which therefore fell slowly away. On the other hand they took readily to the more exciting occupations of hunting and trapping. The romantic life of the backwoodsmen was exactly suited to their volatile temperament. They there- fore spread up and down the valleys of the great rivers, con- ciliating the Indians, and joining in their savage pursuits and wild adventures.. Their habitations were moveable. The French They became nomads like their new friends ; in conqaest was many cases adopting the dress and the customs occupation. ^^ ^^^ aborigines, and even marrying Indian girls. The French therefore acquired a consider- able hold on the feelings and affections of the native tribes ; but, except in the few cases of the strong fortresses on the St. Lawrence and the Lakes, and the settlements in Canada and Louisiana proper, hardly any hold on the land. The inhabi- tants of the French colonies were mainly hunters, trappers, and irregular soldiers. Most of the buildings and stations were ^J^V^^X ^^^^^^^^. ^.*v.«w w^ .^« ^^^^^^^. Nova Scotia. 159 forts or hunting encampments. The French colonies, in fact, in most cases, never got beyond the stage of hunting or miHtar^'' settlements. There were roughly only 50,000 French, hunters, trappers, soldiers, in the two vast provinces of Canada and Louisiana ; whereas in the narrow strip of coast between the Alleghanies and the sea there were over a million agriculturists and traders. The hostility existing between the mother countries was naturally communicated to their children in America. But besides the general vague antipathy which sprang from half a century of war, there were two distinct causes of dispute which were quite enough in themselves ^^aT^etween to produce a perpetual irritation all along the ^^^ colonies, frontier. These were the undefined boundary oj Nova Scotia and the equally undefined limits of the New England and Southern Colonies. it was stipulated at the Peace of Utrecht, 1713, that Acadia should be ceded " according to its ancient Hmits ; " and a quarrel had been going on ever since as to the meaning of this expression. The French maintained that it referred simply to the country east of the Bay of Fundy ; and that the isthmus, washed by that arm of the sea and the estuary of the St. Lawrence, formed the boundary between ^fNovT'' ^^^ Nova Scotia and Canada. The English, how- scotia. ever, were unwilling to accept such a limited definition of their acquisition. France had undoubtedly usually used the term "Acadia" to signify a much wider tract of country, and at times even as a general name for the whole of Canada. Nothing, however, was done to settle the point satis- factorily ; and, with many other questions important to England, it was entirely passed over at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The French, however, built stockades along the isthmus ; and it was pretty certain that any attempt at develop- ment westwards on the part of the JSTova Scotians must lead to hostilities between the rival nations. Similarly the French had extended the limits of Canada and Louisiana southward and northward till they met, and claimed aU the country west of the AUe- Jf^Y^^^^^^^^ ghanies, confining the English to the strip of England coast to the east of the chain. No attempt had colonies, ever been made to arrange this irritating question. About the year 1748 the French Commandant received an 160 Causes of the Seven Years' War. intimation from his Government to prevent the English from settling in the disputed territories for the future, and to eject all who might he already established there. This order naturally produced a great deal of ferment. In 1749 an impetus was given to the development of Nova Scotia by the foundation of the town of Halifax. Shortly afterwards private war broke out between the two nations along the debateable lands on the Nova Scotian frontier, and the French stockades were attacked and defended with considerable ferocity. Moreover, a Company was formed in Virginia to colonize the valley of the Ohio, and was incorporated under royal charter. The news Ou rea o ^ ^j^^^ induced La Gallisoniere, Governor of Detroit, to take more definite steps to carry out the instructions of his Government of the last year. Exploring parties were sent into the valley of the Ohio to affix the French arms to trees, and bury leaden plates bearing inscriptions asserting that the land belonged to France. Shortly afterwards a detachment of 500 men was sent to the Ohio with orders to resist any attempt on the part of the English at colonizing that district. The English, however, gave no sign till 1753, when the Government issued directions to the colonists to repel force by force. In 1754 a party of 150 men were at last despatched by the Ohio Company to build a fort where the Monongahela and Alleghany Eivers unite into the Ohio. The result was that the long-expected collision at last ensued. Major George Washington, the English commander, was defeated at Great Meadows, not far from the junction of the two rivers. The triumphant French destroyed his stockade, and built Fort Duquesne on its site. This was intended to be the first of a great line of forts and military stations, which were to connect the valleys of the St. Lavrrence and the Ohio. War seemed imminent, but an attempt at reconciliation was still made. The English, however, demanded that the French should destroy their forts on the Ohio and Lake Champlain, and retire to a reasonable distance from the frontier of Nova Scotia. These terms were sternly refused, and the war at once broke out. The military nature of the French colonies made them far better adapted for carrying on the war successfully at first. The English colonists were disorganized and disunited, without any regular military force, or any regular mode of raising any. Moreover, the General whom Newcastle sent out to them, Braddock, was the usual type of English commander — brave An unreasonable Woman. 161 enough, but without knowledge or even discretion. The re- sult naturally was that he marched blindly into an ambush, and the colonial army sustained a 2®^®.^* °/ crushing defeat not far from Fort Duquesne, ^* °^ * with the loss of their general, 1755. This disaster roused the greatest indignation in England, and was the immediate cause of an outbreak of naval war between England and France. Section 3. — Austria, France, and Russia, 1748-56* For some time a coolness had been growing up between England and Austria. The persistence of England in insisting on the cession of Silesia to Frederic had begun this ; though there is no doubt that nothing but timely concession on that point could have saved Austria from total ruin, j Marie Therese had been further irritated by the Agreement or Hanau, which was avowedly intended to place a limit on her pretensions. But the crowning insult was the process adopted by Pelham of proportioning the payment of his subsidies to the number of troops supplied by the queen. ( Pelham was no doubt strictly in the right ; and Marie was thoroughly and unreasonably in the wrong. But then she was a woman after all, and so it was natural. ) The result was that she ^oolnesa •had been in a state of half-suppressed fury with England and England ever since, and in consequence listened Austria, eagerly to the schemes of Count Kaunitz. for the recovery of her dear Silesia without the assistance of England. The peculiarity of the situation was, that under the Austrian domination Silesia had been very badly governed, and indeed almost neglected as a distant and worthless country ; but now that it was irretrievably lost, Marie talked of it as though she had been deprived of the most valuable portion of her domi- nions. Kaunitz proposed that the alliance with the Maritime J*owers should be definitely given up, unless they would assist in the recovery of Silesia ; and that a defensive and offensive alliance should be concluded with France instead. He pointed out that France and Austria had fought for centuries without benefiting themselves in the slightest, while all the advantages had accrued to the other states. It would be better that they should unite. Austria could buy the assistance of France by M 162 Causes of the Seven Years' War. cessions in the Netherlands. This would render her rear per- fectly safe, and enable her to take vengeance on Frederic, not merely by wresting Silesia from his robber-grasp, KauStz ^^^ compelling him in addition to cede some portion of his own territory as a war indemnity. This plan was opposed by the emperor and by the council, who clung to the traditional policy of alliance with the Maritime Powers. The boldness of Kannitz's views and the eloquence of his language, however, fascinated Marie, and in consequence he was sent as ambassador to the Court of Versailles with full licence to carry out his schemes if he could. The queen mean- while wisely determined to introduce a number of very neces- sary reforms in the government, finance, and military system of her dominions. In this she was aided by experienced states- men, and the result was to furnish her with a very respectable revenue, a far more efficient administrative system, and an army infinitely superior to that with which she had fought the Austrian Succession War. This revolution in organization was not really complete till 1753, and then Marie felt at last with a thrill of pleasure that she would be able to meet her old enemy with a far greater prospect of success than in the previous disastrous struggle. Her hatred was fanned by the ever-present thought of Silesia, by Frederic's reckless and scurrilous wit- ticisms at her expense, and by womanly horror at his licentious life and irreligious views. He outraged her alike as a queen, as a woman, and as a pious and sincere Catholic. She there- fore eagerly panted for the day when Kaunitz should inform her that she might rely on the alliance of France, Marie ^^^ could deliver her ultimatum to the Maritime Therese. Powers. Ai the same time she had no definite wish for a quarrel with England, nor even any special desire to break up the old alliance, provided England would assist her to recover Silesia. Allies, however, she must have ; and if England refused the role, it was as well to see if France would accept it. Therefore though the relations be- tween England and Austria were considerably strained all through the peace, and this tension was considerably increased by the dictatorial conduct of England in purely German matters, yet there was no prospect of war between England and Austria, because their individual interests did not clash in any way. And though it seemed probable that Austria and France would .eventually find themselves united in some sort of alliance, yet H H A SLIGHTED Woman. 163 the personal hatred existing between George and Frederic at first sight precluded ordinary civility, or even common honesty, in the relations between their two countries. War, however, was rising between England and France in America and India, and would eventually be transferred to Europe. Marie was moving heaven and earth to rouse a vast coalition of European Powers against Frederic. It was almost inevitable that the mutual isolation of England and Prussia should induce a community of interest. Frederic, moreover, could render George important services in protecting Hanover. George could supply Frederic in abundance with that necessary article, money. The central point therefore of the somewhat confused maze of policy which follows is the gradual change in « ^ , relaUo7is between Austria and France^ which pQi^t^ rendered Austria careless of the English alliance, and obliged England to look elsewhere for a friend to defend Hanover from the French. Kaunitz while at Paris laboured assiduously to reconcile the differences between France and Austria, and to prejudice Louis against Frederic by pointing out the perfidy and selfish- ness of the latter, and especially by retailing the scurrilous and insulting jests which he had levelled against the far from immaculate character of the French king. Frederic, moreover, had made a bitter enemy in Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress. He had refused to receive her messages of respect ; declared that he did not know such a person -and (ordered >^ his ambassador at Paris not to pay any court to her^ The result was that " Petticoat the Second," as he derisively j^^^g^^^g ^^ called her with reference to her predecessor, pompadour, hated Frederic with all the intensity of feeling which inspires a woman when her power has been despised and her vanity humiliated. She laboured therefore zealously on the side of Kaunitz ; and contrasted his deHcate flattery and unremit- ting attention with the studied neglect shown by the Prussian, Herr Von Elnyphausen, no doubt very unfavourably for the latter's master. It is a most extraordinary fact that a wary and unscru- pulous monarch like Frederic — who could scarcely plead offended virtue as his excuse— should have ventured on such a dangerous course of action for no visible reason. The influence of Pompa- ■ dour has, however, been greatly overrated ; and though she was at his ear night and day with the same story, and though •Kaunitz and his successor persevered with the utmost energy, M 2 r^-A. 164: Causes of the Seven Years' War. Louis still clung obstinately to the view which he had pro- mulgated at first. He was quite willing to make a defensive alliance with Austria, but he would not make an offensive alliance against Prussia. In fact, to prevent mistakes on this head, he directly insisted that an article guaranteeing the in- tegrity of the Prussian dominions should be inserted in the treaty. This was not at all what Marie had expected, Kaunitz, who was now Minister for Foreign Affairs, laboured hard, but in vain, to effect the desired impression on Louis, but the obstinate king would not budge an inch. He had made up his mind not to go to war with Prussia, though he thoroughly appreciated the dark, perfidious character of Frederic. This was then the position of affairs at the end of the year 1755. In Eussia, however, whither Kaunitz also directed his diplomatic gaze, matters were much more favourable. The Czarina Elizabeth's character would hardly bear inspection. At the same time she was intensely susceptible of ridicule, and resented it with all the indignation of an irrespon- Views of g^^]g autocrat and a woman. Frederic, who posi- £lizaDetii 01 J.' 1 J V' • .• 'xi T ,1 Bussia. tively enjoyed seemg his victims writhe under the stinging lash of his satire, could not resist such a delicious opportunity ; and he used it so well that the state of the Czarina's mind rapidly approached that of " a despotism «7Z-tempered by epigrams." Naturally, she listened to the overtures and flattery of Kaunitz ; and as Russian poHcy depended simply on the caprice of its ruler, Frederic found that he had to thank his malicious tongue for the addition of the enormous population of the Eussian Empire to the list of his enemies. The idea of partitioning the Prussian dominions, which had been hatched during the Austrian Succession War, was revived, and the King of Poland and Saxony persuaded to join in the conspiracy. At the end of the year 1755, there- fore, negotiations were nearly completed between Eussia, Austria, Poland, Saxony, of a nature directly hostile to Prussia, though they were not yet reduced to the definite language of a treaty. War meanwhile was breaking out between England and France in America and India. The defeat of Braddock in 1755 was followed by an extraordinary state in which, though war had not yet been formally declared, it practically existed be- tween the two countries. The English ships preyed on French .<5pmmerce. France threatened Hanover and England her- On Guard:' * 165 self with invasion. England demanded help from Austria, which was flatly refused, except on condition that England would co-operate against Prussia. England therefore concluded various subsidy treaties ^lliance with Hesse, Prussia, and other Powers, for the England and defence of Hanover. Among others, Frederic, Prussia, who had no desire to see the French in Germany, entered into a treaty with England, called the Treaty of "Westminster, by which he guaranteed the neutrality of Hanover, January 16th, 1756. This Treaty of Westminster was the turning-point in the relations between France and Austria. Hith-erto Louis had in- sisted on remaining at peace with Frederic, in spite of the latter^s treachery and the influence of Pompadour and Kaunitz. But now it was only too evident that Frederic's alliance was worth nothing, and that war with him was inevitable, unless France wished Hanover to escape scot-free. The Austrian alliance had therefore become a necessity. France, in fact, was in great danger of being left entirely alone in Europe, for Frederic's conduct was, to say the least, unfriendly. Louis therefore gave rein to his Alliance resentment, and determined to gratify his Pom- between padour by a defensive and offensive alliance with J^a-nce and Austria. The Treaty of Versailles, May 1st, ^^'^^'*' 1756, crowned the success of Kaunitz's schemes. A similar explosion was similarly preparing at the other end of Europe ; for the Czarina Elizabeth no sooner heard of the Treaty of Westminster than she insisted on breaking off the subsidiary treaty with England, on the ground that she would not co-operate with Prussia. There was not the slightest doubt that Eussia would soon join in the general onslaught on Prussia, for the Czarina had mobilized her army . in Livonia for the express purpose of invading ready^for Prussia. It was only a question of time; for ^^^ the Eussian army was slowly getting into march- ing order, and Elizabeth now contemplated carrying out the partition of Prussia which had been arranged with Austria and Poland. The King of Sweden even, though he had married Frederic's sister, was lured into this " malignant confederacy " by the prospect of a share in the spoil. Frederic therefore would be attacked on all sides by an overwhelmiQg force, and it seemed extremely probable that 166 Causes of the Seven Years' War, Prussia would be blotted out of the list of the nations. Frederic, however, suspected what was going on, though he could get no definite assurance from Austria of peace or Frederic's ^^j.. More certain information was, however, resolve *^^ brought to him by the treachery of a Saxon Government clerk. He therefore drew closer his alliance with England ; and determined to take the initiative, and invade Saxony, in order to obtain the advantage of striking the first blow, and perhaps capture in the archives of Dresden proofs of the designs of his enemies. ^Having therefore once more demanded her intentions in , , vain from Marie Therese, he suddenly inundated of war Saxony with troops, and entered Dresden, Sep- tember 9th, 1756. The Seven Years' War had begun. Ne wcastle. 167 CHAPTEK II. SECTIONAL AND PERSONAL DISPUTESy 1754-57. Section 1. — Newcastle, The result of PeUiam's desire to include all prominent men in his Ministry had been to destroy the meaning of party politics. Party strife in the strict sense of the word died out entirely. The war of ps?inciples was succeeded by a war of persons and sections. So when the link which had united all these heterogeneous units of the Cabinet was once broken by the death of Pelham, a strange period of personal jealousies and sectional hatreds succeeded; in which it is extremely difficxilt to keep the wires, by which the puppets were guided, clear of one another — so strangely twisted and mingled together do they at times become. It is important, therefore, to bear con- stantly in memory the fact that all the men who were engaged in this vague political warfare ^J^^^f ^gj. ^^ were really men of exactly the same party, and ^^^ period. almost the same general views of policy. They were, in fact, aU Whigs. The Tories had not yet succeeded in overleaping the barriers which stood between them and political power. The points on which the Whigs differed were more points 'of detail than general principles. Both JSTewcastle and Pitt were equally determined to carry on the Seven Years' "War with France ; but Newcastle would have drivelled over it in a feeble, vacillating manner j whereas Pitt threw himself heart and soul into the sti-uggle, and struck at the enemy with terrific force, Newcastle, again, had no very wide scheme in his mind. His object was to keep off invasion; protect Hanover from attack; the American colonists from extinc- tion ; — but that was all. Pitt's grander genius soared to far loftier heights. He designed to ruin France entirely by sea 168 Sectional and Personal Disputes. and land ; to wrest from her her whole colonial empire. New- castle was not a War Minister of the slightest ability ; though he showed considerable skill in the corruption of Parliament. Pitt was a War Minister of the most commanding type. It was therefore easy for them to unite in the long run on the condition that each should obtain the direction of that particular sphere of government to which he was more especially suited. These differences in policy, however, did not become immediately apparent. In fact there was really no policy at all to quarrel over in the year 1754. The motive power which kept the political . world in perpetual motion was simply self-interest. One states- man was actually in possession of power ; another wished to be. Or perhaps one Minister occupied an important office which another considered should have been conferred on himself. The discontented vented their spite in pungent invective and wilful obstruction. They opposed a particular measure, not because it was bad in itself, but because they hated or envied the man who had proposed it. In many cases we even find members of the Cabinet openly ridiculing and abusing their nominal leader, without taking the obvious course of resigning, and without the latter venturing to resent it. In this political Witches-Sabbath, the presiding Demon, by the irony of Pate, was Newcastle, than whom no man was more unsuited to preside over anything earthly, except perhaps some clerk's desk in a Government office. Circumstances how- ever, not personal genius, forced him into the foremost place. Most of the leaders of the preceding period were removed from The Minister *^® scene. Orford (Walpole) and Bolingbroke of Fate. '^^^^ dead. Pulteney (Bath) had lost aU chance of power; Carteret (Granville) all desire for it. Chesterfield had been compelled by a sudden attack of deaf- ness to retire from active political life. Pelham had now obtained the peace he had laboured so hard to secure on earth. Pitt, Fox, Murray, the rising men of the day, were too young and too uninfluential to have any chance as yet of governing the country. Fox, too, was ruined by his bad character, his impecuniosity, and his total lack of principle in political con- duct. Murray was determined to devote himself to the legal profession with the Chancellorship in view. Pitt had absolutely no parliamentary influence, and without parliamentary influence it was impossible to govern. ]S"ewcastle, on the other hand, had had the control of the vast patronage of the Crown for a Newcastle. 169 long period of years. By a consistent and unscrupulous use of it for party purposes, lie had built up such a powerful connec- tion in both houses, that, though he was utterly incapable of ruling himself, he could effectually prevent any one else from doing so successfully. On the death of his brother he naturally therefore slipped into the first place, that of First Lord of the Treasury. Thomas Pelham, Duke of Newcastle, bom in 1694, was a nephew of the last Duke of the Holies family. He inherited their vast estates, which were worth more than 30,000/. a year. At a very early age he entered pubHc life as a Whig in the Ministry of Townshend. Erom that time he remained in office under different leaders, without a single break, till 1756. He had all the virtues which would have made him respected and beloved in private life or in a subordinate position. He had also all the defects which render a man unfit to exercise power. He was warm- , . . hearted, of strict morality and sincere piety ; but ^^ ^ ^^^^ ®^ ' he was also an ambitious, incapable, peevish, fussy, ridiculous little man. He had no capacity as a legislator ; none of the higher gifts of statesmanship ; not even the most ordinary tact and method in the performance of business. In spite of this he had the most consuming thirst for power, and he held high ofi&ce in the Government for no less than forty-five years. For ten years he was First Lord of the Treasury. He was, in fact, possessed of such vast parliamentary influence that no Minister could do without him long. His defection broke the strong majority of Walpole ; he was able to throw out the measures of Carteret at the height of the latter's power and favour with the king. Pitt in vain tried to form a Ministry without him, and was obhged eventually to avail himself of the support he had despised. In fact, though ^^ ^^^ ^* Greorge II. declared that Newcastle was unfit to be even cham- berlain to the pettiest princedom in Germany, yet the most powerful Minister found it impossible to dispense with him for very long; and it was only the resumption of the Crown patronage by George III. that could ever have broken up the strong phalanx of the " Whig houses." Newcastle was a con- stant subject of ridicule. Writers loved to depict him as always in a hurry, always bustling along as though he were running an errand, always talking so fast that his words seemed to tumble over one another ; or else as rushing out, covered with soapsuds. 170 Sectional and Personal Disputes. to embrace a foreign ambassador. His knowledge of geograpbyi . . . , and the British Empire was a frequent subject of satire. " Annapolis," he is reported to have re- marked ; ** Annapolis ! certainly, Annapolis must be defended. Pray where is Annapolis % " Or, again, at another time : *' Cape; Breton an island 1 "Wonderful ! My dear sir, I must go and tell the king that Cape Breton is an island.'' Chesterfield said of him, that "he was a compound of most human weaknesses, but un- tainted by any vice or crime ; " his love of power, however, almost approached a vice, and his misuse of it in 1755-56 amounted to a crime. He was a steady upholder of the Hanoverian dynasty. He supported Walpole and Pitt firmly ; and that certainly was the best and most patriotic thing he could do at the time. Horace Walpole's charge against him, that he behaved treacherously to Sir Eobert Walpole, seems to be unfounded ; for nothing could have saved Walpole at the time, and Newcastle may well have thought that a War Minister was necessary to conduct the war. Similarly he may well have objected to the enormous sums lavished by Carteret on purely German interests ; and honestly desired that the war should be directed to the advantage of England, not the glory of Hanover. The timidity of his cha- racter was perhaps most conspicuously shown during his own Ministry of 1754-56, when he allowed himself frequently to be ridiculed and openly opposed by men who had actually posts in his own Cabinet, and were sitting for his own boroughs, and ,yet dared not dismiss them for fear of increasiag their vin- Caricature dictive bitterness. There was something in of "Walpole; Newcastle, however, that reminds one ludicrously of Walpole, and yet the Hkeness was but a cari- cature of the broadest type. Walpole had a horror of great men, fearing in each a possible rival. Newcastle similarly both hated and feared genius of any kind, and rejoiced meanly at heart when his degrading ofi'ers were rejected by Fox, and he found himself free to choose, as leader of the House of Com- mons, some incapable, abject wretch, from whom he had nothing to fear. But then Walpole was a statesman of consummate ability and shrewdness, who relied boldly on his own per- sonality to carry on the Government. Newcastle was a miserable creature, who was " unfit to be the chamberlain of the smallest court in Germany." And yet for some years the fate of the country was in his hands ; and it must be confessed that it would be difficult to Ne wca s tle, 171 find a period during which so much incapacity was possessed of so much power. The country drifted wildly, blindly, over the stormy sea of politics at the mercy of every wind and wave. Her rudder was gone ; the helmsman lailnre. could only sit and wring his hands ; thick clouds of impending ruin were gathering blackly around. Then a burst of jpopular indignation overwhelmed the feeble pretensions of ^wca^e to the first place, and compelled him to sink once more to the sub- ordinate position to which he was suited, and to, devote, his influence no longer to the confusion of domestic poliHcSj^btit to the steady support of the commanding genius of Pitt. The darkest stain on his official career is undoubtedly the sacrifice of Admiral Byng, who was as much a . victim to the want of decision in the Government Byn^ as to any incapacity on his own part. At a time when the Admiralty left very much of their instructions to the imagination and discretion of their subordinates with the ex- press view of avoiding responsibility, it is not singular that the latter at times shrank from the risk which their superiors endeavoured to ca^t on them. At the same time the country was violently excited against Byng ; and it is probable that ITewcastle could not have saved him if he had tried. Nothing, however, can excuse the inconsiderate haste with which he blurted out a promise that Byng should be hanged before the unfortunate officer had ever been brought to trial. Like Walpole, Newcastle was pure himself, though the arch,- corrupter of others. His hands were perfectly clean on that head. He even diminished his ^^^^^^^ own fortune by his expenditure in office; and Newcastle, when he was practically ejected from office by Bute, he declined the usual retiring pension. Section 2. — Ministry of Newcastle^ 1754-56. Such was the man to whom the fortunes of England were committed on the death of Pelham. He appointed Henry Legge his Chancellor of the Exchequer j Pitt was Paymaster ; Pox, Secretary at War ; Murray, Attorney- General. The ques- tion was to whom should the leadership of the House of Com- mons be committed. Pitt was hated by the kinor ; Murray preferred to pursue his profession ; Robeson Fox would not accept Newcastle's terms, which 172 Sectional and Personal Disputes, practically would have amounted to an entire submission to the latter's -will. Newcastle therefore appointed Sir Thomas Robinson, a harmless, dull diplomatist, who became the butt of Pitt and Fox. Pitt attacked and ridiculed him openly. Fox adopted the plan of apologizing hypocritically for his short-- coinings^Qn the insulting ground that his inexperience rendered themonlyVatural. Neither Pitt nor Fox, however, took the honx)urable Ipourse of resigning, and Newcastle was afraid to disiaiss them. At last it became necessary for Newcastle to, dismisg/'EKfibinson himself. Overtures were again made to Fox, 1755; and, to the astonishment of all, he accepted Newcastle's terms now, though they were still more degrading than before. The explanation . , lies solely in the thirst for power and pecuniary Newcastle emolument, which was the strongest characteristic of Henry Fox, and which entirely destroyed his principles. From this moment he began to decline in estima- tion and importance. He never recovered from his desertion of ^ Pitt ; he was never able to compete again on equal terms with his great rival ; and from that time there arose a permanent estrangement between the two statesmen who had been so strangely united by the spite of disappointed place-hunters. This same year 1755 saw the definite outbreak' of war between France and England in America, which hitherto had been con- fined to hostilities between the two sets of colonists. The superior success of the French rendered it necessary for the English Government to take the question seriously up, and fur- nish some assistance to the colonies. The incapacity of the general, Braddock, who was given the command of the British /■ forces, led to his being routed with considerable loss near a French fort on the Ohio. A very uneasy feeling arose in con- sequence between the two countries. It was suspected that France was sending large reinforcements to aid her garrison in America. Newcastle wished to prevent this, and ?he n^aval^^ yet did not wish to declare war. He therefore ^ar. adopted the rather doubtful intermediate course of sending Admiral Boscawen out with orders to watch the French fleet, and at all hazards prevent its entering the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The consequence, of course, was that Boscawen, finding two French ships in what he con- sidered suspicious circumstances off the American coast, attacked and captured them. The rest of the French fleet, however, escaped into the harbour of Louisburg, and Boscawen's expodi- Treatv of Westminster. 173 tion had practically failed. Similarly, Newcastle was utterly unable to decide what orders should be given to Admiral Sir Edward Hawke, who was in command of the Channel Squadron. The matter was referred to a Cabinet Council, who were divided on the question. The result was that, after a great deal of hesitation and the issuing of entirely contradictory instructions in succession, Hawke was empowered to seize all French ships, large and small, found between Cape Ortegal and Cape Clear ; an^ so well did he execute his commission, that in a short time over a hundred lucrative prizes were brought into the English /ports. In order to realize the iniquity of this proceeding, we must bear carefully in mind the fact that England was still supposed to be at peace with France. The French were naturally very indignant. But they were so determined to put England in the wrong, that they even ordered the release of an English vessel, which had been captured by their fleet. It was evident, however, that this show of modera- tion was intended to veil some secret design of vengeance ; for it was impossible that a great nation should submit so tamely to such an outrageous insult. -The king therefore . began to fear for the safety of his beloved Hanover ; England, the people were filled with alarm at the prospect of an invasion. George began to contract subsidiary alliances for the defence of Hanover with Hesse, with Eussia, with anybody who had empty pockets and troops for hire ; and it was on the sunken rock of these treaties that Newcastle's Ministry finally spht. Legge, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, refused to sign them ; Pitt inveighed against them with scathing invective ; and Newcastle had no alternative but to discharge the mutineers from ofi&ce. The most desperate efforts were made to obtain ^help. Assistance was demanded from Austria, and refused. Overtures were made to Eussia, and even to ^^^ ^ *russia. The conclusion of the Treaty of West- Westminster. minster, January, 1756, with the latter produced the rupture of the subsidiary alliance with Eussia, and was the proximate cause of the Seven Years' War, Then amid the general panic came like a thunder-clap on the nation the terrible news that Minorca was in the ^^^ ^ hands of the French ; and that Admiral Byng, Minorca, the commander of the Mediterranean Squadron, had not done anything to save it. A storm of indignation at -once arose against the unfortunate Admiral. There seems no reason to doubt that Byng was an honest, stupid sort of man, 174 Sectional and Personal Disputes, the usual type of English officers of the day, who owed his position more to family influence than to personal merit. He had received no positive instructions from the Ministry, and he entirely shrank from the responsibility thus thrown on him. Finding that a superior French force lay between him and Minorca, he appealed to that usual resource of the incapable — a council of war. This august body decided that, as they were outnumbered by the enemy, they had better leave Minorca to its fate ; which was accordingly done. There was therefore much in Byng's conduct to deserve the sharpest censure and instant removal from the service ; but nothing worthy of the extreme punishment of death. Hanged, however, Newcastle promised he should be ; nothing less than his execution would satisfy popular feeling ; and so on the purely technical ground of insufficient performance of duty, he was condemned to be shot. Unfair as the sentence undoubtedly was to the £ ^ individual, Byng, it was perhaps on the whole fortunate for England that on this occasion she steeled herself against the promptings of mercy and justice. It was desirable to eradicate the notion that the first duty of English Admirals was to bring their ships, off in safety from action ; and to compel more decided action on their part in order to produce greater results. There was therefore an unexpected amount of truth in Voltaire's sarcastic remark, that in England they hang one Admiral pour encourager les dutres. Byng's crime really consisted in not beating the French ; and with the fear of his fate before their eyes English commanders were sure to risk all for victory in the future. But before Byng atoned for his incapacity on the quarter-deck of the Monarqite^ the Ministry of Newcastle had Newcastle's crumbled away. Newcastle, alarmed at the popu- Ministry. ^^^ ferment about the loss of Minorca, endeavoured to persuade Fox to bear the blame ; but this Fox entirely refused to do, and shortly after resigned. The great Seven Years' War had now broken out all over Europe ; and Newcastle's utter incapacity to deal with such an alarming crisis became daily more apparent. At last, therefore, finding it im- possible to keep his Mitiistry together, he was compelled most unwillingly to resign, NovemlDer 11, 1756. Section 3. — Political CJiaiiges, Nov. 11, 1756 — .7wne29, 1757. A strange period of political revolutions and abortive Ministries followed. First a Coalition headed by the Duke of Devonshire, Fox. 175 and includiiig Pitt, came into power. This Ministry sketched out a most vigorous scheme of policy. An em- bargo was laid on all shipping in the ports ; ^^^ ^^^. strong reinforcements were sent to America ; large ^^°^^ ^^' additions were made to the forces, including several regiments enlisted in the Highlands ; and a Militia Bill was brought in to render that branch of the service more effective. The king, however, detested his new Ministers, and by an extraordinary stretch of prerogative, dismissed them. It was impossible, however, to form a ^^*®"="e&iii"»i- stable administration without Pitt ; and so after a three weeks' interregnum, during which there was positively no Government at all, a Coalition was formed between Newcastle and Pitt, which united the commanding genius of the latter to the vast parlia- mentary influence of the former, June, 1757. The most surprising fact was that Fox consented to take the subordinate post of Paymaster ; and here it seems a favourable opportunity to give a slight sketch of the career and character of this singular man. Section 4. — Henry Fox, Henry Fox was the eldest son of Sir Stephen Fox^ and brother of the first Earl of Dchester. He is supposed to have been born in 1705, but nothing is recorded of his early years but wild and reckless dissipation. He was a bold, bad man, who had been educated in the lax 'morality of the Walpolean school, and had entirely lost all principle, aracter; patriotism, and consistency of character. He had great talents for business and intrigue. His social qualities were such as would endow him with considerable influence. But his appear- ance was so unprepossessing that it was a positive disadvantage to him ; while his lowering brow and thick-set figure gave him such a truculent appearance, that malicious enemies openly compared him to a convicted murderer. Though not an orator of a very high type, he possessed a very remarkable power of debating. He had great tact and common sense, was unusually gifted with courage, wit, and readiness. And yet he never rose above the rank of a political adventurer, so entirely destitute was he of those more solid ^ ^ ^ . characteristics which give the necessary weight * and consistency to a really noble personality. He had the making in him of a great man ; but Nature had spoilt her work in the moulding, and flung it aside half -finished in disgust. His early 176 Sectional and Personal Disputes, extravagance rendered him needy and eager for office. In fact his impecuniosity made an official salary necessary to him and entirely destroyed his principles. He was Secretary at War under Pelham and under Newcastle. Later he formed one of that unscrupulous band of gadflies who stung Sir Thomas Eobinson to political death, though they were his nominal subordinates in the Ministry. Fox, however, at last ruined his political hopes by the extraordinary and degrading junction with Newcastle in 1755 on terms which no one but the veriest place-hunter would have accepted. The finishing strok^. to his reputation was his takinsj the subordinate post of Paymaster under Pitt and Newcastle in 1757, which did not involve even a seat in the Cabinet, but merely unusual opportunities for amassing money. This de- clension in a statesman who had aspired to lead the House of Commons, and had struggled with Pitt for the pre-eminence, was not easily forgotten or forgiven. He became gradually a political nullity, while Pitt was treading the loftiest paths of national glory. Bute's necessities, however, obliged him in 1763 to employ Fox to manage the dirty work of corruption in the House of Commons \ and the ready compliance of the fallen statesman was rewarded eventually with a peerage. He went into the Upper House as Lord Holland, rich but degraded in public estimation ; and from that time ceased to take any real part in public business till his death, 1774. GENEALOGY OF THE FOX FAMILY. Sir Stephen Fox, d. 1716. Charles, d. 1713. Stephen,, created Henry, Earl of II Chester. created Lord Holland, 1705-74. ^ Stephen, Chaelbs James Fox, 2nd Lord Holland, of the d. 1774. ** Unnatural Coalition " of 1783. Henry, 3rd Lord Holland, d. 1840. The Seven Years' War. 177 ISoofe U.— PITT, 1757-61. CHAPTEE I. the seven tears' war, 1756-63, Table of the Events of 1756-57. 1755. July. Defeat of Braddock. 1756. Jan. 16. Treaty of Westminster (England and Pnissia). May 1. Treaty of Versailles (Austria and France). May 17. English declaration of war with France. June 9. French declaration of war with England. June 27. Fall of Minorca. Sept. 9. Frederic enters Dresden. Nov. 11. Newcastle resigns. Nov. Ministry of Devonshire and Pitt. 1757. Feb. 2. Treaty between Russia and Austria. April 9. Pitt dismissed by the king. May 1. Treaty of Versailles (partition of Prussia), May 6. Battle of Prague. June 18. Battle of Kolin. June 29. Pitt and Newcastle unite to form a Ministry. Sept. 9. Convention of Kloster- Seven. Nov. 6. Battle of Rossbach. Dec. 5. Battle of Leuthen. Campaign of 1756, The wisdom of Frederic's bold advance into Saxony was im- mediately apparent. Tlie Saxon army at once coUapsed before him. In spite of all the efforts of the Queen of Poland to prevent it, documents of the most damnatory « ^ . • nature were found in Dresden, which enabled gaxony. him to set himself right in the eyes of posterity, if not of his contemporaries. It was only too evident that N 178 The Seven Years' War, he had merely anticipated the general onslaught of the united Powers. This sentimental triumph was the prelude to more substantial successes. Pirna, a position of great strength in Saxon Switzerland, whither the Saxon army had retired, suc- cumbed at last, after a vain attempt on the part of the Austrian General, Browne, to relieve it. This disastrous termination of the campaign on the part of Saxony gave Frederic full military possession of the whole country, and the power of making what use he could of its resources ; — a privilege which he pushed to the utmost possible limit with the most malicious satisfaction. The campaign, however, had been practically a failure, for it had not produced any impression on the iron ring of hostile nations which girdled him round. The capture of Saxony, in fact, only enraged the Czarina ; and did not in the slightest affect Austria, who really cared very little what Small results "became of her allies. Austria, Russia, France, paiffn ^^°^' Sweden, Poland, only drew closer their alliances. Eegular treaties were concluded between Austria and Russia, France and Austria, for the conquest and partition of the Prussian territories. With a population of 4,500,000, Frederic found himself opposed by an enormous aggregate of 90,000,000. His only ally was England, and at the opening of the war England could only stagger blindly to and fro with- out attempting any really vigorous action. It was impossible that she should be able to throw any weight into the scale during the miserable period of nongovernment which followed the resignation of Newcastle, !N^ovember 11th, 1756^ Oampaign of 1757. Early in the year 1757 Frederic invaded Bohemia in three columns ; and, after a desperate struggle outside the walls of Prague, drew his lines of investment close round the devoted . . city. The fall of Prague would have enabled Bohemia. ^^^ ^^ march straight across Bohemia, and fight Count Daun, the Austrian Commander-in-chief, on the confines of Austria itself. The besieged, however, held out with obstinate gallantry, and enabled Daun to accomplish his long and weary march down the valley of the Moldau. Blunders. < 179 Frederic, at the news of his advance, drew out his forces to meet the Austrians at Kolin, where he received a crushing defeat. It was impossible to continue the siege of Prague in the face of his conquerors. Slowly therefore, and unwill- ingly, he evacuated Bohemia, and a general paean of triumph resounded through the Courts of his enemies. Meanwhile, the English had been ' behaving in a manner at once ridiculous and ignominious. A heterogeneous army of various nationalities had been formed to defend Hanover ; and the command given to the Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland, with extraordinary folly, determined not to defend the line of the Khine, and the strong Prussian fortress of Wesel ; but to concentrate his forces on the Weser. The French under D'Estrees promptly occupied the Prussian f^^^orth^^* Khine territories, thus surrendered to them; Germany, and advanced to attack the line of the Weser. Cumberland at once retreated ; and, after a miserable fiasco of a battle at Hastenbeck, retreated steadily, until he got intO' a cul-de-sac between the mouth of the Elbe and the North Sea. The choice lay between fighting, surrendering, or retreating, into the sea. Cumberland chose the middle course, and con- cluded the Convention of Kloster-Seven with the new French commander, the Duke de Richelieu, by which Hanover wash given up to the French, and the so-called English army agreed not to serve against them during the remainder of the war. An expedition against Rochefort, devised by Pitt, met with little better success. Hawke, the Admiral in command, was a man of brilliant and daring genius ; but Mor- daunt, the military officer, was more anxious ^^7-f^^^^ about bringing his troops off in safety, than Rochefort. winning a victory. The result was a quarrel be- tween the two, and in consequence nothing was done ; though young Wolfe volunteered to capture the town with 500 men.. Mordaunt was acquitted by court-martial on his return ; but Pitt never employed him again. Failure, too, had attended the English arms in America. So far, in fact, the proceedings of. the English had not been very useful to Frederic, or glorious to themselves. Nowhere but in India had they met with success. There CKve had just won the brilliant victory of Plassey, which made the English masters of Bengal. It became necessary that Frederic should himself attend to N 2 > 180 The Seven Years' War. the French invasion of Germany, even at the risk of leaving his own dominions open to an attack from Frederic in Bohemia and Eussia. He therefore marched Gemany. rapidly westward, and came in sight of the united forces of France and the Empire at Ross- bach on the Saale, November 5th. There he completely out- generalled the French and German commanders, and administered to them such a thorough thrashing that Prussia had nothing to fear from them for some time. The Eussians meanwhile had occupied the Duchy of Prussia; the Austrians had overrun all Silesia; the Swedes were preparing to invade Pomerania. Eight days, therefore, . after Eossbach, Frederic started with 14,000 Silesfa^*^ ^^ men, made a forced march of it the whole way, and on the morning of December 5th attacked and routed the united armies of Count Daun and Prince Charles of Lorraine at Leuthen, not far from the Schweidnitz Water in Silesia. So ended the year 1757, amid a halo of imperishable glory for Frederic. Single-handed he had saved his country from destruction. The Eussians retired, after plundering and ravaging the luckless Duchy of Prussia. The Swedes gasconaded about a great deal of the summer with very little result, and then went back beyond the Peene Eiver into winter-quarters. Campaign o/ 1758. The year 1758 was remarkable for two important changes. The English, now directed by the master-genius of Pitt, began to take a more decided and effective part in the war on the Continent ; while maintaining the stupendous struggle in the colonies and at sea with extraordinary vivacity. The Eussians, Chanees *°^' ^^^ ^^ *^® march earlier in the year ; and ^ ' ^ contrived not only to harry the Duchy of Prussia in the usual way, but even to make themselves dan- gerously felt in the Mark of Brandenburg itself. With regard to the despicable Swedish War, which went on in a desultory manner all through, it may be dismissed in a few words. The Swedes never got across the Peene till late in the season. When they had accomplished this, they seemed completely satisfied, and effected extremely little else. Usually, too, they retired as early as possible into winter-quarters. Frederic and Ferdinand. 181 Frederic began the campaign by an advance into Moravia to besiege Olmiitz. His communications were, however, destroyed, and a large convoy of provisions carried ofp by the Austrian cavalry commanded by the active and daring General Loudon. He therefore retired rapidly from Moravia; and, inarching with his usual celerity northwards, directed his attention to the Kussians, who were ^^®d®i^fc in straggling about, and committing every kind of Brandenburg atrocity in the valley of the Oder. A decisive and Saxony. * beating at Zorndorf, however, sent these savages back to their own country rather quicker than they had come ; and left Frederic free to deal with the Austrians under Daun and Loudon, who had invaded Saxony. He was, however, so unduly scornful of the military capacity of the enemy, that he did not even take ordinary precautions ; but allowed himself to be surprised by night, and completely beaten at Hochkixchen, So extraordinary, however, was the genius of this remarkable man, that he managed his retreat with such skill that in a short time the Austrians were obliged themselves to evacuate Saxony and Silesia, completely generalled out of the country. Meanwnile the English had not been idle. Pitt had re- pudiated the Convention of Kloster- Seven, and demanded an efficient General from Frederic to command the English army in North Germany. Frederic sent them Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, a worthy disciple of his own, but free from the hideous blemishes which obscured uoj^tT^^ ^ the character of the king. Ferdinand with a Germany. mixed crew of subsidized Germans cleared Ger- many completely of the ragged brigands who composed the French army; and following them closely up to the Rhine, inflicted a severe defeat on them at Creveldt, June 23rd, 1758. Large reinforcements, however, enabled them to turn again ; and Ferdinand, finding that there was some danger of his communications being broken, recrossed the Rhine, and retired into Westphalia, where he was greatly strengthened by the advent of 8,500 British troops. Much of Ferdinand's success was due to a diversion created by the fleet under Commodore Howe, who attacked the harbours of St. Malo and Cherbourg, and destroyed a vast ^^^^^^ deal of shipping and stores, thereby effectually expedition, preventing the French from sending any succours to Germany, / ■ -. 182 The Seven Years' War, Campaign of 1759. !Fresh vigour was imparted into the proceedings of the French hy the accession of the Duke de Choiseul to the War Office at the close of the preceding year. Every preparation wa^ urged on with the greatest energy, and the treaties with Choiseul. Austria were remodelled on terms more favotir- ahle to France. An invasion of England was contemplated, and an enormous force was to be poured into Germany. It was too late, however. The English now had recovered from the craven terrors which had seized them at the beginning of the war ; they had learnt the art of victory ; they were commanded by a real General. They were therefore irresistible ; and ChoiseuFs schemes all ended in a pitiable failure. At first, however, success attended the French arms in Ger- many. Ferdinand, beaten by the Duke de Broglie at Bergen, was compelled to retire to the Weser ; and a second occupation of Hanover seemed imminent. A stand, however, was made at Minden; and Ferdinand manoeuvred with such Ferdinand. ^^^.^ ^^^^ ^^ compeUed the Frenchmen to fight, and that under circumstances of great disadvantage. The brunt of the battle fell on the English infantry, who behaved splen- didly. The result was a brilliant victory ; which would have ended in the total annihilation of the French, had Lord George Sackville, who commanded the cavalry, charged the enemy when he was ordered to do so. The French, however, with- drew in disorder to Hesse Cassel, and were seen no more for that season. This year was a complete triumph for England. In India, in Canada, on the sea, the British arms were everywhere irresistible. Enffiish Croree, Gnadaloupe, Minden, Lagos, ftuebec, victories. ftuiberon, were all names which signified a crushing defeat to the French. Horace Walpole said that there were so many victories that one had to get up early to avoid missiug any of them. France was so completely cowed, that Choiseul would gladly have concluded a separate peace with England, if Austria would have released him from his engagements. Meanwhile the year, which proved so glorious for England in. every part of the world, saw Frederic reduced to the lowest depths of misfortune and despair. A crushing defeat at Kuners- l *t Not. to be Overwhelmed'' 183s dorf was followed by the capitulatioa of an entire Prussian army at Maxen, and the surrender of Dresden. Nothing but the inactivity of the enemy and the quarrels between their Generals could have saved Frederic. deSa^ts ^ Several times he seriously contemplated suicide ; and indeed invariably carried about with him the means of ending his earthly troubles at any moment. The total ruin of Prussia seemed impending ; but the iron determination of the king still enabled her to maintain the same resolute front as before. Campaign of 1760. Frederic was now obliged to act purely on t£e defensive. Hig .country was too worn out and exhausted for any extended efforts. His treasury was almost empty. Nothing but the British sub- sidies enabled him to pay his troops. It was only by an extra- ordinary system of recruiting that he could fill up the enormous gaps in his army. Prussian officers spread all over Europe, bribing, frightening, actually kidnapping, men to fight against the Austrians. The campaign was almost wholly in Silesia and Saxony ; and the two countries suffered horribly. Early in the year three Austrian armies and a Eussian one assembled in Silesia, and, gathered slowly round S^^?"^ ^? Frederic. The latter, however, with surprising Saxony. celerity darted suddenly through the masses of the enemy, and, pouncing on the division of Loudon, routed him with great slaughter at Liegnitz, August 15th. The news of this sent the Eussians off in full retreat, and thus Frederic had killed two birds with one stone. The armies of Daun and Lacy, however, still remained, while a detachment of Eussians and Austrians plundered Berlin itself. At last, after a long series of intricate manoeuvres, Frederic came upon the Austrians strongly posted at Torgau in Saxony, and attacked them with the utmost fury. " It was a dreadful day of carnage ; on both sides blood flowed as water. The Prussians marched full on Baun's bat- teries of 400 cannon ; within half an hour 5000 grenadiers, the pride and strength of Frederic's army, lay dead or disabled on the ground." The thunder of the cannonade was so terrific that even the Prussian king — no stranger to the voice of artillery — was awed for the first time in his life. The victory lay with the 184 The Seven Years' War, ; . — ( assailants, but at a fearful price. So frightful was the butchery that both sidesj as if by commoii consent, avoided any other pitched battle for the rest of the war. Meanwhile, during the summer a French army of 100,000 men under the Duke de Broglie had crossed the Rhine, and _ ,. pushed on into Hesse. Ferdinand, with a very inferior force, succeeded in repulsing them at Warburg. He was, however, unable to check their steady advance into Hesse, where they took up their quarters for the winter. The most important incident of the year to Frederic was un- Death of doubtedly the death of George II. For George III. George II. and his favourite, Bute, were determined to with- draw from the war as soon as they possibly could. Choiseul, too, was beginning to be anxious for peace ; for the victories of Austria, however gratifying to the latter, were no compensation to France for her maritime and colonial losses. Campaign of 1761. The Prussian campaign of this year consisted of a series of marches and skirmishes up and down Silesia and Saxony with- out the occurrence of a single pitched battle. Both parties were , . too much exhausted to make any very extended efforts. At the end of the year the Russians at last advanced into Pomerania. A mixed Russian and Austrian army lay all across Silesia. Frederic was practically shut up in the Mark of Brandenburg ; and was at his wit's end to know how the men and money necessary to carry on the war were to be found for next year. The English campaign was wholly indecisive. At the end of Ferdinand. ^^^ ^^^^ Ferdinand and Broglie remained in much the same position as when they began it. The only result was to produce in Choiseul a sincere desire for peace, provided he could obtain respectable terms ; if not, he had fabri- cated a new weapon with which he hoped to deal a crushing blow at the enemy. This was the Family Compact with Spain, by which the two Powers agreed to levy war together on England. Eesiffnation ^^^^' however, suspecting the existence of some of Pitt. ^^^^ compact from the unusual interest shown by | France in certain Spanish grievances, determined J to include the younger branch of the House of Bourbon in the ' End of the War, 185 ruin lie had prepared for the elder. The Cabinet, however, under Bute^s direction, refused to obey any longer the mandates of Pitt, and that great statesman at once resigned. Oampaign of 1762. Fortunately for Frederic, the death of the Czarina Elizabeth in January removed Kussia from the list of his enemies, and gave Sweden an opportunity of retiring from her purposeless share in the war. He was therefore better able to bear . the loss of the English subsidy, when Bute de- ^ ®"^' clined to renew the subsidiary treaty between England and Prussia, which had expired in the preceding year. His prospects, however, were really greatly improved. He was able to drive the Austrians out of Silesia and Saxony, and to induce them to conclude a truce in anticipation of the general peace which seemed impending. Early in the year, however, Pitt's foresight had been justified by the Spanish declaration of war. The chief result of this rash act was that Spain immediately lost a number of . her principal colonies ; and that Choiseul, aban- doning his bellicose views, entered heartily into the negotiations for a separate peace with England. In Germany, Prince Ferdinand was able to drive the French . completely out of Hesse ; and thus the continental ^ ^. ^ campaign of the year ended decidedly favourably for England and Prussia. The result of the general exhaustion of the Powers and the peaceful aspirations of Bute was the Treaty of p ^ ^^^63 Paris, February 10th, 1763, between England and France ; which was shortly followed by the Treaty of Hubertsburg between Austria and Prussia, February 5th, 1763. So ended the stupendous struggle known as the Seven Years' War. 186 :War in America. ' CHAPTEE II. WAR IN AMERICA, 1756-60. ' Campaign of 1756-57. In North America the military nature of the French colonies gave them an immense advantage at the outset of the war, which was greatly increased by the incapacity of the English officers sent out to carry on the struggle against them. Braddock had been succeeded by the Earl of Loudon ; a man of the same type as Byng, — honest enough, but hopelessly undecided in character. The Americans said that he was like St. George the EneUsh ^^ ^^® sign-posts, " always galloping, but never advancing an inch." An attack was planned on Louisburg, the capital of the French colony of Cape Breton, and Lord Loudon mustered about 12,000 men for the assault. But some exaggerated reports of the enemy's strength having come to his ear, this gallant commander gave the order to retreat. Similarly no attempt was made to prevent the destruction of Fort William Henry on the southern coast of Lake George, or to interfere with the French fleet which was cruising off Cape Breton. The English officers, in fact, were no match for an able and experienced veteran like the Marquis of Montcalm, the French Governor of Canada, and by the close of the year the French had very nearly made good their claim to the whole country west of the AUeghanies. Campaign 0/ 1758. It was, however, the peculiar glory of Pitt that he was entirely undeterred by any apparent difficulties, which might interpose between him and victory. To him it Louislmrp. appeared that under such circumstances there was merely additional cause for active and 'W% Capture of Louisburg. 187 vigorous action. He had no sooner secured his position at the Foreign Office on a firm foundation in 1757, than he at once determined on the conquest of Canada, in order to cut ,at the very roots of the French colonial empire. Early in 1758 the Earl of Loudon was recalled ; and large reinforcements, com- manded by General Amherst and Admiral Boscawen, were sent out with instructions to capture Cape Breton Island, which was the seat of the French cod-fishery, Wolfe, whose spirited offer with regard to Eochefort had attracted the eagle eye of Pitt, was sent as second in command. Both Wolfe and Amherst were young men whose sole claim to distinction rested on their courage and talent. The selection of men who had positively no family influence to back them was contrary to all the tradi- tions of the English service ; but considerations of that kind rarely weighed very heavily with Pitt, and the event justified his choice. On June 2nd Boscawen anchored his fleet off Louisbnrg ; and the boats laden with soldiers were soon racing through the surf in spite of the fire from the French ships and batteries. As the keels grated on the beach, the men, headed by Wolfe, dashed through the waves, and a desperate hand-to-hand battle ensued amid the spray and surf. The enemy resisted with the greatest vigour ; but such a heavy fire was kept up on ' the town, that at last the garrison capitulated. Louisburg thus feU into the hands of the English. The whole of the island sub- mitted on the fall of its capital ; and this was followed by the surrender of the Island of St. John's, or, as it was afterwards called, Prince Edward's Island. Meanwhile General Abercrombie, an officer of the old type, had become senior in command on the recall of Loudon. It was really a great mistake that the General was not recalled as well as the Earl ; but, unfortunately, his blunders were still to come. When Amherst was commissioned to attack Cape Breton, Aber- crombie received instructions to reduce the French forts on Lakes George and Champlain, and thus prepare a road for the invasion of Canada from the south. The grand object of pailure before the march was Ticonderoga, — a strong fort Ticonderoga. blocking the passage between Lakes George and Champlain, and therefore practically commanding the road to the important town of Montreal. Montcalm, however, had strengthened the place considerably with formidable stockades and breastworks. So when Abercrombie and his people came •rushing blindly on to attack the fort, they were received with 188 IVar jn America, such an eruption of fire and shot that they fell back in great confusion and astonishment, and promptly retreated. The English, however, gained one decided success on the Ohio. This was the capture of the old bone of contention, Fort Duquesne, which was re-christened by the name of Pitts- burg. The outposts of Canada, therefore, on the north and south had been driven in, though as yet no impression what- ever had been made on the centre of the defence. Campaign 0/ 1759. In 1759 a grand triple assault was organized on Canada itself. Amherst, who was now Commander-in-chief, was ordered to renew the attack on TiconderOga from l^ew England; and then march straight down the St. Lawrence. Wolfe with a second army was to advance up the St. Lawrence to ftuebec, the capital of Canada, where it was expected that he would find Amherst ready to co-operate in a joint attack on C nada ^ that town. Of these enterprises the second was really the most hazardous. Meanwhile a third army, consisting of a rather motley crew of colonists and friendly Indians, commanded by General Prideaux, would sally from New York, and attack Fort Niagara, which blocked the gap between Lakes Erie and Ontario. It was hoped that this third blow, struck at such a distant point, might create alarm at the Erench head-quarters, and draw off a considerable force from the defences of the lower reaches of the St. Lawrence. The result of Prideaux's expedition was extremely satisfactory. They captured Fort Niagara, and thereby effec- N^agara tually cut the line of communication between Canada and Louisiana. The plan of united co-operation between Amherat and Wolfe, however, failed completely, for though the latter successfully accomplished the difficult task of navigating up the St. Lawrence p - to within a short distance of Quebec, Amherst Ticonderoga. ^^^ unable to reduce the powerful fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point as quickly as he had expected. Therefore, though he carried out his instructions Siege of Quebec, 189 eventually to the very letter, Wolfe was preparing to assault Quebec long before Amherst had reached the line of the St, Lawrence. For several months the English, scattered about on the islands and banks of the St. Lawrence, wearily manoeuvred up and down, endeavouring to entice Montcalm out of his strongly entrenched camp on the heights to the north-east of the city. The cautious Frenchman, however, wisely remained on the defensive ; and provoked Wolfe eventually to exhaust his strength by an in- effectual assault, which was repulsed with considerable slaughter. In September, therefore, Wofle determined to change the base of operations ; attack from the western side and storm the Heights of Abraham just above Quebec, which commanded the town. The troops were therefore transported by the fleet to a point a few miles np the river, and it was determined to try the effect of a night surprise. Therefore, while the fleet distracted Montcalm's attention by a furious cannonade on his camp, Wolfe and a body of picked men slipped out their boats into the river, and with muffled oars rowed steadily and silently down stream under the Quebec °^ shadows of the grim beetling cliffs. It is said that he recited in a low tone to his ojB&cers Gray's " Elegy in a Country Churchyard," and expressed admiration to an enthu- siastic degree. " Next morning,'' says Carlyle, " Wolfe with his 5000 is found to have scrambled up by some woody neck in the heights which was not quite precipitous ; has trailed 6ne cannon with him, the seamen busy bringing up another ; and by ten of the clock, stands ready ranked, ready at all points for Montcalm, but refusing to be over-ready." Montcalm at the first news came hurrying- up in good order from his camp below the city. On either side of him and all round the heights he threw out skirmishers, Indians, sharp- shooters of every kind, to worry the English, and perhaps pro- voke them to leave their strong position. But " Steady, boys, wait till they come within forty yards ! " cried Wolfe ; and then the dense phalanx of the French vanguard came rolling up the slope, preceded by jets of smoke and volleying thunder, ,but to their astonishment meeting with absolutely no response from the dark silent masses of the English. What could it mean? Had the ammunition failed? But ere the exultant thought was fully formed, a word of command rang sharply through the English ranks, and the whole line burst out into 190 War in America, a broad deadly sheet of flame, which, delivered at such close quarters, absolutely blew the French army to shivers. Then the English charged swiftly forward with the Wdfe ° bayonet, and drove the scattered remnants of the enemy in hideous disorder headlong down the heights. Both the leaders of this desperate duel of the nations fell in the battle ; — Wolfe cheering his men on to certain victory, Montcalm vainly endeavouring to rally the broken fugitives of his once proud army ; the one happy in the know- ledge of his country's triumph, the other glad to escape his own humiliation. Five days afterwards Quebec capitulated ; and from that moment the ultimate reduction of all Canada was assured. » Campaign 0/ 1760. The command now fell to Colonel Murray, who was left with 6000 men to maintain the English hold on Quebec ; and to the Marquis de Yaudreuil, the French Governor of Montreal, the second city of the colony. The Marquis deter- Attemptto mined to make an eflbrt to recover Quebec, Quebec. while the communication with the sea was cut off by the floating ice in the lower St. Lawrence. Early, therefore, in the spring, a force of about 10,000 men, regulars and irregulars, dropped down the St. Lawrence from , Montreal, and landed a few miles above Quebec. The English, presuming on their success of last year, marched out in very inferior numbers to attack the enemy; but received such a warm welcome, that they were obliged to retreat rapidly to the town. The French commander, M. de Levis, at once opened trenches, and the siege began. The besieging force was so superior in numbers, that, though the place was defended with extraordinary bravery, nothing but the arrival of reinforcements could save it. It was really a race against time. Great, there- fore, was the joy of the English garrison when on May 11th the white sails of an English frigate were seen slowly ascending the St. Lawrence. In a few days a whole fleet lay off' Quebec ; and M. de Levis, with rage and despair, was obliged to raise the siege. The English now took the offensive. A triple attack was arranged on the great town of Montreal further up the St. Lawrence : one from Quebec, under General Murray ; one from Crown Point, under General Haviland ; one from Oswego, south Capture of Montreal, 191 of Lake Ontario, under Amherst, the Commander-in-chief. The latter was by far the most difficult, as it involved crossing the lake in open boats, and then dropping down the upper St. Lawrence, the navigation of which is extremely- dangerous, owing to the numerous rapids. 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CD'S ««* ^ S q5 BStC-a.S'^ TC 5 ^«M>>«M §g l?§'-i -§ "^^ii^ 'T.rr: bora 5 -2 iS s ^ .2 'S ." a /" c3 >.^ S t: u J "^ 'g '-S ^ 5 -2 > o fi:^ g ^ -S ^«g.2§ .2^gg^o •§fl'^§g°2?/S-g:3og°^ 206 William Pitt the Elder. CHAPTEE Y. ' WILLIAM PITT THE ELDER, 1757-61. William Pitt was born in November, 1708. His grandfather had made a large fortune by the sale of a diamond to the Regent Orleans, with which he had bought estates and rotten, boroughs. Young Pitt was educated at Eton and Oxford, without exciting any particular notice among his companions or pedagogues. On the death of his father he entered the army as cornet in the Blues. In 1735 he took his seat for the family borough of Old Sarum, and soon became a h'Vtory • prominent member of the Opposition. His attacks * on Walpole determined the latter to ''muzzle this it terrible cornet of horse ;" and he was dismissed the service. He was no loser, however. He became Groom of the Bedchamber to Frederic, Prince of Wales, who admired the open . abuse which Pitt had lavished on Walpole's poHcy. Erom this time he formed part of the Opposition which attacked Walpole and Carteret, and is identified with all their acts, until Henry Pelham admitted him to the Broad-Bottomed Ministry in 1746. ' There is hardly another instance in the annals of England where the united voice of posterity and contemporary history have combined so unanimously to recognize the real greatness of any statesman. And yet many have conferred as great benefits on their country; few have laboured under much greater errors and defects. But the genius of Pitt was of such a dazzling nature that it impressed and awed all that he came in contact with. His ascendency over his contemporaries was so commanding^ that at home no man could be foUnd daring, enough to face the terrible force of his invective ; abroad his name, like that of Coeur de Lion, was a spell to nis oratory; conjure with. The most turbulent member of Pitt's Purity, 207 the House of Commons quailed before the flash of his eye ; the mere mention of his name would silence the most arrogant and hoastful Frenchman. He was an orator of the highest order. And yet he was not strong in elaborate argument or accurate statement ; he was not a great debater in the modern sense of the word ; he did not rely on sarcasm, fancy, pathos, to catch the sympathy of his audience. He never made the slightest attempt at preparation or calculation of the effect of his words. Not till he was on his legs did he know as a rule what he was going to say, and then all that was in his mind came out. The secret of his success lay in his great knowledge of the art of controlling and swaying a great assembly. He could carry the most hostile House of Commons so completely along with him, that friends and enemies alike hung breathless on his utterance. No man ever took more liberties with his audience, and no man did it more successfully. He established a tyranny over the House the like of which has never been seen since. His strength lay in his terrible invective, and his commanding manner. He could wither any one, who presumed to oppose him, with a torrent of the most stinging denunciation ; and he used his power without the slightest scruple. One cause of his suc- cess no doubt lay in the fact that he had every personal advantage that an orator could choose. His form was imposing and graceful ; his voice clear and melodious ; his eye, " like Mars', to threaten and command." His greatest quality was his entire freedom from any suspicion of corruption. Though he was a poor man at ^^^ . . a time when the general tone of political mo- ^ ^ * rality was extremely low, no breath of slander ever blurred his reputation^ this respect. In Opposition, and in office, he preserved his character free from this too common staiu. His disinterestedness was most conclusively shown in 1746, when he became Paymaster of the Forces. There were certain regular perquisites attached to the office in war time, which were distinctly illegal, but had always been accepted by his prede- cessors, and rendered the position extremely lucrative. Pitt, though certainly a poorer man than any who had filled this ^i^, post before, refused to continue a course which he considered illegal, and which undoubtedly was a veiled form of peculation of the public money. iSTor would he under any pretext accept what every man in the kingdom would have considered him perfectly right in receiving. This extraordinary disinterested- i"' 208 ' William Pitt the Elder. ness made him the idol of the people. In return larity^^' > he sympathized with the great unrepresented * masses, and relied on public opinion for support, rather than any parliamentary connection. This at the time was really a mistake, for though the powerful tide of national indignation at the calamities which began the Seven Years* War, was sufficient to float him over all obstacles to the highest point of power, yet when the war was no longer necessary, when the wave of popular feeling had subsided, Pitt was left high and dry on the barren eminence without the^ slightest parliamentary support or connection to cling to, which might have enabled him to avoid being swept away by the rising influence of the Crown and the new Tory party. At the same time he never hesitated to place himself in opposition to national feeling when he considered that the nation was in the wrong. He earnestly pleaded for Byng ; he defended the resis- liis courage ; ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Americans ; he rebuked the national hostility towards the Scots, which was the result of the general hatred of Bute. This alone is a sufficient proof of his courage. Perhaps no man, however, exhibited greater inconsistencies . in his career than Pitt ; and yet his defects are his incon- almost forgotten and his talents alone remembered. * Prom the moment he entered Parliament down to 1746, when he took office under Pelham, he had devoted himself to censuring the measures of Walpole and Carteret. He denounced the whole Walpole policy, and thundered against the standing army. He inveighed against Hanover, Carteret, and the Hanoverian subsidies, and declared that England was being sacri- ficed to a miserable Electorate. He was one of the most prominent of the party who had driven England into the Spanish War, and had tried to force on the impeachment of Walpole. And yet when " -' -' ' Pelham ottered iiim the Paymastership he suddenly became con- verted. Ptoot and branch he had condemned the Walpole policy. Eoot and branch he now accepted it. He advocated the mainte- nance of the standing army even after the termination of the war.- He supported the Hanoverian subsidies. He defended the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in which the right of search was not even mentioned. When he assumed the management of affairs himself, he went still further. He carried the subsidy system to an extent which no Minister had ever dreamt of before. He enlisted whole regiments of Highlanders into the standing army. He waged war on the Continent on the most costly and unpre- ] J ] Pitt's Faults, 209 cedented scale. Inconsistencies like these would have ruined a smaller man ; and yet the extraordinary part is that Pitt's explanation was perfectly good and consistent. He had advo- cated the abolition of the right of search in headstrong vouth : maturer reflection had shown him that Spain never could and never would give it up, and that the question had practically been settled in favour of England, o^^i^m *^°^ He had inveighed against Hanoveriail subsidies ' for such purely Hanoverian purposes as the support of the Emperor Charles VII. \ the question, however, had become thoroughly English; Hanover was threatened on account of England ; the war had developed into a vast struggle between England and France for the colonial and commercial supremacy of the world ; the question was to be fought out in Germany, where France could be attacked at her most vital point. The Jacobite Insurrection had converted him to the necessity for a standing army, for he saw that a strong standing army would have prevented the humiliating and ridiculous march to Derby. These arguments are good and natural ; and yet few men could have survived the suspicions which they laid him open to. Pitt's moral ascendency, however, is not in the slightest shaken by them, so overpowering is the glamour with which true greatness invests a statesman. His character, too, was stained by reckless ingratitude to his benefactor, !N"ewcastle, which could only have sprung from the disappointed bitterness of a baffled place-hunter. His insolence and servility to royalty were almost equal. He could criticize the king in terms which *^^^ ^®^®^*^ ' gentlemanly feeling, if nothing else, should have prevented him using; but at the levee he would bow so low that it was a com- mon joke that the tip of his hooked nose could be seen through his legs. His arrogance was perfectly extraordinary. It was veiled at times by a mock affectation of humility, which was more offensive even than open insolence. This defect increased as years rolled on, and made it almost intolerable to have to serve with him. It was this, joined to disease, almost approaching madness, which caused the shipwreck of his second Ministry. But with all his faults he was the greatest man of his time. He raised England from the depth of disaster and despair to a pitch of unprecedented glory and prosperity. The state of England in the year 1756 was positively pitiable. The people were in momentary dread of an invasion. Their only hope lay p 210 William Pitt the Elder, in hired regiments of Hessians arid Hanoverians, greatness; ^j^^j^ ^^^ hated so much, that the poor wretches ran a narrow chance of being starved or frozen to death. The most patriotic statesmen despaired for England, and thought that the hour of her ruin had now come. " Whoever is in, or whoever is out," wrote Chesterfield, " I am sure we are undone both at home and abroad." But the disasters which began the war, — the loss of Minorca and Hanover, the disgrace of Hasten- beck and Kloster-Seven, the failures of Kochefort and Louisburg, the rout of Kolin and evacuation of Bohemia, — only served to thrust Pitt more prominently to the front ; and the difficulties he had to deal with only brought more strongly into play all the resources of that transcendent genius. The details of the public service he left to his subordinates. The plans of campaign he entrusted entirely to his Generals. His part was to discover talent and resolution in the men he had to deal with, and to turn it to his purpose ; to restore vigour to every branch of the de^ crepit administration, to revive the hopes and patriotism of the nation, and to inspire his instruments with his ot\ti determined confidence and daring. He introduced new ideas of British dignity, and making it his ideal that England must attain the position of complete supremacy in Europe, he gradually raised her to an unequalled pitch of power. He introduced new maxims of war, which the execution of Byng gave point to. Hitherto British commanders had devoted more attention to the safety of their own ships than the destruction of the enemy's. !N"ow the corpse of the murdered Admiral dangled before their eyes, much as the guillotine floated darkly before the imagination of the French Kevolutionary Generals. The country was deter- mined to win great and brilliant successes \ and, as nothing less would be accepted, every one from the Commodore to the cabin- boy devoted all his energies to attaining this glorious result. We have seen how in consequence the French marine was ' gradually driven off the seas by the heroic daring of Hawke and Boscawen ; but it was the genius of Pitt which inspired them •. all. He introduced new principles into the admi^ liehtened nistration. Hitherto men had relied on family and policy ; Court influence or corruption for advancement. A bribe to a Minister, or a distant relationship to a Duke, produced twice the effect at the Horse Guards that any amount of glorious victories would do. Promotion went solely by seniority or influence, and the result had been that " never Pitt's Grea tness. 211 Tbefore among the rational sons of Adam were armies sent out on such terms— namely, without a General, or with no General understanding the least of his business — soldiers led by a courageous Wooden Pole with a cocked hat on it." All this was changed by Pitt ; merit began to be the only ground recognized for service or promotion. On this principle he employed young men like Amherst, Wolfe, Clive, who had nothing to recommend them but the fire of genius dwelling within them. On this principle he requested Frederic II. to provide him with a General to command the army in Germany, instead of the "courageous Eoyal Wooden Pole with a cocked hat on it," Tvhich had brought nothing but disgrace on the nation. How much true greatness of soul was involved in that one avowal that England could produce no General fit for the command, and must seek one from the upstart kingdom of Prussia. Few would have thought of it ; fewer dared to do it. War conducted in this way could not fail to be successful ; and the English moved from victory to victory, tOl the year 1759 gave them not only India and ^i^iiL . America, but also the supremacy of the seas. The English exports increased arinually; and in 1758, when France had declared herself bankrupt, and Prussia/ was practi- cally so, the English exports were greater than at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Detractors of Pitt may, however, very justly urge that the war had in its later stages reaUy become unnecessary. If Pitt had seriously desired peace, he could have obtained it easily, for France was reduced to the last extremity of ruin and distress. •But he had no real desire for peace. He was not content with having annihilated the fleets and l^\^^^ armies of France, but wished to deprive her of all unnecessary, her colonial empire and her share in the !N"ew- ifltundland fisheries. The memory of the treaties of Utrecht and Aix stiU rankled in the minds of the people ; for advantageous r as they had been to England, they were regarded as national disasters, and so the whole nation supported him eagerly in his determination to throw France on her back, especially as the I EngHsh victories, unlike the Prussian, had been very bloodless. The result of his national and patriotic policy, and the general feeling that he was the only man who could manage the war, waa to entirely destroy the strife of parties for the time, and to pro- I duce a complete unanimity, undisturbed even by Jacobitism, 212 William Pitt the Elder. whicli had died out in England, arid in Scotland of^iarUes^ had been turned into national channels by the enlistment of the Jacobite clans for the American war. It appears to have been a settled policy of his to smooth over all party differences. After his resignation he said he was under great obligations to many Tory gentlemen who had sup- ported the Grovernment with all the enthusiasm of the Whigs. In his militia appointments he entirely neglected all party distinctions ; and Horace Walpole alludes to this conduct as a well-known design for breaking up and uniting the remnants of the old parties. The principal events of Pitt's career of office have been narrated in the history of the war. At home there was little to attract attention, owing to the extraordiriary union of the Ministry. This was maialy the result of the tacit agreement between Pitt and !N'ewcastle that the former should do everything, the latter give everything. But the personal questions, which had superseded the party questions smoothed over by Pelham and crushed the explosion, ^^wn by Pitt, still smouldered dangerously far out of sight, and ready to break out again when the unusual pressure created by the war was removed. The appearance of affairs, therefore, at the end of the reign of George II. was deceptive. It was the calm which precedes the tornado. GENEALOGY OF THE GEENYILLES AJSTD PITTS. Hester, Countess Temple = Rictiai-d Grenville. W. Pitt, = Heater Richabd, Geokge, Earl of Grenville. E. Temple; Prime Minister, Chatham. d. 1779. 1763-65 ; d. 1770. I ! <- I I I I ~~\ [ John, William, Hester, Geobge, Thomas, William Earl of Prime m. 3rd Earl Earl Temple, d, 1846. Wtndham, Chatham. Minister, Stanhope. 1779. (India Bill, Lord Grenville. 1783-1801, 1783.) Marquis Prime 1804-1806. of Buckingham, 1784; Minister, d. 1813, 1806-7 ; d.1834, George III. 213 ISoofe FI*— BREAK UP OF THE WHIG OLIGARCHY, 1760-70. CHAPTER I. PERIOD OF BUTE, 1760-65. Section 1. — George II L George III. was twenty -two years old when Ms grandfather died. He was an indolent boy of only respectable abilities ; scrupulous, dutiful, narrow-minded, and ^^^ ^°^* easily prejudiced against anything which did not fall in with his views. His education had been sadly neglected. Such as it was, it was scarcely adapted to fit him for the part he was des- tined to play, being founded mainly on the Jacobite theories of kingship which had become an anachronism. The most im- portant person in the princess's household was the Earl of Bute, — an insignificant Scotchman with talents of the most mediocre character, — ^who had held an office under Erederic, Prince of iifales, and after a short interval of retirement on the latter's death, had returned to manage the household of the young Prince. The intimate and confidential relations of this man with the Princess gave rise to a good deal of scandal, which was probably all grossly untrue. In this atmosphere of mediocrity George gradually attained man's estate ; and under the guiding influence of Bute he acquired those theories of monarchy and the importance of his own position, which led him into such fatal errors later in life. His private character was estimable and respectable. He was a good son, good husband, good father. His own gVoracter • iife was scrupulously pure ; and under the strict * 214 Period of Bute. regime of the new reign the coarseness and open immorality, which had been the chief characteristic of the first two Hano- verian Courts, sank into fitting seclusion. He was honestly and sincerely pious. His courage, moreover, was undoubted, and was exhibited on many occasions when danger had paralyzed his attendants. But with all these good qualities he was one of the worst Vings that England was ever afflicted with. His very virtues became baneful, for they blinded the eyes of ®^ ^' numbers to the evil which he really worked. He deliberately opposed himself to liberty wherever, and in what- ever form he met it. He resisted all attempts to ameliorate the miserable position of the Roman Catholics. He strongly op- posed any scheme for the better government of Ireland. He steadily refused to hear of Parliamentary or Economical Re- form, solely on the ground that it would be prejudicial to the power of the monarchy. He supported and encouraged the proceedings against the printers, which were avowedly intended to place a considerable limitation on the freedom of the press. He strained all the powers of the executive in order to furth^ the tyrannical persecution to which Wilkes was so long a victim. He drove America into revolt; and set himself to reconquer: her to slavery by force of arms. Fortunately he succeeded m none of these cherished schemes for long ; but his temporary success was in all cases productive of great harm to the develop- ment of England. There is singular irony in the fact that his succession was hailed with universal rejoicing. The dynastic struggle which had troubled the reigns of the first two Hanoverian kings, was now at an end. The Pretender, sunk in low debauchery and constant intoxication, had lost all hold on England, all respect in other countries. George was, as he himself said, an English- man. He understood the English language. It was believed. that he had been thoroughly instructed as to the ar y opes. nature of the English Constitution. He had also a certain amount of hereditary right to the crown, for it had come to him by descent through three ancestors. The Tory party therefore readily transferred to him the old sentiments of loyalty which had so long clang round the exiled family..' It was imagined that once more the king would select the ablest men of both parties, and form an united Ministry including all the talent of the country. The extraordinary hopes which. George's Despotic Views. 215 centred round the new king are in striking analogy to the en- thusiasm with which the accession of Louis XYI. was hailed in France as the beginning of a new and golden era. They were destined to be little justified by the results. George had been indoctrinated by his Jacobite tutors with the theory of monarchy set forth in Bolingbroke's *^ Patriot King." This little treatise professes to enunciate the true ideal of beneficent monarchy, in which the king — a paternal despot of the most exalted character — theofv of governs solely in the interests of his subjects, not kingship ; because he is obliged to by any constitutional re- strictions, but simply because it is his good pleasure so to do. Jt was this ideal which George always had before his eyes, singularly enough, even when perpetrating his most arbitrary acts. The ex- planation of this extraordinary paradox lies in the fact that he regarded Wilkes, Liberty, America, Toleration, as so many obstacles which lay between him and the realization of his ideal, and which therefore must be swept ruthlessly away. For in George's eyes the end which he aimed at was sufficiently lofty and enlightened to ennoble the means, however base and de- graded. The object, however, for which he plotted and worked all through his life, was practically the re-establishment of the personal authority of the Crown, which had so long been under an eclipse. He designed to scatter the shadows which obscured this bright luminary, so that it might once more shine forth beneficent on the nation. He attributed all the evils of party struggles which had fallen on the country to the diminution of the royal power. This had prevented the Crown from acting as mediator .between the various parties and governing by means of the ablest men of each. He did not see that personal govern- ment had become an anachronism. He did not ^^ mistake • realize that the petty mounds, which he set him- self to level, concealed behind them range on range of granite clifts, and that it was only his own feeble stature which re- moved the latter from his view. With this theory in his mind, his first object was naturally to break up the strong phalanx of the great Whig Houses, which had so long held the king in leading-strings. Pitt's Mini&tfy must faU ; Pitt himself be driven from office ; and a new Government formed in which every member was to be to a certain extent dependent on the Crown. ^.^ ^^^^^ He designed to avail himself of the personal 216 Period of Bute, rivalry already existing between his Ministers in order to disunite the Cabinet ; and, by holding out hopes of supremacy to all who should be submissive, to produce a general sub- servience to his will. Working thus on the general thirst for office which was the common attribute of most of the prominent statesmen of the time, he intended to form a Ministry of the most heterogeneous materials, which should contain in itself the seeds of disunion and weakness. When he had effectually discredited the chief leaders of the Whig party by exhibiting them repeatedly in the light of mere place- hunters, and when he had destroyed their power by pitting the various sections against one another in the general scramble for office, he would seize the opportunity to commit the govern- ' ment to some mediocre statesman who would be thoroughly obedient to his authority, and who would rely, not so much on the solidity of his measures, or on any Parliamentary influence of his own, but simply on the steady support of the kitig. In order to secure this dependence, George resumed the Crown patronage, which had been so long monopolized by Ministers, and employed it solely with the view of attaching members of Parliament to himself by the hope of obtaining those^ lucrative posts and pensions which had hitherto lain in the gift of the Prime Minister. In this way he at last succeeded in forming a party which was entirely devoted to him. Strict discipline was enforced, and the most unquestioning obedience exacted. The ^ , command of this troop of '' King's Friends " gave Friends ^^ ^ ^^® ^^^S ^^ ^ certain extent the control of the House. At least he could ensure that no measure obnoxious to him should be carried, unless all the various scattered sections of the Whig party united in support of it. Naturally this gave him, too, a certain control over his Ministers. For it is obvious that, unless a Minister possessed a very large majority, the transfer of fifty or sixty votes on an important question from one side to the other would be quite enough to produce a decisive effect on the division. The result was that Ministers felt themselves in a great measure dependent on the support of the king ; and were rather apt to shirk or suppress all legislation to which it was well known that he was distinctly opposed. It was this system which George was determined to create, and which, after a ten years' struggle with the House of Commons, he succeeded in firmly establishing. Prom the year 1770, with a few exceptions, his will became paramount. His George's Dangerous Policy. 217 > \ » \ opposition was enough to throw out any Bill, however necessary and salutary. His ill-will proved too much for the enormous strength of the Coalition Ministry of 1783. His personal rule overbore even the strong individuality of the younger Pitt and compelled him to accommodate his principles of government to those of the king. On three occasions, however, George found himself at fault. A junction of parties enabled his opponents to outvote the King's Friends and force the king to receive a Ministry whose principles were odious to him as being directly hostile to his ascendency. In 1782 the Second Kockingham Ministry ; in 1783 the Great Coalition Ministry; and in 1806 the Ministry of All the Talents, represent the temporary failure of George's policy. Even then, however, the influence of the king was so strong that he was able to obtain a voice in the formation of the Cabinet, and thereby introduce elements of discord which were sure to lead eventually to disruption. While his facilities for corruption were so enormous that he soon re- covered the authority, which he had temporarily lost, over the rank and file of the House of Commons, and ruled with more absolute sway than ever. It must be remarked that, for the sake of convenience, the latter part of the rejgn, during which the government was really carried on by the Prince Ee- gent on account of his father's madness, may practically be re- garded as part of the reign of George III., for the prince pursued precisely the same policy with regard to the management of the Houses of Parliament as that which his father had inaugurated. The most conclusive proof of this lies in the fact that the per- sonal influence of George lY. was quite enough to stave off ParHamentary Reform until the accession of his brother. It must be premised that George IIL's plan was not carried out exactly on the lines drawn up by its author. His intention, it must be remembered, was to break the power of party and then to rule despotically but well. It took him ten years, and cost him many humiliations to effect the first part of his scheme ; and with regard to the latter, it is position, enough to say that after 1770 he ruled despotically but not well. He thought that he had to deal solely with the prescriptive tenure of office which the Whig Lords had acquired by long undisturbed possession during the first two Hanoverian reigns ; and he did not see behind them the Constitutional Barriers which had been the work of centuries of Parliamentary ppposition. The people, however, were as much deceived as to 218 Period of Bute, his intentions as he was with regard to their views. During the early years of his reign their sympathy was wholly with him, because they thought he only designed to destroy the power of the Whig Houses, and did not suspect his more dangerous plot against the Constitution itself. Even Junius in his early letters refers to the king as the essence of all goodness who is misled by malignant Ministers. But during the Ministry of the Duke of Grafton there was a general awakening from this delusive dream ; and from this time the conflict between the king and Constitution was so palpable, that nothing but the excesses of- the French Revolution could have once again cast a decent veil of loyalty over the abnegation of principle involved in the position of the younger Pitt. The true hostility between the theories of George III. and the principle of constitutional go- vernment may be roughly estimated by a comparison of the ad- vantages which he possessed for the execution of his scheme and the slender measure of success which he really obtained. The advantages which he possessed at the beginning of his reign were simply immense. The eighteenth century had witnessed the gradual extinction of the old political parties. Walpole h^d united Whigs and Tories in opposition, until at . last the sole party distinction was that of the Wal- the Wkig° poleans against the Anti-Walpoleans. Pelham party. ^'^^ I*i^^ ^^^ included in their Ministries men who were nominally of every shade of opinion. It was therefore evident that the old meaning attached to the words Whig, Tory, Jacobite, was entirely lost sight of. Personal questions had taken the place of political theories. Granville and Newcastle equally, though for different reasons, smarted under the ascendency of Pitt. Every statesman aspired to the highest place, or at any rate a step higher than the one he already occupied. Sections and knots of men were formed within the Government which had seemed so united during the last years of George II. j and each little group desired to break the supremacy of Pitt— not because they objected to his policy, but because they hated his dictatorial manner, and hoped to mal^e their own advantage in the general disruption. The Whig party was therefore in a condition which rendered it an easy prey to the tactics of George III. It did not require much breaking up. It was already so disintegrated that with a httle dexterous handling it would fall to pieces of itself in the most natural manner. The personal views of the leaders,' New Tory Party, 219 too, and their eager thirst for place, enabled George to use them as he liked, — to discredit them by forcing them into "unnatural coalitions " of every kind and thus exhibiting their sordid motives in the strongest light ; until all that was left of the great Whig party, once so gloriously united, was a number of little groups, owing allegiance each to a different leader, and distinguishable as a rule in principle, — or rather lack of principle, — solely by the fact that the one was more i?eady perhaps to accept ofl&ce on any terms than another. On the other side the beginning of the reign marks the revival of the Tory party. The Tories proper ^^^ ^^^ had long suffered a total eclipse under the shadow jQj.y party, of the Whig ascendency, which was the result of Tory tamperings with Jacobitism. They had gained admis- sion to the Cabinets of Pitt and Pelham, but at the price of a sacrifice of the principles for which they had suffered proscription. Jacobitism, however, was now practically dead. The Stuarts were utterly disgraced by the conduct of their last representa- tive. And so the Tories transferred their allegiance readily to George III., a king exactly after their own heart, who had, moreover, a certain amount of hereditary right, sufficient to enable them to invest him with the attributes of divine authority and passive obedience which had hitherto been reserved exclu- sively for the Stuarts. This new-bom loyalty of the Tories supplied George with a nucleus for the foundation of that party of " King's Friends," which was one of the main branches of his policy for restoring the personal ascendency of the Crown. He therefore found that he could rely on the consistent support of a small but united party from the first ; that there was nothing to oppose him but a very weak disintegrated party ; and that he might expect the advent of a considerable number of recruits in the shape of deserters. He had, moreover, the sympathy of the people, who felt that, now that the significance of the old watchwords was destroyed, no man of ability ought to be ex- cluded any longer from power simply because he was a Tory. If, therefore, the king had made use of the popularity, which centred round him on his accession, and selected the most eminent men of all parties as his Ministers, the general feeling of the country would have gone steadily with him. Unfortu- nately, however, his somewhat narrow intellect and restricted education made him unable to talce a liberal view of his position, filled him with a violent prejudice against the whole Whig \) 220 Period of Bute, party, and made him rest for support on a second-rate man, -who was unpopular, both on account of his Northern nationality, and his supposed connection with the Princess of Wales. Bedion ±—Pitt and Newcastle, 1760— Maij, 1762. The king inaugurated his reign fcy an extremely popular measure. The judges, in accordance with the 1760 "^^^^^^ clause in the Act of Settlement, had held their offices under the two first Hanoverian kings during good behaviour, being removable only on petition by both Houses of Parliament. The highest legal authorities, how- ever, held that all royal commissions terminated at the demise of the Crown. George therefore requested that a statute should be passed as soon as possible declaring that for the future the judges should hold their offices for life during good behaviour, undisturbed by the demise of the Crown. This measure excited a great deal of enthusiasm, and was quoted as a proof of the goodness of the king ; but after all it could only affect his successor, and was rather a barring of the rights of his posterity than a limitation of his own. Por the first few days the English language — to borrow from the Memoirs of the Cardinal de Eetz— might have been reduced to five words, " The king is so good." But this comprehensive vocabulary expanded with extraordinary rapidity. There were no great changes effected at first, though a few indications were given that a new era had set in. First, Bute was admitted to the Cabinet as Secretary of State. Secondly, the king's speech was drawn up without the help of the Ministry ; and Pitt had the greatest difficulty in procuring a modification of a reference to the war which implied that it had become unnecessary. Thirdly, New- castle found that the Crown patronage, which he had so long dispensed for his own ends, was removed entirely from his con- trol, and disposed of without his advice or even knowledge. The campaign of 1761 was very indecisive. Prance, now tottering on the verge of bankruptcy, was eager for peace. Choiseul therefore proposed that a Congress should assemble at Augsburg to settle the points in dispute between Austria, "Russia, Prussia, and secretly made overtures to Pitt for a separate peace between England and Prance. The terms which he offered were really very reasonable, namely, that the English Family Compact, ' 221 should keep all their conquests except Belleisle, but should pay compensation for the ships which had been seized before war had been declared. Unfortunately, however, he listened to the insinuations of the Ministers of Charles III, of Spain (formerly Don Carlos of JN'aples), who still retained a bitter grudge against the English for their conduct to him during the Austrian Suc- cession "War. Charles proposed that a Family Compact should be concluded between the dif- compact ferent branches of the House of Bourbon, and Aug., 1761. that they should direct their united policy to the laudable task of reducing the pride and pretension of the com- mon enemy, England. Choiseul therefore became less disposed towards a reconciliation with England ; and the result was that 9, demand was presented by the French envoy, simultaneously with the terms of his own Government, that justice should be done to certain claims of the King of Spain, — without, however, as yet even hinting at the Family Compact. Pitt was extremely indignant. He lectured the French Government on the impro- priety of their interference between England and Spain • he totally rejected all idea of a separate peace, compensation, or restoration of any conquests ; and, scenting the Family Compact afar off, he determined on war with Spain. He was resolved not to conclude a peace without Prussia ; and he meditated a gigantic scheme for wresting all her colonies from France, which a premature peace would interfere with. The . introduction of Spain into the contest he regarded as a fortunate circumstance, which would enable him to include both branches of the House of Bourbon in the ruin which he had prepared for the elder. So great was his contempt for the Spanish Government, that he intended to begin the attack on their colonies and commerce without troubling himself about any such formality as a declaration of war. This scheme, however, was really too vast for the power and prestige of England, enor- mous though they both were at the time. France would never have acquiesced in her disgrace for long ; and such an important addition to the wealth and territories of England would have excited irreconcilable enmities on the Continent. Peace, there- fore, would have been but the shadow of a name ; and England must have stood for ever on the watch to guard her threatened acquisitions. The cost of the war, too, was immense. The total sum granted by Parliament in 1761 was more than nine- teen millions. The debt was rapidly increasing and the burden ^ 222 * Period of Bute. was beginning to be heavily felt. A peace, therefore, was de- cidedly desirable ; though the unparalleled success of England gave her a right to expect unusually favourable terms. Pitt, however, so far from contemplating peace, proposed that, in addition to the regular charges for the year, three expedi- tions should be sent against Spain. One of these was intended to secure the Plate Fleet, which would have effectualy pre- vented Spain taking any part in the war for that season at least. Bute, however, and the Cabinet, were dBtermined on peace. They may have honestly considered that to declare war with Spain solely on the ground that a Family Compact was suspected, would be unjustifiable and unreasonable. Or they may have been merely inspired with a keen desire to get rid . of the man who had tyrannized with unusual of Pitt 1761 arrogance over all ranks of the Grovernmenl Be this as it may, the Cabinet refused to endorse Pittas views, and the great Minister at once resigned. After events, however, justified the foresight of Pitt, and covered the Cabinet with a measure of obloquy which would certainly be undeserved were the honesty of their motives beyond dispute. Every effort was made to lighten Pitt's fall. Honours and pensions were offered to him in full. He had practically, carte hlanche, to name his own reward. This was inevitable, owing to the important services which Pitt had rendered the State during his career of power ; but undoubtedly behind the liberal offers of the king lurked an insidious hope of Temporary partially undermining the popularity of the great of Pitt. leader. A small amount of success did actually attend this plan. Pitt accepted a barony for his wife, and a pension of 3000Z. a year for three lives ; and for a short time a storm of reproach was aroused against him in eon* sequence. This torrent of popular indignation was, however, soon exhausted, and Pitt became more thoroughly at one with the people than ever. The retirement of Pitt made Bute practically supreme in the Cabinet, though Newcastle still remained the nominal head but with greatly diminished influence. Lord Egremont, an avowed Tory, became Secretary of State in the place of the fallen Minister. Bute at once began to act as Prime Minister, totally disregarding the feeble efforts of Newcastle to retain some control over the Government, and devoted all his energies to concluding peace. This, however, was no longer so simple ' « Bute's Foreign Policy, 223 ft a matter as it had been. The Plate Fleet had been allowed to reach the harbours of Spain, carrying with it the revenue of the current year. Spain, therefore, — sure now of the sinews of war, and fully recognizing the important change in the position of England produced by the fall of Pitt,: — assumed a more belligerent tone. Bute found g F ^j*^ himself, after all, obliged to declare war in 1762.' ' January, 1762, and to follow out, a^ far as he could, the plans which his rival had devised for the humiliation of Spain. Fortunately, however, the extraordinary vigour which Pitt had infused into every department of the public service, survived him, and enabled Bute to carry on the war afresh with surprising success. The important island of Martinique fell an easy prey in February. This was followed by the capture of Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. In August, Havannah, the rich and prosperous capital of Cuba, capitulated after a siege of two months. In October, Manilla and the Philippine Islands were added to the long list of conquests. All this success was, however, attributed to Pitt, who had planned and rendered it possible ; Bute's name was mentioned only with execration. It was openly said that Pitt would have done even more ; and that the number of rich Spanish prizes would have been far greater if he were still at the helm. Meanwhile an important revolution occurred in the position of the Continental Powers. Early in the year the Czarina, Elizabeth of Russia, died, and was succeeded by Peter III. The latter was a warm admirer of Frederic and 1 t'ona everything Prussian. The Russian army, which ^ Eussia. had been co-operating with the Austrians against Frederic, now received orders to co-operate with Frederic against the Austrians. This unlooked-for turn of the wheel really saved Frederic at a time of imminent danger. Bute took the opportunity in April to cut off the Prussian subsidy, alleging that we had merely assisted Frederic for our own ends, and not with any view of benefiting him; that, therefore, as the time a^eed on for the subsidy was up, we could discontinue it whenever w^e liked. The Withdrawal treacherous and malignant character of Frederic p^,*ggian left no doubt that he would have unhesitatingly subsidy, sacrificed any ally, or any number of allies, if he could have derived the slightest advantage from it. There was therefore every possible justification for cutting off the subsidy 224 ' Period of Bute, as the position of Prussia had been so much improved by the accession of Peter III. But it is extremely improbable that Bute was influenced by any other consideration than a deter- mination to force on the peace ; and it was an extremely dangerous experiment to imitate the penny-wise pound-foolish policy of tile Prussian king himself in dealing with our only ally. The result was to completely isolate England from the Continent ; so that, when amid the American difficulties later on she looked round for assistance, there was hardly a single Power which did not place some obstacle in her way, if they did not openly rejoice in the success of the Americans, and array themselves in arms on their side. The chief immediate result of the withdrawal of the Prussian . subsidy was the resignation of !N'ewcastle, who o/Newcastle ^^^ \o-n.g smarted under the insults and humilia- tions to which he was daily subjected. Finding that his opinion was totally disregarded on this important question, he took the opportunity to retire, May, 1762. Bedion 2>,^Bute, May, 1762— April, 1763. The Cabinet was remodelled as follows. Bute became Pirst Lord of the Treasury. Granville remained President of the , Council. Sir Francis Dashwood was appointed Cabinet. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Egremont and George GrenviUe divided the Secretaryships. The office of Paymaster was given to Henry Fox. Halifax, Bedford, Sandys, and others occupied the remaining posts. The negotiations for the peace were hurried rapidly on, aind the Ministry, in their eagerness to conclude a treaty, found themselves rather embarrassed than otherwise by the success which attended their arms at the close of the year. The The Peace of ^^^^^ ?^ ^f^L^^ll^'"'^^^^!' ^^^^ ^"'^^^"^ }l^ Paris, 1763. INovember, 1762 ; though it was not actually signed till the following February, 1763, owing to some outstanding questions which still presented a few difii- culties. Among these must be included the latest English conquests, —Havannah and Manilla. Bute would willingly have given them up rather than delay peace in any way ; but better counsels prevailed, and they were exchanged for Florida., All America, — including Canada and the basins of the Ohio and Mississippi,— was ceded to England, with the exception of Peace of Paris, 225 New Orleans and Louisiana west of the Mississippi, which were given to Spain. Louisiana therefore, — which had once in- cluded all the country between the Great Lakes, the Allegha- nies, and the Gulf of Mexico, and stretched vaguely across the continent to the Pacific, — was now cut down to very moderate limits. The French scheme of a vast Franco- American domi- nion extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean had failed. The Colonial Empire they had gloried in, had departed from them. All, in fact, that was left to France in America was the right of fishing off the Newfoundland Bank and in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence ; and two small islands— St. Pierre and Miquelon — which were given them as a shelter for their fishermen. Of their West Indian conquests, the English retained Grenada, the Grenadines, Tobago, Domi- nique, St. Vincent's ; restoiing Martinique, St. Lucia, and Havannah. In Africa, they retained Senegal, restoring Goree. In Hindostan, there was a mutual restitution of all conquests made since 1749 ; but the French were obliged to give up all military establishment in Bengal, and to acknowledge the English nominees in the Deccan and Camatic. In Europe, Minorca was restored to England in exchange for Belleisie; and the French promised once more to dismantle the fortifica- tions of Dunkirk. The news of the conquest of Manilla arrived too late for the Ministry to trouble about it ; and so it was restored without equivalent, and without even exacting payment of the bills which had been given as a ransom for private property on the island, and which of course were dishonoured. This peace really settled two questions — that England should be the great colonizing power of Modern History, not France ; that America and India should belong to England, not to France. French influence was entirely ^^ excluded from America by the treaty itself ; and it was so effectually crippled in India, that all efforts to revive it were unsuccessful. From this time the tremendous struggle between England and France for the supremacy of the seas and colonies was practically at an end, or was decided in favour of England, It is true that Vergennes during the American Ke- bellion, and Napoleon during the great wars which followed the French Eevolution, endeavoured to renew the struggle in the vain hope of restoring France to an equality with England, if not to supremacy. These attempts . were so far successful that they frightened the English thoroughly, and created France Q 226 Period of Bute. into a bugbear, to which the Eussophobia of tte present day is the only modern equivalent. Eut they were also hopeless from the very first ; and their total ill-success, in spite of every pos- sible advantage at the time, proved the utter impossibility of ever reversing the verdict of history. The peace was thus decidedly favourable to England. And yet, like the Peace of Utrecht, it was decidedly unpopular, because we did not gain as much as we might have done, considering the wonderful success which had Feeling attended the arms of England during the war. agamst the Undoubtedly with a little more firmness, in nego- tiation we might have obtained much better terms. This fact, coupled with the previous unpopular dis- missal of Pitt, rendered Bute so detested by the people, that the very name of Scot became a word of reproach, because it was that nation which had produced the hated favourite. The Peace of Paris was shortly followed by the Treaty of Hubertsburg, which ended the continental war, Treaty of ^^^ j^f^ Prussia bankrupt and almost ruined by ITBS^'^ ^ ^^^' ^^ enormous burdens she had sustained, but without the loss of a single acre of territory, and. with the assured position of a first-rate power in Europe. The rest of Bute's Ministry was a series of mistakes which soon led up to the inevitable end. Fox was made leader of the House of Commons. All who had opposed the peace were at once dismissed from all their honours and- orrup ion. offices ; and while discipline was enforced in this way, the old corrupt system of Walpole and Newcastle was re- vived to secure tho obedience of the supporters of Government. For forty-five years the Tories had inveighed against corruption,, and had clamoured for economical reform. Now the first use they made of power was not to restore purity to Parliament, - but to establish a system of open bribery, which far exceeded even the views of Newcastle, that master of corruption. A. regular mart was opened at the Paymaster's office, where votes were bought and sold with unblushing effrontery. And yet, this was the only way by which the Government could be car- ried on. Bute was no financier or debater. There was no one in his Cabinet of sufficient ability to compensate for their leader's inefficiency. Eox had lost all credit. Dashwood was more renowned for the profligacy of his life than the soundnesa of his budget. Bute was so unpopular that he hired an escort Fall of Bute, 227 of boxers and butchers to protect his life in the streets. Such a Ministry could not last long, and the Cider Tax gave it its death-blow. Dashwood proposed raising a revenue on cider. This alone raised a storm of indignation in the city, and strongly exasperated the cider counties. Pitt, The Cider Tax. Beckford, Lyttelton, Hardwicke, Temple, all thundered against the injustice of the tax. The partisanship of George Grenville was more unfortunate for the Bill than anything else, for it covered it with ridicule as well as opprobrium. The celebrated John Wilkes devoted all the vinegar of his pen to satirizing the Bill and its promoters. In many places Bute was burned in ^^gj under the emblem of a *' Jack Boot" — a punning reference to his name and title ; and usually a petticoat was thrown into the flames as well, as an uncomplimentar;y' allusion to the Princess of Wales. The result was that Bute — a quiet, harmless man, with none of the stuff from which despots are made — could not endure the storm which he had aroused, and which he found himself totally unable to rule. He was moreover on bad terms with his colleagues, and could hardly rely on the support or votes of any of them with any degree of certainty. On April 7th, there- fore, he resigned. His Ministry had, indeed, been big with a portentous growth. Lord Mahon, ^ ^ *®' who is decidedly favourable to him, says, " Seldom, indeed, has any Minister, with so short a tenure of power and so little of guilt in his intentions, been the cause of so great evils. Within a year and a half he had lost the king his popularity and the hingdom its allies^^ and yet the utmost that can be imputed to him i§ incapacity and imprudence. He had snatched the reins from the hands of the Sun-god, but had left the whip behind. What wonder, therefore, if the team were prancing all abroad among the constellations, and the luckless Phsethon fell headlong from the tossing chariot into the sea of private obscurity below. With Bute retired Dashwood and Pox, who were both raised to the Upper House as Lords Le Despencer and Holland. From this time Pox ceased to take any real part in public business till his death in 1774. He was a remarkable instance of a man who started in life as an able and popular statesman, but was so weighed down in the race for power by his bad character, that, though he once attained the highest place, he was obliged at the end of his life to accept Q 2 228 Period of Bute. a dependent position under, and do dirty work for, a man whose sole claim to distinction was unmerited royal favour. Section L — George GrenviUe, April, 1763 — July, 1765. George Grenville now became First Lord of the Treasury^ with Lords Halifax and Egremont as Secretaries of State. This Ministry was known as the Triumvirate. Bute had named Grenville as his successor, considering him an insignificant but able man, who could carry on the Govem- , ment in a steady, plodding way, but would be mistake thoroughly amenable to his own secret influence. There is no doubt, in fact, that the favourite in- tended to rule behind the scenes by means of the puppet Grenville. Unfortunately the puppet refused to dance as he was bidden ; and, breaking loose from his master, started on a career of his own, which, for the singularity and importance of its final results, has certainly never had a counterpart in history. Grenville, — a solid, steady " speaker spoilt,'' — was really too haughty and dictatorial a man to fall into the position which Bute designed for him. The latter found he had made a mistake, and that his influence was almost gone. George III., too, was at first similarly deceived by Grenville's manner, and imagined that he was just the sort of drudge who would do to execute unquestionably any orders he might receive. His connection with Bute, his great business talents, his ^ economy, his utter contempt for popularity, and Grenville. ^^^ disagreement with Pitt and Temple, all formed additional points of recommendation. But very soon both parties found they had made a mistake; Grenville was determined not to be a mere catspaw, and he resented the idea as depreciatory of his abilities. The king found that he had got a hard task-master, who lectured him with extraordinary efirontery and callousness on every subject of disagreement ; who bored him with wordy orations of several hours' duration ; and who was always prating in the most ofi'ensive manner about "the underhand influence of Bute." It is no wonder that the king in time got to hate him, and intrigued to get rid of the incubus thus fastened on his breast. But all the same, Grenville was in the right, and the king wrong. The latter should either have dismissed GrenviUe out Sections of the Whigs, 229 and out, or else should have given him his entire confidence. Nor is it to be wondered that Grenville'^ manner became more and more dictatorial and unpleasant when he found that he was merely a makeshift, and that the king retained him solely because he was unable to build up any other Government. The Whigs were now divided into four parties. First, there was the Bedford party, consisting of the Duke of Bedford and his followers, Lords Gower, Sandwich, Weymouth, and Mr, Kigby, who were known as the Bloomshury Gang, — a name derived from the Duke's residence in London. The Rocking- ham Whigs were the representatives of the old Whig Houses, and included the Dukes of JSTew- ^^^^g. castle, Grafton, Devonshire, the Marquis of Eockingham, General Conway, and later, Mr. Edmund Burke. The Grenville Whigs were the narrowest and most oligarchical section of the Whigs, and reckoned among their numbers George Grenville, Lords Halifax, Holland, Lyttelton, Suffolk, Mr. Dowdeswell, and a few others. Pitt had only a few personal followers, such as Earl Temple, his brother-in-law, and Alderman Beckford, who, however, represented the great support of the city. The difference between these parties was at this time extremely slight, and is extremely difficult to define. The chief difference really was personal adherence to different leaders. But the Grenville Whigs were certainly the narrowest in view, and the party who leant most distinctly on the king's support, though not realizing to the full his plans. The Bedford Whigs were the most unprincipled place-hunters of the time, and were willing to join with any Government as a whole, or in sections, for the sake of office. The Eockingham party were the most liberal and large-minded of all, with the exception, perhaps, of Pitt. Pitt, however, was intractable, owing to his hatred of party ; and though his natural position would have been the leader of the Eockingham Whigs, he pre- ferred to stand alone, rather than be identified with any definite party. His sympathies, in fact, were really with the king in the latter's struggle to break the power of party, because he thought that this was only preparatory to the formation of a strong united Ministry, consisting of all the talent of the country. At this time, too, Pitt was under the influence of his brother-in-law. Earl Temple, who projected an united Grenville Ministry to include all the family, and who therefore steadily encouraged Pitt in his aversion to forming any party connections. 230 Period of Bute. Grrenville's supporters consisted, at first, of his own party and some Tories and " King's Friends." Towards the end of the year, however, the weakness of this Ministry rendered some mu -D J* A reinforcement necessary ; Pitt declined all offers. Minittry ^ ^^i^^' therefore, was effected with the Bedford section of the Whigs, and a coalition, known a^s the Bedford Ministry, was formed, which included Grenville himseK as Prime Minister, Bedford as President of the Council, and a number of the followers of each, among whom the re- maining places were divided. The three chief measures of this Ministry were the Stamp Act for America, the proceedings against "Wilkes, and the Regency Bill. It is difficult to say in which they showed most imprudence and lack of judgment. John Wilkes was the son of a rich distiller, who, growing weary of his business^ turned to a parliamentary life, and entered Parliament as member for Aylesbury. He was extraordinarily ugly, but so witty and insinuating in conversation that, to use his own words, ^*he only wanted half an hour's start to make him even with the handsomest man in England.'' His life was as profligate as his appe'arance was unprepossessing. For some time he reigned the chosen oracle of green-rooms, and the leading spirit of a dissolute club which Sir Francis Dashwood and some other kindred souls had established at Medmenham , J Abbey, in a lovely riverside spot near Marlow, Briton" •'■^ 1762, however, he began a periodical called the "North Briton," in which he attacked Lord Bute and the whole Scotch nation in the most exhaustive strain of vituperation. The North Briton, however, though it on one occasion provoked a challenge from a victim, did not attain any real importance till the 23rd of April, 1763, when the celebrated No. 45 was issued. The king's speech had referred to the Peace of Paris as an honourable termination of the struggle. Wilkes took advantage of the constitutional principle that all the king's acts and speeches are the work of his Miuisters, to lavish all the flowers of his bitter and scurrilous pen on the inadequacy of the peace, the promotion of Scotchmen and Jacobites, the iniquity of the Cider Tax, and the unparalleled ^effrontery of the Ministers who had ventured so to misrepresent their royal master. Constitutionally Wilkes was perfectly justified in attacking the speech, which had always been held .to be the work of Ministers. George, however, was determine^ IIIIIIIIIIHIu Wilkes, 231 that this theory should cease, and that the acts of the Crown should he regarded as emanating from the Crown solely. He therefore saw in the attack of the North Briton nothing but insolent and seditious abuse of himself under the thin veil of criticism of his Ministers. It was determined, therefore, to crush the audacious journalist ; and the Court recklessly plunged into an undignified contest, which at once transformed Wilkes into a popular martyr. Whereas silent contempt would have been the surest way of depriving him of what little influence he might have acquired. A General Warrant (that is, one in which no name is in- serted, but power is given to the officers to arrest _, practically any one they may select) was issued, Warrant signed by Lord Halifax, and under it no less than forty-nine persons were arrested. The publisher, having then acknowledged that Wilkes was the author, the latter was also seized under the general warrant, and imprisoned in the Tower. He at once applied for a Habeas Corpus, and was in consequence released by Chief Justice Pratt, on the ground of privilege as a member of Parliament. On his release the popular rejoicings ■were so great that they might have warned a statesman less obstinate than Grenville. In many districts the jack-boot and petticoat were burnt, as usual ; and in some places a figure of a 'Scotchman with a blue ribbon was drawn round the town, ■leading a croumed ass by the nose. Wilkes, moreover, at once set on foot actions against Lord Halifax and the messengers who had efiected the arrest. In November, however, a new weapon was found to attack him with. On the meeting of Parliament he rose to complain of the breach of privilege which had been committed by his arrest. Grenville, however, produced a royal message calling the House's attention to the alleged libel in the North Briton, The House proceeded at once to decide that No. 45 was a false, scandalous, and seditious libel, though the case was at the time pending before the law courts. At the same time Lord Sand- wich, a former associate of Wilkes' debauchery, produced in the House of Lords an obscene poem written by ^^^ ,, ^.^^^ Wilkes, and called the "Essay on Woman." on Woman." This was a parody on Pope's " Essay on Man," . and was dedicated to Sandwich himself. Bishop Warburton also complained of a breach of privilege, because Wilkes had appended burlesque notes to his poem in ridicule of the com- 232 Period of Bute. mentary in the Bishop^s edition of Pope ; and, to add to the insult, these notes purported to be by the Eight Eeverend Bishop of Gloucester himself. I^Tow there is not the slightest doubt that the author of such a poem richly deserved a severe punishment ; but this cannot excuse the illegality of the pro- ceedings. The Essay had never been published at all. It had been privately printed for private circulation, and only a few copies had been struck off. The Lords therefore had no right to take any cognizance of it ; and it certainly vras not in any sense a breach of privilege. The amenities interchanged between Wilkes and his oppo- , nents ended in a duel, in which Wilkes was ^erht^ wounded. His wound produced some delay; but though he withdrew for safety to France, the Commons, inspired with vindictive ardour, proceeded rapidly with his case. After a night spent in stormy debate, they expelled him with the greatest unanimity. The result of this persecution was that a feeling of sympathy arose for Wilkes, as it very often does for men who suffer a punishment wholly disproportionate to the offence. It was felt that in character there was very little to choose excitement between the righteous Lord Sandwich and Mr. Wilkes himself ; and that the means by which the copy of the " Essay on Woman '' had been obtained were wholly unjustifiable. Popular feeling found a vent in the nick- name "Jemmy Twitcher," applied to Lord Sandwich, which was borrowed from a highwayman in the Beggar^ Opera, who betrays his companion in guilt, Macheath. Unfortunately, how- ever, popular feeling also found a vent in riots and disorder, which the sheriffs of London declared were encouraged by gentlemen from balconies and windows. Meanwhile Wilkes had obtained a verdict of 1000/. damages against the Under Secretary of State, who had issued the general warrant. But as he did not appear to defend the indictment Outlawry of "^^^ ^ih^l and blasphemy, he was outlawed by the Wilkes. courts. So far the Government had apparently triumphed. And yet this triumph was only ap- parent. The whole proceedings had been outrageously illegal. This persecution caused Wilkes to be regarded as the victim of tyrannical oppression instead of a scurrilous hack-writer. The illegality of general warrants had been declared unhesitatingly by the courts ; and though Parliament refused to confirm this decision, it would be impossible to issue them again. At the Stamp Act, 233 same time there was little sympathy with Wilkes personally, and he was very far as yet from the height of popularity he attained later. The result, however, of the unpopularity of the Court and Government was that the Duke of Cumberland, "the Butcher of '45,^^ became suddenly a public cXberiay' favourite. It was declared that he had done ^^ ^^ ^^ ' good service, and that it was only a pity that he had left so many " beggarly Scots " to suck the life out of England now. In their dealings with America, the Ministry acted equally injudiciously. Grenville proposed to raise a permanent army to defend the colonies for the future against any enemy, and to pay it by means of a stamp tax levied on the colonies them- selves. The colonies, however, were already suf- fering under some grievances imposed by Gren- ^^e^^res!* ville's Government. The laws against smuggling into the Spanish colonies were more strictly and harshly en- forced, thus cutting off the most profitable branch of the Americans' trade • and causing some distress. In 1764 duties were laid on several articles of commerce ; and it was plainly asserted that England had a right to tax the colonies. The duties, moreover, had to be paid in hard cash at a time when the diminution of trade had decreased the supply of cash in the country; and the injuries of the colonists were completed by an Act prohibiting paper-money in America. It was at this time, when the Americans were both distressed and discontented, that Grenville proposed his further scheme of a _, «. Stamp Act. The merits of the case will be dis- ^^J 1766. cussed later. The management of it was simply execrable. He deferred the imposition of the tax until he had got the written opinions of the colonial assemblies on the sub- ject ; and when he had ascertained for certain that they would not hear of it at any price, and were violently exasperated against it, he brought forward the measure in Parliament, and ' it slipped through almost unnoticed. The Americans received the news with the greatest indignation. The orators in the pro- vincial assemblies thundered against the iniquity of the measure tni the governors were at their wits' end to know what to do. The idea of federation and united resistance was even started. Riots and disorders followed. It was perfectly „ impossible to carry out the provisions of the excitement. Stamp Act. A serious injury was dealt to Eng- lish trade by the formation of a society which refused to buy 234 Period of Bute. any English goods, and which soon included the majority of the colonists. The Stamp Act, in fact, was the first blow of the axe, which, in the hands of reckless and obstinate men, was destined to cut the fairest and largest bough away from the mother-trunk. Hitherto the Ministry had only excited the indignation of the people and the colonies. Not satisfied with the number of their enemies, they now proceeded to quarrel openly with the king. In 1765 the first signs of the illness, to which George afterwards fell a victim, appeared ; and as soon as he recovered he proposed, with wonderful firmness, that a Regency Bill _j . should be brought in, limiting the king's choice \^W^^^ ^ ' of ^ Eegent to the members of the Koyal Family. The Ministers, however, in alarm at the prospect of a new Bute Ministry, persuaded the king that there was no hope of the Princess's name being accepted, and that it had better be left out of the Bill. The king unwisely consented to this unparalleled insult on his parent, apparently through lack of consideration. Parliament, however, insisted on inserting the Princess's name by a large majority, and thus exposed the trick of his Ministers. This the king never forgave. They had been for some time obnoxious to, him, and now he determined to get rid of them. With this view he induced the Duke of Cumberland to make overtures to Chatham, offering almost any terms. But Pitt was still bound to Temple, and Temple still hoped for a Grenville Ministry. There was therefore nothing for it but for the king George in- ^^ return once more to his hated Ministers, and trigues listen to the strictures on his double-dealin'g against which they meted out to him with the greatest GrenvUle. frankness. He was obliged to consent to dismiss Bute and all Bute's following. He was obliged to promise that he would use no underhand influence for the future. Life, in fact, became a burden to him under George Grenville's domi- nation, and he determined to dismiss him, even at the cost of accepting the Whig Houses, whom he had pledged himself never to employ again. Pitt and Temple still proving obdurate, Cum- berland opened negotiations with the Eockingham Whigs, and the Grenville Ministry was at an end. The extent to which .the king's feelings had been outraged by Grenville's conduct may be measured by the fact that George refused ever to em- ploy him again, and openly said that he would '* rather see the devil in his closet than George Grenville." Rockingham. 235 ) I I CHAPTER II. s THE ROCKINGHAM MINISTRY. July, 17^5— July, 1766. The new Ministry was composed as follows : Eockingham be- came First Lord of the Treasury; DowdesweU, mv ■«■• • ^ .Chancellor of the Exchequer ; [tsTewcastle, Privy Seal; Northington, Lord Chancellor. The remaining offices were distributed among the Dukes of Portland, Rutland, and . Grafton, the Marquis of Granby, Lord Egmont, General Conway, Charles Townshend, and some others. Their leader Bockingham was a man of sound sense, but no power of language or government. His silence in Parliament was so remarkable that he was nick-named by his enemies the "poor dumb animal." In fact he was far more calculated to shine as a Master of Eoxhounds than as a Eirst Lord of the Treasury. To his credit it must be added that he was totally free from any suspicion of corruption. In fact there was more honesty than talent in the Ministry altogether. The leaders were all inferior men, and the back-bone of the party was re- moved by the refusal of Pitt to co-operate. Burke was un- doubtedly the ablest man among them, but his time was not yet come. Such a Ministry, it was recognized even by its own members, could not last long. However, it had come in to effect certain necessary legislation, and it certainly so far accom- plished the end of its being. It repealed the Stamp Act, which had caused so much indignation among j^g ygfoj-j^g . the Americans ; and at the same time passed a law securing the dependence of the colonies. It abolished the unpopular cider tax. It condemned the use of general warrants, and the removal of military officers from their posts for their votes in Parliament. It endeavoured to foster again the once 236 The Rockingham Ministry. so prosperous trade with America, and even went the length of making Jamaica and Dominique free ports. The king, however, made no secret of his hostility to his Ministers. He hated them as a purely party Ministry ; and in many cases permitted or even instructed his friends to vote against them. The Ministry therefore was tottering, and only its weakness existed until the king could form another. The conduct of Pitt in refusing to join them was a decided mistake, and more. He was really at one with them on most points. Most of their acts were in accordance with his views. But he was determined not to join a purely party Ministry, though he could have done so practically on whatever terms he pleased. In 1766, however, he consented to form a coalition, in which were included men of the most opposite views — "King's Friends," Rockingham Whigs, and the few personal followers of Pitt. Eockingham refused to take any office, and retired to the more congenial occupation of following the hounds. Fitt's Second Ministry. 237 CHAPTER III. THE GRAFTON MINISTRY. July, 1766-70. Section 1. — Chatham, July, 1766 — December, 1767* The nominal Prime Minister of this Cabinet was the Duke of Grafton, for Pitt refused the leadership, and retired to the House of Lords as Lord Chatham, Charles Townshend be- came Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord ■«■••♦ North, the leader of the " King's Friends," was ^^® Ministry. Paymaster. The Ministry included Shelburne, Barre, Conway, Northington, Barrington, Camden, Granby — all men of the most opposite views. But Temple had no place in it. He asked for too much influence and power, and so Chatham at last broke loose from him. To his great discredit he went at once into virulent opposition. This second Ministry of Pitt was a mistake from the very first. He lost all his popularity by taking a peerage, and his colleagues considered that thereby they suffered a great diminu- tion of strength, '^o doubt it was well earned ; and Chatham's bad health might make him dread the clamour ._. . , ^^^ and violence of the Lower House. But the difficulties. Government really relied mainly on the support which his name and influence brought to them. Without him ' it must have fallen to pieces owing to the heterogeneous ele- ments of which it was composed. It was therefore of the utmost . importance that he should stUl continue to be the guiding spirit of the House of Commons. As a peer and Lord Privy Seal he found himself in an uncongenial atmosphere, and an assembly to which his impassioned utterances seemed turgid and bom- bastic, and who were not under the influence of long years of his ascendencv. So he could not rule the Commons from the Lords ; and he had no control over the Lords themselves. His name, too, had lost a great deal of its power abroad. ** Pitt " 238 The Grafton Ministry, had, indeed, been a word to conjure with ; but there were no associations of defeat and humiliation connected with the name of ^' Chatham." The general consent of his contemporaries and of posterity has stigmatized this act of his as a decided error, which eventually caused the final shipwreck of the administra- tion. There were other difl&culties, however, as well. His arrogance had increased, and it was so much intensified by irritating gout^ that it became almost impossible to serve with him. His disease later almost approached madness, and at times absolutely prevented the carrying on of public business, or at least rendered it necessary to carry it on without consulting the real head of the Cabinet; for Chatham, when the fit was on him, could only shed tears at the very name of business, and , protest that it would kill him to discuss it. There were besides almost fatal elements of disunion and weakness in the Ministry itself. Eockingham declined to join it. Bedford demanded too high a price for his alliance. It was therefore necessary to admit a number of Tories, and this enraged the Whigs. Tlm-e was 110 unity of o'pinion on any one topic. It was weU known that Charles Townshend was strongly in favour of taxiug America. Lord North was one of the steadiest supporters of the Court policy on the Wilkes' case and with regard to America. Lord Camden was, on the contrary, identified with the exactly opposite view on these identical questions. When, therefore, the only bond which united them, namely, the influence of Chatham, was removed by his illness, the Ministry naturally fell to pieces entirely. The policy of the great Minister was as spirited as ever. He proposed that a Great Northern Alliance of England, Eussia, Foreign ^^^ Prussia should unite to resist the growing policy. power of the House of Bourbon, consolidated and strengthened by the Family Compact. Frederic II, however, still preserved a vindictive remembrance of his de- sertion by Bute, and both the Powers were really intent on the iniquitous scheme for dismembering Poland, which was later carried into execution. The idea therefore proved abortive. Chatham also designed to introduce a Bill for the better Home policy, government of Ireland; and another for the arrangement of the afPairs of the East India Company on a more satisfactory footing; but his iUness nipped these projects in the bud. From this time the Ministry drifted helplessly about at the Break up of Pittas Ministry, 239^ mercy of each, wind and wave of opinion like a water-logged ship \ and it was only the utter want of union among the Opposition which prevented its sinking ^®* "^^* entirely. As it was, they contrived to renew the breach with America, which had been almost entirely healed by Eocking- ham's repeal of the Stamp Act. Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was by far the ablest man left in the Cabinet, and he . rapidly assumed the most prominent position. Tax^^l767 ^* He had always been in favour of taxing America. He now brought forward a plan for raising a revenue from tea, glass, and paper, by way of import duty at the American ports. The sum intended to be raised was very small, only amounting to 40,000Z., which would have been spent in America entirely ; hut there was not the slightest hope that the Americans would submit, and the only result was to provoke another furious quarrel. This wild measure was followed shortly by the death of its author in September ; and then the weakness of the Ministry became so obvious that, as Chatham still continued incapable, some fresh reinforcement was absolutely necessary. Section 2. — Grafton, December, 1767 — January, 1770. A coalition was effected with the Bloomsbury Gang ; and, in consequence, Lords Gower, Weymouth, and Sand- yv. -m- • ^ I wich joined the Ministry. Lord ]S"orthington and ® ^^^ ^^' \ General Conway retired. North succeeded Townshend at the Exchequer. Lord Hillsborough became the first Secretary of State for the Colonies, thus raising the number of Secretaries to three. This Ministry was probably the toorst that had governed [ England since the days of the Cabal ; and the short period of I its existence was marked by a succession of arbitrary and foolish ■ acts. On every important question that it had to deal with, it . pursued a course diametrically opposed to Chatham's views; and yet with singular irony his nominal connection with it was not severed for some time. The first question on which the Government laid itself open to grave animadversion was the Nullum Tempus j^^jj^j^ rp^j^. BiU. For the sake of benefiting a royal p^g Bill. favourite, insulting an old Whig family, and acquiring two votes in Parliament, the Crown encouraged Sir- 240 The Grafton Ministry, James Lowther to dispute an estate which had been granted to the Duke of Portland by William III. The ground of this was the exploded doctrine, that no enjoyment for length of time could bar the rights of the Crown. In consequence of this dis- graceful proceeding a Bill was introduced into Parliament to declare that sixty years* possession should be a valid defence against any claims of the Crown ; and, in spite of the warmest opposition on the part of Government, it became law. The general election of 1768 was chiefly remarkable for ex- traordinary cases of open corruption, which was electioa carried so far, that one or two boroughs actually advertised themselves for auction to the highest bidder. The most important event, however, as it subsequently turned out, was the election of Wilkes for Middlesex, which embarked the Government on a contest which did more to ruin them than any other of their numerous and glaring errors. Wilkes had offered himself late in the day for the City of London, and though he was at the bottom of the Wilkes poll, yet he contrived to secure such a proportion Si^SJi^ ^^^ ^^ votes, that he at once came forward to stand 1768 ; for the County of Middlesex. To the astonish- ment of all and the disgust of many he was re- turned by an overwhelming majority, and the Ministry were obliged to consider what they would do with the unwelcome guest thus forced on them. Undoubtedly the best plan would have been to do nothing. Firebrands are soon extinguished in the House of Commons, as our own times have abundantly shown. Wilkes was so heavily handicapped by his antecedents, that nothing but the powerful lift of Ministerial interference could ever have raised him for long above the shoulders of the mob. The Ministry, however, thought otherwise ; and the obstinate king was determined that the man who had written !N"o. 45 of the North Briton should not take his seat again in Parliament. A writ of outlawry was issued against Wilkes ; but popular feeling was so violently excited, that formidable riots broke out in all parts of the city, and there is not the slightest doubt that had not Wilkes voluntarily surrendered himself, the writ would never have been executed. The multi- tude, baffled for the moment, appeared in large numbers before . ^ , the King's Bench Prison, where Wilkes was in- isimpnso e ; carcerated. They proceeded to tear down the railings, lighted a huge bonfire in front of the prison, and were Arcades Am bo, 241 < only dispersed with great difficulty by a military force. The disorder continuing on the next day, the troops were ordered to fire on the mob, and in consequence about twenty persons were killed or wounded. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict of " wilful murder " against the magistrates and soldiers ; but they were protected by the Government, and even rewarded. The riotous spirit of the populace remained unchecked, and broke out again and again in various excesses. The seamen, insisting on an increase of wages, laid a blockade on the Port of London, and refused to allow ships to enter or leave it. At another time a mob of tailors came down to the very doors of the House of Commons, and raised such a clamour, that the debate had to be temporarily suspended. Disorder also exhibited itself in almost every part of England owing to the different grievances under which almost every class laboured. At this time, unfortunately enough, Chatham retired definitely from the Ministry, which became in consequence more decidedly the Ministry of the king. The latter was determined to crush insubordination wherever he found it, whether represented in the person of a single demagogue, or the swarming population of the American Colonies. This animosity was shortly stirred more deeply by a fresh insult from Wilkes, which arose in the following way. A vacancy having arisen in the representation of Middlesex, Sergeant Glynri, a nominee of Wilkes, was elected by a large majority. The election was followed by violent riots, which were put down with some slaughter by the troops. The Government, as before, praised and rewarded the soldiers. Lord Weymouth, Secretary of State, issued a general note to the magistrates instructing them to avail themselves of the military promptly in order to suppress any similar outbreaks. The re- sult was that a good deal of blood was shed in collisions between the people and the soldiers. Wilkes, who was still in prison, wrote a severe comment on this '' bloody scroll," no doubt with the view of provoking a new prosecution and thereby keeping up the interest of his supporters. He succeeded rather more than he had intended. The House of Commons took the matter out of the hands of the law courts entirely, pronounced it a breach of privilege, ordered Wilkes to the bar of the House, and, after a violent scene, declared him guilty and expelled j^ expeUed ; him. It is needless to say that the whole pro- ceeding was grossly illegal; for though the House had a perfect right to expei one of their own number for good cause, yet they 242 The Grafton Ministry, had no jurisdiction whatever except in cases affecting their own privileges, which scarcely included those of the House of Lords. Wilkes, however, was unanimously re-elected ; and so the House had the obnoxious demagogue thrown once more on their hands. The same was repeated on his re-expulsion. They were deter-' mined, however, this time to end this ridiculous and undignified contest in which Wilkes sustained the role of shuttlecock ; and so, having solemnly expelled him for the third time, they de- clared him incapable of ever sitting again. And, though he was again returned by an overwhelming majority, they adjudged the seat to his opponent. Colonel Luttrell, who had incapable of stood in the king's interest and contrived to obtain sitting. some two or three hundred votes. This at once provoked a general outcry throughout the country. It was not that Wilkes^ character or person were popular ; it was simply that all riglit-minded men felt that the Ministry had done a grossly arbitrary and illegal act ; and that in the words of Junius, *' Ministers had now created a question in which Mr. Wilkes was no more concerned than any other English gentle- man." The right of expulsion was undoubted, but expulsion did not create a disability ; far less did it give any claim to Wilkes' opponent Luttrell. If such an usurpation as this were to be tolerated, it was impossible to tell where an unscrupulous Government would stop. These scandalous proceedings were strongly reprobated by almost every man of talent in the Com- mons. Both Grenville and Chatham vied with each other in thundering against the iniquity of giving the seat to Luttrell, though, .to the shame of the judicial Bench, Lord Mansfield de- fended and supported it in the Lords. Nor were the Ministry more successful in their dealings with America. America. Charles Townshend's new import duties had produced the greatest excitement among the colonists, who, having won one victory, were de- termined not to submit in any way to the obnoxious claim of taxative power. The result was that it was utterly impossible to enforce the laws ; that custom-house officers ran considerable danger of tarring and feathering on the slightest provocation ; that the determination not to use English goods revived and was carried out with patriotic vigour ; and that severe riots and col- lisions between the people and the troops were of constant and dangerous occurrence. This was especially the case in Massa- chusetts. Road to Ruin, 243 Unfortunately, too, the Secretary for the Colonies, Lord Hills- borough, had not the slightest idea how to deal with the diffi- culty ; and his efforts only added fuel to the flame. Public opinion, however, in England was strongly against the Ameri- cans; and at last the Duke of Bedford, acting as its Exponent for about the first time in his life, brought forward a motion in Parliament, that American rioters should be brought to England for trial, as there was no hope of getting an honest verdict out of an American jury. It was carried ; ^of[°^*'^ but it met with the execration it deserved, and be- came a dead letter. By the close of the year 1769 a strong de- termination had gradually arisen throughout the length and breadth of the? colonies to accept nothing leas than the repeal of Towtishend's measure in its entirety. Government recognized the necessity of making some concession ; but pride prevented them giving in heartily and honestly. The import duties were .therefore all removed except the one on tea. The result was therefore absolutely nil ; for the Americans were as strongly exasperated as before, and as strongly re^^eal^^^*^ determined not to submit to any taxation by Parhament. As Junius said, " In the repeal of those Acts which were most offensive to the Americans, the Parliament had done everything but remove the offence. They had relinquished the revenue, but judiciously preserved the contention." Matters, in fact, were rapidly approaching a crisis with the Grafton Ministry. For some time individual Ministers had privately disapproved of much that was done in the name of the whole Cabinet. They had confined themselves to their own 4^- partments, and under the specious excuse that they were Minis- ters of the House of Commons, had given a tacit sanction to much that incurred their secret reprobation. Such an anomalous state could obviously not last long. Moreover, the debates on the Wilkes case had restored a certain amount of union to the scattered fragments of the Opposition. ^^^^ °^ *^® A reconciliation had once more united Grenville, Ministry Chatham, and Temple. Chatham made overtures to Rockingham, and for the future spoke of him in terms of high praise. The result was a series of assaults on the Government, in which Chatham displayed all his old fire. In 1770 the king's speech was made the subject of his bitterest invective. It had studiously avoided aU reference to the burning questions of the day, and devoted unusual attention to the "murrain B 2 244 The Grafton Ministry, among horned beasts." It was, in fact, as Junius scathingly de- scribed it, more worthy of a " ruined grazier " than a great king. Chatham proceeded to paint in the darkest colours the state to which the mistakes of the last ten years had reduced the country : her isolated position iii Europe ; the undisguised hostility of the Americans ; the arbitrary violations of the con- stitution in the proceedings against Wilkes. He inveighed against the secret influence of the king, and openly attributed these evils to his baneful interference. The result was an ex- plosion. Camden, the Chancellor, the ablest man in the Cabi- net, threw off his allegiance to his chief, violently attacked the Government, and protested that the disqualification of Wilkes was an illegal encroachment on the liberty of the subject. His example was followed by the Marquis of Granby, ^/fi^f^^^^^ the Commander-in-Chief. Grafton was of course 2YY0. ' obliged to dismiss them both ; and, finding it im- possible to keep his Ministry any longer together, shortly afterwards himself resigned. The game was apparently in the hands of the Opposition. But so disorganized were they really, in spite of the late hollow attempt at reunion, that it was utterly impossible for either Chatham or Eockingham to form a Ministry. George, there- T • h f ■^^^^' ^^ ^^^^ seized the opportunity which he had the'^^g. ^^ \ovLg waited for, and committed the task of forming a new Government to Lord North, a man entirely after his own heart, and the acknowledged leader of the Tories. - Thus ends the first period of the reign of George III. During the last ten years he had been struggling with the House of ' Commons, with the power of organized ijarties. These he had done his best to destroy ; and in his crusade he had fim pwiod^^ ^^^^ supported by the great unrepresented masses and its ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^® liberal of those who were repre- results. sented. The people, however, had assisted him not through any love of Personal Government or special desire to restore the lost power of prerogative, but be- cause^ they hoped to obtain some share in the government by effecting a reform of the corrupt representative system. They had not understood the views of the king, nor he theirs ; and each party to the delusion was in consequence doomed to bitter -disappointment in the future. The people, however, were earliest awakened from their dream by the stern facts of the Birth of Radicalism, 245 Grafton Ministry, the repressive policy of which was directly stimulated by the king himself. The rending of the veil was followed by a total change in public feeling with regard to the Crown, which is most strongly exhibited in the altered tone of Junius. Hitherto the king had been, in the eyes of this arch- enemy of the Government, the good prince whose kindliness and good-nature not even the blunders of Bute and Grenville could obscure. But in the "Letter to the King" of 1769, George is openly accused of violating the Constitution; and warned that those who imitate the Stuarts should beware their .fate. This last letter created an immense sensation, and marked at once the complete success of the king's policy, and the open- ing of men's eyes to his true character. The revelation, however, came too late. George had at last succeeded in surrounding himself with a large, compact, and well-disciplined body of friends, had thrust into the foremost place a man on whose subservience he had the most implicit reliance. He was there- fore determined now to share power with nobody, but to sternly repress the slightest opposition. Section 3. — Radicalism. One of the most important results of the Grafton Ministry was the rise of modern Radicalism. In 1769, during the excitement caused by the Wilkes case, the Society of Friends of the People was formed to support the Bill of p^jg^^Jg^'/f ^he Eights. Their principal objects were to assist people 1769. Wilkes in his struggle with the Court, and to carry out parliamentary reforms of an extremely sweeping cha- racter. They advocated a return to the ancient custom of annual Parliaments ; and that members of Parliament should be compelled to put off their senatorial character, and become mere delegates of their constituents by a well-organized system of effective control. Their leader was John Home Tooke, a disreputable clergyman, who had abandoned his cloth. Among their most prominent members were Wilkes, Glynn, Sawbridge, Ohver, and Townsend, who all took a decided part in the constitutional struggles of the reign. At first, however, they were but a small party. The violence of their principal orators, and the evil character of Wilkes, discredited them in the eyes of the great mass of the people ; for most of those who ad- vocated the cause of Wilkes from a constitutional point of view 246 The Grafton Ministry. had no desire to be connected with his person or his principles. Circumstances, too, were slowly driving the country into strong Conservatism, until at last the great shock of the French Eevolution crystallized the whole nation into an attitude of resistance to any forms of progress, from which they utterly, refused to move for over a quarter of a century., Sympathy The new-born Eadical party naturally sympa-: Frenci?Revo- whized with the talent for destruction evinced by lution. " the French Eevolutionists. The Constitutional . Society, the London Corresponding Society, both offshoots of the original "mighty Mother," extended the hand of friendship across the Channel to the reformers of the National Assembly. It is not strange, therefore, that at a time when Eurke was convulsing the whole of England by his philippics against the French Eevolution, its sympathizers should be re- garded with the utmost suspicion, and should find great diffi- culty in adding to their numbers. One of the chief results of the movement was that the Whigs were eventually obliged to identify themselves with parliamentary reform, and entirely . abandon their old selfish, oligarchical principles. thTwhiffs^ This transformation, however, was effected very slowly indeed. The principal leaders of the old Whigs, Chatham, Burke, Eockingham, Fox, even Junius himself, did not advocate any lowering of the franchise. The utmost that the most enlightened among them contemplated was a thorough excision of all rotten boroughs. The question of the extension of the franchise therefore remained in the hands of the Eadical party almost to the end of the century, and suffered accordingly. Section 4. — The Letters of Junius. In the preceding pages the name of " Junius " has been fre- quently mentioned as one of the principal opponents of the Ministry of the Duke of Grafton. Junius was an anonymous author, who was in the habit of writing letters addressed to the editor of The Public Advertiser, a newspaper of the period, in which he attacked the Government with the utmost bitterness and the most consummate power. These letters were issued first in 1767, and immediately rivetted the attention of the country. They have always attracted an undue amount of Man in the Mask. , 247 interest owing to the mystery which surrounds them. It has never been explained who was ^^^^^ author- their author. Woodfall, the publisher of The "^^ Public Advertiser, always professed utter ignorance as to the identity of his unknown correspondent. No one has ever laid claim to them. All to whom they were attributed indignantly denied the charge. Circumstantial evidence, worked up by the skill and care of various historians, seems to point to Sir Philip Francis as the true author, nor is there much doubt on the question at the present time. Francis himself, however, denied the fact invariably ; or at most merely committed himself to an equivocation, which might equally mean that he intended to claim or disclaim the authorship. It is true that to suppose Francis really was the author is to impute to him the rankest ingratitude and the most malignant attacks on men who had actually benefited him. But the security which protects anonymous productions, and which Junius contrived to preserve so remarkably, has a tendency at once to blunt the sensibilities and to sharpen the desire for fresh victims. The letters themselves are remarkable for their clearness of style, and the sledge-hammer way in which the author doubly " redoubles blow on blow " on the head of his prey. They dis- play the utmost public spirit with regard to the constitutional disputes of the day ; but they are tlie^Letters^ stained by reckless cruelty, fiendish malignity, and wilful falsehood of the most unscrupulous kind. He JSeglected no form of torture which could wring the heart ; he appears to have taken a hideous delight in dilating on the per- sonal misfortunes or errors of his political opponents in order to arm his barbed shafts with deadlier venom. He was, however, in no respect before his age. The repeal of the Stamp Act had brought no pleasure to him ; on the contrary he bewailed it as the commencement of evils. He disapproved of Grafton's mea- sure for repealing the tea tax, while enunciating distinctly a claim to the right of taxing America, on the ground that it gave up the revenue while retaining the grievance ; . ^ but his invective aU through is merely the hearty ^^^^ ^^^s^ contempt of a short-sighted critic for such a bungling measure, not of a sympathizer with the resistance of America. Junius himseK would have retained the tax and not the empty xjlaims alone. He was moreover utterly opposed to parliamentary reform, maintaining that the franchise was a 248 The Grafton Ministry, right vested in each particular elector, and could not legally be diminished in value by any such measure as an extension. The letters themselves appeared at a very favourable time, when the Grafton Ministry were 'supplying their enemies with ample materials for the bitterest satire and invective. Grafton him- self became the chief subject of attack. His political mistakes, the profligacy of his private life, his disreputable connection with Nancy Parsons, his illegitimate descent from Charles 11. , all became so many weapons in the hands of this great master of the art of invective with which to sear the brain and wring the heart-strings. The *' Letter to the Duke of the Duke of ° Grafton," by which the campaign was vigorously Grafton." opened, traces a parallel between the vices and crimes of the Stuarts and those of this illegitimate scion of their House, which, in the words of the author, would almost serve as a foundation to conjecture, even if the facts of Grafton's ancestry were unknown. Among the other subjects of the onslaughts of Junius were Lord Mansfield, who had approved of the disqualification of Wilkes to sit in Parlia- ment, and Blackstone, who in support of the Government had contradicted his own commentaries on the law of England. The king escaped for a long time owing to the strange error, which led the mass of the people to see in him a well-meaning prince, The " Letter ^^^^ ^^® ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ couricillors. The *' Letter totheKing/^ ^^ ^^® K:iiig," however, of 1769, showed that Junius had at last looked behind the thin veil which concealed the secret and unconstitutional influence which had coloured the events of the preceding years. He accused George of violating the Constitution to gratify an unworthy personal resentment against Wilkes ; of hazarding the affection of the English people ; of plundering and oppressing the Irish ; of alienating the hearts of the Americans. Secure behind his impenetrable barrier of secrecy, this Assassin in the Iron Mask darkly threatened the advent of a new Cromwell to exact retribution from the imitator of Charles. Violenb and unscrupulous, petty, vulgar, coarse as he was, His public ^^^^! *^^ public spirit which Junius displayed, the spirit. daring with which he attacked the arbitrary ac- tions of the Government, the ruthless skill with which he plunged his keen rapier into the crevices and joints of their armour, undoubtedly did good service to the cause of liberty at a time of imminent danger. Nations in Embryo. 249 ISoofe 1715.— PERSONAL GOVERNMENT OF GEORGE III., 1770-82. ( ( ( < « CHAPTER I. THE AMERICAN WAR, 1760-83. Section 1. — The American Colonies, 1760-64. The thirteen American provinces may be divided into three distinct groups according to their mode of origin. These were the New England Colonies, the Dutch Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. The first group included Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. They were prac- tically hounded to the west by the Eiver Hudson -^^^i^ and by Lakes George and Champlain, which Colonies, form an almost straight boundary -line from New York City to the St. Lawrence. These provinces owed their origin to the Pilgrim Fathers and other English refugees, who sought beyond the Atlantic that freedom of worship which was denied them in their mother country. It must be added that they did not show themselves much more ready to concede toleration to others in America than the Church of England had to them. The most important town and the principal seaport was Boston, a flourishing city, the capital of the State of Mas- sachusetts. Next to them came the second group, those colonies which had been acquired from the Dutch. These were, strictly speak- ing, only New York, New Jersey, and Dela- ^^^^ ^.^^j^ ware, an offshoot of New Jersey. The two latter colonies. were peopled almost entirely by Quakers, Presby- 250 The American War, . terians, and Anabaptists. The Quakers, however, had spread outwards, and formed another province to the west of !N'ew Jersey, which was known as Pennsylvania, from the name of the great Quaker leader, William Penn. Connected with the Quaker states was the province of Maryland, though the con- nection was very undefined. As a rule, the Governor of Penn- sylvania was also Governor of Maryland, but there was a separate Assembly for each state. The principal towns were ]N"ew York City, at the mouth of the Hudson, and Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania, situated on the Delaware. To the south of these came the third group, between the units of which there was really very little in common, except the fact that they cannot possibly be included in either of the first two groups. They were Virginia, North Colonies. ^^^ ^^^ South Carolina, and Georgia. Virginia, separated from Maryland by the broad bed of the Potomac, had been originally founded by Ealeigh, who gave it the name of Virginia in honour of the " Virgin Queen." It had been settled principally by people of a much higher standing than the other colonies, and as a rule the inhabitants were members of the Church of England. In right of being the oldest and most' populated colony, Virginia naturally took up a lofty position- among her companions. The Virginians, from their superior birth, breeding, and education, were regarded as the- aristo- cracy of America. Below Virginia came the two States of Carolina which dated from the reign of, and owed their name to Charles II. South of South Carolina lay the peculiar State of Georgia, which had been founded at the beginning of the century by a philanthropist. General Oglethorpe. It was intended to be a veritable Cave of Adullam, to which all who were in debt or distress should be able to flee for refuge ; and especially to afford complete freedom of worship to those who desired to escape the religious persecutions of the Old World. Between these various sets of colonies there was every kind of difference, great and small. ]^ay, the units of the separate J.. . , groups were entirely distinct in many particulars^ the colonies. from one another. The Governments of the Kew;;, England Provinces were by far the most demo- cratic in form ; but then Massachusetts was more democratic than New Hampshire, Ehode Island than Massachusetts. Most of the Governments consisted of a Governor, appointed by the Crown, and two Chambers, one of which was usually also Transformation', 251 ^ nominated by the Crown. la Pennsylvania, however, there was only one Chamber ; and in Massachusetts both Chambers were elected by the people. There were, besides, differences of climate, differences of law, of produce, of temperament, almost of natio- naUty, between the various states. It therefore seemed utterly impossible that they could ever nnite. It had been impossible to get them to act as a confederation hitherto. It is highly probable that nothing but the tremendous pressure of the Ameri- can War would ever have crushed such ill-fitting fragments into one harmonious whole. There was really much more to bind them to the mother country than to one another ; and one of the great dijB&culties during the Seven Years' War had been the impossibility of getting them to act together even for defence. It was this which had determined Pitt to effect the conquest of Canada, in order to remove the constant source of danger from the French colonies, which the English states were totally unable to cope with individually. The zeal with which England had taken up the question, the ardour with which she had prosecuted the war, and the success ^^^}^^ }^ which attended it, produced a great outburst of j^^gl ^^ ' loyalty, so that the feeling of respect and reve- rence for the mother country was never greater than on the very eve of the quarrel. The colonies, in fact, had every reason to be loyal, and had really very few grievances to complain of. They were left very much to themselves ; their government, even in the Crown colonies, was an extremely liberal one ; they had been protected against all enemies. Their one great grievance was commercial. They were not allowed to export goods grievance to any other country but England \ they were obliged to pass aU goods brought from Europe through the English custom-houses* before importing them to America ; and aU manufactures which would clash with English interests were utterly prohibited. Undoubtedly these laws were both mistaken iu political economy, and also unjust to the Americans ; but it was no peculiar hardship. The principle on which all the nations of Europe had founded their colonial establishments was that they should be subservient to the interests of the mother country, and should trade only with her. Trade was not free in Europe. In France it was not even free between province aiid province. A series of trade restrictions lay between Eng- land and Ireland. Monopolies and privileges of various kinds 252 The American War, \ fettered the commerce of England. It was too much, therefore, to expect that England should deliberately and suddenly reverse her whole commercial system solely in the case of America. Nor do the laws appear to have been really a grievance before the Ministry of George Grenville. They were very badly ad- ministered and evaded with impunity. A vast smuggling trade sprang up with the Spanish colonies, which enabled the Ameri- cans to get rid of a large portion of their produce by other channels than the trade with the mother country. It must have been evident to any statesman who looked at this matter coolly, that, when the colonies really wished to separate, nothing on earth could prevent them ; for it is almost / impossible to conquer such a huge nationality as America, though it had proved easy to dispossess the small garrison of Erenchmen which had occupied Canada. Hitherto, however, there had existed almost a necessity for union between separation England and the American colonies, more for the interest of the latter than the former. The Peace of Paris, 1763, removed this necessity by removing the danger existing from the French. This fact was obvious to most statesmen at the time. Montcalm even, during the period of his Governorship, stated that he believed that the English would conquer Canada, but that the conquest would be shortly followed by the secession of America; for, when once the Erench were driven from their frontiers, the turbulent disposi- tion of the colonists and the haughty ascendency of the English Government, must lead to a split between the two. There was one source of danger, however, left after 1760, and this was the Indians. It was to protect the colonies against the attacks of these savages that Grenville brought forward his scheme in 1763 for unifying and consolidating the colonies into one confederation, and, above all, for raising a G-renville's colonial army, which was to be paid by taxation colonial army. l<^vied by the English Parliament in America. This the Americans refused to submit to, on the ground that taxation and representation ought to go hand in hand ; and that as they were not represented in Parliament,: neither ought they to pay taxes voted in Parliament. To the argument that they were really already taxed by the English commercial measures, they replied by drawing a distinction between taxation and customs, and maintaining that the latter merely belonged to the general right of regulating trade, Dross with the Gold, 253 which was held to be an inherent attribute of the mother country." There was, however, a considerable amount of justice in the claims of England that the colonies ought to pay the army/" which was intended for their defence ; nor is there any doubt ' that their resistance was at first due in a great measure to a \ vulgar desire to escape the expense. There was no intention on the part of Uhe Government to tax America for the benefit of England ; all the money thus raised was to be applied to the defence of America solely. The sump\ax* difference between customs and other forms of taxation was really fanciful. There was no distinction in law ; and the Crown lawyers all maintained that the one might be exercised as readily and lawfully as the other. Even if the argument that commerce is an Imperial matter, and hence proper to be dealt with in the Imperial Parliament, is of any value, it is difficult to realize that the defence of the empire is not a matter also of Imperial importance, and equally proper to be provided for by the central Government. One thing, however, . is remarkably certain — the Americans had no constitutional or other objections to urge against the mother country under- , taking their defence ; their eloquence was reserved for the moment when they were asked to share in paying the bill. Moreover, England really had imposed taxation on the Americans by the command of the central Government only, when she introduced the post-office system among them ; and yet this had not excited the slightest comment. From the point of law, therefore, of precedent, of common sense, and justice, the English Government had the right on their side when they imposed the stamp tax on America. But if the question be asked whether this measure was expedient, whether it was well-maaiaged, whether the oppor- JJenTof if ^' tunity was a favourable one, whether Grenville imposition. was the man to carry it out successfully, the answer is, " No, a thousand times no ! " Moreover, unfor- tunately for GrenviUe, the question ran on much broader lines than the narrow, vulgar principle of economy on which the quarrel was really started. There were petty meannesses, errors of judgment, even crimes, committed by the Americans all through the struggle, which have left a dark stain on the tangled history of that unhappy time ; but in proportion as the attitude -of the colonies becomes more threatening, and the action of the 254 The American War, Government more sternly repressive, it is impossible not to see that it is really a question of liberty on the one side and tyranny on the other. Here, as in the other collisions between the Government of George III. and the rising spirit of Democracy^ there was no thought of expediency, constitutional law, or jus- tice ; all opposition must be at once put down at home and abroad. The American War was therefore really but a phase of the great struggle with the principle of liberty The question which George III, had deliberately entered on. struffffle for "^^^ triumph of the Americans marked the mo- liberty, ment when the king realized for the first time that the powers he had unchained, and the resistance he had encountered were far too vast for him to cope with successfully, and that his policy of personal government must be modified to suit the irresistible force of circumstances* The outbreak of the French Eevolution, however, destroyed the impetus in favour of liberty which had been the result of the American War ; and by driving all the best elements and greatest statesmen of the country into a determined reactionary policy of repression, enabled the king to recover a large measure of the power which he had been compelled to sur- render, and obscured the true importance to England of the success of her revolted colonies. Bection^. — Drifting into War, 1764-75. The American War was the result of unpardonable blundering on the part of the Government with regard to the taxation question, which has been narrated in the history of the pre- ceding period. The first step was really the commercial legis* lation of George Grenville, which produced both distress and discontent in the colonies, and rendered the Americans al^ together unwilling to accept such an addition to their burdens as the stamp tax of 1765. The stamp tax was repealed by the The early Rockingham Ministry, 1766; and for a short steps. ^^^ ^^Q breach between England and the colo- nies was healed. Unfortunately, however, the ' illness of Chatham gave Charles Townshend an opportunity of carrying his own views into execution ; and in consequence in an ill-advised moment he brought before the House of Commons his Bill for imposing import duties on tea, glass, and paper to be levied at the American ports, 1767. This measure renewed the Fa CI LIS DESCENSUS AvERNI, 255 hostility of the Americans, which found a vent in organized riots of an alarming description. The rioters were in some cases artested ; but the utter impossibility of procuring a conviction from an American jury led to Bedford's celebrated proposal in 1768, that they should be removed for trial to England. An attempt was made at conciliation by the Duke of Grafton, which, was, however entirely spoilt by the miserable pride which retained the tea tax as a proof that England had the actual right to impose contributions on the colonies. The two last measures produced the greatest resentment in America. Eiots occurred in all parts with alarming frequency. Collisions be- tween the military and the mob seemed daily likely to break out. The ancient and aristocratic Colony of Virginia issued an order prohibiting the importation of British goods altogether, until the duties of 1767 were entirely removed. America was rapidly drifting down the stream of rebellion. In this electric state of the atmosphere it is not surprising that a violent riot broke out in Eoston. The soldiers, who had long been exasperated by the outrages and insults of the towns- people, stung to fury, fired on the mob with fatal effect ; and this ** Boston Massacre " did not tend J^^® g^°fg°^ to relieve the high pressure to which public 1770. ' opinion was gradually rising in America. SkiKul agitators took advantage of this unfortunate affray, for which really the injured had their own turbulence and disorder to blame. It was determined to try the soldiers for their lives ; and, though they were nearly all acquitted, popular opinion re- presented the affair as a deliberate and premeditated massacre of unoffending citizens. The Government of Lord North pursued the policy which had so dangerously alienated the Americans. They retained the tea tax as a useless and irritating symbol of British ascendency, in spite of the absolute refusal of the Americans to purchase any tea which had paid the duty to the revenue. In 1772, however, the celebrated affair of Hutchinson's Letters still further embittered the dispute. Hutchinson, the HutcMnTon Governor of Massachusetts, had long carried on a correspondence with Mr. Whately, in which he advocated the use of strong repressive measures as the only means of pacifying America. On Whately's death these letters were stolen, and carried to Benjamin Franklin, who was at this time Agent- General for several of the colonies. Franklin sent them over 256 The American War. to America, — a thing which he clearly had no right to do j for they were private correspondence, and had fallen into his hands in a far from legitimate way. Their arrival, however, created a great ferment in America ; and the Massachusetts Assemhly pe- titioned in violent terms for the removal of Hutchinson. The question was brought before the Privy Council, — Franklin himself being present as Agent-General. At this session the Solicitor-General, Wedderburn, with extraordinary indiscretion made a most brilliant but most cuttingly virulent Wedderburn's attack on Franklin. He accused him of deliberate Franklin. theft for the most malignant of purposes. He declared that the execration of Europe would pursue him like a second Cain, wherever he hid his dishonoured head. He implored the Council to make a terrible example of the man who had dared to acknowledge and glory in his crime. The Lords of the Council laughed and applauded at each fresh stroke of Wedderburn's invective; but Franklin stood calm and unmoved, though all eyes were fixed upon him, and all drew - aloof from him as from a plague-stricken person. The petition of Massachusetts was voted to be scandalous and seditious ; and Franklin was ignominiously dismissed from his office of Post- master-General for America. The Government, however, had acted extremely unwisely. They had inflicted an unpardonable outrage on the most sagacious of the American leaders ; and neither Franklin, nor the people he represented, were likely to forgive or forget it. The Government soon imbroiled itself once more with the people of Boston. With the view of relieving the East India Company, which was heavily in debt, a statute TeaBm^*^ was passed in 1773 empowering them to export jYY3^ ' their tea from England to America without paying any tax at the English ports, subject only to the smaller American duties. This would have enabled the Com- pany to sell their commodity much cheaper to the colonists, and would really have been a great benefit to both parties. The colonists fully realized the facts of the case; but they con- sidered that the boon was intended as a bribe to seduce them into purchasing the taxed tea, and hence recognizing indirectlyi; the right of England to impose the duty. The Mohawks,^ ^®^!^*^ ^^ *^^^ feeling was that when the tea-ships 1773. ' arrived at Boston in December, a party of men, disguised as Mohaivk Indians, boarded them, I^/PE FOR Rebellion. 257 and flung the whole cargo into the sea. In other places the tea-ships were at once obliged to sail back to the Thames. ^ The news of this violence greatly exasperated both the Go- vernment and the English people. Violent measures were at once brought forward. No attempt was made to obtain com- pensation for the destruction of the tea, or to exact retribu- tion from the individual offenders. Nothing less than the utter ruin of the whole town in which the outrage had been committed would satisfy the Ministry's thirst for revenge. A Bill was introduced to destroy ^pston Port the commercial prosperity of Boston by remov- ^^' ^''"^** ing the custom house to Salem and closing the Port. A second Bill was introduced for the amendment of the Massachusetts Charter, transforming it Massachu- into a Crown Colony of the closest description ; BufmY*^' in which the Council and all the officers were ' to be nominated by the Crown and the Governor. These two measures rendered any reconciliation impracticable for the future j and from this moment the war became inevitable. In spite of the powerful attacks of Chatham and Burke, and the pungent criticism of Charles Fox, who amply revenged himself on the Ministry for his ejection from the Treasury, the Government insisted on enforcing these injudicious severities-. A general revolt followed immediately. A Com- mittee of Public Safety was organized in Massa- ^g^'^^f ^^ . chusetts to direct the resistance, enrol militiamen, ^^ colonists and, if necessary, conduct hostilities against the 1774, Enghsh Commandaiit, General Gage. A General Congress of Kepresentatives from all the States, except Georgia, met at Philadelphia, and issued a Declaration of Rights. In this remarkable document they set forth a state- ment of their inherent rights as Englishmen, and maintained that these had been infringed by the recent legislation of the Home Government. Matters, in fact, became so threatening that Gage made every preparation for fortifying Boston. In England public opinion was strongly against the Ameri- cans, and on this occasion, George, who was firmly determined that the Government should not give way an inch, found himself once more the representative of '^^^}^ . national feeling, which he had so long defied and England disregarded. A general election, held amid the 1775. excitement produced by the resistance of America, 8 258 ' The American War. gave ai strong majority to Ministers, and practically a blank; cheque to the king. In vain did Chatham bring forward a proposal for reconciliation in 1775. It was rejected by over- whelming numbers. The march of circumstances proceeded with frightful rapidity. :> i, / ,< ■ Section Z,—ThQ War with America, 1775-77. The long-expected collision at last took place in the little skirmish of Lexington. Gage had sent out a Battle of small expedition to seize the stores and disperse ADrir 1775 *^® militiamen who were gradually assembling ' ' at Concord, the seat of the rebel Committee of Massachusetts. The royal troops were attacked on their re- turn at Lexington, and chased with considerable loss all the way to Boston. War at once broke out. The Congress assumed sovereign authority. Colonel Washington, a Yirginian Outbreak of gentleman (the Major Washington, who was ^*^* , defeated at Great Meadows in 1754), was ap-. pointed Commander-in-Chief. An expedition was sent to in- vade Canada. And every nerve was strained to organize and discipline an army. In June a desperate struggle occurred outside Boston for the possession of Bunker's Hill, a position which Battle of commanded the town. The Americans fought ms ' with the most determined daring and des- peration, but were eventually obliged to aban- don the height to the English. The attack on Canada proved a failure. The Canadians had no sympathy with the Americans ; had no special grievances against the Enghsh Government ; while their national feeling was insulted by the invasion. However, Lord Howe, Gage's successor, was obliged to evacuate Boston and Halifax. Congress, rejecting the offers of the Government to receive and pardon all who sub- mitted, took the final irrevocable step, and ?ndepeBdrce ^^^^^ ^^^ Declaration of Independence, July 4, ; 1776. ' ' ■ The English now determined to reconquer by force of arms '' the country they had lost. The difficulties, however, which be- i set this design were so vast that there was really very littl^ ' Saratoga, 259 hope of success. The English plan was to piake New York the centre of operations, and "^^^ English at the same time execute a flank attack on the paign 1777 • rebel leaders from Canada. Howe was to con- duct the campaign in the Jerseys. Bnrgoyne was to march down Lakes Champlain and George from Canada. Clinton was to co-operate with him from New York. Thus the New England States would be entirely cut off from the Southern States, and the rebellion might be crushed in detail. This elaborate plan, however, fell through entirely. Washing- ton, defeated again and again by Howe in the Jerseys, contrived each time to draw off his troops with honour. , At the end of the campaign he retired to Valley Forge, where he spent the winter in organizing, disciplining, and inspiriting . .. his ragged forces. The two Northern armies failed to co-operate altogether ; and Burgoyne, cut off froni Canada, surrounded by at least four times his own number, and without any hope of reinforcements, was obliged to sur- render to General Gates at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. " Burgoyne, unconscioQS of impending fates, Could cut his way through woods, but not through Gates,'* rail the popular epigram which celebrated the dis- aster of this gallant but unfortunate officer. There lYr^oyne, ^ were really very strong reasons for the surrender ^^^ 17^ 1777. at the time ; but the after-consequences of it were so vast that the circumstances were entirely forgotten, and the fact itself denounced in language of the most violent and ibitterest character. |, &edi(m 4..— The General War, 1777-83, The surrender of Burgoyne was followed immediately by the publication of a treaty of commerce between France and America ; and in spite of fresh efforts Treaty wm on the part of Lord North to effect a reconcilia- ^^^^ ' tion, the treaty was ratified by Congress, with a distinct understanding that they should make no peace with jjngland, unless the latter would consent to recognize the inde- pendence of America. s 2 260: The American War. The position of England was now one of such, peril, that in spite of the hostility of the king and people to America, Lord North insisted that the only way by which the in- tegrity of the Empire could be maintained was the assump- tion of the Government by Lord Chatham, with the view to effecting a reconciliation by judicious concessions, Chatham "^^^ death of Chatham, however, destroyed this May 11, 1778. hope ; and after a last attempt at conciliation, which was scornfully rejected by the Americans, Lord North was persuaded by the king, against his own con- victions, to remain in office and to carry on the war. The long pent-iip feelings of jealousy with which England had been regarded by the Powers of Europe now found at last expression. Spain (1779) and Holland (1780) were soon added to the list of her open enemies. A com- mlritfmewar ^i^^^d French and Spanish fleet besieged Gib. 1778-80. ' raltar, 1779. The Baltic Powers, headed by Catherine 11. of Kussia, formed the Armed Neu- trality, 1780,. and declared themselves prepared to resist by force the further execution of the English claim to confiscate the goods of her enemies when found on board a neutral vessel. The whole maritime power of Europe was arrayed against her ; and for a short time she entirely lost the supre- macy of the seas. The English fleets crouched in harbours and inlets ; while the Count de Grasse rode triumphant on the American seaboard, and the Bailli ^ de Sufirein lorded it in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile disasters had dogged our footsteps in America, The capture of Charleston suggested the idea of a campaign in South Carolina. This plan was vigorously put irito execution by Lord Cornwallis, who had been sent south by SoX&'' Clinton. Again and again he defeated the Una, 1779-81. American General, Greene ; but his force was too scanty to allow him to follow up his successes, and in consequence the Americans gradually recovered the whole of South Carolina and Georgia, except Charleston and Savannah. CornwaUis' position, in fact, became extremely critical in 1781. He was opposed, almost surrounded, by an overwhelming army of the enemy ; there was no prospect of reinforcements or supplies ; the Erench fleet rode off the coast with a far superior weight of metal to that of the English. The result was that he found himself besieged in York Town, not i York Town, 261 far froni Chesapeake Bay, by an army of 18,000 men, with a fine train of artillery. When every Surrender of hope of assistance had faded, and all attempts at ^^81 ' escape had failed, CornwaUis, like Burgoyne, sub- mitted to the inevitable, and surrendered, October 18, 1781. This practically ended the war in America, and caused the fall of Lord North's Ministry. V Meanwhile the maritime war had been almost equally disas- trous for England. Minorca had surrendered to the Duke de Crillon. The whole of the Leeward Islands, except Barbadoes and Antigua, were lost. The Disasters of siege of Gibraltar was pressed on with astonish- ^^ ^^ * ing vigour. The great success of France stimulated her hopes and ambition. Therefore, when England made overtures for peace in 1782, the Erench Minister, Vergennes, dema,nded that the- southern part of the Indian peninsula should be yielded to Erance, and that England should be th^Prench Scontent with Bengal. The surrender of York Town had inspired a belief that the power of England was Waning. The French hoped to oomplete her discomfiture, and bring her to her knees by the capture of Gibraltar and Jamaica. They steadily therefore refused to listen to negotiations on the basis of the Treaty of 1763; and all the allies threw in their lot with France except America. Ajnerica, satisfied with having Secured her independence, arranged a secret accommodation with England, thus throwing her friends completely over. This treaty, however, was not to be revealed till peace was concluded with , J^rance. Gratitude plays a scanty role in politics. The tide, however, soon turned in favour of England. Eodne]^ caught the French expedition under the Count de Grasse on the way to Jamaica, and won a splendid victory by the new ma- noeuvre of hreaicing the line, 1782. This consisted in advancing in column against the enemy's line, passing > through the middle, and surrounding one half J^'V^^J °^ with his whole fleet. It was easy to destroy \*i^2, ' them, thus outnumbered, before the other haft could come to their assistance. The vigorous defence of Eliott, and the natural strength of the place, enabled Gibraltar to hold out against all the efforts of the French and Spaniards, till the arrival of Lord Howe with an English squadron compelled them to raise the siege and retire discomfited, 1782. These great successes compelled the allies to accept peace on 262 The American War, far more reasonable terms, which was signed at Versailles, January, 1783. It confirmed the provisional treaty with America, by which her independerice had been Treaty of formally recognized, her northern boundary de-^ Jan 1783 fined, and commercial relations established. To France England ceded the little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, and the West African settlements, Goree and Senegal, In the West Indies all conquests were mutually restored, except Tobago, which was given to France. In the East Indies all conquests were restored, except the Dutch town of Negapatam, which was retained by England. The Eloridas were restored to Spain, England receiving in exchange the Bahamas and the right of cutting logwood in Honduras. The old Dunkirk Treaty with France was formally abandoned. This settlement was definitely confirmed by Parliament in September, 1783. Thus ended the third act of the great duel between England and France for the New World, which had begun in the Jenkins' Ear War. The American War had developed into a renewal of the old struggle between France and England for maritime and colonial supremacy, and though France had been Franc^* ^ foiled in her efforts to recover the ground lost in the Seven Years' War, she had revenged herself by helpirig America to independence. She was yet to make one more hopeless attempt to dispute with England the dominion of the seas and the New World in the Revolutionary and Na- poleonic Wars. She was unable, however, in spite of the most desperate and gigantic efforts, to reverse the decision which had been pronounced in favour of England. Warren Hastings. 263 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CHAPTEE IL INDIA, 1773-83. After the return of Clive affairs in India gradually drifted from bad to worse, until in 1772 the Company was obliged to borrow money from the Government to carry on at aU. A fearful famine was desolating Bengal ; Hyder Ali, a Mohammedan freebooter, who had made himself Sultan of Mysore, kept up a ^continual war with Madras. The funds of the Company were at the lowest ebb. Lord North's Regpilating Act was therefore passed, com- mitting the government of India to a Governor- General and four CounciUors. The Governor- ^^^^^i^^S^'* General was Warren Hastings ; the Councillors, Act ^1773.^ Messrs. BarweU and Philip Francis, General Clavering, and Colonel Monson. The dividends of the Company were limited to six per cent, until the Government loan should be repaid ; and they were given the privileges with regard to the export of tea to America which produced such disastrous results. A Supreme Court of justice was also established, which was to be independent of the Indian Government. This Warren Hastings had been appointed Governor of Ben- gal in 1772 ; and had been already concerned in some very important affairs. He had abolished the office of ^^j^^.^^ native Minister of Fioance, thereby inspiring Hastings, ^deadly enmity in the heart of Nuncomar, an influential Brahmin, who had hoped to obtain it. He had re- arranged the land tax, so that the Company obtained a higher * revenue. He had cut off half the allowance of the Nabob of Bengal. Lastly, in his necessity of accumulating money to satisfy his greedy masters in England, Hastings had unscrupu- lously let out English troops for forty lacs of rupees to the Vizier of Oude, in. order that the latter might subdue and outrage a 264 India, free people called the Rohillas. Some rumours of tliis had reached England, and so the new councillors came out strongly- prejudiced against Hastings. A conflict now ensued between Francis, supported by Claver- ing and Monson, and Hastings, backed by Barwell Strife between ^lone. J^uncomar, eager for revenge, offered to Hasting^^ prove Hastings guilty of high crimes, and the Council determined to put him on trial. Matters were approaching a difficult crisis, when Nuncomar was arrested on a charge of forgery, and condemned to be hung by the Supreme Court. Whether Hastings had got up the charge is uncertain. He asserted on oath that he had nothing to do with it. But certainly it came very opportunely for him. From that day his power was secure, for no Hindoo was brave enough to T7 4.-^ «-P I'isk the anger of one who had struck down Execution 01 .i i. j r. ^i • t • tt- Nnnuomar. ^^^ neaa oi their religion. His supremacy was ' more completely established by the death of Monson, which enabled him, with the help of his casting vote, to command a permanent majority in the Council. War, however, was on the eve of breaking out all over India. "War 1779 84 "^"^^ Bombay Government had embroiled them- selves with the Mahrattas by supporting Eaghoha, who had been deposed from the headship of that nation for murder. War was declared between England and France in • 1779, and must necessarily extend to India. In 1780 Hyder Ali took advantage of the difficulties of the English to flood the Camatic with his irregular cavalry, and advanced rapidly on Madras. Hastings, however, acted decidedly and immediately. He captured Chandemagore and Pondicherry. He concluded the Treaty of Salbhye, 1782, with the Mahrattas. He sent all the money and troops he could collect to Madras under the „ . , command of Sir Eyre Coote. Two great victories BncS' ^f ^<>^to ^ovo and PoUilore freed the Camatic, and the death of Hyder Ali enabled the English , to carry on the struggle more successfully against his son, the far inferior Tippoo. The general peace of Versailles, in 1783, ended the war with the Dutch and French. A separate agree- ment of Mangalore was made with Tippoo on the basis of mutual restoration of all conquests, 1784. It was to sustain the burden of these wars that Hastings committed the most daring and cruel of the acts of oppression / for which he was afterwards impeached. He demanded 50,000?. from Cheyte Sing, the tributary Kajah of Benares, which he Begums of Oude. ^265 ) tad a perfect right to do; but as the latter delayed to pay, Hastings at once raised the sum to 500,000/. He even went to Benares and arrested Cheyte Sing chevte^Sinff in person. The result was a furious riot, in which Hastings' life was in considerable danger. British troops, however, were rapidly marched up ; the Nabob was expelled ; his property seized, and a fresh arrangement made with a new Nabob at a far higher tribute. The constant drain of the war, and the eternal cry of the Directors for " more," led Hastings into fresh paths of crime. The Vizier of Oude was a ruffian, and wanted money. He thought he could get it by robbing his mother and grandmother, — the Segums of Oude. He thought it safest, however, to promise half to the English Government if ofoude. they would allow the villainy to be done. Hast- ings considered the idea- a good one. The Begums' city was therefore blockaded, and reduced by famine ; the Princesses themselves were atrociously ill-used j their two ancient minis- ters were imprisoned, starved, and tortured. Then the Nabob took possession of the Begums' land ; Hastings received about a million of money for the Company. It was urged as a reason for these atrocities that the Princesses had endeavoured to rouse an insurrection in Oude ; but no proof was ever advanced to support this statement. To Warren Hastiugs we owe the preservation of our Empire in India at a time of imminent danger. He must be regarded as second in the list of great c^fmes^of ^^ Warriors and illustrious statesmen by whom that Hastings, mighty fabric has been reared. Great excuses are to be found for him in all his actions, arising from the malice of Erancis, the customs of the natives, and the rapacity of the Directors. But with regard to the Rohilla question, the treatment of Cheyte Sing, and the Begums of Oude, Englishmen must ever regret that such distinguished talents and such strik- ing administrative powers should have been dimmed in the eyes of posterity by crimes of such magnitude. Eumours of misgovernment and oppression were heard vaguely in England. More tangible grounds for censure was the fact that the Company could not f^^y^er.' pay its way, but was obliged to borrow from ference. Government. Tentative attempts were made to ^provide a remedy ; but it was not till 1783 that a great- and sweeping measure was introduced by Charles James Fox. 266 Ireland. 1) CHAPTER III. IRELAND, 1779-82. The state of Ireland during the early part of the century was literally that of a conquered country. The Irish were regarded and treated as the " common enemy." They had hardly any rights at aU ; not even the ordinary right of personal liherty. The Church was the Church of the Protestant minority, and was supported hy tithes levied chiefly from the Catholic majority, all great landowners being exempted. There were very few Churchmen altogether. A number of pluralists filled innumerable benefices, and performed thek duties very inadequately. Frequent scandals were the result.; and a case is on record where the management or mismanagei- ment of the spiritual welfare of a whole district was practically n the hands of a girl of twenty years of age. ^ The Catholic religion was strictly. proscribed as in England, and with even greater severity. Intermarriages of the"^^'*''' between people of different faith were forbidden Catholics. under heavy penalties. The rewards offered for the capture of priests made priest-hunting a regular trade. The only schools allowed to exist in the country- were the Charter Schools, supported by Government, which were conducted on a strictly Protestant basis. So that reahy in times of distress Catholic parents were exposed to the temp- tation of handing over their children to be kept at these schools and educated in the Protestant faith, in order to save them from perishing of famine. Moreover, the landlords were all Protestants, and in most cases absentees. There was absolutely no sympathy between Ah t e'am ^^^^^ ^'^^ their tenants. The latter were exposed and oppres- ^^ ^^ oppression of the bailiff, against whom it sion. was almost impossible to get any redress in the 1 I I \ 1 I \ Wrongs of Ireland. 267 courts. The former regarded his estates solely as a means of revenue, and had very little knowledge even of the tyranny practised in his name. The commercial and material prosperity of Ireland had been dehberately destroyed for the benefit of England. Its wool trade was utterly prohibited ; its hempen trade limited ; and many other branches of commerce altogether stifled com^^ergg in the interest of the English producers. Its linen manufacture was allowed to continue, but it received no encouragement from England, and the country was too utterly impoverished to support it properly. The Government of Ireland consisted of a Lord-Lieutenant and a Parliament. The Irish House of Commons numbered 300 members, of whom 216 represented boroughs m nt of the type known as rotten. The franchise, in fact, was in a worse state even than in England. The Houses themselves were more corrupt than even their English equiva- lents. Nominally this Parliament had fuU taxing and legis- lative powers. Actually it was entirely subject to the English Privy Council j for by Poyning's Law (passed 1485) no Bill could be brought in without the approval, or passed without the assent of that body. An additional statute passed in the sixth year of George I. gave the English Parliament the power of making statutes which should be binding on Ireland without any necessity for the consent of the Irish Parliament. The result was that Ireland was in a very wretched state. The poverty of the people was something terrible. They were yearly exposed to the danger of famine. Agrarian jj^g^^y ^^ ^j^^ outrages were common aU through the country, country. But still there was no active disloyalty, nor- any attempt to throw off the heavy yoke of England. Thurot, as we have seen, met with no sympathy in 1760. Not a breath of sedition stirred the air during the Seven Years' War. The example of the Americans, however, encouraged the Irish to an attempt to better their condition. They demanded commercial freedom, and in this they were supported by the powerful voice of Burke. Small relief, however, was given them ; and so Grattan, the leader of the National party, deter- mined to apply pressure to the Government, y^ji^^tgers. Companies of volunteers had been formed in 1779 aU through the country, with the consent of the Govern- ment, to perform the work of protection against any hostile 268 Ireland, attempt on tlie part of France, which the Ministry confessed themselves unable to do owing to the necessity of concentrating all their forces on America. Belying on this army, Grattan compelled the Irish Parliament to demand free trade, and to grant supplies for six months only. Alarmed at eauaUty'^* this threatening demonstration, and fearing to lose Ireland as he had lost America, Lord l^orth introduced a measure allowing Ireland complete equality with England in all commercial matters, 1780. Encouraged by this concession, Grattan raised his demands, and insisted on the repeal of Poyning's Law and 6 Geo. L His position was now much stronger, and the organization of the volunteers more complete. A great meeting, therefore, was held at Dnnganiion, which accepted Grattan's independence. Proposals; and once more the Irish Parliament was coerced into passing a motion declariug the perfect legislative independence of Ireland. So dangerous was the agitation existing in Ireland at this time that the Eocking- ham Ministry, though well foreseeing the evils which must follow, were obliged to consent unwillingly, 1782. There can- not be any doubt that this measure precipitated, and rendered absolutely necessary, the ultimate legislative union of England and Ireland. I I I I I Lord North. 269 CHAPTEE IV. EVENTS IN ENGLAND, 1770-82. Section I. —Lord Noiili, 1770-82. And so, after a ten years* struggle, the king had at last triumphed over the Whig party. The Opposition was entirely disorganized. The Bedford and Grenville Whigs were practi- cally identi6ed with the Government. Chatham and Eocking- ham were openly hostile ; but they were as eager to oppose and humiliate one another, as to attack ^^^^^^^^j.^^ the Government. Their opposition, therefore, ^^^^^ was not of much value, and the strength of the Government was almost irresistible. So obvious was it that there was no hope of the Opposition in its present disunited condition ever obtaining office, that many, like the great Whig lawyer, Wedderbum, swallowed their opinions, and joined the Government. The result was that an entire stagnation of public business set in for some time, broken only by the disgraceful and ridiculous bickering of the two sections of the Whigs. Junius, in despair, flung down his pen. His mission had failed. He would write no more. At the head of this singular Government was Lord North, Lord Guilford's son. He was an awkward, bulky man, with swollen cheeks and staring eyes, which enabled his enemies to nickname him "the Blind Trumpeter." He was, however, an extremely able and business-like statesman, had great common sense, and was blessed with a singularly sweet temper, which enabled him to hear unmoved the bitterest attacks of his enemies. He had a great tendency to fall asleep at almost any time j and he found the ejffect of Parliamentary eloquence so extremely sleep-com- pelling, that he ahnost destroyed the pleasure of parliamentary opposition. The most violent invective fell unheeded at times 270 Events in England . jb ^ — ■ on the recumbent figure of Lord North ; and it was to no pur- pose that the orator accused him of slumbering over the ruin of the Constitution. The charge might be true, but Lord North did not hear it. This Ministry was eminently the king's instrument. It was supported by the royal influence ; it consisted mainly of the King's Friends. Grenville and Granby died in 1770. Sand- wich, Grafton, Wedderburn, Suffolk, Whately, all deserted the Whigs. Charles Fox, Sir Edward Hawke, Lords the^g^^ Hillsborough and Halifax were included in its ranks. Its strength seemed irresistible, and it was governed solely by the king. ^'Not only did the king direct his Ministers in all important matters of domestic and foreign policy ; but he suggested the management of debates in Parliament, what motions should be made or opposed, and how measures should be carried. He reserved for himself all the patronage. He arranged the cast of the administration* the places of Ministers, law officers, members of the household. He nominated and promoted the English and Scotch judges; managed all the preferments in the Church ; disposed of the military governments, regiments, and commissions." All this patronage was used solely to create a party in both Houses, and the control of this party enabled the king to do exactly what he pleased in Parliament. The result was that the power of the Crown, almost as obsolete as prerogative itself, revived and flourished with extraordinary vitality under the new title of influence. Formerly the Opposition had inveighed against the secret influence of Bute ; but now they saw more clearly be- hind the figure of Lord North the baneful influence of George III. liimself. To George, therefore, is directly due aU the disasters of the time. He it was who was determined not to yield an inch to the Americans ; who insisted on the prosecution of the war ; who persuaded Lord North not to " desert" pohcv^o7^ him when the latter's own convictions were George. against continuing the struggle. He it was who persistently opposed Economical and Par- liamentary Eeform, and marshalled his forces steadily night after night to oppose the motions of Chatham, Burke, and Dun- ning. He insisted on continuing the proceedings against the printers, even when Lord North considered it advisable to drop them. The Whig Governments, corrupt as they were, had at least avoided open conflict with the people. Now, however, the Ministry was brought disastrously into collision again and Personal Government. 271' again with public opinion by the narrow-minded obstinacy of the king. During the American War it is true that public opinion was with the king against the rebels ; but this agree- ment was short-lived, was soon broken by the disastrous issue of the war, and was due, not to affection for George, but hatred for America. Perhaps one of the most important elements from which the new-born power of the Crown derived its exuberant vitality was the vast wealth which flowed into the country from India, and was used by the Indian civil servants and officers mu x ^. to purchase parliamentary influence. These men Nabobs, were accustomed to the despotic principles of government, which were necessary in India. They naturally therefore leant towards the royal power, and swelled the party of the King's Friends, Lord Clive and Warren Hastings, two of the most distinguished of the Company's officials, supported the king steadily both in and out of Parliament. The well-head, however, from which this royal influence flowed was to be found in the corrupt state of the representative system, and the unprincipled policy by which the whole Crown patronage was uniformly dispensed for purely (j^jy^^p^j^^ party purposes. Matters had grown worse since the days of Newcastle. In 1770, 192 members of the House of Commons held places under Government. In 1782 no less than 11,500 revenue officers were employed. All these public officials were bound to vote as bidden on pain of instant dis- missal. An attempt was made to restore purity in 1770 to the decision of contested elections, which had de- £1^^^^^,^ generated into a mere party question irrespective petitions, of justice. Mr. GrenviUe introduced a measure providing that a committee of thirteen should be chosen from forty-nine members selected by ballot, and that this committee should be sworn to decide aU contested elections truly. The BiU became law ; but means were found to influence the elec- tion of the committee, and very little good was the result. The constituencies, with the exception of the counties, -^^^^^^^ were practically the property either of the land- boroughs, owner or any one who was rich enough to buy them up. Some boroughs even had the effrontery to offer them- selves openly for sale. It was natural that when a man had paid a large sum to secure his seat he should endeavour to recoup himself by an official salary. The result was an extra- ordinary subdivision of useless places of every kind for the pur- t 272 Events in England, pose of bribing members \ others received pensions openly or secretly from the king, and to such an extent was " ^^' this system carried, that in 1776, in spite of the frugality of the king and queen, there was a deficit of 600,000Z. in the royal accounts. Servants, tradesmen, and such unim- portant people had been kept without their money for years in order that the glorious work of maintaining the influence of the. Crown by bribing members of Parliament might proceed unchecked. To enforce his system the king professed himself ready to adopt the most extreme measures. He once threatened to have recourse to the sword rather than yield. He Determina- several times said he would return to Hanover if tion of George , . • j i-r i t i to be king. certain measures were carried. He warned Lord North that if necessary he would refuse his assent to an obnoxious Bill, though the royal veto had not been used since the beginning of the century. Lord North, strangely enough, submitted to be his mouth- piece, and to carry out his orders, even when contrary to his own views. He appears to have regarded George in the light of a Commander-in-chief, whom he was bound to servience^ of ' ^^^^ implicitly as long as he remained in office ; North. while to quit his post without permission would amount to desertion. On this principle he con- tinued to prosecute the American War, although he held in his heart that its continuance must end in ruin to the kuig and country. It was not therefore that North's heart or head were defective. But knowing well the unwisdom of his own action, he submitted unquestionably to George's commands through a mistaken sense of duty. Secfipn 2. — Lord North's Foreign Policy, 1770-72. The foreign policy of Lord North before the American War has at all times met with undeserved obloquy. The English and Spaniards had both settlements on the Falk- Tlie Falkland ^^^^ ^^^^^' ^^ ^^^®' 1770, a force of Spaniards Islands, 1770. ^ ^^^ Buenos Ayres expelled the English. This outrage was not due to weakness on North's part, but was deliberately planned by Choiseul to produce war. The disgrace of Choiseul removed at once the chance of war and the necessity for vigorous action by the English Government, for his successors were as peaceful as he had been bellicose. The Printers^ Case, 273 ' WitK regard to the partition of Poland effected by the three Powers — Austria, Russia, and Prussia, in 1772, it is difficult to see what England could have done. Single-handed she could not have coped with the three Powers. The only remaining nation of importance not engaged The partition in this crime was her old enemy Prance, with yi^2. ' whom it would be unreasonable to expect her to have suddenly united. Moreover, she had been accustomed to regard with favour the rise of Russia as forming a balance to Prance. To have united with Prance against Russia, therefore, — had Prance been willing — would have been enlightened pohcy ; but it would have directly reversed all the traditions of English diplomacy. Section 3.— Lord North's Ministry, 1770-80. The events of Lord North's Ministry other than the American War may be summed up very briefly. In 1770 pj.i^iig„g Mr. Grenville's Election Petition Act, before re- ferred to, was passed. In the same year Privilege of Parlia- ment was limited strictly to persons of members — a salutary and necessary reform. In 1771 the fooHsh irritability of Colonel George Onslow plunged the Government into a fresh contest with Wilkes and the printers. He drew attention to the pubhshing of parliamentary reports, which was now done openly. For this he was vilified in various papers by the title of *' Little cocking George," and other opprobrious epi- thets. A number of printers were in conse- ;g^gpQj.^ij^g^ quence summoned before the House, and repri- manded on their knees. One, Miller, however, refused to attend, and gave the messenger, who tried to arrest him, into custody for assault. The Lord Mayor Crosby, and Aldermen Oliver and Wilkes, before whom the case was brought, com- mitted the messenger for an infringement of the privileges of the City. The king was furious ; insisted on the punishment of Crosby and Oliver;— /^e had had enough of Wilkes, The two were committed to Newgate, but the question of reporting was wisely dropped, and has never been interfered with since. To the great disappointment of Wilkes he was left entirely alone. ^ His influence began to decline. He quarreUed ^^^ ^^ I with Home Tooke and the Bill of Rights Society, wilkes. i_l- — ...^K.w«>>kl <^« y-J rv 4-v v^ j^ 274 ^EvkNts IN England, . In 1772 an attempt was made to relieve Dissenting ministers from the necessity of subscribing the Thirty-Mne issen ers. Articles ; but this measure was rejected by the House of Lords. In 1772, in consequence of the Dukes of Cumberland and Gloucei^ter, the king's brothers, having married ^ „ commoners, the Royal Marriage Act was passed, riage Act ' "which forbade members of the royal family to marry without the king's leave, until they had attained twenty-five years of age. After that age they must give twelve months' notice of any intended marriage. In 1773 Lord North's Act for the regulation of India was passed, which, among other provisions, allowed the Company special privileges . . with regard to the importation of tea into America. In 1774 Charles Fox was dismissed from the Government for insubordination, and in consequence turned Whig on the American question. The year was chiefly remarkable for the violent debates and the equally violent mea- sures with regard to Massachusetts. In 1775 the conciliatory proposals of Chatham and Burke were thrown out and the war Wilkes began. In 1776 Wilkes, who had been allowed to take his seat for Middlesex two years beforsj brought in a motion for Parliamentary Eeform, which was rejected. In the same year the Whigs endeavoured to produce a moral effect on the Government by ceasing to attend Parha- ment, the only result being to facilitate the despatch of public business. In 1777 Lord Chatham moved an address imploring the king to arrest the disasters in America by timely conces- sions, but the motion was lost, as a matter of course. In 1778 Lord North, feeling the necessity for conciliatory wishes to measures, wished to resign, and transfer the task resign. ^^ appeasing the colonists to Chatham. The king offered all possible opposition to this, and almost forced I^orth to remain. His continuance in office was Death of ^^ doubt, however, mainly facilitated by the Chatham. death of Chatham, who died protesting to the^^' last against granting independence to America, - but insisting on all concessions short of that. In the same yea^ Sir George Savile succeeded in repeahng the three most gailing j Catholics ^^ ^^® disabilities of the Eoman Catholics, vi^., the \ punishment of their priests by perpetual impri- sonment for performing mass ; their incapacity to acquire or inherit land ; the restrictions on the education of their children, i Drifting dowN', 275 The result of this measure was that in 1780 a terrible riot took place. Lord George Gordon, accompanied by 60,000 men, presented a petition against the ^°^^o^ ^iots. tfepeal at the doors of the Houses of Parliament. From thence th6 mob rushed to the City to plunder and wreck the houses of I the principal Catholics and their well-wishers. For four days London was in the hands of a furious rabble. JSTewgate was ' burnt to the ground ; thirty-six fires were blazing in different parts of the City. The mayor and authorities seemed utterly paralyzed. At last the king, relying on the Opinion of his Solicitor-General that a soldier was Vigorous \also a citizen and could interfere to prevent the ^ing^ ^^*^^ commission of felonies even though the Kiot Act had not been read, ordered the troops out and suppressed 'the rioters by volleys of musketry. Lord George Gordon was >foohshly tried for high treason and acquitted. Undoubtedly *the king's decision on this occasion saved the City from being totally wrecked. Section L — Fall of Lord JSTorth's Mirdstry, 1779-82. By 1779 a feeling was gradually growing up in the country ^that it would be necessary after all to abandon America, and to concentrate our attention on our other enemies. The alarming .' fcambination of France, Spain, and Holland against usj the humiliating spectacle of a foreign jjorth ^^^ ^ fleet commanding the English Channel, the threatening attitude of the Northern Powers, and the disturbed state of Ireland, divided the Cabinet, and convinced even many of the country gentlemen that the king's obstinacy was rapidly ; becoming suicidal. The Opposition took advantage of this f eel- . ing. Motion after motion was brought forward • advocating Parliamentary and Economical Reform, potions for Burke became the leader of the party of Econo- jteform. mical Reform. Meetings were held in various large towns. Committees and associations were formed for agi- ' tating the question. Li December, 1779, a great meeting was held at York by the freeholders of the county; and in the next year twenty-three counties and several large towns agreed on petitions for the abolition of sinecures and the I 2 276 Events in England, reduction of exorbitant emoluments. In April Dunning suc- . , ' ceeded in carrying his celebrated motion, " fhat motSiT^ ^ ^^^^ i?j/?2ie?ice of the Crown has increased, is increas- ing, and ought to he diminished" But the House was too corrupt to admit of any more definite measures ; and all motions in favour of reform were steadily rejected. There were, moreover, divisions in the ranks of the Opposition. The Duke of Richmond advocated manhood suffrage and annual Parlia- ments. Fox wished in addition to increase the numbers of the county members. Burke went no further than Economical Reform, entirely disapproving of any change with regard to Par- liament. It was difficult for them, therefore, to unite on any scheme except under great pressure. The general election of 1780 cost the king an enormous sum; but it gave him a majority which enabled the Ministry to vigorously defeat all the measures of the Opposition till July, 1781. Then in November of that year came the terrible news of the surrender at York Town ; and North knew that it was all over. Nothing but a brilliant military triumph Ministry could have saved him ; and not one gleam of success relieved the blackness of the political horizon. His enemies swooped on him like vultures^Fox, Pitt, Burke, all united against him. Great public meetings were held at London and Westminster, and the Government was violently denounced. At last Lord North only averted a direct vote of no confidence by resigning, March 20th, 1782. His resignation marked the temporary failure of the king^s policy and, had his enemies proceeded at once to carry out vigorous reforms, Personal Government might have been de- stroyed for ever. The House was, however, really too corrupt. _, . There was no sincere desire for reform. The Opposition were satisfied with their success, and their reforms were very inadequate. In consequence the king soon recovered a portion of the power which had been wrested from him. Section 5. — Results of George's Personal Government. The king had now governed personally for twelve years. The results of his government had been the loss of a large portion of the Empire; the addition of 150 millions to the national debt ; and a long and disastrous war, in which the greater par,t tl Not to be overwhelmed.'*^ 277 of Europe had arrayed itself in the ranks of our enemies. Our supremacy of the seas was a thing of the past. Our shores were insulted hy hostile cruisers ; the country seemed on the brink of ruin. It was only the vast industrial and commercial development, the inventions of Watt and Cromp- ton, the creation of an immense system of water-carriage by canals, which averted the climax and enabled her to start once more on a career of ever-increasing prosperity. . 278 ^ Temporary Failure of the King, !il- i \ ■ 1 fSoofe T^ISL— FINAL STEUGGLE WITH THE WHIG PARTY, 1782-84. CHAPTER I. TEMPORARY FAILURE OF THE KING, 1782, 1783.. Section 1. — The Second RocTcingJiam Ministry , March, 1782— July, 1782. The Opposition which had defeated !N"orth consisted of two parties ; — the Kockingham Whigs, the lineal descendants of Walpole, Pelham, Newcastle, who represented ^® P^® f th ^^^ ^^^ corrupt system and the government of OpposUion. ^ *^® W^^g Oligarchy, but who were gradually developing into the party of Reform from which the Liberals sprang in later years ; and the Chatham Whigs, headed by Lord Shelburne, who were at this time the most enlightened of the two, and went much further than any of the Rockingham section in their advocacy of Parliamentary Reform, but who were destined later to be drawn over to the Court under the leadership of the younger Pitt. The Rockingham Whigs reckoned among their numbers, Burke, Pox, Dunning, and most of the great men of the Opposition. The Chatham Whigs had the disadvantage of a bad leader in Shelburne. Their most promising member was young Williani Pitt, who had lately come in for Appleby. The king, who hated Rockingham, Pox, and all their clan, ^made overtures to Shelburne. This party, however, was too weak to form a Ministry alone ; and it was impossible to leave out Burke and Dunning, who had played such a prominent part in A FEW Reforms, 279 the overthrow of North. A Coalition was therefore formed of hoth parties, headed by. Rockingham, and in- cluding the principal men of each, except young The king's Pitt, who haughtily refused a subordinate place. JSeiiTilu^re* The king also insisted that the Tory Lord Thur- low should be Chancellor ; and this introduced a fresh source of discord into a Ministry that was sufficiently disunited already. Eockingham required that certain measures of Reform should bg passed as the condition of his taking office. The king tried hard to evade them ; but Rockingham was firm. So, having to choose between accepting these terms and retiring to Hanover, George decided in favour of the former. It seemed a mistake that Burke should only be given the subordinate post of Pay- master ; but his eccentricities made him really unfit for power, and the oKgarchical character of the Rockingham Whigs caused him to be regarded with a certain amount of contempt owing to his obscure origin. This Ministry proceeded to pacify Ireland by timely con- cessions; open negotiations with Prance and America; and bring in a Bill for Economical Reform. This latter measure divided the CivH List into eight pj^^^g ^^^^^ classes ; restricted the number of pensions, and 1732, ' aibohshed secret pensions ; abolished certain use- less offices ; excluded Government contractors from the House of Commons ; and debarred revenue officers from voting at parliamentary elections. The disqualifying clauses were by far the most important, being aimed directly at the king's cor- rtipt influence in Parliament. The actual saving was, however, only 72,000Z. ; and the results of the measure were after all very slight. There was no real desire for Reform in theMinistry. They only wished to limit the king's influence. William Pitt's motion, therefore, for a Reform in the representative system was thrown out by a majority of twenty. They also committed themselves to the disgraceful job of granting heavy pensions to Colonel Barre and Lord Grantham on the very eve of the pass- ing of the Place Bill. ^Negotiations proceeded but slowly with the allies; for though America consented to an agreement and a cessation of hostilities, nothing could be settled openly without France ; 280 Temporary Failure of the King, the province of the Home Secretary, Shelburne ; the negotiations with France to the Foreign Secretary, Fox. The ill-will exist- ing between these two statesmen prevented any concert ; and their separate agents at Paris quarrelled over their own powers. The result was that when Eockingham died in July, matter^ came to an open quarrel. Fox refused to serve under Shelburne and retired, carrying with him Burke and nearly all the Eock- ingham party. Section 2. — The Shelburne Ministry, July, 1782 — April, 1783. The new members of the Cabinet were William Pitt, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Lord Grantham and _, . . Thomas Townshend, Secretaries of State; Lord Temple, and his brother, Wyndham Grenville., The great weakness of this Ministry lay in the extreme unpopu- larity of Shelburne. It had to deal, moreover, with a most un- scrupulous Opposition, composed of the party of Fox, who was eager for revenge, and the party of Korth, who were anxious to repay their adversaries for the hostilities of the spring. The Ministry, however, aided by the great successes of Eodney, Eliott, and Hastings, were able to conclude the faTllesrjar,' ^®^°® ^^ Versailles with the Allied Powers, on 1783. ' *' distinctly more favourable terms than had been expected earlier in the year. While the negotiations were in progress an extraordinary Factious Coalition was formed between the followers of opposition. J^orth and Fox to oppose the Government. The result was that when the Treaty was brought be-|:^ fore Parliament, it was condemned by a majority of the House of Commons, and Shelburne at once resigned. Section 3.— The Unnatural Coalition, April, 1783— i)ec., 1783. The king's policy had thus totally failed. He found himself delivered once more, bound hand and foot, into the clutches of the Whig Oligarchy. In vain he tried to get Lord ^rth or' The Ministry, ^i^^iam Pitt to form a Ministry. The former refused, and the latter saw that his time had not yet come. A Coalition Ministry therefore, headed by the Duke of Portland, and including Lord JSTorth, Fox, Burke, and Sheri- ' dan, came into office. So dictatorial was the new Cabinet, that they refused to allow the king to nominate a single Minister. "Carlo Fox Khan:' 281 . This Ministry was enormously strong in votes, oratory, and debating power. The only opposition was the remnants of the Chatham and Shelburne party, headed by William Pitt. Their numbers were small, but they in- g^io^P^"*" eluded some very able men among them, such as W» Wyndham Grenville and Scott (afterwards Lord Eldon). Still, against the vast strength of the Government they would have been powerless but for the undisguised hostility of the king towards the "Unnatural Coalition." This Ministry was undoubtedly a great shock to public feel- ing. Fox and IS'orth had been bitter political enemies, and Fox had carried his hostility to an lic^feelinl^ " unprecedented extreme of personal abuse. ' Only the year before, Fox and Burke had been the principal agents of the overthrow of North ; and yet now they were all in office together. It was such an obvious and glaring case of unprincipled place-hunting that public opinion revolted against it. The king was bitterly opposed to his new Ministers ; but there is no doubt that he regarded this Coalition as more unnatural than the preceding ones of his reign, because he had had no hand in the construction of it. The insolence of the Ministers^ however, was so outrageous that he would deserve sympathy, but for his base intrigues against them. ^ Having destroyed all claim to popular support by throwing out a very inadequate measure of Eeform, proposed by Pitt, the Ministry brought in Fox's India Bill to remedy m*^ j .. the evils existing in India, which they attributed j^n 1783 entirely to the Company. This measure trans- ferred the whole authority of the Company, and the patronage of India, to a Commission of seven, nominated by Parliament for four years ; after which they were to be appointed by the Crown. The management of commerce was to be entrusted to a Board of Directors, elected by the proprietors, under the super- vision of the Commissioners. The good intentions of Fox and Burke in bringing forward this measure are beyond dispute ; but the transaction had a very doubtful appearance. All the Gommissioners were followers of Fox. Patronage had always been a part of the royal ^^ prerogative,and this Bill was a most unwarrantable ^^^ measure, infringement on it. It really was a transference of the royal power to Fox ; and public opinion exhibited its sense of this in the caricature of Carlo Fox Khan, crowned and riding on 282 TEMPOkARY Failure of the King, an elephant. The interference with the commercial arrangements , of the Company, too, was unnecessary, and likely to be disastrous ; as the Commissioners could not possibly manage them so well as officers trained for the purpose. The arguments in favour of the Bill were that the Company . had frightfully mismanaged the government, and for the Bill. ^^^^ therefore they must be deprived of it. While it was utterly impossible for Fox, with the halo of Burke's and Dunning's motions in the preceding years still hovering faintly round him, to propose such a vast addition to the royal sources of corruption as the whole Indian patronage. The king, however, was determined not to let the Bill pass, and, relying on the extreme unpopularity of the Coalition, he had recourse to an extremely dangerous move. He tional^act?on ^^^^ 1^0^:^ Temple a letter to show to the Peers, of the king". i^ which he authorized him to say that " whoever voted for this Bill was not a king's friend, and stronger words if necessary." In consequence the Lords rejected the Bill, and the king at once dismissed the Coalition. 4^i/:- Pitt v. Fox, 283 -^■oBifa. CHAPTEE 11. , Struggle between Pitt and Fox, 1783, 1784. The king now appealed to Pitt, who came into office with a Ministry ahnost entirely composed of Peers, and supported by a minority in the Commons. A violent struggle ensued. IJn-, doubtedly the king had acted unconstitutionally in opposing the India Bill ; but Fox acted equally unconstitutionally in (jarrying votes of censure against the king's conduct, and in endeavouring to force Pitt not to dissolve. Obviously the matter ought to have been referred to the constituencies. - " Pitt, however, held the dissolution over until the p^^^ violence of the Opposition had completely dis- gusted the country, and aroused the old feeling of loyalty towards the king. The result was that, in spite of unheard- of efforts, more than 160 of Fox's friends lost their seats, and Fox had considerable difficulty in getting himself returned at' aU. Thus finally terminated the struggle between the king and the Whigs in the complete triumph of the former 3 ^ , . -^^^^t, for though Pitt s early administration was con- ^^ ^^ ^^w.^. ducted on a liberal basis, yet he could not help feeling that he rested primarily on the royal support. He therefore gradually abandoned as impracticable the measures which the king objected to ; he became identified with the royal policy, and later, under the influence of the revolutionary panic, thq leader of the Old Tory party. rf , 284 Men of the Time. CHAPTEE IIL MEN OF THE TIME. Section 1. — Edmund Burke, The life of this extraordinary man is divided into two distinct periods. During the first he was a Whig; during of^is^life^^ the second he suffered a complete transformation, and became one of the chief leaders of the re- actionary movement in favour of repression and arbitrary govern- ment, which was one of the most unfortunate results of the French Revolution. The latter period, however, is so entirely distinct from the early years of his political career, that it will be dealt with later among the other phenomena which in Eng- land attended the progress of the great convulsion on the other side of the Channel. Edmund Burke was bom in 1729 at Ballitore, not far from Dublin. He graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, and pro- ceeded thence to the Middle Temple. It was not till he was thirty years old that he began to approach the great arena of pontics. In 1759 he invented the idea of the Annual Register^ _ , a yearly chronicle of political occurrences. The most important event, however, of his early life was his obtaining the post of secretary to Lord Rockingham in 1765, which gave him an opening into the stream of political life. In the same year he was returned as member for Wendover by the influence of Lord Yerney. He made his first speech in 1766 with great success; and from that hour he became a power in the nation. He took a prominent part in the consti- tutional struggles which followed, speaking strongly and ear- nestly against the encroachments of Parliament on the liberty of the subject and ^he rights of electors in the Wilkes case. He also strongly supported the Americans, and inveighed with ex- Burke, , 285 'traordinary power against the arbitrary measures of the Govern- ment. Perhaps, however, he attained loftier heights of eloquence in his attacks on the king's ?~® ^*^ ^ secret influence, which really controlled all the actions of the Cabinet. He loudly and earnestly demanded Economical Keform as the only means of destroying this malign . element in the Constitution. His speeches on the state of the nation and the Government must be reckoned among the most ' powerful of the forces which finally expelled Lord North from office in 1782. Yet, in spite of the important part which he had played in the parliamentary struggle, he was given but a subordinate office — that of Paymaster j^^^ Ministfv V — by the Eockingham Ministry, which followed ; and though this was mainly due to his lack of family influence, it was greatly justified by his passionate and crotchety tempera- ment, which rendered him unfit for the impartial exercise of any extensive degree of power. On the death of Eockingham and the break-up of the Ministry, he followed the fortunes of Fox, and came into office once more in the ranks of the Coalition of 1783. Thrown out with his com- The Coalition, ^panions by the king's influence, he went again into active oppo- sition. The years, however, which followed were undoubtedly the most mortifying portion of Burke's troubled career. He ■^several times exposed himself to the charge of factiousness in his opposition to Pitt; he was Ministry, f found in the ranks of the minority even when Pitt brought forward measures which he had himself in earlier days approved of. He had the additional torture of ill-success, which the 'overpowering strength of Pitt rendered inevitable on aU occasions. In 1785, however, a great episode in Burke's career opened. This was the impeachment of Warren Hastings, the late Governor-General of India, for various ^ ^^^^ ,. • high crimes and misdemeanours committed during Hastings, his tenure of office. The impeachment, however, failed ; and from that time Burke, owing to the wildness of his v^Ianguage and the eccentricity of his views, became a mere ^dinner-bell to the House^ until the outbreak of the Prench Eevolution produced on him an effect almost approaching frenzy, and sent him forth to be the prophet of the new Crusade against the advancing forces of Democracy. In character he was rash, violent, headstrong, and singularly devoid of tact or taste. But his genius was of the very first .286 Men of the Time, order ; he ranks high among the highest masters of literature ; and as an orator he was surpassed only by his pupil, Charles Fox. His political views were enlightened, but arac er. ^^^ ^^^^ enlightened ; he was always hampered by his intense veneration for anything old* He considered the British Constitution the most perfect realization of the loftiest ideal, and he would have no tampering with it. Therefore, though he desired the limitation of the king's influence by Eco- nomical Reform, and the purification of Parliament by giving the electors some control over their representatives, yet he ^as opposed to any extension of the franchise, or disfranchisement of any kind, and most of all to the Radical programme of short ,*,... , Parliaments and the deleejacy of members. He Political j-^i-r i? j.T_ -1 views '^^^ strongly m favour of government by organized parties, considering that this was the OAly effec- tual means of excluding the influence of the king. In fafct, he wanted merely to deprive the king of the government, and restore it to the Whig aristocracy without any thought of ^ving the people a share of power. His intense veneration for veisted rights and established institutions led him at times into stran^ mistakes. He considered that Parliament had no right to deprive the India Company of any of its chartered privileges in 1773. He could see nothing in the French Revolution but a great political crime. His rage against- Hastings was mainly due to an utterly unreal theory of an ancient^ venerable Indian , Empire of vast extent and measureless antiquity, ^liicli the ruthless hand of the great Governor- General had outraged and insulted. He resented the crueltifes perpetrated on the Begums much more on account of their pre- 6umed ancestry, dignity, and position, than because the sufferers were defenceless women. In the " Thoughts on the thrcTu^se^^^^^ Causes of the Present Discontents "(1 7 70) he elabo- the Present lately traces the hidden machinery by which the Discontents." king was supposed to govern ; the Cabinet within a Cabinet ; the Minister of the nation checked and controlled by the Minister of the king. Whereas there was no such elaborate organization at aU. What actually happened was that whenever the king wished to throw out any measure, te informed some Earl Temple, Jenkinson, Dyson, or other of his personal friends, who sent the word round the House. In all other respects the Government was carried on by the help of ,the men whose names appeared in the list of the Cabinet. In Fox. 287 spite of these errors, however, Burke is and always will be one of the abiding names of history by the universal opinion of nil, even his political opponents. Section 2. — Charles James Fox, Charles James Fox, the younger son of Lord Holland, was bom in 1749. He began life as a Tory, and Was identified with all the most unpopular acts of the Grafton Ministry. He con- tinued in office under Lord JSTorth until 1772, when a quarrel occurred between him and the head of the Government on account of his opposition to • the Royal Marriage Act. This bteach, however, was soon healed over, and he returned to office as Commissioner of the Treasury. ^^ ®^'^^ ^^^® ' He was, however, dismissed in 1774 for a glaring act of insubor- dination in pressing on a Hbel prosecution which Lord ]S"orth wished to be dropped. Li consequence be became a prominent member of the Opposition, and attacked the Government on the American question. It is true that he had not been concerned actively in any of the measures against America, but there is no record of his having previously expressed any disapprobation. Prom this time, however, his life is connected with the history of the country. His character was a most extraordinary mixture of most that was good and bad. He was extremely warm-hearted and sweet- tempered. He possessed remarkable powers of fascination. He had much goodness of heart and natural truthfuhiess. But he was absolutely without principle. He had even an unworthy contempt for men who were guided by principle. He was accustomed to live in a perpetual round ^ ^^^^ ® ' • of excitement, without giving the slightest thought to the future. His best friends said of him, that he was a man whose example was evil, and whose very presence was contaminating. Three passions had completely mastered his soul, — women, play, and .pohtics. Yet there was something low and grovelling in the way in which he satisfied them all. His relations with women will hardly bear examination. He ruined his health and his fortune at the gaming-table. His political career was stained by factiousness, by outrageous violence, and by extraordinary .changes of policy, exposing him to the gravest suspicion. Most of the acts of his early life were discreditable to him. Ifor was it tiQ the star of his great rival had risen far above his in the 288 ME^' OF the Time, political heaven that he showed that largeness of view and single- ness of purpose which has so strongly appealed to the imagina- tion of posterity. Yet even then his last years were devoted to the pursuit of a chimera, and he died bitterly regretting a wasted, misspent career. As a politician he left very little of permanent value behind . . him. He had no knowledge of political economy, pohtical and had never read Adam Smith's '* Wealth of !N"ations," which was certainly one of the books of the day. He was a debater of the most brilliant description, far surpassing, by his lofty flights of rhetoric, the well-turned periods of William Pitt. He did, however, extremely little for his party. On one or two occasions he reduced them to the lowest depth of depression. He signally failed to win the con- fidence of the country, and on two occasions — the American and the Eevolutionary Wars — he was in direct opposition to pubHc opinion. Mr. Lecky says that much of his failure was due to "the frequent employment of language wliichy defect though eminently adapted to the immediate pur- poses of dehate, was certain from its injudidom energy to he afterwards quoted against him. Like more than one great master of words, he was trammelled and injured at every stage of his career by his own speeches. The extreme shock which the disastrous Coalition of 1784 gave to the public opinion of England was largely, if not mainly due to the outrageous violence of the language with which Fox had denounced Lord North in the preceding year." His views with regard to Par- liamentary Eef orm were at first extremely undefined ; nor was it till the outbreak of the French Revolution that they assumed a really tangible form. The consideration of this subject, however, belongs to later history. (V. p. 176). The Younger Pitt, 289 r 1 fc ^ I' I- iSoofe IX,— THE YOUNGER PITT, 1784-1806. CHAPTEE I. \ EARLY MEASURES, ITSi-SQ*. Once secured by the command of a large parliamentary majority, Pitt proceeded to deal with various matters of national interest and pressing importance. ^ He brought in a Bill to lower the duty on tea and spirits, in order to destroy the enormous system of smuggling, which had robbed the revenue of large simis. He also extended the aiuthority of the revenue officers to four leagues from the coast by the Hovering Act. Half the unfunded debt he funded, and made up tbe deficit which these measures caused by a house and window-tax, and various taxes on 'i^ancial '. commodities. He also brought forward a scheme? 1784-86. * for reducing the overgrown national debt. This' was the sinking fund. The plan was to lay aside annually a miUion, which was to accumulate at compound interest, until gradually it equalled the amount of the debt. The idea was I; really extremely successful, for it restored confidence. Econo- ^micaUy, however, it was a mistake, for the only result was that the country kept on borrowing money at high interest in order that the sinking fund might accumulate at low interest. More successful was the commercial treaty with France, which abro- gated the exclusive convention with Portugal, and established a moderate tariff for French wines. He also tried to extend the * commercial rights of Ireland to a complete equality with Eng- land, on the condition that Ireland should bear her share of the Imperial burdens. Burke and Fox, however, with shameless u 290 Early Measures. effrontery, opposed the measure, really on party grounds, and, by skilfuUy working on the selfishness of the English manufac- turers and the national pride of the Irish, caused the total shipwreck of the measure. In the year 1784 Pitt proceeded to deal with the difficult T A' question of India. A Bill drawn up by himself Bill 1784 ^^^ Dundas established a new department, called * * the Board of Control, presided over by a Secretary of State, which was to have the absolute management of aU the political business of the Company. Commerce and patronage were to be left to the Company itself, except the appointment of the Commander-in-chief and the higher officers. The first Pre- sident of the Board of Control was Mr. Dundas, Pitt's intimate friend ; the first Governor-General under the new regulations was Lord Cornwallis. With Pitt, as with Chatham, Parliamentary Eeform had always presented itself in the light of a duty. At Bill 1785 ^^® same time he recognized the great difficulty of the question owing to the certainty of opposi- tion from both the king and the borough- owners. With the view, therefore, to conciliate all parties, he brought in a measure which was at once injudicious and inadequate. He proposed to disfranchise thirty-six rotten boroughs; but he added pro- visions for giving their owners pecuniary compensation. As it was, the Bill was thrown out, and Pitt accepted this decision as final on the subject. The return of Warren Hastings m.^:f^ at once drew the attention of the country to the more stirring Impeacliment question of his impeachment for high crimes ^^tinlT committed during his tenure of office, which 1786.88-96. "^^^ brought forward by Burke. At first Pitt and his followers supported Hastings out of a feeling that he had done much for England in India; but apparently a closer examination convinced him that there was more in the charges against the late Governor-General than appeared on the face of them. The result was that a motion was carried, with Pitt's concurrence, that Warren Hastings be impeached for his conduct with regard to Cheyte Sing and the Begums of Oude. The trial itself did not begin till 1788. It was chiefly remarkable for the extraordinary oratorical dis- plays of the managers, among whom were Burke, Fox, Wind- ham, and Sheridan. After seven years of this, Hastings was Progress, 291 "SSSOT acquitted, April 23rd, 1795. Burke had failed to convict ' the man, but he had turned such a flood of inquiry on to the Government of India, that he had washed it almost clean of the jobs and iniquities of the old system. No Governor-General •would venture again to rule with the iron rod of Hastings. The year 1788 was marked by the appointment of a Par- liamentary Committee to inquire into the slave- trade. The inquiry revealed a series of horrors T^^^ ^^*i ^r"? hardly ever paralleled. The wretched slaves 33* *' were chained together neck and neck in the close stifling holds of the ships for sixteen hours ; their food was water and horse beans ; their exercise consisted in jumping on the deck under the influence of the whip. If bad weather set in, they were tossed overboard to lighten the ship. A regular Association for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade had been formed in 1787 under the inspiration of Wilberforce and Clarkson. In 1788, relying on the report of the Commit- tee, a BiU was carried through Parliament, prescribing strin- gent regulations for canying on the trade on more humane principles. In November the kin'^ was again attacked by insanity, and the Prince of Wales at once claimed the Regency as his right by the mouth of Fox. The vehemence of the Whig party, however, and the general belief that the Prince was thoroughly immoral^ enabled Pitt to successfully resist this claim of right, and bring in a Bill conferring the _ Eegency on the Prince, but with a number of j^j ^^33 hmitations — no new peers were to be created ; no pension or place was to be granted for life ; the king's person was to be left in the hands of the queen. The result being that, whereas Fox hoped that the king's illness would have led to the overthrow of Pitt, and his own advancement to power, his inju- dicious conduct had enabled his rival to completely fetter the authority of any successor whom the Prince might appoint. The ^ recovery of the king, however, destroyed the necessity for pro- ceeding with the Bill. The foreign policy of Pitt was equally vigorous and success- ful. He reopened the alliance with Prussia, which country was now under Frederic William II. He successfully resisted the claim of Spain to the whole west coast of America, and main- tained the right of England to establish settlements on Yan- couver's Island. Allied with Prussia he restored the Prince of u 2 292 Early Measures. Orange, who had been expelled from Holland by the Demo- _ . cratic party, who were filled with republican policy of Pitt, frenzy, the result of French agitation. In 1790, relying on a Triple Alliance with Prussia and Holland, he interfered vigorously in the East to prevent the destruction of Turkey by Austria and Russia. Austria was obhged to withdraw from the war ; and though Catherine 11. of Eussia refused to submit to Pitt's dictation, she eventually consented to conclude peace on comparatively far more favour- able terms than Turkey had any right to expect, 1791. During this period, therefore, England was rapidly recovering the commanding position in Europe which she had entirely lost owing to the American War. Moreover, during this period there was an extraordinary de- velopment of the material and commercial prosperity of England. Great improvements in machinery for spinning and weaving, the invention of the steam-engine, the discovery that coal could Industrial ^® ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ tended to produce a wonderful development. change. England suddenly became a manufac- turing country. The seat of industry and of popu- lation was transferred to the nortL Population increased by leaps and bounds. A large middle and mercantile class was created, which became the back-bone of the nation against the revolutionary passions which were about to convulse the whole of Europe. Early Life. 293 CHAPTEE II. WILLIAM PITT. William Pitt, the second son of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was bom at Hayes in Kent, in the year 1759. In early youth he showed extraordinary ability and precocity, which were carefuUy cultivated by Lord Chatham. At Cambridge he excited the admiration of his tutors, both by the brilliance of his genius and the assiduity ^*'^^ career, of his application. He left the University with a profound knowledge of many most various branches of study, and a re- putation as a speaker which was already considerable. In 1780 he stood for Cambridge, but came out at the bottom of the poU. In the next year, however, he was returned by the influence of the Duke of Eutland and Sir James Lowther for the pocket borough of Appleby. On entering Parliament he naturally attached himseK to the party of Lord Shelburne, who was the leader of the remnants of his father's followers. His first speech was made on Burke's Bill for Economical Ke- form, and produced a striking impression. !N'ot only did he please, but he astonished the House. Old members said that no such speech had been heard there since the days of Chatham except, perhaps, from Fox. Erom this time he was a dis- tinguished member of the Opposition which hunted North from office. When the Kockingham Ministry was formed, he haughtily refused to accept the sub- ^® 7^}^ ordinate office held out to him. And it was only 1782-83. ' by the offer of the important post of Chancellor of the Exchequer that he could be induced to join the Shel- burne Government. His talents were already so renowned that, on the break-up of the Shelburne Ministry, the king invited him to form a Government and on the dismissal of the great Coalition of 1783 it was to this stripling of twenty-four that 294 William Pitt, George committed the difiScult task of carrying on the Govern- ment in th^ teeth of the vindictive hostility of North and Fox. "What was perhaps more remarkable than all was that with a skill above his years he contrived to draw fresh elements of strength from each false move of his enemies ^^^^?&le ^j^^-j ^YiQ right time came to give them the coup and Fox ^^ grace by a dissolution. Perhaps the most crafty stroke of genius was the appointment of Colonel Earre to the Clerkship of the Pells, a rich sinecure, in exchange for the pension so scandalously bestowed on him by Rockingham. Pitt might have kept it for himself, or he might have abolished it altogether as an useful and necessary piece of Economical Eeform. As it w^s, he used it so that he acquired a reputation for disinterested purity as great as that of his father. Pitt's career, like that of Burke, is divided into two parts. During the first he was a liberal and enlightened statesman. During the second he became gradually the leader of reaction and . repression. The point of division is roughly^ 17 92, liberal views. ^^^ ^^^^ before the outbreak of the French Revo- lutionary War. Before that year he must be regarded as a reformer. He had supported Burke's views on Economical Reform in 1780-82. He had gone far beyond even Burke and Fox in his plans for Parliamentary Reform ; and in ofi&ce he redeemed his previous pledges by a Reform Bill. He had opposed the repressive policy of Lord North, and supported the cause of the Americans. He had advanced the broad theories with regard to free trade, which he had imbibed from the works of Adam Smith ; and he had endeavoured to carry them into practice with regard to Ireland. After 1792, however, he gave up all these enlightened theories ; and, though still re- maining far more liberal than his colleagues, he sufiPered himself Change after ^^ ^® caught and dragged along in the general 1792. paroxysm of terror which was aroused in England by the excesses of the French Revolution. Free trade, Parliamentary Reform, the limitation of the royal in- fluence, all became meaningless formulas to Pitt, as the leader of the party of Church and King, which, with the blind faith of the Cavaliers of old time, clung to George III. and the existing Constitution as the sole barrier against the tragedies which were being enacted on the other side of the Channel. His foreign policy, too, was marked by almost as great a change Change ly Vieivs, ■ ' 295 after 1'792. Up to that date lie had carefully avoided war; and endeavoured by a vigorous system of diplomacy . . and a close alliance toith Prussia to interfere sue- pjjigy ^^^^^^ cessfully but bloodlessly wherever he considered British interests to be threatened. At the same time he was not imbued with any Quaker theories of the injustice of war in it- self ; and he was quite prepared to enforce his interference with arms if necessary. He took up, in fact, the position of the strong man armed, whose strength and warlike demeanour are productive of respect, and hence of peace. After 1792, however, he became engaged in two long wars with France and her dependent states. His theories, however, had really suffered no change. It was the circumstances themselves which were changed. The English and French nations were determined on war, and all that was left to Pitt was to carry it on effectually. Twice, in 1796 and 1797, did he try to obtain peace ; and twice was it re- fused with every .form of insult. The blame of the war therefore scarcely rests with Pitt, but with those who provoked and maintained it for their own ends. . . 296 The French Revolution. ";■ .-'^,T CHAPTEK III. ' THE FRENCH BBVODUTIOlSr, 1789-98. , Section 1. — Sketch of the Revolution, 1789-95. In May, 1789, tlie States-General were assembled at Paris with tke Yiew of carrying out several necessary reforms, and espe- cially arranging some effective mode of supplying a revenue wherewith to carry on the Government. The management of this body, however, quickly escaped the control ReTMflution ^^ ^^^ ^i^gj ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ hands of the extreme party who would be satisfied with nothing less than a general Revolution. A Revolutionary army was soon created ; all remnants of feudal privileges abolished ; the Bastile destroyed by the mob ; a new democratic constitution established ; and finally the king became practically a prisoner in the hands of the new Government. These events soon attracted the attention of the despots of Europe, who unwisely launched empty threats at the Revolution- ists with httle result, except to afford the Revolutionary Govern- ment a pretext for declaring war, which they saw The Revolu- \^ould be the best mode of employing the danger- 1792. ' ous energy of the people. The allied forces of Austria and Prussia, however, drove back the ragged troops of the Revolution ; and issued still more threaten- ing and insulting manifestoes. At last, frenzied by rage and terror, the Paris mob rose under the leadership of the ultra party, the Jacobins, and overthrew the monarchy. From this moment the Revolution waded knee-deep in blood. The king, the queen, their own generals, aU who were suspected, or were even only suspected of being suspected, were brought in turn to the dread- ful guillotine. Ill-success was punished by instant execution. A frightful revolutionary madness, sprung from blood and terror, First Illusions. 297 took possession of the whole of France, and inspired her with preternatural strength. Flinging back the invading armies of Prussia and Austria at the battle of Yalmy, 1792, the Eepubhc poured forth her thousands over ^ran?"*^^ Europe, until the whole of the left bank of the '^*^^** Ehine from Basle to the German Ocean, and all Savoy west of the Alps had been added to her territories. Meanwhile the capital was a prey to a Terror of the most frightful description. Tragedy succeeded tragedy with horrible rapidity. In 1795, how- ever, a new constitution was estabUshed on more moderate prin- ciples ; and the executive Government entrusted to a Directory of five. Having silenced their domestic enemies by violence, this Government naturally turned to foreign aggression in order to divert the attention of the people from dangerous speculations. The year 1796 therefore saw the armies of France launched into Germany and Italy on the specious pretext of liberating those countries from the tyranny of Austria. Section 2. — Effects of the Revolution in England, The stirring events which occurred in France in the year 1789-92 were regarded with the most vivid interest in England. At first it seemed as though the French were merely following the example set by the latter country in 1688 ; were cutting off the abuses which had so long disgraced their Government ; were laying the foundations of a free and enlightened _ .. Constitution. It was natural, therefore, that these England efforts of the struggling Colossus to break the de- grading chains, which had so long held it in unworthy bondage, should be viewed with the greatest sympathy by those English- men who had devoted their lives to the improvement of their own country. It was equally natural that the violence by which these movements were attended, and the excesses which followed the earlier constitutional reforms, should alarm the Con- servative instincts of many who considered that the maintenance of order was the highest object of government, and who disap- proved of any political changes whatever, unless they were accomplished in a gradual and orderly manner. At the two extremes were two sections, whose opinions were equally danger- ous, though diametrically opposed to one another. These were the Tory party proper, headed by the king, and the Eadicals whose leader was Lord Stauhope ; the former distrusting a change, and reprobating alike the French Revolutionists and the 298 The French Revolution. -^ ^pj ' ' moderate efforts of the reforming party in England ; the latter hailing with enthusiasm the wildest constitutional vagaries of the Jacobins, and panting eagerly to imitate the example thus conspicuously set them. There was, however, no clear line of demarcation between these various sections at first. Many who admired the talent for destruction which the French had developed would have regarded it in a very different light had it manifested itself in England. Few had any of^opinion ^ ^^^ desire to substitute the tyjanny of the Jaco- bin Club for the com|^arajiyi^y mild government of George III. On the other hanS, m^y of those who proved the strongest and bitterest opponents of ^ the French Revolution had themselves in quieter times led the yan of reform in England, had advocated the broadest principles 6i toleration and free trade. On the whole, therefore, though .there was a good deal of honest enthusiasm in favour of the French people at first in both England" and Scotland, the nation was fm^tunately never really indoctrinated with French principles. For a long time Pitt wavered between the two middle parties. P'tt»a ho a From the very first he condemned the French at first. Revolution in itself, and feared that it would be followed by disastrous results. But even in the face of circumstances he hoped that the moderate party would prevail over the anarchists, and that a moderate constitutional Government on the English model might be built on the ruins of the old system. His policy towards the Revolution was one of strict neutrality. He was determined at all hazards to main- tain peace. At different times he entered into peaceable commu- nications with the Revolutionary leaders, and endeavoured to allay the distrust which the violence of their opponents in England — and especially the writings of Burke — had produced among them. With the same view he entirely refused to furnish the exiled French nobles in Germany with money to effect an invasion of France, and he peremptorily declined the invitation of Austria and Prussia to join in any demonstration, warlike or diplomatic^ against the Revolution. He still remained honestly in favour of progress ; and, though he considered that any attempt at Par- liamentary Reform in the electric state of the political atmosphere must be productive of anarchy, yet he advocated strongly the concession of relief to the Catholics, and supported a measure brought forward on the subject by Mitford in 1792. Almost to the very eve of the outbreak of war he retained a hope Pitt and Burke, 299 that peace might be maintained ; though his _. more brilliant anticipations with regard to a new Yievta^^^^ and orderly Constitution for France were vanishing rapidly from before his eyes. His sincere determination to pre- serve peace, so long as it was possible, is clearly proved by the fact that in the year 1792 he proposed a considerable reduction of the forces, and set on foot a scheme for the reduction of the interest of the national debt. Nor was it till France had announced decidedly to the world her utter disregard for inter- national obligations, and had proclaimed a Crusade against all existing Governments, that Pitt reluctantly threw in his lot with the despots of the Continent and the party of repression in England in the double war against French principles at home and abroad. One of the most important results in England of the events of 1789 was a total change in the political opinions of Burke, and a quarrel between him and Fox. Burke's intense veneration for everything that was old extended even to the mouldering antiquity of the French Constitution, and the worn-out remnants of feudal privilege which had ^^^teot been so ruthlessly swept away. He could think, opinions, of nothing but the splendour of Versailles, the beauty of Marie Antoinette ^ wheiv he saw her first, the illus- trious ancestry of her spouse, the imfuemorial age of the French monarchy ; and it seemed to him to verge on sacrilege that the hand of the destroyer should be raised against .)so much beauty, dignity, and antiquity. The inherent love of' order, which was his most prevailing characteristic, lent additional fervour to this instinctive feeling of disgust, and prejudiced his mind still more -strongly against the movement. The result was that he became inspired with a species of frenzy, which cast a strange delusive tglamour over all connected with the Revolution ; so that men and events appeared distorted and imreal,. like objects viewed in $. convex mirror. He became totally unable to perceive any good in the Revolution, or evil in what it destroyed. 'He looked hack lovingly to the painted, tawdry, licentious reign of Louis XY. as "the age of chivalry." He forgot entirely the wrongs under which the French people had groaned for centuries. He could see in the Revolution f^l^^^^^Q nothing but a great and terrible crime unrelieved Bevolution. by any redeeming feature whatever. He entirely recanted his old political creed. He gave up all attempts at 300 The French Revolution. progress as leading inevitably to the anarchy he condemned. And he set himself to compose a philippic against the Revolu- tion, with which he intended at once to open men's minds to a true perception of the dangers which surrounded them, and to call the whole of Europe to arms in support of order and esta- blished Governments. On the mind of Fox a very different impression was produced by the events of 1789, as might be anticipated from his character. With a perverseness almost as great as that of Burke, only of an exactly opposite description, he failed to see anything but unmixed good in the progress of the Revolution. fh^Revolu- "^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ greatest event that ever tion. ' happened in the world, and how much the best ! " said Fox, when the news of the destruction of the Bastile was brought to England. And again in 1792 he declared in his familiar letters to his friends that "no public event, not excepting Saratoga and York Town, ever happened that gave me so much delight " as the victory of the' French at Valmy, which compelled the forces of Austria and Prussia to evacuate France. He became the leader of the men to whom the French Revolution was a wonderful and glorious event, who regarded the war with France as wanton and wicked, and wlfo held it their duty to resist all the measures of repression which were brought in by the Government. At the same time Fox never went beyond intense sympathy with the French, and abhorrence of their would-be conquerors. He desired, it is true, a complete reform in the representative system in England, redress for the grievances of the Dissenters and Roman Catholics ; but he had no desire to adopt the sweeping programme of the extreme Radicals. And if he supported those of the latter party, who incurred the vengeance of the Government by seditious conduct, it was not because he approved altogether of their views, but because he insisted that the liberty of the press and the freedom of the subject were alike infringed by the prosecutions. The Radical party were really extremely scanty in numbers, but acquired an undue prominence owing to their demonstrative affection for the French Revolution, which was manifested most conspicuously on every possible occasion. Their leaders were two clubs, known as the Constitutional Society and the Revolution Society; the former quite a late foundation, the latter dating from the Revolution of 1688. In November, The ^'Reflections'' 301 1789, the Revolution Society held its anniversary meeting, and after listening to an inflammatory clubs *^ oration from Dr. Price on the subject of *' slavish governments and slavish hierarchies," proceeded to carry an address of congratulation to the French ^National Assembly, which "was transmitted to that body, and was received by them with the greatest enthusiasm. It was these proceedings which first aroused the ire or frenzy of Burke, and induced him, in 1790, to issue his " Reflections on the French Revolution," which attacked both the French Revolution and its English admirers, painted in the darkest colours the evils which , must spring from it, and exhorted all men to treat * 'Reflections/* it as an accursed thing. This paaiphlet, created an extraordinary sensation. It was translated into every language. It was almost venerated by the exiled nobles in Germany ; execrated by the French leaders in Paris. George III. said it was a book which every gentleman should read; and Catherine II. of Russia eventually transferred to Burke the admiration she had formerly entertained for Fox. " The sale which the work commanded was inunense ; edition followed edition in rapid succession, until about 30,000 copies had been issued. To it was due in a great measure the reaction against the sympathy with which the early movements of the Revolution had been received in England. Some writers have attributed to it the ultimate safety of Europe. Others have denounced it as a manual of despotism, a chain thrown round the neck of liberty, a barrier flung across the path of progress, which delayed the march of civilization for thirty- eight years. All, however, agree that as a literary production it ranks extremely high, and that as an appeal to the passions it is as consum- mate in power as irresistible in argument. The ** Reflections/' however, provoked a number of replies from the members of the extreme party. Sir James Mackintosh's " Yindiciae Gallise," and Thomas Paine's " Rights of Man," are the most remarkable of these; the former a temperate refutation of Burke's position, the latter a gospel of Revolution. These productions, however, were followed by wilder and more desperate j^^^-^jg^^ manifestoes, in which the whole Jacobin creed of manifestoes, murder and destruction was set forth in all its hideous nakedness; and the rise of the reactionary feeling in England may as justly be attributed to alarm at the extravagance of the Radical party as to the influence of Burke. Undoubtedly 302 The French Revolution, it was tlie violence of these publications which produced the first repressive measures of Pitt, and which frightened many of the Whigs into Toryism; among others the Prince -of Wales and the Duke of Portland. The Eadicals, however, were never a large party ; and the feeling of the people was distinctly againstt them. This feeling was strongly shown in Conservative Birming-^ ham in 1791, when the infuriated mob attacked Feeling ^^^ gutted the house, laboratory, and library of Badicals. -'^^' Priestley, one of the most prominent leaders of the Eadical party, solely on account of his political views : nor could he obtain adequate compensation from a British jury. The great mass of the nation, in fact, went with the Church and King ; and it was only the noisiness of the extreme party which made them appear formidable. The immediate result of the French Eevolution, therefore, in England was to divide the country once more into two distinct parties of Whigs and Tories. The new Tory parties^ ^^ P^'i'ty consisted of those who, alarmed at the extravagance of the French, rallied round the king as the only barrier against similar excesses, and determined to resist all attempts at reform of any kind in this country, for fear that it should prove, as in France, but the prelude to a bloody Eeign of Terror. This party at first included only the remnants of the king's friends, the country gentle- Tory party. inen, the propertied classes, and the Tories gene- rally. It was powerfully reinforced by the acces- sion of Burke and many other Whigs, who, while strongly approving of progress in itseK, sacrificed it readily to the cause of order. Lastly, Pitt himself, the Duke of Portland, and. the personal followers of both, were driven to swell the ranks of the Tories, when the outbreak of war swept away the thin constitutional illusions with which they had endeavoured to invest the savage figures of the French leaders. They fancied they had to choose between repression and anarchy ; and the choice was easily made. From this moment repression became the order of the day, and all chance of constitutional progre^?. was deferred for over a quarter of a century. On the other side, however, there grew up a new Whig party of very diverse elements. There was the extreme wing of the The new Eadicals, who, headed by the Revolution Socieiy,^ Whig party. ^^^ Constitutional Society, and the London Gor^^ responding /Society, sympathized entirely with SjSCTIOJVS OF THE WlilGS. 303 ----- — ^ ■ - _ ^ the French; congratulated them on the destruction of the monarchy in August, 1792, and even approved cf the massacres ■with which that event was consummated. In Dundee, in Sheffield, and various towns, riots broke out under the in- fluence of this party in the year 1792; trees of liberty were planted in imitation of the French, and efforts were made to corrupt the soldiers. In 1793 an attempt was even made to establish a Convention in England and Scotland on the model of the French republican Government. Writings were issued of the most seditious and blasphemous character, in some cases even venturing to draw a distinction between the killing a king and the crime of murder, and holding up to public admiration the deeds of Brutus and other tyrannicides. It was the violence of this section which brought discredit on the whole Whig party, and which rendered repressive measures almost necessary. Next to them came the section headed by Fox, small in numbers and declining in influence, who admired in theory the whole progress of the Kevolution, who denounced the war against it as wicked and wanton ; but who had no desire to assassinate King George, or to establish a republic in England, or to massacre the principal men of the Government. Higher still in the scale came the third section headed by men like Mr. Grey (afterwards Lord Howick and Earl Grey), who, setting aside entirely the question of the excellence or unmixed evil of the French Eevolution, maintained that the panic which had resulted from it was \7hoUy unreasonable ; that there was no fear of its influence extending to England in any dangerous shape ; and that there- fore there was no reason for refusing to pursue the path of Con- stitutional Eeform in a moderate and peaceful manner. The great question of Parliamentary Eeform, in fact, was the bond of union between the three sections of the Whigs; and it was the common sympathy of the moderate Whigs on this topic with the Eadicals which enabled the writers of the Anti-JacoUn a magazine of strongly anti-revolution principles, to represent them as aU equally eager to show their admiration for the reign of Blood and Terror existing in France, by setting up an English republic on the murdered corpses of the king and loyalists. Unfortunately, too, the opinions of the Anti- Jacobin be- came the opinions of the great majority of Englishmen. The cause of Eeform was viewed with abhorrence and fear by most as an insidious advance towards Eevolution. Pitt and the more moderate men even considered that the extreme danger of the 304 The French Revolution, question must render it a sealed book, at least until a stable Government should be established in France. TTnfortuiiate Grey and his party, while maintaining the results of the i^ecessity for Eef orm and the iniquity of post- ary violence, poning it, recognized, after two overwhelming defeats in 1793 and 1797, the utter uselessness of pursuing the question in the then hostile state of the nation. The cause of Keform therefore fell wholly into the hands of the Radicals after 1797, by whom it was disgraced and discredited for over twenty years, with the disastrous consequence of strengthening the almost imiversal belief in the dangerous nature of the movement. The formation of these two parties may be dated in the year 1792, when Pitt first began to abandon the attitude of neutrality which he had hitherto assumed. In the preceding year, 1791, he had refused to agree to act with Austria and Prussia against Prance. At the opening of the year 1792 he Peaceful -j^g^^^ proposed the diminution of the national views of Pitt £ ix. J 4.V 4. 4.1 till 1792 forces, on the ground that there was every pro- spect of a durable peace. He had supported, though unsuccessfully, a measure for the abolition of the slave- trade. He had agreed to Pox's Libel Act, which handed over to the jury the duty of deciding whether any asserted libel was actually libellous or not. Altogether he gave no sign of yielding to the reactionary feeling of which Burke was the apostle. In August, however, the French monarchy was overthrown, and this event was received with an outbreak of joy by the clubs and corresponding societies in England. It was the violence of these societies which first called for measures of repression. In April Pitt had refused to agree to Parliamentary Reform. In May a proclamation was issued, warning the people h^s^Jalf ^^n^ against seditious writings. This action of the 1792. Government produced a strong protest from M. \ Chauvelin, the French Ambassador, who was bent on quarrelling with the Government, and who therefore in- sisted on behaving in a manner unprecedented on the part of an ambassador, and which called forth sharp rebukes from the Foreign Minister, Lord GrenviUe. Our diplomatic relations with France were in a very irregular and unsatisfactory state at the close of the year, owing to the fact that there was no properly accredited Minister for the new Republic in England, and that M. Chauvehn, who still remained, persisted in acting with the Dripting into War. 305 utmost insolence and hostility to the Government. The year ended stormily ; riots had broken out in many great towns ; the tone of the societies became more darkly threatening and seditious. In December, therefore, Pitt considered it necessary to call out the militia, and to pass a severe Alien Act, January 4, 1793, requiring that all aliens in England should register themselves and obtain passports. These precautions were fol- lowed by more stringent measures. The exportation of aU materials of war, the introduction and circulation of French paper money, the exportation of corn to French ports, were strictly prohibited. These regulations were directly hostile to France, but they were iustitied by the inveterate enmity which the Jacobin leaders entertained for England, and which was faithfully reflected in the conduct of M. Chauve- hn. The two countries, in fact, were at last, in jg^^^^ ^"^93 January, 1793, facing one another broadside to broadside. The question was, which would fire first. Section 3. — Causes and Justice of the War. * The French in 1792-93 made much the same mistake with regard to the extreme party in England, as the Pretender in 1745 had made with regard to the Jacobites. Both thought that the party which sympathized with them included the mass of the nation. The men of the Revolution were accustomed to receive addresses of congratulation, sympathy, and envy, from the Kadical clubs ; the din of party politics penetrated to their ears, and gave them the erroneous impression that a large body of the prominent men of the country were discontented «-. ^ ^ * with the existing Government; they heard of the Jacobius. meetings, speeches, and publications of the most seditious character, and, in their ignorance of the freedom of the British Constitution, they considered that it was only the weak- ness and unpopularity of the Government which prevented stringent measures of repression. They imagined that these out- breaks were the effects of a deep-rooted feeling, which would lead eventually to the same Revolutionary results which had fol- lowed similar symptoms in France. They did not understand that the great majority of the nation were silently hostile to such movements ; that it was only Pitt's disinclination to believe in their dangerous nature which prevented their being suppressed with the general approval of the mass of the people ; that Eurke, X 306 The French Revolution. and not Fox, was the representative of national feeling ; and that many of those who professed most loudly their sympathy with the Revolution had no intention whatever of emulating it in any way. Under this mistaken impression, the French leaders considered that they might disregard England in the scale of Europe ; for that there they would find a nation of friends panting to throw off the yoke which weighed them down and join hands across the Channel with republican France. The idea of liherating England therefore became a favourite project. Engagements were entered into with the Radical Clubs ', and the French Minis- ter of Marine even had the audacity in 1792 to issue a pabHc declaration to the fleet that they were about to carry fifty thou- sand caps of liberty to their "brethren in Eng- Violent con- land." This absurd piece of bombast might well EnL'land have been treated as mere raving. On the 15th of December, however, in the same year the Con- vention had proclaimed that " in every country that shaU be occupied by the armies of the French Republic, the Generals shall announce the abolition of all existiug authorities ; of nobility, of serfage, of every feudal right and every monopoly ; they shall proclaim the sovereignty of the people, and convoke the inhabi- tants in assemblies to form a provisional Government. The French nation will treat as enemies any people which, refusing liberty and equality, desires to preserve its Prince and privileged castes, or to make any accommodation with them." These fantastic threats acquired a stern reality from the acts of the Convention. Its agents were actively engaged in stirring up disaff'ection in every country. It had ordered the annexation of Avignon, Mce, and Savoy, without the slightest shadow of a pretext except vague declamation about the liberation of the people from the chaias of tyrants. It had occupied Belgium, - . and ordered that the navigation of the Scheldt the Scheldt. should be thrown open, in spite of the clause in the Peace of Utrecht which prohibited it, and which had been guaranteed by England. To go to war in sup- port of a Dutch monopoly — for the shutting of the Scheldt had be^en arranged in the interest of Dutch commerce — would have been ridiculous, though there can 'be little doubt that such a glaring infringement of the Peace of Utrecht would have pro-, duced war earlier in the century. It added, however, one more insult to the series of outrages lavished on England, which were IVar. 307 .gradually raising the blood of the nation to boiling-point, and bid fair to force the hand of Pitt. Then in January, 1793, 'came the news of the execution of Louis XVI. ; and a thrill of indignation ran through the length and Execution of breadth of England. From that moment the jan"2f 1793 nation was deteruained on war; nor could Pitt ' ' . possibly have averted it any longer had he desired to do so, even if the Convention had not precipitated matters by formally declaring war on England and Holland, February 1, 1793. The preceding account is sufficient to prove the Justice of the war ; for when can war be waged on more just and honour- able grounds than to protect the interests of a country's allies, and to resist the aggression of an insolent enemy ? It is true ^ that Fox was in the right when he declared that the real cause of the war was not the opening: of the Scheldt „. or the annexation of Savoy, but the decree of :^^ . December 15 and the execution of the king. The struggle was, in fact, a war against opinion ; but it was not such a war as Burke would have had it ; — a war of no compromise with the Eevolution, a war to restore the Bourbons. It was a war to resist the propagation by force of arms of opinions which were subversive of order, of morality, of Christianity, and es- tabhshed governments ; and such opinions were more dangerous iliidoubtedly than even the aggressive ambition of despotic sovereignties, for they were supported by a whole people in arms, and endowed with the preternatural strength of revolu- tionary madness, ^ Fresh from their feudal fetters newly riven, ■^ \ Defying earth and confident of heaven. " No more serious, no more sufficient ground of war," sums up Mr. Fyffe, " ever existed between two nations ; yet the event proved that with the highest justification for war, the highest wisdom would yet have chosen peace. England's entry into the war converted it from an affair of two or , 4hree campaigns into a struggle of twenty years, inexpedient. resulting in more important changes than any which the Convention, with aU its wild professions, ever pnagined itself about to effect." War, however, in the then excited state of the two nations was inevitable ; and the accession of England to the Coalition of Austria and Prussia X 2 308 The French Revolution, against France was followed shortly by the adhesion of all the Mediterranean States as well. The discordant elements of the Old World seemed to lose all memory of their ancient quarrels in the presence of a common and incalculable danger. England, Prussia, Austria, Sardinia, Naples, Spain, and the Empire — old friends and old enemies — all united in the First Coalition against Revolutionary France. Bedim L—The First Coalition, 1793-97. / The entry of England into the continental war proved of no avail to stop the triumphant course of the French armies. In 1793 the united forces of Austria and England, which had invaded the Netherlands, were driven hack along Expulsion of the whole line, and compelled to retreat to Hol- tlie Cralition land. Similar reverses befell the Prussian army ffhSi 1793 ^^ Alsace ; and thus the French found themselves victorious all along the frontier. These suc- cesses enabled them to reduce a royalist insurrection in La Yendee with terrible slaughter, and to drive the English out of Toulon, which had been seized by Admiral Lord Hood. The year 1794 was marked by further successes on the part of the French. Prussia practically withdrew in order to dispute with Eussia the provinces of bleeding Poland. The English and Anstrians were once more driven out of the Netherlands— the former into Holland, and the latter to the Ehine. This was followed in 1795 by the invasion of Holland, the French expulsion of the English, and the creation of a Holland* °^ Batavian Republic amid the wildest enthusiasm 1794-95.* ^^ ^^® people. At the same time the Sardiaians were thrust back beyond the Alps, and the road opened into Italy. The result was that Prussia and Spain con- cluded peace with France, and that many of the small states of Germany declared their neutrality. Only England, Austria, and Sardinia agreed to continue the war. Great, however, as were these disasters, Pitt had really good reason to be satisfied with the result of the war. Like his father, Chatham, he looked, not so much to victories on the Continent as the highest result of the war, but to the extensioii Greater England,'' 309 of that colonial and maritime Empire which was destined to develop into a " Greater England " of such vast proportions in the nineteenth century. Just as True meaning Chatham had subsidized Prussia, Hesse, and Eneland Hanover, to occupy the attention of the Erench in Grermany, while the English JBleets destroyed the marine of .France and Spain, and annexed colony after colony in all parts of the two hemispheres, so Pitt had taken into pay the greater part of the armies of the Coalition in order that, while the con- tinental nations were exhausting themselves in internecine strife, England might gain undisputed mastery of the seas and irresis- tible supremacy in the New World. The event had justified his expectations. In 1793 the Erench lost all their settlements in India. In the same year the burning of the arsenal and ships at Toulon by the fleet under Lord Hood had almost crippled the French maiiue. Corsica had flung off the unwelcome yoke of the Erench Eepublic and received the English with open aims. A terrible defeat had been inflicted on a French fleet under Yillaret Joyeuse and Jean Bon St. Andre, not far off the west coast of France by Admiral Lord Howe anJ the Channel Squadron, on the First of June, 1 794. The Endish had thus established their supremacy ^^^^1 ^^^ . colonial on every coast ; the western Mediterranean was successes practically becoming an English lake, and the 1793-95. French West Indian Islands were rapidly falling a prey to the English ships. The very successes of the Erench supplied the English with fresh opportunities for new acquisi- tions. , The proclamation of the Batavian Republic was followed by the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope, 1795, and the occu- "^f ation of the valuable island of Ceylon, which had long been considered by many statesmen necessary to the maintenance of our position in India, 1796. Less successful had been an attempt to take advantage of the royalist feeling which was well known to exist in Brittany and La Vendee. An expedition was sent Q^J|,^^on to Guiberon to co-operate with the Vendeans in an expedition, attack on the Eepublican garrison. The expedition, 1795. however, was badly managed. The English com- mander, a stiff red-tapist of the " Wooden-pole-with-cocked-hat- on-the-top-of-it" species, did not understand the undisciplined enthusiasm of the peasants which did not at all accommodate itself to the precise views of the parade-ground. He distrusted 310 The French Revolution, his wild allies, and the wild allies began to despise him in turn- The result was that jealousies and quarrels broke out between the heads of the two forces, that the rebels remained dangerously and unusually inactive, and that one night Hoche and his Ee- publican army came upon them all by surprise and drove them into the sea. But though the war had been so successful at sea, the burden of taxation began to be felt very heavily in England owing to the vast sums expended in subsidies and matmel. The early enthusiasm, therefore, which had rendered the war inevitable, began to die away after 1794, and was succeeded by an eager desire for peace among the lower classes. Pitt, therefore, recog- nizing this feeling, took advantage of the estab- Overtures for Ushment of the Government of the Directory on ftised n"96 what appeared to be a more firm and moderate basis than the previous Eevolutionary Govern-' ments, to open negotiations for a peace, March, 1796. These overtures he repeated again in the autumn of the year. But in each case the stumbling-block proved the Netherlands, which Pitt insisted must be restored to Austria. This the Directory utterly refused to consent to, and at last, in the ihost insulting manner, ordered the English envoy. Lord Malmesbury, to quit Prance at once. The prosecution of the war, therefore, became necessary, nor could England have withdrawn now with honour. The chief importance of these negotiations is that they entirely acquit Pitt of the charge of unnecessarily prolonging the war, which was reiterated against him by Fox and a few supporters, and throw the blame wholly and solely on the Directory. The truth was that the Erench people were so accustomed to regard Pitt as " a demon " and England as "the enemy of the human race," that the Directory considered any negotiations with this country as a very dangerous experiment which might produce the overthrow of their power. The extraordinary triumphs, moreover, which had followed the advance of their army into Italy under Napoleon Buonaparte might well have unduly elated even more moderate and rational politicians. The year 1796 had given ^NTapoleon possession of the whole of Italian cam- North Italy after a series of brilliant and startling paigii,1796- successes, and though the Archduke Charles of ^*^' Austria had driven the Erench armies out of Ger- > many, the triumphs of Napoleon recalled him hastily to defend the Alpine passes which led into the southern provinces of the Aus-. Cape St. Vincent and Camperdown. 311 — ■ - - ' trian dominions. In 1797, however, Napoleon started once more on a career of singular glory and baseness. A rapid advance into the Austrian territories was followed by the complete submission of the haughty emperor, and in October, 1797, the Peace of Gampo Tormio was concluded between ^®^ce of France and Austria, by which, in consideration Formio 1797. of receiving the territories of Venice — an inde- pendent, friendly power — Austria acknowledged the right of France to annex the N etherlands and the left bank of the Khine, and to protect the dependent states created in Holland and Italy. Therefore, of aU the original members of the First Coahtion, England was the only one who still continued the war. '■ Meanwhile in 1796 an attempt had been made to throw a Legion noire of released galley-slaves on to the coast of Pembrokeshire, which was easily repulsed Attempted by the militia under Lord Cawdor. A similar ^Jgiand^ expedition had set sail for Ireland, but had been yi^^, dispersed and compelled to retreat to Brest. Eng- land, however, had to encounter a greater danger in 1797. Treaties with Spain and the Batavian Eepublic had placed no less than seventy ships at the disposal of the French, and this accession of force enabled them to once more seriously dispute with the English the supremacy of the seas. A combined plan of campaign was arranged. The Spanish ships were to sail north and pick up the French fleet off Brest, the Dutch fleet off the Texel. The united squadrons would ■^'^^^^P^^^j then ride supreme in the Channel. Admiral Sir England John Jervis, however, and his subordinate. Com- ^797^ modore Nelson, sailed to meet the Spaniards, came in sight of them off Cape St. Vincent, February 14th, and, though the forces of the enemy were vastly superior, attacked and inflicted a severe defeat on them which compelled them to retire to Cadiz. The plan had thus faUen through. The dan^ ger, however, was still very great, for not only were the French and Dutch fleets preparing to sail, but alarming mutinies broke out among the seamen, at Spithead and the Nore, which tem- porarily crippled the English marine. Firmness and moderation combined, however, allayed the discontent, and brought back the fleets to their allegiance before the enemy had discovered the weakness of the English. And so in October a briUiant victory tron by Admiral Duncan over the Dutch fleet off the coast of 312 The I^rench Revolution. Camperdown restored the English supremacy of the seas, and destroyed all danger of invasion. Section 5. — Repressive Measures in England, 1793-97. There can he little doubt that, when Pitt first entered on his policy of repression, the feeling of the English people was strongly n favour of it. The nation had the most thorough confidence in Pitt; they had been exasperated and terrified by the tragedies which they had witnessed in France. In consequence a sort of panic took possession of them, and they committed themselves blindly into the hands of the Government for protection fidence in^^" against any repetition of these horrors in England. Pitt, 1793. Their confidence was chiefly shown in the readi- ness with which they submitted to increased taxation, and subscribed vast loans for the war. The commer- cial classes, in fact, were decidedly desirous of war. In Parlia- ment, moreover, Fox's supporters had dwindled down to forty-one. It was hopeless to bring forward motions condemning the war, or advocating Parliamentary Reform, for they were now invari- ably thrown out by large majorities. The general confidence in Pitt was increased by the skill with which he tided over a financial crisis in 1793, which was produced by reckless banking and overtrading, and the export of large sums in the form of subsidies to foreign powers. Pitt saw that there really was plenty of wealth in the country, but that a great deal of the metal currency had been withdrawn from circulation, and this had caused a temporary scarcity of the medium of exchange. He therefore stayed the panic, which was setting in with great violence, by issuing bills on the Exchequer to the value of ^y^ millions to those merchants who could prove their solvency and give security. These bills became a form of paper currency resting on the credit of the nation ; which, being received and passing as money, gave the necessary relief to the exhausted metal currency. The change in Pitt's poUcy was shown by numerous repressive statutes and State prosecutions, which were aU directed against the extreme party. The most important of the former was the Traitorous Correspondence Act, which extended Repressive the oifence of high treason to all who supplied me^a^sures, a,ny arms, military or naval stores to the enemy ; all who purchased lands in. France ; all who Repressive Measures. 313 had any intercourse with France without special licence under the Great Seal. The second of these offences would seem entirely fanciful were it not that the sale of land was the chief support of the French Government at this time ; and that there- fore buying land in France would really be indirectly strengthen- ing the hands of the enemy. This Act was followed by numerous State prosecutions for seditious meetings and seditious writings. With France in the agonies of a Democratic Ee volution an English Minister might well feel a certain amount of alarm at the almost unlimited licence permitted to wild incendiary tongues and pens in Eng- land ; and desire to check it by striking wholesome terror into the hearts of the offenders. But such prosecutions ought to have been managed with the greatest care. The selection of a few prominent offenders for summary punishment might have awed the whole horde of scurrilous pens into silence at once ] but the indiscriminate indictment oi a host \iqj^^ 1793 of minor offenders could produce nothing but an undesirable appearance of persecution. As it happened, the Government managed the work of repression with great indis cretion. Men were indicted for treason for merely selling the works of Thomas Paine, for abusing the Government, for posting up handbills referring to Parliamentary Keform, for announcing that the Fleet Prison would shortly be to let owing to the aboli- tion of all Bastiles by the French Kevolution. The charges on which the prisoners were brought to trial were often trivial enough in themselves to render the prosecution wholly unjusti- fiable I but the maimer in which they were conducted was still more unjustifiable. The judges were openly and obviously pre- judiced in favour of the Government ; they usually summed up strongly against the prisoner ; some even bewailed the fact that they could not inflict a heavier penalty than the law prescribed. The folly and extravagance of the judges was especially shown in the trial of one Muir, who was indicted for ^^.^^ ^^ ^^^.^^ spreading the works of Thomas Paine. The head 1794 of the Scotch Bench entered into a dissertation against Universal Suffrage, and laid down the doctrine that the landed interest alone had a right to be represented. These pro- ceedings were shortly followed by the prosecution of the mem- bers of a supposed National Convention, which had been esta- blished in Edinburgh in imitation of the French. Euffians like 314 The French Revolution, these deserved no sympathy, and met with none when they were sentenced to be transported for fourteen years ; Reaction \^yy^ ^^^ obvious unfairness of many of the other Government trials produced a reaction against the Government, 1794. ' and tended to divide the propertied classes de- cidedly from the non -propertied. In 1794, — so little successful had been the poHcy of the Government — the English Eadicals established a Convention^ which appears to have been of a far more dangerous kind than its Scotch predecessor. The workmen in the large towns were stirred up, and formed into regular clubs. The The Eng-hsh manufacture of arms and secret drilling went 1794^ * rapidly forward. Proofs were discovered later among the papers of this Convention of a definite plan to overawe Parliament as the Jacobin Club had overawed the French Assembly. Before, however, matters had gone any dangerous lengths the Government swooped down on the secret traitors ; ilie Habeas Corpus Act was suspended ; and the leaders, of the Convention, twelve in number, among whom were Hardy, Thelwall, and John Home Tooke, were arrested and put on their trial for high treason. This last move was a great mistake. The conspirators had undoubtedly committed a grave ojffence, which could hardly be passed over with impunity ; and it was highly desirable that they should be punished. They were not, however, technically guilty of treason on any head ; and this fact enabled their counsel, Erskine, to make an impas- Trial and sioned appeal to the jury on the danger of suddenly acquittal of ^^^ arbitrarily enlarging the scope of the Treason tne Conven- -^ t*!. • -xi. i i xi. tion leaders. l^-aws. ine prisoners were acquitted ; and the Government sustained a moral defeat ; while the wild enthusiasm with which the acquittal was received by the mob showed how dangerous a split had arisen between class and class in consequence of these violent measures. At the same time the acquittal was a good thing. A conviction could only have exasperated the extreme party, and led to more violent outbreaks. The firmness of the jury revived the confidence of the people in the safeguards for the liberty of the subject, which had been so dangerously shaken by the action of the executive. Good results ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^® ^^ acted as a warning to the Government, and undoubtedly induced a less arbi- trary tone in dealing with the popular discontent in the troubled years which followed. Repressive Measures. 315 In July, 1794, the Tory party was consolidated by the acces- sion of the Duke of Portland and his friends, who were admitted to some of the best places in the Portland Ministry. Pitt was thrown in consequence more J^\^? ^^® than ever into the hands of the war party, at a J^g^"^^^' time when a general feeling was rising among the lower classes in favour of peace, owing to the heavy burden of taxation involved by the war, and the distress and suffering which were the results. This feeling tended to draw more sharply the line between class and class. In 1795, however, the Government still persevered with the same policy at home and abroad. The war was prosecuted with the utmost vigour. The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was renewed. And in consequence of a great increase in sedi- • tious writings and meetings, and of riots in London and other towns, the Attorney-General brought in two coercive statutes known as the Sedition and Treason Bills. The first required that every public meeting should be statutes 1795. advertised by a paper signed by resident house- holders, and empowered any magistrate to disperse a meeting at his own discretion without the formality of reading the Kiot Act. The second attached the penalties of treason to seditious writing, preaching, and speaking, and affixed heavy punish- ments to the crime of writing or speaking against the Govern- ment. These bills were strongly opposed by the Whigs^ but without any effect. In 1796 Pitt began to be influenced by the prevailing desire for peace. He had hitherto resisted it on the _ , , OvfiFtures tor ground that all negotiations were hopeless until peace 1796. some settled form of Government was established in France. The Directory had the appearance of a comparatively regular and settled Government, and Pitt took advantage of this to open negotiations with France twice in 1796, with little result in each case but insolence from the Eepublican leaders. From this moment a change came over the feeling of . « ^ ^^^^^ the people with regard to the war. Pitt's over- ^^„ ^f loyalty. tures, unsuccessful in themselves, had shown the nation that peace was impossible, that France was bent on aggression, and that the continuance of the war was becoming a necessity. THe threats of invasion, which followed, excited the spirit of the nation against the insolent Eepublicans. And when a third overture had been rejected in 1797 with every 316 The French Revolution, form of insult, the nation went strongly with Pitt in favour of the war ; and the seething discontent, which had appeared so dangerous, became gradually transformed into an enthusiastic spirit of loyalty towards the king and Government. At the same time the Ministry found themselves beset with dangers and difficulties in the year 1797 before the effects of this change had become apparent. The first was a fresh financial crisis due to the enormous ex- . port of money from England. There was no real crisis 1797 ^^ wealth \ that had been proved by the im- mediate response which had met Pitt's repeated demands for loans to carry on the war. The explanation lay in the fact that money had been paid to foreign countries to buy provisions to compensate for the badness of the English harvests; that vast sums had been sent to the continental Powers in the form of subsidies ; and that the almost total cessation of trade had prevented any money coming into the country. The result was an alarming decrease in the circulating medium and a panic of much the same kind as that of 1793'. In fact on Saturday, February 20th, there was only 1^272,000^. in the Bank cellars, and demands were coming in so fast that it was impossible that the Bank could last over more than forty-eight hours. The Executive, therefore, interfered ; a Proclamation was issued for- bidding cash payments of more than thirty shil- cashTay!'' ^^^^ ^^ *^^ ^^^- ^his was agreed to by the ments. merchants, who promised to accept bank-notes as legal tender. This stoppage of cash payments was intended as a temporary measure for seven weeks, but it continued in operation for twenty-two years, and during the whole of the time the burden was cheerfully borne by the people, and the depreciation of the notes was very slight indeed. The danger, however, caused by the two mutinies at the Nore and Spithead was much greater, for they temporarily incapaci- tated our great instrument of defence at a time when France, Spain, and Holland, were arranging an united invasion of Eng- Spithead ^^^^' ^^^ Spithead Mutiny was based on the Mutiny, 1797. grievances of the seamen, whiph were very real. Their pay and pensions were still at the same rate as in the reign of Charles II., though prices had risen some thirty or forty per cent, since then, and the pay of the army had been proportionately increased. The officers, too, were appointed Spithead and the No re. 317 and promoted chiefly by interest, and endowed with absolute} ' ' " power, which was at times used very arbitrarily. The whole naval system was vilely arranged ; the accommodation and pro- visions of the sailors were extremely bad ; peculation was rife in every department of the service. The Spithead fleet, therefore, suddenly refused to obey orders, appointed delegates from every ship, and drew up a petition of grievances for the Admiralty. The Admiralty had sufficient sense to see the justice of the petition \ the popular Lord Howe was sent down to allay the mutiny, in which he was successful ; and an Act of Parliament was passed to secure redress of the grievances complained of, and especially to make some salutary changes with regard to the official system. TJie Mutiny at the Nore was of a more dangerous, because of a more political, character. Headed by a man called Parker, the mutineers demanded a revision Kore^^797 of the Articles of War, an increase of prize-money, and the dismissal of unpopular officers. The mutiny became so dangerous that the most vigorous measures had to be taken. The mutineers, however, finding themselves blockaded in the Thames, and meeting with no sympathy on shore or in the other fleets surrendered. They were treated with great leniency, and only four or five, including Parker, were hanged, for the reality of their grievances was too apparent. All through both mutinies the utmost loyalty was shown to the king. All attempts at treason were sternly repressed, and at the end the men returned to their duty as loyally and honestly as before. The result of the year, therefore, was to greatly strengthen the hands of the Minister by showing the real loyalty of the country, and enable him to make prompt ^^^® of loyal • . and uauional and extraordinary preparations for the invasion feeling. which seemed imminent in the spring of 1798. The failure of the last negotiations with France, which had been opened at Lisle, convinced the mass of the intelligent and weU-informed that Pitt had been reluctantly forced into the war, and was sincerely anxious to end it. The victories of the fleet revived the national enthusiasm, which had sunk very low owing to the failures of the army in Flanders. So " the public spirit and loyalty of the people mounted high, and the danger which, for a time, had threatened the monarchy, no longer alarmed the existing generation." State prosecutions became rarer and rarer, and though the coercive laws were not removed 318 The French Revolution. from the statute-book, yet at the beginning of the next century we find the curious transformation that the English Ministry take up the position of maintaining the freedom of the English press against the French Government's demand for repressive measures and arbitrary prosecutions. 1 Ireland, 319 CHAPTER IV. THE tJNION OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND, 1782—1800. Section 1. — Necessity for the Union. The state of Ireland had been gradually growing worse since 1782. All the old evils remained and new ones were intro- duced. The party which had triumphed on that occasion was the Protestant aristocracy. They had turned the noble army of Volunteers to political ends ; they had made the patriotic aspirar tions of the people subserve their own base and selfish interests. They had succeeded — but at the price of the sympathy of the people. The Volunteers had gradually dwindled away. Power fell entirely into the hands of a few jJ^^j^^J*® ®' great families, who monopolized the places and 1782-92! profits of the administration, and desired to rule the ■ country themselves and for themselves. The Parliamentary system became more and more corrupt ; while all attempts at Reform were rejected by this aristocratic clique. The English Government could only maintain any influence in the Parliament by means of direct bribery of every kind ; and on some occasions the Irish Houses, led by the dominant aristocracy, had shown an utter incapacity to appreciate the true bearing of imperial ques- tions, and had acted in direct opposition to the decisions of the English Parliament. Had Ireland been as far off as Canada or America, Home ' Rule would not only have been useful, but could not possibly have had any harmful bearing on England. Special laws, special tariffs, innovations of almost any kind, in Canada could not afiect England in the slightest provided the relation be- tween the two countries was duly maintained. Ireland, however, was far too near to allow Irish legislation and Irish action to be a matter of no importance to England. If Ireland, which is 320 The Union of England and Ireland. separated from England by only a narrow channel, was to be permitted to pass protective tariffs while England Ho^e^Eule. ^^ introducing free trade, to admit universal suflrage while England maintained the franchise . at a certain height, to vote whether or no she would bear her share of wars in which England might engage, to debate on the question of independence ; then the integrity of the British Em- pire would have been destroyed. Moreover the Irish are and have proved themselves totally unfit to govern themselves. They must therefore, on breaking free from England, have relapsed - into a state of anarchy, which would have rendered them an easy prey to a foreign Power. The geographical position of Ireland entirely forbids the possibility of our ever .allowing her to become dependent on a foreign Power. The result therefore would have been a long and bloody war to recover what we had so tamely given up. The existence of Home Eule in Ireland, therefore, presented the continual menace of separation which we could never allow. Moreover the principles, of the dominant Oligarchy were extremely degraded. Their one object was to get as much as they could in the way of profit and promotion. Corruption was carried to such an ex- tent that men openly boasted that they had never given an honest vote. All attempts at Eeform or at grant- the^TJnion.^^ ing toleration to the CathoKcs were resisted steadily. The Aristocracy, therefore, had no claim on the country ; they had given no sign of any talent for go- vernment ; they had shown themselves utterly incapable of taking a large and statesmanlike view of politics. The pre- sent state of the Irish Government was a disgrace to England. It might in desperate and reckless hands become a menace. The ultimate legislative union, therefore, of the two nations was a necessity, and every fresh manifestation of strong daring misuse of unlimited power only precipitated the inevitable event. Section 2. — State of Ireland, The first difficulty which beset the English Government was therefore this strong constitutional Opposition in Parliament, which included the principal families, and was headed by un- ' principled jobbers like Beresford and Fitzgibbon, ment^ry^^" the Chancellor. This Opposition also reckoned Opposition. ^ ^^^ ranks the remains of the old patriotic party, headed by Grattan, who honestly wished to al- Irish Parties, 321 leviate the wrongs of Ireland and especially of the Eoman Catholics, and who united with the Beresfords only on the com- mon ground of opposition to the Government. The two sections of this party were really the representatives of the patriotic Volunteers of 1782 and the unpatriotic Aristocracy which had derived the benefit of their action. Next to them came the Irish peasants, the Roman Catholic party, who still suffered under all the heavy restrictions of the Penal Code and the evils caused by absenteeism. They had ex- pected much from the Parliament after 1782. They found themselves tricked by the men who had professed most to them. They were therefore ripe for re- catholics beUion ; and premonitory signs of the future out- break appeared in agrarian outrages, in combinations of every kind against the tithe collectors, tax collectors, and landlords, in Societies of the White Boys, the Oak Boys, and Captain Eight's Children. The Government was totally unable to pro- tect the victims of these outrages. In 1790 there arose, there- fore, among the Protestants the organization of the Orange Lodges with the avowed object of enforcing that protection which the Government was unable to confer. The result was that a form of civil war broke out in many parts of Ireland be- tween the two religions, which was carried on with cruel outrages on both sides. Thirdly, there was a party, existing mainly in the north of Ireland, which was the direct outcome of the influence of the Erench Revolution. Republican and Jacobin rm^ ^^ i^j- ideas found a ready hearing among the half-edu- q^j^^^ Gated, dissenting or freethinking, artisans of Ulster, who f uUy realized the defects of the existing Government and looked forward, — as so many nations did during this decade, — to a beatified Republic, in which all should be free and equal. These men were willing to throw themselves into the arms of France in order to separate from England ; for thus only could their aUuring delusive visions be realized. Of these three sections the last two alone were really dan- gerous, and it was from their ranks that the Rebellion eventually sprang. Section 3.— Drifting into EehelUon, 1790-95. The strength of the Government had hitherto lain in the dis- 322 The Unioi^ of England and Ireland. imion of their enemies ; tlie three sections of the opposition were as much opposed to one another as to the Government. A young barrister named Wolfe Tone conceived the I^\m^n^* brilliant idea of persuading the Eepublicans and ns men. ^^^ Roman Catholics to sink religious questions for fhe time and unite temporarily in order to throw out the English, From this scheme sprang the political Society of the United Irishmen, which was pledged to effect a separation from England, and included the whole Republican party and the great majority of the CathoHcs. The plan of the English Government ought obviously to have been to act vigorously in support of the Protestant ascendency, and confine itself to granting just enough relief to the Catho- lics to draw off the moderate party. Pitt, however, disgusted at the iniquitous way in which the Government was carried on by the Protestant aristocracy, introduced and forced through the Irish Parliament in 1792 and 1793, two Concessions ^^ts by which most of the disabilities of the Catholics Catholics were removed. The intermarriage pro- 1792-93. ' hibitions were repealed ] Catholics were admitted to the law, to the franchise, to all but the higher civil and military offices ; finally all restrictions on their edu- cation were abolished, and Dublin University thrown open to them. These concessions produced absolutely no result. The United Irishmen maintained that the franchise was of no use, as long as they could only elect Protestants to Parliament, and on this ground they continued their agitation, putting forward „^ « ^^ ,. the constitutional pretext of Parliamentary Ee- The Catnolics x j. j.i- i.j. rr»i j.- not satisfied. lorm to cover their secret treason, ihe energetic action of the Executive, however, in suppressuig seditious meetings destroyed their hopes, and Tone himself was even thinking of joining the side of the Government. The more desperate of the party, however, began to look decidedly to as- sistance from France in order to accomplish the Revolution, which they saw they were not strong enough to effect single- handed. In 1794, on the accession of Portland to the Ministry, the hopes of the Irish Catholics received an unex- excited\v°^^^ pected impetus. Lord Fitzwilliam was sent over . Fitzwilliam, ^^ Lord Lieutenant ; and it was definitely un- 1794 ; derstood that he came armed with power to ' ■ effect sweeping reforms. His measures, however, | Civil War. 323 ' I brought him into collision with the Protestant Aristocracy, and their underhand intrigues with the king proved powerful enouc^h to effect his recall. The argument which carried most weight to the royal mind on this occasion, it is as weU to remember was that to admit Roman Catholics to Parliament would be a breach of the coronation oath. Fitzwilliam was succeeded by Lord Camden, who was com- missioned to return to the old policy of no concession. Thus the Catholics saw their hopes dashed to the ground at the very moment of expected fruition. Stimg to fury, they broke out in a Rebellion, marked by atrocities of revolting cruelty, and appealed to France. The result (jamden 1796 was to unite all the Protestants — even fhe Re- 2)uhUcans of Ulster — in a common effort to preserve the Pro- testant ascendency. ReKgion, as has ever been the case in Ireland, proved stronger than the wildest political frenzy. The Eehellion was a war to destroy not merely the English governing body, but the whole dominant Protestant sect ; and this was quite enough to unite aU the hostile sections of the Protestants in support of the English Government. Section L—The MehelUon, 1795-98. In 1795 a fight took place between the two parties in comity Armagh, which was called the Battle of the Diamond, from a wretched village near the scene of the encounter. Civil war at once broke out. Bands of Catholic marauders traversed the country plundering, bumiag, and maiming. In consequence the troops were let loose on the miserable peasantry; an Act of Indemnity was passed in outbreak of 1796, to cover any enormities which might be ^^^^^ committed by the troops ; and the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended. Then the news came that Lord Edward Fitzgerald (a younger brother of the Duke of Leinster) and Arthur O'Connor had arrived in France and planned with General Hoche a French invasion. It is pretty certain that neither O'Connor nor Fitzgerald intended to hand the country over to the French. They must have had some wild hope of , creating an Irish Republic under the protection of France. The tidings of the threatened invasion and the dangerous strength and activity of the United Irishmen alarmed the Govern- Y 2 324 The Union of England and Ireland, nient so much that they accepted the services of the only trust- worthy force which they could raise — the yeomanry, consisting mainly of Protestants, who volunteered at once to the numher of some thirty-seven thousand. The creation of this corps un- doubtedly saved Ireland, but for the moment it increased the ferocity of the civil war. The Protestants and the yeimawy Catholics bore much the same relation to one another that the backwoodsmen and the Indians maintained along the American borders. They treated the members of the opposite side with a cold-blooded cruelty rarely paralleled in the history of civilized nations. The yeomanry burnt, plundered, tortured, and ravished with the greatest impartiality wherever they bent their ruthless steps. The Irish showed how well they had learnt their lesson of Jacobinism by atrocities, which ran those of the Orangemen very close in point of horror. Fortunately, however, in the very darkest hour of the danger, while thirty-eight French ships were actually in Bantry Bay, the Government succeeded in breaking the neck of the con- spiracy by arresting the whole of the Central rebel leaders. Committee of the United Irishmen. Thus for some time the conspiracy wandered aimlessly about without any guidance whatever, while the very perfection of the secret machinery of the system prevented for long the dis- covery of the arrest of the leaders. In consequence, the people of the south, having received no orders on the subject, made no attempt to assist the French in any way. Failure of Fortunately, moreover, the expedition had been expedition. divided by storms. Hoche had been compelled to retreat to Brest. His second in command, Grouchy, was unwilling to risk the responsibility of acting alone, especially as the country people had not made any demonstra- tion of sympathy or welcome, or indeed, anything but curiosity. In a short time, therefore, finding the bay exposed to the storms of the Atlantic, he too weighed anchor and returned once more to Brest. The Government followed up their advantage with the greatest vigour. General Lake succeeded in dis- mea^ur^s of arming the north and. also the greater part of the the Govern- south, though this was not effected without the ment. crudest possible severity. At the same time, I The inevitable End. 325 \ pure religious fury, there were undoubtedly numerous cases in wMch reliable information had been received of the concealment of arms^ the discovery of which upon any terms was necessary to the public security, and almost justified the use of any mea- sures to wriQg the knowledge of their place of concealment from the reluctant peasantry. Treachery, moreover, came as usual to the help of the Government. The Leiuster delegates and Lord Edward Fitzgerald were arrested by the aid of informers a few days before the 23rd of May, 1798, which had been appointed for a general rising. Fitzgerald was so desperately wounded in the process of arrest that he died before the sentence of the law had been pronounced. In spite of the seizure of the leaders the insurrection broke out on the appointed day, and for a short time the rebels and yeomen vied eagerly with one another in massacres of every kind. On the 21st of June, however, General Lake inflicted a severe defeat on the rebels in Kildare, and took their camp on Vinegar Hill. This was practically a death-blow to the Eebel- lion, though partisan warfare, disgraced by great cruelties on both sides, continued in different ^J^^^^^f ^'^ parts of the island. On the 22nd of August, y,eiiion. " however. General Humbert, with a small force of about 800 men, landed at Killala in Mayo. He was joined by a very small body of rebels, and succeeded in routing some mihtia at Castlebar, which engagement received the name of the Castlebar Kaces, from the speed with which the militia ran away. However, as he picked up no useful recruits and soon . found himself face to face with Lord Comwallis, the new Lord Lieutenant, and a large army, he surrendered at discretion. So ended the Irish Eebellion of 1798. Section 5.— The Union, 1798—1800. Comwallis had come out under the mistaken impression that the Eebellion was Jacobin, not Catholic. He ^^^^ therefore endeavoured to conciliate the people by cornwallis; publishing an indemnity for all who laid down their arms. At the same time he ordered the leaders to be hung. On the one hand, therefore, the EebeUion was not stamped out as easily as it might have been. On the other, many of the llfi principal prisoners confessed their villainy to the full to save I I I i. I 326 The Union of England and Ireland. their lives, and thus furnished the Government with an ample answer to the denunciations of the Opposition, which had taken up as usual the cause of the enemies of England. Cornwallis' experience, however, quickly determined him that the only way to appease the country was to effecrthT* ^® establish some strong central power which should "Union. t)e able to overawe the rival factions, and grant ' justice to each regardless of party considerations. This could only be effected by a legislative union with England, and with this view Pitt thoroughly agreed. It could only be effected, however, with the consent of the Irish Parliament, and both sections of the Opposition steadily declined the idea. Nothing,, therefore, was left but to buy up a majority. Borough- holders must be compensated ; influential men given peerages and pensions ; many prominent people bribed directly with hard cash. This work was entrusted to Lord Castlereagh, a young Irishman, who certainly accomplished it as satisfactorily as was compatible with the disagreeable nature of the job. Moreover, there seems no doubt that, in order to conciliate the Catholics, certain vague promises of relief were held out to them by Cornwallis, which Pitt at the time fuUy intended to redeem by a Catholic Emancipation Act. By the opening of the session of 1800 the work was completed and the Government majority The Union secure. On the 1 8th of February, after an arduous Aug. 2, 1800. Parliamentary campaign, in which the Opposition had in vain tried to buy back their lost ground, the Bill for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was passed, and by the 2nd of August this Bill had become Statute Law. The Act provided that four spiritual and twenty-eight tem- poral peers should represent the Irish peerage in the House of Lords ; that 100 members, elected on the old franchise, should The Act of ^^^ ^^^ Ireland in the House of Commons \ that rnion. Ireland should pay two-fifteenths towards the revenue; that the pubHc debt of each country should be kept distinct ; and that complete freedom of trade should exist between the two countries. I Second Coalition, 327 CHAPTER Y. THE SECOND COALITION, 1798 — 1801'. The failure of the negotiations at Lisle was followed' by threats of invading England with the army of Italy, which was freed by the Treaty of Campo Formio. Napoleon, however, considered this project too dangerous, and determined to invade Egypt instead, with the view of opening negotiations with TippoOj Sultan of Mysore, and threatening our supremacy in India. Having therefore first taken possession of Switzerland, in order ' to obtain money for the expedition, he sailed with a large army, May, 1798, seized the island of Malta on his way, though there was no quarrel between France and the Knights of Malta, landed at Alexandria in July, ^^^^^l^^^ and in a short time mastered a considerable por- 1793,, ' tion of Egypt. iN'elson, however, was in hot pursuit, and though he arrived too late to prevent the landing, he succeeded in destroying all but two of the French fleet in the Bay of Aboukir. This victory -^^^^ removed aU danger for India ; shut up the best French army and their invincible General in Egypt ; and excited not merely an outburst of patriotic enthusiasm in England, but a general rising of the nations which had been humiliated by France. Pitt was easily able to gather together a Second Coalition of Austria, Eussia, I^aples, Turkey, and Germany; second CoaU- of these, however, Russia entered into the war ^^^^^ ^799^ chiefly because the new half-mad Czar, Paul I., was anxious to introduce his country into the general politics of Europe. By the end of the year the French had been driven out of Italy by the combined armies of the Coalition ; and the Duke of York, with a. mixed army of English and Russians, had landed in Holland and seized the Dutch fleet in the TexeL 328 The Second Coalition, Meanwhile JS'apoleon had marched across the desert to Syria with the chimerical view of ascending Palestine, crossing the Golden Horn, and fighting his way back to France up the Danube Valley. He was stopped, however, by the fortress of Acre at the foot of Mount Carmel. It was defended by Defeat of ^ Djezzar Pacha, who was reinforced and provisioned Syria 1799 ^^ ^^^ Sidney Smith and the British fleet. Napoleon, after having in vain exhausted his strength against the courage and daring of the British sailors, retired discomfited to Egypt, where, hearing of the disasters in Italy, he deserted his army and with his four principal Generals sailed secretly for France. On his return he succeeded in overthrowing the Directory^' and procuring for himself what amounted practically to absolute power, under the Eepublican title of First Consul, late 1799." -^^ ^^^^ proceeded to address a personal note to the King of England proposing peace \ but there can hardly be any doubt that this letter was intended more as a manifesto to the French people to arouse their feelings against England than anything else. Pitt and Grenville refused in very dictatorial language, under a mistaken impression that Napoleon's Government could not possibly last long, and that the war would shortly end in great triumphs for the Coahtion. Events turned out otherwise. The EngHsh and Eussians had been abeady driven out of Holland. A great victory, won by Campaign of Napoleon in person at Marengo (June 14, 1800), 1800. S^-^^ t^6 French once more possession of all Italy to the River Adige. A second victory at Hohen- linden (December 2, 1800), on the Danube, opened the road to Vienna, compelled Austria to seek peace, and broke up the Coalition. The Treaty of Luneville was in consequence con- cluded (February 9, 1801), by which Austria ceded the left bank of the Ehine again to France. A quarrel now broke out between England and Eussia. Paul, " the mad Czar," was disgusted at the ill-success of his armies in Holland and Switzerland. He was also inspired with a wild and The Armed ^^^"^^ admiration for Napoleon. He was there- Neutrality, ^^^^ ^^^y ill-disposed towards England ; and he 1800. ' adopted the old question of the right of search as the ground for an open rupture. The EngHsh^ had always maintained their right to search all neutral ships and confiscate any goods of belligerents which might be found on Peace of Amiens, 329 board ; and this rule they had invariably enforced during the whole century. An attempt had been made in 1780 to protest against it by the Armed I^eutrality of the Northern Powers, but with absolutely no success. During the present war a quarrel arose between England and Denmark on the subject. Denmark was willing to settle the matter amicably, but the ridiculous despot of Kussia now came forward as the " Protector of the. rights of the, neutral nations," and revived the Armed Neutrality against England, 1800. Sweden joined willingly, and Denmark under considerable pressure did the same. Thus England was once more, as in 1780, facing the united maritime powers of Europe, single-handed j for her Southern allies were too far off, and too weak to be of any assistance. The one bright spot on the horizon was the capture of Malta. In 1801, however, the tide completely turned. The Erench army in Egypt was obliged to capitulate to Brigadier Hope. A fleet was despatched to the Baltic, under Sir Hyde Parker and Nelson, which attacked and destroyed the greater part of the Danish squadron in the harbour of Break-up of the Copenhagen, April 2 ; and, by a threat of bom- trality 1801. barding the city, compelled Denmark to withdraw from the Armed Neutrality. Paul of Kussia was assassinated by his indignant subjects, and his successor Alexander was favour- able to England. The Armed NeutraHty therefore broke up entirely, and peace was signed between Eussia and England, by which the former definitely acknowledged the right of search. These circumstances disposed Napoleon to treat, and as the financial condition of England rendered peace almost necessary to her, it was concluded at Amiens, March, 1802. England surrendered all her conquests except Trinidad and Ceylon. Malta was to be restored to the J^gng^^jjar ' Knights under guarantee of one of the great 1802. * *' Powers* The Erench were to withdraw from Naples. Egypt was to be given up to the Porte. In fact all the most important questions with regard to the annexations of France were left out entirely, because in this way only could peace be arranged. At the same time, for this very reason, war must inevitably break out again sooner or later. The Peace of Amiens could therefore only be regarded as a truce. 530 Events at Home. CHAPTEK VI. EVENTS AT HOME, 1798 — 1801. The rising enthusiasm of the country was strongly shown in the year 1798 and the period which followed. Mr. Fox, with con- siderable bad taste, allowed treasonable speeches and toasts to be made at a public dinner given in celebration of his birthday. Among others was the toast of " our Sovereign — the People," and this offence Fox himself repeated in an inflammatory speech at the Whig Club. The king considering that such speeches, at a time when England was threatened with invasion, and Ireland was in the throes of a desperate rebellion, were a mere 1 -t f incentive to treason, struck Fox^s name off the Creorger ^ ^ -^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Privy Council ; and this event was received with general satisfaction throughout the country. George was now at the height of his popularity. The affection he inspired was very great and real. When his life was attempted in the theatre by a half-witted creature, the criminal was nearly torn to pieces by the infuriated audience. Even the Opposition spared George himself, though denouncing the Government, and treated him with the greatest possible con- sideration at the time of his unhappy disease. Nor was this odd. The personal purity, goodness, and homeliness of his life endeared him to all who came in contact with him. His poHcy and Ministers were now in complete harmony with the feeling of the nation. He had apparently given up all his ancient attacks on the Constitution. The very circumstances for which we should blame him, namely his obstinate refusal of emancipa- tion to the Catholics, only rendered him more beloved by the mass of the people, who were as bigoted and unreasonable as the king himself. The measures which strike us as harsh and despotic, and which Sir Erskine May characterizes as a complete abrogation of the Constitution, did not seem tyrannical to the majority of Englishmen at the time, any more than restrictions on personal liberty seem hard and despotic to the inhabitants of ^' The Heaven-born Minister^^ 331 a beleaguered town, who look and trust to their commandant implicitly for safety. The sympathy of the country was with Pitt, with the circle of young Enthusiasm men who edited the Anti-Jacohin^ — Canning, °^ ^^® people Frere, Mornington, EUis, Carlisle, — with Nelson pfance. and Sidney Smith, and not with Fox and Tierney, not with the Irish rebels or the French Directory. Their loyal devotion was especially shown by the zeal with which they responded again and again not merely to the regular loans raised by Government, but also to the numerous appeals for voluntary contributions to carry on the war. Undoubtedly mistakes were made by the Government, arbitrary acts were perpetrated, pos- sibly an opportunity for peace missed in 1800 ; but there is no doubt that the only power which could have carried England through the heavy burdens of this just and necessary war was the spirit of which Pitt was the representative. " The recognition, however, of the indispensabDity of a public servant does not preclude — least of all does it preclude in England — plenty of grumbling and discontent with that servant. Pitt knew that with the changed state of things his own popularity had waned. But he likewise knew that it was absolutely necessary for the preservation of the nation that he should remain in office." The condition of the country, however, was very bad. Com had risen to the enormous price of 1205. the quarter owing to the disinclination to import foreign com. This arose partly from a desire to keep money in the country, partly from the selfishness of the landowners, who wished to keep up the price in their own interests. The result was great dis- j)igti.e8s in tress and frequent com riots, in which the com- ^^^ country, factors suffered, owing to an ignorant theory that they were responsible for the high prices. This silly and dan- gerous error was even countenanced by some of the judges. Various measures were introduced to remedy the distress; among others that only brown bread should be used, to save flour; but the only effective one, free trade, was not even thought of. The natural result was that gradually the warlike feeling of the country dwindled away and was succeeded by an earnest de- sire for peace, which made even the terms of the ^^^ Peace of Amiens, 1802, acceptable to the people ^.^ange of though it was obvious from their very nature that feeling, it could only be a temporary truce. 332 Events at Home, At the end of ttie year Fox and his friends seceded from Parliament, maintaining that the measures of the Ministry were dangerous to liberty and that they would not seem to sanction them by their presence. The lead of the Opposition thus fell to Mr. Tierney, and the chief result of Fox's action was to facilitate the carrying on of the war and the ^e^ssionof Government. Pitt therefore never seemed so strong as on the eve of his resignation. This was brought about by his views on Catholic Emancipation* Castlereagh had undoubtedly held out vague promises to the Catholics, in which Pitt had certainly concurred ; nor is there any doubt that their hostility would have proved a serious obstacle to the Union. Pitt therefore, in 1801,, tion °180?^^^" proposed to bring forward a Bill for Catholic Emancipation. This scheme was treacherously disclosed to the king by Lord Loughborough, who hoped to dis- place and succeed Pitt. The king declared that he could not allow such a Bill to pass without violating his coronation oath. Pitt therefore at once resigned, and recommended Addington, the Speaker, in his place. The shock of parting with Pitt brought on a fresh attack of the king's insanity ; and this produced such an eifect on Pitt . . that on George's recovery he promised never of Pitt 1801 ^^ bring forward the Catholic question again. This pledge he had no right to give if he be- lieved Emancipation necessary to the welfare of the State • but still it must be remembered in his favour that with the king and country hostile to it, there was little chance of such a measure being carried. ** Flagging Periods.'' 333 CHAPTER VII. MINISTRY OF ADDINGTON, 1801— -APRIL, 1804. There really was now no reason why Pitt should resign, as , he had abandoned the CathoKc question, but Addington did not like the idea of giving up his post now that he had lost his old one of Speaker. Pitt there- fore determined to support the Government to the utmost, and many of the old Ministry remained in office. His intimate friends, however, Grenville, Dundas, Spencer, and Windham, retired with him. The resignation of Pitt at this time was really a fortunate thing. The country desired and needed peace. At the same time peace was impossible if the question of the continental changes was entered into. Pitt, however, could ^ not with honour negotiate without referring to Addington. these changes. Addington might easily do so. The Peace of Amiens was therefore concluded on the basis of ignoring all important questions and dealing only with minor details. Such a Peace by its very nature could only be a truce lasting until the two countries were ready for war again. Moreover, Xapoleon began to offer new insults to Europe and England al- most before the ink of the treaty was dry. De- claring that the omission of aU mention of his JJ^Jpqi^q^ ° dependencies had deprived England of any right ^gOl. to interfere, he proceeded to practically annex HoUand, North Italy, Switzerland, and Elba, treating all re- monstrances with the utmost contempt. He entirely refused any commercial intercourse with England and commanded his subject states to do the same, thus shutting English commerce out of half Europe. So far, however, he was within his right, though thereby he showed the bitterest animosity to England. 334 Ministry of Addington", He had the presumption, however, to endeavour to interfere with the internal constitution of England. He demanded that the Government should suppress all attacks on him by the press, and especially should punish Jean Peltier, Napoleon's the editor of a French London paper called th ^ E^^ r h^ JL'^??^Z^^^w, which was devoted to attacking him press.^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ policy root and branch. This was all the more outrageous because the Moniteur, his own organ, was full of insults to England, and there was absolutely no check placed on a very similar paper to the Amhigu — the Argus — which was edited by an English renegade. Napoleon also demanded the expulsion of the emigrants from England. Lord Hawlcesbury, Addington's Foreign Secretary, replied that England was always in the habit of extending hospitality to political refugees, and would ^not abandon the right at the bid- ding of. a foreign Power ; that the freedom of .the press could not be violated, but that as Peltier appeared to have brought him- self under the law, he should be prosecuted. But as if to show the spirit of insolence which dictated these demands, at the very moment that Napoleon was insisting that the Constitution should be turned upside down at his pleasure, the Argus was allowed to make the most shameless accusations against Eng- land, and to mock at the madness of the king. Lq. January, 1803, a report on Egypt by Colonel Sebastiani was issued by the French Government. It contained a full ac- ., count of the resources, commerce, physical and report 1803. ^ailitary characteristics of the country, — its object being to prove that Egypt could be conquered again by the French in a very short time and by a very small force. And yet Napoleon must have known that England would not permit him to conquer Egypt, and that any attempt in that direction must produce a declaration of war. Matters, however, were brought to a crisis in February, 1803. In consequence of Napoleon's unfriendly acts the English had retained Malta, — a clear breach of the Treaty of Amiens, but War declared ^^P^J compensated by his annexations. . On 1803. ' ^^^^ subject he attacked the English Ambassador, Lord Whitworth, and after a series of stormy interviews, in which he uttered violent threats against England, finally went so far that Whitworth half drew his sword. Insults of this kind could only be wiped out in one way, and on the 18th of May war was once more declared. Between the Wars, 335 Napoleon began the war by arresting all the English in France and endeavouring to stir np an Irish rebellion. One Emmett and two companions — Eussell and Quigley, thorough Jacobins at heart, succeeded in creating an alarming riot in Dublin in July ; but it was easily put down, ^^-Poleon's the plot discovered, and Emmett hanged. The importance of this miserable ajffair was that it was followed by a series of coercive laws directed against similar conspiracies which neutralized a great deal of the good which the Union might otherwise have effected. These measures of Napoleon were accompanied by vigorous preparations in aU the French harbours for an invasion of England. PubKc feeling in England had been gradually undergoing a considerable change during this period. The wild desire for peace had given way to a feeling of indignation at the insults of France. It had become evident that Napoleon was bent on treating us as he had treated the other Powers of Europe, and that if he had his will the tramp of the French cuirassiers would soon be heard in Whitehall, patriotic en- The whole nation therefore rose as one man to Eneland^ ^^ defend itself, and to vindicate the rights of Europe. All feelings of bitterness created by arbitrary govern- ment died out. The Opposition remained unconvinced for some time as to the necessity for the war; but even they became •gradually forced by the stem logic of facts to give up their delusion. There may be two opinions as to the justice and necessity of the previous War, though the evidence as to the determiaed hostility of France is pretty conclusive. It may be doubted whether Pitt was right in carrying on the war by sub- sidizing continental Powers, though it is difi&cult to see how it could have been maintained otherwise. There can, however, be but one sound opinion as to the Second War — that our national existence was at stake, and that we must either have fought or surrendered. Napoleon was bent on the invasion of England, and nothing but the prowess of our Admirals pre- vented his accomplishing his object. With us would have fallen the liberty of Europe beneath the iron sway of a Despotism as grinding and unenlightened as the sovereignties of Asia. The patriotic feeling of the country showed itself in the readiness with which all classes came forward to bear the expenses of the war. The merchants agreed to assist the Government to the best of their ability. A general property-tax was voted. 536 Ministry of Addington. Patriotic meetings were held in every part. Companies of volunteers were enlisted in every county. Martello towers were built all along the southern coast to guard against invasion. The whole nation went suddenly mad on uniforms and drilling. The militia was called out, and a great fleet put out to sea. The outbreak of war aroused a general desire for the return of Pitt to office. It was felt that Addington had been put in for . a special purpose, to make peace and smooth pft?s\eturn ^^^^ ^^ Catholic question ; but that in an hour of such danger the ablest statesman should be at the helm. The common voice of the country called Pitt back to power. The difficulty, however, was that it did not appa- rently occur to Addington that he was not fit to carry on a war, and Pitt utterly forbade his friends to give the Premier any hints that he ought to resign. The king, moreover, was delighted with Addington, whose mediocre capacity suited him far more than the commanding genius of Pitt. Addington, therefore, was sufiPered to remain in office, and mismanage the affairs of the country subject only to the sharp criticism of Fox's party and that of Grenville, who with a party of his own had formed relations with Pox which began to draw him rather away from Pitt. Soon, however, Pitt began to drift into opposition. The dilatoriness with which the preparations for national defence were carried on, and the extraordinary mismanagement of the Admiralty, at last convinced him that Addington was unfit to conduct the great war on which we were embarked. When, therefore, it was rumoured that the king's health was failing and it was understood that the Prince of "Wales would commit the Government to his friend Lord Moira, Pitt decided to op- pose Addington rather than allow the country to fall to such incapable hands. Addington, therefore, finding siffiiT^prn^' ^^^ majorities continually decreasing, sent in his 1804.' ' resignation. Pitt's conduct on this occasion has been severely censured as treacherous to Ad- dington, and as inspired solely by a desire to return to office. But there are certain critical occasions on which it is the duty of public men to sink their private friendships, and act as they, consider best for the public good. Addington, however, did not take the latter view of the case, for he and Pitt were never exactly friends afterwards. ^^ Sour Grapes^ 337 CHAPTER VIII. SECOND MINISTRY OF PITT, APRIL, 1804 — JANUARY, 1806. Mr. Pitt urged the formation of a strong national Ministry, whicli sliX)uld be able to draw to it the unanimous support of England, and should by mutual agreement defer all dangerous and disputed questions, such as ]&eform and Catholic Emanci- pation, until the end of the war. He would therefore have included Fox and Grenville. f^e ^iS^sV^ There is no doubt, too, that Fox would have joined Pitt on these terms, and that it was only the personal dislike of the king which prevented his doing so. The king positively refused to admit him, and so Fox continued to head the Opposition. Grenville would not come in without Fox ; and so Pitt was compelled to form a narrow Tory Ministry, including Lords Eldon, Castlereagh, the Duke of Portland, Messrs. Canning and Huskisson. It seems difficult to blame Pitt for wishing to defer to a more favourable time questions which were sure to excite an undesirable ferment, and which must infallibly be thrown out by large majorities in Parliament, It is equally difl&cult to extenuate the conduct of Fox. For while conceding to him the utmost admiration for his liberal and enlightened views with regard to Parliamentary Eeform, Freedom of the Subject, and Catholic Emancipation, it is impossible not to re- probate his opposition to the war, and to deplore his lofty opinion of Napoleon. Modern histo- a^cfo^FoT"" rians al most unanimously agree that England ^nd Grenville. leould not have obtained peace at this time had she sued for it on her knees ; Fox himself was shortly to find out the true character of his hero ; while there is no doubt that Fox would have joined Pitt in carrying on the war, and drop- ping aU doubtful questions for the time if the king would have admitted bi m to the Cabinet. As it was, the refusal of Gren- z 338 Second Ministr y of Pitt, ville, the hostility of Fox, and the opposition of Addington left Pitt with only a narrow majority instead of the strong national Government he had projected. In spite, however, of the activity and strength of the Opposi- tion, Pitt proceeded to take vigorous measures for national defence ; for in the face of the loud din of pre- I^eT^''^ "'^^" parations along the coast of France it would have heen suicidal to have waited the event. Large additions were made to the army and na-^y. The con- fidence of the people was aroused by judicious measures for internal defence, which were more valuable, perhaps, from the enthusiasm they excited than any actual value in themselves. Diplomatic negotiations were opened for the formation of a Third Coalition. ' "^ In this Pitt was really considerably aided by Napoleon him- self, and it seems probable that he would have had some diffi- culty in concluding alliances with the Continental Powers for a new war had not Napoleon alarmed Europe by fresh aggressions.' He had followed up the English declaration of Formation of ^^^ ^^^ seizing Hanover in spite of the protests, 1805. * ^^ Prussia. He took advantage of an abortive royalist conspiracy to assume the title of Emperor of the French. He ordered the abduction of the Due d'Enghien from the neutral territory of Baden and had him shot ;— appa- rently because he was the only Bourbon within reach. He declared himself King of Italy, and annexed the Liguriari Eepublic (Genoa) and Lucca to the Italian crown. These aggressions were too much for the haughty Czar. The refusal of England to give up Malta was a trifle compared to these enormous annexations. A Coalition was therefore entered intd by England, Austria, and Kussia for the prosecution of the war,- 1805. England meanwhile had pursued the war single-handed, anti . with very little success. Lord Wellesley had England!^^ ^ foiled !N"apoleon's plan for arousing French influ- ence in India by means of the Mahrattas, and had secured the whole seaboard of India.. The fleet had seized four Spanish treasure-ships. . But all attempts to destroy the vast flotilla which Napoleon was preparing had failed, and the threat of invasion was still in active vitality. The last years of Pitt were clouded by disaster and humilia-! tion, — a sad ending for the great Minister who, whatever miglif *' Sic transft Gloria'' ' 339 "be his faults, had certainly saved England in the hour of darkest danger by his determined courage and patriotism. He was deserted by his former friend, Addington, and his relation, Grenville. He saw his oldest comrade, Lord Melville (Dundas), -successfully censured in Parliament for misapplying the funds of his department, the Admiralty. And though his declining clays were cheered by the great triumph of Trafalgar, he lived long enough to see thick clouds gathering round the fortunes of Europe, and to feel the ruin of all his labours in the crushing disaster of Austerlitz. Austerlitz killed Pitt. ^^ . . . "Koll that up," moaned the dying minister, January 23"' pointing to the map of Europe, " it will not be 18O6. * wanted for many a day.'' He never rallied again. Heart-broken, emaciated, the shadow of his former self, he lin- gered on till the 23rd of January, 1806, and died. With him seemed to perish all the hopes, the enthusiasm, the daring of the nation. z 2 340 The Argument, 'S iSoofe X.— FINAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE, 1803-15. CHAPTER L THE ARGUMENT. This war of 1803-15 must be regarded as the Epilogue to the great struggle of the eighteenth century between England and France for the supremacy of the seas and New World. It therefore forms a j&tting climax to our history. The great duel had begun during the Jenkins' Ear War, in consequence of the secret connection between Erance and Spain, and their mutual desire to limit the expansion of English commerce, which was being effected chiefly at the expense of the Spanish monopoly of the trade with South America. The Retrospect ol question was whoUy undecided at the end of the century TirstAct— the Peace of Aix-la-ChapeUe, 1748; — for if England had gained some successes in America and on the seas, the balance of victory was strongly in favour of France in India. The Second Act, — the period be- tween 1748-63, which includes what is commonly known as the Seven Years' War, — proved a decided triumph for England. America and India became hers entirely ; the French and Spanish marine was almost exterminated ; England might well claim the proud title of Mistress of the 8eas, Then came the Third Act with the moral. Mismanagement in government led to the revolt of the American Colonies, and France seized eagerly the opportunity for revenge. It came, but not in the form expected. America became independent by the help of France, but from that independence France derived absolutely no benefit. She <( The Wormwood Star J" 341 was unable to recover her lost maritime power. She found her influence more effectually excluded from India than ever. America, after an interval of dislike and distrust, leant more decidedly to England than to France. England herself learnt from the war the great secret how to retain the rest of her Colonial Empire ; — by allowing them to govern themselves as much as possible, and by interfering as little as possible. The dream of a Colonial Empire still, however, remained dear to Erenchmen. Xapoleon especially was dazzled by this glitter- ing chimera. In early life he had been strongly attracted to India and the golden visions to which she gave . rise. It is said that he even contemplated enter- breams of ing the service of the East India Company. Later, Napoleon, as the victorious instrument of the Revolution, he formed the gigantic plan of wresting from England the whole of her colonies, and reviving once more the maritime greatness of France. This plan he adhered to resolutely all through his extraordinary career of power. It was this which made him regard England as the arch-enemy of France who must be crushed at any price ; which envenomed the bitterness which smote to his heart at the news of the victory of Trafalgar ; and which prompted his acts of aggression against Denmark, Spain, and Portugal. The Continental System was the actual brainless exponent of his views ; the mad ravings, as it were, of a chained lunatic who sees his enemy just outside his reach, and rages against him with impotent animal fury. But a far more states- manlike scheme than any contained in his preposterous decrees lay hidden under his attacks on Spain and Portugal They were the only colonial powers besides England. He ___ ^„„„;«„ \. J i i li. ♦ £ j.r. 4. True meaning hoped to get complete possession oi the vast ^^ ^-^e war. • Spanish and Portuguese colonies in America, India, and Africa, and thus begin again the Inter-colonial Wars in which England had hitherto proved victorious. He hoped to seize the Portuguese fleet as well, which would serve as a nucleus for a new Imperial navy. It was therefore necessary for him to get the entire control of the two countries ; he could no longer be satisfied with their dependence. This vast scheme, however, was too vast for his resources. His calculations, more- over, entirely failed. Hitherto he had not found it necessary to include the nation as a factor in the resistance of continental Powers. He did not therefore take the nation into account in Spain. This, as it happened, was a mistake, and this error ruined 342 ' • The Argument, ^ the whole sum. He could not conquer Spain ; he overran Por- tugal, but he lost both her fleet and her colonies ; he found himself in Spain in the position of an army of occupation. He acquired no influence over the State, the people, or the depen- dencies. Even when his brother was crowned in Madrid he had not as many subjects, in the proper sense of the word, as the most insignificant parish possessed inhabitants. The call to arms rang out from every village steeple through the length and breadth of the peninsula. In every valley the voice of the priest resounded summoning all to the Holy War against the in- vader, the regicide, the blasphemer, and denouncing the terrors of eternal damnation on the head of the traitor, the accursed one, the worse than infidel, who refused to go with his compa- nions. The whole nation rushed to arms in a frenzy of religious and patriotic enthusiasm. They found themselves invincible, though hardly ever victorious. Beaten again and again, and driven like mist before the east wind, they soon reassembled, gathering ever closer round the French armies like the storm- clouds on their own mountains. !N'apoleon found himself beset by a huge portentous Shadow of unknown form and dimensions on which his heaviest blows produced no impression, and which (as in Bulwer Lytton's legend) grew ever vaster and darker till it filled the whole air and crushed the breath out of its oppo- nent. The Peninsular War, therefore, must be regarded as the closing scene in the afterpiece to the great drama of the eighteenth century, and the curtain falls on the stirring tableau of Waterloo. ^ 1^ t^ 1*^ The Triumph''. 343 CHAPTEE II. THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, 1805-14. SecUm \.—The Third Goalition, 1805^7. By September, 1805, the Coalition was practically formed between England, Austria, and Kussia. Prussia weakly preferred to remain neutral. Napoleon bad for some time been making vast preparations for the invasion of England. In order to effect this it was abso- lutely necessary that the Toulon and Brest fleets should unite ..and appear in the Straits of Dover to cover the passage of an enormous flotilla of flat-bottomed boats, in which he intended to transport the army of invasion across the Channel. Admiral Cornwallis, however, was keeping up a close blockade of Brest ; ^and, though the Toulon fleet succeeded in getting ,through the Straits of Gibraltar, they were chased ?^il^® of the all over the Atlantic by different squadrons, and JgQg ^° ^ ^^' .finally caught off Cape Finisterre by Admiral Calder. There they were so roughly handled that the French Admiral, ViUeneuve, decided not to risk the long northern voy- age amid the swarming ships of the English, and retired to . Cadiz. This practically ended the invasion plan, and Napoleon, .recognizing the impossibility of carrying it out without the fleet, .drew off the army for an attack on Germany. , A huge army of 200,000 men in different detachments was .poured across the Ehine. A great victory at Ulm enabled Na- poleon to march straight on Vienna. In Decem- ♦• f bar he finally defeated the armies of Austria at ^^gtria 1805. Austerlitz in Moravia, and compelled that Power ^ to conclude the Peace of Presburg, by which she surrendered all ier claims on Germany and Italy. Napoleon now proceeded to iorganize Holland and Naples as kingdoms for his brothers ; 344 The Napoleonic Wars. various provinces of Germany as principalities for his other rela- tions and marshals ; finally a Confederation of the Khine, which was to include all the dependent Powers of Germany under French protection, among others Baden, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Hesse-Darmstadt. But in the month of October, when ISTapoleon was marching in triumph down the Danube valley, a great naval victory had entirely destroyed the few remnants of the French Destruction of niarine. On the 21st, :t^elson, with twenty-seven marSri805 ^^W^ ^^d encountered YiUeneuve with thirty- ' ' three off Cape Trafalgar. The English advanced with the wind in their favour, broke through the French line, and after a desperate encounter, eighteen of the enemy surren- dered. The victory was marred by the death of the heroic Admiral, who was shot by the French riflemen from the tops when his ship grappled with the foe. He lived long enough to hear of the complete victory, and died thanking God that he had done his duty. The accession of Fox to the Foreign Office, 1806, on the death of Pitt, was naturally followed by overtures Fox's fai ure. ^^^ peace. Napoleon, however, would only have peace on his own terms, and, as they were so humiliating that the Czar indignantly refused to listen to them, preparations were made for a fresh campaign. A series of studied insults had roused the popular anger in Prussia, and obliged the king to declare war on France. The . result, however, was scarcely commensurate with Daiffn^ 1806 ' ^^® bombast which had accompanied the declarar tion. The victories of Auerstadt and Jena gave Napoleon possession of the whole country, and so elated him that he thought the hour had come for destroying the commerce of his great rival, England. He was highly indignant that England had presumed to blockade the mouths of the Prussian rivers, though this was only in retaliation for his having compelled Prussia to close them against English traffic. He now issued the The Conti- Berlin Decree, by which he declared the whole of System 1806 • ^^^ British Isles under blockade, forbade any inter- course between his Empire or dependent States and England, and confiscated all English merchandise found any- where. This was what is called the Continental System. The Decree was at once ridiculous, unjust, and futile. Napoleon had "^ And the Vanity^'' 345 not- a single ship at sea wherewitli to enforce the blockade of the British Isles. He could not get on at all without English com- modities, for his own army could only be clothed by means of English cloth and shod by English boots ; and his dominions .had an equal need of British goods. The Decree only injured his unfortunate subject states, who saw their property on land confiscated by ^N'apoleon's agents as contraband, and their com- merce ruined at sea by the retaliatory measures of England. The cUmax to the ajffair was that this absurd madman actually posed as the " Protector of the rights of neutral nations," much as mad Paul of Eussia had done in 1800, maintaining that the English had violated the law of nations by unduly . extending the right of blockade to whole lines of ^ ^ ^^ ^^®' coast, and threatening that the Continental System would be continued until England receded from these pretensions. The English Government in consequence issued retaliatory Orders in Council, 1807, declaring the whole of Napoleon's coast-line to be under blockade, granting reprisals against the commerce and marine of his dependent states, and forbidding the sale of ships by a belligerent to a neutral. The last of these was intended to check fictitious sales of French ships to neutrals, in order to enable them to trade under the neutral flag. The result of these measures was that America, the chief neutral nation, was the one which suffered most, and this, coupled with various special grievances of her own, produced such ill-will between the two nations that it eventually resulted in a war. Napoleon had now to deal with the dogged bravery of the Russians and the great physical difiiculties of the country. His men, his baggage, and artillery, were half drowned in mud, and a great deal of materiel lost. Therefore, though he won the battles of Pnltusk, Eylau, and Friedland ; yet the obstacles were so great, the Russians fought with so much j.^--^^^ ^am- fury, and there was such a frightful butchery on paign, 1807. both sides, that reaUy Napoleon can only be said to have been victorious because he retained the ground and the Eussians retreated. The Russians were fighting for their coun- try and were inspired. with national feeling; whereas hitherto Napoleon had only encountered armies of miserable serfs who were driven to battle by the stick and commanded by their natural enemies, the nobles. The Austrian and Prussian monar- chies had been overthrown in a couple of battles apiece. But these three terrific contests had not produced the slightest effect 346 The NAPOLEONid Wars, on the Kussians. Napoleon, in fact, had now come in contact with a new power, which he had only dimly felt as yet in his contests with England, and had hardl}'' realized, owing to the maritime nature of that struggle. This new power was the principle of natio?iality, and it was destined to prove fatal to his ascendency. England, however, under the Grenville Ministry was pur- suing a very narrow course in the conduct of the war. They did not understand that in Eussia Napoleon had policy I8O7" ^^ ^^^^ come in contact with the power which would eventually destroy him. They therefore declined to furnish any assistance to Eussia, and confined them- selves to four ridiculous disconnected expeditions. A fleet was' sent to the Dardanelles to compel Turkey to give up her friend- ship with France. It met with no success, and had to run the gauntlet of the batteries along the coast on its return. Squad- rons were sent to capture Buenos Ay res and Alexandria with little result but disgrace. A few regiments were landed in Naples and routed the French at Maida, but were forced even- tually to evacuate the country. This selfishness and incompetency combined were enough to Partition of .,:.'y--'f'' <■» ■■•rr ■ ■ ■.■ A a 2 356 The Resettlement of Europe, CHAPTEE lY. : THE KESETTLEMENT OF EUROPE, 1814, 1815. In 1812 !N"apoleon invaded Eussia with a vast army. The Enssians with extraordinary devotion retired slowly, disputing every inch of ground, until they had drawn him to Moscow. Then they closed in upon him, burnt him out, cut Mos^c^ow I8T2 off his supplies, and drove him headlong to the ' ' frontier. A winter of extraordinary cold set in and added to the misery of this retreat, which ended in the total ruin of the French army. This was the signal for a general rising of nations, and fate at last came upon the great con- queror at the crushing defeat of Leipsic, October 16, 1813. The allied armies of Austria,Eussia, and Prussia then advanced upon France, and, after a vain attempt to negotiate with Na- poleon, crossed the frontier. In April Napoleon, Napoleon attacked on all sides and deserted by many of 1814. ' ^^^ marshals, abdicated and consented to with- draw to the Isle of Elba, which was to be erected into a principality for him. It was now necessary to rearrange Europe, which had been turned completely topsy-turvy by Napoleon. The first question was the settlement of France. Prussia and Keconstitu- Austria were anxious to take vengeance on that France. country for the sins of Napoleon, and exact from her a territorial and pecuniary indemnity. England, however, was determined that France should be re- stored simply to her old limits of 1790, considering that a strong France was necessary to preserve the balance of power against the three eastern sovereignties. AH the Princes of Europe were agreed as to the re-establishment of the Bourbons, which, indeed, was only in accordance with the legitimist views \\ CoNCR&ss OF Vienna. 357 of the time. Alexander of Eussia, however, who combined some strange ideas of philosophic liberalism, which he reserved for other states, with the despotic principles on which he governed his own, insisted that Louis XYIII. must grant a Charter of Liberties to the French. The important part which Eussia had played in the overthrow of Napoleon caused the allies to reluctantly assent to this proposal, which must have clashed strangely with the views of despotic sovereigns like Frederic William of Prussia, or reactionary Ministers like Castlereagh of England and Metternich of Austria. The result was the Treaty of Paris, May, 1814, which gave France the frontier of 1790, and in addition about half Savoy and some fortresses towards the Ehine. The only real loss she sustained was the Isle of France (Mauritius), which England insisted on retaining. The really difficult question was the rearrangement of the I'est of Europe, which was reserved for a Congress ^ « of the allied Powers, which met at Vienna, Sep- Vienna 1814. tember, 1814. This Congress was naturally re- actionary in its tendencies. The three despotic sovereigns regarded the French Eevolution and the Napoleonic Wars in the light of a storm which had swept over Europe, leaving be- hind it nothing but ruins. They did not understand the vast changes which had come over the people of Europe in conse- quence of the outburst of national feeling which had sprung from the reaction against Napoleon. They con- sidered that they had met to restore the old ^®^g^of tS despotic systems of government throughout powers. Europe, and to rearrange the dislocated provinces solely with regard to the personal views of the principal sove- reigns, without taking into consideration the newly-aroused principle of nationality. The interests of Eiigland were provided for by her retention of Malta, Ceylon, the Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope, which secured her road to India and her influence in the Mediterranean. She was also satisfied with the project of creating a strong kingdom of united HoUand and Belgium to guard the mouths of the great rivers ^^ J^n^ ^nd and thus prevent any renewal of the Continental France. System. France was only really anxious to procure the re-establishment of the Bourbons in Naples and Parma, and to prevent the annihilation of the kingdom of ti. r" * 358 The Resettlement of Europe, Saxony. Both these countries could therefore enter on the real business of the Congress — the rearrangement of Eastern Europe i — with a larger ideal than the three Eastern Powers, who were directly interested in the question. England and Erance in- tended in fact to establish a balance of power in Germany ; but this was all — their rulers were no more desirous than the other Powers of satisfying the national aspirations of Germany, Poland, and Italy. Alexander of Russia, full of his philosophic liberalism, pro- posed to reconstitute the kingdom of Poland under his own rule, and give the Poles a liberal Constitution of the same type as that of France. The practical annexation of the whole Views ^^ . of Poland was what he really intended to effect Prussia. ^^ ^^ reward for his services to Europe ; and Austria and Prussia were expected to surrender the large provinces they had gained in the various partitions of Poland. In return Prussia was to receive the whole of Saxony, whose king was thus to be punished for his adherence , to Napoleon ; Austria was to be compensated with Lombardy a;nd Venice. To this scheme Prussia entirely consented. ^ Austria, however, objected. She cared nothing for the re- storation of Poland ; she did not wish to be brought into such close contact with Kussia; she saw that the possession of Saxony would so consolidate and invigorate her old enemy, v _. - Prussia, as to give the latter a very fair chance of Austria. ousting her from the leadership of Germany. Austria, therefore, threw in her lot with England a and France against Russia and Prussia. A secret treaty was " entered into by the three Powers, and there seemed every prospect of a fresh war between the two confederations, when the news of the return of Napoleon from Elba restored temporary harmony. The allied armies, however, gathered but slowly in the Netherlands, and the inevitable delay gave Napoleon the opportunity of striking the first blow. He got between the English and Prussian armies, and succeeded in drivhig back the Prussians at Ligny. The English, however, held their ground, at ttuatre Bras, and this completely upset his plan. Both armies,, moreover, retired in almost parallel lines, instead of Waterloo opposite directions, as Napoleon had intended., campaign. When, therefore, Wellington took up his position 1816. i : on the heights of Mont Saint Jean not far froin. ^ c) The Holy Alliance^ - 359 Waterloo, Blucher and his whole army were within little more than half a day's march of the position. From eio-ht clock m the morning of the 18th of June tiU four o'clock m the afternoon the English succeeded in maintaining their position, against aU the assaults of the French. Then the arrival of the Prussian army changed the defence into an attack, a pursuit, and finally a merciless slaughter all along the road to Paris. On the 7th of July the allied armies entered Paris. Towards the end of the month Napoleon surrendered to the English, and was sent to the island of St. Helena, an isolated rock in the Atlantic. The influence of England, which was increased by the •Waterloo campaign, enabled her now to take a prominent part in the proceedings at Yienna. She was able to secure the main- tenance of the principafeticles of the Treaty pre- viously agreed to, though naturally the other The Second Powers insisted on some punishment for the "Hun- ^ris^ig^s dred Days," as the :N'apoleonic revival is called. France was to be confined strictly to the limits of 1790 ; was to pay a war indemnity of 700,000,000 francs in five years, durmg which time her good conduct was to be insured by a joint army of occupation under the Duke of Wellington. This was the Second Treaty of Paris. The influence of England now succeeded in modifying the views of Kussia, and the resettlement of Europe was concluded as follows : — Prussia retained the greater portion of her Polish acquisitions, and so did Austria : the ^ii^al settle- Wt ATI ^ rf\^ rest was reconstituted into a kingdom under Eurone 1815 Kussia. Prussia obtained about half Saxony and ' the Khenish provinces ; Austria obtained Venice and Lombardy ; the kingdom of the United Netherlands was definitely esta- blished ; and some other minor changes effected. On the 26th of September the final act of the drama was concluded by the formation of the Holy Alliance between Austria, Russia, and Prussia, for the government of their respec- tive countries on Christian principles, and mutual assistance for the protection of religion, peace, and justice. This rhodomontade, which was composed by the T^f-^°^^ Emperor Alexander, with the assistance of Mdme. gept. igig. Krudener, a beautiful enthusiast, who was on the most intimate terms with him, really meant that despotism should be guaranteed for the future against any revolutionary movements 360 The Resettlement of Europe. , ^ ' ■« by a combined intervention of all the Powers. This doctrine was ' very agreeable to Austria, Prussia, and France; it was also in, accordance with the private views of Castlereagh. It was im- possible, however, for him to face Parliament after signing such a treaty, and therefore he instructed the Duke of Welling- ton to decline. i I ■ •■ V Tippoo Sultan, 361 CHAPTEK V. INDIA, 1784—1810. Section 1. — Lord GornwalUs, 1784-93. Mr. Pitt's India Bill of 1784, enlarged and explained by two subsequent enactments, endeavoured to provide a remedy for the evils which had desolated India, by substi- p-4.t>ain^ia tuting a strong central Government for the divided j^j 3^734 supremacy which Hastings had shared with his Council. Lord ComwaUis, the new Governor- General, was to have the power of overriding the opinion of the whole Council at his discretion, subject to an inquiry at home afterwards. The advantage of this was soon seen. Tippoo, Sultan of Mysore, not realizing the importance of this change, and not comprehending that he had now to deal with the forces of England herself as weU as those of the Company, provoked a Second Mysore War by wantonly ^^r 1790-9" attacking the Eajah of TravancoUe, an ally of ' England. Comwallis at once acted with the utmost vigour. He concluded an alliance with two native Powers, the Nizam and the Mahrattas, 1790 ; he despatched money and troops to the scene of action ; he ordered out both the Madras army and the Bombay army, in order to attack Tippoo on both- sides ; finally he took the command himself, in order to ensure due subordination in the various commanders. The result was that in a short time Tippoo surrendered, and agreed to cede large strips of terri- tory to the three aUies in 1792— the English obtaining the provinces of Dindigul, Baramahal, and Coimbatore on the east coast, Malabar and Coorg on the west. ' Cornwallis's successor. Sir John Shore, however, entirely destroyed the effects of this decided action by adopting a weak, .colourless policy of non-intervention. The result was that ■. .'•/'.' 362 India. '^ Tippoo reformed his army, intrigued with the French Eevolu- tionary Government, and established a connec- Sir JoliJV tion with various French adventurers, who were vm! ^ command of companies of troops at the courts of some of the native princes, and who were all hostile to England. Finally he had the audacity to publish a proclamation at the Isle of France inviting volunteers to join him in an effort to ex;pd the English from India, Section %—Lord Wellesley, 1798—18.05. Lord Mornington (afterwards Lord Wellesley) heard of this insulting proclamation on his arrival, and also that Napoleon had started for Egypt with the avowed intention War^l799°^^ of proceeding thence to invade India. He there- ' * fore acted with promptitude and vigour. Having in vain demanded of Tippoo an explanation of his conduct, he sent an army under General Harris into Mysore, February, 1799. Seringapatam was taken after a short siege, Tippoo was killed in the assault, and the whole kingdom of Mysore and the sea-coast of Canara fell into the hands of the English. Lord Wellesley's policy in dealing with the native chiefs was known as the subsidiary system. He established English, in- fluence j obliged or persuaded the princes to enter into permanent treaties with the English ; to pay for the support of an army which was practically English in feeling ; and to The sudsidi- commit their military and foreign policy into the system. hands of an English resident. He thus intended to acquire a commanding influence through the whole of India, to expel all foreign adventurers, and gradually suppress all internal war. The system was a good and wise one, and was eventually adopted openly. But at first it pro- duced a great outcry, was strongly objected to by the Directors on account of the expense, and was fiercely denounced by the Opposition on the most unreasonable and frivolous grounds. The hostility, however, aroused against the system proved powerful enough to procure the recall of Wellesley as soon as a slight tinge of ill-success had darkened his otherwise triumphant career. ' This was during the Mahratta Wars. The Mahrattas, being the most turbulent and powerful of the native states, WeUesley •made a great point of concluding a subsidiary alliance with \ 1 Mahratta Wars, 363 them. Dissensions among the chiefs enabled him to bind the PeishWa, or head of the confederation, by the Treaty of Bassein, 1802. The other chiefs, however, refused to agree to the treaty, and behaved in a very insulting manner to the English envoys. In consequence war was de- -,,, tw- t, clared against two of them, Scindiah and the warflSoX"* Kajah of Berar, 1802. A fourfold attack from the three presidencies was arranged. Arthur Wellesley (afterwards Wellington) encountered the forces of Scindiah at Assaye, 1803, and inflicted a severe defeat on them. He followed this up by routing the Eajah of Eerar at Argaom. Meanwhile -General Lake had attacked and captured most of Scindiah's strong fortresses on the Jumna, and routed a large body of his troops at Laswaree, 1803. In consequence the Mahrattas sued for peace. Scindiah was obliged to surrender all his strong places in Upper India, and his sea-port of Baroach. The Eajah of Berar consented to cede the maritime district of Cuttack and certain of his southern provinces. Both Powers agreed to enter into relations with the English. WeUesley considered therefore that by obtaining the whole sea-coast of India he had completely , excluded French influence, while he had effectually crippled the principal Mahratta chieftains (1803). War, however, broke out again in 1804, owing to the maraud- ing propensities of Holkar, another Mahratta . , chief. This time the military arrangements were Holkar 1804. badly managed, and were marked with disaster. The beaten chieftains in consequence looked menacingly at the English. The Company became wild with terror. Wel-^ lesley was recalled, and Lord ComwaUis was sent out with in- structions to abandon as much as possible all connection with Scindiah, Holkar, and the princes Sir George of Upper India. The death of ComwaUis threw f^^^tlement, the government into the hands of Sir George i805; Barlow, a rather incompetent member of the Council, who carried out the orders of the Directors literally. He retired entirely from Upper India, gave up the subsidiary treaties with the princes, and abandoned the country to the tender mercies of Scindiah and Holkar, who, aided by the quarrelsome habits of their neighbours, gradually reduced Upper India to such a state of anarchy and bloodshed that it became positively necessary for the English to interfere, to pre- vent the contagion spreading to their own dominions. This 364 India. disastrous termination of the Mahratta War planted the seeds of another contest. Our withdrawal from Upper India afforded an opportunity for the growth and maturity of a new predatory power — the Pindarees, a collection of brigands, disbanded soldiers, outlaws, outcasts of every kind, who formed almost a predatory state in the Vindhya Mountains. These freebooters, having exhausted the provinces of Central India, ilsUts*^*^^^^ poured down on the British territories, and it became necessary for the Government to expend vast sums in order to resist them in 1817. This expense might have been saved had the wise plans of Wellesley for controlling the turbulence of the Mahratta chiefs been continued to their legitimate end. One thing, however, Wellesley had accom- plished, which even Sir George Barlow could not undo. He had effectually excluded all fear of Napoleon's influence in India. Still, the two islands of France and Bourbon continued to be a thorn in the side of the English. Swarms of privateers swooped out of these harbours on the Company's trading ships, and swept the whole Indian Ocean from Madagascar to Java. Lord Wellesley had left notes and recommenda- Capture of the tions with regard to the capture of the islands;- 1810 ^ ' ^^^ ^^® subject had been disregarded by the Directors. The nuisance, however, and positive loss became so great that in 1810 Lord Minto, Barlow's suc- cessor, sent a strong expedition, which effected the reduction of the islands. The Isle of France (Mauritius) was retained at the peace, 1815. George IK 365 4 P EPILOGUE. GEORGE IV. ^Regent 1810; King 1820-30.) Section 1. — George IV. George Augustus, the eldest son of George III., who styled himself " the Eirst Gentleman of Europe," conducted himself as a rule so as to rather deserve the title of " Premier Blackguard of Europe." He thought it an admirahle joke to make a Duke drunk. His language was usually such as would he highly suitahle to a stable. He was recklessly extra- vagant, and involved himself in serious difi&culties in consequence. In 1794 Parliament had to vote 650,000Z. to extinguish his debts. He proved himself utterly unscrupulous, and without a shadow of feeling. He fell in love with, and > married at an early age, a beautiful CathoHc widow, Mrs. Eitz- herbert. It was a question whether the marriage ^^^ y.^^_ was void by the Eoyal Marriage Act, or the herbert. " Prince had forfeited his claim to the throne under the provisions of the Act of Settlement. George got out of the difficulty by authorizing Fox to deny the marriage in Par- liament, and then disowning him afterwards, an expedient more worthy of a blackleg than a prince of the blood. Later in life , he was persuaded to abandon Mrs. Eitzherbert and marry Princess Caroline of Brunswick. Nemesis came upon him at last. The Princess was dirty and untidy in her habits, not , pretty in the least, and unpardonably careless in her behaviour, The '' Eirst Gentleman " behaved as might p^jj^gggg have been expected of him. He got drunk on Caroline, his wedding-night. Before nine months were over he decided to leave her altogether. He then set to 366 George IK work to collect evidence against her which might serve as a ground for a divorce. He sent spies after her, and per- secuted her from country to Country. On his accession he com- pelled his Ministers to bring in a Bill of Pains and Penalties against her ; but so much public feeling was evoked in her behalf that the matter was abandoned. Nor was George's con- duct to his parents less remarkable for heartless brutality. ^.,.1 J 4. A true Hanoverian, he consorted chiefly with his Filial conduct, r-^. , . '^ ,. ,y ,, father s enemies, and for some tmie nis greatest friend was Mr. Fox. A story is told, moreover, that during his father's illness his great amusement was to mimic the poor old king's contortions and ravings, to the great gratification of a choice circle of friends. Such was the man who assumed the nominal charge of the kincrdom under the provisions of the Kegency Act of 1811, Section l.—The Old Tory Government, 1812-22. After some fruitless negotiations with Lord "Wellesley and Mr. Canning, and then with Lords Grey and Grenville, the Prince Eegent entrusted Lord Liverpool with the ^verpool ^^^y ^£ forming a Ministry. Lord Castlereagh became Foreign Secretary, Lord Sidmouth Home Secretary, Lord Eldon was continued at the Chancery, and Mr. Vansittart became Chancellor of the Exchequer. Catholic Eelief was made an open question, but otherwise the Ministry was on the closest Tory basis. Bobert Eanks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, had passed the greater part of his life in the service of his country ; his remaining years were devoted to the management of the M'^"^\ government. He had had the good fortune tc Liverpool. ^^ ^^ ^^® Foreign Office when the Peace of Amiens had been concluded, and had therefore entitled himself to the gratitude of the country. He had also, as Foreign Minister, controlled the provision for the Peninsular campaigns, which were fraught with such important consequences. He was now Premier, and his premiership was destined to last •for fifteen years. Eut though his official career extended over a longer period than that of many of our greatest stjatesmen, Lord Liverpool by no means earned a title to be ranked among them. That his name is identified with many of the most im- portant events i-n the history of the world was more the result \ I The Tory Chiefs, 367 of the merits of his subordinates than any surprising abilities of his own. He attained a respectable degree of success in almost everything he undertook ; but he never got beyond decorous mediocrity. He excited neither sympathy nor prejudice. When his colleagues, Eldon, Sidmouth, and Castlereagh, were vitupe- rated with the utmost virulence and loathing, strangely enough Liverpool, as a rule, escaped. Dante, no doubt, would have con- signed him after death to the Limbo of those who have not sufi&cient individuality in themselves to be either loved or hated. His Chancellor, Lord Eldon, on the contrary, undoubtedly left a most decided impress on the politics of the time ; and, as a rule, his influence was exercised in opposition to measures which have since, for the most part, proved in actual working both beneficial and invigorating to the Constitution. Por twenty- five years he filled the Chancery, and during the whole of his- career of office he violently resisted ^°^^ ,, all attempts at reforming the representative Ei^on. system, or removing the disabilities of the Koman Catholics. And yet he was a man of a peculiarly just tempera- ment \ the very reverse of bigoted in his religious opinions. By a similar contradiction he was in favour of retaining the punishment of death for many most trivial offences, though otherwise an extremely humane man. His ability, industry, loyalty, and honesty, were as remarkable as his good temper and ■affectionate disposition. And yet undoubtedly during the latter part of his career he was one of the best hated men of his time. He has, moreover, deprived himseK entirely of the sympathy of posterity by his unremitting exertions against many useful and necessary reforms. Eobert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh, the Foreign Minister, played such an important part in Lord Liverpool's Cabinet . « that he was regarded all through as the real leader g g^^gf^^y of the Tory party. He became therefore the chief casUereagli ; subject of the abuse of his political opponents. He was regarded as the Great Dragon of the Apocalypse by the young revolutionary and atheistical party, of whom Shelley and Byron are the most prominent representatives. He was de signedly blackened with the foulest abuse by Eadical writers, like Cobbett, with the object of exciting the unreasoning passions of the mob against him. Not but that it is impossibL to approve of his policy now, or to deny that he committed many and great mistakes. His foreign policy was really based 368 George IV. on false principles. He considered that peace was necessary to Europe, and that peace could only be obtained by strengthening the hands of the different Governments and repressing all con- stitutional outbreaks as provocative of the horrors which cul- minated in the Napoleonic Wars. He therefore wa^ strongly in sympathy with the views of the Holy Alliance, and though the House of Commons compelled him to abstain from com- mitting this country to a partnership in their policy, he stead- fastly refused to oppose them except by protest, which of course was disregarded. The result was that, in spite of the great ^ triumphs of Wellington, England gradually declined in im- -;, portance in Europe during the six years after the Great War, which concluded the administrative career of Castlereagh. His views on home government were in striking accordance with his foreign policy. Like his chief and his colleagues, he was strongly opposed to any violent changes in ^ews on ^^ Constitution, and to the impartial observer this might well seem justified by the excesses of the Radicals and the remembrance of the Jacobin Era. At the same time he is entirely acquitted from the charge of unenlightened opposition to the cause of progress by his con- duct with regard to Catholic Relief. With the echo of his promise in 1800 to the Irish no doubt in his ears, he steadily supported the movement in its favour ; and on this subject, and perhaps this alone, he was in complete sympathy with his rival Canning. The result, therefore, of the honest though mistaken belief of the Tory chiefs that strong government was the only alter- native to anarchy at the time, was, that repression at home and abroad, resistance to all popular ferments, all explosions of Revolutionary feeling, was to be the keynote of political govern- ment in England for many a long year. The great opponent of this Ministry was Lord Grey. Erom his first entrance into Parliament he had attached the Opposi-*^ himself to the cause of Reform. He had, sup- tion. ported Pitt's Reform Bill. Undeterred by the changed attitude of the Government, he had twice, in 1793 and 1797, brought forward Bills of his own f0r an alteration in the franchise. From that day his name was iden- tified with Reform. And yet he had sufficient insight to see that the time had not yet come. His father's death, which re- moved him to the unsympathetic atmosphere of the House of Grey and Canning, 369 Lords, no doubt had a great deal to do with his wise determina tion to wait till a better time should come ; for at a time when the Commons were hostile, the people uninterested, and the king violently opposed to the topic, it is easy to conceive the chillino- silence with which proposals for Reform would have been lis^ tened to in the Lords. But it was Grey's good fortune that his hour of success at last came, that it was permitted to him to eventually carry into action that measure to the accomplishment of which he had devoted his life. Among the men of the Opposition the most brilliant was un- doubtedly George Canning. Educated at Eton and Oxford, his career was so successful that on ^^® future his entering public life each of the political Ml^sfer- parties made a direct bid for his assistance. He ' attached himself to Pitt, and became one of that generous band of youthful statesmen who devoted themselves with the most unquestioning obedience and reverence to the unswerving execu- tion of their leader's behests. He soon became renowned as an orator of the highest order, while he also did good service to his party with his pen. He followed Pitt's fortunes in 1801 ; and it was the bitterness of his attacks on Addington which formed one of the principal causes of the split in the Tory party. It was during the Portland Ministry that the germs of that quarrel with Castlereagh were sown which kept him so long in a subordinate position. The views of Caiming and his party are at this distance extremely difficult to understand. In some ^ questions he showed himself as liberal as Grey and Lord John EusseU; in others his opinions coincided with that of Lord Liverpool's Government. He became one of the most strenuous advocates of religious freedom ; but to the very last he disap- proved entirely of Parliamentary Eeform. He was an able and active exponent of the blessings which would accrue to the country from the establishment of complete freedom of trade, Jly maintaining that therein lay the cure at for the distress existing in the country and ^^ ^^ ^^^* iolitical disturbances which had so alarmed the Ministry, foreign policy was drawn on broad and statesmanlike lines, rould have given up Castlereagh's system, which made Eng- - of no account among the Powers and placed the arrange- |t of Europe in the hands of the three Eastern Despotisms, rould have refused to join in any action to effect the Iction of constitutional ideas, which in many countries B b 370 George IV. survived the failure of the hopes excited.by the French Revolu- tion. He would have interfered vigorously if British interests seemed to require it. He would have maintained the indepen- dence of the small states, and, by offering a bold front to all hostility, have preserved at once the liberty of the peoples and the peace of Europe. He advocated the principle of non-inter- vention, but he would not permit the intervention of others. His would have been the strong armed neutrality which inspires respect, because it can defend itself and its friends — -not a feeble withdrawal altogether from all connection with Europe for fear of the consequences. Ten years, however, were to elapse from the formation of Liverpool's Ministry before the brain of Canning was to guide the foreign relations of England. During those ten years the presiding genius of the Government was Castlereagh. It was this Ministry which conducted the American* War, which brought the Peninsular War to a successful the Ministry close, which effected the ruin of Napoleon in the Waterloo campaign, and which assisted at the settlement of Europe at the Congress of Vienna. Their success, however, was not due to any special merit in their own policy, but solely to the genius of their General and the errors of their opponent. Their steadfastness, which was their principal virtue, was mainly due to class feeling; they prosecuted the war with !N^apoleon because they saw in him the great enemy of aristocratic government and privilege. Still, they had raised England by this policy to a position of great importance in Europe ; they were destined by a course of feeble protest against and secret sympathy with the views of the despotic Powers to sink her once more to the position of a political cipher. J^or were lihey more successful in their home government. The war had been marked by a remarkable development of English trade. There were various reasons for this. Theggre- dominance of the British at sea had driven all enemies froniifMi ocean, and so removed most of the dangers to which comi is liable in war-time. The vast increase olSW o/manufac-^^^ colonies had extended the market immei .tures. while new outlets were repeatedly opene( among different savage nations. England, ^f^6o, in spite of the attempts of Napoleon to exclude her man tures, found an almost limitless demand for her goods throl Industrial. 371 out Europe, wMcb facilitated the carrying on of a vast smuggling- trade along the coast of the North Sea and the Baltic. Napoleon himself wa-s obliged to connive at the evasion of his own laws in order to> clothe and shoe the army with which he dominated Europe. The result was that the exports of England steadily increased in valuB. The manufacturers grew richer and richer. A marve-Hous development was imparted to the national indus- tries. Small villages, whose names hitherto had been: entirely omitted from the map, suddenly grew into large manufacturing towns of ever-increasing importance. One of the principal causes which had enabled iEigland to take advantage of the market thus thrown open to her, was the remark- able series of mechanical inventions which had inventions, been discovered during the last quarter of a century. Har- greaves had invented the spinning jenny,, which enabled one man to work eight spindles at once. This machine was supple- . mented! by the improved patents of Arkwright and Crompton. The latter's imde' allowed the finest form of yarn to be spun to an indefinite quantity with but a slight amount of labour. In order to bring the weavers up' to the level of the spinners, Cart- wright ioivented the power-loom, which soon aluiost entirely superseded hand-weaving. The cotton manufactures were . addition'ally stimulated by the introduction of oxymuriatic acid for bleajching purposes, which was used by Watt and Henry, and by the invention of a machine for printing coloured calicoes, which was due to the ingenuity of a Scotchman named Bell. The application of steam to move machinery was in itself almost a revolution, while this discovery led to the utilization of the vast coal-fields of tha north. Mining was rendered less dan- gerous by Sir Humphrey Davy's safety-lamp. Koads were im- proved by the process of Macadam ; canals were . dug across the country by the energy of Brindley carriage, and the enlightenment of the Duke of Bridg- water ; a regular system of coaches was started. Altogether, .communication was improved, and carriage cheapened. Every- thing, therefore, was combining at once to increase production, and diminish the cost of production, at a time when the market itself was wonderfully extended I Similarly the landowners derived large profits from the war. \ .Corn naturally went up in price, owing to the increase of popu- ' ■ lation and the protective laws, while many of the markets from ' which com had been imported in scanty years before were now \ . B b 2 572 George IV. silut by tlie war. The deraand, therefore, for arable land was Hiffh profits ^^^^ ^^®^^' ^^^^^^ ^®^® ^^^^ ^^^' ^^^ ^^^^ of Uudowners. "^^^^ naturally very high as well. It paid to en- close pieces of waste land and work them as much as they would bear without manure, and then leave them for others. The manufacturers, therefore, and landlords were naturally the main support of the war, from which they derived such enormous profits. At the same time a variety of causes were combining to pro- duce the greatest distress among the lower classes. Population had increased largely during the war, and this development was favoured by two circumstances, — first, a mistaken theory that an increase of population must necessarily be an advanta^^e to a country ; secondly, the landlords desired that population should advance numerically, in order that labour riricultu/al ^^^^* become cheap. The result was that the labourers. demand for bread was greatly enlarged, and that the class of labourers suffered an unfortunate multiplication. Naturally, therefore, prices rose and wages sank simultaneously. At the same time the Poor Law was so mani- pulated by the landowners as to increase the distress. The cruar- diahs possessed the power of providing out-door relief to those who needed it. The guardians were mostly landowners, and so they paid their labourers the lowest possible wages on the plea that prices were so high, and then levied a general rate on the parishes, to make up for their own meanness. This relief was moreover, granted in proportion to the numbers of a family, with the direct view of encouragiug population. But it also indirectly encouraged immorality, for young girls found themselves far better off when they were the mothers of a number of illegitimate children than when they continued virtuous. Other causes in addition were working among the artisans Distress of ^^^ reducing them to the greatest misery. The artisans inventions, which had increased the powers of production so largely, had effected this at the ex- pense of this class, thousands of whom were naturally thrown out of work. Moreover, great preparations were made at the end of the war for the vast expansion of trade which the manu- facturers expected would be the result of peace. But as a matter of fact the Continental demand for British goods ceased alto- gether, for the Continental nations were too utterly impoverished Umpressiott. 373 by the vast expenses of the war to be able to purchase anything* In consequence there was a large stock of goods on hand* More labourers were dismissed, and production restricted. It was imagined that the termination of the war would bring some relief to the people by destroying the necessity for the standing army and the great expenses which had been sup- plied by heavy taxation. The Ministry, however, announced their intention of keeping up a large army and continuing the taxes. It had also been imagined that the ex- ■»,. ^ , ceptionally repressive mode of government would ^j^^ Ministry cease when the fear of Napoleon was removed." Castlereagh and his colleagues, however, gave no sign of return- . . ing to the path of progress, which had been barred by the French Revolution. Then the smouldering discontent, which had hitherto taken the form of machine-breaking,, broke out into a more tangible political shape. Plots of every . . kind were concocted against the Government. Societies were started for the revival of the agitation for Parlia- mentary Eeform. Dangerous and daring men planned to seize the king, to rouse an insurrection, to assassinate individual Ministers, to involve the whole Cabinet in one common and violent death. Leniency, properly used, might have averted all this. Wise legislation might have turned the dis- contented to their obedience. The Ministers, however, proceeded " to act as in a conquered country. Eepressive ]g^gpj.egsive laws were enacted, especially against the secret measures, societies. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended. Unlimited powers were practically thrown into the hands of an army of spies and officials. The Government did not scruple to use the military on the slightest possible pretext to disperse any pubKc meetings which they disapproved of, and in the encounters many of the people were severely injured. The most celebrated of these has acquired the name of the Manchester Massacre, where the magistrates ordered the 15th Hussars to chal"ge into a crowd of 80,000 people, which they did with fear- ful effect. The climax of this system of government was reached by the passing of the Six Acts, which were in- ^j^^ g^ ^^^^^ tended to facilitate the suppression of seditious ^g^g^ meetings, the speedy prosecution and punishment of offenders against the Press Laws, and the search for concealed arms. The strain, however, had been too great, the reaction was 374 George IV. at hand, and a new era was inaugurated by the suicide of Lord Londonderry (Castlereagh) in 1822, and the entry of Canning and Huskisson into the Ministry. Signs, however, had not been wanting that a change was gra- dually coming over public opinion, and that the days of the old system were practically nTinibered. The question of Parlia- mentary Eef orm had been taken out of the hands TctiTn.^ ^' of Burdett, the leader of the violent party, by Lord John Russell, who succeeded in 1821 in dis- franchising Grampound, an extremely rotten Cornish borough. The Catholic agitation had assumed formidable proportions, and in 1817 Parliament had so far retrograded from the old Tory position that an Act was passed opening all ranks in the army to Catholics and Dissenters. In 1819 motions in favour of Catholic Relief were only rejected by two votes in the Commons, forty- one in the Lords. The question might now be regarded as settled in the Commons, and in 1821 there was actually a majority in the Lower House in favour of the BilL The ap- pointment of Lord Welleeley to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland and Mr. Peel to the Home Office was a sign that a wider basis was about to be adopted in politics, for neither of them could be ranked as members of the old narrow Tory party. Moreover, the Ministry suffered an incalculable amount of well-deserved obloquy for their slavish persecution of the queen, in order to please George lY., and sustained a heavy defeat by being com- pelled to abandon the Bill of Pains and Penalties against her. The central pillar and guiding spirit, however, of the old system was Castlereagh ; nor was any real advance pos- Castler^affk, ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ removed from power. His death 1822, ^s therefore an important epoch in the history of progress in England, ^ Section 3, — Free Trade, Toleration, and Reform, 1822-32. Huskisson and Canning now became t*he moving genii of the _ - Cabinet, which was still nominally presided over movements. ^7 *^® ^^^^ ^^ Liverpool, and the various refonn movements going on in the country received a decided impetus. They may be roughly classed as Parliamen-* tary Reform, Free Trade, and Toleration. Free Trade and Relief, 375 Of these undoubtedly tlie most important was the movement in favour of the gradual establishment of freedom of trade, which was the only way to alleviate the pJerirad^e perpetual' recurrence of famine. The accession of Huskisson to the Board of Trade marked a new era in com- mercial policy. The old protective system was partially given up, and restrictions on many branches of industry removed. In the first year of his accession to office, in spite of a great outcry, he succeeded in considerably modifying the provisions of the Navigation Act — ^which had prohibited foreign ships import- ing into England any commodities except the produce of their own countries — by repealing this clause in favour of nations who admitted colonial goods in English ships. In the next year he repealed all laws fixing the price of labour, or preventive of free competition and circulation of labour, and largely reduced the duties on silk and wool. He even succeeded in persuading the Government to lower the duties on imported corn temporarily to alleviate the great distress of 1826. Further than this, how* ever, they would not go. Later Canning, as Prime Minister, brought forward in 1827 a measure for establishing a sliding scale of duties which would accommodate itself to the price, so as to permit the importation of corn in times of distress. This motion, however, was thrown out by the Lords, and in the next year the Duke of Wellington carried a Bill for the creation of a sliding scale, but at much higher rates, and this measure remained law till 1842. Nothing had been done since 1817 with regard to Catholic Eelief, though Grattan, Plunket, and Canning had repeatedly brought forward motions on the subject in different forms. It was recognized, however, by 1823 that the centre of resistance had shifted to the House of Lords. In that year the jj^j^j^^g ^^^ movement entered on a new phase. The Catholic catholic relief. Association was formed in Ireland to carry on the agitation, and by 1825 it had become so formidable that the Government brought in a Bill to suppress it. Immediately it dissolved, in order to 'keep within the law, and re-formed itself under a new name. The accession of Canning to the premier- ship encouraged the hopes of the Catholics, for he was well known to be favourable to their demands ; but the bright pro- spect was clouded almost immediately by his premature death and the succession of the Duke of Wellington, who was well known to be hostile to Catholic Kelief. The duke regarded the "376 George IV. premiership as a command entrusted to him by the king, which he must defend to the utmost, but not resign until dismissed. He therefore pursued the irritating policy of resisting the mea- 1 sures of his opponents almost to the verge of a rebellion, and then, when they became inevitable, remained in office to carry them out. On this principle, when he found that a measure proposing the abolition of the Test a ad Corporation Acts had been carried against him, 1828, he accepted it as his own. In the same year the Catholic question began to assume alarming proportions. Mr. Fitzgerald, on standing for re- Catliohc election as President of the Board of Trade, was Act* 1829. ^ rejected at Clare for O'Connell, the leader of the ,Catholic Association. Relief had now become a necessity, for no one could contemplate without alarm the results of a general election in Ireland when possibly none but Catholics might be returned. Wellirigton, therefore, having pushed the question to the very last, now determined to yield to necessity and grant complete Emancipation to the Catholics, 1829. From the year 1821 Lord John Russell had annually brought forward a motion in favour of a Reform in the representative system, but with unvarying ill-success. The evil effects of th« excesses of the French Revolution still remained, and the pro- pertied classes could not but contemplate with horror a move- -- . . ment which they felt convinced must end in reform. anarchy and massacre. In 1830, however, the Bourbons were expelled from France without the popular rising being stained by any of the horrors which were supposed to be inseparable from a revolution. The quiet and orderly manner in which the events of these " Bays of July " were accomplished proved quite a revelation to the English people. They saw that even a Revolution was not necessarily accompanied by violence, and that an orderly Reform might be effected without bloodshed. This awakening produced such a revulsion of public opinion that from this time it was merely a question of time. Reform had now reached the range of prac-, tical politics, and this fact was no doubt greatly facilitated by the death of George lY. in June, which rendered a General Election imminent. The Duke of Wellington, however, directly challenged the question by eulogizing the state of the representation at the opening of Parliament. Mr. Brougham thereupon gave notice of his intention to move for Reform^ j:-^ Reform, '^ 377 Before the day arrived Wellington had been defeated on the Civil List, and resigned* Lord Grey thereupon came in with a Ministry pledged to Reform. Brougham's Bill was lost in the Commons, March 21, 1831, and the Minis- mu ■» ^^ try resigned. The king, however, enraged at an atruggle'"^ ill-judged attempt on the part of the Tory lords * to dictate to him, dissolved Parliament, April 22, and a large Whig majority was returned, thus ensuring the return of Grey to office as well. In June a new Bill was brought forward and carried in the Commons after a long discussion, only to be thrown but in the Lords in October. The recess of Parliament (October- December, 1831) was used by the popular party to epccite demon- strations in favour of the Bill. Riots broke out with dangerous frequency. Organized political unions pledged themselves to support the Bill. Threats were openly uttered against the Lords. Li December a Third Bill was introduced in the Com- mons, and by May 4 it had met with the usual fate in the Lords. As the king refused to swamp the Tory majority in the House of Lords by a creation of peers, Grey had no course but to resign. The utter impossibility of forming any Ministry compelled the king to yield. Grey returned to office on the istrength of a promise that peers should be created, if necessary. The king, however, gave his orders to the Duke of Wellington to point out to the Tory lords that the only way to avoid this violent measure was to abstain from voting. Wellington, there- fore, and a number of peers withdrew when the Bill was again sent up from the Commons, and the measure at ^ . _... once 'became law. The principal changes which ^332^ ' it effected were to remove 143 seats from nomina- tion boroughs, which were transferred to newly-created consti- tuencies ; to add to the voters copyholders, leaseholders, and lenants-at-will paying 50Z. a year ; and to establish a uniform lOZ. household franchise in the boroughs. This Reform Bill of 1832 completed the work of the Revolution by transferring the power to the people, and the last effort of Personal Government in England was to effect its own abolition. 378 Tables of the Regency, The Eegency. Prime Ministers. Date. Perceval . . . 1810 The king becomes permanently insane. 1811 The Regency Bill. » Victories of Fuentes d*Onoro and Albnera ill Spain. Luddite riots. 1812 W ellesley resigns. Castlereagh succeeds him at the Foreign Office. BellinghaTTi assassinates Perceval. Liverpool . . . United States declare war. Wellington's victory of Salamanca. Napoleon invades Kassia. Burning'of Moscow. \ 1813 Wellington's victory of Vittoria. ,^ . ' Napoleon's defeat at Leipsic. ' 1814 Invasion of France from Germany, Holland, and Spain. Abdication of Napoleon. Expedition against Washington, First Peace of Paris. Congress at Vienna. Treaty of Ghent between England and United States. 1 1815 Napoleon's return. Quatre Bras, Ligny, Waterloo. ■-^• The Holy Alliance, September. Second Peace of Paris, November, . 1816 1 Riots. Catholic Relief thrown out in the Lords. Riots in Spa Fields. . ? 1817 Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Riots. Political prosecutions. t Army thrown open to Catholics fl.nd Dis- senters. 1818 Repeal of the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. t» - 1 Bill of Indemnity for those who had acted under it. Burdett's motion for annual parliaments re- jected. • 1819 Catholic Relief rejected. Riots and petitions for Reform. Manchester Reform Meeting and " Massacre.*' The Six Acts. Russell's Resolution for Reform rejected. 1820 Death of George III. George IV, and William IV» 379 George IY, Prime Minister. Liverpool • • . Canning • • » Lord Goderich . Wellington . 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 April, 1827 Aug. 1828 1829 Bill of Pains and Penalties against the queen brought in, but has to be dropped. Catholic Relief thrown out by the Lords. Grampound disfranchised. Peel and Wellesley join the Government. Russell's Reform Bill and Canning's Relief Bill rejected. SmciDE OF Londonderry (Castlereagh). Canning is made Foreign Secretary. Petitions and motions for Reform. Huskisson modifies the Navigation Act. Catholic Relief thrown out by the Lords, Catholic Association formed in Ireland. Huskisson's measures for relieving trade. Measures against the Catholic Association. Riots. Resignation of Liverpool, Abortive measures at home. Spirited foreign policy. Mismanages Canning's Eastern policy. Resigns, unable to arrange quarrels in his Cabinet. Lord John Russell repeals Test and Corpora- tion Acts so far as concerned Dissenters. Sliding scale for com duties. Huskisson leaves the Government. O'Connell elected for Clare. The Catholic Relief Bill. Wellington . Lord Grey . 1830 1831 1832 William IY. The "Days of July." Resigns. Reform Bill introduced by Lord John Russell and thrown out. Parliament dissolved. Second Bill thrown out by the Lords, October 8. Riots. Third Bill brought in, December. Thrown out by the Lords, May. Wellington fails to make a Ministry. Reform Bill passed, June. ^» INDEX, A. Acre, Defence of, 328. Addington, v. Lord Sidmouth. Alberoni, Cardinal, 25, 26, 46 — 50. American Colonies, The : — English. Growth, v. Table, p. xxxi: ; Treaty of Utrecht, 99, 155, 156 j Assiento,q. V. Jenkins* ear, 99 ; disputes with Spain on commerce, 99, 100; war with Spain, 102 ; Anson^s voyage round the world, 102 ; captnre of Cape Breton, 111 ; restored, 112 ; foundation of Halifax, 134 ; early history of colonies, 155 — 159 ; government, 156, 157 ; character, 157 j boundary disputes with France, 159; questions slurred over at Aix, - 112,133; Ohio Company, 160; war, 112, 160, 186, 191, 204 ; Braddock, 160 ; failure before Louisburg, 186; capture of Louisburg, 187; attack on Ticonderoga, 187; capture of Quebec, 189 ; of Montreal, 191; Wolfe, q.v. acquisition of Canada and the basin of the Ohio, 224, 225 ; the three classes of American colonies, 249, 250 ; their character and differences, 249—251; diffi- culty of union, 250, 251 ; re- lations with England, 251 ; commercial grievances, 233, 251 ; Grenville's commercial legislation, 233; causes of the Stamp Act, 252, 253; the Stamp Act, 233, 253; merits of the case, 253 ; results, 233, 254 ; repeal, 235 ; the tea tax, 239, 243, 254; Boston Mas. sacre, 255 ; Hutchinson's Let- ters, 255; Boston Mohawks, 256 ; Congress, 257 ; Battle of Lexington, 258 ; American War, q.v. loss of America, 262. French. Loss of Cape Breton, 111 ; restored, 112 ; extent, 156; government, 158 ; charac- ter, 158 (v. English) ; policy of Vergennes, 225, 259—261; its failure, 262. Spanish. Exclusive policy, 99; quarrels with England, war, (v. English), 99—102, 107, 108, 111, 112; Family Com- pact, 221 ; losses in W. Indies, 223; Peace of Paris, 225. Anne, Queen, 1 — 5. Anti-Jacobin, 303, 331. Atterbury, 61, 137, 138. B. Bangorian Controversy, 64, 137. Battles : — Albuera, 1811, 349. Argaom, 1803, 363. Assaye, 1803, 363. Auerstadt, 1806, 344. Austerlitz, 1805, 343. Basignano, 1745, 110. Baylen, 1808 347. 382 Index, Battles (contiimed) : — Belleisle, OflP, 1747, 111. Bergen, 1759, 182. Bunker's Hill, 1775, 258. Camperdowri, Off, 1797, 312. Cape Finisterre, Off, 1747, 111 ; 1805, 343. Cape Pesaro, Off, 1718, 48. Cape St. Vincent, Off, 1797, 311. Carrickfergiis, Off, 1760, 195. Castlebar Races, The, 1798, 325. Copenhagen, First, 1801, 329. , Second, 1807, 346. Coverpauk, 1752, 154. Creveldt, 1758, 181. Culloden, 1746, 127. Dettingen, 1743, 107. Diamond, The, 1795, 323. Eckmiihl, 1809, 348. Eylau, 1807, 345. Falkirk, 1746, 127. First of June, 1794, 309. Fontenoy, 1745, 110. Fort Duquesne, Ner^r, 1755, 161. , 1758, 188. Friedland, 1807, 345. Fuentes d'Onoro, 1811, 349. Great Meadows, Near, 1754, 160. Hastenbeck, 1757, 179. Hochkirchen, 1758, 181. Hohenlinden, 1800, 328. Jena, 1806, 344. Kolin, 1757, 179. Kunersdorf, 1759, 182. Lagos, Off, 1759, 194. Laswaree, 1803, 363. Leipsic, 1813, 356. Lexington, 1775, 258. , Leuthen, 1757, 180. Liegnitz, 1760, 183. Ligny, 1815, 358. Louisburg, 1758, 287. Maida, 1806, 346. Marengo, 1800, 328. Minden, 1759, 182. Molwitz, 1741, 105. Narva, 1701, 23. Nile, The, 1798, 327. ' Plasaey, 1757, 179, 199. ' Pollilore, 1781, 264. Porto Novo, 1781, 264. Prague, 1767, 178. Preston, 1715, 36. Preston Pans, 1745, 123. Pultava, 1709, 24. Pultusk, 1807, 345. Pyrenees, The, 1813, 349. Quatre Bras, 1815, 359. Quebec, First, 1759, 189. , Second, 1760, 190. Quiberon Bay, In, 1759, 194. Raucoux, 1746, 111. Riga, 1701, 23. Rossbach, 1757, 180. Salamanca, 1812, 349. Sheriffmuir, 1715, 37. St. Tropez, Off, 1742, 106. Talavera, 1809, 348. Ticonderoga, 1758, 187. Torgau, 1760, 183. Trafalgar, 1805, 344. Valmy, 1792, 297. Yinegar HiU, 1798, 325. Vittoria, 1813, 349. Wagram, 1809, 348. Wandewash, 1760, 201. Warburg, 1760, 190. Waterloo, 1815, 359. West Indies, In the, 1782, 261. Zorndorf, 1758, 181. Berlin Decree, 344. Belleisle, Schemes of the Duke of, 105. Bills : — Excise, 1733, 93—95. . India (Fox's), 1783, 281, 282. Peerage, 1719, 52. Reform (Pitt's), 1785, 290. (Russell's), 1821, 374. , 1821-30, 376. (Brougham's), 1830, 376. Regency, 1788-9, 291. Relief, Catholic (Mit ford's), 1792, 298. (Pitt's), 1801, 332. 374. ■^.(Canning's), 1821, 1827, 375. Sliding Scale (Canning's), 1827, 375. Bolikgbroke, Yiscount, Jacobite views, 3, 14 ; impeachment, 29 ; Index. 383 in 1715, 33, 34 ; return, 61 ; in- trigues, 64 ; the Craftsman^ 63 j influence on parties, 77, 83 j op- position to Walpole, 83 ; total failure, 84; connection with Frederic, Prince of Wales, 84 ; influence on George III., 85 ; the '* Patriot King," 85; retires to France, 97. Broad-Bottomed Ministry, v. Pel- ham, 130—133. Buonaparte, Napoleon, 310, 311, 327—329, 333—335, 338, 340— 349. BuEKE, Edmund, 229, 235, 257, 267, 275, 276, 278—281, 284r-V 287, 289, 299, 301, 302, 305. Bute, Earl of, 220, 222, 224—227, 228, 230, 231, 234. C. Cabinet System, v. Ministerial Go- vernment. Canada, v. American Colonies (English and French). Canning, , George, 331, 337, 346, 352, 369, 374, 375. Caroline, Queen, 74, 87—91, 98. cIetebet, Lord, 62, 80, 81, 103, 107—109, 113—116, 131. Cash PAYMENTS,Suspension of, 316. Castlereagh, Lord, 326, 332, 352, 367, 368, 373, 374. Catholics, The, 140—142, 266, ^98, 321, 322, 326, 332, 337, 351, 354, 369, 370-376 (v. Statutes, ReHef A.cts ; Bills, Relief). Charles Stuart, 61, 116—130. Table, p. xxv. Church, The, 137—144. Civil List. Note G, 5, 91. Clive, Robert, Lord, 153, 154, 197—203. ** Coalition, The Unnatural," 280—282. Colonies, The, v. Table, p. xxxi. ; American Colonies; India ; Ame- rican War (of Independence). Commerce, 11, 12, 54, 55, 75, 99— 101, 111, 112, 149, 233, 236, 277, 292, 294, 312, 316, 370—372. CoMPTON, Sir Spencer, v, Wilming- ton. Congress of Aix-la-ChapeUe, 1748, 112. Carabrai, 1721, 65. SoisBons, 1728, 68. Vienna, 1815, 356— 360. Convocation, perpetual proroga- tion, 64, 65, 137. Corn Laws, 331, 371, 372, 375. Cornwallis, Lord, 260, 261, 325, 326, 361, 363. Corruption, results of Septennial Act, 41 ; Walpole's use of it, 76 ; Newcastle's, 114, 146, 169; Carteret's neglect, 115; Pelham, 131 ; state of Parliament, 145 — 148, 279 ; election petitions, 147, 271 ; place biUs, 148, 279; Pitt's incorruptibility, 207, 210; George III., 215—217, 226, 239, 269— 272, 282, 286 ; franchise, 271 ; revenue ofl&cers, 271, 279; Re- form Bills (v. Reform). " Craftsman," The, 63, 79. D. Dismissal for political conduct, 96, 235. DissENTEES, 13, 51, 52, 97, 138— 140, 141, 374, 376. " Drapier's Letters," The, 62. ** Drunken Administration," The, 114. Dubois, Cardinal, 21, 22, 33, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 61. Duple rx, v. India. Dunning's Resolution, 276. E. Election Petitions v. Corruption. Elizabeth of the Palatinate, 2. England, State of, 1713, 18 ; 1714, 8, 9—17; 1715,28—31; 1720-21, 54, 61, 64; Walpole, 72, 73; Carteret, 108, 109, 115; 1745, 117, 119, 120, 124, 125; 1756, , 173, 209, 210; 1759, 182, 210, 211 ; 1760, 220 ; 1763, 227, 233 ; 384 Index, 1770, 245 ; 1774, 257 ; 1779-80,- 275, 276; 1789-95, 300—305, 312—315; 1797, 315; 1798-99, 330, 331 ; 1801, 331 ; 1803, 335 ; 1815-20, 370—373 ; 1832, 377. F. Falkland Isles, 272. Fox, Charles James, genealogy, 176; 257, 274, 276; views on • reform, 276; in Kockingham's Ministry, 278-280; the Unnatural Coalition, 280—282 : struggle with Pitt, 283 ; character and history, 287, 288 ; in opposition, 289, 291 ; sympathy with French Kevolution, 300, 303, 310, 312 ; violence, 330 ; secession, 331 ; return, 336, 337 ; Foreign Minis- ter, 344, 350 ; death, 350. Fox, Henry, 131, 172, 175, 176, 226, 227. Fredekic, Prince of Wales, 84j 85, 131. French Bevolution, Events of, 296, 297, 306, 307; effect on England, 297—308; war (v. Kevolutionary War); later effects on England, 312—318; effects on Ireland, 321 (v. Pitt, W. Burke, Fox, C. J.). Friends op the People, Society of, 245, 273. G. General Warrants, 231, 232, 235. George I., 3, 7—9, 28, 31, 43, 64, 73. . II., 8, '43,73, 87—91,101, 108, 114, 116, 130, 175. Ill,, character, 213; de- fects, 214 ; theories, 215 ; po- licy, 215 — 218 ; advantages on accession, 218, 219 ; the King's Friends, 216, 219, 236 ; reign, 213—353 (v. Personal Govern- ment) ; Struggle with the House of Commons, 220 — 248 ; per- sonal government, 249 — 262, 269 — 277; last struggle with the Whigs, 278—383 ; triumph, 283 ; opposition to Reform, 290 ; to Catholic Relief, 323, 332, 351; popularity of George, 330 ; in- sanity, 353. Geobge IV., 291, 365, 366. Gibraltar, Siege of, 68, 260, 261. Gordon Riots, 275. GoRTZ, Baron, 25, 45, 46, 48. Grafton, Duke of, 229, 237—245, 248. Granville, Earl, v. Carteret. Grenville, George, opposition to Walpole, 81 ; admitted to office, by Pelham, 131 ; Secretary un- der Bute, 224 ; Ministry, 228— 234 ; character, 228 ; American policy, 233, 252, 253; king's hatred of him, 234; Election Petition Bill, 271 ; death, 270, , Lord, 212, 280, 283, 304, 336, 337, 346, 350-352. Grey, Lord, 303, 368, 369, 377. " ' H. Habeas Corpus Act, Suspensions of, 34, 61, 125, 314, 315, 323, 373. Hanoverian Policy of George I., 8, 30, 43, 44 ; of George II., 106 —108, 173, 179. Harley, v. Oxford. Hastings, Warren, 263—265, 271, 285, 286, 290, Hyder Ali, 263, 264. I. India, East India Company 11, 149 ; presidencies, 149 ; growth, v. Table and Maps. Dupleix, 151 ; Clive, 153 ; defence of Arcot, 153; recall of Dupleix, 155; Black Hole of Calcutta, 197; agree- ment with Surajah Dowlah, 198 ; capture of Chandernagore, 198; plot with Meer Jaffier, 198 j Omichund, 198, 199; battle of Plassey, 199 j its results, 199; treaty with Meer Jaffier, 199; 5"^ 7* Index. 385 removal of Dutch competition, 200; Lally, 200; Eyre Coote, . 201 ; battle of Wandewash, 201 ; exclusion of French from India, 201 ; massacre of Patna, 202 ; Olive's economical and adminis- trative reforms, 202 ; acquisition of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, 202 ; Peace of Paris, and end of French military establishments, 201, 225; Chatham's abortive plans,' 238; Lord North's Regu- lating Act, 256,263, 274; Warren Hastings, 263 ; Nuncomar, 263 ; war with Hyder Ali, 264 ; Cheyte Sing, 264; Begums of Oude, 265; Fox's India Bill, 265,281,282; Burke's theories, 285, 286; Pitt's India Act, 290; impeachment of Warren Hast- ings, 290; capture of Ceylon, 309 ; Lord Comwallis, 361; Second Mysore War, 361 ; Sir John Shore, 362 ; Lord Wellesley, 362; Third Mysore War, 362 ; Mahratta Wars, 363 ; Sir George Barlow, 363 ; capture of the Mauritius, 364. Ireland, in 1722-24, 62, 63 ; Chat- ham's abortive plans, 238 ; state of Ireland before 1782, 266, 267; government, 267 ; the volunteers, 267; meeting at Dungannon, 268 ; legislative independence, 268; failure of constitution of, 1782, 319 ; danger of Home Rule, 320 ; state of Ireland, 1782-95, 321—323; rebelUon, 323—325; the Union, 325, 326 ; Emmett's plot, 335 ; Catholic Association, 375 ; Clare election, 876. J. Jacobite Chiefs, in 1715, 34, 36, 39 ; in 1719, 49 ; in 1745, 121, 122, 123, 125, 128. Rebellion, First, 31 — 39; abortive, 49; Second, 116—129. JaCOBitism, in 1714, 14; Boling- broke's schemes, 4 ; in 1715, 29, 31—39; in 1719, 49; in 1721, 61 ; decline, 64 ; in Parliament, 73, 82; in Pelham's Ministry, 131, 132; in 1745, 117—129; end, 129,130; change to Toryism, 219;' ♦* Patriot King," 215. James Stuart, 6, 9, 34, 38, 61. Jenkins' Eab, Story of, 99 ; war of, V. Wars. Junius, Letters of, 242, 244, 246, 246—248, 269. K. Kaukitz, PoHcy of, 161—165. L. Latitudinarianism, 16, 17, 137, 138, London. 17th century, 12 ; 1715, 29, 31; 1720-21, 57; 1733, 94; 1745, 120, 125 ; 1763, 232 ; 1768, 240. M. Malta, Capture of, 329. Methodists, The, 142 — 144. Ministerial Government, 16, 16, 40, 41, 42, 76, 77, 109, U5, 131, 132, 145—148, 167—170, 175, 216,222,270—272,278, 282, 283, 332, 336, 337, 351, 377. Mutiny at Spithead, 316; at the Nore, 317. National Debt, 54, 134, 289. Naval Expansion, 101, 102, 108, 111, 193—196, 309, 311, 327, 329, 340, 345. Nelson, Admiral Lord, 311, 327, 329, 344. Newcastle, Duke of, 45, 75, 103, 109, 113, 115, 131, 133, 145, 146, 167—175, 224. North, Lord, in Pitt's second Ministry, 237 ; his Ministry, 244, 249 — 277; dealings with America, 249—262; with India, 263— 265; at home, 269—277; re- signation, 276 ; coalition with Fox, 280, 281. c c 386 Index, Nova ScotU, v. Amerioan Colo- nies (English). 0. Opposition, Tbe, to Stanhope, 50—53 ; to Wulpole, 78—86 ; to Carteret, 114 ; Pelham destroys it, 131 ; opposition to Newcastle, 168, 172 ; to W. Pitt, 289, 300, 303, 312, 330, 331, 337. Orfoed, Earl of, v. Walpole. OsTEND Company, 65, 67, 69. OxFOED, Earl of, 3, 4, 30, 51. P. Pafma and Plaoentia, Duchies of, 26, 50, 67. 69, 70, 112. Parttps, v. Whigs and Tories. Party Government, v. Ministerial GoverDment. Party Questions, Destruction of the TTieaning of (1715— 70), 77, 83, 96, 113, 114, 131,132,167, 168, 172, 212, 218, 219, 229, 230, 237-239,243, 244. Pelham, H'^nry, 109—136. Perceval, Mr., 352, 363. Personal Government of George I., 27. 30, 43, 44, 64 ; of George II., 73, 74, 91, 98, 101. 103, 108, 114, 115, 116, 175; of George III., 215—218, 220, 222, 224— 227, 228, 230, 234, 236, 240, 242, 244, 245, 269—272, 276, 282, 2P3 sao, 332, 333, 337, 351 ; end of, 377. Philippe of Orleans, 21, 22, 33,44, 45, 46, 48, 66. Pitt. ■William, Earl of Chatham, pnrly life. 206: opposition to Walpole, 81 , 206 ; to Carteret, 114 : Paymaster, 131, 207 ; op- position and ingratitude to New- CRptle, 172, 173 ; first Ministry, 175 ; oratory, 206; purity, 207; defects and inconsistencies, 208, 209 : greatness, 186, 210, 211 ; foreign policv, 179, 181, 184, 193, ^08—210, 221; principles of , government, 210 ; views on re- form, 208 ; anti-party views, 212, 229, 236 ; genealogy, 212 ; resignation, 222; peerage for wife, 222 ; relations with Tem- ple, 229, 234 ; second Ministry, "^ 237—239 ; its failure, 237, 238 ; Earl of Chatham, 237 ; illness, 238 ; America, 258, 274 ; death, 260, 274. Pitt, William (junior), early his- tory, 293 ; in Shelburne's Minis- try, 280, 293; struggle with Fox, 283, 294 ; Ministry, 289— 339; early measures, 289—291, ^i 294 ; early foreign policy, 291, 292, 295 ; feeling towards French Revolution, 298, 299 ; change in view, 302, 304, 305; foreign policy, 308— 312, 327, 335, 337 —339; leader of the old Tory party, 302, 305, 312—318, 33i, 337 ; dealings with Ireland, 289, 322—326; Catholic Emancipa- tion, 326, 332 ; second Ministry, 337--339. Place Bills, v. Corruption. Poland, Partition of, 273. Porteous Riots, 97. Pragmatic Sanction, QQ^ 67, 69, 104, 109. Printers' Case, 273, Privilege of Parliament, 148,273. PuLTENEY, William, 78—80, 102, 113, 116. I y Q. QuiBERON, Expedition to, 309. R. Radicalism, Birth of, 245, 246; sympathy with French Revolu- tion, 300—303 ; State prosecu- tions, 313, 314; English Na- tional Convention, 303, 313, 314; unfortunate results of, 303, 804, 353. Index 387 ** Reflections on the French Re- volution/' The, 299, 301. Reform, Economical, v. Comip- tion. , Parliamentary, cormpt stateof the franchise, 145,146, 271 ; Pitt's views, 208 ; Radical views, 245 ; change in the Whigs, 246; Junius' views, 248; Whig views, 279, 281 ; Burke's views, 286 ; Fox's early views, 246,276, 287 ; W. Pitt's views, 279, 281, 290 ; Reform Bills, 353, 374, 375 ; Reform Act, 377. Reporting, 148, 273. Representative System, v. Re- form. Rockingham, Marquis of, 229, 235, 236, 278—280. S. St. John, v. Bolingbroke. Saratoga, Surrender at, 259. Scotland, 1715,31—33; 1719, 49; 1725, 63 ; 1736, 97 ; 1745, 118, 119, 121, 122. Shelburne, Lord, 278, 280. Shrewsbury, Duke of, 4, 5. SiDMOUTH, Lord, 322, 333—336, 339, 350, 367. Slave Trade, 291, 351. Sophie, Electress, 2. South Sea Company, 55 — 59. Stanhope, James,Earl, 27, 45—59. StATTTTTi'S * Act of' Abjuration, 1699, 140, 141. Act for the Alteration of the Calendar, 1751, 134. Act of Indemnity for Dissenters, 1727, 52. Act of Settlement, 1701, Note B. Act of CJnion, Irish, 1800, 326. Alien Act, 1793, 305. American Customs Act, 1767, 239, 254. American Rioters' Act, 1768, 239, American Stamp Act, 1765, 233, 253. C C American Sbamp Act, Repeal of 1766, 235. Bill of Rights, 1688-89, Note A. Boston Port Bill, 1774, 257. Catholic Penal Laws, 139, 140. Catholic Emancipation Act, 1829, 376. Catholic Relief Acts (Savile's), 1778, 274. (Pitt's Irish), 1792.93, 322. (Naval and Military Ofacers' Oaths Act), 1817, 374. Cider Tax, 1763, 227. , Repeal of, 1765, 234. Commercial Acts (Huskisson's), 1823-24,375. Corporation Act, 141. • Repeal of, 1828, 376. Dissenters' Relief Acts, v. Dis- senters. Economical Reform Act, 1742, 148. , 1782, 279. Election Petition Act, Mr. Gren- ville's, 1770, 271, 273. Hovering Act, 1784, 289. India Act (Pitt's), 1784, 290. Judges' Act, 1760, 220. Libel Act (Fox's), 1792, 304. Marriage Act (Hardwicke's), 1753, 135. Massachusetts Charter Act, 3774, 257. Nullum Tempus Act, 1768, 239. Place Act (Rockingham's), 1782, 279. Poyning's Law, 267. . Repeal of, 1782, 268 279. Privilege Act, 1770, 273. Reform Act, 1832, 377. Regency Act, 1765, 234. 1811, 353. Regulating Act (North's), 1773, 256, 263. Riot Act, 1715, 30. Royal Marriage Act, 1772, 274. 388 Index, Statutes (continned) : — Schism Act, Repeal of, 1719, 51. Sedition Act, 1795, 315. Septennial Act, 1716, 39-42. " , Motion for re- peal, 96. Six Acts, The, 1819, 373. Slave-trade, Regulation of, 1788, 291 . '- , AboKtion of, 1806-11 , 351. Sliding Scale Act (Wellington's), 1828, 375. Test Act, 139, 140. , Repeal of, 1828, 376. Traitorous Correspondence Act, 1793, 312. Treason Act, 1795, 315. Swift, Dean, 62. T. Torres Yedras, Lines of, 348. Tories, divisions, 1714, 14, 15 ; ex- clusion from political power, 15, 28, 167; overtures to Walpole, 61 ; change in meaning, 77, 83, 85, 132 ; Tories in Pelham's Ministry, 131 ; Pitt's overtures to them, 212 ; new Tory party, 219; alliance with George III., 219 ; in Pitt's second Ministry, 238 ; North's Tory Government, 244; the old Tory party, 299, 301, 302, 312, 315, 352—354, 366 —368, 370—374. TowNSHEND, Charles, Viscount, 27 —44, 61—53, 67, 92. Treaties : — Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, 112, 133, 152, 159. Alexander of Russia, With, 1801, 329. Amiens, 1802, 329, AiTQed Neutrality, First, 1780, 260. , Second, 1800, 329. Assiento, 1713, 55, 65, 69, 99, 112. Berlin and Breslau, 1742, 106. Barrier Treaty, 1713, 18. Bassein, 1802, 363. Campo Formio, 1797, 311. Coalition, The First, 1793, 308. , The Second, 1799, 327. , The Third, 1805, 338. , The Fourth, 1806, 345. Dresden, 1745, 110. Family Compact, First, 1733, 100. ^ Second, 1761, 184, 221. France and America, Between, 1778, 259. Frankfurt, 1744, 109. Fuessen, 1744, 110. General Peace, 1719, 50. Ghent, 1814, 355. Great Mogul, With the, 1766, 202. Hanau, 1743, 108, 161. Hanover, 1725, 67. Holy Alliance, 1815, 359. Hubertsburg, 1763, 185, 226. Klein Schnellendorf, 1741, 106. Kloster Seven, 1757, 177, 179. Luneville, 1801, 328, Mangalore, 1784, 264. Meer Jafifier, With, 1757, 199. Nystadt, 1721. 50. Paris, 1763, 185, 224, 225. , First, 1814, 357. , Second, 1815, 359. Passarowitz, 1718, 48. Quadruple Alliance, 1718, 47. Salbhye, 1783, 264. Seville, 1729, 69, 99. Stockholm, 1720, 50. St. Petersburg, 1757, 177. Surajah Dowlah, With, 1756, 198. Tilsit, 1807, 346. Triple Alliance, 1717, 44, 45. Utrecht, 1713, 18, 35, 44, 55, 65, 69, 99, 156, 159. Versailles, 1756, 165, 177. of, (partition), 1757, 177. 1783, 262, 279, 280. Vienna, First, 1725, 67. , Second, 1731, 69. , Third, 1735, 70, 96. , 1815, 359. Indxjc. 389 WeatminBter, 1756, 165, 173, 177. Worms, :|.743, 109. TuiENNiAL Parliaments, Objec- tions to, 89, 42. W. Walpolb, Sir Robert, birth, 60; early life, 60 ; expelled from Parliament, 60 j Townshend's Ministry, 27 ; opposition to Stanhope, 51 ; joins Stanhope's Ministry, 53 ; winds up the South Sea Company, 58 ; Minis- try, 60—103 ; foreign policy, 65 — 70; enemies, 78—86; cha- racter, 77 ; general policy, 71— 78 ; fall, 102 ; created Lord Or- ford, 103 { influence with George II. , 114, 115 ; relations with the queen, 89—91 ; death, 103. Warming-pan Stort, 6. Wars (in chronological order) : — Spanish Succession, 1702-13, Note D. Northern, 1699-1721, 23—25, 50. Alberoni, 1718—19, 48, 49. Ripperda, 1725-26, 68. Polish Succession, 1733-35, 70, 95. Jenkins* Ear, or Spanish, 1739- 46, 99—102, 107, 108, 111, 112. Austrian Succession, 1740-48, 104-112. American Intercolonial, 1745-60, 112, 159, 160, 186—192, 204. Indian Intercolonial, 1749-60, 112, 151—155, 197—201, 204. Seven Years', 1756-63, 149—204 ; causes, 149 — 166; European branch, 177—185; Indian, v. Indian Intercolonial; Ameri- can, V. American Intercolo- nial ; naval, 193—196; last years, 221—224 ; results, 224, 225; Tables, 177, 204. American (of Independence), 1775-83, 249—262, 279, 280; causes, 251 — 257 (v. American Colonies, English) ; the war, 257—262 ; Peace of Versailles, 262, 279, 280. Mysore, First, 1780-84, 264. Mahratta, First, 1779-82, 264. Revolutionary, 1792 — 1801, con- tinental part, 296, 297, 308— 311, 327—329, nav«-l, 309, 311, 327, 329; causes, 297, 301, 304, 307; justice, 306, 307 ; Egyptian invasion, 327, 328; invasion of Ireland, 324. Napoleonic, 1803-15, causes, 333—339; Second Coalition, 343—347; Peninsular War, 347 — 349 ; Russian Campaign, 356 ; Waterloo Campaign, 358, 359 ; Mauritius, 364. American, 1812-14, 354, 355. Mysore, Second, 1790-92, 361. Mysore, Third, 1799, 362. Mahratta, Scindiah and Berar, 1802-3, 363. Mahratta, Holkar, 1804, 363. Welleslet, Lord, 338, 353, 362. Wellington, Duke of, 347—349, 358—360, 364, 375, 376. Wesley and Whitefield, v. Metho- dists. Whigs, elements in 1714, 9; Whiggism of the monied interest, 12 ; change in meaning, 77, 78, 81, 85, 113, 114, 131, 132, 167, 168, 172, 175, 218 ; extinction of old meaning, 218 ; sections in 1763, B29; Rockingham Min- istry, 235 ; weakness of the Whigs, 238, 244, 269 ; effect of Radicalism on, 246; recovery, 275—277; sections in 1782, 278 ; Rockingham Ministry, 278—280; split in the Whigs, 280; Coalition, 280—282; Pifct, V. Fox, 283 ; new Whig party, 300—303 (v. Radicalism), 350— 352; the Reformers, 352, 368, 374_377. Whig Oligarchy, Government of 390 Il^DEX. the, 15, 40, 41, 76, 146 ; break- up of the, 215, 217, 220, 222, 224, 230 J failure of the first Rock- ingham Ministry, 235, 236 ; dis- union of the Whigs, 238. Wilkes, John, 230—232, 240— 242, 273. Wilmington, Earl of, 74, 91, 113, 115. Wolfe, General, 179, 187, 189, 190—192. Y. Yorkshire Freeholder's Peti- tion, 275. York Town, surrender at, 261. ERRATA. ! p. 4, 1. 34, for ** Henry, Duke of Shrewsbury '' read "Charles.'' p. 15, 1. 22, for '' hardly fifty Tory members " read " ultra-Torv." p. 17, 1. 13, for " 1715 " read '^ 1717. " p. 24, 1. 8, and margin, for" 1708 " (his) read '' 1709." p. 27, 1. 8 and 23, for "Sir Robert Walpole" read " Robert Walpole." p. 34, 1. 18, for '' Huntley " read " Huntly ." , p. 39, 1. 13, for " at Tyburn " read " on Tower Hill." " p. 54, last line, /or " Stevenson " read " Stephenson." p. 64, 1. 32, for " Czarina died in 1726" read " 1727." p. 81, 1. 36, for '' Cobham '' read " Cornbury." p. 102, 1. 30—32, for " And so when Walpole found himself only ahVe to carry the Government candidate on the Chippenham Election Petition, 1742, by a very small majority," read "unable" . . . *' though by a very small majority." p. 129, 1. 1, for " executed " read " all executed— the latter." p. 129, 1. 2, dele " at the time." p. 131, 1. 8, for "created " read " appointed." p. 131, 1. 21, for " till his death in 1746 " read " till the year 1746." p. 148, 1. 7, Jor " 1743 " read " 1742." p. 169, 1. 25, for " ten years " read " eight." p. 175, 1. 20, for " Heniy Fox. was the eldest son" read "youngest." p. 185, three lines from bottom, for " February 5th, 1763 " read " February 15th." , r, ■■■y-:i ZOVDOV : f HINTED BY GILBERT AND BIVJiSTGION, LIMITED, '« ST. 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